The hard parts

The hard parts of bike touring often fade in my memory from one trip to the next. Then I have to get slapped by reality every new trip.
Our first day of the tour we rode 9 hours, climbed over 5000 ft., got rained on, dumped on actually, and descended a road scary and damaged enough that it was technically closed, though plenty of traffic was still using it. Since then we´ve had a few more days of rain, and much easier riding, though it has mostly been very tiring. It is hard to go from riding an unloaded bike a couple hours to a loaded bike many hours. What a surprise!
Anyway, it has been beautiful, and we´ve had a good time, and as so often is the case, its the little things that make our days- a store owner offering us free excellent coffee, for example. Now we are off for some more rugged riding around a volcano and a big lake, then on to what are apparently some of the worst dirt roads in the country, the only way to get to the Monteverde area. I´ll be sure to put some good pics up soon, though it has been hard to get many with all the rain. Oh, and our clothes are already getting moldy and stinky, despite daily washings. Fun!