[12/05/07~09 (D+252) Colombia] It’s my first time to ride a bike on Mount. (I also want to become someone’s flower.)

7th May 2012

It starts raining from 3 am. I thought it will stop in the morning like a few days ago. But it is still raining in the morning. I wait until 7 am to stop raining with drinking cocoa which she gives me.

I am being wet. It is too much uphill so I can ride only 2 km (1.2 mi) for an hour. It is too hard so I stop and eat breakfast.

I dry my raincoat during breakfast. I got raincoat from my friend in Mexico but I don’t know why I am wet. It is because of my sweat or not good product?

I take the picture of celebration 8,000 km (5,000 mi). At that time, I am too hard because it is too much uphill and I am totally wet although I wear raincoat.

It is too hard to ride a bike. When I look at back, I see amazing mount with fog which makes picture black and white.

It’ is black and white. Fog makes picture very smooth.

The fog begins to lift so I can see the town

I was wondering why they posed like that and now I can guess that they are drying their feather.

Around 12 pm, it stops to rain but it makes me harder because of being chilly. I am totally wet and it is so cold. The picture doesn’t look too much uphill but the true is really uphill. After 12 pm, I have too pain with my knees to ride a bike so I have to push it.

I have experience about climbing and hiking on the mount in Korea. But it’s my first time to ride a bike on the mount. When I went to Mexico City with a bike, elevation was 2600 m (8530 ft). But it was not like today. At that time I didn’t know even how high and my speed was 11 km (6.8 mi) per an hour. But today I start from 7 am and around 12 pm I find that I only ride 10 km (6 mi) so far. How come I am going slowly?

But the nature is awesome. To see the mount with fog by a bike is my first time.

The mount looks rainy. I can see a lot of waterfall over there. Around 2 pm, it is sunny but I couldn’t ride a bike any more because of pain with knees. So, I push my bike all the time. I find a house which has a big roof in a yard where I can avoid rain. So, I ask for a place and they let me set up my tent at their yard. Today I set a new record which nobody will break. I ride 23 km (14 mi) for 9 hours! It seems like walking will be faster than riding a bike on the mount.

I packed all stuff with plastic bag because my waterproof panniers don’t work. But still all of my stuff is wet. So, I have to dry everything on my tent and I am a little big angry with the panniers of company. (A few days ago, I send panniers of company a message to recall and I am waiting to get answer from them.) Actually, I like raining but always I have the problem with being wet. If everything is not wet, then I could enjoy riding a bike with raining.

It’s a perfect camping place ever. I can see a super view. Also, they let me take the warm shower. In the night, a dog guard me.

8th may 2012

It’s my lovely morning.

The sun is watching over me.

It’s lovely family.

Again, I start with Colombian coffee. All of Colombian who let me set up my tent around their house give me a cup of coffee in the morning.

Today morning, I am the slowest. I ride only 1 km (0.6 mi) for two hours. How come I am so slow? Actually, I can’t ride a bike in the morning because of too uphill and pain with knees so I have to push my bike.

Every time cows look at me. I think they are very curious about people passing.

I look back over path. It looks not much uphill but the true is really hard load.

I am too slow to find a grocery over 3 hours so I am too hungry. But when the road is not too much uphill, I find a small one so I can have breakfast.

After breakfast, I find that a road is up and down. Many cyclists say uphill is better than up and down. I might agree that too much up and down makes riding a bike harder.

I arrive in the town afternoon. It looks interesting that many people live in the mount.

Today is not much hard like yesterday. There are no raining and not much uphill. The scenery seems like compensation for my sweat of effort.

It looks like rainy town.

I’ve heard green is good color for the mind. I think that reason can explain why I feel good in the mount although I am riding a bike hard.

Today, I am on the road for 10 hours but I could ride only 35 km (21 mi). Around 5 pm, I find one house so I ask him for a night. But he says it is not his house but father’s house and I have to wait until his father comes back home. A few minute later, he calls his father with his cell phone and he says it’s no problem to set up my tent around their house. I think the mount has many cows for milk. The machine makes milk 4c (39f).

He milks cow by hand and hands me it. It’s my first time to drink milk like this way. I’ve heard that it is fishy.

