Colombia 2025

 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...

Day 1: El Retiro to La Pintada 63 miles with 6,138  feet of climbing  We packed up and left El Retiro at 7 am. We all were in matching bright yello jerseys which helped keep us safe.  Diego, convincing me he can fit the luggage of 12 riders and still have room for 4 passengers He does it! We just had to deal with people calling us 'pollitos' (little chickens). In addition to the climbs, we also descended 12,800 feet.  The climbs reallly took it out of me, trying ot keep up with the pack. I managed, but barely. The descents were the hardest part as I was on a bike with rim brakes and my hands and forearms were burning from the strain.I could swear smoke was coming off my brake pads and I feared a blow out. Some of the descents exceeded 25% and it felt like the slightest bump would launch me over the bars. I also found myself behind huge trucks. When they flashed their blinkers indicating I could pass, I'd take a deep breath, pedal hard and give it my best. Nothing lik...

 Today's ride was an out and back through La Ceja (the eyebrow) and up the La Union Climb. As much as I was wanting a rest day before the official tour, this was not to be. 34 miles with an elevation gain of 3,100 feet.   The climbing is much more than I’m used to, this early in the season.   I’m   getting worried and I’m exhausted. Tommorow has almost twice the distance and elevation gain. We roll at 6:30 am.  The ride though exposed me to a few interesting things. When descending and stuck behind a large truck, pay attention to its blinkers. When it's safe to pass, the truckers  either flash their emergency lights or turn on the left blinker. Of course, when you see the blinker, you're no t 100% sure that the truck isn't turning left, so you proceed with caution. The other observation was that everytime you see a fellow cyclist, they acknowledge you with a chirping whistle sound. Too bad I can't whistle..something else to work on! On a positive note, the ...

 Despited the lack of sleep, the incessant church bell ringing had Mike and me wide awake at 6 am. A hot shower would have been nice, but there was only a cold water option so the morning got off to a chilly start. Mike made a pot of coffee which hit the spot. We had some time before meeting with Manolo so we decide to check out the neighborhood. The town square  and it's imposing church were just a block away. The proximity was no surprise thanks to the sounds of ringing bells still ricocheting in my ears. We ran into Pepino and sat outside a nice little cafe. More coffee and some pastries and we were feeling pretty good. Unfortuantely the cafe didn't take plastic, and not yet having any Colombian pesos, Pepino took up the tab. Another mental note to square things out in the future. Stepping out of our rooms and looking down towards the square View up the street from ourAirBnB Walking towards the main square in El Retiro Lots of activity already Looking down the street, quit...