Slowing down with the Cyclopaseo

Sunday is a day of rest, right? So I decided to relax today. Got up and had a nice breakfast, and decided to take a wander through the "new town". I haven't spent much time there since I have been in Quito and decided that it would be good today. What a great choice I made! I started by walking up from my hostel north. As I have mentioned before Quito is in a valley, between several mountains and volcanoes. Since I have been here, there hasnt been a sunny day and today was no exception. It was cloudy, making those beautiful mountains hard to see, and the views a bit hard to take in. That said there has been little actual rain until today! There wasn't a heavy rain but a general spitting for awhile throughout the day. I imagine into be what the people of Seattle or Ireland face. Just annoying and enough to leave you a bit damp. The Quitenos seemed to just ignore it and keep moving on the with their day. Me? I was standing under trees! The city parks were full of people. Families enjoying the day, kids playing soccer, hawkers selling food, ice cream, juice, crafts, pretty much anything. So nice to see the it at slower pace and with a gentler outlook. It kind of reminded me on the famous painting by George Seurat. The best thing about Sundays in Quito, however, though is the Cyclopaseo. They basically close down some of the main north south arteries of the city (about 40 km) and people ride bikes on Sunday mornings. There were people biking, running, skateboarding, rollerblading. People with families wih kids with training wheels riding down these main roads. I had to be a part of it. I rented a bike (this certainly wasnt my Felt from home) and joined right in. The bike was a mountain bike as most are, the roads can be rough, and was much too small for me, but it was great to get out and see the city in a new way. I got to see sections I never would have journeyed to on my own. I rode for about two hours and enjoyed every minute of it. Who says you can't get a workout in while traveling? The organization who sponsros this gives out water at various points along the route, and there are various stands dotting the route addressing different social concerns. They also sponsor different events in the parks along theway. In looking back over the day, I am glad that the bike couldnt change gears, and was poorly fit to me. It made me really slow down and enjoy what I was seeing. I noticed yesterday as well that there were people out early in the morning running along the dedicated bus routes in the city. These are lanes that cars can't drive in, only specialized buses. But there were groups of people, who were running in them before things got busy. It seems the Quitenos have figured out a way to fit in there own training;it must be hard in a busy, crowded city! Quito is a big city with a lot of cars and feels very smoggy at times. But today, it felt almost fresh, perhaps it was the lower amount traffic on a Sunday, perhaps it was the rain keeping down the pollution, whatever it was, the city felt fresh, spring-like, and really helped me to relax. Later in the afternoon, it didn't become sunny, but most of the low clouds moved out and for the first time I could really see the beauty in the mountains that surround the city. Sunday in Quito, just the right kind of lazy.