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 Colombia’s most demanding climbs to a high altitude lake, across a stunning páramo, and past the source of the River Bogotá. The route takes you out of […]
The World’s Longest Climb? Read More »
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 in July 2023 I finally found time do it! I was still recovering from a 32 hour non-stop ride a few days before, so I decided to
San Agustin – Melgar Read More »
If you’re heading up to Bogota from southern Colombia the most direct route is through the town of Melgar. The problem is that the road is a busy highway and also just after Melgar there is a tunnel that bicycles are prohibited from using. This means either having to put your bike on a bus
Pueblo Nuevo – Silvania Read More »
If you’re heading up to Bogotá from southern Colombia, the most direct route is through the town of Melgar. The problem is that the road is a busy highway and also just after Melgar there is a tunnel that bicycles are prohibited from using. This means either having to put your bike on a bus
Pueblo Nuevo – Muña Read More »
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 magazine. It’s a 600km loop, the middle of which follows an old cattle trail through the jungle, plains and scrubland of eastern Colombia, and up into the
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 follows a super-steep paved descent out of the village down to River Naranjos at 1,500 masl. The climb back up is paved for the first couple of
San Agustín – Naranjos Loop Read More »
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 Estrecho (a 2m wide gully with the entire River Magdalena thundering through it, less than a metre below the edge), up to the picturesque town of Obando
San Agustín – Isnos Loop Read More »
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 trails that rise and fall as they traverse a largely barren landscape full of amazing sand and rock formations, with seemingly infinite layers of mountains in the
Desierto de La Tatacoa Read More »
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 can also be used between La Plata and Neiva to avoid the main road running through the department of Huila. The route is 65% paved and follows
Tierradentro – Neiva Read More »
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 almost 3,400m, where a long gravel descent begins. The vistas all the way up and down are absolutely magnificent. The climb is an impressive 50km long, but
Popayán – Tierradentro Read More »
