Lucho and the Casa de Ciclistas in Trujillo, Peru
When we came down from the mountains of Peru to the coast we stayed at the fabled Casa de Ciclistas (House of Cyclists) in Trujillo, Peru. Lucho Ramirez started offering his simple house to passing touring cyclists clear back in 1984, and is on the edge of crossing the one thousand mark. One thousand groups of cyclists have signed his journal and stayed there over almost 25 years! One cyclist stayed a year! Many stay far longer than they expect to, often for a week or more. It's a delight to browse through the journals and see famous cyclists that we've either met or heard of who passed this way. Our friends Dick and Els, from Holland, signed the book about 5 years ago. Our friend Andrew signed it just a month or so ago. Our friends Pat and Cat also passed through about 3 years ago.
Many of you have asked us if we're setting some kind of a record or something, and the answer is no, we're really slow, and lots and lots of people have gone farther. Although not all the cyclists who have stopped at Lucho's house were doing rides as big as ours, many were doing rides much bigger. One fellow, Hans Stuecke, has been cycling for 46 years!
Anyway, Lucho provides a tremendously friendly place for cyclists stop, recharge, get their equipment worked on, and generally have a wonderful memory. We left our bikes safely there for our trip home, and came back to find them waiting for us. Lucho also worked all night to get our bikes maintained and in tip-top shape (he's a professional bike mechanic). And he has info on all the routes, and knows what places to avoid due to criminal attacks on cyclists.
Lucho is also an incredible promoter of cycling in his town. He organizes bike races for kids and adults (we helped with one) and is also a racer himself - he used to be the champion of the area. His young son is named Lance, if that gives you a clue.
Thank you Lucho! You're famous, and your fame is well-deserved.
Note: Lucho has the original Casa de Ciclistas in Latin America, but he has also inspired others. We stayed at one in Cali, Colombia.
Here are some links:
- Lucho's website about the Casa de Ciclistas in Trujillo
- The list of Casas de Ciclistas in Latin America
- Our visit to the Casa in Cali, Colombia
- Don't forget about Warmshowers.org, the hospitality site of which Randy is webmaster. People all over the world offer hospitality to touring cyclists through Warm Showers.
