PART 1 ~ the practicalities!

1. Choose a dependable rental company;

Now, unless you are an incedibly hardened & intrepid rider and journey down to Ecuador on your own bike, you will be needing to rent a bike for your trip. The absolute best, numero uno, place to do this, is from the folks at Ecuador Freedom Bike Rental.
They have everything you need to make this the best ride ever and are there to help you every step of the way; either with guided tours, self guided tours or rental only options.
We chose to travel with our own personal protective gear; boots, jackets, helmets, gloves etc. but all these items, in top brands and good condition, are available from FBR and included in the rental price.
Their rental bike options range from the retro looking SWM Gran Milan 440, through the varying BMW models, to the Enduro KTM 690R or Husqvarna 701, with many other models in between. Whatever your riding style or adventure option, you will find that all the bikes, GPS equipment and luggage options are up to date and in tip top, reliable condition.
Additionally, they will supply you with an emergency tool kit, first aid kit and a pre-paid cell phone for access to support, 24/7.

2. Do NOT try to do this alone;

Seriously! If you read Part 3, “Route Planning” you will see that I thought that I was Ms Smarty Pants, who knew exactly where she wanted to go and could quite happily plan an amazing route for this trip.
Ha! Let me tell you this, if we had stuck to that plan, we would still be there; LOST. Somewhere in the back of beyond, never to be seen again!
No matter how good you are at map reading, planning and organising trips……please take my sage advice and don’t try to do it alone!
I am eternally grateful that we popped in to visit the guys at FBR during our “acclimatising day” in Quito. Those guys have the patience of saints! Not only did we start by changing our plans and bringing the whole trip forward by one day but when I presented Court with my “well planned” route and agenda, he wasn’t shy in informing me that it simply wasn’t going to work! Thus followed a good couple of hours, reviewing, replanning and generally saving our trip! We walked away with a pre-programmed GPS and a realistically doable 13 day ride plan, that would take us on some fabulous roads and enable us to take in all the must see/do attractions along the way.
Thank the Lord for that man’s patience. I believe that this quite literally saved not only our entire trip but quite possibly our marriage too! Without this redo we really would have struggled. I may have been cool with the first couple of hours on the first day but after that, we would have spent so long stopping, turning round, rejigging the GPS and generally arguing about it all, that I may very well have ended up walking home!
So, in short, don’t try to do it alone! Choose either a guided tour, or if you prefer more independance and flexibility, take a self guided tour.
The tours can always be cobbled together to allow you to see and do all you want to experience 🙂

4. Pack Light!

Part 4 of the Planning Blog, looked at packing light. I wasn’t joking!
You see those 2 panniers and the topbox; they held EVERYTHING that we would need over the 13 days of riding. Including the emergency tool kit, spare inner tubes, my laptop and the numerous plugs and leads for charging electrical items.
We also had to remember that the temps would range from bloody cold to bloody hot!
Even though I was quite proud of how well we had pared everything down, in retrospect, there were still some things we could have done without.

What worked;

The t- shirts & long sleeved tops that we invested in, Under Armor for him and Calia for me ~ we chose to take shirts made with moisture wicking technology to pull moisture away from the skin and boost evaporation time helping you stay dry, cool and comfortable, also, the antimicrobial technology inhibits odor-causing bacteria ie – stops you stinking!!
Both these brands worked well. We didn’t smell and when washed they dried quickly overnight.

The undies; we got the  ExOfficio, “Give-n-Go” boxers & briefs. Two pairs for him and three for me. I really was quite stressed about this but quite honestly, I could have made do with just two pairs. Both styles were lightweight and comfortable, washed easily and dried overnight without losing their shape or elasticity. Pretty expensive, but I had bought them in a sale. These are actually a very good investment 🙂
We also got Merino wool socks….these did and didn’t work. They really did their job well in the wearability department. We wore them for days in a row before washing and they did great. Even after a few days wear, they didn’t stand up on their own or walk their way to the wash. The only issue with them was that they didn’t dry overnight, you definitely need at least two pairs each. We both had two pairs of “boot socks” and Iain had two pairs of wearing out socks.
The Pants; Both of us got convertible pants ~ at REI we found his and hers PrAna convertible pants on sale; Zion for him and Halle for me. Again, on the pricier side but a good investment. Both pairs were of good quality, fitted well, were comfortable etc etc….all we could wish for. Being convertible they were versatile and good for both hot and cold weather. We didn’t wash on the go so I can’t speak for how easy that was or how quickly they dried.
The Shoes; much to the amazement of my family and friends, I actually made do with just TWO pairs of shoes! I am a self confessed “shoe-a-holic”!

The silliest thing we did was not to learn Spanish; at least the very basics. As noted in this blog post, this mistake became very clear to us at the airport departure gate before we had even left the US! In the bigger hotels and restaurants you will find staff that can converse but when you are really experiencing the country, in the smaller towns, stores and eating places, speaking some Spanish is a necessity. We got by, just, but I really do wish I had made more of an effort to learn prior to the trip.

So now that’s the practicalities dealt with. Head on over to Part 2; The Realities to learn more about what to expect when you get out and about on the roads to help you better enjoy the rides 🙂