May 29, 2008: Cayambe to Quito, Ecuador
A prettier day - we rode the route through El Quinche (marked at turn at Cusubamba) and then came into the city from the East. Before that, at 78.17545 degrees west and 0.000000 degrees N we crossed the Equator. There's a great sundial monument there, with interpreters and all. Better than Mitad del Mundo.
Coming into Quito Nancy didn't like the ugly traffic, so asked for an alternate route. We ended up taking an old, bricked (adoquinado) road straight up a ravine and into the city. From Cumbaya, take the old back road straight up to Guápulo. It was very steep, but avoided (I'm told) 3 tunnels, one of which doesn't allow cyclists. Perhaps it would have been better to just come into the city on the Pan Am, but somebody told us this was a better way.
- 51 miles/82 kilometers
- Elevation Gain: 4258 feet/1314 meters
- Where we stayed: hotel
- Download GPX file
- Download KML file
Elevation Profile
