cycle touring

The Daunting Task Ahead

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We are getting ready to depart Suesca and set off South. I’m nervous.

Its great fun picking challenges and seeing them fall. But sat here I’m feeling so small. We are about one tenth of the way into the ride miles wise. But The climbs ahead are huge. The mountains even bigger. To a terrifying point. As a bike ride alone, its big. With the huge weight being hauled, its colossal. While in the hostel this morning I was talking to a french man who was backpacking and hiking about the country. He said he and his friends left the climbing gear at home but hire it where they can because its awkward hauling it around.  An easier way to do it, and a fun way.

A couple of years ago I was hiking the CDT southbound in the States. After tearing away at the trail for a month, I sat down at the top of a mountain alone, off in the distance all I could see were more mountains and ridgelines after all the peaks and ranges I had already covered. I tore away at that trail with every ounce I had, from dawn till dusk a burning fire inside. I covered about 1000 miles and had barely chipped at it. I sat there feeling so small. It was wonderful. I had so little but it was brilliant. I accepted that it couldn’t be bullied into submission, It made me so content. I woke each day with bloodied toes blisters, painful plantar fascia(the bottom of the foot being strained too much), a slow hobble start to each day. Wet half frozen shoes and river crossings to make the blisters burn. Meadows up to my chest covered in dew soaking me through. Its sounds awful, but it was beautiful. Once it was accepted it became easy.

The point I’m trying to poorly make is, I don’t think anybody could call hauling a trailer up a few thousand feet enjoyable, but there is joy to be had in some far off places when the suffering is accepted . Karli was just looking at the ascent we have to do to the Ecuador border- according to Gaia GPS 73,000ft of ascent. I can hope its wrong. We have to cycle up Everest twice and it still will rise 15,000 more feet. Just to get across Colombia. Ouch.

“I learned this, at least, by my experiment: that if one advances confidently in the direction of his dreams, and endeavors to live the life which he has imagined, he will meet with a success unexpected in common hours”. – Henry David Thoreau

Doing the average things can be nice and comfortable. But trying for something more, facing insurmountable odds, even if it were to fail will bring more joy and emotion than you could ever know before setting off. Old Henry is right. Viva la expedición.

 

 

 

25,000ft and Rising

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We have crossed the first thousand mile mark and with 25,000 vertical feet of cycling uphill, and have arrived in Villa De Leyva (7000ft). I’m sat here drinking wine out of a box contemplating the next 25,000. There was a rather large pass from sea level to 8600ft that added a fair chunk to the climb, this followed a rolling ridge line with great views. So the total climb was around 11,000 feet of gain, followed by another drop to 5000ft then three thousand feet of climbing which landed us here at a nice cool 7k. Confusing but imagine two steps up, one down for every foot of elevation gain. It is the start of the Andes I guess and only gets bigger from here. We are a day or so cycle from Suesca, a nice little climbing village we visited a year ago and decided to come back by. The scenery up here is like the Lake District, my home mountains, but with slightly bigger hills.

Arriving in the town was a little of a downer, both in elevation and morale. Getting in late and tired a pack of dogs managed to rip a pannier off Karli’s bike as she was riding, it now has teeth holes pierced in the sides. The dogs aren’t all bad. Yesterday we adopted a stray dog that wanted petting and it followed us around the streets and shops as we became regular tourists for a few hours. Its quite shocking that between the two of us we can survive on about 30,000pesos a day (10dollar, or 7GBP) in most places in Colombia but soon as we join the regular tourist trail, that will buy breakfast at best. Maybe we have become complacent but it was quite funny watching ‘Gringos’ walking around with backpacks on their fronts wearing Panama hats and travel trousers. Backpacks are worn on the front to prevent pick pocketing/pack slashing in risky places.  Its a wonder its done here where the locals are friendly and whole town warm and inviting, compared to back home in big cities that I would be worried about.  We did find a local that wanted to show us around so dropped the panniers and trailer for the day, drank a beer then went for a ride to some small lagunas for sunset, followed by beer in the square til we were tired. (P.S we rode back in the dark with Karli at the front with one bike light, the local in the middle, no lights; and me at the back with a reversed headlight on red.)

Normally bike packing I would have a tarp sheet to sleep under, a pad to sleep on and a two season sleeping bag weighing in at 600g. Combine it with a titanium cup, a spork, a spirit-stove, a synthetic insulated jacket and spare pair of thick socks my gear would tip the scale at around 3-4kg (8lbs), plus a backpack and food. I hauled this nice light weight the length of the rockies climbing along the way and it was a blast, nice and light. This trip is a little different. The potential extremes alone covering temperatures from over 38c down to -30c (100f- -20f) requiring heavier duty sleeping bags. High winds requiring a stronger heavier tent. Cold weather mountaineering clothing combined with technical, double boots for extended duration in cold. Hauling a mix of Sport climbing and mountaineering equipment. This trip is going to push the limit of our gear. Its going to push the bikes, instead of aluminium or carbon, strong but malleable steel that can take the punishment of the extra weight. This all adds up to a spectacularly hideous weight I will not say. But anybody out there with climbing experience can guess what the weight is like.  Right now this is a cold weather, high altitude expedition in a warm place. But the mountains grow around us like a waiting menace, the cold is coming. We opted for a two wheel trailer to take the brunt, it removes a lot of the strain of balancing a loaded bicycle. I suspect It will suffer a slow agonizing death over this trip, gravel road after pothole after speed bump (really popular in this part of the world).  I don’t suspect much we have will survive the whole thing. So far its doing well for how roughly we have treated it.

