I was up at 3am, with a daunting challenge ahead: cycling 430 km from Bogotá to Medellín over 3 days, inspired by the challenge of the Andes and the cycling culture of Colombia. The first day I had to make over 220 km! By 5am, exiting the city (https://imgur.com/a/5fcD1PV), I passed El Dorado airport, where I had arrived 8 months before. Even at this time there were swarms of cyclists from Lycra warriors to elderly men in factory uniforms riding ancient bikes at the point of collapse.
My ride took me past some of the most beautiful landscapes (https://imgur.com/a/M2xYm6u) I could have ever imagined, through the Eastern range of the Andes mountains to follow the Magdalena river, before again climbing thousands of meters into the Central range to finally arrive in Medellín. Thirty hours later, I was desperately searching for a shower in the bus terminal before boarding the return coach to Bogotá. Again, at 5am, I found myself in the middle of the swarm of cyclists (although this time the destination was my bed).
This journey raised many questions about sustainability. No, I can’t expect people to choose a bike over the bus or plane when they want to travel from Bogotá to Medellín. It would be a bit rich coming from a person who has now flown into El Dorado airport 3 times and will shortly depart in a 4th flight. Do I get some brownie points for cycling nearly everywhere within the city? The labourers on the construction works for the new metro certainly should – cycling every day across the city to work at 4/5am. They are improving sustainable transport options in one of the most congested and polluted cities in the world. But Bogotá is also one of the most bike-friendly cities in Latin America, with the second largest battery bus fleet outside of China.
Every Sunday and public holiday, many principal roads in the city are closed to vehicles in “La Ciclovia”, where roads ranging from quiet streets to five lane motorways that are normally filled with fumes and aggressive drivers turn into spaces for cyclists, runners and walkers from 6am until 2pm. Approximately 2 million people (20% of the population) use it every week, with the first Ciclovia beginning in 1974.
My year in Bogota has given me many ideas for increasing sustainable transport in the UK. Next year I’ve arranged a placement in a community/circular economy bike shop that upcycles abandoned and unwanted bikes, giving them a second life. In the near future, I also hope to help bring the Ciclovia concept to the UK, an idea already being pitched in London by the London Cycling Campaign (https://lcc.org.uk/dream/). In the meantime, if anyone has suggestions for cycling from Bogotá to London, I’m all ears!
