Radioman Rides the World.......

Off to ride to the base of Machu Picchu today!! Looking forward to it!

Great! drive safe!

I'll be really interested in your notes on the "back way" route. I'm gathering intel for my trip

And still it's not a sticky thread!!

Simply awesome.

It needs to be!

Well?????-----we have no patience how was it, where are the pics, . can you tell I am procastinating about cleaning the guyrage and sheloft - i'd rather be riding - reality sucks
Monte

Well..... The ride up the Sacred Valley really Sucked NOT!




And I will post of the whole story in the next day or two..... But Machu Picchu was awesome!!! So much more to come!

Awesome!!!

Radioman needs Red Bull sponsorship so we can watch live streaming of his ride. #redbullradioman Then his fans wouldn't have to wait.

thats awsome!!! Officially, you have made me so jealous, so green with envy, I can no longer read this ride report. Unoficially, I must ride S.A. soon and fully support your efforts and will follow this rr when NOT in the presence of the wife. She gets tired of my whining and ohs and awe's!

Thanks for sharing the ride, pics, and all the information.

Monte

So, how many times did you re-run it?

You know me well Did not need to because there was more of this on the other side of the 14,226 Foot pass..... and get to ride it back in two days :)

Great update as usual Mark

Makes me wish I was still riding around down there, but that will need to wait a couple of more years...

Looks like your RR will hit a million views in the not to distant future. Well done, and keep it coming!

Conor

Link to picture Radioman typo'd.

OK. Finally have a connection and a little time to update this thread. Machu Picchu is one of the 7 wonders of the world and a place I was really excited to be seeing

The other bonus is that I had connected with Csustewy up in Huanchaco northern Peru, and stayed in touch. They were coming to Cusco and MP, so I helped set up tickets for going into Machu Picchu and the climb up Wayna Picchu. We met up for a great Indian meal in Cusco on Thursday night and then met at 7Am for the ride out to Santa Teresa.

The ride takes about 6 ish hours and it a critical to get an early start if you plan to ride and walk the train tracks to Aguas Caliente which is the town right below Machu Picchu. You can only arrive there by Train or walking.

Off we go out of Cusco and into the hills!



It was just under two hours to Ollantaytambo. Nice roads and scenery.

Fun having a set of riding partners for this great experience. We started calling it "mystical"



We stop for a quick break in Ollantaytambo in the main square. There are ruins here also and lots of tourists, but it just had a great "feel" .....a place you want to stop over! Meet Mike and Jill from Colorado! There Blog is....

http://motojeros.blogspot.com



the town is all cobblestone (or as Young James says; Wobblestones)



See the ruins right in town....



There are some sections of dusty, rough road along the way



Off we ride through town and then headed for the mountains. We were told that it would get cool as we headed up the pass, so we geared up and were glad we did!!



Incredible ride up the mountain switchbacks which I already teased you guys with! But is worth repeating!







As we got up over 13,000 the fog and light rain held us in its grip!



Fortunately we there was a Bano stop over on the other side of the 14, 226 foot pass.



As we head down the valley toward Santa Maria. We stop to say hi to a guy on a BMW F800GS. This is Guillaume from France. We exchange greetings and he says; "I have been following your Ride report" Crazy!



Guillaume gave us a few tips and timing on getting to Santa Teresa!



and of course we talked about riding, the roads and Miners in Bolivia etc. We will stay in touch on our way south!



Down the valley we go. and the weather slowly improves.



There are many "spillways" on this road, with small water crossings. We were told to be careful as they can be slippery, and indeed they were as both of us slid a bit through a few of them. Thanks for the warnings YJ and SJ.



In Santa Maria, you need to turn off on CU107 to Santa Teresa but really no sign at the turn. It is right in the middle of town and is almost a 120 degree turn off.


Then it is dirt road for 1 hour to reach the town of Santa Teresa and another 20 minutes to Hydro Electric



It is a great ride!







