I did this climb in 2018. My experience was slightly different than Si's, though epic and enjoyable (enjoyable, in an absolutely brutal type of enjoyment kind of way). I'm in nowhere near as good shape as Si is. I rode from Bogota to the base of the Letras climb first, a little over 100 miles. The airline decided to keep my bike an extra day in Panama. I had planned on taking two days to cover the 100 miles (160 km) from Bogota to Letras, and now I had only one. Bogota sits at 8,000 ft (2,400 m) and the base of the climb is close to 2,000 ft (600 m) if memory serves, so I knew there'd be some descending. Unfortunately, there was also a 4,000 ft (1,200 m) climb mixed in the middle. I didn't expect that. Needless to say, before I started out at 4 AM (to avoid heat and conserve daylight) to climb Letras, I was already knackered, as Si might say. At one point on the climb I did something I've never done before or since, I actually stopped on the side of the road to lie down, and try to sleep for a minute or two. Just a minute or two. I was up in the mountains and found a spot with some grass and lay down. The grass seemed kind of prickly, and then itchy, and then downright painful. WTH? Biting ants!! Good times. While I was attempting to rest, two different vehicles stopped over a 10 minute span to ask if I was ok, which I thought was very kind. And then the only other person I encountered on a bike going uphill that day stopped to check on me. His name was Raul and he was from Medellin. He got me up and going again with his positive attitude and wonderful conversation. I am very grateful to him. Eventually I reached the top, but it was not easy. I stayed at a resort near the top, tucked away at the edge of a National Park there. It was gorgeous. The next day I made the descent, which was indeed amazing. I hope to go back there one day. It is absolutely gorgeous and the people are so supportive and friendly. Truly a wonderful experience.
These are the videos that GCN do best and they could easily be at least half an hour long. GCN also has brilliant presenters but Si is a fantastic presenter at these pieces. Would have liked to see Lasty with him 🧱
Qué belleza ver a este man en estas tierras colombianas no sólo probando una maravilla ciclística como lo es el alto de letras sino también degustando algo de comida propiamente de la región, unos capos los de GCN, maravilloso el vídeo
As a 68 years old colombian who lives in New York and had done the Stelvio, Sella Ronda, Falzarego Pass, Tourmalet, and Alpe d'huez, you guys brought to my mind the idea of Alto de Letras...I better hurry because I guess there in not much time left to try it...Great videos and nice to see you in Colombia...
OMG!!! Si was here!!! I can't believe you came here to Colombia. I've done this climb twice and it has been awesome. I would've love to meet you guys in person whilst you were here. Thanks once again for the amazing content!
This is the kind of contents that got me subscribed to gcn. I love the presenters but you guys have to cover more things like this. I dont mind this kind of videos being 30-60mins. Good job si and more power to you guys
Every year at the end of January there is "reto Alto de letras" something like "alto de letras challenge" basically the road is close and all the amateur ciclyst can climb it, in Jan 2020 were around 5000 cyclist, hopefully on 2021 will be bigger.
I have been trying to find confirmation of this and would love to go. Please help with a link to a webpage or a travel agency in the know. The ones I have found or contacted know nothing of it. Thanks!
@@And-rc9yy A guy from Colombia here. Yeah, cycling is actually a really popular sport here and there are stores for the big brands, in the city of Pereira near were I live there are shops from specialized and there is a "bike house" for trekk, I think it is the same for Armenia and Manizales, all are cities from the "eje cafetero" , just a couple of hours away from Marquita
@@MS-sy8ls For braking yes, especially when you going downhill and it's raining... But for me it's not good looking, but what do I know, I don't like disc brakes, aero bikes, just a good old shape of the frame, light, stiff climbing machine :)
Wow!! It's amazing to see GCN guys riding and filming in Colombia. I feel proud for it. I Hope you have travelled across many regions and enjoyed our mighty mountains as "Escarabajos". Thanks for visiting us!
Fantastic episode, Thank you!! And btw, To put Lucho Herrera into perspective...he entered his first Tour de France in 1984, and he beat Hinault and Fignon up Alp d’huez when he won the stage, solo... on his rookie attempt. When he finished they asked how he felt after such effort and he simply said, “well, it’s a short climb so i feel fine” . He also quit pro cycling when the doping era started citing “ when a guy with a fat ass passes you on a climb, you know something new is going on”.
