Black Ice.....Really? This is Colombia right.

Since the New Years Eve celebrations did not pan out, I was looking forward to a nice leisurely new years day ride through the mountains. 

The goal for the day was to make it to a town called Cepita. But first we needed to cross over a mountain pass between Pamplona and the city of Bucaramanga. The above photo shows the actual track in green from my GPS. You can see it is loaded with hundreds of hairpin turns which is usually not a problem. But today with an elevation of 3500 meters which brought on 0 degree temperatures and misting rain creating a new challenge. 

Black Ice!

And because of this I started off the new year with a bang. As I came around the corner in the above picture I hit a patch of black ice and down I went. Both Fred and I skidded along the road for about 60 feet before stopping in-front of a house/store.

Now since 600 pounds of metal sliding along asphalt makes quite a noise, it brought all the local inhabitants running out to the scene. My Colombian pit crew (as I have now affectionally named them) were awesome! I was not even finished picking myself off the ground when they were already picking up my bike and moving it off the road.

Now I am happy to report that both Fred and I took only minor damage from the crash.

Fred suffered a broken clutch lever, cracked left turn signal lens cover 

and some abrasion to the left side pannier. 

All in all very minor!

And for myself I came away with only a sprained ankle when my left foot slid under the pannier which is a common occurrence with spills.

I still laugh at the irony of the situation. I come from Canada where black ice is common and I have never wiped out in any vehicle. Instead I need to come all the way to Colombia where temperatures are actually hot for the most part and I hit black ice.

Go figure!