If white-sand beaches, bike culture, architecture, friendly people and vintage cars are your jam, hop down to Cuba! (Edit: sadly, because of Trump, some of the following info about traveling to Cuba is no longer accurate).

Getting to Cuba

Access is simpler now than its been in decades. Non-stop fights from LAX are currently under $180. Food, rooms and booze are remarkably inexpensive. Go now before the unique, time-capsule nature of the island changes.

Americans can’t visit Cuba as a tourist, however at the airport, you’ll be asked to choose one of 12 reasons why you’re visiting. For example, if you’re an artist, an educator or a photographer (who isn’t?), you’re legit. You can fly directly from the US-it’s no longer necessary to travel through Mexico or Canada. You do not need to go with a group or a tour company. You’ll need to purchase a tourist visa at the airport before your flight (the airline makes this really easy). You’ll also need to travel with health insurance, but it’s included with the cost of your airline ticket. Keep your ticket stub with you while in Cuba as proof.

Getting Your Bike to Cuba

You have to want it. Some take a beater bike to Cuba, ride it and just leave it there when vacation is over. I went a different route.

The airline I flew on currently has a “luggage embargo” to Cuba which meant two things: cardboard boxes were prohibited and so was oversized luggage. “Oversized luggage” means anything over 61 linear inches, or a standard suitcase. If you have a Brompton folding bike or an S&S coupled frame that fits in standard sized luggage, you’re set. My ‘93 Cannondale Track bike complicated things. I found a solution with Rüster’s Armored Hen House bags (http://rustersports.com/cases/) that allowed me to pack the frame and components in one bag and the wheels in another, each bag meeting the 61 linear inch restriction. Each bag is standard-sized, checked luggage (no oversized luggage fees!).

Black Star bags also has a product they claim will work but I opted for Rüster for the integrated, protective padding and luggage wheels which eased handling multiple pieces of luggage during travel. Rüster claims that their bags will fit nearly any full-sized bike with the crank installed but that wasn’t the case for me. My 55cm track frame would not fit in the frame bag unless I removed the drive-side crank and packed it in the frame bag upside down of their packing recommendation (bottom bracket down instead of up as shown in their packing instructions video).

The frame bag accommodated all of my components, tools, back-up tubes/tire and even some clothing. The wheel bag has ample room to pack clothing around the wheels. It’s possible that other airlines have different regulations, but *check* so you aren’t surprised, like I was. Props to Rüster for hustling my bags in the mail to me at the very last minute. The bags did a stellar job of protecting my bike.



When I arrived at luggage claim in Havana, I saw a bike on the luggage conveyor that was fully built and shrunk-wrapped (except the pedals, front wheels and bars)! Seemed oversized but somehow it made the cut!

Riding in Havana

My preference is city riding, so I’m unable to report on the longer road-riding opportunities that Cuba boasts. If urban exploration is exciting for you, Havana is spectacular riding. The cars stay on the periphery of the city (and are not particularly accommodating of bikes) but the tangle of inner neighborhood streets are optimal for riding if you have some decent bike handling skills. Most bikes you’ll see there are pedicabs but you’ll spot a few workhorse MTB and bmx-style bikes as well. We took a bicitaxi to our casa particular.

You’ll be sharing the roads with mostly pedicabs, pedestrians and horse drawn carts. The deterioration in the city is stunningly beautiful: abandoned structures including palaces, theaters, factories and mansions are readily accessible for exploration.

There is no better way to cover maximum ground in Havana than by bike. Roads are mostly in fair condition, but there are some impressive potholes and some areas of town look like they’ve been mortar shelled. Additionally, city infrastructure repair happens without the barricades that Americans are accustomed to. You may happen upon a 2 foot-deep cut in the pavement with no warnings. Heads up and sharpen those CX skills before you go!

I bought Schwalbe Marathon 25c tires for the trip (the largest size I can run on my Cannondale) and didn’t regret it. Miraculously, no flats despite the shrapnel cocktail of glass, metal, pot holes, thorns etc we encountered. My girl did flat once on her Brompton from a shard of glass. Easy fix because we had all of the tools/supplies.

