<< Prev 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 20 21 22 23 24 Next >>
Thursday: February 1 Bayamo to Holguim 75 km: 8 am we hit the road. This is our last full biking day 75 km to Holguim. Today was a little warm but not hot. I think I am finally totally acclimated. We started at 8:20 am from Bayamo. Once on the main road it was a straight shot to Holguim. Itwas very flat with occasional mild crosswinds and slight headwinds. There were lots of cows, goats and sugar cane of course. The cows made it look like Netherlands. There was even an occasional little attempt at a canal. At the last big town , I had one of those nice fruit sherbert smoothies for 2 Pesos. I ate some rye cracker sandwiches and headed on. Half the group got really hot and fed up with riding. The last 14 km they wanted me to get in the truck, but I asked Pedro the leader to go ahead and just give me the name of the hotel , which is Hotel Pernik. The truck went ahead and I continued leisurely on. I usually had Cubans riding next to me I could talk to. At one point, an orange seller on his bike was next to me. I asked if I could buy some mandarins. He stopped and I bought 8, four for the group that was still riding at this time, and four for me for later. When I was about 4 km from the hotel, I met the group of 3 people that were in front (Gina, Walter, John). I asked them to wait a minute, while I ate my mandarins, and offered them fruit and water too. They were too dehydrated to reason with and left immediately. I asked four different people directions and eventually found the hotel located near the baseball stadium. I arrived at 2:30 PM refreshed, and well hydrated at the hotel. I could have gone many more kilometers. What works best for me riding is to pack 5 liters of water, 3 pounds of food, and a spare tire. I take it slow averaging about 15 km per hour. Everybody has their own method of managing long distances. The hotel is very nice and extremely posh. I am looking forward to seeing a baseball game tonight. The baseball game was great! It cost only a Peso to get in and the best seats behind home plate cost one US dollar. We started off behind first base and then moved behind home plate. The team Villa Clara beat the home team from Holguim 7 to 1! Most of the players had averages starting at 250 that went to 376! There were only two errors the whole game! All of these guys, would be swept up by an American major league team in a heartbeat. There were some homeruns and quite a few double plays. Villa Clara team stole a couple of bases. They also had nice hot peanuts there for a Peso each wrapped in a long thin paper cone. The field was real green grass! This must have been what baseball was like 60 years ago in USA before it became so commercial! Holguim brought out a real fast pitcher the last inning, but Villa Clara was still able to get some hits. The ball must have been going 160 km per hour! The stadium was extremely bright. No shortage of electricity here. They even had nice neon poles to mark the end of first and third base lines in the outfield. I and Pedro later helped Gina to pack up her bike and put it on the plane from Holguim to Habana, that she would take tomorrow morning.