I think the worst thing for wear will be us. Every day on the bikes our bodies get stronger, fat burns, the heart rate lowers, the reach becomes greater.  But each time I look in the mirror I see an aging man staring back. Unrecognizable. Sunburned, weathered, beaten and wrinkled. I feel bad for a second, but then I look at my girlfriend and think, at least I’m not looking as bad as her.  Life goes on.

Colombia’s Northern Heat

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Well, a week on and we have cycled hundreds more miles. We have sweat, a lot. From the moment we get on the bikes in the morning our clothing soaks through. The pungent smell we have made warns locals of our presence downwind long before they can see us. Despite the constant washing of clothing and ourselves at night in the showers of hotels we are being forced to take it to the next level and buy washing powder. My heart is torn by the 30cent I just spent on it. I wish i could tell you its all beaches and beer and smiling faces but reality is reality. Sweat mixed with grease mixed with rain and dirt.

early morning the clouds gave us a little longer in the shade
just before sunrise cycling out of town, karli just visible
localized flooding during a downpour
rain
a quick beer break as it downpoured (still hot)
trying to keep ahead of a lightning storm continually rumbling

We have cycled some of the areas they advise not to go, and although there is a very large military presence with regular checkpoints every few miles, we have been told by locals and the soldiers it’s because we are so close to Venezuela’s border, and it’s safe here. At one point we sat on a concrete block under the shade of a tree and a few seconds later a couple of soldiers came out the brush to say Hi and see what we were doing. After they walked back in we realized watching us in the trees, camo’d up was an entire squad. They were all rather curious. Certainly every local we have spotted has waved, tooted a horn or said ‘good day’. Sometimes it’s a bit much, one horn of encouragement can be nice. But every single motorcycle, car and truck honking and waving becomes a little repetitive, like a builder jack hammering concrete on the only day you get off. With a hint of ground hog day, as it happens every day, again, and again. I wonder how Bill Murray would like this ride.

shiny new trucks
old fuel station melting into the hillside and forest
local going for water with pack animals
forest lining the roadside, can you spot us?
a break from the green tunnel
temporary road closure as they fell trees, working quickly they tear them apart and clear the road

Being from Britain I despise the heat and can’t say it was my favourite bicycle tour, but with hotels with A/C starting at 8 dollar a night, the nice one we are in right now costing 10 per night, I can’t say its been all too bad, more like a nice tune up for the actual tour which starts the day after tomorrow.

It’s been a lot of rice, plantains and a serve of meat for breakfast, second breakfast, lunch and dinner. Each morning I have worked on my caffeine addiction, starting the day right with a bottle of Vive Cien, the local energy drink. I feel like with a little work the whole day could be powered by it. Stuff of the future.

soup starter
truck stop for breakfast one morning
salad????????
food glorious food
breakfast of champions

The road leaving Uribia (the north) started off nice for one hundred or so miles, deteriorated rapidly when hitting a main trucking route, then built to a nice single lane highway with a reasonable 4 foot hard shoulder to cycle on. The truck drivers are rather considerate of cyclists, possibly because most Colombians have started life on a bike and know what its like to be so small and vulnerable. They give a wide berth to the dismay of oncoming cars who are nearly forced off the road. The buses on the other hand are the devils spawn. The give a loud honk from a distance to warn you they are coming and do not slow for anyone, it was scary last year driving some of the passes here and seeing the same buses overtaking going down a narrow pass road on a blind bend. We also witnessed a head on crash with one last year. This was on my mind most the time.

This though resulted in a change of road choice, there is a really cool Canyon called Chicamocha we planned on cycling, a vertical 5000ft similar to the grand canyon but smaller. Cools views but with a dangerous narrow road during, before and after lasting around 100 miles. Something we could do without really. Instead, we have cycled further south on the main route (boring, humid, sweaty, and noisy with wagons) and have pulled off on to a much quieter road that goes all the way straight to 9000ft. We are currently at 600ft, and the base of the climb after 20 miles of what could be described as a perfect touring road. Climbing this will drop us straight into beautiful views, intermittent lightning, and cooler days where we can start camping properly. While hotels have been nice, it feels like we spend the time either cycling or between four walls, quite a disconnect from the enviroment around us.

I learned this week the difference between enchilada and ensalada (anybody surprised its taken me this long), after ordering what I thought would be a nice filling meal what came was a light chicken salad. Mainly salad. This was soon rectified when we left the restaurant, rounded a corner to the main square and found it came alive after nightfall with really tasty, really cheap food. They always say don’t go out at night, but when in Rome….   Basically go to eat when the locals eat, say 7ish and there is good food. Go before and its slim pickings of the expensive kind.

