Moving to Peru

Second hand information:

• the altitude is very HIGH, so you will probably want a Triple crankset if your bike doesn't already have one
  
• most of the roads (outside the city) are probably mediocre, so you will probably want to use fatter tires than you may currently be riding on
  

Good luck + embrace the adventure!

The urban area of Lima covers about 800 km2 (310 sq mi). It is located on mostly flat terrain in the Peruvian coastal plain, within the valleys of the Chillón, Rímac and Lurín rivers. The city slopes gently from the shores of the Pacific Ocean into valleys and mountain slopes located as high as 500 metres (1,600 ft) above mean sea level. Within the city there are isolated hills which are not connected to the surrounding hill chains, such as El Agustino, San Cosme, El Pino, La Milla, Muleria and Pro hills. The San Cristobal hill in the Rimac district, which lies directly north of the downtown area, is the local extreme of an Andean hill outgrowth.

This from Wikipedia. Having been Lima for several weeks in the late 70s I can well remember the intense smog and very heavy street traffic. It doesn' t take long however to get out into Andean foothill areas which should offer some climbing challanges. And you can take seaside costal rodes in the
Atacamas desert. The swichback train ride from Lima to the Andean town of Huancayo is not to be missed. (bring oxygen! you get up to almost 16000 feet ). Other than it's Cathedrals Lima is not a beautiful place, but Peru is a fantasic country of rich beauty, contrast, adventure, and culture. I envy you.

Just to add to the posts above. Lima is actually not high at all - it's on the coast and so is basically at sea-level! However, the traffic is not very cyclist-friendly... In fact there was a big protest in Lima last weekend about the lack of cycle lanes and other problems - have a look at the video on this blog post to get an idea.

Hi Sarah!

Sorry to contradict alfeng, but Lima is definitely not at high altitude. It's right on the coast so is basically at sea-level. You're up into the hills fairly quickly once you get away from the coast, but you don't start hitting anything like serious altitudes until you're quite a way inland. Lima's lovely and the smog is largely a thing of the past, but cycling here still isn't necessarily great fun - in fact there was a big protest about cycling in Lima just this weekend: lack of cycle lanes, poor attitude from drivers, and all the other things you'd expect about cycling in a developing country.

On the plus side, the mountain roads outside the capital offer some great cycling, and if you want to stop for a break, the food is fantastic!

Limeño