For those who are wondering what’s the Trans-Ecuador Mountain Bike route is all about, it’s a dirt route that transects almost all of Ecuador from north to south. It was created by Cass Gilbert of whileoutriding.com fame and the Dammer brothers, Ecuadorians, guides/bikepackers/climbers and first and foremost farmers. They were nice enough to share the gpx files of the whole route to us and thus saved us from riding most of the Ecuadorian Pan-Am highway. With that I’m indebted to these kind folks.
Back to the conclusion of our Cotopaxi sojourn, the past two days of riding around Cotopaxi National Park is nothing short of awesome. Vulcan Cotopaxi has not revealed its true beauty though and I’m already resigned that I may not really see its conical peak when everything is said and done. But all is well, the cloudy weather can’t dampen our spirits.
I wake-up at 6 o’clock as usual on our third and last day inside the park. I stick my head out of the tent and saw the morning sun shining on Volcan Cotopaxi. All ten minutes of it. It was not necessary but that fleeting moment is the cherry on top to our Cotopaxi ride.
