The Andes

The Andes,

salento

After a weekend of resting my bones from cycling and using them for heavy farm work instead I left Salento in the same state I arrived but met many great people in the process and enjoyed the few days I spent in the Hostel. The volunteer quarters were home to some local artists, a lovely young couple who sold their art every week in the town.  There was a very chilled atmosphere at that place which I thoroughly enjoyed. I left to return to Calarca ,a very short afternoon of cycling through an empty back road, and take up the offer from my amigo Nando of a tour round Quindio district, the zona Cafeteria (the place where they do coffee and stuff). The next day we left for the tour, Beautiful empty country roads and a vista of rolling hills and coffee plantations. It was a great day up until we were about 40km short of arriving back at Nandos place. We got caught in one of the worst rain falls I can remember, the problem was that the last 40km were pretty much all downhill and it didn’t take long to discover that my brakes didn’t exactly do their job in the wet, that combined with the fact that the rain was so heavy we could hardly see anything for water in our eyes made a rather uncomfortable ride. We stopped in Armenia in a bike shop where I changed my brake pads for some all-weather ones and waited a while for the rain to stop (which it didn’t) in a state close to hyperthermia. But the climb back home warmed us up again despite the rain.

a quick bath on the side of the road

The next day was great, I set off early after being fed a ridiculously heavy breakfast and the day was pretty much all downhill, 110km. On the way I met another cycle tourist going the other way, there was a strip of  in between the two lanes so we stopped for an Exchange, he was coming from Chile, had a great rig which he had bodged together, using big oil containers for his front  panniers, cutting the tops off for lids. He was a juggler and tried to earn a bit of money here and there by busking at traffic lights, He had 6 clubs so we attempted to do some club passing in the middle of the road, I was a bit rusty so we were not good enough to impress anyone but it was a fun encounter none the less.

I arrived in a place called Buga, a very religious city with more churches then people I think, I treated myself to a hostel as my body had been complaining a lot that day, and was very glad I had made that decision because by pure chance I met another cyclist, who had come to the hostel just for a beer and some pizza, a French guy doing the whole hog right from Alaska down to Patagonia. Drank some beers, swapped some stories and planned to meet the next morning and continue on together, we have been travelling together for the past 4 days.

We had a short day from Buga to Cali only 50km or so and made big plans for the night, to discover the Salsa scene in Cali, we scoured the city for the cheapest hostel without finding anything cheaper than the first place we looked, but had a nice tour of the place in the process, after cooking an enormous pasta dinner in preparation for the next day which probably doubled my weight we both fell into food comers and our plans were over.

stole some bricks for the hell of it.

Our plans for an early start failed and we didn’t leave the city until almost 10 due to roadwork’s blocking the main route south which we meant we had to negotiate the backstreets as if trying to exit a ginormous maze. The day started off easy but become more physical as we began entering the andes.  But cycling is certainly more enjoyable with some company, toward the end of the day we were climbing a fair bit and began trying to catch the big lorries and steal from free kilometres, it was very fun and we have decided that its not cheating became its almost as difficult to keep hold of the trucks with all our weight than it is to pedal, but it ended in tears when Simon got to big for his boots and tried to grab one going a little bit too fast with tired arms and lost control, he was sent down and got some nasty grazes but incredibly lucky not to be hurt more than that. We stopped to tend to his injuries and ate some dinner at a roadside restaurant but Night time approached and were we still 15km of climbing away from a town so we started looking for a place to camp. After asking at a military base they declined us on the grounds that it was very dangerous (we are travelling a region of conflict with the FARC guerrillas), which we couldn’t really understand as there must have been 25 armed military to protect us. I guess they didn’t have much faith in themselves. We climbed another 2 km and spotted a nice looking farm up on the hill, I went to ask permission to camp on their land and after being very cautious of  at first they offered us an empty outhouse to camp out in, which was much appreciated as it rained most of the night. The old lady there was lovely and gave us a tour of their small coffee farm and talked lots about many things that neither of us really understood but it was very interesting none the less. We got off to an early start mainly thanks to the chicken house behind us housing a gang of very persistent cockerels who started their cock a doodle doing way before sunrise. We were very kindly treated to some breakfast and sent on our way.

the coffee factory

  we arrived in Popayan, it was great, all the roads were closed for cars and for some reason there were groups of people on the side of the road clapping and cheering and giving us support. We soon realised when 50 spandexed cyclists passed us at speeds so fast they were barely visible to the human eye that we had arrived during a national cycling race. We had lunch in Popayan which incidentally was a beautiful city; In the centre every building was as white as the average American supermodels front teeth. We also enjoyed the excessive amount of applause as we explored the city apparently full to the brim with budding cycling enthusiasts, it made us feel real special.

