Page 19: - Dominican Republic Again - Tropical Adventure /w Pics -
Cavebiker & Hipster (Tom J & Tommy C), MEGA Dominican Republic motorcycle adventure continued.
After coffee, we start riding toward the tip of the peninsula looking for a turnoff fifteen miles past the village.
We turn onto the dirt road toward Playa Rincon.
We pass through several small communities. Our map indicates only one village.
Beautiful tropical settings surround the small villages. While taking photos I talk with an older woman, telling her how beautiful everything is here. She seems to appreciate it and tells me so.
The road turns into a rough trail.
Then turns steeper and steeper and rougher and rougher.
Tommy and I are having a super time. I cannot believe playa Rincon is up this way. I say “No one would ever come up this trail!” Tommy says he is worried about pinching a tire on the severe rocks and bumps. We ride on.
The trail is much steeper and bumpier then this photo shows, much steeper. Tommy is hammering up the trail when a mule jumps in his line. When the donkey moved over, Tommy fishtailed back and forth and had to peddle with his feet to get going again. I cannot get my camera out fast enough to catch the maneuver but it looked cool.
We talk with this guy, he looks at least eighty and is riding an old scooter. He confirms that there is a beach ahead.
I am hammering along bouncing off series after series of boulders ten to twenty inches tall. I am taking a beating and the bike is taking a beating when at an instant, I have no connection between my motor and the rear wheel. The engine spins but I am dead in the water. My brain flashes through scenario after scenario. ‘I broke the chain!’ “This is not a good thing’ ‘There is very little shade nearby’ ‘We rode down several steep hills before now, so pushing the bike back up will be near impossible’ ‘This is not good…’
My heart leaped with joy when I saw the chain only fell off the sprocket and did not seem to be broken. ‘Oh freaking Yeah!’
I have the tools. I know I can fix this. I take my time. I wanted everything to be just right.
I am a firm believer that life should be filled with many small celebrations. I celebrate mentally getting the chain back on, adjusted just right and oiled. I tell you, repairing your own bike while on the road, in the most remote areas, no matter how small the repair, is a feeling of euphoria that has to be experienced first hand to know it. To me, this is another ‘highlight’ of the ride. I ask Hipster if he would mind turning back. I say “No way can this be the way to playa Rincon! No one would ever come here” Hipster had no problem turning back with me. I tell him that I bet that the first intersection we come to is the road to Playa Rincon.
Sure enough, at the first small village is a turnoff. I asked a local what is down that road. He confirms it ‘Playa Rincon’.
Hipster is in the lead and out of sight when I get to the playa Rincon turnoff. I had to check it out. I am sure he will be waiting at the next village where there is a ‘T’ in the road. At this ‘T’ we need to turn left, which is not the obvious route. If Hipster proceeds straight ahead at the ‘T’, he will be lost.
Playa Rincon
Local fisherman on the playa Rincon road.
At the next village with the ‘T’ in the road, no Hipster. Crap! I sure hoped he did not go straight…
I enjoy the ride back down the trail while taking photos and hoping Hipster will be waiting for me somewhere near.
I make it down to the main highway. NO HIPSTER! Shit! My mind races ‘Crap! I need to go back up the trail, then down the road where the ‘T’ is, leading to who knows where, hoping to find Hipster’. ‘Why did I let him take the lead!’ My mistake! I hop off my bike in disbelief, cussing to myself. S!S!S! I am drinking water preparing to ride back up the rough rocky road when all of a sudden, out of nowhere, appears Hipster, riding down from the main highway. If I did not sto to drink some water before turning back to look, I could already been on my way looking for him, I would have never found him, and of course, I would have never given up looking for him. I would have ended up camping somewhere along the trail, freaked out. To say the least, I am glad to see Tomy. He said I must have been just behind him because he just got there. I suggest we go have lunch in Las Galeras. Tommy is in.
Las Galeras
Fresh crab
Photo by: Hipster
We enjoy a good lunch on the beach. I purchase an amber necklace for cavegirl. Some of the best amber in the world is mined here in the DR. It is getting late. We blast off back through the village Samana toward Las Terrenas. Las Terrenas is along the north coast of the Samana Peninsula.
Las Terrenas
Hipster and I are staying at the same hotel cavegirl and I stayed at but in a much nicer room. It has four rooms with a kitchen (we can make our own coffee in the morning). We had been riding super hard for several days now and are in need of a little R&R. Las Terrenas is an excellent spot for that.
While I am on the phone with cavegirl, I tell her about the sweet room we have. I get informed by her that we must return to Las Terrenas and get one of these sweet rooms for her and I. I guess I can live with that…
I hope you are still enjoying the ride…
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