There’s nothing like feeling like a tourist in your own city, especially if you do it on a bike, don’t you think?
My parents instilled that feeling in me, and I passed it on to my partner, so today I bring you a bumpy bike tour.
It was October, and general blackouts hadn’t happened yet. Taking advantage of the holidays and a few days off work, we decided to rent bikes (again) and enjoy a different day.
If you want to know how to rent bikes in Havana, here’s the post for that.
This tour started off differently. Something curious happened; my partner, who recently learned to ride a bike, got on and couldn’t move forward.
She lost a lot of balance and found it difficult to even get onto the street; in fact, she struggled to advance. We kept going back to the starting point.
Fear took over her. The solution was to go to a nearby park so she could get a feel for it, as if it were her first time.
Fortunately, she knows herself well and knows how to start from scratch.
We ended up spending more time there than we expected. Not only because she wasn’t moving forward, but also because my partner’s bike lost its brakes and ended up on top of me.
With all that park time, we ended up "somewhat" bumpy—one on top of the other.
I was the one who took the hit and couldn’t stop laughing. The situation was serious, but seeing my girlfriend’s worried face with the bikes on top of us was priceless. Yes, I should have been worried, but why? I knew nothing serious had happened.
It wasn’t the first time something like this happened to me. I’ve had worse falls over the years.
When I got up and walked, I already knew there were no breaks (thank you, orthopedics).
That "injury" wasn’t going to stop us from having a different day.
My girlfriend was still scared, but she kept trying, and two hours later, she had gained confidence. We decided to head towards Vedado, despite all the uncertainty we felt.
Honestly, I was scared. Riding in the streets of Havana requires confidence and a lot of courage.
It was time to distract the "offender." We went for a good dose of sugar and to take a little break.
Cacao has a side hallway that allows you to park the bikes comfortably, and there’s a large window to keep an eye on them. (It’s not my favorite sweet shop, but it was the most convenient.)
A coffee and some sweets made the "accident" just an anecdote.
With hours still ahead of us, we set off for another area of the city.
We kept rolling.
At the Fábrica de Arte, we encountered a very different version of the wise monkeys.
From there, we headed back to Old Havana because we needed to return the bikes, and our stomachs knew it was time for lunch.
So we went for a nice meal and rested our feet in the park where this adventure began.
Our legs couldn’t take much more, so the ride home was with a bottle of water in hand and a taxi, as our energy was running low.
And my leg was starting to turn a lovely shade of purple. It hurt for a week, but nothing that prevented me from walking.
The tour started off crooked with an included accident, but it straightened out, and we had an amazing day. The accident became just a memory.
Have you ever had an accident while riding a bike? Did something serious happen, or was it just a scare?
Let me know in the comments. I’d love to hear from you.
Read you soon!
[dahpilot]
All images are mine.
