Cycling Colombia – a 1200km cycling adventure (part 1)

I had now been living and working in Bogota, Colombia for 4 months (since finishing my world cycle ride) and it was time to crack on with seeing the country by bicycle as I set off on a 2 week and 1200km cycling odyssey through the mountains of Colombia. (If you have ever wondered why Colombian cyclists often win the King of the mountain jersey in 3 week cycle tours then take a look at the size of the mountains that I cycled through on this small tour).

The first day of my cycling adventure started at work but as this was the last school  day before christmas I managed to set off after lunch and was soon on my way out of the city as I headed 80km to to La Mesa. 

Bogota sits on a plateau at a lofty 2600m but by nightime my plan was to descend off the mountain through the clouds and into the tropics below.. There are only 2 main roads which descend to the west of Bogota. Both are busy and as I was back on my touring bike I decided to find a quieter route down to the tropics below.

Heading towards the edge of the high plateau which Bogota sits on I found a dirt road which ran parallel to the busy main road. Thankfully the rainy season here in Colombia had come to an end otherwise this road would have been a very muddy affair 

The view from the edge of the plateau into the tropics below was pretty spectacular and as you can see this part of Colombia is a very hilly place. It will definitely test my legs over the next couple of weeks

This road was perfect – just me and the forest. No traffic and I only passed the odd farmer coming out of the forest on their way home.

I started the ride at 2600m and at about 2000m it was time to descend through the clouds

It looks like I took this photo from a plane !!!

A farmers house next to the track as I carried on my descent.  

The track was fantastic and it still amazes me that 50km behind me was a city of 9 million people. Outside of the major cities most people in Colombia are farmers and donkeys are still used as the farmers workhorse. I think this one ‘escaped’ as she still had the rope attached but was wandering down the track.

By early evening I rolled into La Mesa where I had planned to stay the night.  This was the first town that I had passed since taking the dirt track and it was perfect – small and quaint.   

Normally when cycling I camp but as this ride was more of a holiday I had left my camping gear at home and would stay in hotels/love hotels each night.  Love hotels in Colombia are clean, very cheap and located on the outskirts of most towns.  Although Colombians are still fairly religious they are even more traditional and people still tend to live at home until they are married – hence the demand for cheap ‘love hotels’.

Once I had found a bed for the night what else was there to do – a beer and the footy !!! December is finals time for the national league and the top 8 teams play a knock out competition. Fairly bizarrely the top 2 teams in Bogota play in the same stadium – Millonarios and Santa Fe.  However, when they play each other all games are over 2 legs with each leg played solely to 1 set of fans.  I went to the first leg of the semi-final at El Campin Stadium in Bogota the week before but tonight in the second leg Santa Fe, the team I was cheering, lost 1-0 and were knocked out)

A great end to the first day, or afternoon, of my Colombian cycling adventure – Bogota to La Mesa. An 80km off road adventure from the Colombian capital, through the clouds and into the tropics below.  

Cycling Colombia Day 2 – La Mesa to Ibague 120km – Trip total 200km
Day 2 of my cycle was perfect symmetry. It started with a 1000m descent into the tropics before a 1000m climb up the next mountain.  

First, it was time to get a coffee to kick start the day.  Most of the ‘good’ coffee that Colombia produces is exported to ‘richer’ countries who are prepared to pay 3 USD for a coffee.  This means that outside of cities in Colombia the locals drink Tinto, a black flat bitter coffee that will make the hairs on the back of your neck stand up. It doesn’t seem to stop the locals enjoying it and at 15p it’s far cheaper than Starbucks.

It was then time to get on with the day and after a few months at work it was great to be back on the bike. 

Within Colombia the ‘street art’ is amazing and much of it has a political aspect and so I suppose is really Propoganda Art.  Below is a beautiful example that was painted on a wall next to the road of a the girl knitting a Colombian flag.

Back on the bike I had now finished the easy part of my day as I had reached the valley bottom as I crossed the mighty Magdalena River – Colombia’s longest at over 1500km.

The river was majestic and although I could have sat there all day it was time to start climbing towards one of the most famous climbs in Colombia – La linea – which is a 3300m pass that separates this part of Colombia from the coast.   The climb would take me a couple of days to complete and as it was not a straight climb but a series of jumps with each one getting progressively higher my total elevation gain would be somewhere in the region of 5000m !!!

Now that I was back in the Tropics I was back to my favourite drink while on the bike – fresh coconuts and I loved the fact that he kept them in the fridge to keep them cold.

After a refreshing break it was time to get on with the climb and I was joined by Jan who was 13 years old and cycled over a mountain to school each day.  If only the students at my school should show much dedication to their studies.

I told myself that the reason that I couldn’t keep up with a 13 year old was because my bike was fully loaded but I think the real reason was that Jan was Colombian and I swear they have mountain climbing DNA.

