CCT Day 9 - La Pintada to Medellin

Today was mostly a long grind uphill. Two interesting things happened, though.

We were at breakfast when it started at 6:30 but with chatting and this and that we didn't start riding until just after 8.  

It was uphill from the time we crossed the river for so many, many hours. 42km climbing 2000m. It never ended. The road was washed out below Santa Barbara which for cyclists is a good thing. Pedistrians, motos and bikes can get through when the heavy machines are not working.

Mike and Alpha were at the top hours before Bob and I crawled in. They met us with water and orange juice.

While we were recovering, Bob noticed a loaded bike at the restaurant next door and went over to say "hi". He came back to the table to report it was a guy from San Francisco. I headed over to check it out and the guy stands up and says, "I know you" and I say "I know you". We had met on the TransAmerica Route 1 and a half years ago. What are the odds?

Albert had been bike touring a large part of the time since I last saw him. Since we were going in opposite directions I told him about the place we stayed and ate at last night. Pretty random!

We began out descent into Medellin and my brakes, though noisy, got me down the mountain.

When we hit the city the guys did not like the traffic. Then I second guessed my route and we ended up going through some dodgy areas. I had gotten us on the wrong side of the airport.

Finally, we made it to the hotel and our bike boxes were here except for Alpha's. The agent in Ibague seemed confused at the time and looks like she was. Best hot shower ever and I used actual shampoo for the first time this trip.

We gathered for dinner and went to Alambique by taxi. We had to wait for an hour. When our number was called, out of the corner of my eye I see a body face plant into the floor and hear a head on concrete thunk. Mike had been sitting in a deep chair and popped up too fast. That caused a faint and the crash. Fortunately, he did not seem too hurt, but he was off his game through dinner. We ordered too much food.  

We hailed a taxi out front and ended up with a crazy man. We were tired when we got to the hotel but we were all awake!

CCT Day 8 - Pacora to La Pintada

It was going to be a shorter day so we didn't rush out.  Bob and I got coffee a little after 6:30.  There was a group of young locals that clearly had partied all night long.  We got cafe con leche at a panaderia on the square.  A couple of local morning cyclists pulled up and sat beside us.  They were middle aged guys with nice mountain bikes.  Mike joined us and quickly we were up to 3 cafe con leche each.

We went back to the hotel for breakfast which we had selected the night before.  Another cafe con leche, I was getting caffeinated.

My brake pads were a concern.  We would try to get some in Aguadas but it was Sunday.

Out of town there was a big downhill.  It got quite warm when we got to the bottom of the valley.  Then we began a 500 meter climb to Aguadas.  I had to walk the last few hundred meters because the top was well over 10%.  Mike said he saw 14% ... I just knew I could not pedal up it.

I found the guys in Aguadas at a furniture/moto/bike shop.  Alpha had befriended a guy name Anderson who he had stopped to ask where a bike shop was.  He was a young guy out for his Sunday ride.  Anderson stayed with us to the edge of town.  Alpha was texting him at dinner to let him know we were at the restaurant he had recommended.

The f/m/b shop had a variety of brake pads but all were for mountain bikes and way too big for my bike.  I would have to continue to Medellin with metal on metal on the back.  I have decided to get a better rotor on the back like I did on the front so if it gets destroyed I don't care.  I was concerned about going downhill.

Out of Aguadas was a real test of the brakes. The scenery was incredible but the gradient and the curves meant a lot of braking.  To keep the rotors cool I stopped a lot.  Fortunately, the views alone  warranted it.  The brakes did better than I thought they would.

We had a 300 meter climb to Arma and it was a lot warmer at this altitude.  We set up our bikes in front of a little tienda and bought water and ate chicken flavored potato chips.  Alpha, with help from Bob, sampled every fruit they had.

Aguadas to La Pintada is a drop in altitude from 2214 meters to 600 in only 43 kilometers.  Most of the drop is in the first 20 km.

