Professor
08-10-06, 07:38 PM
For the third year in a row we spent our holiday in the Dominican
Republic. As usual, I got special dispensation to spend a day
biking. The photos are here
http://baboomum.spaces.live.com/photos/
Actually, only the first 11 are related to biking. Sorry, didn't
have the time to sort photos out.
This year I decided to take dirt tracks as opposed to main roads.
The DT125 coped well. The only problem occurred when I attempted to
scale the mountain overlooking the city of Puerto Plata (this
mountain can be seen on photos number 8 and 9, as well as in the
distance on photo number 47). At some point I discovered that the
bike won't pull (in 1st gear) any more, and then I discovered that
the brakes aren't strong enough to prevent the bike from sliding
backwards. I panicked but in the end managed to slide backwards
(along a very bumpy track) so that as to place the bike across the track.
Bringing the bike down was also a nightmarish experience. I am so
glad that I didn't drop the bike + didn't break my legs. My
suspicion is that the mountain track I tried to ride up is a service
road created during the construction of the funicular which goes
into Puerto Plata on the other side of the mountain. It is probably
intended for use by quad bikes.
Bike hire for the day cost me, as usual, 700 Dominican Pesos. This
is less that 12 pounds.
Republic. As usual, I got special dispensation to spend a day
biking. The photos are here
http://baboomum.spaces.live.com/photos/
Actually, only the first 11 are related to biking. Sorry, didn't
have the time to sort photos out.
This year I decided to take dirt tracks as opposed to main roads.
The DT125 coped well. The only problem occurred when I attempted to
scale the mountain overlooking the city of Puerto Plata (this
mountain can be seen on photos number 8 and 9, as well as in the
distance on photo number 47). At some point I discovered that the
bike won't pull (in 1st gear) any more, and then I discovered that
the brakes aren't strong enough to prevent the bike from sliding
backwards. I panicked but in the end managed to slide backwards
(along a very bumpy track) so that as to place the bike across the track.
Bringing the bike down was also a nightmarish experience. I am so
glad that I didn't drop the bike + didn't break my legs. My
suspicion is that the mountain track I tried to ride up is a service
road created during the construction of the funicular which goes
into Puerto Plata on the other side of the mountain. It is probably
intended for use by quad bikes.
Bike hire for the day cost me, as usual, 700 Dominican Pesos. This
is less that 12 pounds.