The last few days have been half shaded with clouds rolling over which is a nice break from the sun and puts off heat stroke and exhaustion for a few more hours. There have even been a couple of very short, but very heavy downpours in which we struggle to see more than a dozen yards, only to cycle out of it and find sunshine baking us again. When we clear the top of the mountain we expect the living cost to be about 15 dollar a day for both of us. Right now with hotels its around $25. We also expect much nicer coffee. Thats all for now.

climbing a small pass on the main route
perfect road the last 20 miles with a cool windy bit further down
im really not sure what to call this
plantation roadside
ranchers

Cycling to Punta Gallinas (The Northern Tip of South America)

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The worst ideas in the long sad history of bad ideas are normally realized half way through doing whatever it was you set out to do. In this case it was realized 6pm after a strenuous day cycling a desert and finding the cheap bags of water we dragged with us had bust open, reducing our capacity and soaking our pillows (fleeces) in the process. Not only lost water where we needed it the most after 35c and high humidity, but the fact I had hauled dead weight that slowed us through the day, only for it to evaporate away at the end of the night leaving us with nothing. Welcome to the Punta Gallinas Cycle.

We start from Uribia, a bicycle shaped town and the last town before Punta Gallinas. The town revolves around the bicycle with bike taxis, the market assembling on the back of load carrying trikes and a lot of colour. Hotels cost about 20-24 dollars a night, which is high for us, but more than compensated by the cheap street food and decent meals for three USD. The local guides told us it wasn’t possible to cycle there and certainly the bemused looks from locals made us sure it would be a full micro adventure on our big South America adventure. We rose early as the market was assembling for the the day to gather supplies needed for the trip. We left our climbing equipment at the hotel telling them we would be back in three to four days. We had been used to buying heavy duty 6 liter bags of water to keep us hydrated but at this hour, the vendors were not open that held them. So we substituted them for light duty 3 liter bags which, though looking frail and not ideal certainly were water. We supplemented them with 4 large bottles of water that would form our turn back point (24l), the point at which water was low and if we couldn’t purchase any more we would head back. All in around 50 liters. This figure sounds crazy, but in the heat and humidity we decided we needed 6 liters for a days cycling between us, plus 6 for properly rehydrating overnight. We stocked up on food the only way we knew how- potato chips, sugary gummies and bread, vaguely counting the calories and deciding ‘that should do it’.

loading with water in the trailer
vehicle loading up to head out
tasty street food
bicycle taxis heading into the market
teaching the local kids chess, they loved the ‘check’ part

Leaving town the sky was overcast, the temp warm, but not hot, and the wind already getting up. We had an easy 30 miles on a gravel road parallel to a rail line before crossing into the scrub and start of 4 wheel drive trail. We sat to eat our lunch of potato chip, only to find my front tire was flat when we were ready to set off. This was to be a theme of the next couple of days.   The area was mainly cacti up to 8 feet high creating a dense desolate dry forest with plenty of thorns and needles on the ground making bicycle landmines. Some trail was hard packed and easy, but interspersed with sandy patches that were soul destroying. The hope was it would stop around every winding corner. It didn’t stop the wheels turning , but was hard going. I slightly regret not buying the fat tires for the trailer but most the time it did well.      (The bicycle tires we picked are Schwalbe marathon mtb 2.4″ with a good smooth rolling tread on the center but some reasonable traction for the rougher stuff, and with some puncture resistance, though I don’t think any tire has puncture resistance to match the size and hardness of thorns out here.)

goat heard

As the hours churned by, one wheel rotation after another, we felt progress was good. The occasional 4×4 would stop to ask where we were going and advised that it’s a long long way on a bicycle, even for a four wheel drive. It was nice knowing we had a decent reserve of water taking pressure off this thought. As each three liter bag was emptied, we checked progress and knew we were on track perfectly for water there and back. The whilst Karli was behind me she noticed drips coming of the trailer. On inspection, needle sized holes had sprouted and were soaking the t-shirts and socks placed to cushion them. We quickly drank the water we had and filled our bottles with the bust bag. So started the system of dealing with leaks that would repeat over the next two days.

To our surprise, there are people living out here, though on what I cannot imagine. Everything is brought out on wagons . Due to the boost in tourism going to the most Northern Point, the locals had started blocking the road with toll stations made of shredded tires, old clothing, and anything else they could get their hands on. There must be around 40 attempts at charging 2000 pesos (60cent) making this probably the most expensive road in South America mile for mile (based on no supportive facts) but also the worst. We realized pretty quickly though that they listen out for cars and when they hear them an armada of kids come running at them with hands held out and quickly pull up their makeshift rope to bring vehicles to a stop. Unfortunately for them we were not cars and made no noise so we were just chased by kids often. A few roadblocks we did as the locals and rode around them on the motorcycle pass gap.

Things were slowly becoming more sparse and sandier. Half way through the day we passed a military checkpoint searching a water tanker for illicit goods. They seemed befuddled by our being there on bicycle and untrained for the circumstance, letting us pass with a confused look. On we rode through the burning sun. The cacti soon gave way to open pans where the full effect of the headwind was felt, a good 20-25 mph with gusts of 30, it was hard and hot. Our sweat mixed with the dirt creating tan mud on our legs. Salt crystallizing on our clothes where the heat baked them. Despite the cloud cover the temperature was still over 30c/90f.

pushing out of some of the deeper sand
one of the mud/salt pans at sea level

We took a break at the edge of one of the pans.

‘Karli?’ I asked as we sat back to back for support.

