Locombia 2017 Chapter Twentyfour: The Homecoming
A national public holiday was declared and tens of thousand of people greeted us in the streets as we entered Bogotá.
La Vega - Bogotá 74 kilometers
You would believe that by now our physical condition had improved to a decent level. Yet every day we still feel pain. And we had apparently saved the most painful climb for the last day. Almost 30 kilometers uphill.
The mountain goat turned into a cow, looking clueless and gloomy. The turtle turned into, well, continued to be a turtle, only slower than before, wanting to hide from the world in its shell. The turtle did, however, find some hidden powers on the savannahs of Bogotá, making the entry to the city a good experience.
Welcome committee number 1: Cheerful men on the street.
So the last day of this, for us, incredibly rewarding journey sums up the whole month. It was hard. We stopped for dessert whenever we saw one. It was hot. It was great. And despite our agony, we reached our destination in the end.
Welcome committee number 2: Omar's mother and sister.
We finally completed the circle, entering the contaminated and congested capital of Colombia. It's been about 900 kilometers. Not too impressive in terms of distance in three weeks, but our aim was never to ride, eat, sleep, repeat. We wanted time to enjoy what Colombia has to offer, and I think we succeeded. And in terms of climbing we do think we have impressed. We have climbed 19,000 meters during our trip! We've climbed the Andes four times, being over 3,800 meters above sea level two times!
There is much more to say about this trip, such as experiences, lessons learned and advice for others who want to travel Colombia by bike. All in due time. Please just let me enjoy a beer for the first time in weeks without having to think of hills I have to climb tomorrow.
Finally an appeal to cyclists of Bogotá. It is common courtesy to greet when you pass fellow cyclists on the road. You should learn from cyclists in Manizales.
Omar having Sweets on the way to Bogotá.
Freshly squeezed mandarin juice. Energizing, cheap and oh so good.
Same sunscreen applied for the same amount of days. How is it possible?!
Back to where we started. Happy, but somehow we would like to go on.