Once in town we decided to leave our bikes at the far end of town at Inka camping, so are gear was safe. You can also ride to Hydro Electrica and leave your bike if you are arriving before 4PM which is when they close. We then took a collectivo for 5 Soles PP (they started at 10 or 15 so be prepared to tell them too much 5 soles is the price to pay )

They drop you at the Machu Picchu walkers check in. You need to put your name, Passport number then be ready for a 2.5 hour hike to Aguas Caliente. It is a fairly flat to slight up hill hike.



Jill Signing In



Then off we go......



Or you could catch the train at 3PM for $17 USD. But we walked the train tracks....

At the bridge if you look up high on the hills to the right you can see some of Machu Picchu.....



And the train rolled by while we were walking!



Hiked the 2.5 hours up to Aguas Calientes in great anticipation of the early day at Machu Picchu



We enjoyed the beauty of the area, with the river and huge rocks, and mountains around the area with steep rock faces.......



Saturday ...... We had our ticket for MP and the hike up Wayna Picchu!!

Wow have I got some catching up to do! Last time I looked I think you were still back in Portland!!

Myself and 2 riding buddies from work booked a fly/rent/ride tour in Ecuador for June. 6 days all off road/off the beaten path. Very impatiently waiting for June to arrive, only 231 days, not that I am counting.

Take care my friend and hit us up if you are back around south FLA this winter. MartyHill will be down our way in January for what has now become our annual attack on the Stone Crab population!!!!

A and A

Did you book with Court Rand at Freedom Rental? Great guy. You will have a blast!!

Machu Picchu being a huge tourist destination has it's patterns. For the day you have booked and paid your $152 Soles you want to get up early 5AM as the first bus leaves at 5:30. Hoping to see sunrise over MP.... I have hundreds of photos, but will only show a few..... Amazing place!

We got there at 5:05 and the line had already started. We got on the second bus up the hill (cost $8 USD but considering you would be hiking all day it was smart to do that....the return? you can hike the stairs down if you have the energy).



We stopped to get a coffee ...... The three of us had a great time!



Excited to be on the nice bus heading up the hill.



The crowds are just the way of life in a place like this.

(Do not forget to ask for a Map of the site as you go in.... We did not, and luckily another tourist walked back and got us one!)



at 6AM..... It was all clouded in. So we decided to head up to the "sun Gate" which is high up to the east where many Inca trail hikers come into the site and see the sun rise. we had a few glimpses of mountains as we hiked. Hoping for full sunshine as we got up to the top.

But it was fun to see the clouds keep changing and moving!



Mike and Jill as we approached the Gate. You can see it in the background in the clouds!



Once up to the gate there were 50-60 hikers from all over the world who had hiked in..... waiting for the sun. They were chanting "machu Picchu, Machu Picchu!" and having fun.



Clouds, mountains and some sunshine!!



We decided to walk back down and hope for more clearing! Was a cool and wonderful Morning!



Some flowers growing out of the rocks.



All smiles!



As we got back to the main entrance area....... It was really clearing !



And a Llama was there to greet us as well!



We were early and there were not too many tourist yet!



It is an amazing place to see.



so much to take in....




The mountain in the background is called Waynu Picchu. You need to get an addition to your ticket to go up this, but it is highly recommended!! But it is 1-1.5 hour hike up really steep stairs to the top. They only allow 400 to climb per day so you have to book in Cusco ahead of time. We were in the 10Am group.



Here is the map. You can just go up and back for 2-5 hours or do the loop to Gran Caverna which is a 4 hour loop, and you go to the top, down the back and then back up. It is a real thigh burner. Wore me out, but really glad I did it!



You have to sign in and out of the hike incase you do not make it



The view most of the way up. Spectacular!!





Deserves a Jump!! wahoo! Very cool place to see!



The site is to the right and the left you can see the bus route up the hill!



One of the highlights of the tourist sites that I have seen! Really great! so glad to have made this ride up and seen it. Really thankful to share the time with Mike and Jill as well!! We also met Joe on the trail on Waynu Pichu who was a good guy!

The experience was certainly made richer by spending time with Mike and Jill! thanks you two!!