Placed between the central and west branch of the Cordillera of the Andes, and washed by the Cauca river, coffee plantations are the beating heart of Colombia. Those fields have created a culture that takes pride in their charming towns decorated with colourful facades placed in mellow mountains sun facing the valley below them.

Hypnotized by the soft smell of coffee, the vivacious tones of varying green, the yellow, blue and purple shade of sunset, there’s this feeling to this bicycle tour that the moto Carpe Diem can make full sense here.

Only in a place like this, seizing life to the fullest could be fulfilled. All your senses will be deeply touched.

The riding will be to the same measure to those feelings, the perfect blend of Colombia's epic riding and the right amount of easy going riding.

When you would think that it has been way too much, you will be greeted into another fantasy, an old hacienda opens its doors for you. And you will haven fallen for the soft smell of wood and coffee, the mellow sun bathed views, the softly spoken and gentle people and the heart warming riding of this corner of the earth.

Hotels and accommodation: We will stay in enchanting places along the way. We aim for the kind of place that will leave a fond memory. The range is wide. Sometimes it’s an old coffee hacienda turned into esquisite hotel or a boutique hotel surrounded by the forrest. Exceptionally, we will stay in a more modest place, spotlessly clean, that serves us well to have a better taste of small town. Whatever it is the place we are staying, there’s a reason, and we are always trying to bring something unique to your. tour.

Equipment: We always encourage our guests to bring their bicycle in good condition. We strongly suggest you take it to a mechanic before our trip so it can run smoothly the whole time. We can provide you with a rental bike, if you wish. Our weapon of choice for road cycling is the amazing Argon 18 Krypton,. We suggest you bring your helmet and gloves and all your riding gear. If you are renting a bike we will provide you with a helmet, but you will have to bring your shoes and if you want to ride with clipless shoes please also bring your pedals of choice. If you would like to use your bicycle computer during the rides, please bring your personal computer mount.

Support vehicle:
Our support vehicles are an integral part of the logistics. They will take care of bringing food and drinks so we can ride as light as we can. It will also be the perfect place in case you are tired to get some rest, and decide whether or not you would like to carry on for the day. At least one of the vehicles will have a top notch bike carrier to take all the bikes safely.

Luggage:
We encourage you to travel with just one piece of luggage plus a day bag. Your day bag will go in the main cabin, easily accessible, while your luggage will be be difficult to access during the ride. Weather. Colombia doesn’t have seasons, so great cycling weather can be expected most of the time. Given that we will be riding in the mountains, the weather can be quite variable. It’s important to be prepared as rain can show up unexpectedly. The range of temperatures we will be riding can be between 9oC to 30oC.

Distance - 125 km
Elevation Lost - 9000 mts
Highest Point - 3800 mts

What's your ideal cycling destination? Colombia ticks all the boxes. Raise your eyes from the handlebar and see a wide open view, mountains beyond mountains wherever you place your eyes to. The closest ones feel daunting, intimidating with their size. The ones further in the distance let your mind wander about what’s it like over there. Your senses feel slightly overwhelmed. You want to suck in all, but you feel that if you stop watching for just a second something great will be missed.

The weather is just perfect, sun is shining and it feels nicely warm. The road ahead is challenging, the tarmac is smooth, you enjoy every pedal stroke of this climb, as the descent is guaranteed to be really fun. A stereo is blasting a vibrant, happy tune, with a rhythm you have never heard before. Feels perfectly fit for your ride.

Along the climb, you meet the locals. They smile at you. They make you feel welcomed. They try to make themselves understood: what they mean is that they are happy you are visiting their country. You both smile.

At the planned stop, you are greeted with freshly squeezed natural fruit juice. The lady who serves gives you a big kind smile too. Her white teeth give a nice contrast to her sun bathe skin. The smell of the nearby mountain feels fresh. Your heart is filled with joy. You are happy.

