DAYS 8 and 9 - La Habana y Varadero

Day 9 was spent in La Habana, one more go at this unique city. Day 10 in Varadero on the beach. Pictures tell the story well enough.

Hope you enjoyed our stories! Thanks for reading!

DAY 7 - Pinar del Rio to Viñales

Oh was I stoked for this day. We had made it all in one piece to Pinar and I knew we would reach our destination. My route planning on Google maps proved feasible!
Even though locals warned us about the hilly ride, we felt strong and ready to take it on. We'd ridden the California coast and comparatively, this was a piece of cake.
It was a misty morning, cooler, thanks to the rainstorm the night before.

We arrived in Viñales with no issues, amazing views of the amazing mountain formations on the ride in. The place is known for it's natural beauty - you can venture into the caves or atop the mountains. Once we got settled, we headed out adventuring and met an Argentinian man who became our third wheel for a while. We walked through tobacco fields, munched on sugarcane and found a cave full of bats. Cristina was too chicken to enter.

This was by far the most touristy place we'd been and one day was enough. The best part was as night. We were walking home from a crumby salsa bar and three older men with instruments were headed in our direction. We maybe exchanged ten words before the men started in a fully harmonized version of Veinte Años. Sarah and I were singing and it was like a dream (this was one of the songs we sang at our fundraiser). We met the men later, they were still wandering around like apparitions and we asked to sing more songs. We all sat down on a bench in the plaza with the cool night breeze upon us. They started playing, then left us alone on the bench with their instruments while they went to go buy rum in tetra packs.
The next morning we dropped off our beloved bikes who served us so well to Juan Silvio's friend. As fate would happen, the turquoise bike I rode for seven days had a flat tire. Just in time! The bikes performed so very well throughout the trip and for that we were very grateful.

DAY 6 - San Diego to Pinar del Rio

Sarah woke up feeling better and even willingly ate breakfast. We set out early enough to beat the heat and started cycling through the misty, emerald green countryside. It was the most beautiful scenery I'd seen yet, plus early morning meant the most fragrant floral scents everywhere.

We stopped for a bathroom brake in a bustling mid-sized town and just as I was about to put a wafer cookie (yes! Found wafer cookies the day before at a stand) a man rode by on a red bicycle with two pig heads strapped and flopping around to his back rack.
We kept on, not far from our savoir Juan Silvio's house.
We arrived on his street and there he was, standing in the middle of it, welcoming us like celebrities. What a man. His wife is incredible as well, bubbly and smiley, I felt as if I'd known her for a lifetime. She was busy preparing us food. We downed a glorious homemade lunch then JS took us to our casa where we'd be staying the night. Another wonderful and welcoming couple with a newly renovated guest suite. We had coffee with them on their veranda and had an interesting conversation on religion.
Sarah and I got ourselves cleaned up and did a little tour of the town before having to be at JS's house for dinner. I went home earlier to nap and poor Sarah got caught in a huge rainstorm.
We decided, due to the rain, that taking a taxi would be the best option back to the house, but there were none in our vicinity. There was one lone bike taxi being operated by a guy who looked way too old for the job. We were plunked onto it by some locals who were convinced it was the right choice. The man looked well into his 80s and was offended when I answered his question on how old I thought he was. His name was Mario and he gave us a ride in one big circle. We graciously declined his offer to keep going, as we were going at a snail's pace in the wrong direction. We paid him, hopped off and power walked our way to another incredible homemade meal.

DAY 5 - Soroa to San Diego

Sarah didn't sleep well and was still not able to stomach a lot. We called a taxi to take her to our next stop, San Diego. I decided I wanted to cycle as it wasn't very far and I'd felt incredibly safe since day one of our trip.
I again had extreme difficulty finding lunch (a tupperware container full of cut fruit from breakfast only goes so far). I finally found a roadside cart where a lady was making little pizza-like creations. It wasn't good, but it was food.
I made it into San Diego and found poor Sarah passed out in bed. It was a quiet town with little to do. I went to check out the local baths which were closed for the weekend, but I was told a five pesos bribe was all it took for the guard to open the door and show me down to the smelly sulfur baths. He was a friendly young man with a young daughter. We had a nice conversation about Cuba during my twenty minute soak after which I was not supposed to rinse which meant smelling like sulfur for the next 24 hours.
Dinner was delicious served at the casa, lots of veggies and rice and beans and fruit. Fuel for the next day!

