April 11 - Up, Up and Away, then Down, Down, Down!: Las Terrazas to Soroa - Cuba off of the Map (Tours 10 & 11) - 2010 & 2011 🇨🇺

April 11, 2011

April 11 - Up, Up and Away, then Down, Down, Down!: Las Terrazas to Soroa

Villa Soroa, #12, CUC$60

AFTER A night of all kinds of strange dreams MA's alarm sounded at 6:30 am. I was up pretty much immediately and started to re-organize my gear. Again.

Breakfast was the same as last year with a nice mix of fruits, breads, meats, cheeses and drinks. We made sure to carbo load since it would be the first day riding a bike on a road since last summer, not to mention we would be riding into the mountains.

A couple of Canucks getting ready to roll

I'm not sure of its quality, but the rows of wine in the restaurant rack looked attractive

Other hungry tourists from Canada and Europe

The next step was to lug the two suitcases of meds down to the town, down the stairs to the lower level, then all the way back up and then a couple of levels in the building itself. There we found the Policlinico where we delivered most of the meds and gloves as well as quite a heavy bag of bike parts - derailleurs, shifters, and freewheels. Great to be rid of the extra weight!

The Las Terrazas Policlinico was thrilled to have two brimming bags of meds. Plus bike parts. Plus the suitcases themselves.

Lighter by tens of pounds we returned to the hotel to load up and test the bikes for departure. Our seats were a bit low so I raised them a tiny bit. My front panniers were a bit low so I made a mental note to raise them two holes at the hotel this afternoon at Villa Soroa.

Moments before we began the ride to Soroa. Hidden behind us is La Moka hotel on the top of the hill overlooking the village. We have loaded the bikes with front and back racks (Old Man Mountain) and six of our panniers are Arkel - I have no connection to Arkel other than a very satisfied customer, but I swear by their panniers. They are amazing.

Showing off the Giant Tiger water bottle - we live beside one of the discount chain's outlets.

Otherwise, the bikes performed flawlessly. The hilly terrain was tough, but we walked if we had to walk, we cycled when able and we enjoyed the screaming descents when they came our way.

Before the final descent is a tough climb where we passed the turnoff for the Skyline Drive (ie the ride we came here two years in a row to complete!). A few road workers came over to chat and when we told them we wanted to cycle the SkyLine Drive and through Niceto Perez, he said he was from the town but he did not know of any Casas. Worse - the two of them almost looked stunned when we told them of our route - they said that it would be extremely difficult. Yikes!

At the crest of the hill at the little bus shelter we paused as we had last year. A few photos, a lot of sips of water, but this time no food since we knew the rest of today's ride would be primarily downhill to the Villa Soroa.

The route on the left side of the photo is what Smiths call Cuba's Skyline Drive and is literally on almost no map of Cuba, though the roads are quite good and very beautiful. A secret gem.

One of the Cannondales resting at the crest of the mountain. From here to Villa Soroa is a four or five km screaming descent that really tested the bikes' brakes.

Two Arkel-laden Cannondales resting beside a resting cyclist.

I braked a few times as our speed had reached 46 km/h which is fine on long straight stretches but a little unnerving on sharp descending corners. Just before Villa Soroa we spotted the house where the lady had sold us bananas last year - but this year, no fruit. She said she only had juice which we were too nervous to try in case regular untreated water had been added. If we couldn't sterilize it with the Steripen, then we stayed away.

So, we continued to the hotel/resort, rolled up to the doorway and walked into the reception with our fingers crossed that there would be room since I had not booked from home. Right away we noticed that it was much quieter than last year. Maybe last year was a weekend when all of those kids were not in school.

There was no problem to get a room and we rolled the bikes up past the pool (yes, the one with the toe-grabbing curb) and in no time had adjusted my rack and brakes so the bags would not drag as I turned corners and had the bikes into the safety of the room.

I have to say that though it was a tough enough ride today, it was great to be on the bike touring again. I really love this mode of travel. Everything worked well and even though we were quite heavily ladened, the balance on the bike was not a problem for either of us. Even for MA after she re-adjusted her food to a 60 % front and 40% rear rather than 80-20 she felt much better. The new racks (Old Man Mountain) worked like... well, racks. The new Arkel panniers (EXR-38, and T-42) were solid, firm, and easy to access as needed. Moreover, their method of attaching to the racks is so positive there was never a fear of them bouncing off of the bike on any bad bumps. That happened to me on previous tours with other cheaper bags and I must say that it is NOT fun when a bag pops off the rack.

Since MA can be fairly pokey to get ready, we had our lunch before the pool. A couple of paninis with jamon and queso, a mojito for MA and a Bucanero for me and we were ready for the pool. But, this time I was ever so careful near the toe-grabbing curb by the pool. So this time the pool was a great refresher on our first hot day of cycling in the Cuban mountains.

A quiet afternoon. Writing the journal. Sitting in the shade. Dozing in the room a bit. Then a new Wilbur Smith novel in the shade of the snack bar's palm roof, surrounded by mountains covered in royal palms. Could it get any better?

Smith's 'Seventh Scroll' has caught me as have his other novels. Great! While MA studied her glider material I read - first by the pool then in the room before dinner. Speaking of which, we had little choice so returned to the hotel restaurant where for CUC$12 each we had salads, chicken, rice, excellent white bean soup, and then papaya and ice cream to die for. I think I used a total of about eight plates I was so hungry with my tummy gwaggling (Alex's expression at bedtime snack time to say he's hungry. He's five.)

En route to the room I stopped to ask the desk man about a casa in Niceto Perez but he said there was nothing there. That means 74 km in lots of mountains. Luckily, the hardest part is the first half followed by a descent from the mountains then relatively flat.

In the room we pulled out un-necessary stuff so we could donate it and make our load lighter. Then we just relaxed for the remainder of the evening. MA with gliding manuals; me with a Wilbur Smith novel.

A view of the room at VS with the bikes happily sheltered for the night.

A little peek at what's on offer at the pool bar, VS.

One of the two main beers available in Cuba. The other is Cristal. Both are pretty much the same - kind of like the flavourless bland offers back home. In fact, I have heard rumours that Cuban beer is made by some connection to Labatt's and is actually Labatt Blue. Say no more.

Today's ride: 22 km (14 miles)
Total: 199 km (124 miles)

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