TRAVERSE Issue 31 - August 2022 | Page 23

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would be passing us on a light 125cc bike , just to stop , and encourage me to pick up my speed .
“ Mas gas ”, I heard them say . And I knew of course that speed would make my life much easier . But I was completely out of my comfort zone , so we were moving at a painfully slow speed .
It was another incredibly hot day , and I was sweating so much that the vented gear was sticking to my skin . It was horrible . And after every 200 metres I rode I stopped to take a breather - terrible idea but it was truly exhausting .
Of course , I came off the bike quite a few times . But every time we would pick it up and continue . I never quite knew if we would make it with the conditions becoming more challenging , my energy was draining . And the biggest thing on my mind was that if we eventually made it , we would have to come back the same way .
After a couple of hours , we reached a small wooden hut . This was the entrance to Cerro Negro . We parked up the bike and paid the fee to hire the wooden boards which we would need to carry up the volcano .
In addition , we were both given a rather ridiculous outfit for safety to avoid skin burn in case we came off the board at high speed . Topped off with some safety goggles to protect our eyes from stones we had the perfect Minions outfit .
The hike up the volcano was only about 45 minutes , but it was extremely windy making carrying a board quite exasperating . We were walking by ourselves , but we could see small tour groups scattered around in the distance . The higher we got the more stunning the views became . I loved how the intense
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