Exploring The Hills Around Lampa

Originally posted to El Cantar de la Lluvia on Sunday, July 01, 2007

Chico took Rodrigo and I for a spin on an enduro circuit near Lampa yesterday. We wandered around here and there.

First, a hillclimb.

And now, coming down.




Now me.



"I hope he doesn't have a fall" mumbles Chico. Thanks for the confidence buddy!

They went up the slope one more time, and I went after them, but not before having a pee. I set off with a minute or two of difference, and by the time I reached the first hilltop, they were nowhere to be seen. No, hold on– there they are! Way up there. So up I went.

I got there, and couldn't see them anywhere. Up and up I went, hilltop after hilltop, crest after crest, until I decided it would be prudent to stop. I had no idea what was up ahead, and so I turned around.

What a sight!





I called Rodrigo. They were down on the flat, and Chico said it was time to leave, since we had been admitted thanks to his winks and smiles at the girl minding the gate. Hm, this is going to be complicated. I started down, but obviously took the wrong turn. They weren't there. I rode back to the gate, and guess who was flirting with the girl again.

"Want to see an XR400 jump?" asked Chico.



That was the first try.



I kept egging him on. Come on Chico! After all, it wasn't my bike. :-)






The next pic is a still frame from a video I recorded. Note how the XR400's suspension is completely compressed. You can clearly jump on this bike, but not with factory suspension, and not in a way that will capture the public's attention and fascination...





And after that? Well Chico remembered an outing to a mine he had done a few years ago. One had to pass under some barbed wire near the foothills behind the small town of Lampa.

We rolled slowly down the paved road, looking for a way in. Finally we went off the vesy steep right shoulder, passing a pile of some fifty used diapers (I shit you not), and went through a large circular rain tunnel beneath the road. Once on the other side, we were able to continue on our way unhindered.

We didn't find the mine, but we did find a small jump, and spent quite some tome playing around, seeing who could go furthest.

Chico:

Yours truly.



Rodrigo:





And then the last remaining light faded, hunger got the best of us, and we rode home.