Cycling from Buga to Outside Villa Rica in Colombia

This blog post is from May 2010: Cycling from Buga to Vila Rica in Colombia, I decided to bypass the city of Cali, met hundreds of cyclists, and stayed in a service station hotel.

Sunday Cycling in Colombia

Blog post written: May 23 2010

Hundreds of cyclists were out on the road today, as it was a Sunday. Cycling is the number two sport in Colombia after football, which in some way goes to explain the great reception I get as I cycle past people.

All ages and fitness levels on all sorts of bikes ranging from top class to old clunkers hit the roads at the weekends, and its really refreshing to see that many people also out on two wheels.

They seemed to appreciate what I was doing as well, as I got plenty of thumbs up and ‘bien, bien bien’.

Bandits in Colombia?

Although the road did gain over 400 metres during the course of the day, it was very spread out and I felt strong throughout.

I planned to cut a corner and bypass the major city of Cali, which is something the couple that I met yesterday had also done.

They had been warned by several people that there were bandits on the stretch of road between Palmira and Villa Rica but had cycled through without incident, as indeed did I. I only mention it for other cyclists taking this route to consider.

With over 100 kms done, I called it a day at a service station with attached hotel a few kms after a toll booth after Villa Rica.

Looking at the map, I estimate I have an 80% chance of making the border with Ecuador before my visa for Colombia expires. Two more big days, and I should be in the safe zone.

A special thank you to Heidi for your kind donation !!

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