The afternoon was difficult, lots of climbing and the roads were as wholly as Swiss cheese. We finished the day with a very steep 8km climb up to a town called Rosas which unfortunately didn’t reflect the beauty of its name, it was a bit of a dump, we found a hospedaje (a cheap motel) for about £2 each, ate, and then I for one slept like little baby. These past few days I have noticed my body adapting to the task at hand, as if it’s coming to terms with what I am making it do and starting to give up complaining and just get on with it. Hills are becoming easier and I am starting not to notice the weight so much, saying that it has been far from easy, just slightly easier than it was at the start.

The next day started perfectly, 15km of downhill with a view that was so beautiful that it stole way to much of my attention and almost sent me flying in to the abyss. Followed by a short 6km steep climb, the rest of the day was pretty flat so we planned to smash some kilometres but by midday our flow was disrupted by a flat tyre on my back wheel, which was followed 200 metres later by another and then the realisation that my back tyre had worn itself a massive whole after only doing its job for 3 weeks (that’s what you get for spending £3 on a tyre) luckily I bought a spare in Popayan the previous day so changed it over, another 100 meters later  and my tyre was flat again, crappy glue patches I think, so I chucked on a fresh tube and that was enough to satisfy the greedy thing. Needless to say this ate us a good part of the afternoon. We arrived late afternoon is a town consisting of not much more than a gas station and a restaurant and decided to by some food and some beer and find a spot to camp. As we were organising our evening in the one store in town a guy rocked up on a fully loaded royal Enfield, with a ton of character.  A very British man named Harry with a British accent that made me sound American he was on a round the world trip trying to run his diesel engine on veg oil but apparently not having a whole load of success, he was on his fourth engine of the trip, It seems the veg oil isn’t great for the health of the engine. We invited him to join us in our camp in the field behind the hotel for a beer and swapped stories of our travels. He spent the night sat in a field next to some cow shit after paying for a nice comfortable room but it’s the company that counts.

camp

Robertos reserve

That brings us to today, Today we really started climbing, this morning I think we started around 500m and are now at about 2300m. The heat this morning was unbearable it must have been in the mid thirtys but as we started to climb higher and higher the climate started to change with the altitude, After having climbed about 50km a beaten up old jeep stopped and a friendly looking old man offered for us to stay at his ecological reserve located another 80km up the road, We knew that it would not be possible to get that far so he offered us a lift, which we quickly accepted due to the heat which by that time was started to wear me down as well as causing rust to form on my bike from the constant stream of sweat that was running off my nose. A lovely old man, Roberto, we somehow crammed ourselves along with our bikes and gear into the little jeep and enjoyed a very easy and comfortable 80km climb, this brought us up to 2300m where the climate is far more manageable. The views as we drove up the valley were stunning; we are well and truly in the Andes now, Roberto stopped at a few viewpoints to give us some lessons in geography, explained the lay of the land, how it was formed, and when, which I almost understood with my desperate but ever improving grasp of Spanish . I am writing to you now from Roberto’s reserve it is a research centre for reforestation and as far as I understand at the moment he is working on repopulating the forest with orchids. He dropped us here, told us to feel at home and left, so we have the use of this amazing place at our disposal, a kitchen full of food, warm beds and electricity. The extent of human kindness I have experienced on this trip so far has been really touching, we are now only a day away from the Ecuadorian border. 