DAY 4 - La Habana to Soroa

We set out towards Las Terrazas destination Soroa. This was the hottest day and the day Sarah got food poisoning. It took forever to get out of Havana, very difficult to navigate all the winding streets. Highway riding was relatively flat, but hot as hell. We were starting to run low on water and energy and luckily found a cafetería (house/trucker stop). The meal was delicious, but only Sarah at the pork. NB. Avoid pork products when possible. 

After lunch, still thirsty, and not looking forward to spending the next five hours drinking tablet treated water, I spotted a guy drinking a coconut under a tree. I hooted and asked him if we could please to the same. This was a highlight, he was lovely and accommodating. Fueled and quenched, we kept pedaling along the long highway slog. 

We arrived at Las Terrazas and had a pit stop at a beautiful ecocafé. We had a snack after all the international yogis cleared out and enjoyed the sights in this little community.
The ride from there to Soroa was, um, longer and hillier than expected. Sarah was starting to feel not so great and it was long. And really hilly. I was cheering her on best I could, but we knew something was wrong. We had to stop before our destination, but luckily we found a great casa (B&B) to stay at. I ate my fair share of dinner, Sarah couldn't eat and had to go to bed. It was a long, unfortunate night, but we kept her hydrated.

DAY 3 - La Habana

We spent the day cycling around La Habana, wandering the city and organizing the rest of our journey. 
We went for a mojito at the uber touristy Bar del Medio as we had met a guitar player the day before who was impressed that we were cycling and made us promise to go watch him and his band perform. It was lively and fun.
Havana is most famous for its nightlife and upon a recommendation from some lovely international students at the Havana high school, we went to the Fábrica de Arte Cubano. This is an amazing space that has only ever existed in my dreams. Great local artwork, a concert space, a movie theatre, stage and bar/café. 

DAY 2 - Matanzas to La Habana

Unfortunately the next morning was again really hard to find food. We  could only find a little cafeteria on a side street that sold sandwiches and juice and shitty instant coffee. Also a screw had come loose from my back rack and my heavy paniers needed a secure connection. Luckily Sarah had a bungee cord that fit perfectly. NB. Always travel with zap straps. 

After that we spent an hour in the town square squinting in the heavy sun trying, in vain, to find a tiny metal spring piece from our pump. Luckily it still worked even without the missing bit!

We headed out with bottles of water and tamarind juice. Also I remembered I had a piece of halva I'd brought from Canada. But no real snacks, no almonds, no trail mix like we usually stock. This was a major concern because when you're touring you need to eat! 
We eventually stopped for lunch at a restaurant with girls wearing skin tight turquoise jeans and hot pink lipstick. They matched their restaurant's decor! Cuba loves colour. We had some fish, rice and salad to fuel us for the rest of our hot, dusty ride into La Habana. 

We pulled into the capital around late afternoon after taking the ciclobus, a bus that  bikes have to take to get into the city because there's a tunnel. We arrived at our host's house before dinner, then, STARVING set out for dinner with Juan Silvio, the sweetest man and colleague of my mentor, Hilary, from Vancouver. He took us on a tour if old Havana visiting Bar La Floridita (a Hemingway favourite) and we had dinner in a restaurant in one of the city's many plazas.

 

DAY 1 - Varadero to Matanzas

Arrived at the airport full of excitement. Once the bike boxes arrived we put everything together while being watched curiously by airport staff, men dressed in long pants and button down khaki uniforms, women with tight white shirts unbuttoned to expose cleavage, tiny skirts, fishnet stockings and stilettos. 

