After two days battling my second stomach bug of the trip in Ocotal I tried biking 140 km through the mtns to the capital of Honduras, Tegucigalpa. The ride lasted 70km until I was dizzy and dead tired beside the road and having to catch the first bus of the trip the last 70 km to the capital. Training tip; not eating for two days and still half sick is not a good time to try a 7 hr, 3000 m vertical ride. I have been in this chaos of 1.2 million for 3 days now still trying to recover. Went for a 3 hr ride downtown and up to a lookout over the city yesterday and have decided that riding in large central america cities is the perfect training for any type of biker. For one it teaches you to be 100% focused throughout the whole ride as if you phase out for a second you will be taken out by a vehicle and become a hood ornament. Two, it is great for bike handling skills as your constantly weaving between vehicles, jumping curves and dodging pedestrians. Three, it is great practice for race starts as every light is a new 20 second interval as you sprint to keep your place in the traffic. Four, its probably the quickest most efficient way of getting to see the sights of a city while at the sametime getting a decent workout. I now have a new respect for bicycle couriers.
Currently the UNCAF Futbol Cup is taking place as the 7 Central American Nations battle it out for a spot in next years World Cup. Last night myself and an American companion went to the Panama, Guatemala match and were probably the only two gringos in the building. Some drunks started a gringo chant for a minute before the Policia shut them down. Panama won 1-0 which was too bad as they were a bunch of divers. 3 players got carried off on stretchers, each one was back in the game within 5 minutes. The fans here are great hecklers though and let them have it. I learned some new spanish words to heckle the Calgary Flames next time they head to Edmonton. Off for more rice and beans. Chow