The Transcordilleras, which has been held in Colombia for the past five years, has a magnetic attraction to lovers of bikepacking and high-altitude bikepacking. Despite its super-tough reputation and the fact that he has competed in the event multiple times in the past, Jorge Padrones signed up again for the 2025 event and sent in this fantastic story. 

As every year, the organisers of Transcordilleras are loyal to their roots and they continue with their aim to cross the three cordilleras in which the Andes divide Colombia. For the 2025 edition however, they took the highest possible route with some stages over 4000 meters where there is a clear lack of oxygen and you can feel it.

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"Our journey will take us on eight stages, covering nearly 900 km, with 20,000 meters of accumulated climbing to arrive at the other side of the Andes."

7.00 am, Feb 23^rd 2025, Choachí, a small village with thermal waters not far from Bogota, we set off on the fifth edition of the Transcordilleras. Our journey will take us on eight stages, covering nearly 900 km, with 20,000 meters of accumulated climbing to arrive at the other side of the Andes. We will then cross the Andes again following one of the highest but more beautiful routes possible. The route is very beautiful but not easy.

Image courtesy of @Lavuletaesasi

The first day is always special in a race, but it was even more special in this one, for various reasons. First, it is amazing to see that even though the event start is located less than an hour away from a huge city like Bogota, we are in the middle of the nature with green and never-ending mountains all around. It feels as though we are in cycling heaven. Second, the race organisation managed to get permission to cross the Chingaza national park, in which vehicle access (including bicycles) is normally forbidden. We were probably some of the only ones to cross it by cycling. Chingaza is a very special national park, with an altitude of more than 3000 meters, in fact we were a big chunk of the stage over 3000 meters, getting close to the 4000m point in some moments to make a total of almost 4000 meters of cumulative climbing.

This first stage was brutal in all possible ways. The scenery changes from green and dense forest areas to the “paramo” where given the unusual climatic conditions, only a small plant called “frailejon” is able to grow. These plants are getting their water from the mist that is frequently found at that altitude. It makes for a very surreal landscape. Brutal because of the altitude, at 4000 meters it is difficult to breath, with very 'thin' air so imagine having to climb at this altitude on your bike. Brutal because of the altimetry - 4000 meters of accumulated height gain in 125 km is a lot to climb and finally, brutal because of the weather conditions as the mist, the rain and cold were with us along the eight hours of the stage. By the end of the stage, I was in the top 20 of the almost 140 riders that took place on this edition. A brutal first stage that took its toll with some DNFs. Beautiful but brutal.

"You must be self-sufficient."

During the next part of the event, we started our “descent” to the Cauca river. Just a quote in inverted commas though, as many climbing meters were included in the middle section, with long stages of 145 and 155 km respectively. In total, we did more than 12 hours riding in two days. On top of that, we have to take into account other aspects that make this race unique as the world’s only backpacking stage race. You must be self-sufficient, which means you have to sort out your own lodging and when you arrive to the destination, you head to your hotel which might not necessarily be close to the finish line. Nor will the route to your hotel necessarily be flat - sometimes 100-200 climbing meters can be added to your stage just getting to your accomodation….

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You also must sort out your food, eat after a long day in the saddle, find a place to clean the bike and if you had any type of mechanical incident, you will need to look for the local shop where they can fix it. You will also need to buy your snacks for the next day, a whole variety of Bocadillos de Guayaba, biscuits and gums are the go-to-choice usually and finally you need to have dinner, as early as possible because you will need to get up by 5.30 am latest, as the start is at 7.00 am everyday.

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Did I say already this race was brutal? It might sound strange, but to me the fact that riders have to be so involved is one of the main attractions - you can choose you sleeping places, your food, get to know the local villages that host the race and taste the local cuisine throughout the country. Taking part in the Transcordilleras is a very complete experience and in no way is ‘just’ a bicycle race. To be honest, I don’t find it very exciting when I have to get up at 5.30 am, completely knackered from previous days, but everything is different after a good Colombian coffee. 

There is something magical about crossing mountain ranges and passing through very different altitudes - you can see gradually how the landscape and the vegetation adapts to the altitude and the climate. We started at almost 4000 meters, but on stage three we descended to 240 meters, where you could feel the tropical heat (up to 40 degrees at midday). It was very different from the just four degrees we suffered just two days back. This also makes the logistics complicated. You must carry all your luggage and everything that you will need throughout the stages, meaning you have to carry clothes for that temperature range, while at the same time you have to pack smart and try to save as much weight and volume as you can.

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" The latest rains left it with very muddy patches, so some stretches of the route looked more look like a cyclocross race with our bikes on our shoulders while walking."

On day four, after crossing the Cauca river we started to climb the second cordillera. The route included some flowy singletrack making it more fun, although the latest rains left it with very muddy patches, so some stretches of the route looked more look like a cyclocross race with our bikes on our shoulders while walking. It turns out that a bicycle loaded with the bikepacking gear and some mud weights a lot! Getting over this second cordillera meant going up one of the longest climbs in the world – in total it was around 80 km long. Our route could easily be linked with the famous Paramo de Letras climb. We did it in two sections, stopping overnight in Libano. The climb started in Armero, sadly known for the landslides and mud avalanches from El Nevado del Ruiz that erased the village and killed an estimated 23,000 people. We passed through this ghost village full of crosses and monuments. We could feel the heat as we started our climb from 200 meters up to 4150m. The first section of the climb was 35 km to Libano, where we took a rest, before continuing the next day up to Alto del Sifon. Day Five included a 50 km ascent without a single rest – it was hard, but beautiful.  