La Linea

06/11/2012

After stalling for way to long in Ibague I had myself a rather late day of cycling, From Ibague to Calamarca was only 31km and several people had told me that the road doesn’t start to climb until after Calarmarca so I wasn’t too worried about the afternoon and I set off from a prolonged lunch in Ibague at about 3, leaving the city was a hell of a climb and it didn’t get much better from there if that terrain was flat in the eyes of the locals I had asked I was incredibly worried about ‘la linea ‘ of which I have been told by numerous people is almost vertical. As the afternoon passed the km’s were passing at an incredibly slow pace and I was becoming very tired, exacerbated by  the heat, I was in first gear working hard and climbing the whole way, I didn’t arrive in Calamarca until almost 7pm  way after dark, the small decent into the town was quite scary with my rather inferior headlight, I arrived in a state of absolute exhaustion, due to the late hour and my state of being I cut myself some slack and found a cheap hotel, It was actually quite nice for the price which would convert to about £6. Dinner that night tasted amazing, the cold beer I had been thinking about all afternoon tasted like a gift from heaven.

07/11/2012

La linear, this was one of the most physical days I can remember, 30km of climbing at gradient of ridiculous,  up to an altitude of over 4000 metres, In some parts it was almost impossible to pedal with all the weight, even in my easiest gear. It took me all morning to reach the top. I must admit I cheated a few kilometres, Near the bottom of the climb as I was putting some serious effort into each meter a big truck passed me with a young kid skitching behind it grinning at me as if to say “why the hell are climbing when you can just grab onto a truck and get to the top for free” I kept climbing with the intention of trying to grab the next truck to pass, but nothing passed me for an hour or so. I came to a spot where for hundred meters or so the terrain was flat, giving me the ability to gain the same speed as a truck if one were to pass, I waited about 10 minutes until I heard the low rumble of a heavy vehicle and took my chance, pedalled like a maniac to catch it but got a good hold and after feeling a bit sketchy to start with got used to the balance and gained myself some free kilometres until my left arm was almost dead at which point I had to let it go. Another chance a bit further up at a stop sign for some work on the road I took another opportunity and grabbed another truck, the driver saw me and was quite happy to help, I found out later that I just needed to signal the driver and he would slow down enough for me to grab on but I could only last a few kilometres at a time until my arm was done, I had a lot of weight to pull. The last 5 kilometres were the worst, incredibly step, I had to walk a few kilometres because my saddle and my arse were not getting along very well. And when I did pedal I was maxing out at 5km an hour the exact same pace as I was walking. As the top approached a real sense of relief hit me as I realised that It meant 30 km of sweet sweet downhill. On the decent I swear my breaks were smoking and I was still going at 50km an hour, if I let gravity take me it felt as if I would reach terminal velocity. Awesome. Arrived within half an hour in Calarca and ate. As I was debating whether to climb another 30 km to the town I wanted to stay, Salento, I met a fellow cyclist Fernando who after chatting a while invited me to stay with him and offered a hot shower and a professional cooked meal (he was a chef) I accepted without a thought. He had a beautiful house and owned a hotel and restaurant, with pool and all.  I spent the night in luxury and good company thanks to his kindness. He offered to take me on a guided cycle tour of the area Quindo which is a very famous coffee region when I pass by his place again in a few days after returning from Salento. Salento is a little north of my route but I’m told it’s a beautiful town and well worth a visit.

08/09/2012  

After feeding me a nice big breakfast this morning Fernando accompanied me, with his empty touring trailer in tow, a few kilometres to the end of town and the turning for Salento. I felt great today, it was an easy day, only 30km of climbing but it felt very easy after yesterday’s gradient, my spirits were high after a beautiful long comfortable rest last night. At one point I even wondered if I had left a bunch of my things behind as pedalling felt so easy. The route was beautiful especially the final 10 km, 6km of descending an empty, very peaceful, winding road with a spectacular view and 4 km of climbing up the other side of the valley. The weather was good and I felt as if this trip might have been a good idea after all. I am writing to you now from Salento, I found a beautiful hostel/campsite and I will stay here for free for a few days in return for a few hours of work each day. 

Pedalling!

