| Distance | 96.53 kms | 60.27 miles |
|---|---|---|
| Climbed | 1,196 meters | 3,924 feet |
| Ride time (hours) | 5.94 | - |
| Avg speed | 16.2 kph | - |
| Avg climb | 3% | - |
| Max grade | 9% | - |
| Distance | 19,316.29 kms | 12,002.40 miles |
|---|---|---|
| Climbed | 221,818 meters | 727,749 feet |
| Ride time (hours) | 1,435.06 | - |
Friday, November 29th, 2013
In the morning I found out what had happened to the boyfriend of the hostel owner: they locked him up for 36 hours. A Canadian couple came into the hostel after taking the overnight bus from Oaxaca. They have been traveling for 9 years! With long stretches by bicycle. We spent a while sharing notes on the road, then it was time for me to get my ass in gear and get on the road otherwise I was never going to leave this place. I rolled out of town wearing thermal underwear, pants, gloves, and 3 layers up top: it was chilly.
The first 15 kilometers was all uphill as I made my way back south to the exit for Palenque, then headed east. The temperature hovered around 10 degrees all day with light rain. The descents were quite cold. I had the raingear on top of all my layers and I even got the gloves out, I can't remember the last time I wore those gloves. I had a coffee and bread to try and get warm at a roadside stand run by a sweet older couple. He told me the good news: I would be dropping close to a 1,000 meters from then on. The temperatures didn't improve that much at the lower altitude, nor did the rain, but just that slight difference between 9-10 and 13-14 was enough to go from misery to enjoyment. I got lots of whistles and gringo calls on this road. There was some more up and down at the end before I rolled into Ocosingo. I had a place in mind for a hotel but they were full, the guy sent me one street over to another place where I got a decent room for 10 bucks.
