July 4: Fredonia to Jericó

July 4, 2022

When Martín had so kindly found us a hotel room the previous night, he failed to inform us that the floor above us was booked by the World Hammering Championship. We awoke at 7am to a non-stop clammering of hammers that were clearly our indication to get a start on the day. We had a huge ascent into Jericó to contend with, so after Brian resolved an issue with his debit card we were on our way.

Our ride first included a large descent from Fredonia through a thick layer of clouds. Our world turned to black and white as we made our way down into the next river valley. As the elevation dropped and we broke free of the clouds the temperature began to steadily rise, and we were soon back in the swampy humidity that had defined our time in the northern part of the country.

Peering down into the valley that we descended into.

After we briefly reconvened in Puente Iglesias, we rode a beautiful stretch of pavement along the Río Cauca. It was during this time that I experienced one of those moments when everything comes together: the beautifully paved road, the view of waterfalls cascading down the hillside, my mental and physical state, the music I was listening to, everything. It was all just so perfect.

These Toyota Land Cruisers are everywhere and often serve as taxis or buses on the local backroads. What I would give to import one to the US.

We turned off the roadway after about eight kilometers and began our long ascent into Jericó. The first 10 kilometers of the climb were hot. We all rode at our own pace and reconvened from time to time to both commiserate as well as to enjoy the increasingly expansive view into the valley.

Taking a pit stop a few kilometers into our climb.

As the road ascended even higher, the fauna and foliage began to change. The sound of insects and birds chirping was interspersed with the putterings of passing motos and the screech of buses as they hurtled down the mountain. Wild lantana, bamboo, and eucalyptus lined the roadway, and the undergrowth became denser and greener as we gained altitude.

The climb was, in classic Colombian fashion, relentless. At one point I was so drenched in sweat that my body was visibly steaming. The switchbacks toward the summit were particularly brutal, but there is something to be said about shifting into your easoest gear and just grinding it out. There was certainly a lot of that today.

One of the many switchbacks we navigated.

A drone shot of the road. There still remained many hundreds of feet of climbing.

After many hours of climbing and goodness knows how many pints of sweat dripped on the roadway, we made it to Ecoland on the outskirts of Jericó. We joyously found our first place to camp, overlooking the vast valley we had just ridden from. This is also an extremely popular place to paraglide, which I will absolutely be endulging in tomorrow morning. When in Colombia, right?

I spoke extensively with César, one of the pilots who is also an avid mountain biker. He gave us suggestions for a fun route to take to Jardín the following day and even offered to ride it with us. People continue to be so darn kind when they learn about what we're doing, and as a result we are constantly treated like kings. I think there's a lot to be said about traveling by bike, as it's a universally-recognized form of transportation. We may all come from different socioeconomic or cultural backgrounds, but everyone knows what a bicycle is and many people own one or know how to ride one. It's pretty darn great.

Today's ride: 50 km (31 miles)
Total: 944 km (586 miles)

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