Across many of the valleys they are building viaducts to speed up journey times.  This is important as there is no railway system in Colombia and all goods are moved by truck which is a slow process given the mountainous  terrain. However, the only problem is cyclists will be banned as there is often a tunnel through the mountain at one end.  

At least it will make the roads that I was cycling on a little quieter.

After I reached the top of this climb it was time for lunch so I pulled over at the next place I passed

In Colombia restaurants often sell almuerzo and Cena, which translates as lunch and dinner, and are set meals – a soup, main course and dessert. At 7000 COP (1.50 GBP) they are a brilliant option and very tasty.

After lunch it was time to get back out into the heat of the day and continue my roller coaster ride up and over valleys as I steadily climbed higher.  My original plan had been to reach the city of Ibague by nightfall but as the sun began to set I was still a fair way off and so decided to stop at the next place I passed.

By darkness I had found a love hotel where I could stay for the night.  The only problem was that the hotel had no restaurant and was in the middle of nowhere. Jon offered to give me a lift to the nearest town which was 10km away to get the chicken and a couple of beers. (Not sure who the kid was as the hotel I was staying at was a love hotel).

The warmth and generosity of the Colombian people is amazing and dinner that night was a whole chicken with potatoes – and as a thank you to my new friends I bought them one too.  

Here is the profile of my ride that day – nearly perfect symmetry !!! It started with a 1000m descent into the tropics before a 1000m climb up the next mountain.

Here is a video of my day:

Day 3 Near Ibague to Cajamarca – 80km Trip total 280km

Today saw me climbing all day, and the mountains sure are big around here !!!
The plan had been to take an off road dirt track from just outside Ibague to the village of Toche but as it was still officially rainy season landslides had blocked the route. Instead I would battle the trucks heading up La Linea mountian pass (3300m) to the town of Cajamarca where I could pick up another off road track the following day.

Still, the view was pretty special as I once again began climbing as I headed back into the clouds

All building materials in this area come out of the river. They block the flow with rocks and then scoop up the sediment which settles and load it onto pack horses.

The mountain in the distance was my destination for the night and there was just a small matter of about 2000m of climbing until I got there.

Like the rest of South America vegetarians get slim pickings but for the rest of us it was a meat feast. The meat is slowly grilled over wood until it is so tender that it falls off the bones. Very cheap too – a plate full was only a couple of quid.

All along the road were ‘typical’ roadside communities which catered for the thousands of trucks which climbed this mountain everyday  – one place selling snacks and drinks, one fixing tyres and another one a mechanic to fix the trucks which seemed to break down pretty regularly on the steep climb  . A hard way to make a living.

As you can see there was no flat land around here

Siesta time while waiting for the next truck or car that needs fixing as they burn the engines out struggling up the 3300m climb over La Linea

and a pack horse for hire just in case they cannot fix it for you !!!

By late afternoon I had reached the town of Cajamarca which sits on the edge of a precipice on the only flat piece of land in the valley.  Thankfully, bicycles are allowed over the bridge into the town which spans the gorge below

Trucks for hire in the local market

and while waiting for somebody to hire them the drivers pass the time playing billiards. (Every town in Colombia has many pool halls).

Nothing goes to waste – a recycling truck Colombian styly

As I had not made it to Ibague the day before this had put me a couple of hours behind and although there was a track that would connect me back up with the road that was blocked with landslides further down the valley it was now getting too late to push on so I decided to take a hotel for the night and enjoy the Christmas spirit in the main square

Cajamarca Church looking very festive, with a statue of a miner in front (looks more like somebody with a selfie stick!!!) 

Another great night in a typical Colombian town.

Cycling Colombia – Day 4 Cajamarca to Salento – 70km Trip total 350km
Let me start by saying this day was one of the hardest days cycling I’ve ever had on a bike – 70km of off road adventuring.  The track took me over 3 mountains with the highest pass, Alto La Linea, at 3300m. 
Without doubt this was some of the most stunning scenery that I have cycled through and another amazing day to be alive.

The climb out of the town of Cajamarca showed just how much it clings to the very edges of the only flat piece of land in the valley 

 

The road ahead lay somewhere through these stunning mountains which had been carved down the centre by the Totare River

The national tree of Colombia – the enormously gigantic world’s tallest palm tree. These palm trees can grow up to a height of 60 meters and only grow in this area.

In this area most of the mountain slopes between 1200 and 1800m have been converted to coffee plantations. It is the volcanic history of the region which means the soil is perfect for coffee cultivation.

Bearded trees

Another cloud layer to climb my way through.

Taking a break to enjoy the view.

