March 7, 2025 Manizales to Alto de Letras and back
Manizales to Alto de Letras and back: 46 miles with 6,817 feet of elevation gain
Our morning started with a good breakfast at 6 am. I just love this hotel! The departure though was rushed. I was just swinging my leg over the saddle when the group took off. As I would later find out, Rafa was not even out of the hotel yet, due to a nature call.
I attempted to follow the group as they darted down one of Manizales's steep double digit grade roads, almost going over the bars as I struggled to clip in and at the same time avoid running into the back of the car stopping front of me. As I waited for the light to turn green I realized that the route did not go down this steep hill and in fact we should have turned right before the downhill section. I watched the group continue down hill and when the light turned green, I made a left turn to ride parallel to the actual route on my bike computer, and eventually climb up and get on the route.
Once I was on the route, I continued riding solo, getting frustrated by all the traffic and its stop and go rhythm. Just as my phone started to ring, I heard my name called out and saw Rafa riding. Interestingly, he was riding on the far left side of the one way road. The phone call was from Jose. They had pulled over and realized I wasn't with them. I explained that I was on the route and would soon be riding with Rafa.
Once traffic cleared, I dashed over to the left side of the road and was surprised to see a well marked bike lane there. Amazingly, the cars and buses respected the narrow lane, and movement forward was much smoother. There were a couple tricky bridges to go over and I was glad to have Rafa leading the way. Soon we were on the main road the would take me to the summit
Climbing Alto de Letras
My goal was to ride up to an elevation of 10,000 feet and then take the SAG wagon to the top. I was riding solo when the SAG pulled up, carrying Orlando and Mike. I was at about 9,500 feet and explained I wanted to get up to 10,000. Pepe said that was fine and followed me as I slowly continued to climb. At around 10,100 feet I found a good spot to pull over, and Pepe loaded up my bike. Just a quarter mile down the road, we stopped to pick up Manolo. That was when Pepe realized he had left my front wheel behind. He quickly peformed a well timed u-turn that did not get us t-boned and raced back to where we loaded my bike. No wheel. We looked up and down and couldn't find it. Luckily this was the last day of our ride and turned out to be the only loss on the trip. Soon Jose came along, clearly exhausted but wanting to go to the top if we were willling to wait. I joined him for a coffee at a rest stop several miles form the summit.
Coffee stop with Jose Jairo
Once at the top, Jose joked "he who laughs last, laughs best". He was last up the hill, still warm from the climbing effort whereas everyone else was shivering cold huddled inside Ronaldo's wife's SUV.
Rafa and me at the summit
I then borrowed Manolo's front wheel (he was done riding) and rode down from the summit, still hoping to find my missing wheel. No luck.
Once back at the hotel, showered and well fed (thanks again to the hotel staff), Jose, Mike, Pepe, and Orlando took off on a walk.We went back by chess board alley which I had spotted the night before. I sure wish we could have something like this in Albuquerque!
One board after another with avid chess players and spectators
As much as I would have loved to play, all boards were full and sightseeing was on the agenda.
Our walk continued over to the 'tower' where we by pure chance met up with Rafa, Raul and Juan Jose.
Orlando and I hiked up the tower's spiral staircase while the others took the elevator. I heard chuckles as I hollered out "I can't believe I paid to go up these stairs!".
The views from the top were spectacular.
Looking out at Manizales
Pepe, Mike, Jose, Manolo, me
Jose taking photos
the Chipre Tower (it still holds water)
Viewfrom up top...look at he walkway outside the window!
Sunset
We also learned about the history of Manizales. At one time they had a 70 km long cable car they used to carry coffee beans from the farms to the village. This mitigated the difficulty of movement by ground posed by the hilly terrain. Another factoid...Manizales got its name from the little river pebbles that looked like peanuts (mani in spanish).
There was an option to stand outside the tower with a safety harness. We all passed on this opportunity. We will stick to cycling!
brave souls walking the plank
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