to Pasto: lots of cyclists in Colombia

April 9, 2017

Well...our first night in a Colombia hotel was not pleasant. After checking in, the rest of the afternoon was pleasant enough, even with a cold shower. Then as we are falling asleep a large group checks into the hotel with not much consideration for others, talking loudly for over an hour. Lesson learned about hotels with covered courtyards: the noise just reverberates.

"The town is full of cyclists" Patrick says coming back to the room after he checks if it is still raining this morning. We see many cyclists coming down the hill from Pasto to Pedegral. Many must have had a very early start to have made it here before 7:00am. Some look like racers, some look like "old" racers, some look like they are farmers who grabbed their kids bike for a Sunday ride. Lots of vehicles with bike racks, bikes on the rack. Colombia cities are known for the Ciclovia rides, where city streets are closed to vehicle traffic.

We have a few kilometers of downhill before the start of the 1400+ meter elevation gain for today. There are many cyclists soaring downhill we are given the thumbs up by quite a few. We take two breaks, both times to have a cup of coffee and some of our own cookies and salami sandwiches at a restaurant. The second stop is only five kilometers from the summit in Cebala. Some cyclists driving back up the hill talk to us and check out our bikes. A cop manning a police check-point hands out bananas.

The climb was pretty nice, a steady grade we were able to push in lowest gear, a good wide shoulder for most of the way and many things to look at. After our last break the weather changes fast though, from partly cloudy and a little sun the sky goes straight to dark clouds and pouring rain. We ride into Pasto during a big thunderstorm and a deluge of tropical rain. What a way to ruin a downhill! Patrick's brake pads are not working well in the pouring rain. Rachel's brakes are working a little better, but we both go slowly down the hill. We will use tomorrows rest day to search for new ones. Even when almost to the hotel, we are chilled and wet, and need to stop under the protection of a gas station, to put on warmer clothes.

We find Hotel Rio Mayo and check in. There is a locked area downstairs for the bikes and we shuttle gear up three flights of stairs. We settle in with gear spread all around the room, quickly take a hot shower, mostly to warm up and try to log on to WiFi. The signal is too weak so we move to another room another flight up.

It rains the rest of the afternoon. We head out to find dinner at La Merced restaurant and pick-up strawberries and cream and chocolate cake on our way back. All is well after another tough day.

Starting the climb out of Pedegral. Hundreds of local cyclist zip down the hill. We are not sure where they are going because very few pass us going back towards Pasto.

Another sign Patrick would love to see hanging in his garage.

Nice views over the valley before the rain starts.

Tangua, a small town along the climb up towards Pasto.

Old Ford with awesome hood ornament sitting in a garage junkyard.

Local cyclists driving back to Pasto admire our bikes and take photos.

Hotel Rio Mayo on a chilly rainy afternoon. It is a bit more than we really want to spend, but since we are cold and wet we are in no mood to check other places. The hot shower is great.

Kara, one of our neighbors sent a photo of our front garden and the Weeping Cherry tree in bloom. Makes us a little homesick......

Today's ride: 40 km (25 miles)
Total: 30,207 km (18,759 miles)

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