Cycle News is a weekly magazine that covers all aspects of motorcycling including Supercross, Motocross and MotoGP as well as new motorcycles
Issue link: https://magazine.cyclenews.com/i/128087
STORY AND PHOTOS BY MARK KARIYA U5l certain British comedy TV series Llliyears ago kicked off each show with an announcement that went something like this: "And now, for something completely different." For those used to American humor, the British version was indeed completely different - but it was still hilarious to most viewers. Over the years, we've taken several trail tours in Costa Rica with Jose "Larry" Larraburre, and we've always had a great time. When he invited us recently to accompany him on another tour, we didn't hesitate. This time, however, he wanted us to try the newest tour by MotoAdventures: Peru and, as we discovered, it provides a completely different sort of ride compared to Costa Rica. HOST WITH THE MOST Larrabure is actually from Peru and has contested that country's Acerbis Incas Rally, so he is intimately familiar with the terrain. In fact, when he first contemplated doing trail tours 10 years ago, he wished he could do them in Peru but acknowledges that, at the time, "The political situation was not very good." That has changed, as many things tend to do over the course of a decade. Peru is enjoying one of its most prosperous eras, and though it is waiting for a new president and administration as this is written, Peru is not a political pariah. Indeed, it hosts a growing number of American tourists each year. The bulk of those tourists, of course, head to Macchu Picchu, most famous for its Incan ruins high in the Andes mountain range. As for us, only a few hours after landing in Peru's capital city of Lima (via a redeye on American Airlines), we found ourselves in a fog-enshrouded desert. Larrabure and fellow Peruvian guide Billy Heldt promised to show us a different Peru than most tourists will experience and, over the next three days, they did just that. With just three days of riding on our mini-tour (abbreviated due to publishing-deadline constraints), we simply didn't have time to hit all the high points of the typical, six-day MotoAdventures tour. Still, we put in long days full of riding, and it certainly primed us to go back for the full deal sooner than later. Due to our sleep shortage, Larrabure and Heldt decided to keep things on the less-physical side and introduce us immediately to the extensive network of sand dunes north of Lima. Normally, MotoAdventures saves this for last. TUBIN'IT Despite the facts that Peru has a long coastline as its western border and that Lima is perched on a cliff above the Pacific Ocean, we saw a very dry land. That explains the vast dunes. For odd meteorological reasons that our sleep-deprived minds found incomprehensible, rain is a rarity from the coastline eastward to the Andes. (One of our guides even claimed that there had been no rain to speak of in Lima for three years; fog apparently provides the moisture necessary for much of the native flora and fauna.) Up in the Andes and east from there to the borders Peru shares with Bolivia, Brazil, Colombia and Ecuador, precipitation occurs regularly. In fact, the Amazon begins in the Andes of Peru. But MotoAdventures sticks primarily to Lima as its Peruvian hub, so the terrain ridden is markedly drier than in the Costa Rican tours. As we mentioned before, it's completely different. Once we got over the shock of unloading the brace of new '01 Honda XR650Rs in rather barren desert, we followed La rrabure as he made his way through markedly sandy terrain until reaching the beginning of the dune area. Even for those who've ridden at Glamis in Southern California, these dunes were impressive. The morning chill, com(Left) If It's tough trails you want, Peru's desert offers a few guaranteed to elevate your heart rate. Here, MotoAdventure guide Larry Larrabure gets out of one nasty wash (with a little help). (Below) Not all is stark desert in Peru. The higher you climb Into the Andes, the greener It gets. (Above) This trail Is extremely tight and technical, and leads up into the Andes. Unfor1unately, we didn't have time to travel its length. Here, Mike Healey and Larry Larrabure pause to admire the view. bined with the fog that masked the tops of the sand mountains confirmed the wisdom of wearing jackets, at least at this stage of the tour. But riding big dunes in dense, wet fog didn't compute: Isn't such terrain supposed to be in the desert, where it's dry? Sure, Pismo, on the Central California coast, gets somewhat foggy, but its dunes are nowhere near the scale of this area. As it turns out, these dunes are relatively close to the ocean, and by midday, the fog had burned off. We'd reached the area that the locals call El Tubo - "The Tube" . a huge valley with towering, steep dunes on either side. Climbing the eastern wall required getting an enormous run, and factory motocross star-cum-offroad racer Mike Healey obliged, tapping the big XR in fifth and nearly floating the valves as he bottomed the suspension at the base of the hill. After a couple hours of play there for the cameras, lunch beckoned, but it was even closer to the coast, so off