I expected having to deal with a tropical climate in Colombia, hence decided against cycling loaded — I didn’t bring my tent, sleeping bag, or cooking gear. This was not to be an expedition-style bicycle tour, not this time. Expecting heat, I wanted to travel light. From my previous trip to Colombia I knew finding inexpensive accommodations in Colombia was not a problem, so why bother to bring camping gear. Instead of touring on my Surly Long-Haul Trucker DeLuxe draped with heavy panniers, I converted my carbon road bike Scott into a lightweight version of a transcontinental bikepacking machine.
Having strapped my road bike with bikepacking-style bags, my packing list contained only the clothing I wore to ride every day and a set of gym shorts and a singlet to change into when off the bike. Other than a few small gadgets and a rain jacket, I figured I needed nothing else.
I was right, and I could have skipped the rain jacket too as it was super dry, not a drop of rain fell when I toured.
Aside from the above, I brought a simple multi-tool and a spare inner tube, but guess what: I didn’t have a single flat riding 1300 kilometers, much of it on a bad tarmac including stretches of dirt and gravel. Riding 25C tires, it surprised me I had no flat tires, but no complaints.
Read more: Northern Colombia by Bicycle
