Colombia Trike Tour - Bucaramanga to San Alberto

Garmin Info and Maps

Bucaramanga to Rionegro

Rionegro to El Playón

El Playón to San Alberto

If possible, I really like entering and leaving big cities on Sunday. After being in Bucaramanga for 8 days, I was ready to push on. I had many things to take care of here I got it all done. My visa was extended for 3 months. My hair was cut and colored and I also had a pedicure. My clothes were professionally cleaned for the 1st time since leaving Bogotá. I also got my blog updated, pictures upload and put together 2 videos for my Youtube channel. After 8 days, I was also much more comfortable with my new eating plan where I'm fasting for 16 hours and eating for 8 hours. I'm very surprised how easy it has been for me to fast for 16 hours. In fact, if I wasn't on a tour, I could probably fast for longer but I feel like I should eat in the morning before I start cycling.

After a good breakfast and getting Myrtle loaded up, the people working at the hotel where I've been staying, Hotel BGA, all came outside to see me off. This was very sweet and unexpected. They were also very concerned about me and gave me many warnings. One guy suggested I stop at the police station to get an escort through to the next town. They all said the next town was very dangerous and if I could, to keep going. This is something people always say about the next town. What they fail to understand is, I've ridden from Bogotá. I really doubt the next town will pose any more of the threat than any other town I've been in. They also said the route was flat which I knew wasn't true. If there had been less climbing for the day I probably could have gone farther than the next town but 2,000 ft of climbing in 20 miles is enough. In order to go to the town beyond the next town I would have to climb about 4,000 ft and that is simply too much. So the next town of Rionegro is where I was headed.

Bucaramanga is a big city of over 1 million people and it took awhile to ride through it. I had heard that Bucaramanga has a Ciclovia where the roads are closed to car traffic every Sunday but, for some reason, it wasn't happening this Sunday. Maybe because of Christmas? Who knows. I had been looking forward to riding in another Ciclovia and was bummed to miss it. But, to be honest, I didn't know where the Ciclovia route went and it is possible the route wouldn't have taken me out of town. There really wasn't much traffic and I had no problems leaving the city. I was almost out of town when a man in a big white car stopped me to give me a stern warning to not use my phone while cycling. He said someone would steal it if the phone was visible and even out of my hands. I use the phone for directions so that wasn't possible. At least not until I was out of town. I don't think I've ever been in a country where I have been warned about my cell phone being stolen more than in Colombia.

I had a big downhill to the bottom of the canyon and then a big uphill to climb back out.  Most of the ride I had a wide shoulder. At about noon, I stopped at a road side restaurant for a bowl of Caldo de Castillo. I love this soup. It is essentially bone broth, potatoes and a couple of beef ribs. If I don't eat the potatoes it works great for my new diet.

Once out of Bucaramanga, the scenery was lovely and it was also very hot. I went through a toll booth and the police asked me to stop so they could give me cold water. I had a father and daughter on a motorbike also give me a bottle of ice cold water. Another family gave me oranges which was very sweet even if I couldn't eat them.

Sweet family I met on the road

Entering Rionegro

This hill into Rionegro was probably 16% - ouch!

Myrtle parked the courtyard

I had some nice climbs and eventually made it Rionegro. For all the climbing I did today, the hill into Rionegro was, by far, the steepest. This town is up a hill that is at least a 16% grade. It was a long hill too but, huffing and puffing, I made it. I found a sweet hotel, Hotel la Fuente. The hotel is very clean with lots of sunshine and flowering plants everywhere. I got a room with a fan for $14.  It didn't have hot water but the water wasn't as freezing cold as usual. I think the water must be stored on the roof and in the sun. I really appreciated this. After the warnings I got from the hotel people in Bucaramanga I was quite surprised that Rionegro has a nice feel to it. I decided to stay another day to check it out more. Tomorrow is also Christmas Eve.

Hotel Cat - 'Gato'

Christmas Eve Mass

I had a nice day in Rionegro visiting with the hotel family and walking around. I tried to fly my drone but couldn't get enough satellites. Maybe in the morning. 

Sometimes, it seems like holidays are just an excuse for people to get drunk. All the bars were full of people drinking beer and many were already drunk early in the morning. I always feel less safe around drunk people.