‘Ye?’ came the response a few seconds later.

‘Have you ever felt like you were cycling across a desert?’. to which we both chuckled a little.

IMG_0564

big flat pan at sea level, the sea water of an inlet not far off to the side.

The flat open areas were a welcome break from the cactus watch but the winds took a bit of the joy, struggling to make much more than 10mph. We took a wrong branch at one point and upon turning barely had to pedal to get back to the junction. Off to the side of the hard packed track was a thin crust that would start sticking to the wheels if we ventured off. Towards the end of the day and feeling pretty beat by the heat, we picked a half rock/ half sand dune to make camp beneath, that would keep us reasonably out of sight. Using the bikes and rocks to stake out the tent, we chucked our pads inside and sat down. We had covered as a conservative guess 52 miles (not accounting for the twists and winds of the road). This was disappointing. We knew it also meant a second day just like it. Opening our panniers we then found two nearly empty bags of water and two soaked fleeces- our pillows for the night. With a sigh we lay them out to dry and ate dinner, a combination of potato chip, bread and biscuits and drank the rest of the bust bags. At least we would be well watered. The night sleep was uncomfortable and for the main, the sleep part lacked. When the alarm went off at half 4, I knew it would be a slow day. Rationality might have said turn back, you just lost more water, but we still had a few liters till we hit the turn back point. Sometimes good surprises happen. Today is cloudless, and the full intensity of the sun piercing down.

We set off to find the remnants of more roadblocks. We came to a fork that offered a choice of what was on the map, a road through the ocean, we were guessing a wetter pan, or a hilly alternate with more cactus. We chose the hilly way not wanting to risk turning back. What followed was probably close to type 3 fun, with the odd little downhill on which we still had to pedal into wind. (Note Karli’s hat sinched tight and flapping up in most of the pictures).

taking a breather
cacti
some of the better road out there

Some time in the afternoon we came to a small town that sold cold drinks and some provisions for 2-3 times the value back in Uribia. I don’t resent prices like that, It was pretty nice to have some cool pop unexpectedly in the middle of a scorching day but it did raise the question would we have enough for more water on return? We didn’t expect to need cash in a desert. On we rode eventually moving onto the return supply of water, I was glad to be drinking some of the 24 liter (52lb) I had hauled behind me.  I would like to say it made me faster, but heat and a bad night sleep make anything worse. We passed a tanker who stopped and asked.

“donde van? Punta Gallinas?” To which we replied “Si.”

He smiled and said we were almost there, it’s just around the bend. This was the best news all day. But the reality was that bend was 10 miles of soft ground and a final climb up to the costal cliffs. This was tedious, hot, grinding labour. Like a filthy headache that just won’t give in. The heat was getting to us both. That sickly taste of knowing you can’t keep going like this. Checking every mile watching them slowly count down on the map. We arrived on top of the cliff around 3pm. On a rock was painted the words Hospedaje with an arrow. We headed straight for it.

view of the sea from the hostel
hammock and a beer were in order

Arriving we ordered some food and a couple of beers, relieved to be in some shade. With the sea in sight, I didn’t feel the need to walk down and put my feet in, that looked like more work than it was worth and the beer that looked like it was stored under a chicken coup was more welcome. The hard part was done. Now, with a tailwind we rode downhill 5miles back to camp.

cacti

I sat at the roadside for probably the tenth time that day to assess my punctured tube. As the day wore on and frustration built over either completely disassembling to put a new patch on or just pump it up for another few miles, it was getting a bit sickening. We decided we had done the hard part. But with a failing pump, a tube with a needle wielding ghost in it and low on water we conceded we could hitch a ride out. The next morning before dawn we saw lights coming over the cliff down to us. It was a local making his once a week run to Uribia. He had already picked up a couple of guys and three goats for the market. He was happy to give us a ride if we bought him an Empenada in town. Seemed like a pretty good deal. I thought it would detract from the adventure, but with no guarantee of other vehicles that could help if things went downhill, we hopped on. It was kind of fun but also with a hint of ‘this is scary am I going to die being flipped from the wagon as we hit sand on an adverse cambered corner.’? I wondered if I would realize? Would it be fast? Would I be paralyzed and have to send Karli to the hotel with the bikes while waiting for rescue? Would they chuck me in with the goat like a carcass? Before I had considered much more we stopped to pick up a lady and her kid (making it 4 people in the 2-seater front) plus a mile further on a farmer and his dozen goats off to market. It was a bit odd to have someone pass me goats by the bound legs and hauling them up and in. It did feel honest. Though the last goat had eaten a lot and wasn’t easy to pick up.

crossing one of the pans in a 4×4 was a little easier
guess how many goats?

The first few miles the farmer that joined us spent re-organizing the heads and necks so they wouldn’t suffocate, after which I was surprised they all seemed to go to sleep, only to hit a bump in the road and they would let out a horrific long wail. I am happy to say by the time we reached town and unloaded the goats they were all still alive and after a quick bit of business the original three goats seemed to be sold to the herder of the many. For how long they would stay alive I do not know. What I do know, is that our lunch that day tasted very fresh. So concluded going to the most northern point. Our panniers covered in dust and goat poop the can no longer join us in the hotel room. While we could have got a ride to the northern point and cycled South, this seemed more fun and worked out well.

