Adventure
When my former teammate and friend Annemiek van Vleuten visited me just after Christmas last year, I had recently broken up from a relationship and it would be fair to say that I was a bit of a mess. Everybody knows that the best remedy for a broken heart is to jump into an unknown adventure right?! So when Annemiek asked me out of the blue to join her on a trip to Colombia I didn’t need much time to say YES!
Colombia is a destination that has been on my wish list for a long time and I was longing for a good break… As soon as I made sure I could leave work behind for three weeks, and of course IRIS in good hands, I booked my ticket. That left just three weeks to plan and prepare…
Climbing the brutal ascent to Cerro Gualí
Part of Annemiek’s trip included riding the Transcordilleras, an eight-day gravel event through the heart of the Colombian Andes, but before we headed to the start line, I had some other things on my Colombian ‘wish list’. First of all, I wanted to visit another former teammate of mine: Diana Penuela. We were teammates in 2016, which was my last year of racing professionally and Diana’s first. We lived together in the team house in the USA and I’ve got a lot of nice memories of racing and living with her. Since 2016 Diana has developed a lot as a rider and is now a multiple time Colombian National Champion and I couldn’t wait to see her again and catch up in person!
That made my first stop Manizales, where Diana lives. It turns out my last minute drop-in was great timing, as Diana was preparing for her upcoming race season. Although great timing for her, it was a bit of a shock to the system for me! With no time to rest and recover from the journey we hit the roads/trails at the pace of a race-ready pro!! Quite the reality check!
Diana took me for a few beautiful rides in the area, with the climb of Cerro Gualí being an absolute highlight for me. And high it was! A brutal, but stunning, 32 km of climbing (mostly off road) and 2000 mtr of elevation gain, to finish on the highest paved road in Colombia (4000 mtr). Although the Alto de Letras is perhaps one of the most legendary climbs in the world, I’m happy we took it from the west instead as this meant that it was; mostly gravel and no traffic! If you have never ridden at altitude I can tell you that it’s pretty hard for the body to ride above 3000 mtr and both Diana and I felt rubbish on the last part. The lack of oxygen makes you feel dizzy and just weird in general and on reflection, I’m not sure if I would recommend riding your bike up to 4000 mtr with a jetlag and very average fitness!
Coffee rides in coffee land…
At the same time, this bootcamp with Diana prepared me (better late than never!) for what was to come later this ‘holiday’…. After a few days, Diana and I packed up our bikes and rode to Filandia, in the heart of the famous Colombian coffee region, to meet up with Annemiek. Annemiek and I stayed a few days in the beautiful hotel Casa du Velo and explored the gravel roads in the area. Obviously, we made sure we planned plenty of coffee stops along the way!
Before I knew it, it was time to head to Paipa, where we would start the Transcordilleras. A big – and really hard- adventure was waiting for us! Now this is probably the best example of how being spontaneous is fun, all the way up until the point you realize what you’re actually signed up for! To summarize: The Transcordilleras is a bikepacking rally where you ride 1000 km through the heart of the Colombian Andes. Climbing more than 22,000m whilst at an altitude of more than 3000 m at times and heat up to 40 degrees C. For fun! On your holiday!
I knew it was going to be hard, but I tried not to worry about that too much. I used my lack of fitness and preparation to downplay all expectations, including the pressure to even finish this monstrous challenge. It’s all about having fun right?!
Ready for the Transcordilleras!
On a chilly Sunday morning we rolled out of Paipa (Boyacá) with about another 100 participants. It was all chats and smiles, until we hit the first gravel on our first ascent. And those were some very steep ramps! We knew right away that if this was just an appetizer, this rally was going to be even more brutal than previously imagined. I spent most of the day riding through the Chicamocha Canyon (the second largest canyon in the world) and rode up a punishing climb of 12 km to finally reach the finish after spending 9 hrs on the bike. Although I’d been suffering like a dog, I also really enjoyed it. The stunning landscape, the conversations with the other participants and the fact that I didn’t have to think about anything other than riding my bike, eating and drinking. I finished that first day with a big smile on my face, but when I saw Annemiek, she wasn’t so cheerful. By contrast she had not really enjoyed the suffering, heat, climbing and especially the ‘gravel’ (read loose rocks that would have been much more pleasant to ride on your mtb). The rest of the week Annemiek and I would pretty much have alternate good days and bad days which meant there was always one of us that could encourage the other, be in charge of snacks and ice cream distribution and laugh about this crazy adventure we called a ‘holiday’!
The next few stages were more or less the same in terms of toughness. Long days on the bike, lots of climbing and gruelling gravel sections. The great thing about this rally though is that because you are literally crossing three different ‘cordilleras’ every day the landscape constantly changes. One day you ride through a dry canyon, the next over the highest peaks, rainforest or coffee and banana plantations. The concept of having stages wass also something that I really liked. Everyone could ride at their own pace, the fast guys finished sometimes 10 hrs faster than the last ones, but everyone rocked up the next morning at the start line with a smile on their face and in good spirits. For me, the Transcordilleras is not a race, it’s about testing and pushing yourself and everybody taking part has their own challenge(s) to face. . Even more, it was about absorbing the landscape, exploring some beautiful towns, meeting people and making friends.
On the last stage, there was a decent amount of tarmac and that meant this should have been the easiest one. However, my completely empty body and the extreme heat meant otherwise.. It was probably the hardest stage for me, but thanks to my riding companions I made it to Santa Fe de Antioquia. Annemiek, who finished a while before me, was waiting for me so we could ride the last part together to the finish line. A mixed bag of emotions when we crossed it. Relieved, proud, exhausted and a little sad this adventure and now come to an end. We celebrated our achievement together (and my birthday, I have never had so many people singing for me!) with drinks, food and a bit of salsa dancing…
All the emotions and landscapes
It might not have been the most ‘relaxed’ holiday, but sometimes it’s just THE BEST to go home with an empty body and a full heart. Colombia and its people have definitely secured a place in mine. If you ever have the chance to go ride your bike in Colombia, please don’t hesitate, don’t overthink it, just go! I promise that you won’t be disappointed.
Iris
We made it 🙂
If you’re interested in a more day-to-day report of the Transcordilleras, I can recommend this excellent write up by Jorge Padrones on GravelUnion.cc.
You’ll find the full Trancordilleras route and other rides I did in Colombia in the komoot collection below: