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.
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