June 29: Santa Rosa de Osos to Medellín

June 29, 2022

We were up again bright and early, eager to get in to Medellín and enjoy a few days of rest. We left Santa Rosa de Osos with a cool chill in the air, climbing through yet more verdant fields and passes. We enjoyed one decent of approximately 1,500ft before stopping for breakfast in San Matías.

We accidentally took this rough muddy road out of town. I loved it on my Surly. Brian, with his much narrower tires, did not.

A panoramic view of our first descent into San Matías.

Upon leaving San Matías we were greeted with a stunning 3,000ft descent that would take us into the outskirts of Medellín.

A glimpse of the coming descent. It was unreal.

This was our time to shine. For once, the semi trucks were not passing us; we were passing the semi trucks. With the trucks' engine braking on full blast as they descended the pass, we found ourselves taking every opportunity to overtake them on the clear straightaways, launching ourselves forward at stratospheric speeds. It was exhilarating, reclaiming all of the potential energy we had amassed when climbing out of Puerto Valdivia two days prior. We absolutely flew down into the valley, stopping once to cool our sizzling brakes before continuing on into Medellín.

The ride into Medellín was, frankly, terrible. There were intermittent bike paths, but they were all interrupted by construction or blocked by cars and trucks. We had to resort to using the busy thoroughfares, complete with all shapes and sizes of motos, cars, and trucks belching out smoke. It was easily the most stressful biking of the trip, and I soon had a headache from all of the smog. But after a stressful hour of navigating through the madness, we arrived at Hostal Masaya, where we would be staying for the next three days as we recouperate and make plans for our next leg of the ride. It was a wildly luxurious change of pace from the previous places we have stayed.

I also met up with my brother, who would be staying in Medellín for several days. We enjoyed dinner and drinks together before calling it a night, grateful to have made it safely to this city. I'm certainly excited to see a more elegant side of it, preferably off the saddle.

Today's ride: 82 km (51 miles)
Total: 837 km (520 miles)

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Benjamin MeyersonHey congrats on making it to Medellin safely, have been enjoying your journal. Not sure if you have a specific route planned yet, and I noticed you have some big knobby tires. I have a friend who is obsessed with riding in Colombia and has done at least 5 tours there, all in Antioqia from Medellin, using both road and gravel routes. Thought his journals might be of interest to you and help in route planning, you can find them on the other bike touring website, cgoab, under last name Draeger. Good luck with the rest of the trip!
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1 year ago

Jeremy NolanThank you so much Benjamin! I'm going to take a look and will send the blog to my friends as well. We will be leaving Medellin on Sunday so his input will be very valuable.
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1 year ago

Benjamin MeyersonHey no problem. One do not miss if you're in the area is the dirt road from Salento through the small village of Toche where you can overnight and then out to pavement at Cajamarca. Also, keep in mind that Nate is an absurdly strong cyclist who travels light on a fast bike - you may not be able to do his itineraries day for day.
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1 year ago