March 3, La Pintada to Santa Rosa de Cabal

 March 3:  La Pintada to Santa Rosa de Cabal, 75 miles and 6,333 feet of climbing



Our ride started out smoothly on a nice windy road. A stray dog though decided to join the ride and ran with us for two to three miles.We all feared he'd get hit by a truck or car  and did our best to get him to head back home.Finally, with his tongue hanging low but his tail still wagging, he turned aournd.




As we rode, the temperature started to rise. Jose spotted a small 'waterfall' and despite Diego's caution that it might not be clean, Jose and I both diipped our heads in the ice cold running water. It felt great

that's me getting cooled off

Jose, taking his turn

Nature breaks...a very common sight in Colombia

Breakfast stop

That's me up front , trying to stay off the fog line and off of the tunnel wall

Overall, I felt good on this ride. The climbs were a steady grind and I tend to enjoy these. I don't know why. It just feels good to get into a steady rhythm. The heat didn't seem to bother me and I did a good job at staying hydrated.


Our Airbnb in Santa Rosa de Cabal was very welcoming but we had to improvise. Just two bathrooms. In one you needed to fill a bucket to flush the toilet. The owner (Piedad)  was doing her bestt o help and treated us to refreshing drinks and snacks. Her son was thrilled to see all these 'racing' bikes and was showing off his cycling skills with his friend.



We couldn't quite fit the 12 of us in 3 rooms so three of our group ended up putting their mattresses out in the common area.


Making the best of tight spaces

I slept well. Those in the common area not so well. A couple out on the street had a loud argument where apparently the woman was tellling the man to go away and not come back. This went on for quite a while, provoking laughter instead of sleep. 

The forecast for tomorrow was rain so we all hoped it would abate by the time we headed out. We all soaked oatmeal in water in preparation for the next day's pre ride breakfast.

Juan Jose made a short video of our first two days. See below:








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