Motorcycle Explorer June 2015 Issue 6 | Page 94

The road was challenging : rocky , dusty and narrow . We drove for 2 hours without seeing any vehicle traffic , just pedestrians and animals . During that time we each had a pretty decent bail out , both trapping our legs under our bikes on each occasion but luckily no serious injuries . There was several river crossings , both small and large . We took one wrong turn but luckily saw a transport truck early into the wrong turn so we were easily set right . The route was very pretty as the road followed along the Chugón river . The terrain was dry with lots of cacti populating the nearby slopes . When the road eventually turned inland things got steeper and rockier . It was all I could do to stay focused on the road and keep the bike upright . The heat was unbearable , and since we were riding in first gear there was little wind to try to cool us down . Earlier in the day , what I thought was challenging riding , did not even compare to that last 2 hours of riding . By some miracle neither of us , especially me , went down . When we came down into a small valley with the tiniest trickle of a stream we stopped for a break . And what started as a break soon turned into us quitting for the day as we were both exhausted . It was still only 1pm so we had lots of daylight , in this case maybe not such a great thing , to enjoy our remote settings .

We set up the tent only a few metres from the “ road ”. I say road but it was barely a two tire track made by pickup trucks . We only saw one vehicle pass at dusk , that was it . The heat of the day was bearing down on us when we made camp . We sat in what shade we could find , soaking our clothes and cooling towels in the small stream and trying to replenish nutrients eating snacks . It took hours for me to begin feeling like my normal self , that was an intense ride .
The next morning we got up early to beat the heat . The road crossed over an old river bed and then to our surprise , literally just around the corner from where we camped was the Maranon river . And just a little further up the road was a group of pickup trucks waiting as people and goods crossed the river on a cable carrier . The people we had stopped to ask for directions to Calemar yesterday never mentioned a cable car . Seeing that we were travelling on bikes you think they would mention something like this . We could see a town across the river and assumed it was Calemar ( based on what the GPS screen showed ). Alberto talked to the pickup drivers . Yes , this was the end of the road . We asked if there was a road to Bambamarca on the other side ( our next destination ) and the information was inconclusive . While we most likely could have hired a canoe to get the bikes across the possibility of riding the bikes on the other side seemed doubtful . We had already been turned away from reaching Bambamarca once before , finding out that the road in Bolivar was a dead end and you could only continue by horseback . We decided to cut our loses and head back the way we came , despite the ride we knew we had ahead of us today .
The ride back was not easy , but luckily for us it was easier than yesterday . The most challenging bits were now at the beginning when we were at our most rested and refreshed . It may have even been less steep , at least on the downhills . The known is always easier than the unknown . We weren ’ t spared the embarrassment of falling though as we both fell again , one each . We stopped at a waterfall for refreshment ( the same place we stopped yesterday ) and knowing that the worst was behind us we relaxed for a bit . That was two times now we tried to reach Bambamarca , and we were now zero for two . When we eventually reached the main road again we stopped at a restaurant for lunch . It was around lunchtime anyway and we both could use a cold drink .