That's what's like riding in Colombia

We like to nurture. Cater to every part of your senses, off and and on the bike. We will start with the most visible part of our team: the guides. Being on a high ratio of guides per customer, you will find on them a trusted wingman to tackle the climbs, or have an insightful conversation that eases the pain, or just make the whole cycling experience deeper. They know the ropes of their job but they are much more than that, we search for people with the widest backgrounds, life paths, that can not only take you safely from A to B, but at the same time take some- thing extremely personal along with you. Cherish it.

On the road our support crew is always happy to serve you. Ready to fill your water bottle, hand you over a banana, or an energy bar, or just serving you coffee, they will do it with a smile on their face. That’s the the proverbial Colombian friendliness, and it’s what in all of our experience people takes away. Two vehicles along the road will be in place to make things easier for you.

Off the bike, a good night of sleep is the first step to a stellar performance on the bicycle. So we have cherry picked the perfect route to work with the best hotels, and give you some of the most memorable experiences to rest too. Sleep surrounded by the quiet beauty of a coffee plantation. Wake up to the noise of innumerable birds, see the mountains gently cover by soft clouds, that slowly wake up. That’s what we have planned for you. Those are places we will be staying, that’s the people who will make this a memorable experience.

We will pick at the Pereira Airport and transfer to the hotel. Is a 20 minutes drive to our first stop, a beautiful farm in the middle of the coffee plantations, over watching the valley will be our place to greet you. We will have our first glimpse at these astonishing beautiful sunsets, the fresh smell of the land. At night we will cover the basics of the following days. This route is an incremental challenge, that starts with a stage in the middle of the plains between the central Cordillera and the West Cordillera.

Our first ride is already a full blown to your senses, the fresh scent of this tropical land will be a welcoming sign of positive things to come. Early in the morning we will load the bicycles to the vehicle and transfer for about 40 minutes. Today is a series of trails that have been curated and have been featured in races like the EWS. This trails although not particularly long, are full of challenges similar to some of the stuff we will do later on during the week. It will be a great way to get used to some of these features and the way many trails in Colombia should be ridden

25 kms - 1200 mts - 2400 mts

If Colombia would be to be known by only two things, coffee and its landscape should be the ideal candidates, and today we will have plenty of both of them. Out of the vehicle, we start descending in roads just to surprisingly find ourselves in the first singletrack of the day surrounded by coffee trees on of the many caresses of these mountains that make a fantastic. The landscape is the luxury of this deep appreciation on the several climbs we do on this stage. Have you ever let yourself drifting afloat in the sea, and be gently moved by the waves? That’s the feeling with this ride, a pleasant, sense fulfilling adventure.

25 kms  - 2000 mts - 1600 mts

Reaching the clouds today at 4000 mts, and plummeting in total more than 3000 mts in over 35 kms in an old trail of mules that traverses different ecosystems; from the foggy conditions at the top to the sub andean jungle this trail is a feast to the senses, the definition of an epic stage. In a lifetime few rides will be this memorable, the physical challenge, the overload on the senses. Just brace yourself for a long day and a full bag of stories to tell.

35 kms - 3000 mts - 4000 mts

After the big day from yesterday we will use the early hours of the day to recover, while we drive north to Medellín on a road that runs parallel to the Cauca River. We can’t let the day go by without riding, (can’t we), and just at the right time we will head to the town of Santa Barbara that host a great network of trails. After yesterday’s effort we will keep it very simple, but still it’s a big contrast to the areas we have ridden so far, with trails that are drier. Once we are done, we will keep our journey to Medellín for one last big day.

20 kms - 1500 mts - 1700 mts

We end our tour in big fashion. Staring close to 2600 mts in an area know to be a cattle intensive for its green pastures, we will drop close to 1500 mts to arrive to the valley of the Cauca River. The orange shaded mountains is contrast with the vivid green we rode the days prior without never losing any of its lushness. On our way back to Medellin we will have a final dinner together in an upcoming bistro pub where food and stories of our trip will be the main attraction.

20 kms - 1500 mts - 2600 mts

Time to say goodbye. It’s with heavy heart we have to leave, Now it’s the time to start treasuring all those memories until over the days. The team will transfer you from the hotel to the airport so you can catch your flight back home.