June 23, 2022
June 23: San Juan Nepomuceno to Corozal
Today was another prohibitively hot day, but less so than yesterday. Brian and I decided to get an earlier start on the day and packet our bikes by 7:30. We rode a few kilometers into San Juan to get breakfast, which we found at a tiny comedor run by an older woman. We got MANY stares as we bikes around town, which is always kind of entertaining.
After wrapping up breakfast we headed south on the 25. This has been a great road to ride for the most part. Traffic picks up through towns, but there has consistently been a large and clean shoulder. Drivers also continue to be extremely considerate, although they do like to use their horns a lot!
There was much more climbing today than there was yesterday, so we found ourselves using our granny gear more often to sweat our way up each subida. We made sure to reward ourselves with more helados and mango juice to stay energized and cool throughout the day. Still, my sopping mess of a shirt by day's end was a testament that drinks and ice cream can only go so far.
After a late lunch at a roadside comedor, we enjoyed riding through some of the elongating shade amidst truly lush scenery. It has been tough to get photos throughout the day as the urge to keep riding often takes over, but I did my best to capture at least one landscape during this time of day.
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Another exciting development was the huge increase in cyclists we saw on the road starting right around 5pm. People young and old were on road and mountain bikes going in either direction, with many of them offering a positive "dale" or thumbs up. Cycling is the second most popular sport in Colombia behind soccer, and that was evident this evening. We also had throughout our day more positive words of encouragement than I think I have ever had riding in years in the US.
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We wrapped up our day by locating a hotel near the centro of Corozal, a quaint town on the outskirts of the much- large Sincelejo. After washing up we strolled around the city center, with each of us noting just how many families were out enjoying the cool evening weather. We purchased a pizza from a street vendor, which Brian penned as "streetza" much to my enjoyment, and sat back taking in the beautiful center and all of its wonderful chaos.
Today's ride: 98 km (61 miles)
Total: 346 km (215 miles)
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