The Story So Far

Seven days in the saddle and we've finally found some proper internet access. Twitter updates have also been intermittent as a result of shoddy phone reception but the good news is we've made it across three countries, we're in El Salvador, and we're three days out from completing the challenge. Here's a brief summary of what we'vre encountered so far:

0 - Proper cups of tea
1 - Broken front mech
2 - Snapped chains
3 - Benches to sleep on between 4 of us on an 18 hour cargo boat ride
4 - Cases of really quite ridiculous sunburn
43 - Maximum temparature recorded
90 - Miles in a single day (Day 4, Managua to Chinandega)
425 - Miles so far
Approx 1,000 - Small children screaming 'GRINGO!' at us from the side of the road in Honduras

In addition we've had two minor falls (scratches only mum), seen two dead horses lying on the hard shoulder being feasted on by vultures, had one proper dog chase, managed to retire one knee brace but introduce two more, had rice, eggs, and refried beans for breakfast EVERY SINGLE DAY, and held some live crocodiles (more of that one later).

We're having a lot of fun, although the cycling is extremely hard as a result of a combination of the weather and the terrain. Basically, its a lot hotter than we could of imagined, and its a lot more mountainous than we were able to ascertain from the maps before we left. On day one we climbed over 1000m. Fully loaded, that´s a bit like trying to carry a big lump of metal up scafell pike, except the lump of metal has got twenty four bags of sugar hanging off the back - and it's 35 degrees.

A big highlight of the trip so far was the 'Esquina De Lago´ which we stayed in after crossing the Costa Rican-Nicaraguan Border by boat. This awesome lodge was built by the owner, Phillippe Tisseaux, who gave us some good advice for our trip, took us kayaking and caught us fresh fish for our dinner.

The atmosphere was tense in Honduras with lots of police and military checkpoints, but they didnt seem too concerned with us which was reassuring. In general the people have been absolutely fantastic; part bewildered, part intrigued, but nearly always friendly and helpful. Just outside Managua Dan's front mech gave in, which was a potentially critical problem. Stranded at a petrol station, a guy called Alexander came over and although he did not speak a word of the Queens, we managed to point and explain in truly rubbish Spanish the nature of the problem. (What I wanted to say: "The housing for the spring on this front mech appears to have inexplicably sheared, do you know where we might be able to buy replacement?" What I did say: "La bicicleta de mi amigo es roto", or, "The bicicyle of my friend is broken", to which he presumably thought Yeah I can see that mate, do me a favour and just carry on with the pointing and the charades, you're better at it). He took us into a nearby village where there was a small hut selling bicycle parts. The owner went home, took the mech off of his own bike, brought it back and fixed on a new gear cable and housing to boot, all in about twenty minutes and for just $15. Absolutely amazing.

We have three days to go - tomorrow we head down to Usulutan, then follow the coast road to Zacatecoluca, before the final ride into San Salvador. If all goes to plan, we should get there Wednesday night (a day ahead of schedule!) and may even have a small bottle of beer to celebrate. Maybe.

Much love to everyone back home.

John and Team San2San