I’m not sure what else to say other than I f***ing crushed it today. I honestly didn’t set out to make it all the way here or to achieve some kind of anything, but sometimes you just have it in you. And today was such a day for me. 130 km, 7000 ft, 8 hours riding and 11 hours overall.
So the riding is finito.
The morning ride was quite nice. The area surrounding Jardin is lush and hilly, like a lot of what I’ve seen here. I rode mostly high above a river, or maybe a few rivers.
The afternoon was a lot of climbing. It started out pretty nice but eventually gave way to a busy multilane highway with trucks coughing diesel fumes in my face. The saving grace was that it was overcast so cooler.
It eventually did rain a bit which was actually great. However, when it got a little heavy I stopped at a snack shop with a covered area. Had an empanada, yogurt and multiple coffees. The guy behind the counter loved that a Canadian came to ride around his country. I have come across this sentiment many times while here.
The ride got really interesting as I entered Medellin. I may be a slow climber, a non-mountain biker and deathly afraid of heights, but put me on a bike during the cutthroat mayhem of rush hour in a large South American city and watch me go. It’s a game and I’m pretty good at it ;).
The hotel I booked for tomorrow night is full tonight so I’m in a private room in a hostel a block away. The neighborhood is like king street west: patios packed with really good looking young people, beats from different DJs overlapping one another, laughter and joyful (drunken?) screeching everywhere. I’ve been called bro several times. This all isn’t the worst thing, but next time I think I’ll research the neighborhood I choose a little more carefully.
I couldn’t really bring myself to stand in line for a spot on any of the taco restaurant patios (tacos are clearly having a moment here, wow) so I got two triple cheese arepas, a chorizo and ice cream from street vendors and restaurant windows.
As I head to bed it has started pouring rain. This has cleared the streets a bit and is drowning out what’s left of the party people. Neither is this the worst thing.
I’ll write one more post tomorrow.
Loved your opening sentence!! It’s great you ended this trip on such a high note. Columbia is a beautiful country. Enjoy your day tomorrow. Looking forward to hearing more about your trip once you get home. Sleep well.
A Raccoon blacked out 1/3rd of Toronto last night, for about 3 hours. East-central, though, not the west end. I’m surprise they have them down there – is that a coati with a short nose?
You are very likely right. That’s crazy about the power outage
Love it. Finishing it off in style 💪.
What a cool day. Happy you made it. Enjoy the finish line.