2/11/2012

My wonderful hosts

Last Friday after a late night of dancing salsa and 4 hours sleep, I finally left my nice comfortable room in the city, packed everything I own on my bike and hit the road. It was the first time I had sat on the thing fully loaded and as I pointed myself down the road and waved goodbye to my house mates I must have looked like i had never used a bike before, It took a km or two of feeling like Bambi before I got used to the weight and balance of the thing. I dont know or want to know how much it weighs, a lot is about as concise a measurement as i can give. Leaving Bogota was less than pleasant, If the city was a living organism i think i would have been exiting from its arse, but once i had left the city it was a great ride . Luckily for me this first leg Bogota to Anapoima was pretty much all down hill, of the 87km I'm guessing only about 20 were climbing. there was a stretch of about 40km downhill in one hit, A taste of the good times to come without having to experience the pain of 40km of uphill first. In Anapoima I spent a great few days with a friend of mine Laura from Bogota at here family house, Her Mother and Aunt were way to kind, they treated my like a king and fed me nonstop for which |I am truly grateful.

Laura and I

05/11/2012
The second day on the bike was not as pleasant as the first, but still relatively straight forward. Started of with a rainstorm, an opportunity to test how waterproof my stuff is, and was very refreshing as the normal climate in Anapoima is way to hot for me. The route was fairly flat, with rolling hills. I met another cyclist and we chatted for a while on the road, later I passed his house and I was invited in for a cold drink. After 90km I was exhausted  At a small town named Gualanday I attempted to find a place to camp but there wasn't a place i felt safe leaving my stuff because the police told me I would get robbed, didn't feel like climbing the hill out of the town so I took up an offer from a nice guy named Jimmy at a restaurant who offered that I could camp in his back garden, Little did i realise that i would be spending the night with a nice family of squealing pigs and a very timid dog who spend alot of time barking at me but ran away every time i so much as flinched. To be honest despite the less the fresh air and the less than harmonious chatter of the pigs i was so tired I actually slept pretty well.

hotel

my piggy friends

                     




I am writing to you from the city of Ibague where i am stalling time and resting my backside (my ridiculously small saddle does a good job of preventing chaffing but its far from comfortable).before commencing the 87km of uphill climbing I have ahead of me.

Zone Zero Zero

In Permaculture they talk about ‘Zones’ referring to zones of activity, from zone 5 to zone 00  for example Zone 5 would be a zone that is not used or visited very often such as wild land surrounding a farm, zone 4 might be an area that is used to grow long term materials, building timber for example. Zone 3 might have some cattle etc ect, Zone 0 is the home, the place that see’s most of the day’s activity . This categorization is a useful, practical tool used in Permaculture design in order to help organise a piece of land efficiently. The most important zone it could be said however is zone 00; your mind, thought, consciousness. Without a change in zone 00, nothing happens . In these times of change this Hippie talk of consciousness is becoming a common topic, as more and more people are becoming aware that their reality is somehow not right; there is something wrong, a disconnection, a misalignment.

Ayahuasca

Last week I met up with a friend  who is studying and exploring the world of Shamanic medicine, I was invited to spend a few days on a beautiful piece of land belonging to a practicing ‘neo shaman’ a few hours south of Bogota .  During these days I was invited to take part in a traditional native American ceremony centred around a medicine named Ayahausca, In combination with another plant called Mimosa,  when these two plants are combined a chemical is released named DMT . That this discovery ever happened is a mystery, the process is very complex and was unlikely stumbled upon by pure coincidence , many indigenous Amazonian people say that these instructions were received directly from the spirits of the plants themselves . DMT is a chemical found in many species of flora and fauna, including us , it is found in the Pineal gland , in the centre of our brains . It is thought to be the chemical that is responsible for our dreams; It is also thought that this chemical is released in larger quantities at birth and at Death. It has been used as medicine in many indigenous cultures all over the world for thousands of generations and It is quite possible that the discovery of medicines such as this one may have been responsible for rapid growth spurts in the evolution of the human brain . The Ayahuasca is very difficult for the human system to digest and is very common for it to induce vomiting during the experience, many cultures believe this is an important part of the process as it symbolises a release of negative emotions and energy built up over the period of one’s life. It has positive effects both physically, by cleansing and detoxifying the body and mentally, by cleansing and detoxifying the mind .  There are no known long term effects from this substance . In the west DMT is categorized  as a class A drug, essentially you are experiencing this substance every night when you sleep, It is obviously not dangerous, or addictive, it makes absolutely no sense that this should be illegal. Except maybe to prevent the general public from a spiritual awakening and rebellion to this complex system of slavery we are all unwittingly trapped in.

