One of the most wonderful and beautiful things to do in my area is ride a bicycle up and down the coast. In prior blog post, I mentioned that a lot of folks ride bicycles here. It’s not just the locals though. There is a thriving rental service marketplace here for tourists.
The three photos above are examples of places where you can rent a bike. Most of the hotels here also rent bikes. You can hardly go 50 meters in Puerto Viejo before you see a group of bikes along the roadway available for someone to rent them.
Serious cyclists, ride from Limon to Manzanillo along the Caribbean coast, about 80 kilometers (50 miles). Starting in the town of Limon on highway 36, you ride south to Hone Creek, then take 256 south to Manzanillo. Most of this beautiful ride is right along the coast, on roads generally 100 meters or less from the beach. Yes! There are a few places where you cannot see the beach. Click here for map.
A tip for vacationers: Alaska Airlines is bicycle friendly. If you bring your bike with you, as many people do, you might need a bike shop to help repair your bicycle from time to time.
might be: Where is a local bicycle shop and how do I get there. No problem I will help you get there. Click here for map of Puerto Viejo.
I have created a video to help you find the bike shop if the need arises. If you stay on the main road (hwy 256) that goes through the middle of town, you will need to make a turn at the Adobe rent a car building. In the video, you will see the landmarks and buildings. Click here for video.
Don’t forget to pause to read and see everything in the video, it is only 25 seconds long.
Now, back to us regular bike riders. In the Puerto Viejo area, you can see and visit sites, from Playa Nerga to Manzanillo on your bike. Hop on your bike and ride to the Jaguar Rescue Center(JRC), fruit stands, and restaurants. Whatever you want to visit, you can on a bicycle. If you didn’t bring your own bicycle, no problem. The cost to rent one is reasonable. The average rental cost is about $7 for a 24 hour period. If you rent for the week, the per-day cost is even cheaper!
This area is bicycle friendly. Because so many people travel up and down the highway on bikes, cyclists have the right-of-way. But just because the law is on your side, be safe and careful; cars do speed by you on the road.
If you plan to move to this lovely area of Costa Rica, you will have to get a bicycle. Whether you bring your bike or purchase one here there are a few things you should know. I brought my own bike, and I also purchased a couple bikes for friends or relatives to ride when they visit. What you must do to your bike is protect it from the elements.
bike number 2 for friends and relatives.
The point of the pictures is to let you know you WILL need to do some work to your bike if you plan to stay here any amount of time. Bike number 2 was purchased from a family that came down for 3 months, purchased bikes and then when they were ready to leave, they wanted to sell the bikes.
When I purchased this three month old bike it had rust in a lot of places. Why you might ask would it be rusted in just three months? We are next to the ocean (salt air and salty sand), it rains a lot at night, and it is very humid here. With all of these wonderful things going on in the environment. Bikes, as well as cars, will rust if you do not take extra care to prevent them from staying wet for long periods of time.
The first thing I recommend, even if your bicycle is brand new, is take it completely apart and paint it. I took my second and third bicycles apart and painted every part.
As I mentioned number two was almost new. It was black so I purchased a can of black spray paint and a can of clear. There were a few parts that needed to be repainted but most of the bike was okay. I purchased the clear spray paint because my neighbor suggested that it would be a good idea to paint the whole bike with the clear to protect it from the environment. The clear allows you to keep the original paint job with stickers etc.
Once I had touched up a few of the parts with black, I painted everything with clear. This should help the bike last a long time before I need to break it apart again.
Bike number three the rust bucket had – of course – rust everywhere! I sanded and painted the frame. I also purchased a new handle bar, new rims, tubes and tires. The spokes were rusted and some where missing. Yes, I had to replace the rims too. Next month when I have a little extra money I will replace the seat and seat post. Plus, most likely I will purchase a basket for the front and maybe a rack for the back. Time will tell!
If you are a bike lover and plan to ride a bike here or at some point plan to move here. I hope this information on bikes has been helpful in some small way.
“Pura vida”
Until the next post.
