Well it's been a while since my last post, and I have skipped all of Central America, but the show must go on! Now that Lewis and I are fairly settled for a while in the lovely city of Medellín, Colombia, I have the time and space for blogging, and with our last 12-day journey through Western Antioquia so fresh in mind, I am most excited to share that! Perhaps I will get around to some CA highlights soon... ;)
Day 1: San Antonio De Prado to Armenia (Almost)
We spent a few weeks at the Casa del Ciclista of Medellín, which is actually located south of the city near the town of San Antonio de Prado. If you are not familiar, Casas de las Ciclistas are safe havens for touring cyclists to rest, tune their bikes, and mine the hosts for information about route planning in the area. It is free to stay at the Casas, as long as you arrived by bicycle, but some donation of work or money or both is appreciated. There are several Casas in South America and this one was our first. Manuel and Marta, who run a bike shop in town called Ciclo Campeon, had a second house built on their property for cyclists which has since been added to and improved upon by their many guests. They have hosted over 800 cyclists since opening their doors just a few years ago.
The primary reason for spending so much time at the Casa was that I wanted to change my bicycle. Lewis and I decided we wanted to spend more time on the back roads, which are often rough and sometimes steep. Some of our best experiences have been on dirt roads in the middle of nowhere. The Famous Mockingbird, my Montague Navigator, had done an amazing job getting me from the USA to Panama, but with 700c wheels, fairly narrow tires, and a frame designed for city riding, I knew I would be more comfortable and capable if I changed to a bike built for the mountain. After much searching, stressing, and second-guessing, and with the help of Manuel, we found Tela, a 90's Giant Boulder 520 with a classic steel frame and 36 spoke 26" wheels that could fit a nice fat tire for maneuvering the dirt. With a little extra work and some swapping of parts, we were ready to go! Little did I know that Lewis and Manuel had planned a route that would really put Tela to the test.
The primary reason for spending so much time at the Casa was that I wanted to change my bicycle. Lewis and I decided we wanted to spend more time on the back roads, which are often rough and sometimes steep. Some of our best experiences have been on dirt roads in the middle of nowhere. The Famous Mockingbird, my Montague Navigator, had done an amazing job getting me from the USA to Panama, but with 700c wheels, fairly narrow tires, and a frame designed for city riding, I knew I would be more comfortable and capable if I changed to a bike built for the mountain. After much searching, stressing, and second-guessing, and with the help of Manuel, we found Tela, a 90's Giant Boulder 520 with a classic steel frame and 36 spoke 26" wheels that could fit a nice fat tire for maneuvering the dirt. With a little extra work and some swapping of parts, we were ready to go! Little did I know that Lewis and Manuel had planned a route that would really put Tela to the test.
So we loaded up Tela and Colonel Forbin for a 10 day adventure through eastern Antioquía. We left The Famous Mockingbird and a few other things with Manuel and Marta for safe keeping so we could be a little lighter, but not too light, as I wanted to test Tela officially "loaded". We got a late start as usual, leaving the Casa around mid-morning.
We shared a menu of the day, which was more than enough food. Bean chili, fried egg, rice, sausage, a little salad and an arepa (a staple food of Colombia, similar to a tortilla but thicker). It started to rain and became very cool, so we ordered hot chocolates after our meal and waited an hour or so for the weather to clear. Our total bill was around $4.
We rolled through one sleepy hilltop village, where some kids were doing tricks on their bikes. Bike tricks on BMX or mountain bikes with the seats really low are very popular among Colombian youth. We see wheelies being popped almost every day. It is such a part of the culture that they had to make rules against it on the city bike-share bicycles.
While discussing our options, a local farmer wearing a ball cap made of straw came out of the store to chat. He was very excited about our trip, and offered us a place to camp in his cow pasture just down the hill a bit. Sure, sound's great! We picked up a few things at the store for dinner and made our way down the steep but short hill to the site.
There was no actual flat land here, and lots of cow pies, but the view was incredible and the hospitality welcomed. We shared our little pasture with a cow family of 3; a momma cow, a young lady cow, and a baby bull. Later, the farmer stopped by again to make sure we were comfortable, and probably to get another look at the crazy gringo tourists on bikes.
Camp, overlooking some distant town across the valley. After dinner we brought all of our gear inside the tent and locked the bikes inside a nearby shed. With everything protected from rain, and 3 cows and a dog laying nearby, we got a pretty good night's sleep considering the slope. It was our first day cycling loaded in a while and we were beat!
Read part 2, day 2 of our Eastern Antioquía adventure here!