Biking in Cuba

I had a great vacation in Cuba, which included a lot of biking on the Varadero strip and across to Matanzas. The roads in Varaderno are fantastic, very well maintained, with no pot holes and the topography is very flat, which is good for my out of shape winter legs.

In the past I have biked in Jibacoa where the roads are a lot more scenic and hilly, but are in terrible shape. Essentially the roads around Jibacoa are full of pot holes, deep ruts, broken pavement, and some hills are slick with oil from burst car crank cases. My average per km speed in Jibacoa was 31km/hr due to the road conditions, and I could not really get into an aero position due to the bumpy ride.

This trip the weather was also pretty good in the 18°C to 24°C range, but the winds were pretty high some days with a sustained 50km/hr side breeze. Good thing I brought along my wire front wheel. For the most part though, I rode my 3-blade carbon Nimbles and they performed very well.



Due to the direct sun, being so close to the equator, I drank a lot of electrolytes enhanced with sodium, which is highly recommended as you can quickly suffer from dehydration. Also, I learned a hard lesson with spare tubulars, which I typically only carry one. On my second ride I flated out within 10km due to a direct rock strike on my Conti Podium 19mm front tire. I then decided to extend my ride through the town of Varadero and when I turned around to head back to the resort I must have hit some glass, as the back tire deflated pretty fast and with that wonderful "Pffffft" sound.

Having no spare left, I walked over to a traffic cop who politely called a cab for me. For my last two rides I carried two spares, and of course did not flat out again.

The Cubans are indifferent to tourist cyclists, and stay out of the way, but occasionally they would stand to close to the road as they were trying to hail a ride from passing vehicles, and I would have to swerve out of the way.

My rides varied in distance from 40km to 65 km with and average speed of 35km/hr, which is not bad for my winter legs. Here is a shot of me getting ready to leave for another ride.

And here are some shots from my ride to Matanzas, which is a ocean side ride all the way into Matanzas with gently sweeping roads and a fantastic view of the ocean. Traffic is very light on the highway, which has cars flying by at speeds between 50km/hr to 120km/hr, and for the most part they give you a wide berth.

The turn around point about 10km from Matanzas:


The return ride passes through a toll booth with a rather picturesque view of the ocean.


And a great shot of a the crashing waves.