There are very few stores, particularly those that carry cycling gear. Supplies are really tough to come by so anticipate every possible scenario and come prepared (spokes, tools, tires, tubes, patch kits, etc). If you’re willing: bring extra bike components/supplies with you and donate to a local bike shop. They are grateful and in dire need of supplies.

Riding fixed gear was ideal. The simplicity of the drive train allowed me to rebuild the bike in less than 15 minutes. Terrain is mostly flat with only a few small hills. 46x17 worked great for me as savoring the sights was my focus, not speed.

After a bit over a week, we left Havana for Varadero (the beach) for a few days. I took the wheels off my bike and it easily fit in the back of one of the enormous, vintage (1950’s) American cars used daily.

The beaches were magnificent.

The “lifeguard” at our beach was coring out fresh pineapples, filling them with piña colada, topping it with the fresh pineapple meat and selling them for $5. ¡Viva la Revolución!

Riding in Varadero was paradise as we were able to find pristine, unoccupied beaches.

At our favorite beach, a chef from a local restaurant would bring fresh fish to the beach. You choose your fish and he would grill it and bring it back down to the beach with a huge pile of rice, beans and plantains. Really no reason to leave the beach. Ever.

Very few people I encountered knew what a fixed gear bike was. One guy shouted ‘piñón fijo!’ as I rode by, but other than him and the one ex-bicycle mechanic I met, everyone else was just really confused about my not having brakes.

People were very interested in our bikes, taking photos and asking how much they cost. Considering that the average “official” Cuban salary is $25 a month (low salaries are offset by free healthcare, education and subsidized living expenses), the question was awkward. You can’t help but be keenly aware of your tremendous privilege.

After a few days at the beach, back to Havana. I had to adapt to the fact that Cuban pedestrians yield to bikes. I would anticipate them continuing in their path, but they’d stop and back up causing a near collision as I was set to go around them. Bikes are king so hold your line! That changes in the tourist areas where once again, pedestrians assume the right of way.

We made the choice not to wear helmets. The only people I saw wearing helmets were kitted-up road riders passing through on their way to an epic road ride. Locals do not wear helmets. Our pace was leisurely as is the pace of Havana, so this decision worked for us.



You don’t see many women riding bikes in Havana but we did run across a bike rental shop operated entirely by women called Vélo Cuba. (VeloenCuba.com). They wrench them, they rent them and will even deliver to your location!

Lodging/Food

Room: $21-$35/day (colonial mansion)

Meals: $1.50-$8.00 depending upon how fancy

Piña Colada/Mojito: $1.00-$5.00 depending upon how swanky the location

Taxi/Pedicab: lol, you don’t need no stinkin’ cabs. But if you do, cost depends entirely upon your negotiation skills.

Security

I showed up to Cuba with two U locks. Completely unnecessary. Although it was necessary to lock up, it became increasingly obvious that bike theft (or crime in general) is not a chronic condition in Havana.

I free-locked my bike when at restaurants where I sat in sight of my bike, and when my bike was out of sight, locked it Sheldon Brown style with a U lock around the wheel through the rear triangle. Law enforcement is everywhere at all times and tourists are valued and revered. Locals steer clear of any disputes with a tourist because (for better or worse) the cops will always side with the tourist.

There are precious few places to lock a bike. Locking to State property (like street signs) is frowned upon but storekeepers were incredibly generous in allowing us to lock to their gates. Some of them even offered to keep our bikes behind the counter (tip them for watching your bike. 50 cents or 1 CUC is adequate). You pay more than that to use restrooms in Cuba (no, really).

As two women traveling by bike, riding at *ALL* hours of day and night in every corner of Havana including the most impoverished neighborhoods and swankiest avenues, there was never a moment during our entire two weeks we felt unsafe. Men are respectful, friendly and civilized with none of the rude/lewd/harassing behavior that women often experience in the States.

Invest in a really high quality headlight if you plan to ride at night. Potholes will swallow you alive!





