Costa Rica conclusion

The day after arriving here in bongoland (Jaime’s term for his existence), the most bike related activity I could muster was doing a half-assed job of hosing the dust off my bike. I was tired, lazy and not into exerting myself in the heat for a change.

These end of trip summaries are mostly for me, in order to put in one place things I learned, discovered and experienced, as well as some random things. Writing solidifies the memories and reinforces the themes. And, frankly, my memory is awful.

I have been to Costa Rica many times over the last 25 years, 90% of those visits to exactly the same place I am sitting as I write this. Samara and specifically Jaime’s cabin is essentially a second home to me. This trip was an excellent way to see more of the country and experience some other aspects of this beautiful place.

Some random things about Costa Rica and the route I took through it:

• Drivers were generally pretty considerate and frequently supportive of my efforts to climb crazy steep hills (‘animal!’ And much honking). No one seems to be in a hurry so there was no aggressive driving. Having said that, no one went out of their way to try to limit the amount of dust they were kicking up. if would have been useless anyway, but it’s the thought that counts sometimes.
• Card payment was taken almost everywhere.
• WiFi was at all accommodations, even in campgrounds.
• The food was great. Can’t go wrong with rice, beans and protein.
• Accommodation was more reasonably priced than I expected. I paid between 7000 and 30000 colones (15 and 60 USD) to sleep every night.
• English speakers were somewhat rare given how tourism dependent this place is.

Despite having an above average tolerance at both ends of the mercury, doing a trip like this in extreme heat is really hard. Not so hard that I’d avoid it completely, but hard enough that an adjustment of strategies is necessary. Specifically, aiming for dramatically lower daily distances and biting the bullet to get up before the sun to start rolling early.

Fortunately, this route was logistically super easy. No lack of stores, restaurants and accommodations. I don’t think I went more that 2 hours without passing something at any point. Bonus that many establishments had a tap outside that no one seemed to mind a dripping wet gringo using. This route could easily be done without camping gear, but I’m glad to have brought and used mine.

I’m still recalibrating expectations about how far I can/want to ride a bike on ‘off road’ trips (off road is in quotes because Costa Rican roads totally qualify as such). When I do primarily pavement/rail trail type riding I can easily knock off 120+ km a day. Here I averaged 83. Even that is above what was recommended in the route description and comments. The heat, hills and especially the road surface conditions conspire to set some hard limits on what is reasonably and pleasantly possible.

On a related note, the person who made the route rode it on a full suspension bike, and recommended others consider doing the same. That would have made it faster and more comfortable without question, but I wouldn’t change a thing about doing it on my rigid adventure bike.

I’m now about 13,000 km into this bike – including 5 ~week long rides (Maine to Toronto, Scotland, Ottawa valley, Arizona and Costa Rica), and many weekenders and overnighters besides, and I love the bike more each time I take it out.

Sure, it’s heavy and some of the bombproof parts that are supposed to last tens of thousands of kilometers have needed to be replaced or serviced already, which is annoying, but I’m feeling like the kinks may be mostly worked out. Fingers crossed.

The main thing about it: how many bikes can one ride on pretty rough tracks and not end everyday feeling like you’ve just had your ass kicked by a gang of thugs? I’d say 50% of the roads on this route were bad and 25% really bad. Yet I felt no discomfort, pain or undue aches and pains. That’s remarkable and exactly what someone like me would want in an exploring rig.

Couple pieces of new kit to mention. Used a trangia spirit burning stove for the first time because isobutane canisters are very uncommon here and because my whisperlite stove is too much to carry for a week. I loved it. Yes it’s slow to boil, but the silence is amazing. And slow was a trip theme anyway.

Also wore something other than jean shorts for the first time ever. I figured denim would be crazy in this weather and I was right. Lightweight, technical and quick drying shorts have a lot going for them! I may be converted, finally.

Riding in sandals in this climate was great. Sure, a rock jumped and hit my big toenail which was unpleasant, but riding in shoes for a week would have been more so. I also brought a sun hoodie thinking I’d want the protection, but there is no way I could have tolerated sleeves on this heat. I opted for applying sunscreen twice a day and that worked.

I saw / met 5 other cycle tourists, one each before and after I rode it and 3 out in the wild. Three had more traditional touring setups and two were more bikepacking oriented. Over the years I. Samara I have seen a few folks roll through town obviously on a trip. I’m glad to be part of the club.

6 days / 499 km / 7011 meters