Kyle is an awe-inspiring guy. He’s my cousin (technically first cousin once removed), so I may be slightly biased, but it is undeniable that Kyle is truly courageous when it comes to activities in the outdoors. Besides engaging in nature-based activities, he dedicates his life to helping others reach new heights. Check out Kyle’s new website, newheidts.com. You’ll find all types of resources to help elevate your life and your business, so together you can elevate the lives of others! This is Kyle’s story.

When you hear of Medellin, Colombia there are probably a few things that come to mind: narcotics, danger, Pablo, and corruption.

That perspective has skewed the beauty of an incredible city and a remarkable country. When I told my friends that I would be heading to Medellin, Colombia, 90 percent of them asked me the same questions…

“Is it even safe down there bro?”

“I heard it’s crazy there man, are you sure it’s safe to go?”

“What happens if you’re kidnapped by the cartel?”

You get the point. Questions from a fear-based perspective from individuals who have never experienced the city themselves! Crazy. But that is so much like life in which others offer their opinions on matters they have never personally experienced!

I want to be the first one to break this negative perspective about Medellin and the perspective that media, our friends/family, or Netflix shows have planted in our minds.

 

Medellin, Colombia is one of the most magnificent cities in all of South America. BY FAR.

I can sit here and write all day about how breathtaking Medellin is, but I am going to stick to the vast tropical outdoors and adventure that comes along with Medellin.

The tropical weather serves up nightly lightning storms over the city and lots of rain. The city is called the City of Eternal Spring for a reason as it has spring-time weather ALL year long.

But one thing that was interesting to me was how crazy the terrain is. Colombia has some very tall mountains, some reaching as high as 19,000 ft! And Medellin was a city that snuggled its way between two ranges which gave us the opportunity to ALWAYS get leg workouts while walking around the city!

It also gave us the opportunity to do some extreme sports! If you drove about 2 hours into the mountains you can find some of the best downhill mountain biking the country has to offer!

Before I went to Colombia I could probably say that I did mountain biking once, and it wasn’t even down a mountain. It was less extreme…like a flat dirt trail by a mountain. But I did know how to ride a bike so that was encouraging. Little did I know what I was getting myself into!

Mountain Biking Adventure 1:

On this trail, we start at about 9,900 feet in elevation and descended about 7,200 feet. As you can see above, we had some really nice bikes and padded up!

This trail was fun because we got to FLY down these big wide trails. We did have to slow down at times because it was a road –  there were animals all over the place as well as cars and mopeds.

Interestingly enough, I spent a significant amount of time trying not to hit chickens.

You start to trust yourself more and more as you adjust to being on your bike. The more you trust yourself and pass your little tests, the more fun mountain biking becomes!

This trail also showed us so much of the countryside and how people live up in the hills! Everything was so green here. At the midway point of our excursion, we make a stop for lunch in a colorful town.

On the second part of our trip, our guide had the idea of taking myself and my buddy Merv down the more advanced single trails. If you don’t know what a single trail is, it is basically a trail where only one person can ride on the trail at a time and it is just wide enough to fit your bike.

These were a whole other level of difficulty. I mean I didn’t even know bikes could go down such trails, but I came to find out that if you believe in yourself, you can take your bike anywhere! I also had a massive fall that taught me a huge life lesson that I talk about further down this post!

We eventually make it down for a total ride time of about 3 hours. What an adrenaline rush!

Adventure 1 was awesome. Now, Adventure 2. Talk about a different type of difficulty.

Mountain Biking Adventure 2:

 I am an avid snowboarder and have done it all of my life. When I go on the mountain, I feel like nothing can phase me because I am so familiar with myself and I trust myself on the board. I can fly down Double Black Diamonds because I know myself on a board.

Adventure 2 was going to push to my limits because 1) I was not as comfortable on a bike as I am on a snowboard. 2) We were about to do a Double Black Diamond trail. 3) I was scared out of my mind!

Remember the single trails from Adventure 1? Yea, this whole ride was a single trail! At first, I was talking myself out of this because I was nowhere near an advanced mounting biker and I didn’t want to hurt myself. But finally, after enough hassle from my buddy, I decided to go.

We actually had to leave a couple of friends behind who were new to mountain biking because we didn’t think it would be the best idea for them to come since they were not comfortable on a bike yet.

After we cruised through the jungle we came out to an immaculate view of the whole city. The thing was, we were now on a grass hill that was so steep. Just picture yourself on a mountainside on  which you can look over the edge, and you could agree that it was basically a cliff. This is when I had to convince myself I needed to get down and then figure out how to do it as well!

Eventually, after a few pep talks to myself, I made it down.

This trail kicked my a** the entire way. I was out of breath, I crashed into a barbwire fence, my legs cramped, my emotions were high because I was so challenged, and I developed a great relationship with the ground.

Making it down this run and trail was one of the most rewarding things I did while I was in Colombia.

Mountain Biking Adventure 3:

Our last adventure was down the side of an old volcano, now turned coffee farm with over one million coffee plants.

This view may have outdone the views of the city from previous adventures.

We did not ride up the side of the volcano on our bikes; we had to drive because it was SO steep. But at the top of the volcano, there was a restaurant and coffee tasting that we participated in. Traditional Comida de Colombiana y cafe. It comes to show that I knew nothing about coffee, so that was an awesome learning experience.

This ride was a fast ride, but it probably threw off my perception the most. I mean, one small crash could end up bad. Like really bad. There were no guard rails or anything that could prevent you from tumbling down the side of the volcano if you just happened to crash. Plus, you fly down the straight parts and then things get REAL interesting when you start to approach each turn.

If you fall and you don’t slow down enough, your bike will slide with the brakes because the mountainside is so steep. Talk about a drop off on the side of the volcano and really getting your coffee fix for the day in a whole new way!

Luckily no one fell off. My buddy Ed did crash, but the Mountain Bike Angels were watching him as he crashed on the only turn that had a dirt pile which broke his fall.

Three adventures on a mountain bike that brought me so much fear yet so much fulfillment and rushes of adrenaline. What an amazing few rides.

The big life lesson I learned while mountain biking came from my first major fall. The fall just happens to take place on Adventure 1 and it was off a 20 foot cliff.

 

Where you place your focus, you go.

 I was always looking at the ground right in front of my tire making sure I would avoid rocks, animals, gutters, and make sure I would stay on the trail. This resulted in MANY, many crashes, scratches, cuss words, and bruises.

As I was turning a corner, I was looking directly at the edge of the cliff and that is exactly where I went! I was guided by those Mountain Bike Angels down as a tree broke my fall and I walked away with some scratches and bruises.

But once I learned to always look far out ahead at where I was going on the trail, my body and the bike miraculously always adjusted and easily avoided the rocks, gutters, and now cliffs.

It’s so much like life – we find ourselves looking down at our feet thinking we can’t go anywhere and we feel like we are crashing all the time and can’t improve. Yet if you pick your head up, find a destination to where you want to go, life will start to adjust for you to arrive there all in one piece! And if you fall, you can get right back up and keep going!

If you ever get the chance to go to South America, make sure you stop in Colombia. Thanks for reading!