Maya Pedal

Greetings from Maya Pedal in San Andres Itzapa, Guatemala. The ride here yesterday from Antigua was great--it was fun to bike through small towns like Jocotenango, Botas, and Parrojas. Jocotenango has a beautiful church and a mixed-use basketball-soccer court that was being well used. Botas is a town that has upwards of 20 boot factories and storefronts--cowboy boots, that is. And Parrojas is a town up in the hills with a large, flat plaza complete with lots of recreational space, delicious food vendors, church, town hall, gazebo, bus stop, and stores. There, I met 4 of the 8 Peace Corps volunteers in training there; they will find out their placements in three weeks.
I finally made it to San Andres Itzapa and Maya Pedal. Some of the stretches of road between here and Antigua were quite steep, and using my not-so-low 30-34 gear (30 teeth on the smallest chainring in the front and 34 teeth on the largest cog in the back), it was quite a workout. I feel I am getting stronger in my legs and also in my heart and lungs (believe it or not, cycle touring rarely becomes an aerobic workout).
Maya Pedal is located quite high in the town; I recruited a local on a BMX bike to guide me to the location of Maya Pedal. Even though he wasn't going there, and probably wasn't going to venture anywhere near as high, he gladly led me up the hills with his single speed. We wound our way up narrow streets, passing men leading donkeys carrying firewood, past boys playing soccer in the streets, and past many a young couple sitting on the curbside benches making out.
When we arrived at Maya Pedal, finally, I beheld the building--a three story row-house with a couple of murals on the wall and with the name painted next to the mural. I took some photos and then knocked on the door. It was almost dusk. Matias opened the door. He is from Austria. He welcomed me in and said I could find a space on the third floor to sleep, put my belongings up there, and store the bike in a room on the first floor. Soon, I began to meet all of the current visitor-volunteers at Maya Pedal: there was Shelby from Minneapolis, Rylee from Oregon, David from Chicago, Cameron and Ryan from Colorado, Zippy from Chicago, Gavin from I don't remember, Anna from California/Arizona, Katie from not sure, Emily from various places; a healthy bunch, all but Matias from the States. Later on that evening, the director and engineer, Carlos Marroquin showed up. I met him at a BikeBike! conference in Pittsburgh and stayed in touch since. He welcomed me with a big hug, very glad I had finally arrived. I will get to work alongside him on Monday, learning welding and how to make and design bicimaquinas, or bicycle machines.
After Carlos left to be with family, we all shared a meal together, as sort of a Maya Pedal family. A group effort in obtaining the food, cooking it, serving it, cleaning up, etc. We spent lots of time around the table, and got to know each other better and bonded. The conversation turned toward a neighborhood party they had hosted the night before, on the street just outside the shop, complete with a large, hard-to-crack-open pinyata in the shape of an owl. We all went to bed around 11pm, with talk of crepes in the morning.
Many of the group are on bicycle tours or are going to start. Cameron and Ryan biked from Colorado and are headed to Panama; Rylee and Shelby are heading north to Palenque and Minnesota. Anna and Katie are thinking of taking a trip somewhere after they build their bikes; Zippy is working on a bike and wants to do a tour around Guatemala if she can get some company. She and I may ride together to Lago Atitlan.
The weather is beautiful here. High 60s and breezy. Hilly/mountainous terrain. The view from the shop is quite vast as we are on the top of the hill overlooking the town.
My plan is to stay here for about a week, help out and learn, and then move on, biking to Lago Atitlan. Photos of yesterday and this morning currently uploading on Facebook; link here.