Cycling Around Barbados!

Over the past three days I biked around the island of Barbados and wrote in my journal as I went.  The following is how the plan turned out.

Day One...

Today started out brilliantly.  I woke up at 6 am and dove until noon through what is now my new favorite dive site, all the while just as excited about the incredible adventure I was about to embark on in the afternoon.  After diving with the turtles I would begin my bike ride around Barbados!  Life seemed incredible at this point of the day and I tried to bring myself back to this happy place in my mind several times as my afternoon progressed.

Riding my questionably safe, rental bike with a warped front tire, brakes which were completely useless when going down hill, and handle bars far to low for me,  I was off for my first 40 km of the ride shortly after 12 noon.  I was Tent Bay bound!

It wasn't long before I realized that the description of Barbados as flat, in that it is not mountainous, was perhaps misleading and the wrong thing to have looked up.  The entire 40 km was up and down hills, with one hill in particular leaving me to hate myself for thinking this was such a great idea.

By the time I hit Martin's Bay all of my leg muscles were burning and and questions such as 'why doesn't anyone want to join me on this adventure?' "why do people look at me like I am a bit crazy when I tell them of this great plan?" and "are Bayans perhaps maybe just a bit extra cautious with providing me so many warnings?"  had all been answered.

But then, at about 6 pm, with the deadly hot sun setting and me finishing off my 5th water bottled while pushing my bike up a relentlessly brutal hill, a local driving by in a pick up stopped.  He asked if I was okay, I replied yes, just 3 km left to Tent Bay!  He asked if I was aware of the fact that it was all up hill and offered me a ride.  Without thinking twice, I quickly agreed.  Hoping in, he was anxious to hear my story.  The first question being, why would anyone dream up such a plan to bike around in this heat with these hills.  He laughed when I tried to explain of how I thought it would be a fun way to see the country and of how now perhaps I was learning the hard way of how my ambitions sometimes lose site of reality.  As we pulled into Sea-U hotel, in Tent Bay I thanked him again.  Before pulling away, he said "don't you worry, we wouldn't let the sun set on you in Barbados!" and with that he was off, leaving me at my home for the night. 

Day Two.....

I woke up around 7 and with the multi-tool at hand walked over to the death trap of a bike I had rented to see what I could do.   Fifteen minutes later I had both the front and rear brakes adjusted and while the front tire was still bent, the handle bars still low and the bike offered little more than an allusion of having more than one gear, I found a new (perhaps misplaced) hope with at least now having brakes.  If all I needed out of the bike was to move forward when I peddled and to stop when I applied the brakes, I was all set.


With a smile I packed up my things and headed for breakfast before the long road ahead.  The plan was to head 25 km north to the northernest part of Barbados and visit the Flower Cave in St. Lucy for a swim before heading 19 km south to Holetown in St. James for the night.

The morning started out much like the first half of the previous day only with unforgiving legs and larger inclines.  A large part of me wanted to give up, and acknowledge that this plan perhaps did not rank amongst one of my greatest plans, most especially after crossing through St. Andrew which offered the worst hill yet.  By the time I reached Flower Cave I had devoured 4.5 litres of water and felt like I had sweated out 7.  

A tour through the cave and an amazingly refreshing swim inside boosted my spirits and cooled my body temperature, leaving me to think I might not die from heat exhaustion.  I decided if I was offered a ride down I would take it, but I wasn't so lucky.

The most Northerest point of Barbados

Inside Flower Cave

Biking back from the cave, exhaustion set in quickly and when it started to rain I thanked my guardian angel as I struggled up another hill.  From St. Peter down was flat or a decline making up for all of the hard work, which suddenly to my surprise felt worth it.  I covered the 19 km down to Holetown like I expected to bike through the country -on a flat and smooth road, while enjoying the scenery and stopping to take pictures with ease.

The locals along the way were more than friendly, while many laughed or looked at me with pitty when I explained what I was doing, I had no troubles getting directions and filling up my water bottle throughout the journey.  I quickly learned that Barbadians did not tend to learn the street or highway names, rather they knew how to get to each location and with asking directions, using landmarks instead of roads, worked far more effectively.

Settling down in Holetown with only 17 kms left to bike the following morning I had an irresistible smile on my face.  I found the same questions I had before leaving re-entering my mind and while I laid for rest, all I could think was, the worst is over and it was worth it.  A bit like when I hiked the Annapurna Trek with Colleen, I felt I would probably never do this again but I was happy to have done it at least once.

Day Three....

Today was a bit of a breeze (no pun intended), with warnings of tropical storms, a heavy wind kept me cool while I biked back to St. Lawrence Gap to return the bike I had rented.  Leaving just after breakfast at 10 am and biking only 17 km towards the city, I was back at the bike shop before noon, returning the bike within 48 hours of picking it up.  I warned the woman about the crooked front tire, but she didn't seem bothered.  After explaining that only me and one other tourist (another Canadian oddly enough) had rented a bike for the purposes of biking around the island in the 5 years she had been there, I guess she figured it was good enough to be riding around town with.

My Map

What did I pack:  yoga pants (wore and washed everyday), 3 singlets (used all three), 3 pairs of underwear, a scarf (multiple uses- to dry off and cover up after swimming and to keep cameras dry in my bag when it rained), two pairs of bathing suits, a multi-tool, my gopro camera with charger, my canon camera with charger, cell phone with charger, ipod, tablet, journal, hat, sunglasses, sunscreen, soap, and deodorant.  All packed into a small backpack.  With 1.5 litres of water strapped to the bike and a helmet.  I used everything and felt I was prepared and well packed.

What do I wish I brought:  bug repellant for the nights

Recommendations:  I felt biking around was a great way to slowly cover the island, take many pictures and meet locals along the way.  I found everyone very helpful and friendly as I regularly asked for directions and to re-fill my water bottle.  However, I would find it difficult to recommend doing this....if I had to do it again, I would recommend test riding the rental bike before leaving, getting a ride to the Flower Cave (right at the top, St. Lucy) and biking down.  The way down from the cave on the west side is not bad and is actually quite relaxing and very beautiful.  While you miss out on the far less touristy areas, hill top views and lush forests of the East Coast (most definitely recommend visiting), you will see the farms in St. Lucy, the nature in St. Peter and the development/estates in St. James before returning to St. Michael.  If you are looking for a good work out, venture up the east.


Advice:  Be sure to check out the Flower Cave, well worth the visit.  A walk down the Tent Bay part of the coast is beautiful with many rock formations, and the sunset on the west was worth the effort.  If you are biking while there are warning of tropical storms, it would make it a lot easier if the wind was in your favor and might be worth checking before leaving if you have the option to wait.