I don’t think I am capable of effectively describing my experience with this medicine in words, even if I could conjure up every word in existence from every language under the sun I would have a hard time . Some words given to me before taking the medicine resonated with me during my experience and do a good job of describing the purpose of this medicine; from the time we are born we are being conditioned, conditioned by our parents, by society, by religion, TV, magazines... Everything . We develop certain methods for coping with situations based on this conditioning, which become reactionary and habitual and prevent us from seeing and experiencing things how they truly are . Right now your conditioning is probably telling you that everything I am saying is a bunch of hippie nonsense and you are probably reacting with denial. This ancient medicine helps to break this conditioning and helps you to see everything a new, allows you to react purely . A necessary process for the evolution of the human consciousness, something that many people are trying to achieve through many different methods and this is just one of those methods. Anyhow my experience certainly had a positive effect.

a waterfall on the land

When the medicine kicked in I started feeling an intense admiration for everything, at first I noticed a blade of grass, as if I had never seen it before, my vision was impressively sharp, like I was viewing life in super high definition. The way the light interacted with the fibres on the blade was infinitely beautiful, and filled me with absolute awe. After an indeterminable amount of time a beetle crossed the path of my vision, my heart almost stopped, I felt so privileged to witness such beauty,  the array of colours reflecting from its back were infinite and reflected all of existence back into my eyes. It’s easy to say such things but I don’t know how to describe how genuine these feelings really were . For hours I experienced reality as if I had never before , I could talk for ever in detail of the whole afternoon and everything I saw and experienced but I will bore the hell out of you I’m sure . In conclusion, what needs to be said is this; I felt more connected to nature than ever before, I was made of the same fabric and I was only experiencing myself in a different form, I felt overwhelming love for everything, every plant, every creature, every sensation. I even watched lovingly as a mosquito bit me, I admired the mark it left behind, and the sensation I received from it . Everything was new to me, as a child does, I could react to everything with a fresh thought process, without prejudice, without preconceptions, without any of those reactions caused by my 24 years of conditioning . In essence I was experiencing life in its purest form, no hallucinations, just reality but from a pure perspective. It was beautiful.

If we are to elevate our collective consciousness we need to break our conditioning, we need to unlearn rather than learn and this kind of thing is a very effective tool in order to experience what that actually means.

Until next time!

Yet another post about building a Bike.

Bogota from the Monserrate (a big church up a mountain)

 Hola Amigos!

Yet another post about building a bicycle, So far this blog has been exclusively about the building of bicycles, If you’re getting bored please bear with me, I assure you I will leave very soon and write about something more interesting but for now I will be mostly writing about building my second and (hope to god, Krishna, Buddha and all those other ones) final bike.

I am still here in the sprawling concrete jungle they call Bogota working on my Spanish, leading a fairly quiet existence, and enjoying a few home comforts such as a bed and the use of a kitchen. But the novelty of such things is starting to wear off and I am excited to get back out on the road. This has probably been the longest time I have ever spent in such a big city, if it wasn't for the fact that I am learning a new language I could never have stayed so long. When you are learning a new language everything becomes interesting again. It doesn't matter if I am speaking with a chartered accountant or a philosopher, in both cases I am clinging on to every word and trying to decode it, everything is fun because half the time I have no idea what's going on. Sometimes It’s like being a kid again and trying to understand the financial times, just doesn't make any sense, to be honest it probably wouldn't make any sense to me now either so that’s a poor analogy. Its like being a kid and trying to understand Einstein's theory of relativity, actually that doesnt make a whole load of sense to me either , i'll give up with the analogy's. Its hard. Anyway I am itching to leave the city, pining for the fields, “just cant wait to get on the road again”.

a pile of stuff

I am back on track to leave at the end of the month after the robbery of my ex-bike a few weeks ago. I have been selling my skills as an English teacher, I moved to a cheaper room, my indigogo campaign (http://igg.me/p/241867?a=1487771) is going well, (Thank you to everybody who has been involved, It is so moving to know that people care and are interested in my ridiculous pursuits), and I have built a new bike.

