Riding the Colombian Andes

This tour uses a mix of roads and trails ranging from sealed roads to lumpy single-track trails. We will ride mountain bikes but the cycling is not technical and gravel bikes are also suitable. The distances are not long but the terrain is often hilly and most days we expect to ride for between 3-5 hours. There are a couple of harder days with over 1,000 metres climbing on the tour, but the support vehicle allows you to do as much cycling as you wish. There are also a few single-track sections where the vehicle cannot follow and your guides will make sure you are well aware of these days and before we hit this part of the route. As we all ride at a different speed and this will vary depending upon how we feel on the day, the guides will ride through the group to make sure everyone is ok, but stop at the top of passes to regroup. It is not essential that you keep up with everyone (especially on the climbs), ride at your speed and enjoy the riding and take in views and immerse yourself in your surroundings. If you are having a bad day, don’t worry (it happens to us all) there is always support close at hand.

Suitability: This trip is suitable for anyone with a reasonable fitness level and has been designed for all levels of ride. This trip is not a technical off-road trip and is suitable for gravel bikes as well as mountain bikes. The days are not too long, but there are climbs every day, and there will be some steep sections that will test the gearing on your bikes as well as your legs but these are never long and not every day. Overall, we will climb just over 7,500metres (24,500feet) in 12-days so you should enjoy going up as well as down and the fitter you are, the more you will enjoy the ride.

Biking Conditions: This tour follows a mix of good sealed roads, gravel roads and dirt tracks. The mix is roughly 50/50 on-road/off-road riding. In Colombia, it is only the main roads that are sealed so using mountain bikes we can stay away from main roads and traffic and follow minor-gravel roads as well as dirt trails. We have MTB as our default rental option but the terrain is ridable on a gravel bike and you are welcome to bring your gravel bike.

Cycling Days: We ride point to point on most days. Usually, there will be one main stop planned each day and several short stops to regroup, refuel or take-in-the-views before we reach our finish point. On two days we will do rides that start and end at the same hotel, allowing us to spend longer in the beautiful colonial towns of Villa de Leyva and Barichara. Apart from arrival and departure days where no riding is planned, we have one full day off the bike on day 10.

Bikes

Because some people can't imagine going on a trip without their beloved bicycle, we do not provide them as part of this tour. However, you can hire bikes locally for the price listed in the tour pricing section. The bikes are 29er (27.5 for smaller frames) mountain bikes with lightweight alloy frames, 27-speed Shimano gearing, hydraulic disc brakes and front suspension with remote lock, If you bring your bike, please make sure it is a mountain bike, preferably with front suspension, and that it is in good mechanical order.

Basic spares and tools are carried by the guide and on the support vehicle, though we cannot guarantee to have spares for every conceivable problem. Carrying a basic tool kit, a spare tube and a pump while riding is recommended.

We will look at providing gravel bikes for rent at some point in the future in 2022 so please contact us to check on that option.

Bike Repairs

Basic spares and tools are carried by the guide and on the support vehicle, though we cannot guarantee having spares for every conceivable problem. Carrying a basic tool kit, a spare tube and a pump while riding is recommended.

Safety

Wearing a helmet is required on all our biking adventures and is non negotiable. If you do not wear a helmet you will not be allowed to cycle. Your tour leader is trained in first aid and emergency rescue, but to a large degree you must be responsible for your own safety while riding. It is therefore compulsory that you take out travel insurance that will cover you for a mountain biking tour.

Guides

You will be led by a local English-speaking guide and if the group is 9 people or more we will add another guide to the tour. All our guides are well informed in the history, culture and religions of the area where you are biking and are skilled at passing that knowledge on to you. Your guide is also medically trained and an experienced cyclist, able to handle most minor repairs en route.

If this is the tour for you here's what you need to do to confirm your place:

FLEXIBLE BOOKING CONDITIONS

CONFIRMING YOUR BOOKING

Just complete our online booking form or send your booking details offline (email or post), and we will confirm your participation. No deposit is needed to confirm your place on a SpiceRoads tour.

You are advised to read our Booking Conditions in full before you make your payment and should you require further clarifications of any of the conditions below, please email us or call our office.

TRIP STATUS

There is a minimum number of participants (usually 2) required to enable the trip to go ahead. Once the minimum number is reached, the trip status will change from 'Available' to 'Guaranteed to Depart'. Once a trip is guaranteed to depart you are free to book your flights and make other travel arrangements. If the trip status is ‘Limited’ will mean we have only a small number of spaces available for booking. If you are unsure about the trip status, please email us or call our office.

BOOKING ONLINE

From the tour page, click the 'Book Now' link. All departures for this tour will appear, just select the date you'd like to travel. For the next steps, you'll need to know the names of the people travelling. If you wish you can also provide extra details such as passport numbers, height (for bike hire), or you can add that later by logging into Manage My Trip (we'll set up an account for you automatically if you don't already have one). Our system will contact you from time to time to fill in the missing information, as it will be required before departure. However, if the trip that you are booking offers a child discount, you will have to fill out the date of birth of each rider (so we can calculate the appropriate discount).

If you are having any problems please send us an email, or give us a call (+66 026 3295) and one of our travel specialists will assist you with your booking.

BOOKING OFFLINE

Just call us or send an email indicating which trip you want to join and we will happily send you a list of questions and process your booking for you.

DEPOSITS AND PAYMENTS

We do not require a deposit or full payment to book a place for you on a tour.

The balance of the tour’s cost (final invoice) will need to be paid 60 days before the departure date with fees for any bicycle rental(s), single supplement(s) and extra hotel nights.

In the case where a booking is made when there are less than 60 days until the tour departure date, the tour’s cost should be paid in full within 72 hours of receiving an invoice from SpiceRoads. Payment can be made by credit card using our online payment gateway or by bank transfer. When making payment online you will need to confirm that you have read these booking conditions during the "checkout" process, which equates to agreeing to the terms of services and stipulations as indicated in this document.

In all cases, tour fees need to be paid “in full” before participation in a tour. No person(s) will be allowed to join a tour without fully settling their invoice and receiving a confirmation number from SpiceRoads.

The exception can be made for last-minute miscellaneous fees that can be paid locally (visas, additional local hotel bookings, etc.) can be settled on the day of arrival.

FULL FLEXIBILITY FOR TOUR CANCELATIONS

If the tour is cancelled or postponed by SpiceRoads because we didn't make the trip numbers and the tour can’t run, we will make a full cash refund (by bank transfer or on your credit card).

If the tour is cancelled for any other reason, including due to Covid related travel restrictions, we will give you a full credit (with no deductions for admin or any other small-print item) to use on any SpiceRoads tour with no time limit. (Exceptions being flights, special permits and other non-refundable items and these will be advised when booking the trip).

Before paying for your tour, you can cancel your booking with no charge and up until 40 days before departure, you can change your booking to another travel date or move your booking onto another SpiceRoads tour with no charges.

If you need to cancel after you have made full payment, please see our cancellation policy.

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The information in this document is given in good faith, and covers the average range of conditions likely to be found on this trip. Please note that the itinerary is subject to change due to unforeseen circumstances, however, we will always do our best to adhere to this original itinerary