After a couple bites of stale Starbucks pumpkin loaf I had saved from the dumpster in Vancouver, we cycled from Varadero airport to Matanzas along coconut lined streets and 1950s cars; slow, slow moving, but heavy on exhaust. It was only a 30km ride, but it was difficult to find the house we were staying in. Luckily we arrived before sunset.

Eventually we found the place and took much needed showers then headed our to look for food. This was the biggest challenge of our day. Restaurants were few and far between in the downtown core. We went into one but had to walk out because they didn't have food. We finally settled on a pasta restaurant. NB. Never eat international cuisine in Cuba unless you're absolutely starving and desperate. Like we were. Sleep came easy that night despite the lively street action right outside our window. 

Cuba trip planning

Our trip dreams started around December 2015. We were both itching for a new cycle adventure in a warm climate. Ideas of Mexico were thrown around until we found flights on sale to Varadero. These flights were hurriedly booked online while multitasking which resulted in buying different airline tickets. Oops.

Airline tickets aside, the whole trip came together swimmingly. My amazing colleague and mentor, Hilary, connected me with a wonderful network of Cuban educators. Big thanks for your time and support, Hilary. One of these people is one of the warmest people on this planet, Juan Silvio Cabrera Albert. He is a very proud Cuban and works at a university promoting education through the arts. He was an essential part of making this trip happen so smoothly. Mil gracias otra vez, Juan Silvio.

Sarah had a wonderful idea for this trip which involved having a fundraiser. Instead of bringing our beloved and reliable Surly Long Haul Truckers down to Cuba, we would be looking to the community to help us in our endeavors.

Working full-time and finding bikes proved challenging, but luckily I have a super supportive and well-connected boyfriend was able to secure us two bikes from his community of fellow cyclists. Endless thank yous, Drummond and friends.

And our fundraising night just could not have happened without two amazing Vancouver musicians, my brother, Luca Fogale who did our sound for the night, and a colleague of mine, Juan Pablo who played and practiced and sang some beautiful Cuban tunes alongside us. We so appreciate the support, it was an incredible night and a great way to kick off our trip!

Finally, grazie mille to the Italian Cultural Centre. So amazing of them to let us use their space for free and for feeding us delicious pizza.

Thank you, family, friends and community. I hope you enjoy reading about our adventures...

SANTA BARBARA TO SANTA MONICA

LAST DAY!
After a great sleep and an early morning wakeup call, David and I head to the beach for breakfast and a swim. It was a nice way to wake up and prepare for the next 90 miles.

I started out slow and steady. Thankfully it was flat and gentle for the first 3/4 of the ride. I followed a great bike path along the water and past an Air Force base.

Then I hit Malibu and holy crap this was bad, bad and more bad.

First of all Malibu has lots of hills. Secondly once halfway through the city I had to ride along the highway which involved riding between cars rushing past me on the left and parked cars on my right. Cars parked all the way along the highway. I was nervous that I would get door prized, but thankfully that never happened. It was a nasty, never ending ride out of the city and into Santa Monica.

I was so thankful to be finished. Sarah and Dave picked me up at the pier (again, so thankful for you guys) and we went for dinner where I proceeded to eat way too much pizza.

I'm exhausted and full and very happy to have made it to LA! All in all it was a fantastic ride and my brain is still buzzing with images and thoughts and routes.
Thank you for all the support and love. 