Last week was spent scouring the numerous bicicleterias in the city in search of second hand parts. My method was rather backwards I must admit, I visited each store countless times, each time in search for something different. I probably returned to every store a dozen times, often not purchasing anything. After a few days and a shed load of walking I had everything I needed.  Found a simple steel hard tail mountain bike frame, wheels, handle bars and forks second hand and everything else was bought new. 

a pile of stuff made into a bike

I returned to the same bicicleteria as last time to build the thing, they found it rather amusing that the funny looking gringo was back to build another bike, and like everyone else they were persistent in reminding me, whilst seemingly holding back mocking fits of laughter, that I need to take more care with the bike and always lock it up, which would have been very useful advice previously but now I am very well aware of that risk and don’t need reminding so much, it almost hurts my feelings a little when I am.

welding on the lugs

Putting everything together was fairly simple. I have some recent experience. So within a day it was ready to ride home. The only trouble I had was that the frame was too narrow to accommodate the copious amount of gears on the rear axle, so I had to smack it a few times with a mallet to widen it a little. The benefits of a steel frame.  

lugs welded on

On my previous bike I had some very fancy integrated brake and gear leavers, but this time around I couldn't get such a good deal on them and I didn’t feel like spending £100 on some new ones so I searched far and wide for some little steel lugs to weld to my frame so I could use the old school style frame mounted gear shifters, after asking the same question in about 50 different shops I found some. My Spanish is almost fluent on the subject of bicycle repair now, sadly not much else.

I paid somebody a few quid to weld them on to my frame and repainted over them, I guess you could say I now have a custom made frame. Proper fancy.

Red handle bars as an ode to its preprocessor

 Here is the thing pretty much ready to go. The day after I completed building it I decided to put it through a durability test and smashed it full speed into a taxi, wrecked the tyre and the inner tube, bent the forks back a little into the frame and bent the rear derailer in a bit but apart from that it passed. I had been fiddling with my front wheel and forgot to re attach the brakes so when I came to a road I couldn't stop and consequently became very intimate with a taxi, I was fine, could have been much worse. (dont worry Mum and Dad I am now seriously considering insurance)
The way I look at it is that I am learning some very valuable lessons here in Bogotá which may prevent disasters down the line, I am providing a service really, others can learn from my mistakes; Never take your hands off your things in Bogotá unless you want them robbed and never fiddle with your brakes, forget to re attach them and then smash into taxis.
To be honest, with this track record It will be a miracle if I manage to leave the city, let alone the country. but have faith people it will happen.

 

bent forks, (its worse than it looks)

   

The damage wasn't so bad after all, I had to replace the tyre and inner tube, I managed to bend the rear de-railer mount on the frame back into place but had to buy new forks, they only cost £5 so its not going stunt my progress.

And that's all for now

Take care all
I promise these posts will become more interesting, once I have something more interesting to talk about

A Twist is the story of the Trusted steed!

Hello all, I realise it has only been 24 hours since my last post and you are probably wondering what on earth I could possibly have to say since then, but a very tragic event has transpired. Remember that bicycle, the one I was telling you about yesterday with such pride? It has been taken from me by an evil opportunistic thief, with great taste apparently.

I entered a shop, in a nice neighbourhood of Bogota, left the bike half way in the door of the shop so as to keep an eye on it, I didn't feel it necessary to lock it up as I was only going to be there for 2 minutes. As I was paying I caught some movement in my peripherals and instantly realised what was happening. My reptilian brain kicked in and I shot out the door in pursuit, followed the only person I could see on a bike for several blocks, sprinted my skinny little legs off but I realised after a while that it wasn't my bike, I had been chasing and shouting at some poor guy who was probably thinking he was about to be robbed himself. It then dawned on me that my beloved bike will never be seen again, such a big city, it could be anywhere within 10 minutes and I cant run indefinitely in all directions, its just not possible. It will probably be sold into the bike slave industry and live out a horrific existence in the hands of some bigoted bicycle beater. I cant bear thinking of it.

So my trip will be temporarily postponed until I can raise some money to replace the bike and gear. I will try to find a job here in Bogota for a month or so and I have set up a campaign with indiegogo to try and raise some money for a new bike, you can see it here... if you care.  http://igg.me/p/241867?a=1487771

I am trying to see the bright side of all this, so far haven't come up with much. Except maybe that now I know  how to say 'my bike has been stolen' in Spanish. plus the guy in the shop gave me a free lolly pop after he realised what had happened.  I am sure this event will open up a new path and something positive will happen as a result somewhere down the line.

