Gravesend's new Cycle Hub opens at the train station to make biking into work easier and safer

Roadway Biking Colombia: It Won’t Eliminate You( It’s Incredible)A series of overviews of help you purchase and utilize equipment in the outdoors. Sign up with Eddie Bauer and GearJunkie on a nationwide trip and photo contest to share regional adventures in 6 cities. From avalanche forecasters to mountain guides, here we highlight 20 of the toughest, most extreme (and finest) jobs in the world. Armed with imagination, knowledge, and a Leatherman, you’re ready for whatever real life tosses your method. Colombia is a land of beautiful intrigue with a credibility that horrifies lots of prospective tourists. Our author rode for a week through the bike-crazy country for an appearance at its burgeoning adventure-travel scene. HISTORY IS FRESH IN COLOMBIA. The impacts of 50+ years of civil discontent, paired with years of violence and drug trafficking, produce a state of mind special to any place I have actually traveled. But there is a strong current of brand-new hope. The country is poised on the edge of a historic peace accord between the federal government and FARC rebels, and President Juan Manuel Santos just got the Nobel Peace Reward. Is it actually safe? I took a trip to Colombia to go on a grand bike tour and discover how the location treats foreign visitors. Note: Like anywhere, there are dangers in travel. Discover potential risks prior to travel, prevent sketchy locations, keep an eye on individual possessions, and do not put yourself in bad circumstances. Travel safe, travel clever. I traveled for five days of road cycling through a Unesco World Heritage Site called the “Coffee Cultural Landscape” west of Bogota. Here’s what I discovered. But bring your climbing up legs since Colombia is steep! The Andes Mountain range starts in the southern part of Colombia then fingers out into 3 unique chains trisecting the nation. Our start town of Pereira, 180 km west of Bogota, sits at 4,900 feet, and lies in what is known as the “Coffee Triangle.” After a morning flight through an undulating route of rolling hills, we finished with a 13-km climb a series of switchbacks, consisting of a final 800 m push up to Coffee shop San Alberto. There, at an elevation of 6,000 feet, nestled high above the town of Buena Vista, a third-generation coffee farm and cafe offered the smoothest, best-tasting cup of coffee of my life. Until recently, much of the high-end Colombian coffee was exported, leaving bad quality coffee for the residents. San Alberto now entirely handle the high-end video game with a spectacular cafe overlooking Buena Vista. We visited in the main area riding narrow nation lanes without any shoulders, serpentine switchback climbs up, and eye-watering descents. We often shared the road with many cars and trucks, buses, trucks, motos, and scooters– all within inches. I never felt uneasy riding in traffic since the drivers focused. Sure, there are car crashes and so forth, however by and large I did not see devices distracting drivers from the job at hand, and definitely felt no displeasure. Whenever we did ride through more inhabited towns and areas, the exhaust and fumes were caustic. I even resorted to pulling a bandanna over my mouth and nose in a quasi-futile effort at protecting my lungs. In the mountains and from the towns the air was clear. Next time I’ll leave the cities quicker and follow the fresh air. Guerrillas In The Mist: Adventure In Colombia A trip to climb, trek, and bike in Colombia gives our editor a peek at the South American country’s “bad old days,” as well as a take a look at the potential for wilderness experience. Find out more … 4. Don’t stress about the ‘‘ coca,’ but attempt the panela. A trip to climb, trek, and bike in Colombia offers our editor a peek at the South American nation’s “bad old days,” along with a look at the capacity for wilderness adventure. Read more … Great deals of people have asked if I chewed coca leaves, you know, for “energy.” Sorry to disappoint, however the answer is no. Had there been an offer, I sure would have. The impacts of these leaves is very little more than a cup of coffee, I was informed. We did consume great deals of agua de panela. Panela is basically pulverized sugar cane, boiled and then poured into molds and permitted to cool into blocks. The blocks can then be liquified in boiling water and drunk hot or cold. Many Colombians compare panela to Gatorade, and considering that it is generally sugar, it does offer you an energy boost. It’s also popular with cyclists. When Colombians first began contending in the Trip de France in the 1980s they were stated to” cook rocks” of panela. We saw loads of other cyclists out training on the roadways. They want to use complete long-sleeve, euro-style race sets, maybe in homage to their favorite stars, but also as security from the sun. Colombian professional bicyclists are nationwide heroes, dating back to Lucho Herrera, the first Colombian to win a stage of the Tour de France in 1984, up to contemporary Vuelta España champion Nairo Quintana. Among our guides on the journey was Adelmo, a 32-year-old previous pro and colleague of Quintana on the Colombian “Proud of America” Continental group. He had a smooth, fluid, fast-cadence pedaling style, and the lithe climber’s physique of someone who has actually invested countless hours turning the cranks. He was frequently seen providing a few of the riders an “assist” on the climbs up with a mild hand on their back as the roadway went upward. With no leashes, canines simply meander down the roadway like additionals in a Scorsese film. Still, they are typically pretty docile and friendly. But one afternoon, hurtling down a 13-km descent, I was fourth wheel behind Carlos, Brendan, and Oscar, when I saw a canine loping into the road ahead. I reached the pinnacle of the swooping curve. The canine remained in complete stride, barking and gnashing its teeth in a direct line at my lower leg. Hands in the drops, I stood up out of the saddle. I yelled, “HEY!” and accelerated just beyond the lunging ‘perro loco,’ my calf muscle still undamaged. While the “Open Streets” initiative– closing a major city street to vehicle traffic one day each summer for the advantage of bicyclists, runners, walkers, kids, parents, dogs, and human beings– has actually been getting steam in U.S. cities in recent years, it’s been going on in Bogota since 1974. They have actually refined this practice over 40 years, and it’s awesome. Every Sunday, over 70 miles of city streets in Bogota are closed to motorists. It’s a remarkable time to pedal the gorgeous city. Tejo is basically like playing a game of cornhole, however with explosives. How this hasn’t captured on in the United States blows my mind. To play, you throw an iron puck (the “tejo”) towards an iron ring lined with soft clay. The bullseye is lined with small paper triangles filled with gunpowder. Points are scored for your team when the surge happens (and you have that sulphuric odor of victory). This 500-year-old game is the national sport of Colombia, with teams and tournaments and trophies, and cerveza. Great deals of cerveza. –– Hurl Everstone is a contributing editor and the creator of Cars-R-Coffins. Discover more about biking in Colombia at the nation’s tourist site. Sign up in December for a possibility to win some Kahtoola KTS Crampons and MICROspikes (R) traction! 2 subscribers will win the Crampons or MICROspikes.
< a href=https://www.google.com/url?rct=j&sa=t&url=https://gearjunkie.com/bicycle-tour-colombia-tips&ct=ga&cd=CAIyGjQ1MGMyYzBjODUxMmZmOTM6Y29tOmVuOlVT&usg=AFQjCNGJXxrcdORiL03vOJVljyHDaM12ng target="_ blank