My Bike Trip in Colombia - by Ramon TZ

Just watching the pretty girls go by.... Spectacular scenery We stayed here San Francisco Doesn't dad have any new, cool music? Cycling paradise
Doin' the wave Hi dad! What's this thing that's always covered with a diaper? Visiting kids at Rio Frio school

My dad's student - Daniel U Yummy Yummy in my tummy One of my admirers

Hi there....My dad asked me to write you a trip report about my bike holiday inColombia. Well it wasn't really a tour of Colombia...it's such a big country with so much to see! As much as I enjoy touring in my veryown bike trailer, I don't like to sit for more than 3-4 hours a day though. That means my mom and dad only pedal about about 30kms at day. My dad would like to go further, but he's getting too old and can't pedal any faster. He even left the tent and sleeping bags at home so he wouldn't have to carry so much wieght. I'm a big boy now! I'm 12kilos! Also, my mom has a 3 month old baby in her tummy, so she couldn't pedal any farther or faster either.

That's OK though...wegot to stay in hotels all the time and some even had swimming pools! My dad always picks the cheap ones and only pays between 10 and 30USD....that's OK as long as he spends what he saves on more toys for me and my own bike when I'm older! The last hotel I didn't like though....the roosters started crowing at 3:30 am and I had nightmares of giant roosters trying to eat me and I cried a long time!

So here is where we went:

We left right from my apartment in Bogota and went to Sopo to visit one of dad's students, Daniel, who fell on his head and had to stay inthe hospital. I fall on my head all the time.... and I tell you....it's not much fun! I'm glad he's OK, he even showed me how toskateboard!

Then we went to Zipaquira....lot's of pretty girls in the plaza.

The third day we went downhill.....yipeee!!!!.....to Pacho and stayed 2 days, swimming in my favorite pool. That's where I fell on my head running downhill...my dad says he won't let me do that again...I think dad felt really bad.

Then we went to Supata....mom says that in English it means "your foot" I saw lots of mooos....my dad says they're called cows. I see them before he does, cause he getting old and he can't see so well anymore.

Then to SanFrancisco....I think dad is a bit mixed up with his geography cause Iknow SF is in the USA.

Then we went back up the mountain 1/2 way toLa Cumbre....that's where I had rooster nightmares. On the last day we went to the top of the hill and back down to Bogota, right to our apartment. 217kms

I had so much fun that now I want to go to Bolivia and Chile with dad this summer.....but he says I'm too little....maybe when I get older.I hope you like the pictures.....my dad wrote something underneath each one. I hope you can join us next time!Love RamonXXXXOOO

Ramon's 1st Bike Tour!

Won't nurse, so we carried her 400m uphill to another nursing mom

Mom, checking on her boy.
Moooooo......
Chef Ramon

Guateque, Colombia

The morning Gordon and Rick left, we packed up and rode out of Bogota 60km, mostly flat, and camped in a farmer's field. Next day was mostly downhill to about 1200m and Maria's uncle's farm. Days 3 and 4 were spent touring around the local area...up and down to pretty little colonial towns. Left all the gear at the farm as I came to realize that pulling Ramon in the trailer, and 4 panniers with the added weight of a tent and stove was too much for the uphills, as Ifelt the chain was going to snap. So maybe Santiago to the Peruvian border this summer would have been a wee bit ambitious.

Have 10 days off in May and will likely get ourselves delivered to a hotel 100km or so out of the city and do day trip loops from there. Either that or we'll get put front panniers on Maria's bike and she can carry all the heavy stuff, minus the 12 kilo boy....don't think she'll be impressed though, as she is already carrying the added weight of a new one in her tummy.

Ramon usually got 2 sleeps a day in the trailer. When awake he would "baaa" for every cow he saw and point to chickens, ducks, sheep, birds ect.... Did a total of 170km.

The calf is 3 days old and the mom didn't want to feed him. So we made a stretcher and carried him 200m uphill! ....stopping to feed ourselves at every blackberry patch! And after all that effort, when we got back to the farm, the mom decided to start feeding!

Cycling from one capital city to another.....Bogota to Caracas

Summit....Paso de Berlin 3400m

Sierra Nevada de Cocuy

Up to 4200m, Paso de Aguila, Venezuela

Puerto Cruz, Venezuela

Steve and Gavin's fine endorphin adventure.

Somewhere along our journey we came across some graffiti, which roughly translated from Spanish stated, "We don't stop playing because we grow old; we grow old because we stop playing."For two guys with young progeny elsewhere on the planet during the Christmas holidays, this quote would appear to, at least partially, justify our desire to pedal off into the wild blue yonder, as free as a couple of aging fathers can be.

The wild blue yonder this time being Bogota, Colombia to Caracas,Venezuela, 1700 kms in 14 days. Or as my companion, Gavin the Brit put it, "like cycling from one end of England to the other and halfway back."This was my colleague's first extended tour and amazingly, after such an intense ride; up to 9 hours in the saddle each day, 4 huge climbs over 3,000 metres, no rest days and a bike that was slowly falling apart, he insists he thoroughly enjoyed the experience (in spite of spitting his dummy on a few difficult occasions) and feels like he's lived two months in the space of two weeks.

Play?? This kind of cycle touring is the worst fun you'll ever have! :)