Happy birthday Karen! I wanted to get you a bike. but I realized it would have really been for me.
It felt like a really loooong day today. Not in a bad way. Just in an extended way. I spent a significant amount of time in transit, primarily due to stopping to swim 😀.
The first stop was maybe an hour into the day. At 8 am it was a ghost beach. A little coffee and a swim is a fantastic way to get rolling.
The next stop was a soda in Paquera. The breakfast was delicious but I was far too hot to be able to eat much. The local dogs were happy to help with that.
In between these first two spots were the rolling hills I knew were coming. Unfortunately, I was riding mostly east so what shade existed was on the wrong side of the street and the sun was in my eyes. Hills weren’t too bad, or at least I have forgotten because the one at the end of the was so brutal.
Round about 12 I took a long break at another beach to swim and generally regain some reasonable body temperature. God the water here is beautiful. You just glide into it and only recognize that you’re swimming because of the change in texture from the air. So seamless and easy.
After this beach I definitely arrived in gringoland. Lots of attractive young people wearing very little, teenage boys with British accents driving ATVs and kicking up as much dust as possible on the dirt roads (grrrrr), I even saw a sign for horse spirit healing. What I’m not clear on is this for healing horses somehow or is the spirit of a horse going to heal people? What I am clear on is that there are white people ridiculous enough to pay for shit like this, whatever it may be.
After leaving this beach I had about 10 kilometers of the most exquisite riding imaginable. It was not so much a road as a trail, too small and rough for a car for sure. It started as a narrow passage through a small, ramshackle community. More a path of rocks and roots and debris than anything you’d think to use to get somewhere. But after a couple hundred meters of that it turned into a fairly smooth, meandering beach side gravel trail. Completely void of humans. I heard howler monkeys and macaws arguing over the sound of the crashing waves. Pure bliss. Video kinda sucks but I tried.
Last bit of riding was a soul destroying climb. I knew it was coming because it was flagged in the route file, but I really had no idea what I was up against. 4 kilometers with three distinct sections of ~15% grades that each ascended up to around a hundred meters on rough and loose rock strewn dirt. I made it up the first one while pedaling and was pretty chuffed with myself but didn’t even try the second and third sections. I have honestly never seen roads so steep. The ATVs were struggling. It was bonkers.
After a controlled slide down that hill it was a short and sweet few kms to my beach campsite. I’m pretty freaking excited to sleep to the sound of the waves and wake up tomorrow to the sight of the ocean!
75 km left.
P.S. yes I heard about the ice storm in Toronto today 🤣. Good luck with that.
Stunning video! I suppose I could stomach this kind of trip if that was all it entailed (thankfully you don’t sugarcoat). Hope you have a good ocean-side sleep. And happy birthday karen!!
I think Scandinavia would be a fantastic place to do a more predictable and less punishing ride. Karen and I have discussed it. They love bikes and bike infrastructure, there’s a lot of natural beauty, a strong culture of outdoor activity and the right to roam, etc.
Sounds like a great day except for the heat and a few uphills. Safe finish and have some more good swims. Love you, Dad
Glad you made it to the ocean.. man those parrots are colourful!
Probably too late now but be careful of those crashing waves.. the
sound can cover the approach of hungry land sharks (SNL) and Lemuel Gulliver got the idea for some of his stories from the forest crabs that would crawl over him in his sleep.. good dreams eh.
we’ll keep it cool for you here
Exceptional diary for the day, Chad. Perhaps someday you can accumulate all of these into a book.
The beach and the water look and sound like pure bliss. I enjoy your social commentary as well. Watching the video almost made me feel like I was there. I really liked it and hope you continue with them.
Happy Birthday, Karen!
Beautiful descriptives Chad, what a dream to be sleeping by the ocean after such a green and steamy adventure. I am on the train now starting my long journey to Samara. Can’t wait to see you, Jaime, Paul and Montress, Berta, sweet little Emelia.
I did wonder if the energy exerted dragging my suitcase across the icy sidewalks and over multiple snowbanks would be equivalent to yours today? Kidding! 😀
Love you, and see you soon! Xo
Thanks for all the birthday wishes folks!
You had a great day despite the difficulty of the final climb/s……. Sleeping on the beach and waking up to ocean sounds – I would love that as long as it wasn’t tent camping! Beautiful parrots, beautiful scenery – your writing was exceptional today and I felt like I was there. Have a great day. Love you, Mom
Biking in Toronto Wednesday was exactly like that video!
Just kidding – it was so bad I did an epic 11 transfer TTC ride to get the goods out.
Thanks for the lovely pics – they really cheered me up.
You are amazing. Wishing I could share this sun with you.
I shared your birds photo today with one of the clients who is into tropical birds – she loved it!
So you get credit for brightening another person’s day.
I very much look forward to your posts every day. You’re a terrific correspondent and the only place I can reliably find good and interesting news. Stay safe, Chaddo.
🧡. You’re a funny guy Lyle!
It’s not you, the problem is tech in general. I removed the duplicate comment 🙂
This internet thing. Very confusing.
Hey Chad, since it’s the first day of the lunar year of the fire horse I will share you some horse info that may be pertinent to the success of the Horse Spirit Healing Industry. According to a Chinese postcarder who wrote me:
In China, the horse is a symbol of smooth sailing. There’s a saying, “马到成功” (Ma Dao Cheng Gong), meaning success comes as soon as the horse arrives. I think Horse Spirit Healing is a better game than the North aAmerican lotteries, and it probably attracts those who are willing to part with a few bucks for a chance at an easy path forward in life.
I am super envious of your surroundings and your swimming stops! Go Man Go!
Interesting. Much wisdom in those postcards!
😉 Oh, yes!