NOW SOUTH TO THE ANDES!!!IMG_0527

Eposide 3- The Pollo (chicken) Strikes Back

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We spent three days in Santa Marta in a small hotel not daring to venture more than a few feet from the toilet. It seems the roadside chicken we’d eaten the previous day had been seasoned with E coli. Food poisoning doesn’t give the nicest day of riding so we decided to be smart and stay still.

The hotel in which we stayed was down a small corridor between two buildings protected by a sliding steel gate. Down the corridor was Guille, the owner, a happy man who seemed excited to see us. We explained we weren’t well and would be staying a few days. The rooms in the hotel were up a spiral staircase that seemed to be grasping on to the broken concrete mounts at the top for dear life. Into the room the walls were painted a mixture of yellow, blue, white, and the cutting of the paint giving a good 2 inch overlap where the roller had been extra zealous. we paid an extra dollar (totaling $15 per night for two of us) for air conditioning and found the hotel would run out of water each morning for a hour or two. If the toilet was used before the water came back on, it was a case of ‘do not go in there’. It was painful being this early into a tour and being so sick, but we still have a year ahead of us.

Dosing up on pepto-bismol we began convincing ourselves we were feeling better, and, three days after it started agreed the following morning we would chance roadside diarrhea, depart early and cycle up the pass that would take us along the coast.

leaving the mountains the scrub begins
banana plantations
coastal views
climbing the pass

The road would slowly rise up through thick tropic forest giving way to views down the valley. From sea level to 1300 feet, it was early, cloudy and nice and cool so progress was easy. I was ahead of Karli by a couple of hundred yards and had a short but interesting conversation at the top with two locals in which they asked me something, and I not understanding either nodded or shrugged my shoulders until her arrival. On coming down the other side we started hitting the tourist trail hard. Bus loads of backpackers were dispersing on their exciting adventures, signs were appearing written in English. Meals that would normally cost three dollars were costing ten. This was my worst nightmare, but with an advantage of knowing there would be accommodation in every town. We cycled round 40 miles with some beautiful coastline to the next tourist town. Again the nightmare hit, locals greeting us in English, shops selling trinkets for twenty dollars. We pulled up to a hostel that had no A/C and took a room in the back , in a more traditional style hut with a thatched leaf roof and rather large spring in the floor right were the bed was centered. Everywhere we go the locals are amazed by one; the fact we are cycling from one town to the next, and two; the bright yellow trailer on tow the likes of which they have never seen, but think is so cool.

shade under a tree in the heat, it was a mistake to wheel the trailer this far, note the big thorns in the foreground
leaving the mountains the scrub begins
a toll booth with cycle lanes beside

Yesterday we cycled 56 miles into Riohacha. A terrible days cycling, which started on rolling hills with a headwind. This soon changed as we hit the flat lands, the temperature climbed to 95F and the headwind steadily rose to 18-20 mph with gusts undoubtedly beyond. It was rather like trying to cycle into into a giant loud hairdryer the whole day. There was no visible sweat, just crisp dryness and a lot of heat. It would be bad enough on a day out ride, but with the panniers and a trailer between us; aerodynamics weren’t great, this was little fun. We took breaks every 15 miles under the shade of the odd tree sitting carefully between the two inch thorny growths and cacti. (this gave the first of the trailer flat tires, carelessness on my part). Things are beginning to get barren, and as the land becomes barren, the homes and roadside shops stop. As we cycled my eyes were fixed on the paved surface looking for steel-hard thorns being blown in clusters by wind. There weren’t many locals cycling this road. Towards the end of the ride entering the town was a small shop selling cool bottles of pop.

The last leg of our northbound journey is towards Punto Gallinas (northern most point) with headwinds up to 26mph. Which will be a true grind test. It is nice knowing the prevailing wind will make the ride back South easier. This is averaging the smallest mile per day tour I have done. Normally 60 to 110 miles a day is pleasant- we are currently averaging 25 mile per day (though cycling around 45), but considering the heat, the lost days to food poisoning and the daily headwind dragging us down, it’s not too bad. Soon we turn south west and the wind should be behind us for a couple of months.

little puppy i fed
breakfast
me having an early afternoon nap after discovering spare time

We do have the option of turning south right were we are now and going straight to Bogota, but what’s a tour without a little suffering? 😉

one last break in the shade with 10 miles to go
the thorns i pulled out my shoes in the hotel room
our little hut complete with a holey mosquito net

Day 2,3 And 4 Of South America

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Nothing quite starts a day like backtracking 4 miles down a road to resume a ride, getting a second flat tire (through our tough marathon tires we had hoped would be the end to, well, flat tires),  with a thorn the size of my finger, then finding one of our spare tubes has a slow puncture or leak I just cant find because it’s so slow.

repair at the roadside
coastal living on the main 90 route to Santa Marta
barranquilla early morning, a new bridge being build beside the only bridge over the river.
repair at the roadside

Welcome to day two of the big ride. It started with a bang. Cool air for the first hour before the sun spiked through, then a few short climbs.  We cycled a nice 52 miles into Barranquilla and decided to take the bypass to avoid the center of the city. The bypass was a terrifying mix of high speed traffic, honking horns, and pick up trucks cutting us off to pick up passengers from under the shade of bridges in the heat of the day. I noticed the buses didn’t use the bus lanes so as to avoid having to rejoin the traffic seconds later, which added to the congestion. As I rode I imagined all the fumes and dirty air lining my lungs and wondered, if I were cycling here permanently, how long I would last before I collapsed into a heap? Would it be before running head on into a motorcycle coming 40mph the wrong way into traffic? Or perhaps being sandwiched under a diablo bus? I am glad we will have only a few cities like this over the whole trip.

