Organic

Introduced into the South American country in the early 20th Century, Colombians took to the bike as a logical method of transportation, in part due to the economic realities that they faced at the time. Soon, bikes became toys for the upwardly mobile middle class, but also tools for messengers, farmers and roving repairmen. Today, the bike remains an integral part of Colombian life, even as the country has evolved into a modern and stable nation, something that seemed unthinkable as recently as twenty years ago.

Corey Shouse Tourino, PhD is an associate professor of Hispanic Studies, and the director of the Latino/Latin American Studies program at the College of St. Benedict and St. John’s University. As he sees it, bikes are a part of Colombian life, in a way that is far more natural and significant than they are in most other parts of the world. He explains, “…cycling is a deeply organic part of Colombian culture. We Americans, however, ride bikes the same way they drink wine: these are prosthetic acts that require special gear and a ‘rarified air’ of intention and pretention. Cycling for many in the U.S. is indeed enjoyable but artificial, not organic, like making a big fuss over that ‘special bottle of fermented grape juice’ that Italians put on their tables every single afternoon without thinking about it.”

That organic love for the bike was only made stronger in 1984, when an amateur cycling team from Colombia was invited to compete in the Tour de France. Made up of young riders from Colombia’s countryside, who often came from farming families, the team shocked the world when it’s leader, Luis Herrera won the toughest stage in that year’s race. Back home, in the small town of Fusagasuga, Herrea cultivated and sold flowers and houseplants. But through that victory, “the little gardener” (as Herrera was known in the local press), helped launch a country that already loved bikes into what many still refer to as “the golden age of Colombian cycling”. The term referred to the great success that men like Herrera would go on to have in competitive cycling, but also to the spike in ridership among Colombians, and thus the production of bikes and associated goods by local companies.