Yesterday was tough!

Yesterday was tough! We tackled 50 miles of difficult riding in furnace-like conditions. I drank nearly two gallons of water along the way and I didn't pee once. The water helped but by the end of the day, the heat had taken its toll. I was completely depleted. When we arrived at the hotel, the others headed out for beers (they consume a lot of it), I went straight to my room for a shower and a nap.
Disappointingly, this hotel is not at the standard of the others. My bed takes up 90 percent of the room and the shower's stream was barely a dribble. I cleaned and rinsed as best I could and then crashed. 90 minutes later my alarm went off. I ran to meet the others for our appointed 7 p.m. dinner. They were still drinking when I got there.
Most organized bike trips have lots of snacks, drinks and fruit at intervals along the way. This trip is managed by Intrepid. Yesterday we were offered one slice of watermelon in the morning and a granola bar in the afternoon. That's it. Fredder, our leader, said that if we wanted more than that we needed to buy it ourselves. Bad form. Conditions like these require lots of hydration and sustenance. They should be offering tons more.
Yesterday's riding started at 7 a.m. following a quick breakfast. We made a 25 mile loop around Madera Volcano, the smaller of the two volcanos on the island. The terrain was difficult, steep dirt roads with lots of rocks.





My riding in Nepal last year helped a lot. I was well prepared for it.
The volcano and the adjacent crater lake, were beautiful. Along the way we saw lots of howler monkeys. They were quite a site as they sat on tree limbs mocking us with loud howls and constant jibber jabber.
After circling the volcano, we stopped for a sorely needed swim at Ojo de Agua, a little lagoon formed by the constantly flowing water from the crater lake. (Animation of yesterday's ride) . It was crowded but well worth the stop.
From there we headed to the boat for the return to San Jorge and an additional 25 mile ride to San Juan Del Sur, where we are staying for the night. The town is one big party this week, as are most Central American towns, in honor of Holy Week. It felt like a mini Rio Carnival; loud music, street vendors and scantily dress young people. I think we will be seeing a lot of this this week.
On Ometepe, while stopped along the side of the road, a guy named Jake pulled up on the 150cc motorcycle he had rented for the day. We chatted a bit. He's 30 and lives in London. It took some coaxing before he admitted that he's actually an American living in London. He and his wife are on a two year journey. They certainly are not roughing it. They started their adventure by taking the Queen Mary from London to Alaska. From their they drove a rented Air Stream to Mexico where they picked up a 4Runner. They'll be driving that to the tip of Patagonia, staying in Airbnb's along the way. Nice life.
Yesterday was the last day of riding this bike. We enter Costa Rica today and will be leaving these ones behind. Too many taxes to bring them through.
I've been riding a Cannondale 29" mountain bike. It's an aluminum hardtale, 21 speeds with mid-range Shimamo components. It rides like a charm. On our first day, Fredder told us to become one with our bikes. I have. This trusty stead is smooth, changes gears quickly and has a comfortable saddle. The front suspension takes a big dent out of the jarring downhills. I will miss it a lot.
We're off to Costa Rica.
Adios Nicaragua.




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