Singletrack/MTB
Gravel/All-road
Dirt-road Touring
Fat-bike
Introducing Deriva Magazine
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Born from a passion for cycling, adventure, nature, and photography, “Deriva” is a new printed magazine that chronicles bikepacking routes and adventures through seldom explored places in Colombia. Learn more about the publication and its intent here…
Deriva, which translates to “drift” in English, is a Spanish-language magazine that documents new bikepacking routes in Colombia through narrative storytelling and compelling photography. Founded and edited by our friends Mateo Perez and Juan Pablo Ortiz, Deriva showcases the diverse and rich natural and cultural treasures of Colombia through the lens of bike travel. Both Mateo and Juan Pablo are driven by their passion for cycling and love of their country, and they hope Deriva will serve as a catalyst to ignite the spirit of adventure in others, inspiring all readers, cyclists or otherwise, to get out and experience more of what Colombia has to offer.
While road cycling has enjoyed immense popularity in Colombia for a long time, bikepacking and adventure touring have been slower to gain traction among Colombian cyclists. A significant part of this hesitation stems from the long-standing political instability the country has endured for decades. As Mateo notes, “Exploring remote regions on two wheels is a concept that has taken time to gain traction in Colombia. Historical apprehensions, stemming from decades of conflict, made many areas off-limits for adventurers.” Thankfully, substantial progress has been made in resolving these conflicts, with peace agreements between the government and the country’s last remaining rebel groups currently in progress. As tensions ease and safety concerns diminish, Juan Pablo and Mateo hope that more Colombians will dare to “take risks” and embark on journeys to the lesser-known corners of their homeland.
In that vein, the third edition of Deriva introduces a new route through La Macarena National and Ecological Reserve Park to Caño Cristales via a path known as El Camino Jojoy, which was, until recently, controlled by dissidents from the Revolutionary Armed Forces of Colombia (FARC). While the river itself has become a popular tourist destination in recent years, this particular route is a unique one, largely unknown to outsiders. Juan Pablo and Mateo plan to include more routes and the stories they inspire from regions that were once considered off limits, but they also appreciate and welcome unique perspectives from cyclists who have bikepacked through the more oft-visited regions of the country, such as Juan Felipe Rubio’s captivating take on the Ruta Transcordilleras.
Thus far, three volumes of Deriva have been published, but Juan Pablo and Mateo believe the opportunities to create and document new routes in Colombia are endless. We couldn’t agree more! Creating The Andean Bear Corridor routes network has been an incredible experience for the BIKEPACKING.com team, and we couldn’t have done it without the help of Juan Pablo. We look forward to contributing more to the pantheon of great Colombian bikepacking routes, and when we do, we hope that our friends at Deriva might join us in the adventure, as their wealth of knowledge in the region and their passion for exploring Colombia by bike is unsurpassed.
To get your copy of “Deriva,” head over to RevistaDeriva.cc, and be sure to follow them on Instagram at @revistaderiva.cc
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