It really seems now as if Gabe will make his destination. At the beginning it was hard to tell; I wanted to believe in Gabe and his eccentric ideas, but since Gabe really hadn’t up to the time of his decision to pedal to Brazil in search of the perfect capoeira master ridden the bicycle overly much, I was a bit dubious. Of course now it seems to make perfect sense. Gabe is training his mind; his ability to endure psychic stress is increasing. Moreover, while sharpening the mind, Gabe expands his aerobic ability. His legs, granted are out of running shape; cycling does use different muscles. The following anecdote illustrates this message:

In Costa Rica, Gabe serendipitously encountered an acquaintance from Stanford. She informed Gabe that Gabe’s ex-girlfriend, Celina, was living at a nearby organic vegetable farm. It is owned by a young American, the new boyfriend of Celina. The farm is only accessible by boat, not counting ambulating along the shoreline for over 20 kilometers. Naturally, Gabe chose running along the beach and through the marshy jungle. He says it was one the most difficult runs he has ever completed, although nowhere near the longest.

Part of the problem was that, in spite of his aerobic fitness, his legs hadn’t really gotten out and traversed on the bare earth without aid of wheels. However, Gabe insists that part of the difficulty arose because of the monkeys in their efforts to hit Gabe with coconuts. The occasional attack with a coconut turned out to be a blessing, however, Gabe smashed them on rocks and had a tasty yogurty treat. Anacondas were hanging about, according to Gabe, but I can’t tell if they were threatening or not. He doesn’t say.

In any event, this run was very difficult; the only good thing about it is that it makes Gabe realize that he must get back to actual track workouts to tune up the legs as soon as he returns. Time will be important, but Gabe and now myself are convinced that Gabe will be able to get the legs in good shape quickly; they are already extremely strong from the pedaling and his heart, lungs and mind are getting tougher with each harrowing experience. The virtues of Gabe’s Olympic training program are becoming clearer as Gabe accomplishes sub-goals. Meanwhile, back at the organic farm, Gabe spent the night and was treated to an incredible experience by an incredulous hostess and dynamic host. The next day he once again trained the running muscles with a sand workout.

Back on his trusty bicycle with few if any of the original parts, Gabe proceeded south. At times, “spelunking” might have been the better word choice over “riding.” The potholes seem to get bigger and bigger, reports Gabe. If others are considering using the Gabe training technique, choosing a mountain bike with excellent suspension and the best saddle that money can buy is a good idea. I am hopeful that Gabe will still be able to father a grandchild when his training is over. Gabe reports that ironic to those of us unfamiliar with the details of Central American topography, the mountains in Panama are the most grueling to traverse. Even though they don’t rise to the altitude of the range near Mexico City or show the brown color on the map that other ranges do, they evidently make up for height in steepness. It is also possible that Gabe’s body and bike, spent, as they must have been, were feeling the climb a bit more. As a consequence, Gabriel was a very tired rider when he descended to Panama City. He says that riding across the Panama Canal was another of the memorable experiences. The palindrome, “A man, a plan, a canal, Panama,” comes to mind and reminds me that Gabe is pretty much riding by the seat of his pants with no detailed plan.

He was a bit disappointed when he arrived in Panama City and found that there were no boats leaving straightaway which would be willing to take him on as passenger. His parents may have swayed Gabe to set sail to either Venezuela, Ecuador, or northern Brazil in order to avoid the infamous Colombia, but it was probably more the fact that there are few roads crossing Colombia that motivated Gabe to enquire about signing on with a boat. However, when Gabe realized that it would take a week or two to arrange for water passage, he called us from Panama City to inform us that he would ride and take public bus through Columbia; he tried to mollify us by telling us that he had recently talked to a European who had no trouble with the bus system. Whether or not are parental fears are rational I do not know, but we insisted that Gabe fly. We argued that we were willing to cover the expense since it would be a cheap price to pay for a bit of peace of mind. The inherent dangers of biking are severe enough without adding potential political problems. So Gabe decided to fly to Lima, Peru; his decision was based primarily on the fact that this flight was the soonest to depart.

Upon retrieving his bike in Lima, Gabe found that the hitch on the trailer that connects bike and trailer was broken. He commissioned a metal worker to fabricate a substitute, but it was to take a few days. At first Gabe was disappointed with the delay, but quickly saw the potential to rest weary body and do some sightseeing. He bused to Ayacucho, hoping to rendezvous with a close friend who had been staying there. Unfortunately, Ben Grubb had hooked up with some Peruvian musicians and formed a Peruvian, bluegrass, folk (both Peruvian and American) group and were touring.

At this point, Tuesday, April 15, 2003, we haven’t heard from Gabe for ten days since arriving in Lima. His plan was to visit the spectacular Tres Cruces park. Located at 3739 meters, it is on the last mountain range before the Amazon jungle. It is famous for its surreal sunrises. More on this episode later.

Introduction
(In which Gabe’s decision to ride his bike to Brazil [T&FN, March] is explained)

Trip updates from Gabe’s father, Jim:

Report 1
(In which Gabe is robbed in Guadalajara, then pedals all night to keep warm in the high altitude near Mexico City)

Report 2
(In which Gabe runs into a truck in Oaxaca)

Report 3
(In which Gabe is robbed in both Nicaragua and Costa Rica, but remains in high spirits, meeting many new friends)

Report 4
(In which monkeys assault Gabe with coconuts as he runs through the Costa Rican jungle and Gabe later accedes to his parents' wishes that he skip violence-torn Colombia in favor of a plane hop to altitudinous
Peru)

Report 5
(In which Gabe climbs the Andes with underinflated tires and is beset by mosquitos in the rapidly disappearing rain forest on the other side.)

Report 6
The final update, in which Gabe reaches his capoeira destination of Salvador, Brazil, but is forced to return home by a dangerous case of hepatitis.

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