Figuring today’s flat gave us an alarmingly high frequency of days riding to flat tires, we booked into a hotel room, then spent a hour walking through a downpour trying to bolster our supply of spare tubes. To my alarm, I discovered every tube in the stores we visited had a new type of valve I had never before seen. It never dawned on me that Colombia might have a different set up to the schrader or presta valves which I am used to, they had an in between hybrid. O well, patch ups it is.   Giving up the search we went and bought more sunscreen (shockingly expensive and later discovered to not be sweat resistant) followed by a restaurant stop involving a whole chicken, with potato and curious garlic dip, and a bowl of soup to start. Stuffing our faces to capacity, we discussed the days events before heading back to our room with A/C.

Day three

Today we cycled 36miles from Barranquilla to just outside Santa Marta making for a very short day on the main road by the sea. I will point out for the first two weeks we plan on taking it nice and easy like this to avoid getting over excited and damaging ourselves and the trip. The road followed the coast barely rising creating a very flat run. Its impressive just how good the roads here have been. Also Impressive is how much space cars give bicycles. Around towns though it is still a mystery. A well choreographed stunt show how so many vehicles can make it through so many gaps that appear for a split second without upsetting one another. Horns are to say hi, for taxis to try to attract the next customer, or just for a beep-a-thon and never seem to be used in anger. I felt I almost upset the natural balance when a motor cycle came flying towards me and I hammered my brakes on loose gravel, only for the weight of the trailer to keep me sliding forwards. The motorcyclist, in response hit his brakes, only to change his direction to more over the side walk and throttle off again. It’s almost good fun.

Pulling into town nice and early we booked into an 8 dollar per night hotel including A/C. In this luxury accommodation, water having a 50/50 chance of being off or on at different times of day, as well as lighting cutting out early evening gives a homely/family feel when a knock on the door tells you the power is back on. But the A/C has always worked. Its best not to think about whats under the bed sheets.  There are no keys for rooms, but the owner unlocks the main door for anyone coming or going, and unlocks the room when you arrive back.

coastal living on the main 90 route to Santa Marta
barranquilla early morning, a new bridge being build beside the only bridge over the river.
watch our for squiggles on the road

 

me having an early afternoon nap after discovering spare time
eating potato chips
roadside/beach side ride

We went for the closest food to our accommodation which gave us both a bad feeling on account of having no way to chill food, or to wash plates but it was cheap and we didn’t care too much. We sat down in the plastic seats and ate. Karli spent most the night in the bathroom.

Day 4

Cycling 20 miles down the road at a slow pace, and having eaten no dinner or breakfast, Karli was crippled with stomach cramps, so our day is over early. Knowing that there is a pass to climb we are having the day off sat in another hotel room for $15 with a/c. this time a cleaner hotel, and a friendly owner who has let us put our bikes and trailer in his courtyard. Its nice to know the only way out is through a locked gate down a slim passage, and our bikes seem safe in his sight. We are starting to plan the ride to the most northerly point today as we know in another 50 miles the towns become very thin and supplies even thinner. At which point we will be loading up and really going for it.

Sierra Nevada Mountains in cloud early morning

Interesting things to note- picking helmets for this trip was a choice between taking both a cycling helmet and climbing helmet, or just one that can kind of do the other job too (even though they are designed for very different purposes and to take impacts in different ways). We settled on a couple of black diamond vapour helmets and while is is a climbing helmet, it has some side protection (though not a lot) and good venting which we knew we would want and is certainly better than no helmet by quite a wide margin.

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NOTE-some pics a repeats, there is a cyber gremlin at work!

South America Day1

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You join me today sunburned, and at the start of what should be a pretty epic adventure. Me and Karli are back in Colombia, 36 mile from our start point after ‘Operation Leave Town’. The weather is a pleasant 90F and humidity like my foot after a 10 mile run. It was hot, and to add to the excitement, between the two of us we are hauling 150 pounds of mountaineering equipment which is destined to follow the course of the Andes mountain range all the way to the southern most tip of Argentina.

What’s that you say? That sounds unpleasant, sweaty, pointless and bound to fail? Well, yes, it is pointless, and the chance of failure is pretty good. But we are trying anyway. We are on our way to what we consider to be the start of our trip, the northern most tip of Colombia and South America.

This next years trip- South America by bicycle following the Andes and climbing as many cool peaks along the way as possible. The first part is the part I have been least looking forward to, I hate heat. But if we make it through the daily torrent of heat stroke and exhaustion the climbing rewards should keep getting better and better. It’s rather ironic that for a cycle tour of this weight we are actually travelling rather light weight, with only one spare set of t-shirt and shorts per person.

