Lee's Cuba Bike Tour Newsletter - Winter 2024/25

 

Cuba Bike Tour Options - Focus on Colonial Cities & Beaches Tour

I hope you can join me on one of three bike tours I am leading between January and March 2025.  Tour registration is open.  

Bike rentals are available with many options, including hybrid, road, mountain, gravel, and touring.  All tours offer e-bike rentals, making them accessible to everyone.  

In this newsletter, you will find a summary of the 2023 edition of the Colonial Cities & Beaches Tour, a beautiful tour of central Cuba that we will repeat in 2025. This tour was recently run in November 2024 with very positive reviews by riders.  Cuba is always an adventure, and Bicycle Breeze ensures you are supported all the way.

There is also information on the other two tours I am leading this winter.

Colonial Cities & Beaches 2023 Tour Recap

I'd also like to share the story of our February 2023 tour, which involved cycling a new route through central Cuba.    We had a great time, and I look forward to returning to this loop.

This bike tour began in Havana where we got organized and had a nice dinner together at Café del Oriente restaurant in Havana Vieja.  The food and atmosphere were amazing, it felt like being in a small town in Europe with cobbled streets, architectural lighting, and music.  The next morning we had breakfast at our casa before heading off on the tour bus to begin our cycling vacation.

Fine dining at Café del Oriente, Havana, Cuba 

After a bus ride, our group had lunch at El Ranchon in Jagüey Grande and took a group photo.

Our amazing tour group

Our first destination was Playa Giron, where the failed Bay of Pigs invasion took place. We stayed at lovely casas in town and dined a short walk away at a private restaurant.  Then we cycled along beautiful country roads to the first colonial town of this tour, Cienfuegos, the lively seaside “Pearl of the South” with its French-inspired grand boulevard and colonnades.

Looking out from our rooftop bar at the Hotel La Union, Cienfuegos, Cuba

Next on our exploration of colonial cities, we rode some rolling hills into Trinidad.  But first, we stopped to visit the Jardín Botánico de Cienfuegos, an outstanding botanical garden stocked and maintained for many decades by Harvard University that is home to 285 types of palm trees and 2,400 species of plants. Beyond the garden, the road heads down to the coast, giving glimpses of the Caribbean and the upland pine forests of the Sierra Escambray mountains. After arriving in Trinidad and settling into our casas, we explored the city including mojitos at Café de la Música.

Café de la Música, Trinidad, Cuba

A well-deserved and much-appreciated day at the beaches of Playa Ancon just 10 kilometres south of Trinidad restored our energy for the rides ahead.

Playa Ancon - white sand, shade trees, and a great restaurant a la playa

We departed Trinidad through the scenic Valle de los Ingenios (Valley of the Sugar Cane Mills) to the Torre Manaca Iznaga. The astonishing view from this imposing torre (tower) more than justifies a short visit. Then we rode the green lower hills of the Escambray Mountains before climbing to the village of Hanabanilla on the banks of Lake Hanabanilla.  A guided walk the following morning included a boat trip to the other side of the lake for lunch.  We were fortunate to see several Tocorocos - the National Bird of Cuba!

Hotel Lake Hanabanilla, with a spectacular view of the man-made lake.

Leaving Hanabanilla behind, we descended to the City of Santa Clara where we visited the battle site where Che Guevara and a small number of men essentially ended the Cuban Revolution by derailing the Tren Blindado (Armoured Train) and defeating the government troops it carried. We also toured the mausoleum commemorating Che and his fighters.

Site of the battle of the armoured train sent by Batista in his final and unsuccessful attempt to win the Revolutionary War.  Che defeated the army with a bold ambush after derailing the train

Che Guevara Mausoleum, Santa Clara, Cuba

Our tour group donated cycling equipment to youth clubs in Cienfuegos and Santa Clara

The next leg of the cycling journey took us through tobacco country to Remedios on a gently rolling road.  The central square was beautiful.  We toured Iglesia Major church, the oldest one in Cuba, with its gold leaf altar that was hidden from pirates for many years.  We may also have had a few mojitos and a beer on the main square while we watched a huge children's party unfold complete with live entertainment and music.

