Lima, Peru

pilch
pilch Posts: 1,136
edited August 2010 in Routes
Off to Peru for a holiday with the mrs... seems like we have a few days spare in Lima, so I thought we could do some trails locally, anybody recommend a company for hiring bikes/guiding in the area?

ta

pilch
A berm? were you expecting one?

29er race

29er bouncer

Comments

  • nfiore
    nfiore Posts: 72
    Try the guys at Discover Adventure, Salisbury, they may help. They organise the bike challenges for charities and they certainly have some contacts there. The local riders we had were from the Cusco area.
    Good Luck and enjoy
  • heavy_rat
    heavy_rat Posts: 264
    Try Amazonas Explorer too. They are also more Cuzco based but might be worth contacting
  • busta gonad
    busta gonad Posts: 162
    Spent some time there in the early nineties, unless it has changed a great deal, i wouldn't have thought it particularily amenable to bycycle, the outskirts are major slums, the people are proud but extremely poor and struggle to survive, back then the city was pretty crazy, filthy and polluted, surrounded by arid desert. When we were there every buisness, bank, petrol station was protected by guards with pump action shotguns. We saw a carpet wholesalers with machine gun nests, i kid you not, very surreal, the sendiro luminoso were pretty rife still, so not sure how much has changed. Mira Flores is where the fat cats and rich gringos hang out, a complete contrast to the rest of Lima.

    Enjoy your cycle, we knew a guy who was robbed of everything including his clothes, so beware.
  • pilch
    pilch Posts: 1,136
    Cheers for the responses.... I dont think it's quite as bad now, the majority of tourist trips take in Lima to some degree and from my research the country has changed vastly since the early '90's, I guess they've figured that tourism is their bread & butter.

    Terrorism had been eradicated, plus plenty of police presence, lots of people offering guided tours locally... the 'bike tour of Lima' is the No.1 attraction on Trip Advisor, although it's just sightseeing on a bike, there are other options for off road trips to go on.

    Like any place, I think you just need to research it well and use your loaf.... after all you can get stabbed or shot on a night out in any major uk city if you are in the wrong place at the wrong time.....

    Pilch
    A berm? were you expecting one?

    29er race

    29er bouncer
  • busta gonad
    busta gonad Posts: 162
    Glad to hear it has changed for the better, very vived memories as we were stuck there for ten days, scary but enjoyable at the same time.

    The traffic was unbelievable, a bit like a stock car race, all theses vw beatles bumper to bumper, no windscreens, some had three wheels, doors missing,.... one was so badly smashed it went down the road side ways.... Halcyon days.
  • mikee1979
    mikee1979 Posts: 151
    I went to Lima back in 2005 and had a great time. Like any city you got to keep your wits about you but the same can be said of London.

    It's a vast city and I can't really see where there would be great cycling as vast shanty towns surround the area, and I would'nt recommend cycling through those. The roads are very hetic and bikes maybe not be too safe. The nice areas were Mira Flores and Barranco which gave nice retreat from hussle and bussle. Maybe there are day tours to more remote areas around the city that could be for cycling.

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