Made by hand in Colombia
Origins is a small-group cycling and culture tour based at Casa Safetti in El Retiro. Three rides on a Scarab steel bike, and four days with the makers of Eastern Antioquia. First departure 14 to 18 January 2027.
The digital world made almost everything faster, cheaper and easy to copy. What it can’t copy is time, attention and the human hand.
Eastern Antioquia still runs on all three. The trades here are learned by doing and passed from person to person. The work is judged by how well it is made, not how fast. Cycling is the same. Every metre is earned with your own legs, and no app can ride it for you.
Origins pairs the two: three rides, a house in El Retiro, and time with the people who make things by hand. You return to the digital world with a clearer sense of what is worth keeping.
The Particulars
Ride a steel frame built by hand in El Retiro
Scarab builds steel road frames by hand in El Retiro. The trip opens in their workshop, where you are fitted and meet the team who build them.
In a digital world, a frame made by hand is a deliberate choice. Steel can be repaired and lasts decades. It is built to be kept, not replaced.
You ride one for all three stages: 245 km / 152 mi and 4,900 m / 16,076 ft.
One house in the forest, four nights
Casa Safetti is a guest house on an organic farm in native forest, in Vereda Don Diego, El Retiro. The farm grows coffee, oranges, plantain, avocados and more, without pesticides. Mornings start with birdsong and a campesino breakfast: fruit, coffee, eggs, and bread or an arepa.
Between rides there is sunset yoga, forest trails, and a terrace for reading. You unpack once and stay put.
Four rooms, three in the main house and one in a separate cabin. Each has two single beds, a closet, a bathroom and a deck. Sleeps eight.
A panoramic living area open to the kitchen and dining room, with a large deck that wraps around the house.
A bike workbench with a floor pump, basic tools and lubricant.
800 m / 0.5 mi of unpaved road from the main highway. Check-in 2:00 pm, check-out 12:00 pm.
$1,600 US
Per person, double accommodation. Single room +20%, $1,920. The bike, the bed and the road in one price.
- ✓Four nights at Casa Safetti (two single beds per room)
- ✓Campesino breakfasts at the house
- ✓A Scarab steel bike, fitted at the workshop
- ✓A support vehicle
- ✓Nutrition & hydration (gels, fruits, local snacks)
- ✓Travel accident insurance
- ✗Your flights
- ✗Lunches and dinners
- ✗Alcoholic beverages
- ✗Local accommodation tax
- ✗Your shopping
- +Hand-painted ceramics class, El Carmen de Viboral
- +Paisa cooking class with a local host
- +Airport transfers (MDE)
- +Massage at the house
- +Single room (+20%, limited)
Stage 1 · El Carmen de Viboral
One big loop through Eastern Antioquia, from El Retiro through Rionegro to El Carmen de Viboral. Rural Antioquia at its most charming.
El Carmen is known for its hand-painted ceramics. Stay for the afternoon and paint your own piece with a local workshop.
Stage 2 · Abejorral
Out and back to the historic town of Abejorral, through the southeast of Antioquia. Not a single flat kilometre the whole way.
The views across valleys and rivers earn every metre. We stop in the Plaza Principal before the ride home.
Stage 3 · Alto de La Unión
Through La Ceja, then a steady climb to Alto de La Unión across farmland and open hills. A long descent into town for breakfast and fresh coffee, then back to El Retiro on familiar roads.
In the afternoon, cook a Paisa lunch with a local host. Monday is breakfast at the house, then home.
El Retiro in pictures
Backroads, plazas and the workshop. Eastern Antioquia, as our riders saw it.
Scroll through →
Questions about El Retiro
What is El Retiro: Origins?
A four-night, small-group cycling and culture tour based at Casa Safetti in El Retiro. Three rides on a Scarab steel bike, and time with the makers of Eastern Antioquia. First departure is 14 to 18 January 2027.
How hard are the stages?
Short climbs come often, with little flat in between. Stage 2 to Abejorral is the hardest: 110 km / 68 mi with 3,000 m / 9,843 ft of climbing. Stages 1 and 3 are shorter and gentler.
Do I need to bring my own bike?
No. Every rider gets a Scarab steel bike, fitted at the workshop in El Retiro on arrival day. Bring your own pedals, shoes and saddle if you prefer.
Where do we stay?
At Casa Safetti, a guest house on an organic farm in Vereda Don Diego, El Retiro. Four rooms, each with two single beds and its own bathroom, plus a bike workshop on site.
Can I take a ceramics or cooking class?
Yes, by arrangement. Hand-painted ceramics in El Carmen de Viboral after Stage 1, or a Paisa cooking class with a local host after Stage 3. Tell us when you book.
Which meals are included?
Breakfast at the house every morning: fruit, coffee, eggs, and bread or an arepa. Nutrition on the road is included. Lunches and dinners are not.
How do I get to El Retiro?
Fly into José María Córdova International Airport (MDE), outside Medellín. We can arrange your transfers. Check-in at the house is from 2:00 pm.
How many riders join each departure?
Eight at most. The house sleeps eight, so the whole group stays under one roof.
Is travel insurance included?
Travel accident insurance is included. We recommend your own travel insurance for flights, cancellations and belongings.
First Departure · 14 to 18 January 2027
We open this tour with a ribbon cutting at the Scarab Cycles workshop in El Retiro. Eight seats, one house, three days with the makers of Eastern Antioquia.
$1,600 US · With Scarab Cycles and Casa Safetti
Start Your Journey
Join the first departure, or ride El Retiro privately on your own dates, at your own pace, with your own group.