Road Cycling Routes around
Medellin, Colombia
There are several good
road routes mostly with substantial climbs to exit the city although
leaving it can be intimidating during rush hour and you are best to
do it with locals or wait until Sunday when the roads are
considerably quieter.
One of the few routes
that begin with a descent goes North West and gradually drops down
about 23 miles toward Barbosa - from here there are several good
climbs: One climb just before Barbosa heads left and North towards
Donna Matias. If however you carry on beyond Barbosa towards Molino
Viejo you can turn right and head up towards Santo Domingo with a
good climb that has a kick in the tail. Otherwise, travelling past
Molino Viejo there is a left turn to a climb towards Gomez Plata or
instead you can stay on the road and finish on the climb that gives
you a good view of Cisnero; by this time you will have more than 100
miles round trip from Medellin.These are 'out and back' rides
although on the return you can make a diversion through Giradot.
Sunday is a good day to do these rides because there are road
closures on the main route out of town and the traffic is less busy.
The signature climb out
of Medellin is Las Palmas and you can see people riding it from 5am
to 11pm. It leaves from the San Diego Centro Comercial which is
easily accessible from El Poblado the main tourist residence. The
other side of the summit drops down about half a mile to a great
ranch style cafe where you may well rest and have and have a great
breakfast – many cyclists just turn around here for an
exhilarating 40mph 9 mile descent among the buses and trucks but take
care as there are green plastic lane dividers to be avoided.
Otherwise you can descend with a right turn down the Escobero climb
but beware as it is very steep and brings you back to Envigado where
there is a busy ride back to Medellin. That said, the climb up
Escobero from Envigado is a real test with some 14% ramps and
achieving it will earn you respect from local cyclist. Also from
Envigado there is an even steeper route, La Catedral, climbing a
quiet road to Pablo Escobar's prison and a small pretty church. From
Las Palmas you may also carry on either to El Retiro which is the
home and workshop of “Tinno” who makes custom built steel frame
cycles of the same brand. He is Colombia's only remaining steel bike
maker and welcomes your interest. Otherwise aim for La Ceja or on to
La Union or even Mesopotamia for longer rides with fantastic
countryside.
Another climb, Santa
Elena leaves from the Buenos Aires area of Medellin, roughly around
the new tram terminal. Once on the climb it is much quieter than Las
Palmas ascent but just as steep; it goes east from the city and can
either link to Auotopista via Santa Elena pueblo and Parque Arvi or
carry on further towards the airport returning again on Auotopista
via Guarne or circling back to Las Palmas. The return via Guarne
reaches Alto de la Virgen before descending to a short tunnel and
back to Medellin. This is also a popular climb out of the city and is
less steep than Las Palmas; from it you can continue towards the
airport and there are 2 possible routes that loop back to las Palmas,
both of them lumpy on good and scenic roads – these rides are known
collectively as El Oriente. You may also carry on past Guarne to some
further gradual climbs past El Sanctuario.
There is only one climb
to the west of the city and it is relatively short exiting at the
back of Itagui and by way of San Antonio de Prado. The road is a bit
sketchy in places and unmade beyond the summit where there are some
good cafes and great views.
Finally you can leave
the city by the South towards Caldas – there are 2 parallel routes
and they arrive at a junction which goes straight on to Alto de
Minas, or right to Las Minitas where it drops down towards some other
great climbs. Many people stop and return from Alto de Las Minas but
you can go on and down towards La Pintada with some great other
options to the left and right. Returning from La Pintada is a tough
long climb especially in the afternoon heat. Taking the Las Minitas
turning after Caldas most cyclists will drop to the bottom of a long
descent and perhaps on to Bolombolo where the river crosses, or you
can take an earlier right on a shortish climb to Titiribi. From
Bolombolo there there is a great climb to Concordia with great views
of its white church across the hills. The ride home from here is long
and hard so come prepared.
Within the city there
are good training tracks; at the velodrome where they will usually
let you on the track with a road bike or El Aeroparque located near
the City airport is where there are early birds can be found training
from 6am. There is another track at el Parque de los Voledores which
is harder to locate and slightly longer and more lumpy circuit than
el Aeroparque but generallywith fewer cyclists. Also some cyclists do
training reps up Pueblito Paisa which is a tough short climb.
Otherwise there are
weekly road closures on one of the main North South highways but
you'll find a wide variation in cyclists as well as walkers and
people on skates. Once a week there is a city friendly cycle event,
'Ciclovia' usually starting from Estadio and with a nice friendly
vibe.
As you can see Medellin
has much to offer road cyclists and there is also plenty to for
mountain bike and BMX enthusiasts. Don't hesitate to ask me further
questions and enjoy the ride.
Alan Malarkey
