April 27, 2003
by Jim Jennings

After almost two weeks with no word from the Icarian athlete in training, we received a frantic phone message informing Suzanne and I that Gabe had ridden for two days almost non-stop without eating since he was having trouble with Mr. Plastic. We were to send money immediately to the Western Union office in Puerto Maldonado, Peru. On the next day, Earth Day, April 22, we received a letter from Gabe recounting some highlights and received a follow-up phone call. I will crystallize stories from both:

Thinking that it would be near impossible to expend the amount of energy required to bicycle as rigorously as Gabe was averaging, I asked Gabe what he meant by “not eating in two days.” He was exaggerating, but not by much. He had eaten a bowl of rice on the morning of the second day, which required the last of his cash. A tip for others thinking of training in Latin America: take a Visa card; they are acknowledged more widely by far.

The letter added details to our sketchy understanding of Gabe’s arrival in Peru. Once again Gabe found a friend in Lima. He spent his first day getting to know Lima with a taxi cab driver who showed Gabe around. They enjoyed each other’s company while taking care of business. They ate typical Peruvian food including ceviche rico, spicy hot drinks, Inca cola, and chocle (hominy). It was Segundo, the driver, who was able to find with difficulty, a mechanic who was able to fix the bicycle and trailer damaged in flight. Gabe says that the Andes are a spiritual sanctuary which demand respect and give the people contentment just by living, which does require much work.

From Abancay to Curahausi Gabe tells of a harrowing experience. His tires needed to be inflated, but the adaptor that enables his pump to fit his tubes got lost. Consequently, he had to ride with seriously deflated tires up the Andes. He climbed over 30 kilometers into the snow with only an alpaca sweater, poncho, new jeans, but no gloves. It was a treacherous descent evidently worse than Mr. Toad’s Wild Ride down the other side to Curahausi. He says he was nearly frozen when he arrived. After eating dinner in Curahausi, Gabe adds that “I feel much better; my account of the bike ride is tainted by my deathly experience with an Andean Peak for which I was unprepared. The ride up before darkness had unparalleled views and the crashing ride down without lamp or moon was undoubtedly the most incredible.” Unfortunately, he had only traveled 40 kilometers. For the next stage of Andean riding Gabe resolved to buy a thicker sweater, gloves, but no light. Moreover, he realized that he would not accomplish high mileage days.

Back to the phone call: Finally Gabe arrived in Cusco, his favorite city so far. Of course Gabe, even after grueling caloric expenditures, had plenty of energy to dance all night. Near Cusco, but on the eastern slope of the Andes, Gabe picked up the headwaters of the Rio Madre de Dios. He more or less followed it down the wet side of the Andes, witnessing magnificent waterfalls and rapidly changing flora. Within 100 kilometers the terrain and climate changed from arid high altitude to wet humid rain forest. He continued to follow the Rio Madre de Dios through the Manu reserve where the diversity of life is at its maximum. He has been awed by many archeological sites which rival Machu Picchu, unseen by the tourist trade. Continuing down along the Rio Madre de Dios, he was amazed at the quickly swelling river. By the time he arrived at Puerto Maldonado the river was as big as the Columbia River, separating Washington and Oregon.

As difficult as the Andes were to traverse, the jungle is worse. The roads, (what roads?) are miserable, muddy, full of holes, and crosshatched with creeks and rivers which need to be forded. When I asked Gabe how he managed to ford with bike and trailer, he responded in an undaunted manner that his trailer more or less floats. Worse than the roads, however, are the mosquitoes. Gabe says that his hide is one solid mass of oozing scabs. Evidently, the indigenous people have skin that is tough enough to inhibit bites. However, many of the new frontier arrivals from the Andes seeking fortune in the rain forest logging industry have scabby bodies as well.

Gabe’s first impression of the rain forest was dismal. After the sublime majesty of the Andes, the jungle quickly being denuded is sickening. The pioneers are becoming, relative to their own standards and goals, affluent; Every transplant owns a motorcycle, a television and a generator. After a hard day’s work, the people turn on their generators in order to watch the tube. Gone is the sparkle in the eye, gone is the simple satisfaction with living a beautiful life in a pristine environment. Gabe spent the day working alongside a group of men, one of whom had shared meals consisting of monkey meat and a place to sleep. The work was to load floating logs onto a boat. The logs, being heavy, required many men to lift them. Gabe says he is lucky to have all of his fingers; few of the men had all of their respective digits. The people ride motorcycles everywhere, even when it is a short walk, but after working so hard they feel that they have earned it. They laugh at Gabe’s pedaling.

In spite of the difficult riding and coping with challenging weather, Gabe sums up his journey so far: “The girls get prettier, the folks nicer, and the forest denser.” Gabe marvels at how varied the forest is; each little area has its uniqueness. Gabe ended our phone conversation with, “I’m getting fitter by the minute, feeling my body, feeling the vibe.”

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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