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Charley’s blog

Adventuring off the beaten track

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I’m Giving Up, Mountain Backroads of Dirt, Unhitched Legs

9 Comments / Bike Touring, Colombia bike touring / charleysblog

Clickbait! Yup, give me a hard time. But. But, there is some reality to what I am giving up. I am giving up on my plan to ride north to south across Colombia. There’s lots of reasons. There is the danger of getting near the Ecuador border. For some reason I keep getting these notices […]

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My Favorite Mountain Town, Words Can Count

12 Comments / Bike Touring, Colombia bike touring / charleysblog

So far Zapatoca has been my favorite town, maybe the effort to get here has biased my opinion, but I have been enjoying just exploring all the nooks and crannies as I walk the streets. No trash anywhere, fresh mountain air and coolness. The best restaurants yet of the trip. Coffee shops to while away

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Joking Stoic Gods, Angel of Colombia, Lessons

11 Comments / Bike Touring, Colombia bike touring / charleysblog

I woke up nervous and a little anxious to be starting on the uphill portion of my back way out of San Gil. Since I had booked a hotel only about 8 miles away and not wanting to get there before customers from the night before had checked out, I took my time in the

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Off Road, Warmshowers, Judging a Book By Its Cover

4 Comments / Bike Touring, Colombia bike touring / charleysblog

I’m ending my stay of six days in Bucaramanga. I’ve been in recovery mode; eating well, relaxing, stretching and planning. After dealing with the crappy road coming into this city, I was hoping for an alternative. In my second day continuing south from here I would have to ride up about 5000 feet within a

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The Andes, Flats, Hardware Store Fun

8 Comments / Bike Touring, Colombia bike touring / charleysblog

I’m 358 miles (577km) south of the Caribbean Sea.  Not without a tremendous effort, but here I am at 3500 feet in the 1.5 million population city of Bucaramanga. I arose today at my usual time of 0430 from habit, so did some stretching, journaling and reading. Now I’m upstairs on the balcony enjoying the

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Hills and Recovery, Another Bike Packer, Alarmed

8 Comments / Bike Touring, Colombia bike touring / charleysblog

I’ve been in Colombia now for over a month. My Spanish is adequate to find directions, order meals, secure a room and even tell people where I come from and where I’m going. When I’m around people here I’m really “on” in that I stick out like a sore thumb: white skin, big guy, on

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Tranquillo, Why? Asking for Help

17 Comments / Bike Touring, Colombia bike touring / charleysblog

Lots more riding in the heat. As soon as I think I’ve become accustomed to it, I am presented with a big hill and struggle again. I like the little towns along my way. Outside of one, I spotted a “resort hotel”. The sign said so, so who was I to argue. It even included

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Finally Riding South, Macondo, In The Country

9 Comments / Bike Touring, Colombia bike touring / charleysblog

Ready and packed, at 0545 with four liters of water and electrolytes , I sped (😁) off. Turned out that after a mile of flat, the next almost two miles were an uphill to get over the hump splitting the city in two. So, I was dripping with sweat by the fifteen minute mark.  From

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Uphill Ride, Coffee and Cacao

5 Comments / Bike Touring, Colombia bike touring / charleysblog

15 miles (25km) to my finca ( farm) above the town of Minca, in the mountains. Ready First five miles were easy, flat roads. The problem was motorcycles everywhere. If right lane is crowded they will go on other side of the road, weaving between opposing traffic. They ride up on sidewalks to get around traffic

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KOGI Part 2 and Another Jungle Visit Many Years Ago

10 Comments / Bike Touring, Colombia bike touring / charleysblog

Here’s the story of my visit to the KOGI village PART 2 Rukmini, my guide, wore a turban and had a bindi on his forehead. He explained that he studied meditation and yoga in India for ten years and now is a meditation and yoga teacher here in Colombia. He carried a peaceful, calm energy

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