90cc bikes vs the Andes & Amazon
Monkey Run Peru
Thundering over the Andes mountains and into the Amazon jungle astride a 90cc monkey bike is adventuring stupidity perfected.
In a world sanitised by the tyranny of smartphone navigation Peru is the chaos-flavoured antidote. Maps are often useless and signal is patchy. It’s just you, your tiny adventure machine, some angry llamas and thousands of miles of proper mayhem.
First up it’s the Andes… Sweeping highways through valleys, remote villages, glaciers, and some of the highest mountain passes in the world. Endless switchbacks take you way above the cloud line, which is handy if you don’t like heights because you can’t see the massive drop off six inches to your left.
There’s bitumen here and there and a lot of off-road tracks, including plenty of stretches that’ll shake bolts loose and tickle your internal organs. Some of them have bonus boulders and giant pot-holes.
Once you drop off the back of the Andes you head towards the Amazon jungle finish. A sweaty dessert to follow your high altitude main, with a side of rainforest-dwelling creatures that all want to kill you. Excellent.
The Andean Nuts & Jungly Bolts
The Monkey Run Peru is 8 days of unsupported adventure on a 90cc monkey bike with 40 other brave fools from all the over world. It runs twice a year in April and September.
The un-route starts in Ayacucho up in the mountains. Your adventure kicks off with pre-adventure beers, followed by test driving, mechanical sessions and a game of monkey bike football to master the art of piloting the miniature adventure machine. A knees up and a feast leads us into the launch ceremony and the glorious moment you wobble off into the hills.
You decide how lost you get, where you ride and where to sleep. When you get stuck, you get yourself un-stuck. Nothing is guaranteed, except a healthy spanking from the gods of adventure.
After you’ve conquered the Andes mountains and a slab of jungle you roll into the finish line for the prize giving and official finish party. The next day we drive you back to Cusco where you can catch a quick flight back to Lima.