Frankenbikes

It pays to know a bit of history before embarking to Cuba to have adequate respect for the unsurpassed ingenuity and perseverance demonstrated by the Cuban people.

The short-and-dirty version is that in the mid-80’s, the Soviet Union (the country’s primary source of trade) was in economic turmoil, and withdrew economic support of Cuba leaving it essentially paralyzed. This, coupled with a US trade embargo made all products (including food) impossible to get. During this time, Cubans showed remarkable ingenuity surviving only with what they had. For example, bicycle inner tubes were fabricated out of recycled car tires. You can see evidence of the “Special Period” as it was known in some of the fascinating and creative cargo bikes in Havana. The headset adaptations alone were remarkable! Bikes are very hard-working in Cuba with a creative variety of cargo bikes.





Other Non-bike Things you Might Want to Know

Internet? LOL. There is no internet in people’s homes. Some hotels have wifi and there are public parks that have wifi. Regardless of where you find wifi, you must pay to use it. You purchase cards with a scratch off code. To access the internet, login with your code. You’ll know you’ve found wifi when you see hoards of young people lined up staring at their devices. Usually outside of hotels or in public wifi parks.

The cost for one hour of internet varies depending on how long you want to wait in line for a card. $1.50 for a 60 min card if you want to stand in a long line, or $4-5 (for an 80 minute card) if you want to buy one marked up in a hotel, instantly. Cubans can’t buy them in hotels, only tourists, so no lines. But you pay. Once you’re on: prepare for some slowwwww action. We’d go days without bothering to sign on because it was too annoying.



Toilet Paper? LOL. There isn’t any. Bring some. Because of the US embargo, the TP comes from China. Tiny rolls, and it’s challenging to find, so there really just isn’t much of it around. We started hoarding squares whenever we could. Bring it to restaurants!

Spanish: be respectful and learn some. Cubans haven’t had much reason to learn English, so pick up some basic phrases in Spanish and download the Google Translate app (which we found invaluable, and it works while offline). Don’t continually speak English and expect to be understood! People are extremely gracious about working with you to reach understanding. I was grateful for their kindness and good humor considering my rudimentary Spanish.

It’s illegal for Cubans to kill cows or catch lobster. They risk jail. So even though beef and lobster is readily available in stores and restaurants, it can only be harvested by the government and is too expensive for most Cubans. As a result of this longstanding policy, Cubans haven’t really developed much of a taste for beef.

You’ll eat a lot of chicken, pork and fresh fish. Most meals come with fried plantains, rice, beans, salad and yuca con mojo. Vegetarians/Vegans might be slightly challenged as there are meat and dairy-free offerings, just possibly not much variety.

Rum is literally cheaper than water.

We were advised not to drink the water. We did consume ice in our drinks, with no problem. It was suggested that the ice is not made from tap water, but purchased from a company.



Money: bring cash. Due to the US embargo against Cuba, our banks don’t talk to theirs which means you can’t use credit cards or ATMs. You can exchange USD there but you get a better exchange rate for Euros or Canadian dollars. We bought Euros and CAD in the States and exchanged funds as necessary. There are two Cuban currencies so do your homework so you understand the difference. We dealt exclusively in CUC which was easy because 1CUC is equivalent to 1 USD.





Words of Wisdom If You’re Considering Going

A good experience in Cuba will take some preparation and awareness. Watch some documentaries about Cuba to hone your expectations and develop an understanding of the differences in our political and economic structures. Don’t expect to do your research when you arrive: internet is *not* at your fingertips. Download maps, research restaurants and lodging before you arrive and be patient with the pace of life there. Be open-minded, observant and value the cultural experience. This is not Cabo, it’s Cuba. Adjust your expectations and do your homework before you leave so that you have a healthy appreciation for the magnificent history and resilience of the people. It’s a gorgeous place with generous and kind people. I’m already looking forward to returning to Havana but also exploring other cities by bike. Rubber side down, friends!





See more photos of my cycling adventures on Instagram: adangerpdx https://www.instagram.com/adangerpdx/?hl=en