1. Pressed for time, I had just three days to ride to Lima from Cali, Columbia. I finished in time, which makes me almost the man Sam was for killing the Trans Lab loop in the time he did.
2. I wish I had realized that after Quito, the Pan America splits into two: Norte and Sur. The first runs straight lines along the coast. The second winds along the spine of the Sierras. It is truly breathtaking, but is also eight hundred plus kilometers of twisties. This is the route I took. It was unmatched in the sun and terribly hard in the rain and fog at night.
3. The Pan Am along the Peruvian coast is truly remarkable. First, it is excellent pavement. Second, the drivers are incredibly reckless. Third, it is almost all sand dunes and ocean. I rode 1000 kms on some other planet.
4. Walking around Lima, buying clean, proper clothes for this conference, I realized I was exhausted and could have fallen asleep at that moment. And riding my bike to the house of a friend's father (thanks Claudia!), I realized that while I was anxious to be home and to be back to work, I could have ridden three more weeks. I felt rather lucky at that moment.
Keep looking ahead.
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