Today, we spent the day walking around the historical center, which became a UNESCO World Heritage Site in the 1970s. Quito is well worth a stop on any South American itinerary.

Octoodyssey 2.0 has completed section one, Cartagena, Colombia to Quito, Ecuador a distance of 2487k and we climbed 41791m. This was completed in 34 days with 27 riding days. To give you a comparison to North American, Octoodyssey 1.0 reached 41909m on day 70 in...

Today is a non riding day. I used to call them rest days but the rest days always turned into work days. Service the bike, find a bank, get a hair cut, service the car and so on. Today we spent most of the day trying to find a gas station that had gas. For two days...

Octoodyssey is now 1/2 degree north of the equator and it is cold. Tomorrow we make a run for the border, we will stop just before it and cross into Ecuador the next day. This is just a photo album of yesterday's ride.

Yesterday was a great ride of 93 km and 1650m. The day produced new friendships, beautiful landscapes, and three flat tires, two for Mike and one for me. We met more friendly police as we enjoyed our ride.

Yesterday was one of those good days, bad days rides. It started with a nice 6k downhill through the green and lush coffee country. At 6k, it began to drizzle, but the scenery was fantastic as the clouds and mist clung to the mountains. Also, at 6k, we started our...

Today we road through the coffee country and climbed to San Agustine, Colombia, home to world heritage site with statues dating back over 2000 year.

After 1774k and 26000m, we finally met three road warriors in the last two days. I want to introduce them to you as they are remarkable young people. John One is Colombiano from Cali, who has been living on his bike for the last six years. On this trip, he started in...

Today's ride was uphill to Pitalito in the south of Colombia. I had two flats before I even started—another day of incredible landscapes of lakes, rivers, and mountains. We met two other road warriors, both named John, but not riding together. One from Rio and one...

Since leaving Bogotá we descended into a valley that was a lot hotter than Bogota. Bogota was 16 and Annpoima was 35. It looks like a lot of the big city people have recreational homes around Annpoima. We are now in Hobo in a remote hotel, glambing spot which would be...

We are in Bogotá, a city of 11,000,000, counting the whole metropolitan area. The day before entering the town, we were informed by the owner of the hotel where we were staying that it was perilous to cycle into the city and that we should remove the bike rack and...

Yesterday we visited a lovely little town called Honda. It was very clean and colorful, with a beautiful church and square. This town is known for its warm temperatures. We experienced about a 30-degree day.

The last few days have seen us climbing and climbing. The ride into Manizales was 2520m over 110k, but the last 11 km into Manizales, located on the side of a mountain, was challenging, with several streets with over 25% grades. I was tired when we arrived at Gloria's...

The last few days have seen us climbing and climbing. The ride into Manizales was 2520m over 110k, but the last 11 km into Manizales, located on the side of a mountain, was challenging, with several streets with over 25% grades. I was tired when we arrived at Gloria's...

After three nights in Medellín with a perfect host in Jim, we are back on the road to Bogotá. Today we arrived at our cottage in the mountains 80k from Jim’s condo after climbing 1355m. The last 43k was downhill with lots of dangerous curves and switchbacks. One had...

The ride from Yarumal to Medellin was 117k and 2100m along a scenic highway. The countryside continued to be green and lush.  The farms in this area were all dairy farms. The farms were unique in that the farms built plastic-covered walkways for the cows. These...

This is a catch-up post because, riding from Taraza to Yarumal, I hit a rough stretch of potholes, and my phone flew off the holder and mashed on the highway. Goodbye, phone. So, I had a few days where I was out of touch with the world. $400 repair bill later, I am...

Today was a leisurely Sunday morning ride of only 68k and 374m. We followed a wide, muddy river for most of the ride and had the afternoon off. The hotel leaves a lot to be desired. So far on this trip, we have had no hot water and a pipe coming out of the wall for...

Yesterday was a nonriding day in San Marcos. Today, we traveled 139k and 995 m. The morning threatened rain, but we missed it. Not as humid, and we had a smooth shoulder to ride on, although there was a lot of traffic. We stopped to see the famous tree of San Marcos....

Day three was completed—132k and 736 up. Yesterday, Johanna and Mike drove back to Cartagena, and Mike replaced his shifters and derailleurs. Meanwhile, I had mechanical problems. I cross-threaded my left pedal when putting them on, and with 15k to go, the pedal fell...