Cycling The Globe

Distance: 96.60 km
Ride time: 5:12:56
Average: 18.52 km/h
Max speed: 53.75 km/h
Total: 34181 km

Another day characterized by very short but very steep climbs and a a temperature close to 40°C. I had expected this part of Colombia to be easy cycling but – easy is not a word I would use to describe these days.

In the morning I was only 160 km away from Cartagena. I thought it would be possible to reach this final destination in South America today, but I just didn’t have it in me. In fact, at one point I was loosing absolutely all energy and had to push my bike up a couple of short climbs. As I sat down for a short break I wondered if I would be able to continue cycling at all. In the end I decided I just had to – after more than 13000 km in South America I didn’t want to give up now.

I had a small Pepsi (not 1.5 liters like the other day) and for some reason this magic drink made all the difference. Soon enough I was cruising along at more or less normal speeds. I’m not really sure what coursed this mini break down, probably the heat.

Once the energy had returned I once again started to believe I could reach Cartagena today. I knew it would mean arriving a little after dark in a very tired state. Then I realized I wanted my last cycling day in South America to be more than that. I wanted my last ride to be a day with time to reflect over the last year on the bike on this fascinating continent.

This part of Colombia is rather desolated so I had to put in another couple of hours of cycling before I spotted a cheap motel for the night. I checked in and had a nice chat with the motel mama, explaining that I had been cycling all the way from Patagonia. I’m not sure she understood.

Tomorrow it should be an easy cruise into Cartagena, the final kilometers of South America!