“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!” I texted back. And sure enough, we loaded our bikes into a minivan to Usme at 4am the following Saturday, so we could avoid the long & […]
Sumapaz: Usme – Verjón Read More »
“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 for breath. And that was that. Or, at least it was until he got a double pinch-flat just a few kms into what was looking like a
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 Monquentiva and the Pantano de Martus, a huge 700ha area of high mountain swampland that was originally an ancient lake, before it was drained in the 19th
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 Calera, before turning off onto a concrete strip road where you’ll encounter the first challenge of the day: a 1,500m wall with an average gradient of 14.3%!
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 Manrique the night Lael started her FKT on the route; it was a beautiful, clear night with an almost full moon, and the vistas across the Páramo
VALS is the name given to the Bogotá roadie morning classic “Vuelta A La Sabana”, and GraVALS is the gravel equivalent. It starts and ends on the same paved roads as VALS, but the middle part takes in some lovely gravel roads with not too steep gradients and views out across the valleys. This route
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, and is a great way to get acclimatised to Colombia’s altitude and gradients. It takes you on a loop through the mountains to the east of Bogotá
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 few kilometres of rolling terrain, you reach a short but mighty gravel wall up and over the brow of a hill, with gradients reaching 20%. After that,
Jerusalén – Choachí Read More »
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 town in the hills SW of Bogotá, and decided to see where it went. The path follows a disused train line that used to run between Facatativá
Facatativá – Zipacón Read More »
El Tablazo is an iconic destination among Bogotá’s gravel and MTB cycling communities. Starting from the picturesque town of Subachoque, about 50km NWW of Bogotá, the route rises up and up, first on a fairly steep paved road with a few double-digit ramps (lots of shops on this part for refreshment breaks), and then along
