On day 3 of our Ecuador Mountain Biking trip we descended the Chota Trails from Ibarra at 2550m to 1600m It starts at high Andean cordillera at Ibarra with its typical Imbaburra forest then drops down through desert that constantly changes. The lucky part is that just three days ago it had rained so the dirt and sand was about as tacky as it gets. The cacti were flowering and even usually sandy loose corners were in fine shape. We dropped down to the highway just N of Salinas where we had our lunch and a swim. Very bourgeoise - excellent ride. In less than a couple of hours we were back in Quito. That seems to be one of the lesser known draws of Ecuador. Everything is so close; so much diversity packed into a compact area.