I’m heading to PR in October. Anyone bike there? Just curious about attitudes toward cyclists. Thanks.
Do not ride anything to flashy or exspensive and stay where you know. Do not go below the fort in old San Juan. I have a few friends that are from there and will look into it. they have a uphill 5k called the Hill Billy 5 that one freind wants me to go do with him. Ya right the wife will go for that. Back on topic I will check for you tommorow on routes. Oh the place below the fort in old San Juan the police are even afraid to go there, from what I am told.
http://www.vueltapr.com/ - this is the website for the Lighthouse Tour. A guy who sometimes rides with us is from PR and goes back each year for this. On the site you’ll find a section with the route maps. FYI, he rides a newer Cervelo road bike and hasn’t indicated any problems with flashy gear there.
PR actually has a very active triathlon and cycling community. I was there for a conference in 2007 and was lucky enough to participate in a half Iron distance event. The event was in the Northeast edge of the island, with the bike course running right along the ocean. I had no issues with local traffic whatsoever, but wouldn’t advise riding on main roads as they can get a bit crazy, especially during rush hours.
As a result of my participation in the triathlon I am lucky enough to be on their (e)mailing list now, so I can ditto tigermilk’s comments. There is a lighthouse tour in February and they are currently promoting that event. I wouldn’t hesitate to reach out to the organizers to see when/where group rides organize or where the best routes on the island can be found.
Here’s a link to the website:
Good luck!
Oh yeah, one last thing. Watch out for the lizards, they’re the size of alligators in PR. Crazy-big reptiles.
I’ll be glad to show you around and hook you up with several group rides, triathletes and/or cyclists. Btw, October is the start of the surfing season, you may want to also consider bringing your surfboard. What part of the Island will you be staying at?
Thanks for the info everyone. Unfortunatley I won’t have time to surf. Might not even be able to bike, but I’m going to try. Can’t wait to get there!
Theft in PR is crazy. I would not take a nice bike. Unemployment and poverty are always at very high levels. I was warned if I left my stuff on the beach and went for a swim, it would be gone when I came back. The beach was deserted at the time.
Driving in PR is just nuts. I am from Atlanta and can drive and bike in the craziest traffic with anybody. PR was nuts! Two lanes of interstate in one direction with four lanes of traffic was my first sight after picking up the rental. They had traffic on both shoulders! I would be scared to bike in many places there.
If I could do any ride on the island, I would ride the roads I drove to get to the Arecibo Observatory. Very scenic and hilly. We drove up on a group of young boys washing their ponies in the middle of the road. It was almost like a third world. If you are near Farjardo, you can take the ferry to Vieques and cycle there. I imagine the paved roads through/near the El Yunque rainforest would be great, although very tough. I saw motorcyclists riding them.
I spent a week in PR this past July, but it was a family vacation, so no bike. San Juan is pretty damned crowded, traffic-wise, at least in the parts we visited.
We spent several days in the central mountains, the Cordillera, and that would be a nice place to cycle. Some really awesome scenery. If you like to climb, there is plenty of it - not Rocky Mountain/Alpine heights, but some routes are constant up and down through the mountains. Road surfaces are generally O.K., some poorly maintained stretches, but also some recent blacktopping; I’d recommend 25s or 28s, but 23s would be O.K. One thing, though, this part of P.R. is the world’s biggest gokart track. Some of the roads are incredibly twisty, and many/most corners blind. I saw people on bikes on occasion, although for transport, not for sport. Driving is pretty laid back compared to many other parts of the world; yes, they will make as many lanes as they can fit where traffic is congested, but I would not hesitate to mount up away from the urban centers.
I drove around the Arecibo Observatory area, I agree that’s a very pretty place. I also drove from Adjuntas to Cayey on the scenic route, it might be called the Routa Panoramica or something like that. That was really nice, very little traffic and some stretches were unpopulated for many miles at a time. You go past the highest point in PR, and through a National Forest. The grades were fairly easy; it’s the roads further north around Utuado and Jayuya where you get some pretty steep ascents.
One final caution - I had hoped to use my iPhone for GPS duties on this trip - it worked fine in San Juan, and was useless elsewhere. It would show the towns, but almost none of the roads, and never with route numbers. And route marking is sometimes inconsistent, I got lost a couple of times. I’d ask around to find out which stand-alone battery-powered GPS works well down there, and take one.
Hope you have an enjoyable trip.
Brian
My wife is from PR and I love it there, however; the roads are narrow with little or no shoulders and the people drive aggressively. Not rude really, they’ll let you into traffic, but fast and furious. DW’s nephew was into Tri for a long time and when I asked him about biking the roads he said they always road in a group with a minivan following them. Most of his biking was indoors on a trainer. I absolutely love it there, but I wouldn’t bother with my bike.
I lived in PR for many years and that’s where I began riding and doing tris. Lots of great routes and group rides if you know how to get hooked up with the right folks.
My main group ride was on Saturday mornings, going from San Patricio Plaza (in SJ), all the way to Dorado and back. A 30+ riders hammerfest, ranging from 40 to 50+ miles. Best scenery I’ve ever seen on a bike (portions of the route are along the coast), always in warm weather. I dream of doing that ride again someday!
Must ride very early though, to avoid traffic.