Bucanero is the best beer in Cuba - well I say so 😊 

Our next bike ride brought us to Caibarién, a colourful fishing town called “La Villa Blanca” (The White Town) for its white sand beaches.  After checking out the town and its recently built malecon, we boarded our bus to travel the causeway to the beautiful beaches of Cayo Santa María.  Our tour guide assured us that Cubans consider this the best beach in Cuba as the white sand is so fine (like sifted white flour) that it doesn't even get hot in the mid-day sun.  This is a fact as I can attest.

Great pool for cooling off

Walking the beach before dinner

From Cayo Santa María our tour bus saved us time and effort, driving us to Colón, a small town with neoclassical architecture and an impressive statue of Christopher Columbus guarded by four lions.  Then we cycled to Matanzas with the wind at our backs.  I remember our time in the Village of Coliseo where we hunted for drinks and snacks.  In the end, we got beer, pop, and ate our powerbars at a small shop operated out of some guy's front yard, with us paying him over his front gate.  Good times!

The best moment that day was when Mike finished the entire 90 kilometres to Matanzas - his longest bike ride ever.  He had methodically built up his endurance over the previous days until he was truly strong. His smiles and the fist-pumps were a lifetime memory.

Our tour bus took us back to Havana where we began our adventure 2-weeks previously. We spent a day touring the grand city.  A description of all the sights would take far too long in this blog post.  At night we had a tasty dinner on the top floor of the FOCSA building.

The Capital Building in Havana is based on the American Capital Building

Our view from La Torre Restaurant situated on the 34th floor of the tallest building in Cuba 

We said goodbye to our new friends at the end of the tour and returned home.  What a great adventure with so much fun, good exercise and food, and a cultural experience beyond belief.

Now for a summary of the tours available from January to March 2025, and links to register for an adventure by bike this winter. 

Fat Mary (María la Gorda) 2025

When:  January 25 to February 8, 2025.

A fully-supported 15-day tour of Western Cuba offering a broad view of Cuban life. 

Powered by the typically easterly tailwinds and supported by a tour crew and an air-conditioned bus you will ride from Varadero, through Havana and on to the western tip of Cuba where we arrive at the internationally famous dive centre known as María la Gorda.

Walk the streets of Havana and take a vintage car ride to enjoy its history, culture, shopping and food.

Explore caves, a derelict coffee plantation and Ché Guevara’s hidden cold wartime headquarters.

Cycle through the Sierra del Rosario Biosphere, Valle de Viñales, and the tobacco lands of Pinar del Rio.  Soak up the sun on the beaches of Varadero, Cayo Jutías and Maria la Gorda.

For more details or to register for this tour head to the website 
Fat Mary Website

Colonial Cities & Beaches Tour 2025

When:  February 15 to March 1, 2025.

A fully-supported bike tour of Central Cuba focused on its rich culture, natural beauty, friendly people and quiet roads.  This tour explores Cuba's best beaches and most historically significant colonial cities.

• Havana the capital and UNESCO world heritage site
• Cienfuegos the French-inspired “Pearl of the South”
• Trinidad with its cobbled streets
• Santa Clara home of the Mausoleum to Ché Guevara
• Remedios a charming colonial city
• Matanzas the city of rivers and bridges

For more details or to register for this tour head to the website. 
Colonial Cities & Beaches Website

Gringo Viejo Tour 2025

When:  March 8 - 20, 2025.

A fully-supported bike tour of Western Cuba.

Powered by the typically easterly tailwinds and supported by a tour crew and  air-conditioned tour bus  you will ride from Havana to the western tip of Cuba.

Walk the streets of Havana and take a vintage car ride to enjoy its history, culture, shopping and food.

Explore nature at Las Terrazas & Soroa’s Orchid Gardens.  See  Ché Guevara’s hidden wartime headquarters.

Cycle the Sierra del Rosario Biosphere and experience the spectacular scenery of the Viñales Valley.  Along the way you can soak up the sun on the beaches of Cayo Jutías

and Maria la Gorda.

For more details or to register for this tour head to the website.
Gringo Viejo Website

Final Words

Thanks for reading this blog/newsletter.  If you have any questions, reach out to me and I can review options with you.

Best wishes,

Lee Orphan

Email: lee@bicyclebreeze.net

YouTube Video Channel:  Lee's Cuba Cycling YouTube Channel

Facebook:  Lee's Cuba Bike Tour FB Page

Bicycle Breeze company website:  www.bicyclebreeze.net