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 🧱
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...
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
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
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!
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!!!
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”.
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!
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 :)
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 🙏 ❤️ 🚲 🇨🇴
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.
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.
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!!!
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 : )
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!
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!
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.
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.
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!
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).
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.
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!
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.
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.
I agree with others, your production is top notch, the editing, the video and audio, everything is superb therefore stories such as this one deserve to be longer. I will venture to say that if this was 45 min. long, you'd probably get even more views and thumbs up. GCN is capable of some epic cycling videos, please consider making more videos like this one, and please make them LONGER! This is like a addictive drug to us cyclists and we want MORE!!!!
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.
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.
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.
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!
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...
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
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.
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.
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.
Full thumbs up on this presentation, and actually all your presentations. Thank you GCN and the team of presenters. You are our Bike Stars. Enjoy the Ride
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.
Si is such a great presenter makes everything interesting. Si combined with the great cinematography is a winning combo - just brilliant. Can’t wait to see more of his Colombia visit.
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.
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.
Yay! Si is back on the bike! Very excited for all this upcoming South American content. This ride looked utterly horrendous, frankly, but the scenery was spectacular.
@@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.
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 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.
Great story. Thanks for sharing. 🙋🏻♂️
Great experience and a great read. Thanks!
Amazing story! Greetings from Bogotá.
Riders from all over the world will always be welcome!!! Spread the world mate...we are good people!!!!
Great story
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 🧱
Yep! Totally agree. The only thing missing...was another 15mins:)
@@briangrissom3203 Agreed too short.
TH-cam Algorithm isn't very fond of anything longer and they'd need to split them in parts for it to work.
YEah!! More epic rides is what the audience wants!
Oh yes!
I'm colombian and think that this video is beautiful. Gracias por hacerme sentir orgulloso de mi país.
I felt emotional watching you. That was my sport, riding the roads of my country Colombia in my 20's. That was 50 yeas ago.
lo hacias en los 60?
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...
Si, congrats on your Strava KOM under the category of "fastest time while presenting for GCN"
How do I find his Strava?
Go to a game search and search strava
Jajajajajajajajaja pff patacones
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
Haha me encanta como pronuncia las palabras
Seriously though, with cinematography like this, when is "GCN: The Movie" coming out?
it has. GCN plus.
This is one of the most beautifully shot video on GCN, amazing ride Si.
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
Thank you for visiting and appreciating my beautiful country.♥️🇬🇧&🇨🇴
Insane production quality once again from GCN!
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 video could've been 1 hour long and i would still enjoy it anyway. With Si presenting this, couldn't get any better.
As a native Colombian living in the States I am supremely jealous. Looking forward to more videos of your time in Colombia.
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 need an empanada." Great line.
And an Arepa. Colombian arepas are good.
@@dsenunez I believe the 'inaudible' part after empanada was Cervesa.
änd Cerveza"He says
I chuckled
@@tmurphydot5 Yes, is cerveza
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”.
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!
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!
facebook.com/events/s/reto-mariquita-letras-2020-ver/364878091045570/?ti=cl
Can I ask you is it easy enough to buy a good road bike in Colombia?
@@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
@@ricardobetancourtquevedo8984 Thanks Ricardo, I really must visit one day.
Now I remember why I love GCN.
It’s not always about telling us to buy a disc brake bike everyday.
But discs are better ;-) LOL
@@MS-sy8ls Discs brake better but are much heavier than rim brakes, which is a bad thing if you want to do hill climbs. "LOL"
@@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 :)
My only critic is that the video wasn't longer...loved every second of it and I can't wait for more. Simon you Rock!!!!
Thanks, Raff!
To make 15 minutes of entertainment without riffing off of someone else over an 81km ride is quite a skill. Well done to Si and the editor!
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 🙏 ❤️ 🚲 🇨🇴
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.
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.
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!!!
You could actually extend letras including cerro Guali, you got a 98km climb. Can’t wait to do it when the quarantine ends here in Colombia.
Crikey! That sounds savage!
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, I am a Colombian living in Canada you make me so happy, especially when you mentioned my idol Lucho Herrera
Watching this during the virus situation really help keeping me motivated (and really miss cycling outside).
I did this climb in 2109 february. A great challenge, I was very happy in the finish. Congratulations, Letras is a beautiful mountain🚵🏼♂️
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!
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
Stewart Hinsley I’ve done the taiwan kom descent. It’s cooollldddd 😂
The descent has 1000mt of elevation, not so much of a descent tho hahaha
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!
that´s why colombia is so famous and have so good cyclists.... I´ve been there once, amazing country for "hard" cycling.
Finally! Some content with Si!
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.
Amazing production value on this video. I just recently got into cycling at the age of 39yo and truly enjoy your videos. Thanks!
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.
Great to know. Here in Brazil drivers are absolutely to be feared ! 😳
I love these videos. True quality. Congratulations to all involved. We know it wasn’t just Simon, but total respect to him for that effort!
I didn't know you've came to my country!!!! Simply amazing! Congrats and cheers from Colombia!
Well done Si! Colombia is a beautiful country. Thank you for a great tour 😊.
Si, this one belongs to the top ten videos of GCN. Just great!
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!
Love this one. My mother is Colombian and it’s definitely way up there in my bucket list to cycle around the country. Thanks for this!
This is a well earned descent...
Hope these rubber breaks dont go on fire.
