173 - PDF - The Rider's Digest

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wondering what I would do if a landslide came
down the hill towards us. We have dropped to
1800 metres by the time we reach the small and
beautiful town of Baños.
It lies in the shadow of a volcano called
Tungurahua. Several years ago the authorities
declared the volcano to be active and about to
blow its top at any moment, and duly evacuated
the town. For months nothing happened and
the local people started travelling around the
back of the volcano and over the mountain
passes back into the town; by doing so
they bypassed the roadblocks set up by the
authorities and took back the town and their
homes. The following morning the police
and troops who were supposed to keep the
residents from returning woke up to find that
the town was pretty much repopulated. Several
months later the volcano did indeed erupt, but
it was a much smaller event than anticipated.
The lava flow missed the town by several miles
but did pour over the main road into the town,
which remained closed off for several months.
The local solution to the problem was to drive
over the now cooled lava flow until they had
worn a dirt track into it.
ISSUE 173 December 2012
When we turn off the main road to ride the last
thirty or so kilometres into the town, we ride
along the side of the most beautiful valley,
across a long bridge with a huge drop beneath,
and finally cross the remains of the now dusty
lava flow.
Our accommodation for the night is in Jim
Redd’s Hostal Posada del Arte. Jim is an American
from Chicago who loves art and cycling as well
as hating American politicians and indeed the
American political system. For extra special
high blood pressure moments he gets going
about ‘W’. He hates George Bush as much as he
likes looking after his guests. We take a walk
into this sleepy little town in the eastern Andes
somewhere in rural Ecuador, and along with the
beautiful church, mineral baths and countless
outdoor adventure type places, we find an Irish
pub called the Leprechaun bar. Just in case we
are associated with it in any way we spend the
rest of the day pretending to be Australian.
Or Canadian.
The following morning we left Baños just before
ten. With a last look at the waterfall, Baños de
Agua Santa, we set off back over the remains of
the lava fields from Tungurahua and left the lush
mountains and jungle behind us.
While in Baños we had learned that our
proposed route to Riobamba was closed due
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