Peru - ride day 1 Cusco to Limatambo

Yesterday was spent assembling bikes and preparing for riding (and recovering from the previous days hikes).  At 9:00 am we loaded gearbags andset off thru the streets of Cusco with a motorcycle lead out.  We paused for a group photo at San Blas Church and rode past the cathedral in the main square where are dining had been centered since the trip began. 
We were a festive group and an unusual site to the people of Cusco, where bikes are rare.  People waved,children walked up when we stopped for traffic lights.  We rode through city streets to the outskirts of Cusco and had climbed to 11,400 feet where we picked up the highway that will be our route for the next ten days (Cusco to Pisco).  Its a great road surface.  Drivers in Peru have a habit of honking as a way to warn cyclists.  They honk for everything else as well.  Once we aclimated to that local habit, the drivers were quite courtious.  We rode under cloud co ver most of the day.  After the initial climb out of Cusco, our roiute was fairly flat until we enjoyed a nice downhill for the last 18 miles.
I had an adventure riding into one small town.  I was riding downhill at 30 kph when a goat ran across the road in from of me.  I didn't have time to reactbut the goat made it across safely.  But the goat was followed by sheep, two ewes and two lambs.  I rode between ewe number one and lamb number one, hitting the poor lamb in the head with my foot.  I was not injured,although  if I had hit the ewe, I couldh ave had a much different outcome.  Our following van stopped and looked at the lamb with appeared to be dead.  Then the lamb shook its head, staggered up and ran off. 

All day as we progressed west, the region seemed to get more prosporous and more agricultural.  The is a definate ribbon of housing and commerce aqlong the main road.  Lots of shops and farmhouses.

Here's day one pics:

The riders: Susan, Alessandrs, Glenn, Bob,Lon, Sherry,Mark,Bret, Vicki & Ron.