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).
brutal esta subida
lol der Held aller Mittelstufenschüler kommentiert bei GCN :D
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.
Outstanding.
Entertaining and inspiring at this troubled time.
Thanks very much!
"I NEED an empanada & a cerveza"... Ja,Ja,Ja... You killed me! You and ALL of the GCN Team are ALWAYS welcome to our humble Home! Cheers Mate!
Brilliant Simon!!! Chapeu 👏 Just waiting for your KOM Patios attempt, and La Cuchilla of course. Well done mate!!
Colombia -Cycling-Passion Thanks for visiting our county and riding our beautiful mountains, looking forward to watch your other videos in Colombia
Great job Simon; I'm starting the planning now.
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!
Only a minute in and it’s already brilliant. Absolute quality GCN.
I've done Alto de letras in March 2019 with my city bike during my visit of 4 weeks in Bogotá. It was a great experience!
Kudos!🚵🏼♂️
Thanks GCN for showing another face of the beautiful Colombia, Impressive challenge tho, Chapó!
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.
Si going beast mode. That looked like a long, lonely day in the saddle. The climb look brutal and made worse in riding solo. Cheers man!
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.
Love the cinematography of these videos! Keep them coming!!
I agree with others, your production is top notch, the editing, the video and audio, everything is superb therefore stories such as this one deserve to be longer. I will venture to say that if this was 45 min. long, you'd probably get even more views and thumbs up. GCN is capable of some epic cycling videos, please consider making more videos like this one, and please make them LONGER! This is like a addictive drug to us cyclists and we want MORE!!!!
Great video Si. Loved it comparison with Alpe D'Huez really brought it home!
Such an epic climb. Such beautiful shots. And such a fortunate presenter. All I wana see. More of that. Pleeeeease!
Me and all my 200 lbs of non climbing formatted body really enjoyed watching this.
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.
Looking forward to the 20 minute video covering your two weeks cycling in Colombia 😆
It's "Colombia"
@@doramakoreano696 Hold on, maybe they are ALSO going to Columbia (US) to film xD
Dorama Koreano 🤦🏼♂️👌🏼
We Colombians congratulate you, well done, you did it and you have shown the real image of our country. Thanks
Amazing camera work. I would have loved to see a longer version just to take in the scenery.
Congratulations Capo, great video and always welcome to Colombia, I hope to use your video like train motivation these days
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.
Congrats bro! Welcome to Colombia, that was pretty epic! Looking forward to watching more content about Colombia.
If anyone can say I living my dreams this man has to be. PINARELLO Dogma
Nice equipment and land of paradise for cyclist
Sead Biberović And rim brakes 🤓
yup i have only Triban RC 520 :( mayby after apocalypse i will scavenge some cool stuff
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.
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!
I remember Herrera back in the '80s and I as a teenager wondered if I could go there and do what you've done, alas no so thank you for the insight.
Thank you for sharing our Colombian mountains and your positive spirit with this awesome video. I'm having an "empanada" in your honor, from Cali.
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!
Cycle Nutter agreed. I find these inspirational.
@@AnvilAirsoftTV :)
Thanks very much! We're really pleased to see so many people enjoying this video.
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...
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
Next Challenge:
Mauna Kea on Hawaii: sea level to 4205 m
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.. :-/
@@alexsunmee3822 Sorry, I didn't know that :).
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.
Here in Colombia there is another climb a little bit harder than Letras
That climb needs a CX or Gravel bike as it’s dirt track in places I believe?
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.
Fair play Si, my legs are aching just watching!
haha same!
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.
Not a ride for sprinters :). Great epic video and perfect have Si in that. Thanks GCN!
Can imagine Ackermann, Greipel etc going backwards!
Full thumbs up on this presentation, and actually all your presentations. Thank you GCN and the team of presenters. You are our Bike Stars.
Enjoy the Ride
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.
they weight less than disc brakes so it makes sense using them for cycling uphill
Thank you for your visit to Colombia GCN!!!! Best rides ever! Great video!
What was your time?!
Si is such a great presenter makes everything interesting. Si combined with the great cinematography is a winning combo - just brilliant. Can’t wait to see more of his Colombia visit.
Your videos are so much better compared to "bad retirement" dude - very positive and humble attitude. Keep it up !
Loved this video and Si is just such a cool lad and great presenter. Keep up the great work GCN!
Amazing Edit!
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.
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.
Thanks, Phil. Really pleased we could help!
Yay! Si is back on the bike! Very excited for all this upcoming South American content. This ride looked utterly horrendous, frankly, but the scenery was spectacular.
Colombia misspelt with a “u” -aagh..
Agreed
So what?
@@albertov9664 ok Ulberta
@@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.
Ironic, Ulberta
Thanks for being here in Colombia showing one of the toughest climbs that we have
7:46 what the hell is a cow doing there? Haha
But look at how GREEN the grass is!
Good eye
We have a lot of cows in the mountains... hahah
It's a Colombian classic my friend :P
Cows are fine with altitude. I was suprised to see them peacefully roam grass at the top of mountains after gruelling climbs in stunning Corsica.
Great work Si! Amazed at your ability to talk while climbing! Thanks for taking me along on your ride!
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!!! 😅😅
Thank you for sharing the beauty of Colombia and what it offers to cycling in such a positive manner. Looking forward to other Colombia videos.