6. I didn’t make it
Day 92
A good night sleep, a quick breakfast with strong coffee and I am on my way. Getting very good at packing. I have about 55 years of experience so I should be … Nice and fresh 15˚C. There are fog patches everywhere, it is still early at 7. Good riding temperature.
Today I’d like to get to place deep in the hills and countryside. There is some very cool waterfall I’d like to see. I didn’t have an internet so I don’t have a reservation. I hope it all works out. It should be about 165 km total for the day. Google Maps says it will around 5 hrs! I am learning quickly that it is not a typo. It means a lots of curves, bad roads or heavy traffic. Usually all of the above.
Navigating through the morning traffic, but the road is good. For a very short time. You know that won’t last in Colombia. Then it is bad again. I am riding in a wide valley at 2,500m ASL. Again, the scenery is not what I expected here. Farms, nice houses, I feel like this could be Holland. Nice brick houses, some high-rises and hills that looks exactly like central Europe. Pretty cool. The sun showed up and the fog is slowly disappearing.
I turn off the main road and head straight for the mountains. Traffic is non existent here. Could be good and bad. Keep climbing on a VERY twisty road. As so far everywhere here in Colombia, a perfect road all of a sudden turns into a dirt track with deep holes. And it is getting worse. The road, the scenery is awesome. I am getting into clouds now. There is a Kodak moment every few hundred meters. I get to almost 3,000m in a limited visibility in clouds and start descending. Almost immediately the scenery changes. Jungle replaced pine trees and it is getting warmer by every turn. And I keep descending all the way down to 600m ASL. Spectacular scenery. I need to turn off the this road and head even deeper into countryside. My two NAVs couldn’t agree so I picked one. Bad choice … Ended up offroading through some hard terrain. I had to use my superior navigation skills to get back on track .. Getting deeper and deeper in Colombia which is now exactly how I expected it. Found the correct road and off I go. Not so fast, grasshopper. There is a road construction ahead. 1 hr delay, I am told. Nice lady, she comes over and say, you know there is a road around you can take. Good road, she say. She wouldn’t lie to me, right?? She showed me the detour on my map and here we go. Oh boy, a horseback would be more proper mode of transportation here. We, I have 136 of them so no big deal. After some offroading while offroading I get back on track again. Amazing scenery, going up and down on a very narrow paved/dirt roads which are getting more narrow by the kilometre. Small villages or a farm house is what you see here. I bet I am only gringo around. And I feel like everybody’s watching me. You can’t hide your presence here. There are usually only one way to and from the valleys. They know you are there a long time before even see anybody. I am on a dirt track now and going over bridges with some angry looking black water. It is more mud than water. Hmmm, signs of recent rain is everywhere. But I am almost there. ALMOST. 14 km to go. I turn the corner and there is a nasty looking river ahead of me. And no bridge. And there is a pickup truck stuck in the river on the other side. Great. The river is fast flowing and wide. There is a muddy approach on both ends. That’s not looking good. The occupants of the pickup want me to help them but there is no way I would make and difference. Provided I’d even get on the other side. It didn’t take long for me to realize that won’t be able to cross this. I have to pick my battles with 700lbs bike. Now what? For some reason I loaded into my GPS tomorrow route as well. I never do that. But I will have to use it now. I try to turn around but it is not easy. I am on the slope and it is very slippery. I slowly made it and I am heading back. At least one hr of backtracking through the jungle.
So I decide to continue with tomorrow’s section. One tiny problem. It is “only” 200 km but GPS say it will take me 5 hrs. It is 1300 now, so that would put me at my destination at 1800. The sunset is 1741. There are not too many places I could spend a night. I need to step on it. Riding at night is a cardinal sin for me.
I get on the main road again. All around me all this time is an incredible scenery with mountains, ridges, bottomless valleys and road which constantly turns. Besides the potholes, it is actually a very nice ride. It is hot, unlike on the other side of the mountains. Luckily, I filled my camelback even though I expected a “short” ride today. Soon enough the nice road ends and there is a construction ahead. And muddy road after that. Great, I hate mud. I wonder how far the dirt road goes. I will tell you, 200 km!!! The “road” is a dirt double track to about 30km from my destination. It was tough. High in the mountains, steep drop offs on either side, numerous water crossings. I was standing up in pegs all that time. From the riding point, it is absolutely one of the best riding ever. There are house there, far from any civilization. No stores around, no electricity. This is Colombia I have in my head. There is virtually no traffic there. I wonder why. I try to push it while having fun on the bike. I’ve been riding in 1st gear almost entire time! 20 km/h. Going 40 I felt like going out of control. Good thing is that the ETA is on this side of the sunset now. After what felt like an eternity I start going down on the other side of the mountain range. I start seeing more farms and the road is getting marginally better. And about 30 km from the end, there is a pavement! I am driving FAST now. The road is good in Colombian way. There is a big hole there, usually behind a corner or where you don’t expect it.
I arrive at my destination 30’ before sunset. I don’t have a reservation so I hope they have a room for me. They do, great. I quickly unpack and head out to get some food. It is dark already. I get a dinner in a local restaurant and head back to man hotel. I am so tired. 8+ hrs of tough riding. But I made it. I head straight for bed I have no strength for anything else. I did a double shift today. It is not easy to be an adventurer.
Another awesome day on the road!