We took two bike touring trips to Costa Rica and rode over 1,000 miles on bikes without front shocks. We probably would have been on those bikes for the 1999 trip except that despite having had nearly all of their components replaced over their eight years of service they were starting to fall … [Read more...]
Bike Touring
We first brought bicycles to Costa Rica in 1993 for our five week luna de miel although we hadn't learned that phrase yet and were still calling it a honeymoon. Another term we hadn't heard because it hadn't been invented yet was blog, but whether the world knew it or not we also blogged our bike … [Read more...]
Bicycling Over Everest
...or How I Learned to Curse Round Rock Roads There must be a gravel shortage in Costa Rica. To make gravel, large rocks are normally crushed into fairly uniform pieces somewhere between the size of a grape and a golf ball then filtered through a screen to eliminate any softball, bowling ball or … [Read more...]
Lowlands – 4 – Guatuso, Arenal & Vera Cruz
San Rafael de Guatuso -> La Fortuna de Arenal -> Vera Cruz The only real excitement on the way from San Rafael to Fortuna was a near death experience when my steering locked up on a trajectory into the path of an oncoming truck. Luckily I had replaced my brake pads the previous week and my … [Read more...]
Lowlands – 3 – Los Chiles through Caño Negro
Los Chiles -> Cano Negro (by boat) -> San Rafael de Guatuso As I mentioned there was a television in our room at Los Chiles and we used the excuse that it was a good way to practice Spanish to justify vegetating in front of it in the evening. Soon after sunset we heard the familiar patter … [Read more...]
Lowlands – 2 – Venicia to Los Chiles
Venicia -> Aguas Zarcas -> Los Chiles We knew the ride from Venicia through Aguas Zarcas to Los Chiles would be a long one (120 km), but we thought it would be flat. There wasn't a contour line on our map, but we should have known better since the intervals are 100 meters. 50 to 80 meter … [Read more...]
Lowlands – 1 – Sarchi, Bajo del Toro & Venicia
Heredia -> Tuetal Norte -> Sarchi -> Venica (via valle bajo del torro amarillo) -> Los Chiles -> Cano Negro (by boat) -> San Rafael de Guatuso -> La Fortuna de Arenal -> Vera Cruz 399 km and approximately 2,400 meters of elevation gain by bike We had a couple of major … [Read more...]
Caribbean – 3 – Virgen to Cahuita
La Virgen -> Rio Corinto -> Puerto Limon -> Cahuita -> Puerto Viejo de Limon Limón is a typical Costa Rican city and we didn't stick around for long. Instead we headed south for Cahuita and Puerto Viejo de Limón. We spent three nights in Cahuita, a laid back fishing village that … [Read more...]
Caribbean – 2 – Sarapiquí Rafting
La Trinidad -> Puerto Viejo de Sarapiqui -> La Virgen One of the ranch hands at La Trinidad was something of an amateur ornithologist and the patron arranged for him to guide us on a hike. It's standard to start out nature walks with sort of a disclaimer that a lot of wildlife is very … [Read more...]
Caribbean – 1 – Poás & Sarapiquí
Heredia -> Vara Blanca (by car) -> Puerto Viejo de Sarapiqui -> La Trinidad (and back to Puerto Viejo by boat) -> La Virgen -> Rio Corinto -> Puerto Limon -> Cahuita -> Puerto Viejo de Limon 411 km and approximately 500 meters of elevation gain by bike This was our only … [Read more...]
Pacific – 5 – Palmar to San Vito
Palmar Norte -> Neily -> San Vito -> San José After the tropical roaster of the open boat in the Mangroves we were worried about getting sun stroke when we started riding again. It turned out that we didn't need to worry about the sun because it started raining as we pulled into … [Read more...]
Pacific – 4 – Ballena, Palmar & Sierpe
Ballena -> Palmar Norte -> Sierpe -> Palmar Norte We drug ourselves away from Ballena National park and headed to Pamar Norte, and on to Sierpe to visit the mangrove swamps at the mouth of the Terraba river. We weren't exactly sure why. Most of the natural areas we visited in … [Read more...]
Pacific – 3 – Uvita & Ballena
Uvita -> Ballena In Uvita we stayed in a very clean cabina, set back in a laurel grove near a small stream. When we asked about horseback riding, the young Tico couple that owned the cabina recommended that we hire David as a guide. He works on the small cattle ranch that is associated with … [Read more...]
Pacific – 2 – Quepos, Manuel Antonio, Uvita
Quepos -> Manuel Antonio -> Quepos -> Punta Uvita We spent two nights in Quepos, and rode out to Manuel Antonio National Park to hike in the intervening day. The park is considered a jewel of the system in Costa Rica. The access road in is paved, there are hotels, restaurants and bars … [Read more...]
Pacific – 1 – San Marcos & Quepos
Heredia -> San Marcos (by car) -> Quepos -> Manuel Antonio -> Quepos -> Punta Uvita -> Ballena -> Palmar Norte -> Sierpe -> Palmar Norte -> Ciudad Neily 319 km and approximately 1,500 meters of elevation gain by bike This tour included coastal rainforest, a lot of … [Read more...]
Nicoya – 7 – Santa Rosa, Naranjo, & Playa Hermosa
Station Santa Rosa -> Playa Naranjo Santa Rosa -> Liberia -> Playa Hermosa Guanacaste The next day we continued west through the park to Playa Naranjo (no not the same Playa Naranjo, see Costa Rican names) where we camped on the beach in the rain. There really weren't many rainy days … [Read more...]
Nicoya – 6 – Fortuna Bagaces, Innocentes & Santa Rosa
La Fortuna de Bagaces -> Hacienda los Innocentes (via San Jose de Upala) -> Station Santa Rosa We set out from La Fortuna Bagaces by bicycle on jeep roads north between Volcans Miravalles and Rincon de la Vieja. We didn't have to go far before our resolve was tested. After climbing to … [Read more...]
Nicoya – 5 – Barra Honda to Fortuna Bagaces
Barra Honda -> Limonal -> La Fortuna de Bagaces (by car) From Barra Honda we rode northeast to the ferry across the Rio Tempisque, and continued to Limonal where we met Quincho. We racked the bikes and climbed into his car to head to La Fortuna de Bagaces to visit his brother and our … [Read more...]
Nicoya – 4 – Santa Teresa, Nicoya & Barra Honda
Playa Malpais and Santa Teresa -> Jicaral -> Nicoya -> Barra Honda We planned to continue around the peninsula but the weather wouldn't cooperate. The days were clear, but every night there were thunderstorms that put on a dramatic show and raised the level of the Rio Bongo to about nine … [Read more...]
Nicoya – 3 – Naranjo, Tambor, Playas Santa Teresa & Mal Pais
Playa Naranjo -> Playa Tambor -> Playa Malpais and Santa Teresa Rejuvenated by our stay at the Oasis, we were ready for what awaited us around the corner. We enjoyed the ride around the end of the Nicoya peninsula, stopping off at Playa Tambor on our way to Playas Malpais and Santa … [Read more...]