Page 25: - Dominican Republic Again - Tropical Adventure /w Pics -
Cavegirl & Cavebiker do Punta Rucia
Monday morning we ride back down to the beach.
Now this is the beach we envisioned. What a difference a day makes!
We talk about what road to take back. Heidi is not looking forward to retracing the way we came in. With all the traffic at the beach Sunday, we figure there must be an easier way to get here. We decide to try the long way, the route our guidebook mentions. The guide says that the road is paved the last 14 kilometers. We are hoping things have improved. Cavegirl wants to give it a shot. Say no more, I am in. I oil the chain beach side. We take off.
The road is paved for the first few miles then turns to dirt. Heidi wants to walk across the water crossings. No problem, her motorcycle boots are waterproof.
I like to get off to the side of the road and kill the engine to let cattle pass. Today, while we are still on pavement, a cow lurched in front of us just as we stop the bike. The cow slipped and fell flat in the middle of the road. If we were tooling along, we would have smacked right into her. The two young kids herding have a good laugh about their cow.
The dirt road gets worse, much worse. In an instant, BAM, the chain falls off. I am confident it did not break because we are not torque-ing uphill. I calmly say to Heidi that the chain just fell off. There is no need to be alarmed. I keep everything cool.
We seem to be in the middle of nowhere. Before I even get out my wrench, someone is there trying to help us. It is a man and his son. The father is dressed nice with good shoes. They live right next to where we are.
I loosen the axel nut. The father immediately grabs onto our newly oiled chain and attempts to slip it back onto the sprocket. He has his son push the bike forward to complete the operation. Bingo, in no time we are back in action. We are glad we have hand wipes to give them.
Heidi suggests a tip. I politely slip him 100 pesos. He tells us that he lives right over there, pointing out into the field. I talk how we love the beauty of the island and how nice and helpful the people have been. It was another pleasant experience. We did not need any help but they were so glad to give us a hand, and that made the experience very enjoyable for all of us.
This is their place.
We ride
The road gets a lot steeper. We are ‘hammering it’ in second gear just to make the hills. Heidi knows exactly what is going on, she knows I have to gun the bike. There is no ‘going slow’. It is an adrenalin thrill. ‘I have to make the hill’. Heidi hangs on and rides it like a champ. Oh yeah…
More great scenery. We ride up and over the Cordillera Septentrional Mountains for the third time on this ride, one more to go, nothing wrong with that.
Before we reach the main highway, we hit pavement, just like the guidebook suggested. Soon we approach a fork in the road. The obvious route looked straight ahead. Heidi asks why I am pulling over. I need to make sure. Our maps do not show any forks in this road. Of course, after asking directions, we proceed to the right, not straight. I love this stuff. I say to Heidi “If we went straight …!”
We laugh. (I think we both are a little goofy)
We are hungry. All we had all day was juice, yogurt and water. I spot, out of the corner of my eye, what looks like an empanada stand. I whip a U-turn. Sure enough, empanadas!
They ask if we want them ‘to go’ (“?para llevar?”). I say “para aqui” (for here) That gives us big smiles in return. They point us to a couple chairs in the shade on the side. A woman brings out a more comfortable chair for me, nice.
Heidi is one happy girl, fresh empanadas de pollo. I had empanadas de huevo, THE BEST!
What a nice family
The scenery continues to be fantastic.
We pass many hillsides covered with trees with bright orange leaves or flowers covering them.
Back on the main highway we need to make good time but we need a break, and I need coffee. Heidi gives me a ‘single jab’ just before we pass the restaurant we ate at a few days ago. I begin to pull over. Heidi recognizes where we are and shouts “No. Don’t stop here!” I reply “Yes! I want coffee!”
We picked a seat off to the side away from the blaring music with a view of the Cordillera Septentrional Mountains. While we relaxed and talked I drank two coffees, Heidi finished her second empanada that she had packed. This was another good stop.
The rest of the ride was long, but uneventful. We make it back to Cabarete by late afternoon.
We didn’t come away unscathed from the ride. After Cavegirl’s stomach got so distended it looked like it could pop, we immediately went on an enzyme restoration regiment. Roadside restaurant with all the girls? Nothing new, been there before, all part of our warped sense of fun. Cavegirl’s body also took a beating. Backrubs are the treatment for that, prescribed by Dr. Tom.
We hope you enjoyed riding along with us to Punta Rucia, Republica Dominicana…….
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