Llegar al Cuarto Piso: Riding Through the Heart of Colombia
May 27, 2025
When the three of us friends started planning a trip to celebrate our turning forty, or llegar al cuarto piso, we wanted something more than a vacation. We wanted a challenge, an adventure, something to reassure us we still had what it took at forty. Cycle touring through the Colombian Andes fit the bill, and the over-the-hill cycle tour was born.
We had the privilege of riding with Juan Pablo Villegas, whom we met through Scarab. He’s a former racer, coffee farmer, and humble master of the Colombian backroads. He had every right to drop us on the climbs, but never did. He reminded us of what it means to love cycling simply, purely. Juan also shared a phrase that stuck with us: “Hunt the mountain, or the mountain hunts you.” It became a kind of mantra to push our way through the hardest riding of our lives.
We started in San Juan de Rioseco to avoid the Bogota traffic and give ourselves a break on our first day, just hours after our flight. The day was far from easy, given the sweltering heat and humidity of the Magdalena River Valley, followed by an ascent of 1700 meters to Libano. That was the first time on the trip that Matt cursed my name in silence for talking him into signing up for the trip.
I have aspired to travel to Colombia since adolescence, when a friend from Bogota and his family introduced me to the warmth of Colombia and the perplexing liquor, aguardiente, in milk cartons. At the time, our dream was to tour on motorcycles like Che Guevara after watching Motorcycle Diaries. I’d like to think this trip stayed true to that spirit of adventure on two wheels, and what we experienced was beyond anything I could have expected.
From Libano, our route climbed into the otherworldly landscape of the Paramo to Termales del Ruiz, a sublime way to relax after a day-long climb. We continued on through Manizales to Neira, Salamina, and Pacora. The second time Matt cursed my name was during the ride to Abejorral, a 3,000-meter climb primarily on an unrelenting four-wheel-drive road. The next day, we finished the trip at Scarab Cycles in El Retiro, where we toured the factory and capped it off at the brewery next to the factory.
We came for a birthday ride. We left with sore legs, and stronger friendships, including a new friend in Juan. This ride is not for the faint of heart. We live in the Colorado Rockies, and I haven’t found a way to replicate the difficulty of Colombian climbs. Between steaming bowls of Sancocho, cake slices from the ubiquitous bakeries, and most importantly, countless cups of tinto, ample opportunities exist to fuel the climbs. If you are after something beautiful, unforgettable, and quintessentially Colombian, this is it. Just remember, hunt the mountain, or the mountain hunts you.
Written by Hunter Causey,