I'm continuing to do the 16:8 fasting while following a Keto diet. It is very interesting. The 16:8 fasting is easy. In fact, if I wasn't cycling I think I could extend the fasting window to 20 hours fairly easily. Something like 20 years ago I did an Atkins diet and I didn't like it at all. For me, the Atkins diet has too much meat. I've never been big into bacon. All that fat grosses me out especially thinking about eating it every day. Even though Atkins calls itself a Keto diet, it really isn't. Atkins is a very high protein, moderate fat and low carb diet where as Keto is very high-fat, moderate protein and low carb. This is a subtle but important difference. It is possible to do Keto and be vegan which is important to me. Over the summers in Portland I mostly follow a vegan diet. I would never call myself vegan because when I'm traveling I eat the local foods or when I'm invited to someone's home I gratefully eat whatever is served. But, for myself, at home, I eat vegan. 

The idea of eating bacon everyday sounds awful but you give me a diet where I can eat practically unlimited amounts of avocado, oh yeah, I'm totally ok with that. And the avocados in Colombia are huge and super cheap. They are probably 3 times the size of an American avocado. They are everywhere and are just as delicious as the little ones. I also found organic coconut oil to add to food I buy in restaurants. Even though I have around 20 lbs of weight I could lose, the real reason I'm doing this is bring down chronic inflammation. For years, almost every time I eat, my feet and ankles swell up terribly. So far, after 10 days, I have had no inflammation after eating. I guess I am someone who can't eat sugar and sugar forming carbohydrates. There are 2 other welcome changes. I'm sleeping easier and deeper and I'm not hungry. I think about food all the time. I'm planning my next meal before I've finished the one I'm eating. Usually I snack on nuts and fruit while riding and I haven't needed to. I am quite hungry in the morning when I wake up but after breakfast I haven't been hungry for the rest of the day. I eat another meal around 3 even though I don't have a lot of hunger. Mostly because I'm worried about being hungry in the night. For me, not being hungry is a very strange experience. One nice thing about doing this diet/fast while traveling solo is I don't have any temptations. I'm not out with friends or family thinking 'oh, what's one beer or one sweet dessert?' I can do this diet and no one has to know why I'm asking questions about the menu. I'll be reporting on this regularly. About the changes I see, if it is working and if I think it is something I'll continue doing.

Drone shot of Rionegro plaza

Before leaving Rionegro, I decided to try flying my drone again in the morning. It took a long time to get enough satellites but I did get to fly. I'm always nervous when I fly and really like to have 12 satellites. Sometimes, if I can get 8 and have an open spot to take-off from I'll take-off expecting that when the drone is in the air it will lock onto a few more satellites. Luckily, that is what happened today. I really wanted to get pictures of the church on the main square. I haven't looked at the footage but the town didn't look as nice while I was flying as I expected. But I did get some good photos. I still, after almost a year, feel much more comfortable taking photos than video with my drone.  It's easier for me to see how the shot will look.

Saying 'goodbye' to Marina and Luis

I got a much later start than usual. Today is Christmas. I didn't have far to go and expected there to be much less traffic. Certainly, much less truck traffic. This turned out to be true but, wow, it was really hot. I only had 1100 ft of climbing but it felt like much more. The scenery was nice and many people talked to me from their cars as I was riding. It seems in Colombia I'm either barely moving or flying down hill. There are very little flat areas. I'm starting to see more colorful birds and plants and lizards. It is definitely feeling more tropical.

Fruit stand

View from the road

Just a pipe coming out of the wall

I pulled into El Playón and found a very basic hotel room for the usual $14. The hotel family in Rionegro said the 1st hotel I would come to would be safe and cheap. This is a town that caters to the truckers. I think on most days this hotel would be very busy and noisy but, lucky for me, truckers take Christmas off. The room was fine but the shower didn't have any water. I went to complain and was given another room. This room had shower water for about a minute and that was all. I ended up washing using the sink water. Very strange. Later, the hotel manager explained that a pipe had come apart. He said the shower water should be working again. I didn't have the energy to take another shower.

Making a milk delivery

Top of the last climb

Wanting to get to a real town and knowing there were going to be big climbs, I got up a 5 am. Since El Playón caters to truckers, the restaurants open early. Today would be the last day riding in the mountains. It really felt like a milestone. I had been riding in the mountains for almost a month and I was ready for easier riding. Google showed 2700 ft of climbing but it turned out to be less. The last climb of the day was the hardest. It was very hot too. I stopped at a restaurant and the top for a bowl of soup. The restaurant had a good breeze blowing through it which really felt nice. From there I had a twisting turning downhill and then some small rollers into San Alberto. San Alberto is in the department of Cesar, it's like being in a new state. From here, the whole way to the coast is flat or, at least, much flatter than what I've been experiencing since leaving Bogotá. I'm ready for some flat riding.

Last view in the mountains

Swimming hole coming into San Alberto

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