Distance: 102.65 km
Ride time: 4:44:37
Average: 21.63 km/h
Max speed: 40.06 km/h
Total: 33189 km
After 4 years on the road I’m getting better at saying goodbye although I will never be a fan. Yesterday night over dinner at our favourite arepa restaurant it was time for one of those goodbyes. Thanks to all for making my stay in town memorable – without you Cali would not be the same!
The next morning I was packing my cycling bags which were now heavier than they used to be – you always end up with a little more stuff after spending two months in a place.
Even though it had been sad to say goodbye to my friends I was happy to be on the open road again. Now I was enjoying the cycling through the fertile and green Cauca Valley up towards Medellin.
I remember other times on the trip where I was getting back on the bike after a long break – for example after the stop in Alice Springs in Australia or while setting out from Ushuaia in Argentina. At those times I had faced some real cycling challenges (the Australian outback and the winds of Patagonia). After this break in Cali there were not really such challenges; I was cruising through a flat valley with no wind, and there were plenty of small towns were I could by a cold drink or some food.
After 100 km in under 5 hours I was entering Tulua. A very local city where no tourists would ever stop. I found a cheap hotel room and was feeling happy enough to be back in the “real” Colombia.
Thomas,
I thought that this new post we would see you cycling together with that pretty girl.
Sort of like that cycling movie that I bought from Amazon…”Janapar: Love On A Bike.” Tom Allen was the cycle-tourist who fell in love with a student/girl he met somewhere in Europe & they cycled together to the girl’s home in Iran.
Well nice to see Colombia, specially Medellin, back to ‘normal.” Whereas all you hear about the place was ‘drug-related’ murders – just a few years back.
Hola Marcos! Yes, it was not easy to leave Cali but now I finally managed to do it. I want to at least cycle up to Cartagena in northern Colombia, then we will see 🙂 Greetings from Medellin!
Thomas, I think we are all thinking the same thing as Marcos!
Must be pretty exciting to be on the road again though, so close to Cartagena and the top of the South America.