OCEANO TO SANTA BARBARA

90 mile day, my longest so far.
While yesterday was tough mentally, today was extremely difficult physically.
The day started out at 7.30 from Oceano. I cycled to Guadalupe for breakfast knowing the town was small and primarily Spanish speaking. Well, upon arrival I felt I was in Mexico, wonderful little community consisting of one street only. I settled on a place called Romo's Deli for breakkie. When I walked in, there were sullen men sitting at long plastic tables eating beef tongue soup in silence. I went to the back where the kitchen was and told the cook I wanted something without meat, but with eggs. He smiled and said OK and got to work. Five minutes later I was handed a giant burrito loaded with what seemed like ten eggs, rice, cheese and salsa. I managed to eat the whole darn thing then left the sullen men with their soup and continued on.
I had two big hills before Lompoc one of which was up road then when I arrived to it said "No Access" and was roped off. I took my chances, also because it was my only option. I was feeling a bit unsure until I saw three cyclists zooming down the hill who said it was fine for me to be there, just that there were firetrucks at the top. I reached the peak of the long hill (so damn hot) to see firefighters still putting water on the charred ground. One of them asked me if I saw the sign at the bottom. I apologized profusely and kept pedalling. I descended into Lompoc sprawling suburbia (and meth apparently) did not appeal so I kept on trucking. Then things got pretty lonely. I had to do the next 13 mile climb with Turkey vultures circling and the odd car passing. This was a slog.
I then came to the 101 which was no fun either. The ocean finally reappeared covered in an oil slick. There were helicopters and cleanup crews along the highway. This was pretty sad to see.

I got within one mile of the Santa Barbara exit when bam, got a flat tire. I changed it by myself at a rest stop exit with cars not even registering what was going on. No one stopped, I wasn't impressed, but once I was about to start filling the tire with air, a cyclist came and held my bike for me which was much appreciated. After this whole incident I had a layer of black grease in strips all over my body from wiping the grease off my fingers over a layer of the worst, whitest and chunkiest sunscreen ever. I looked like a zebra.
From there I still had a good while to my Warmshowers host's house, a beautiful bungalow at the top of a hill. I arrived and had the best shower of my life then me and David, my host, went into downtown Santa Barbara and met up with Sarah and her bro Dave, who had spent the day frolicking on the Santa Barbara county beaches.
Thank you so so much to David, Dave and Sarah for being such a wonderful support team.
We had a great evening in beautiful Santa Barbara and I'm looking forward to rolling into LA! 

MORRO BAY TO OCEANO

Day 5. Welcome to Pismo Beach where you party in the trailer park and drive your truck right onto the beach.
Please excuse me, as today is a sad day. My Sarah has an injured Achilles tendon and I am now riding solo. After saying goodbye to Sarah in San Luis Obispo, a rather need little town (with a cafe that only makes acai bowls) I was feeling a bit shaky in my pins.
The ride through Los Osos Valley was lovely despite the horribly terrifying turkey vultures, arguably the scariest animals I have ever met. I continued on to Pismo beach where I got myself some lunch and a slab of red velvet cake. I was told not to go any further, as my next planned stop is the meth capital of SoCal. Thank you to the Johnny Depp lookalike at the surf shop in Pismo for the heads up.
After a little breakdown in front of Patrick the bike mec who put some air in my tires (he told me I'd be just fine on my way down to LA and gave me a big hug), I found my way to my campground sandwiched between the highway and the railroad. The park ranger is named Miles and starts every sentence with a loud "UMMM". I gave him my bag of food to store. No more raccoon thieves, I've had it.
On to Santa Barbara tomorrow.

KIRK CREEK TO MORRO BAY

What a day.
Started out with a 5.30AM wake up call from raccoons having a field day with our power bars and granola. Big mistake on our part leaving food in the crappy box at the campsite. Amidst the screeching and crunching we woke up at scared the thing away, but were left breakfastless and desperate. After a quick sunrise yoga sesh, we headed to a cafe for a quick breakie.

After our meal we headed towards the Hearst Castle which was an amazing sight. That man amassed an incredible wealth of art and architecture and it is breathtaking

After a break at the castle, Sarah got a lift to Morro Bay due to a bad Achilles tendon issue and I biked over and met Andrew on the way. Wouldn't you know that Andrew invited us to dinner and we just finished very full after a chowder of ling cod broth, rock fish and mussels.

Goodnight, all!