The View

By lunchtime I had reached the village of Toche which was the only village that I would pass through all day.  If there had been no landslides the day before this was my planned destination for the night but as with all cycling rides it is best not to plan to far ahead.

The village of Toche 

Carb loading in Toche – rice and eggs at the only ‘restaurant’ in the village

All of the building material comes from the nearby river – here they are bringing up the silt/stone which is used to build with.

It may not look that steep but the farmer up the track walked past me as I struggled to cycle up this slope.

In the distance I could now see La Linea ridge line – 3300m of pure hell to cycle over !!!!

Once again I started the day below the clouds and had cycled above them. 

Once over the ridge line it was time for a 20km descent and as I finally descended off the mountain and cycled into Salento in the dark it was a bit of a shock to the senses after spending the last few days alone in the mountains.

Here is the video from one of the hardest days I have ever had on a bike. The off road track took me over the top of 3 mountains with the highest, Alto La Linea, at 3300m

Day 5 Salento, Colombia – Rest Day

In mid 1900’s Salento was the site of a penal colony where prisoners worked on maintaining the route over La Linea mountain pass, which I had cycled over the previous day.  Today, much of its original Bahareque architecture, typical of the eje cafetero region, has been restored making it a fantastic place to spend the day drinking good coffee, eating great food and generally just hanging out.

After the efforts of the day before getting to Salento a bit of pampering was needed so I treated myself to a couple of nights at the wonderful Hotel Terrazas de Salento

All good hotels need a comfy place to hangout !!!

As I only had 1 rest day I didn’t want to spend it lazing in bed and so I was up early to catch the sunrise over the mountains

Much of the original Bahareque architecture has been retained within the village. Today, many of the houses have been turned into souvenir shops for the tourists who come to this area to visit the nearby Cocora Valley and hike amongst the 60 m tall palms which are Colombia’s national symbol. (see pics in my Day 4 post above)

Lunchtime and there is only one thing to eat…..

The restaurants in town specialise in freshwater trout (farmed locally further up the Cocora valley) cooked in a variety of sauces and served on a large patacon, a fritter of green plantain. (fried bananas)

Willys jeeps are the’ workhorse’s of the region. The one on the left is a real jeep and the one on the right a childrens ride where kids steer and the two people at the back push it around the streets.. 
After the end of World War 2 the US had a surplus of Willys that found a new home in Colombia, where today production of the vehicle continues.
Each year they even hold a Yipao festival where fully loaded Willys are paraded through the streets

In Bogota there are 2 main football teams – Santa Fe and Millonarios. I had been to watch Santa Fe win the quarter finals but had been knocked out in the semifinals of the Colombian football league playoffs. Tonight was the final and the team that beat Santa Fe, Millonarios, took their 15th title by winning 3-2.

After the match it was time to enjoy more christmas spirit – yeah !!!!!

As it was Sunday the late night streets were a little less crowded than when I had arrived the night before

Cycling Colombia – Day 6 Salento to Tapado- 50km Trip total 400km
After a well earned rest day eating nice food and drinking great coffee it was now time to leave Salento and the coffee region.  Today, saw me follow a river valley into the department of Cali and once again I tried to stick to dirt tracks as much as possible.

Thankfully the mountains were a little smaller today !!!

This area is famous for growing coffee and dotted along the tracks were coffee plantation houses with Willy jeeps parked outside (the workhorses of the coffee region)

A coffee plant – the berries are where the coffee comes from

I passed through many villages on my way out of the coffee region. The style of the traditional buildings is Bahareque architecture. This was the village of Circasia which is well off the tourist trail. If you are in the area I would add this village as a stop for lunch.

Once lunch was over it was time to get motoring as I still had  a lot of ground to cover.   It was another beautiful afternoon to be on the bike where I saw nobody except the odd farmer

And passed only the odd coffee farmer’s house set in the middle of his plantation 

As it was pretty hot now that I had descended off La Linea and down into the tropics I took advantage of a local pub that I passed 

I think that the beer may have gone to my head though as no sooner had I set off again than I descended into a gorge

The only problem was that although there was a road in there was no road out. I ended up dragging my bike 2km up a stream that I found in the forest on the otherside !!!

This was the stream that I followed as I hauled my bike up out of the gorge.

Once at the top of the gorge I needed to find a decent trail that headed south.  My map showed there was one about a kilometer away and so I followed a walking track that was heading that direction.  On some parts of the track I took the bridges over rivers were bamboo poles.

Often too narrow for me to cross with a loaded touring bike. The only option was to ferry the bike and panniers across separately. 

The walking track took me out into a banana plantation and once I found this I knew that a dirt track would not be far away

As the afternoon wore on the temperature and humidity were starting to take their toll so when I passed a sign for a hotel with a swimming pool I decided to treat myself and checked in.

The swimming pool even had a jacuzzi in it.  A great way to spend the afternoon. 

