I strike out for Cayo Jutias, an island off the north-west coast accessible by a causeway, with high expectations. I have a copy of Lonely Planet’s Cycling Cuba and the beaches of Cayo Jutias are described in it as wild and pristine.
As I cross the causeway towards the island, thunder rumbles around me and a [...]
The rainy season has left me wondering a little about what to do with myself. It’s not that I mind getting wet – because I don’t – but the kinds of roads I like riding on are pretty much impassable when things are sodden because dirt plus water equals mud and mud and bicycles are [...]
Also tagged mexicoLeaving the lakes, I head east into tropical jungle where the maniacal shrieks and growls of howler monkeys echo through the tree canopy. This area is still quite populated and cleared areas of the jungle, both large and small, are given over to coffee and banana cultivation and cattle.
The wet season has definitely begun – [...]
We arrive in Zacatecas after dark and make our way through the bustling town to find Victor, our couch-surfing host, in his student digs.
Victor lives near the centre of town in a tiny semi-derelict house. Amazingly, the limited space Victor has at his disposal doesn’t prevent him from unquestioningly offering four cyclists accommodation. Victor is a [...]
The weather has been beautiful as I’ve ridden down the coast – balmy, warm days cooling down slightly in the evening when the sun sets. I have been blessed with an unusually warm dry summer which is drifting gently into a warm dry autumn.
I exist in a total media blackout, paying not the slightest heed [...]
I break camp in the morning and cycle on dedicated tarmac bike paths through gentle bucolic countryside. The sun is shining and I share the path with other cyclists, dogs and dog walkers, roller-bladers and other people enjoying the crisp clear early autumn air.
I stop at an information centre to pick up the cycle maps [...]
I don’t know left from right, north from south, east from west.
Leaving Sheila’s house on a wet Sunday morning to catch the 10AM ferry, I turn back onto the Main Rd and head in the wrong direction. Ignoring every last visual clue, which clearly informs me that I am going somewhere I have never been [...]
Eventually, I drag myself away from the revitalising waters of the springs and go back to my bike which I have left hidden in the bushes on the roadway.
I have been tarrying the last few days, in Stewart and here in the Nisga’a valley, and I feel the need, now, to cover some miles. I [...]
So far I have been extremely lucky with the weather; in ten weeks I haven’t had a really wet day, only the occasional shower. Today, rain pours down without pause. I ride into the Nisga’a Lava Bed Valley around lunch time only dimly aware of the tumbled chaotic rock forms created by the solidified lava [...]
Also tagged canada, first nation, nisga'aFinally I get on the road and see the boy that dropped by my camp last night and we agree to ride together for a while. He is good company, happy to stop and explore, to pick berries. We talk all day about our trips, the people we have met, adventures and the road. Our [...]
Also tagged a place to stay, berries, camping, canada, cassiar highway, mountains, people, wildfood