But taste is the best milk that I’ve ever drunk in my life. It is the best milk in the world!! Totally it is no fishy but warm and awesome.

Again he gives me the second cup with cookie and I feel like the milk was into microwave for 23 seconds. It is the perfect degree to drink.

Thankfully, they give me dinner.

9th May 2012

The view in the morning is with fog.

They show me a chicken farm. It’s my first time to see it. I see the four chickens are in one cage.

It’s not possible to remember every name of people who help me. So, I’ve asked them to write their name on my note. And I type it on my blog. ( http://www.universewithme.com/?page_id=1749 ).

Here is one of poem I like in Korean. Translation is not perfect so it is not beautiful as I read in Korean.

—————————-

Flower – Choonsu Kim

Untill I called his name
he had been but
a single gesture alone.

When I called his name
he came to me
and became a flower of mine.

Just like I called his name
someone matching my color and scent
please come and call my own.

So that I could go too
and be a flower thine.

We all wish
to become something.
You to I and I to you
wish to be an unforgettable being.

——————————

When I called their name on my blog, I can smell beautiful scent of flower. I also want to become someone’s flower.

It has been raining from midnight. I had hard time two days ago because everything was wet from rain, so I spend more time to protect my stuff from rain with plastic bags.

Actually, they are very friendly family. But when I take the picture, their face gets stiff. I think a good photographer takes picture naturally but I am not yet.

I like my tire which is called Schwalbe but I get a flat tire today. Sometimes it just happens.

While fixing a flat tire, I meet the cyclist whom I met in Panama and San Blas. He rides a bike three days earlier than me but he catches me today. He says he rode a bike over 56 km (35 mi) for a day with the same road where I rode only 23 km (14 mi). Usually, if people say to me that it takes one hour by a car, it means one day for me by bike. But he says it means 5 hours for him. He is faster than me so I let him go first.

It is such a cute boy and girl.

When I fixed a flat tire, army helps me. But it is not enough so I put more air and then my tube is broken. I used my extra tube in Cartagena because the same thing happened. I believed that my tire is stronger so I didn’t buy any extra tire on my way to buy it in a big city. I did want to hitchhike for two days but I stood it. So, I decide to push my bike to next town where is over 21 km (13 mi).

But I change my mind after 10 seconds because I see my lovely tire Schwalbe squashing. Thank to army (?), I hitchhike in 1 minute.

Fortunately, the next city is not 21 km (13 mi) but only 3 km (1.8 mi). I change my tube and tune a gear.

Now when I see the cow, it reminds me of milk.

The best scenery.

It looks like they are no worries about water.

I don’t know what that is.

Again, I lick my chops at the sight of cows. Oh, I can’t forget milk that I drank yesterday.

Yeah… man, you are doing what I want. He is holding truck!

I ride over 52 km (32.5 mi) today for 9 hours. But today is better than yesterday. I’ve ridden a bike with fresh air and cool water in Colombia. I’ve slept in a tent for 8 days since I left from Cartagena. Every Colombian whom I asked for a place to set up my tent is so friendly and helpful. Thankfully, every people have given me a coffee in the morning.

I am planning to travel in South America for 8 months and I will volunteer two months in South America. (No cycling during volunteering). It’s not possible to cycle all of South America only for 6 months, so I might take a bus for long distance.

I volunteered for children and young adults with disabilities in South Korea for 4 years. Also, I volunteered at some area in Canada. Right now, I am receiving a lot of help from the road but I do want to volunteer again on the road.

There are a lot of different volunteers like education, medical services, construction and more. What I want to do is building  A LIBRARY for local people. If I build a library, it will not the same as big library where is in a city.

The book is my best friend, food for the soul and my life partner. If there were no books, I would be not here.

I want to share what I get from the book with local people who don’t have library around their house. I will keep dreaming to build library although I don’t know how to make it. I heard “Room to read” is doing it. So, I check their website but they are doing in Asia and Africa, not in America.

I didn’t know how to start traveling around the world by bike last year but I am doing it because I kept dreaming. So, I do believe that I can make also this dream real unless I stop dreaming it.

Building Library……
Sharing Hope…..
Feeling happy……

I also want to become someone’s flower.