After walking around all over the place looking for a bike shop I gave up and went on the internet. The first place that popped up was for Mountain Bike Adventures. I emailed the owner Julio and asked if he had or knew where I could find a new bike seat. He emailed me back a couple hours later and said to stop by his shop. Turns out he didn’t have anything there but he was nice enough to drive me over to a place I would have never found on my own. The best seat I could find was a bit wider than the one I had but it has a cut-out and I’ve never ridden on one of those before. I bought it, albeit with some reluctance. Hopefully it works out OK because it was expensive (S45).
The bike shop is off the main road through town (same one you ride in from Caraz on)–it’s officially called Centenario in the Lonely Planet guide. On the north side of Rio Quilcay there’s a dirt road that runs west along the river. The shop is down that road about 200m on the right side. They had an OK selection of parts and it looks like they could handle most repairs.
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Scott,
I’m about to set out on my trans am trip on Sunday. Any advice on handling the heat? Have you had any problems or made any adjustments? I imagine you don’t have access to electrolye replacment drinks everywhere you stop. I’m likely looking at a lot of 90+ days on my trip. Thanks.
Tom
You must be as excited as hell.
Yep, riding in the heat is fun. You’ll want to avoid heat stroke/exhaustion at all costs because if it happens and you are alone you’ll be in big trouble. If it’s that hot when you leave I’d really take it easy for the first week or so until you get used to it. I’ve gotten used to riding in temps over 100F and it doesn’t bother me other than you *must* stop and cool down quite a bit. 99% of the time all I drink on the road is water. I wouldn’t worry about finding electrolyte replacement drinks. Just eat food and you’ll get what you need from that.
When riding in heat you’ll leach salt like crazy. If you don’t replenish it your muscles will get tired fast. Beef jerky is nice and salty but anything with a lot of salt is good. Just pour some in your hand and wash it down with some water if you have to. Keep your head cool! I wear a dorag thing under my helmet that does a good job of retaining water. The vents let in the air and that helps cool things down. Stop and get shade if you even come close to feeling lightheaded or dizzy. Cool your neck (along the sides) so the blood flowing into your brain cools down first. I bought one of these for places where there are no trees and I need a break from the sun: http://bit.ly/llXdg1
#1 though… drink a lot of water. If you aren’t stopping to pee you are not drinking enough. If you stop sweating you are not drinking enough and that’s one of the first signs that bad things are coming. Don’t wait until you are thirsty to drink–that’s too late. A long sleeve shirt is much, much better than short sleeve since it keeps the sun from pounding down on your skin all day and it’ll help cool you more (make sure it and nothing else you wear is cotton; except a bandana on your head–cotton might be good there). Wear a lot of strong sun screen. I use SPF 60 (16oz purple bottle by NO-AD, water/sweat resistant–that stuff is great).
Take lots of pictures and have fun.