THE COUNTDOWN TO THE TRIP

For literal months now we have been trying every conceivable type of bicycle pannier setup and trailer to find what we think fits our trip best, hundreds and hundreds of dollars later, trying to find a best of all worlds for rough non existent trail as well as smooth road, We settled on a Burley Nomad we ordered the week before leaving with it arriving a couple of days before departure untested.

the flight-
We found two one-way tickets from Denver> Fort Lauderdale> Cartagena for 115 dollars a piece, plus 3 checked bags for about 35 dollars a piece. Plus two bike boxes for transport at 75 each (with more gear inside each) totaling less than 500 dollars to get 2 people, 2 bicycles, a bike trailer and 150lb of climbing and cold weather gear to a different continent. Getting to the airport at 9pm, with three hours to spare in case of problems, we found the flight was delayed by a further 3 hours, so we pulled out our camping pads and slept better than most. We arrived in Cartagena at about 1.30pm the next day. We were glad that the layover between our two flights was 5.5 hours, seeing as my visa for the States expired the following day, and missing the flight could be detrimental.

spotted the bike boxes being loaded in Fort Lauderdale
Karli inflating the camp pads
me re-fixing the derailleur

morning of the flat tire-
We spent the afternoon and evening re-assembling our bikes from the heavily battered cardboard boxes smeared in oil , quite relieved the bikes were in one piece, and grabbed a Colombian sim card for one of our phones to have navigation ability and contact with the world. Thinking we were done and ready to ride the next morn, we went to sleep nicely dehydrated thinking of just how ugly all that weight looked and questioning if this trip was even possible.  When we woke on this, day one of our trip, we looked at the bikes and realized we had a flat tire before even setting off. We waited for our air bnb host to collect our key then set off into Cartagena traffic. A lot of people have asked what route we will take and to be honest, until we were sat on our bikes ready to cycle we didnt really have a way set. This is a kind of ‘wing it’ trip.

The plan was never to get too far today, but just get out of the city with a 10am departure. Cycling into the middle of the day is always unpleasant, but with roadside shacks every couple of miles carrying water was not an issue and there was good food that felt honest and less questionable than most American Dinners.

i’m not sure how she does it, but there are always oily gear prints on both Karlis legs.
new roads and no traffic
karli
karli showering after a hot afternoon in the sun
new roads and no traffic
karli
karli showering after a hot afternoon in the sun
i’m not sure how she does it, but there are always oily gear prints on both Karlis legs.

We pulled into our hostel (the first few nights along the coast we are stopping in rooms for a cooler night sleep and a cold shower each day) and stood under the trickle of water as a reward for a job well done. We sat outside playing chess, waiting for a meal to be made while finding ourselves entertained by hostel devil dogs with possibly the sharpest teeth i have had the pleasure of being bite by.

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Welcome to the new edition of bensgame. Something more interesting coming very soon. Also going to fix the mobile view when i get a chance. for now, ditch the phone, go retro and view on a laptop 😉

Climbing

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So, my trip has taken a turn (not the first on this trip) which I will get to in a minute. A few days go I cycled the 80 miles out to the base of longs peak (14,259ft), with a bike climb from 5000ft up to 9500ft, collected route information from the ranger station, cycled down 6 miles to national forest and camped.

The next morning at 3am I started cycling in the pitch black by head torch back up the mountain. There is always a debate in my mind when I wake early to climb or hike about should I just lie there and be a normal person getting up at a reasonable time, is this a sane thing to do? Anyway. Arriving at the trailhead I stashed my bicycle behind the ranger station and made some hot cinnamon oats which tasted great. So this is quite a popular peak and there were plenty of people heading up while I ate. The ranger the previous day recommended setting off around 1am, naturally I chucked this piece of advice to the wind believing myself to be a supreme machine(often I am wrong in this assumption). At around 4.15/4.30am I started up, hiking and running the flatter areas. I reached the Keyhole, a natural gap in the ridgewall and only way up at first light, which is where the scrambling begins. I flew past a lot of people and reached the summit after around 2.5hours. I sat a while talking to a few other hikers then started descending. Two others descended with me and turned out to have a decent pace. Which was nice compared to the solitary ascent. After getting back to the car park I whipped up some spaghetti and a mystery silver foil packed sauce which was possibly some form of madras with lentils then dropped down to boulder for the night. There was no plan to go to boulder but 20dollars at the campsite in Lyons seemed expensive for what was there, so I carried on.

the narrow traverse on longs peak
volley ball chill out day
the narrow traverse on longs peak

In boulder its surprising just how many signs saying no camping are up around the town and surrounding area. I ended up paying 100 dollars for a motel room I didn’t want, I resented it but it did beat the hostel that offered my their last suite room for 250 dollar. This rarely happens but I was tired and hungry and had saved money the previous nights wild camping. I cycled back to Denver, cleaned up my bike with a pack of 1 dollar wipes, bought a beer from a brewery and before I finished the beer sold the bike to a gent I agreed to meet there a day previous to boost my funds a little for the next part of my trip. Met a lovely couple while drinking my beer and letting the gent go test the bike. I had a minor concern he would just ride off on it never to be seen again, but i figured if he did it would be one less thing to worry about.

