Trail Tales: Olleros, Peru

I've only ridden it twice, but the Olleros trail near Lima, Peru has to rank as one of the best downhills in the world. With spectacular views of the Andes, 3,000 metres/10,500 vertical feet of downhill (that's not a misprint!), and some of the flowiest, most beautiful riding on the planet, I can't think of any downhill I've ever had more fun on.

The day starts with a 3-hour drive from Lima, up a crazy mountain road, with a steep drop on one side. Thankfully, our driver Pablo has driven this road "about 500 times," as he puts it, and inspires lots of confidence. The amazing part is that both times we drove this road we didn't encounter a single vehicle - we had the road to ourselves for 3 hours.

After climbing for what seems forever, you reach the remote village of Olleros, perched high on the Andean mountainside. After saying hello to a few curious kids, you pedal through town and then drop in on the trail.

The Olleros trail is fast, flowing singletrack, dusty in spots but not enough to affect your riding or the person behind you. This is freeriding at its free-est: at times the trail disappears and you can just follow the flow of the topography, hitting dozens of jumps and terrain features along the way. There are spots where the trail opens up onto wide ridges and you can really open it up; our guide Wayo hit 70 km/h on one of the ridges once... Amazingly enough, it's as smooth as can be and you don't feel unsafe at this speed!



The whole downhill is about 30 km (20 miles) in total. Near the bottom the trail starts to switchback frequently, providing for some slower, more challenging fun. Finally the trail spits you out into a wide, dry-river-bed valley. The river bed is hardpacked sand - very hardpacked, almost like concrete - and you can really fly on the gentle downhill grade, for the next 30 km or so.

Last time I was here, with Ride Guide TV and pro riders Richie Schley and Robbie Bourdon, we got back to the van just as the sun was setting over the Pacific Ocean, our driver waiting for us with sandwiches and cold beers. I'll never forget the feeling of riding my bike in a remote valley in the Andes, as the sun went down and my tires whistled in the evening wind. Pretty freaking amazing.

Mike

if you want to join us in Peru, we still have a few spots left on our spring departures, and are taking bookings for our fall trips now. We have a deal with LAN airlines for 10% off posted rates, plus free bike shipping - enough to save you about $300-$400 off your flight costs.

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