Back on the road we continued fast downhill.  Then the road turned to dirt.  We had decided that after taking to bus on this section that it was ridable.  Unfortunately, distances on a bus are very different from a bike.  It was so much longer than I expected and not as smooth as on a bus.

It was still pretty steep when Alpha blew a tire.  The sealant didn't plug the hole and when we looked it was because he had almost none.  He didn't have a tube so we all dug ours out to find his rims needed a much longer stem than any of us had.  I also realized that the inner tube I have carried for a year would not work on my rim either.

We were about to continue to town without him and send a taxi back when he looked in his tool kit and realized he did have a tube.  And it was for his rims.  We were rolling (or getting bounced around) minutes later and soon we were in La Pintada and back on smooth pavement.

In town we found a bike wash guy and had the bikes cleaned, and cleaned well, for about $2 each.

We checked into the resort we stayed in last year without a reservation and it was about half the price of last year when I booked on booking.com. after a shower we had a beer by the pool and then went to Dona Rosa for dinner.   Dinner was pretty good. We stopped by D1 to get water and then the old men went to bed.   

CCT Day 7 - Aranzazu to Pacora

There were two big climbs today. This first to Salamina should be no problem. The second one into Pacora was going to be a killer. Today featured the best scenery of the trip.

Our little hotel did not have breakfast so we headed to the main square and went to a recommended bakery. Jugo, eggs, pan de yucca, donut like thing and an empanada.

Coming out of town we had a climb to the actual top of the hill. That explained why the climb yesterday came up short; we didn't finish it. Aranzazu was near but not at the top.

We had a long downhill and the scenery got better every kilometer. Some places we hit washed out areas. There was a lot of heavy braking 

After crossing the river we started climbing again. It was a 6km, 350m climb at 5.7% . It was work but doable.

Salamina is crazy at the entrance and exit. It's complete mayhem. Trucks, pedestrians, motos, businesses hanging out well into the street and lots of cars. This all funneling into streets just slightly wider than a car. All of this is also on a steep grade.

Salamina is a cute town once you get into it. I tried to get brake pads but the bike shop on the square didn't have them. My brakes are wearing very fast on the downhills. Salamina has some artesian shops and we got cappuccino. Next up lunch and we followed some advice from yesterday and went to a place that didn't really serve lunches. More of a cafe. Next spot was on the square and had gormet in the name so it wasn't very crowded. It was pretty good and I at least liked my lunch.

Back on the road out of town we got lost. This was on time I should have trusted the route but it felt so wrong. We ended up doing an extra lap of the into town insanity.

Once on the correct road it was another long descent. There were the odd washed out sections and several places where half the width of the road was somewhere down the hillside. At the bottom crossing the river it was hot. That made the start of the climb harder. Bob and I were riding and since the traffic was so light we could ride side by side.

The veiws were spectacular and we could see the road across the valley. It was only one kilometer away but 8km by the road. As we climbed we got a spectacular view of Salamina.

Shortly after that the road went from very good pavement with the odd washed out sections to gravel. It was packed gravel it was very rough with lots of loose stones. I stopped regularly and Bob went on.

He waited at one of the few roadside shops and we had a juice. A cat lay out sleeping in the sun while dogs played all around it. This section could not get any worse. It started to rain. Not at all hard and it kept the powdery dirt down. Lots of thunder in the distance.

The road was a killer. It was about 8km of steep loose rock. I had been up the section before but I think I deleted the painful memory. I just don't remember it being this long. Brutal, yes, but just not so much of it.

When it finally ended at the top the road turned to beautiful pavement. All downhill from here. Too bad the road was a little wet and my brakes were screeching.

At the bottom I saw Bob at a gas station getting his bike washed. I joined. Both bikes were filthy and the power wash helped a lot 

We then headed to the hotel where Alpha and Mike had already checked in. Cleaning up was exhausting. I was so tired. We didn't see many decent dinner options and ended up at a rice bowl place. With a big belly full of food I just wanted to be in my hotel room. I was done.