I have lived in Mariquita the las 4 years and at my 48 years old just have months as amateur cyclist. I want to complete the Letras climb in the next two months, I love cycling, love GCN, love Mariquita and just cried emotionally watching Simon on these roads I rode everyday in my $300 dollar MTB bike converted into some flat bar gravel bike 😂. Thanks for this beautiful video GCN 🙏 ❤️ 🚲 🇨🇴
As a Colombian I have yo say that you made a wonderful job, the production team and the cyclist. You captured somehow some sparks of the Colombian soul in that epic journey. Bravo!!!
I feel like it's been some time since I've seen a video of Si in the wild like this, and I didn't realize before how much I'd missed his presenting style. Fantastic video. Couldn't peel my eyes off of those views. Can't wait for the rest of the Colombia content.
wow. just wow. This must be the most beautiful video I've watched on GCN so far. The content is brilliant as usual but the filming and editing was fantastic!!!
ClemensAlive in New Zealand, with its constant breaking on the descends, my back rim was ripped apart 150 km short of my trip of 3719 km. However, I managed to make it to the next city, Taupo, by loosing the rear breaks.
@@Gugner did you use a carbon-fibre rim? (the only reason that occurs to me as to why your back-rim was ripped-apart is if you used a carbon-fibre rim).
Thanks for taking the time to visit our country and show the world how much fun you can have cycling around Colombia! It was such a shame I was not fortunate enough to stumble upon you guys! I'm a huge fan!
Would love to see a snippet of the descents on these videos. We all know it's the greatest reward along with the view at the summit. Just a suggestion 😁👍 really well done simon
The descent to Manizales is good!! However I was warned that it could be a bit slippery because sometimes the lorries leak oil on the way down and some bends coulds be slightly wet because of the moisture in the air at that altitude but I survived it! It is one of those descents that half way down i did wish i had a camera!
Indeed! Rim brakes. But everyone knows since the advent of Disc Brakes, Rim Brakes don’t work anymore. They’ve just stopped working - completely. Ironic really... given the choice for a huge mountain, still, rim brakes to save weight; despite all the constant love being poured all over the GCN channel for discs. #marketing #scam
Conspiracy theory: UCI keeps the weight limit not to give rim brakes an "unfair" advantage. Anybody on a road bike knows braking is the last resort and then it's useless without anti-locking brakes.
Amazing video! I agree with some of the comments below about making this kind of videos longer, like 30 - 45 minutes long documentary. The quality never disappoints, is very good. Besides that, as a "colombiano" it makes me very happy to see people like you guys come and visit. Colombia is truly a cycling paradise. I hope many people got inspired by this video to come and visit, colombian people are very welcoming, they will be happy to have you all. Don't forget Nairo Quintana in the video description, he was the first cyclist to truly show what colombian cyclists can do. Keep an eye on him, its seems to be back! Amazing video! thank you!
Well done GCN. A great production, a great presenter, a nice route, some blinks to local quirks and traditions; nothing else to say that as a native colombian I feel honored to know you came and tasted these mountains, these roads, the heat and the cold, the air being both moist and dry. You have been very polite calling it busy, since this is national road and a LOT of traffic comes this way since connects pacific coast to central andina region and on top of that some of the drivers here are not that respectful. Hope you have enjoyed more of the country has to offer.
Hey Mate, Glad to know Colombia was one of your dreams to come true. I've not had the chance to ride over that epic climb, I'm sure must be tough, but at the same time it must feel amazing when finishing it. Hope you have had a great time here. Good on you!!!!! Congrats for this channel and for bringing Colombia to one of your shows.
Beautiful shots and awesome lines delivered the entire time. You just gotta love how he mix some spanish words in between, sounds just great. Great video guys!
I liked this video a lot, congratulations, ¡Welcome to Colombia!, Thanks for comming. I hope that you repeat with the Pichacho in Santander, Colombia. Thanks again : )
Great video. Thanks you. I am over 55 and not shape to complete this massive climb. But since a taking a short road bike tour around Bogota/Tabio in January, and having the time of my life on those beautiful slopes, can't stop thinking about reordering my entire life to train for and attempt it. It looks like the ultimate challenge. Also, I have learned that heavy traffic on Colombian roads is to be expected, not feared. Drivers show great respect.
Brings back memories. 2 years ago my girlfriend and I took the bus down maraquita and we climbed the old pass parallel to the Alto de Leteas - Old Letras Pass - longer, higher, and half on dirt road! It was spectacular! One day we’ll go back and try this climb.
Oh what a Gladiator! It was very professional your Letras Hill climbing, but even more your comments and description of the route, detailing history and culture of Colombia cyclism. Complete coverage. Always welcome to Mariquita, born city of my wife.
