"Images burnt into my mind," Derek Frankowski

"One of the best parts of being a photographer is being invited to document fun and interesting things. The idea of traveling to document huge descents and culture, in a place that has thousands of years of history, was an exciting one. In 2005 I was fortunate to go to Peru as a photographer for a Bike Magazine feature....CLICK HERE FOR THE FULL STORY.

Two flavours one can expect in Peru.

Big Mountain Adventures is running some amazing trips in Peru this year....
Inca DH, June 3-12. click here.
Unforgettable Andes all-mountain trips, May 6-15 & Sept 30 - Oct 9. click here.

Etched in my mind.

I've had the pleasure of participating on many epic global adventures on mountain bikes and skis with great people over the years. What a blast. One trip that truly sticks out is mountain biking in Peru. Culture. Crazy fun mountain biking. Real adventure. I'm afraid to go back because my first trip was so freaking amazing.

Earlier today near Lima, Peru...

Word just came in from our Peruvian partner and guide extraordinaire Wayo on day one of our Unforgettable Andes trip: "Hola Chris, Nat. First day of riding and the group's minds are blown away already. Was a good day, cought traffic to get out of Lima because the elections but we went on time. Finished our ride on the "playground" making some jumps. Group is doing very well! Tomorrow Olleros..."
Reading this I cannot help but reminice of my last time riding with Wayo in the Andes, a trip that i won't forget. I remember the first day on the bike on this trip - you've arrived in Lima the night before, a little tired, a little scattered in a big South American metropolis. The next day you drive out of the city in crazy traffic for the first ride, not really sure of what you're getting into. Then you get rolling on creamy singletrack in a surreal arid landscape followed by cold beers and laughs with new friends. Little do you know that this is just a slice of what's to come...the riding on this trip ramps up...and by day two you realize that you've never ridden such great trails, ever! Then each one trumps the other until your in a drunken daze of best rides ever...

Unloading the van for the first ride.

"Sun's setting quick, we'd better keep riding..."

Fuel for a big day ahead. The cuisine in Peru was surprisingly tasty.

The one?

Could you answer the question "what was your best ride of all time?" Is it possible to accurately respond? Was it the group that you were with? The fresh bike between your legs? The epic location? Or the conditions perhaps? Tough call eh? It must be a combination of all these things and more, the perfect storm of mountain biking good times. It's like skiing, where numerous times over a season you nail a morning, or a perfect powder line in the trees and catch yourself saying to someone..."that was the best day ever!"
A ride that sticks out for me in recent years and has to be one of the best...if not the one...is a ride i did in Peru with Wayo Stein and a group of animals from BC in April 2009. This one was mostly downhill, 56 kms long, with sections of the juiciest singletrack you could imagine. It was a burly approach, a way to long, way to crazy road in the Andes, but of so very worth it. I will go back and ride this trail again. OMG! Trust me on this one. Anyway, here's a photo of some of the crew that day nearing the shores of the Pacific and the end of the ride. Soon after this photo was taken i took a pretty big header too....I was punched!

Cuzco

Wow. Since the last post a lot has happened. We hopped on a plane out of Lima for a 1-hour flight to the high altitude city of Cuzco, sitting comfortably at 3400 meters. What a place! Parts of it reminded me of Seville with grand squares and earth-coloured churches, narrow cobbled streets and lively bars. Our hotel was right on the main square which was fantastic. Upon arrival in Cuzco we got a little excited and tipped back a host of Pisco Sours, a fiesty Peruvian cocktail that lights a fire under your butt pretty quick...we gots a little tipsy. We headed into the big mountains for several days and visited UNESCO world heritage site Machu Picchu which was a sight to see. A few from our group opted instead for a day of dirt biking and hot springs...decisions, decisions...


Andreas Hestler after a few too many Pisco Sours at 3400 meters...


Our group at the highest point of the trip, 4500 meters. Very, very good times...