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We were lucky as the weather, apart from being misty, was not cold and we just needed a thin jacket for the downhill sections. The climb was a full spectacle, from down low where the vegetation was abundant and tropical, then a gradual transitioning to less dense vegetation up to the typical paramo Frailejones, with views over the Nevados Park and El Nevado del Ruiz presiding. We crossed various rivers and as this terrain is volcanic, we could sense the sulphuric smell in the air. At one point we even crossed a sulphuric river.  A surreal landscape then took us to the Alto del Sifon. With its 4150 meters of thin air (and after 50 km climbing) we could feel somehow dizzy and short of breath.

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The stage finished where our road met with a busy national road and from there the descent was not timed - a good decision given the heavy traffic on the bigger road. From where we stopped, I saw a crossroad where I learned it was only 5 km to the top of the mythical Alto de Letras. I could not resist and even if it was not part of the race course I climbed it, remembering the times when I was a kid when I could hear the pros talking about a 80 km climb, so I made another dream true by climbing up to the summit. 

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"Please do not mistake these ‘easier’ stages with slower paced ones, as they are not."

It is nice in these type of races to have some recovery stages. However, even though they are short, please do not mistake these ‘easier’ stages with slower paced ones, as they are not. After all this climbing we had a 62 km stage which was very fast. It took us a bit more than 2 hours, getting close to the 30 km/h average - not bad for a sixth day of competition and for the first time in the week our day was over at little more than 10 a.m. We had the rest of the day to rest and enjoy the Santa Agueda village, a recreational area full of second residences for the people from Manizales with nice restaurants and lodging with warm temperatures. Luckily, my Airbnb had swimming pool.  Also on that day was the first time I see champagne gravel in Colombia, a stretch of 15 km of small, compacted gravel that made us fly at over 40 km an hour in small groups, which we really enjoyed. 

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With two more days to the finish, we got to cross the second big river dividing the mountain ranges, the Magdalena. From there we started to climb the third cordillera. We were in Antioquia, which was a cycling paradise - evergreen steep mountains, coffee plantations decorating the slopes and mind-blowing views over the cliffs. As with the race as a whole, it was beautiful but brutal and included the roughest gravel of the race, steep technical ascents and descents full of rocks which shook your body. For me, stage seven was a very difficult one with more than 3000 meters of climbing and 123 km of hard and difficult gravel. It took me six hours, even after having covered the first 50 km which were on tarmac and we did all together in a group at more than 34 km/h average. The stage finished with a brutal (again this word) climb to Tamesis. After 3000 meters of climbing and 120 km of distance, we had to face a last kilometre with more than 20% average gradient. Many riders had to climb it literally by zig-zagging.

The last day was set, but there was no social riding, no celebrations - just another short, full-gas stage. Just 54 km of hard and stony gravel with 1800 meters of climbing and three hours riding, where again we had to climb to finish off the stage at the top of the beautiful and picturesque village of Jardin. 

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"The organisers wanted us to have a real and unforgettable experience and they really achieved it. "

There, the last sticker was put on our brevet cards. Well, it was not a simple brevet card - it was a real piece of art. Each stage was represented by a drawing of an animal representative of the area we had ridden through. The space for the sticker and the sticker itself contains that drawing. This was one of the details that tells you these are special races and the people organising them are looking for something more than just to take participants from point A to B. The organisers wanted us to have a real and unforgettable experience and they really achieved it. 

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They also achieved the sense of community that built up along the eight days, so at the finish line we were a bunch of friends that enjoyed and suffered eight days spent crossing some of the highest mountain ranges you can cycle in the world. We shared stops in little shops looking for water and food, we cared about each other, trying to help when something happened on the route. I had a crash that fortunately just made me some scratches here and there and the people who were riding with me stopped to help me, even though we were in race mode in that moment. 

On my way I met so many nice people and places, the breakfast from María Emma in Choachí; the Sinduly cabins in Sope; the majestic dinner and breakfast from Marta; the lunch and dinner in the Honda market; the nice lodging and presence of Wilfredo; Jose who helped me to fix my bike and gave me some nice and real Colombian coffee in Libano; the Chontaduro bought in the vivid streets of Manizales; the views from Tamesis with many waterfalls around and the smiles and support from all the fellow riders and race staff. Mario, Elliot, Jose Román, Mauricio, looking after all of us even racing hard in the top 10 and many other names and smiles which I am now forever taking with me.  

All this is something that cannot be described, but needs to be lived.

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" I am not sure if this is a race within a trip or a trip within a race, but I can tell you everybody goes as fast as they can and the competitive spirit is also there."

Oh! I almost forgot, this is a race, a competitive race, with some big players this year, like Lachlan Morton, Simon Pellaud (a pro from the Tudor Team), Griffin Easter, Alex Howes, six-time 24 Hours MTB world Champion Cory Wallace, Brayan Chaves, MTB Colombian champion Yepes. In the women’s category, there were big names as well with Cinthya Carson, Amity Rockwell, Withney  Alyson - all of them attacking and going fast to conquer the Transcordilleras title that in the end was won by Simon Pellaud and Withney Allison. I am not sure if this is a race within a trip or a trip within a race, but I can tell you everybody goes as fast as they can and the competitive spirit is also there.

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A big shout out for all those riders that day after day took 10, 12, 14 hours to make it to the finish line, minimising their possible recovery time when in just a few short hours they had to be back on the bike again for the next challenge. They were the ones keeping alive the real spirit of exploring the three cordilleras in los Andes.

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"If I can, I will be back again next year."

Also from here my thanks to the organisation for putting together such an original yet beautiful and exciting event. That it is fixed in my calendar is revealing, as the event is a unique way to get to know a marvelous country for cycling as is Colombia. If I can, I will be back again next year, because the only thing that will remain from this year will be the name of the race and its spirit, but we will take another route, different climbs, different villages, something that will fill our routines and souls with images, sounds and feelings for some time to keep us going,