Sumapaz: Usme – Verjón
“Sumapaz next Saturday?” Tobias texted me one morning. “I’ve mapped out a loop from Usme to Verjón. It’s about 200km with 5,800m of climbing.” “Sounds good to me!” […]
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Crossing Bridges
“Wanna try getting the KOM on the Argentina descent next weekend?” I asked my always-up-for-craziness riding partner Tobias one Tuesday morning. “Say less!” he replied, without even pausing
The World’s Longest Climb?
This amazing and demanding route takes you on a loop from Bogotá, past the Guavio reservoir, down to the eastern plains of Meta and Casanare, up one of
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San Agustin – Melgar
For years I’d been meaning to map a route north towards Bogotá from one of my favourite places in Colombia, San Agustin, using mostly gravel and b-roads, and
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El Guavio
This picturesque route takes you out of Bogotá along the paved road to Guasca, before turning off onto the dirt for the challenging and stunning climb up to
Puente Ají
If you’re looking for a challenge, this rollercoaster of a route is an absolute gem! It follows the main road out of Bogota to the town of La
Pueblo Nuevo – Silvania
If you’re heading up to Bogota from southern Colombia the most direct route is through the town of Melgar. However, just after leaving the town there is a
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Pueblo Nuevo – Muna
If you’re heading up to Bogotá from southern Colombia, the most direct route is through the town of Melgar. However, just after leaving the town there is a
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Verjón – Sesquilé
This is actually the first part of what was (is?) going to be bikepacking.com‘s Chingaza route. I rode it for the first time with Lael Wilcox and Julian
GraVALS
VALS is the acronym of Bogotá’s roadie morning classic “Vuelta A La Sabana”, and GraVALS is its gravel cousin. This slightly shorter variant starts and ends on the
Biometrópolis
This is one of a number of signposted off-road routes in the Department of Cundinamarca that have been developed in recent years. This one is about 50% off-road,
Serranías Loop
I rode this route in late 2022, after dreaming about it for almost two decades, and wrote an article about the trip for Deriva, a Colombian gravel cycling
San Agustín – Naranjos Loop
This picturesque loop takes you through the verdant coffee plantations to the south of San Agustin and returns along the edge of the archeological park. The first part
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San Agustín – Isnos Loop
This route takes you on a loop through some lovely southern Colombian scenery on a mostly paved b-road that descends down to the River Magdalena past the iconic
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Desierto de La Tatacoa
Desierto de La Tatacoa is technically a tropical dry forest rather than a desert. But it sure feels like a desert when you’re riding the hot, dusty, sandy
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Tierradentro – Neiva
This is the second part of the route across the Central Cordillera; a great way of avoiding the busy Panamericana Highway if you’re riding north (or south). It
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Popayán – Tierradentro
This route is a great way to cross the Central Cordillera. It rises up from Popayan on a picturesque paved road to the village of Gabriel Lopez at
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El Calvario – Fómeque
This rollercoaster route goes from El Calvario to Fomeque through the rugged mountains of the Eastern Cordillera, and it’s just as stunning and demanding as the route to
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Fómeque – El Calvario
I rode this crazy route from Fómeque to El Calvario in the rugged mountains of the Eastern Cordillera with a group of friends in late-2022. The first part
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Jerusalén – Choachí
This popular route takes you out of Bogotá using the Alto de Patios paved climb, before turning off onto the dirt just past the Teusaca River. After a
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Facatativá – Zipacón
I discovered this route in early 2022, when I came across a new gravel cycle path while I was on a ride out to Zipacón, a lovely colonial
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El Tablazo
El Tablazo is an iconic destination among Bogotá’s gravel and MTB cycling communities. Starting from the picturesque town of Subachoque, about 50km NW of Bogotá, the route rises
Sueva – Junín
This short but challenging route takes you through some incredible mountain scenery to the east of Bogotá. The route starts about 80km outside the city, but it’s worth
Zabrinski – Bojacá
I discovered this lovely route through the high desert to the west of Bogotá completely by accident, when I took a wrong turn one morning and didn’t realise
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Calera – Salitre
This route has a bit of everything: steep climbs, an abandoned mining town, rolling hills, amazing vistas, and delicious arepa places at either end. It starts by climbing
Choachí via Mundo Nuevo
There are a number of gravel routes from La Calera in the highlands east of Bogotá down to Choachí in the lowlands. This variant takes a detour up
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Alto de la Viga
37km | +962m | Hard This technical route is at the upper end of what a gravel bike can do. It’s totally rideable if you have good bike
El Treinta y Seis (Tunjaque)
Tunjaque is one of the highest peaks in the region and its distinctive serrated ridge is visible for miles around. This loop takes you on a well maintained
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Salitre Alto – Verjón
You’ll need your climbing and hiking legs with you for this one; it’s short but hardcore! After climbing up from the River Teusacá, you’ll encounter the challenging and
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La Hondura
This short and sweet ride through (mainly) rolling terrain is a Bogotá morning gravel classic. It takes you through some lovely scenery that includes an enchanted pine forest,
La Herradura
This Bogotá morning gravel classic is a short but challenging route with a couple of brutal climbs that you may have to walk parts of, especially if it’s
Cuchilla Cachimal
This rollercoaster route rises up out of Bogotá on the classic Patios climb and follows the iconic La Cima climb up to a high altitude golf club, before