December 22: Hard fought miles through Peru

Alpaca roaming wild in Peru

765 miles from Chimbote to Nasca in two days, with a stop in Lima for one night in between.

From Nasca we started to head towards Cusco to Machu Picchu; however, a series of events prevented us from making it there.

First, we ran into some extreme and unfavorable weather - rain, then hail, then snow. The higher in altitude, the colder it got. Then, the altitude started to take a toll on us. We stayed at this village in a small, extremely rustic room. No beds. No heat. The bathroom was an outhouse in the village out back with a hole in the ground. By far the worst conditions we have been in yet. But we had food, shelter, and each other. And, the family who let us stay was wonderful.

We traded English and Spanish lessons from the three girls in the family. After the night from hell, we decided it would be best to head back to a lower elevation. We left at sunrise to head back. The frost on our bikes from the night before was so thick I had to use my gloves to scrape off my windshield as best as I could. As we headed down, we decided to take a different way towards the ocean.

We took this narrow windy mountain road with no guardrails. The cliffs are so high, making my fear of heights go into overdrive. I was terrified and it impacted my riding greatly. I spiraled down into a deep dark hole in my head and everything I did was making it worse, and in turn, my riding got worse. Floating out of corners, taking it too slow around turns where I had to put my feet down.

Rookie mistakes, I know.

I know how to ride, but was letting my fears get the best of me and bring me down. As the journey back to the main road continued, the conditions got worse and so did my mind. My team noticed. I was letting them down. I was letting me down. It took a big reality check from my team to help me realize I need to get my head out of my ass and work through this. Quickly.

Peru has been really tough for me. This is not at all what I expected, mentally.

I spent some time alone today to dig deep and find strength. I am not a quitter. I originally wanted to do this trip to prove to the world I could.

Until now.

Now, I want to succeed for me. Believing in myself is not always easy, but I am realizing that it is all I have when I am riding.

We all have bad days, but I cannot let a few bad days ruin me. From Nasca, I have no idea how many miles we rode to get to Camaná, Peru, which is where we are now. All I know is for me they were tough fought miles.

Peru has opened my mind. As I sit here and look around, all I see are smiling, happy people in the worst living conditions I've ever witnessed.

Life is hard only for those who make it that way.