You could turn these into half hour shows... the production is amazing and I would be hooked watching one of these a week! Well done on the climb that was EPIC!
One of your best videos ever! However, I would like to inform you that if you want to come, you could start from the town ‘Honda’ which is 20km before and lower in altitude than ‘Mariquita’ and finish in ‘El nevado del Ruiz’ which is 20 km after, so the climbed would be 120km and at least 1000m more. This way it would definitely be the longest climb in the world.
In Venezuela, there is a 118 km climb from Barinas to Collado del Condor , from 187 to 4119 mts above sea level, the highest road point in the country.
OMG Si went to my dear Colombia!!!!. Colombia is amazing for cyclists, with lots of friendly roadies, exotic snacks, beautiful landscapes. My Dad used to compete and still rides to this day, I now live in Canada, but Colombia is a bucket list for us roadies definetely.
I've watched this channel since the start, maybe 2 mths after it started. I've seen you Simon climb loads of mountains and hills and I've seen you gasping for breath after every word you speak before but never like that and never on a climb that didn't appear to be that steep compared to many I've watched you do. You claimed to not be as fit but this video shows that you've still got your climbing legs on. That was insane though how much difference the lack of oxygen made to your breathing. Respect for doing it, managing to finish and to do it all while presenting a decent video.
sorry for my bad english im french, mauna kea will be difficult because you need a permition 45days before ride the summit from the visitor center, there are manifestants and gards now who block the accès.. :-/
That's anything but fun, I stayed at the dorms at 9200 ft (worked on Weiku bug survy) and took a CX bike. I rode down to the saddle and did one accent up to Mauna Loa, what accession from 5000 ft to 9200 ft and one summit attempt up to 13.796. All those summits are hard but the unpaved cinder from 9200 ft up to 12,500 by the Burn's cinder cone was the most grueling thing I've ever done. I've never done the whole thing but the saddle road out Hilo is pretty exposed and not pretty like Haleakala. The protesting of the TMT is bit of mess, if you want a duel prospective read the comments on any op-ed at CivilBeat.
Love it!! Excelent video Si! Good bit of history on it aswell! I did this in January 2019 from Chinchina where my grandma lives and it was one of the best rides I have ever done! I cant wait to go back and do it again!
Greetings GCN. Amazing video. Excellent content quality. It is by far the best video I have seen of GCN. I am 58 years old and had planned to do that tour on March 22/2020 for the first time, but due to covid-19 the project was canceled. Your video only reaffirms my decision to do it as soon as possible. Greetings from Cali-Colombia
big up to the editors, as a small youtuber I really look up to this quality of video and it is often overshadowed and taken for granted. Keep up the film quality content!
Global Cycling Network much deserved! I’d love to see a video of a tour and explanation of what everyone does behind the scenes, I’m sure there are many more envolved at GCN HQ! I recon many others would enjoy that as well...
Awesome video guys! It definitely is a must climb for any aficionado, the length, the changing climates and the arrival after all that time climbing, you really get the feel of Colombia when passing through the small towns... I need an empanada jajajaja and a cerveza. P.S: You might wanna change Sergio henao´s picture when referring to Andres Ardila.
Si, using old fashioned rim brakes in mountains, but I'm the retro grouch always talking about rim brakes. Haha. Great video and ride Si, and what amazing scenery. Beautiful country.
Keep the Geography lessons coming GCN, there's lots of children and teenagers off school right now, not realising their actually receiving an eduction watching your video releases, week in week out. Thanks Guys.
@@LoscoeLad No dear Mark, you just don´t understand the idiocy of the "It´s not Columbia, It´s Colombia" crew; they complain because country names are written in a different way in other lenguages; but how could you, if a kid insult is all you have then that´s all you are.
I was in Colombia last summer (not for cycling though). Colombians are an exceptionally polite and pleasant people. One thing I will say though, you will choke on the exhausts from all those little scooters, motorcycles and taxis. I have a feeling that's why Si had a few coughs on camera. Te Amo Liliana!!🥰
OMG! What a beautiful piece.. thank you very much GCN for showing the beauty of Colombian. You are all welcome to come over and have "empanada and cerveza" anytime.
Man, Si, It's the first time I'm gonna say this to you, but I've wanted so many: how lucky you are with all these extraordinary trips!! You should pay instead of being paid for your work!!! 😅😅
I am Colombian, was born in Bogota and do cycling off course. Seeing the mountains and all... can't deny the nostalgia. Now I live in Miami, Florida. Absolute Zero mountains. Max elevation 20-50 feet lol...