 My Trusted Steed

The story of an old neglected mountain bike and its transformation into a beautiful shining, robust continental travelling machine! (hopefully)

Luckily for me, Bogota is a very bicycle friendly city. The place is teeming with cyclists . Every Sunday half of the roads in the city are closed to cars for an event called the  'Ciclovia' where swarms of cyclists come and take over the streets, They do exercise classes all over the place and sing and dance and eat things and celebrate the existence of the bicycle. Every Wednesday night hundreds of them gather, with all their nightwear and tour the city reaping havoc, smashing cars and spraying bicycle propaganda graffiti everywhere, last week they blinded an old lady because she was travelling in an electric scooter, they sprayed 'Perezoso' on her face which translates as 'lazy'. I heard they even shouted really nasty things at a baby for being in a push chair with 4 wheels. Most of that last sentence isn't true. The point is that Bogotá is really doing a great job of promoting cycling as an alternative way of travel in the city.

I wanted to try and build a solid bike for as cheap as possible. I don't really think its necessary to spend a fortune on a brand new touring bike with all the bells and whistles, I might be wrong on this, but surely if its solid and has enough gears it will do the trick. So after buying this old mountain bike for about £50 I set out to pimp it up and prepare the thing for the ridiculous adventure ahead. I found a 'Bicicleteria' not far from my place and asked in my ever improving but very basic Spanish if i could use their tools and pick at their expertise to build my bike in exchange for a coffee and cake run every now and again. They very kindly accepted. The bike shop was very different to a bike shop you might find in the UK it was more of a bike kitchen, piles of bicycle guts ready to be recycled and given a new life, they had welding equipment and would construct weird and wonderful bicycle based machines for street venders and bicycle couriers. It was like a local hang out spot for kids and everybody who walked by seemed to know the trusty neighbourhood bicycle mechanic on a first name basis. A pillar of the community it seemed.
So firstly I stripped the bike naked. I cleaned the frame and my new friend at the bike shop gave it a lick of paint. The main things I wanted to change were the gears, I will need a lot of them if i am going to be  messing around in the Andes, the crank-set, the derailers, and handle bar set up.
I bought a 9 speed cog-set with a range from 11 to 32 teeth and had the rear wheel rebuilt with a new hub to support that. I bought a new crank-set with 3 cogs to give me a total of 27 gears. I managed to find second hand but pretty much new derailers to go with them. I had never really installed any of this stuff before so i was winging it, pretending i knew more than i did, It is actually all pretty simple, Apart from special tools needed to remove the cranks and bottom bracket most of the work was done with a couple of Allen keys and a spanner. I took everything apart, the hubs the head set, bottom bracket ect. Mainly out of curiosity so as to learn how to put it all back together but in the process I gave everything a clean, a re-grease and replaced bearings where they were needed. I really learned a lot about bicycle mechanics as well as lots of Spanish bicycle lingo, and how to shout derogatory things at women who walked past, which seemed to be a favourite past time  of my friends in the 'Bicicleteria'.

 I found some drop down handlebars and a larger riser stem for about  £10 for the both of them. I intended to try and source most things second hand but once i had checked out the possibility of buying stuff new it turned out to be much cheaper than i had anticipated. The one thing I spent a bit more on were some snazzy brake and gear levers, they come as one unit, you push the brake lever sideways to change the gears, they are very posh but it turned out I didn't really have a choice, they are the only style of levers that would fit my handlebars. I still managed to get them at a very good price thanks to Jose at the bike shop.
A whole day was spent pissing around with the gears and brakes  to get them functioning properly but after much frustration and several cables got everything in order and the bike was ready for its first test ride.




Here's the thing so far, road worthy and performing brilliantly. I have been training on it in the mountains surrounding Bogota. The feeling of reaching the top of a mountain after 2 hours of climbing is incredible but descending again in 10 minutes gives a sense of freedom which is indescribable. I cant stop myself from shouting and howling like a lunatic on the way down. Its so much fun!
My next mission is to prepare the thing for carrying all my shit. Then I will be ready to hit the road.