Biking in Colombia

Posted by The Madbiker on Thu, Jan 9, 2025

The speed limits in Colombia are 40 km/h (25 mph) or 60 km/h (37 mph) in built up areas, outside built up areas all roads are limited to 80 km/h (50 mph)

All of the road signs for the main roads are Green with White writing and the local roads are also Green with White writing.

The main roads in Colombia are either tarmac or concrete and they are all very good and reasonably well maintained. There are older stretches of roads in the the more remote areas of the country and the condition of these can be patchy. Most of the roads in Colombia are toll roads but these are free for bikes having a small lane at the side of the toll booths to allow bikes to pass without paying.

Petrol at the time of writing was about 80 US cents per litre and it is sold in US gallons.

Colombia has a high police presence on the roads but I never saw a police speed trap or a patrolling police car looking for speeding vehicles. There were signs for speed cameras on some roads but I never saw one.

There is a mandatory helmet law in Colombia but the police do not enforce it and the majority of people ride bikes without wearing a helmet. There also appears to be no law prohibiting the use of blue and red flashing lights on civilian vehicles so care needs to be taken.

All police vehicles are marked with the words POLICIA. The police cars are white and green and the police bikes are lime green and the riders wear lime green coloured helmets. All police officers wear a police uniform.

To buy a SIM card in Colombia you just go to any shop with the mobile phone network sign outside it. The vendor will activate the SIM card and I paid about 8 US Dollars for 30 days and 30 GB of internet.

Bike insurance was required for me to ride in Colombia and it cost me 150 US Dollars for 90 days cover. The TIP was issued to me for free for 90 days. I was able to cancel it when I left also at no cost.