Chapter 2- The Next Part

So, Through chance I have met a girl called Karli who is wanting to drive from Denver to Argentina. Her plan beats my original plan in a few ways, first, cycling a long way on paved surface is boring, really boring, especially alone its like solitary confinement on a seat not designed for a mans behind. Second, it would be nice to be on a roadtrip for a while and have a few luxuries like pressed coffee, a real seat to sit in instead of dirt, and a climbing partner for some more technical ascent, which there will be plenty of. I have spent the past couple of days hanging around and getting to know Karli and her friends. Today we went tubing on a river with a couple of beers followed by volleyball under glorious sunshine. Sometimes life is hard but I guess I can endure.

Setting off in a couple of days. Mayhem bound to follow.

Benjamin

Steamboat- going slow

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I don’t think much can beat some tropical deep house music out on a porch overlooking a town while working on a bike. Today like yesterday has been a day of rest and recovery for me and the bike. I snapped a spoke about 300miles ago and have just got around to fixing it now. I had bought a spoke yesterday, went and sat in the park and stripped the back wheel to fit it, only to find the spoke was just too small to catch the thread. Round two today went without a hitch. and its satisfying to have straightened my first buckled wheel this trip, now spinning withing 1mm tolerance. I feel pretty good about this as its my first ever attempt at tightening spokes.

I’m stopped at a friends in Steamboat. Kathleen, a strong hiker I hiked a couple of sections of the CDT with in 2015 seemed more than happy enough to accommodate. She lives in a shared house with 5 other people. They are all healthy runners, cyclists and fitness trainers and fanatics. Eating healthy salads, and carrying pineapples to work for lunch. It puts my diet to shame but I make the excuse I’m burning more calories. I did eat a health dinner last night. Only to be wronged by an obtrusive box of chocolate cupcakes covered in choc mouse and white flakes this morning. (but they were really, really good!!). I washed it down with a couple of cups of strong coffee and carried on fixing and planning.

Colorado is a tricky place to cycle and climb, and stringing an efficient line through to 14,000 ft mountains without adding double passes each day seems no easy task.

 

My hair is now sufficiently down past my eyes enough to cause a hazard when cycling downhill or just around the town in traffic. Hopefully not long now till I can do the panten pro-v head shake to get it out of my eyes and look LIKE A BOSS!!

The skinny 40mm tyres I have been using have been just holding on the trail, allowing cruising at good speed on the smooth gravel and road sections. But negatively they have been wearing fast and skittering about on the downhill, the lack of traction is a minor concern. Its a surprisingly hard tyre size to get hold of from bike shops, bigger than the average hybrid wheel, but smaller than any other mountain bike tyre.

I think when i head off I will not look at the map but go by the route that looks visually most appealing. The wing it approach seems to serve well. With a 50/50 chance at any fork in the road. I’ve downloaded way points to the summits of the 14’ers roughly on route using Gaia gps showing me where i need to go. Ill cycle to Silverthorne have a easy day then begin (i don’t feel fully committed to this yet so the plan may change, I’m not sure where I can stash my bike while ticking peaks).

 

After The Basin, from Rawlin to Steamboat

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I’ve just felt my face. It felt like it was covered in grit. I’ve looked in the mirror, its covered in salt, white from the effort and sweat. Today I cycled 85mile off road and 30 miles on. I felt unstoppable, until the climb, then i felt like a uncooked beef steak chucked over the handlebars. The end of the gravel cycle had a 1500 ft climb, but the road kept dropping hundreds of feet every few miles adding hundreds more to the ascent. All I could think is the surveyor who planned the road despised cyclists, he probably sits at the front of a log cabin on the way up. Smugly grinning each time he sees a cyclist collapsing over the handlebars with exhaustion, covered in sweat, trying to suck in air that doesn’t seem to exist. After the effort the reward was a smooth paved descent through a lightning storm towards Steamboat Colorado. It was brilliant.

 

sunrise under tarp
sunset
rattle snake
humming bird

This day started with the sun beaming at my face under the tarp sheet, the wind had been flapping it all night due to my lazy attempt of stringing it up, I envisioned it blowing away in the night but it held on.  I packed quickly, I drank a one dollar energy shot and hopped on the bike. Within a few miles a rattlesnake blocked the route, at first I thought it to be like every dead snake, stretched out along the gravel after a driver swerved to get it, but this one was slightly different in that when I drew closer and it snapped up into a coil. I hastily braked. I feel positive of my identifying this as a rattle snake due to the rattling its tail made. Fortunately the road was wide enough for both of us and I carried on with my odyssey.

I met a few CDT hikers, one called J who happened to be in the right place for a kinda cool photo. Later in the day up the pass where I rested for ten minutes I was entertained by many many humming birds. I have noticed the past couple of days the variety of birds along the way. I don’t know what they are called but keep meaning to snap some photos of the colourful ones, but it seems like effort to stop the bike and so I have only the two photos so far. I have made a few frantic grabs for my phone, but by the time the pin is typed in and camera activated, the desired shot is one hundred meters past already. And so, I sigh.

Its nice to have a motel bed tonight.

Ps. I have noticed when cycling and nearing or cresting a summit, Americans do this fist pumping action thing like a sign of victory along with an agreeing nod and big smile, sometime a ‘Yeah!!!!’. If it happens again tomorrow, I will fist pump back!! Goodnight world.