Andando en bici #1

In my community, the bicycle is the number one mode of transportation. At the elementary schools and high school, instead of the “parking lot” being full with cars as it is in the U.S., in Ciudad Cortés, it is full with bicycles. Most bicis are equipped with a “canasta” or “maletero”, which are essential to haul all types of cargo. We carry something as simple as a bag of groceries from “la pulpería” or a sack of “arroz” from the “arrozal”. My bike has the maletero, which is attached to the back of the bici. Also, many people put “guardabarros” around their tires so when they “andan” in the rain, they don’t have a strip of mud across their back. Unfortunately, my bike doesn’t have a place to put “guardabarros”.

It’s quite flat throughout most of the town and save for a couple of paved main roads, most roads are dirt and gravel (lastre). I have not ever timed myself to confirm how much I ride my bike per day to get from place to place, meeting to meeting, or class to class, but I would say at least 30-45 minutes per day. Since we are currently in “invierno”, which is the rainy season for Costa Rica, one has to get accustomed to “andar” in some of the more unfavorable circumstances. Like most people in my community, I try to avoid leaving the house when it rains, as I don’t want to “mojarme”. In fact, when it downpours in Cortés, I like to compare the community to a ghost town because everyone seems to be hiding until the rain stops.

However, there are certain circumstances when there is no “vuelta de hoja”, and I have to get to a certain place at a specific time, and it just happens to be raining cats and dogs (aguacero). It could be my imagination, but this seems to happen to me often, especially when I have an English class or a meeting with the local ECC. For this reason, I have mastered the art of riding my bike with one hand on the handlebar and the other holding the “sombirlla”. I also throw on a poncho or raincoat and even plastic bags to cover my shoes so I don’t have wet feet. I’m not the only person that does this in my community.

The other night, I took my bike riding experiences in the rain to a new level. I only had my “sombrilla” and it was raining “duro”. I did not have plastic bags or a poncho. What was I to do? Determined not to make it home drenched, I decided to ride back home barefoot so I would not soak my shoes. When I got home I felt like I had won a championship because my feet were not drenched. It’s safe to say that a Peace Corps volunteer learns to be quite crafty in some of the most peculiar situations.

There is much more to say about my bici riding experience in my community, so I will be sure to write more in the future. More to come soon from "El Chile de Costa Rica"

Pura vida,
Carlos