Pedalling About

Our rating: 7/10

The Brooks B-17 saddle is difficult to review. We can’t say that we love it, but we both agree that we wouldn’t use anything different, especially now that we have gone to the effort of wearing ours in.

We chose the Brooks B-17 as it had good reviews from the cycle touring community and also it came as standard with our Thorn Nomads. Paddy went with the black version, whilst Laura opted for tan as we were told it would soften up quicker. We’re not so sure that it true, but the tan does develop a lovely worn-in colour. Laura chose not to bother with the specific female version as it added to the cost. A wise move or not? We aren’t sure. Laura has definitely suffered most with discomfort, but there is no guarantee that the women’s version would have been better. Probably though, if given the choice again we would have spent a few extra pounds. (more…)

Katy Perry sings a song about Colombia. You know the one that goes ‘you’re up then you’re down… you’re hot then you’re cold’. It sums up our cycle ride across the country perfectly and the stretch from Cali to Bogota was no exception, with some blissfully flat cycling and a Tour de France gradient climb which put us to the test.

We’d had a fantastic break in the modern city of Cali staying with Paddy’s distant cousin and his family. It had been a much needed rest after weeks of climbing and we made the most of the well-stocked supermarkets to refuel and had our bikes serviced in a local shop, as well-equipped as anywhere back home with cycling being Colombia’s national sport. (more…)

Colombia had been the one country which everyone had warned us about.  Drugs, violence and kidnaps: it has received its fair share of negative press in recent history. But instead we arrived excited, having heard great stories about the generosity and friendliness of Colombians from cyclists we’d met on the road.

Crossing the busy main border from Ecuador with a military helicopter buzzing overhead, we were absorbed by the Colombian preparations for the New Year’s Eve celebrations.  Ipiales hosted an incredible carnival where men dressed up in women’s clothes to prance along the street performing skits before impressive cardboard effigies were paraded, later to be burnt in the streets.  A few fireworks were thrown inside to keep the crowds firmly on their toes. (more…)

Sometimes we have one of those days where it’s hard to believe that so much went on. It happened to us a few days ago, when we experienced intense heat, generosity of locals, played a football match and cycled uphill through a river of rainwater.

We left our hotel in El Estrecho about 7am and ate breakfast in a small café in the village. It felt as if we were in the Caribbean, most of the locals being of African descent and there was a friendly, relaxed vibe. Plus, it was already really hot. (more…)

“Are you the people who were on TV last night?” asked our hotel manager in Quito. We were, having spent one of our days off in the capital answering questions from the national media about our trip around South America. It was a different way to get ready for Christmas. After a busy break, we weren’t totally rested when we set off towards the Colombian border, through Ecuador’s never-ending hills.

Our day in the spotlight had been organised by the lovely staff at the British Embassy in Quito, who also asked us to record a short video to promote the London 2012 Olympics. I think the gathered journalists were disappointed we weren’t set to take part in the actual games, but they seemed interested in our trip and had us cycling up and down in front of the Embassy to video us. We couldn’t help thinking our mums would be disappointed that for our TV debuts we were dressed in our scruffy cycling garb. (more…)