Out for a 2k run with new Mark, we did a short 2.4k circuit of the town.
Before breakfast Steve and the others are out taking pictures, one with Steve stroking a kitten. He puts it down, and it wanders off: straight into the path of a passing car. But it misses the wheels and escapes, only to be then hit by the trailer behind the car. Steve and the others are mortified. The vultures fight over the carcass.
Major disruption at breakfast because there's no coffee! The owner says he only has hot chocolate, no coffee. Hugo pleads for coffee for the group, but there's dissent and so chocolate it is. Strangely, coffee turns up later, so everyone is happy. It's simple eggs, rice and a wedge of local cheese. But it was very tasty.
Before leaving we have a discussion about corner man drop off. A system we've used extensively on almost every trip to keep the group on the right route following the leader and keeping it moving. Jeff doesn't seem convinced. Rebels that we are we will just do it. And we did. And it worked very well.
The roads from Cimitarra are sweeping. We came along these yesterday afternoon, but I don't remember them being this much fun. Probably because I didn't have my stalker Ray on my tail then. Lots of twists and turns, with just a few areas where the tarmac has sunk a little.
We miss the signposted right turn off towards Bucaramanga, but we go a bit further and are able to join the same main road. Turning right we pass where we should have joined the road.
This is a relatively busy single carriageway with big trucks and many cars competing for space. There have been a few landslides along the road where the road narrows to one lane with siga/pare roadworkers at each end. We are quite lucky catching the green siga sign. But where we don't, we still manage to filter our way to the front of the waiting traffic queue at the red pare sign, either on the verge or in the middle of the road during gaps in the oncoming traffic.
Our pace is dictated by the leader and when the road is clear we make good progress. But occasionally faster cars push to overtake. Cars, coaches, and lorries tailgate very closely behind you, especially if you leave a gap in front, which seems to invite the car to get even closer. When the oncoming traffic is too heavy, the car hovers menacingly behind you. Ironically if they overtake, we then cruise by when the car hits yet another queue.
In places tall bamboo lines the road and sometimes arches over the road making a bamboo tunnel. It's noticeably cooler in these mini tunnels.
We reach a large dam and wind our way around it, eventually reaching a lookout point on the other side of the lake it creates. When we stop, Steve makes Edic aware that he has a leak somewhere on his bike. Fluids are sprayed all over the lower half of the bike and his brand new boots and trousers.
We take pictures while we wait for Edic to attend to Steve's bike. And the conclusion is that Steve has apparently blown a fork seal. Or rather his bike has. It can still be ridden, but needs to be replaced, which can't be done until tomorrow.
We push on to reach Bucaramunga and see it first from on high as we drop into its valley. The city is way larger than I expected, stretching into the distance and densely populated with high-rise blocks. It looks very modern. We couldn't stop to take pictures because it was a highway.
Reaching the city it's rush hour and we spend ages stuck in traffic, which is really frustrating. Normally bikes can filter, but here the gaps are not big enough and in any case Jeff probably wants to keep the group together.
Eventually we reach the hotel and park in a multistorey carpark, winding our way up to the 5th floor. I'm sharing with Mark on a room on the 11th floor.
Dinner is a taxi ride away, Italian, and Steve is not impressed by the ribs he ordered, nor the delay in their arrival. We walk back to burn off the excess calories.
Steve's bike is being repaired in the morning and we need to wait for this to be fixed before leaving. It should take about an hour, but there's uncertainty about the actually time we can leave. We discuss options, including just pushing ahead, leaving Edic to fix Steve's bike and catching up later, while Steve rides Edic's. Jeff advises against this as he says the canyon we're riding through tomorrow is very arid and if we have any problems, it's not a good place to be stuck. We'll decide in the morning.
About 200 km today. I didn't track the first part so don't know for sure.
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