That evening to save a bit of money I decided not to have dinner at the hotel but ventured up the road and joined the locals at a roadside barbecue.

Another beautiful offroad cycling spectacular of a day and here is a video of my adventures

Cycling Colombia – Day 7 Tapado to Buga – 110km Trip total 510km

Today saw me continue my off road descent out of the mountains as I cycle towards the city of Cali which is located in the Valle del Cauca.   From where I had slept it would take me a day and a half of cycling to cover the 200km to Cali and so I decided to have a very lazy start to the day and I spent the  morning in the swimming pool at the hotel.

Once I got going I continued my decent down into the Valle del Cauca where the rolling hills were a little smaller than the 3300m pass that I had crossed a couple of days before

I was now cycling parallel to the disused Antioquia Railway.

This railway had a brilliant story because when the railway first opened the idea of a railroad was not readily accepted by the public. Replacing the mules and mule drivers for an unfamiliar steel machine was difficult for many people, because the new technology would undoubtedly involve unknown risks. The skepticism was not unwarranted. For example, the Number One Locomotive serving Medellín was actually Number Two because the first one disappeared off the map after having fallen down an abyss. To avoid panic, the company painted the number “1” on the Number Two Locomotive, and this story was not communicated to the public until a hundred years later.  I don’t think that they would be able to keep that one quiet for very long if it happened today.

This part of the country was farming country and as all the natural trees seemed to have been chopped down I stopped in a banana plantation and used the shade of the leaves for shade while I made a bite to eat

Once lunch was over I still had over 60km to cover to hit the 100km mark for the day so it was time to push on otherwise I would finish the day cycling in the dark.  To make distance I jumped onto the highway which thankfully was perfectly smooth and I was soon flying along.

As I pushed further into the Valle de Cauca the banana plantations gave way to sugarcane crops which stretched for as far as I could see.  That afternoon I was joined on the road by Alexandre who works in the sugar cane fields which seems to be the main crop that is grown around here. Each day he cycles 23km to work and 23km back.

I was joined on the road by Alexandre who works in the sugar cane fields which seems to be the main crop that is grown around here. Each day he cycles 23km to work and 23km back.

When planning this ride I had originally wanted to get to Cali by the end of the day but that was not going to happen for 2 main reasons – firstly, I had ridden most of the route on offroad track and secondly I was on holiday and enjoying every second of the trip. So instead at the 110km mark I rode into the town of Buga and decided to call it a day.

Buga is famous for The Basilica del Señor de los Milagros which receives a staggering 3 million pilgrims per year. (yes – 3 million !!!!) 

The huge scale of the Basilica was stunning.

A beautiful serene space and another amazing ‘hidden’ surprise that seemed to be typical of my cycle through the very understated country that is Colombia. 

After visiting the Basilica it was time to head off and find somewhere to sleep for the night and everybody I asked pointed me in the same direction and it wasn’t long before I found the hotel area where the 3 million visitors stayed.

Here is a video of my day

Cycling Colombia Day 8 Buga to Cali – 80km Trip total 590km

The next morning it was time to complete this section of my ride through Colombia as I continued to Cali.  The day consisted of a completely flat cycle through the millions of acres of sugar cane plantations that seemed to cover the entire Valle de Cauca. For once there were no hills or mountains to climb. Just acres upon acres of sugar cane to cycle past.

The weird machine below is what they used to harvest the rows of sugar cane

My view that day was not exactly spectacular

and nor was my lunch options which consisted of fried empanadas

Still, the sky was blue, the temperature hot and the road for once was flat as a pancake.  Without much to see along the way I soon knocked off the 90 kilometers and rolled into the city of Cali

Once in Cali I stayed with 2 colleagues from the school that we all work at in Bogota.  I had arrived just in time for a quick shower prior to heading out for a Mexican feast to line the stomach before we hit the bars and clubs.

and that night we went dancing until 5am.

Here is a video from the day

A fantastic way to finish my first week on the bike.  I had covered nearly 700km, crossed La Linea (at a height of 3300m) visited the coffee region and was now in the very heart of Colombia.  Cycling really does allow you to see so much of the world at a pace where it can truly be appreciated. 

Tomorrow I would continue my journey into the more remote and less visited areas of Colombia which a couple of years ago were in the hands of the FARC guerrillas.  Although a peace agreement had been signed there was still an uneasy standoff  between the guerrillas and the government.  Hopefully, nobody would mind a cyclist passing through the area.

Colombia still has a poor image overseas and I hope that this post will inspire you to get on a plane and give Colombia a go.  The people are amazing, the hospitality is second to none and the landscapes incredible.  As always, if you have any questions please get in touch by emailing me – cyclingstew@gmail.com – or getting in touch through the options at the bottom of this page.