Mountain biking

Good morning everyone!

Wow - had a great morning sail yesterday, the crowds of Semana Santa notwithstanding. Al and I, and Tom and Kathy (the owners of Vela)went out for about an hour and a half, and had a great time. Tom said he counted only 5 other sails besides ours, so the ocean was wide open! I had a few spectacular crashes on the outside while trying to jibe. Tom took pity on me, and gave me an impromptu carve jibing lesson. As hard as it is to teach an old dog new tricks, some of what Tommy taught me actually stuck, and my jibing improved. Thanks Tommy!

We have been offering guided mountain biking tours for several years here in El Yaque, and have met some very cool athletes in the process. My husband, Al, is an avid mountain biker, and when we decided to live here full time, we went exploring by bike to find some good routes. We developed three tours. The photo above depicts the 'Macanao tour', which consists primarily of desert trails right next to the ocean. It is a spectacular ride! This tour runs approximately 4 hours, as we have to drive to the western part of the island (and back) and has a riding time of about 2 hours.

Check out the bike carrier that we had locally made. This welded contraption was designed to carry six bikes. It lasted for two rides out to Macanao...... :( Needless to say, we now have a new system. In this photo, Big Al is heading out with Maryluz, our friend Emile (who now owns and runs his posada called 'Rancho Delfin', and Hector, our friend who owns the surfshop called 'Mormaii'.

On a light wind morning, this is the perfect way to work in some cardio into one's windsurfing vacation. This tour leaves from our house, Casa Nora, at 7:00 am and arrives back in El Yaque at around noon. I pack a cooler full of food, water, fruit and chocolate, so there is enough sustenance for the riders for breakfast and lunch.

Here's another group enjoying some food after the ride. From the left, Wayne (from the UK), Johnny T (from Canada), and Emile (originally from Holland, now a resident of El Yaque).

A new feature of this tour is a swim in the ocean mid-way through the ride. As I understand it, clothing is optional.........!

As you can see, by this year, we created a new bike transport system, which seems to be working really well. From left to right, the riders are: Emile, Big Al, Karen (our friend from Germany), Anita (Stefan's fiancee), Roman (from Germany), and kneeling down, our neighbour and posada owner, Stefan.

Welcome to the "Killer Mountain Challenge". This challenge is part of our second tour, which leaves from Casa Nora at 7:00 am and returns in time for breakfast at about 9:00 am or so. This is a beautiful ride through various terrain, near El Yaque. It just so happens to have this hill near the beginning of the tour. Emile, a former Dutch road racer has tried many times to make it to the top. So, has Al. But to no avail. I have tried - and no go. And we can't figure out why. It is not a particularly steep incline. Nor is it very long. Many, who have tried unsuccessfully to make it to the top, call it 'technical'. Hhhhmmmmm

Al and I decided to make this a competition, which we dubbed the 'Killer Mountain Challenge'. During each attempt, Al would play the role of judge, and ascertain what percentage of the mountain was climbed. The person who made it the highest would be photographed and posted on our blog. (The winners of last year and this year are posted on a separate blog.)

Well, the minute the competition was announced, we had folks lining up for a chance to challenge the mountain. We've had triathletes, Iron Men and Women, marathon runners, road racers, and mountain biker racers - all have tried, but only a few have succeeded in taming the mountain. Please look for my next blog for the names and photos of our champions!!!!!!

Our third tour is called the 'Musipan' tour, which also leaves Casa Nora at 7:00 am and returns about an hour later. This is a very relaxing and relatively short ride through the desert near El Yaque. The terrain varies from single track desert trails, to road riding, to riding through a salina, as well as some coastal riding through a fishing village. This ride is a great warm up for the other two tours.

As you can see, the mountain biking here is as varied, as it is scenic. We have tours to challenge the most dedicated riders, and we also have tours that are a relaxing morning ride. Big Al and his group of pals, ride virtually every morning, so if anyone wants to come along, just email me at nowind-nocry@hotmail.com to make arrangements. Once you have arrived in El Yaque, you can also call me locally at: 0416-296-8038. Once you have decided which morning you'd like to ride, I will pick you up at your hotel or posada at 6:45 am, and drive you to Casa Nora, where Al will outfit you with your bike and gear. The price of each tour is US $40.00/tour, but if you take a 3-pack of tours, I'm sure Big Al will give you a discount.