Domincan Republic by Motorcycle

[TRNewtown]

I had the opportunity to take a tour of the South West Coast of the Dominican Republic by V-Strom. Here is a picture of the four of us who participated in this tour.

I flew on JetBlue from JFK to Santiago DR on Saturday (Feb 23rd). This was just a travel day - no riding on Saturday. The next day we attended a carnival in nearby La Vega. A lot of time and effort was spent on the costumes.

Motos are the primary mode of transportation in the DR and it was entertaining to see how many people could fit on these small bikes. Here are four on a bike, with another two looking for a ride.

 

[TRNewtown]

The bike I am riding is a Wee-Strom and it is my first time on this bike. Initial riding impressions are very good. My only complaint of the bike after my first day of riding was the small diameter grips. That was fixed on day two with the addition of grip puppies.

This is a motorcycle friendly environment with scooters/motorcyles outnumbering cars. Because of that, riding has been easy to adapt to even if at times the traffic seems to be chaotic. The smaller bikes are everywhere, but traffic flows relatively smoothly.

Day one of riding on the Wee-Strom was great. After an initial period getting used to the bike in a parking lot - off we went. There are four of us in the group including the group leader. All the other riders own Wee-Stroms - I have only ridden pure street bikes and currently own a Honda ST1300. Everywhere we went the locals would stop what they were doing and stare at the four monster 650cc motorcycles ridden by people wearing full gear. Road conditions ranged from good to pretty bad. The Wee-Strom is a good choice for the local road conditions and can handle the gravel roads much better than my ST. We visited a waterfall and took a tour of a coffee factory.

 

[rulbe]

Tom

Sounds like a great trip! Can't wait to hear and see more!

Randy

 

[TRNewtown]

This was my first paid motorcycle tour and I could not have been happier with the outcome. The tour was through MotoCaribe and things went smoothly from beginning to end. The logistics of finding a motorcycle in the DR and exploring the island on my own would probably not have been possible. One of the things that they provide is a support van that carries luggage, snacks, cold drinks (water, Gatorade), misc parts, and a spare V-Strom.

The MotoCaribe guides are a husband and wife team (Robert and Alida), where Robert rides the lead bike and handles motorcycle issues, and Alida (a Dominican native) handles pretty much everything else. Alida helped me on numerous occassions with my very limited Spanish and selected points of interest off the beaten trail. For example, we visited a cave with ancient drawings on the walls that was very near an active mine. There were no billboards or even signs posted indicating that the mine was there. Here is a picture of Alida taken near the waterfall that we visited.

The tour was a good mix of riding and sight seeing. Either way, the weather was 80+ degrees each day and sunny. Not too bad for late February or early March.

 

[TRNewtown]

On day two of riding we travelled some great freshly paved mountain roads and then took the highway down to the coast in Las Salinas. The highway was a bit unnerving with relatively high speeds and traffic entering the road every 10 feet coming from all directions. I then experienced a true off road experience - a relatively short trek through an active mining area with medium sized rocks heading up to a cave (Cuevas del Pomier). At one point I had to veer around a very large front end loader heading my way, but I arrived in one piece. The Wee-Strom has street tires (80 / 20), but really handled that stretch of road pretty good. Ended the day in Las Salinas at a hotel on the water with palm trees. Not too bad for February!

Everywhere we went the giant 650cc motorcycles drew stares. Kids especially were curious about the bikes and loved to have their picture taken on the bike. This picture is from behind the hotel at Las Salinas.

 

[TRNewtown]

I am working on downloading my pictures. All of the pictures I have shared so far were taken by Alex - one of the members of our group from Canada. Alex also shot a on road video (mounted to the bike) during day one and hopefully he will share it with me. However on day two the camera separated from the bike and bounced down the highway.

In the meantime, enjoy some of the pictures from Alex.

 

[TRNewtown]

On day three of riding the heat picked up a bit since we we no longer in the mountains. The support van carries a large cooler with gatorade and water, which is very helpful in my attempt to stay hydrated. I am wearing mesh gear in the 90 plus degree heat. No sight of rain - just sunshine this day.

I did some off roading while passing through a major road construction project. Again the strom handled great even while negotiating an area that had been watered down. The dust turned to mud and some areas were very very slippery. I just reminded myself to keep off the front brake in those areas.

It was Independence day today in the Dominican Republic and the truck traffic was light. All riders are pretty well matched and we were able to travel at a brisk pace for most of the day. People continue to stop and stare at the grande motos. There was a drop by one of the other riders while stopped resulting in a broken shifter. The van carried a spare and a new shifter was installed with relative ease.

We ended the day along the coast in Barahola. The hotel is very nice and we will stay here a few nights. We were able to walk into town and experience the Independence Day celebration at the local bars. Lots of loud music and people having a good time.

 

[Jeff F]

Great ride report! More coming I hope.

 

[TRNewtown]

The scenery on day four of riding was simply fantastic. Picture a ride along the Pacific Coast Highway, but with aqua blue Carribean water. We rode south from Barahona along the coast and ended up at a remote beach location near a national park. Had a leisurely lunch of grilled fish, conch, and side dishes. Took a long dip in the crystal clear water and then had a rest on a lounge chair under a thatched hut. Not a bad way to spend a day in February If I was not on a tour I would have spent more time at this location.

We didn't ride a lot of miles this day, but the ride did include a 5 KM stretch of dirt/sand/rock road that looked like it had been bombed. I am getting better day by day with the rough road riding. I have been getting some coaching on how to ride the rough sections and that has been helpful.

After our long stop in paradise we headed north along the coast back to Barahona. We will stay one more night at this same hotel. The weather continues to be bright and sunny. I am careful to apply sun screen at each stop.

 

[TRNewtown]

Great ride report! More coming I hope.

I am done for today, but many more pictures are coming. I still need to download my pictures...

 

[TRNewtown]

Day five of riding included a brief trip across the border to Haiti. We parked the bikes on the Dominican side and walked across the border to Haiti. There is a market right on the border and with the help of a guide we negotiated with some of the vendors. I bought a bottle of 8 year old Haitian rum. The atmosphere was crazy with lots of activity and I was happy to be with some one who had experience with this border.

Near the border crossing was a lake (Lago Enriqullo) where the water level had risen about 15'. We had to negotiate some water crossings (not too deep) as well as some significant gravel road detours.

Today there were animals in and by the side of the road all day. There were cattle in herds and cattle just strolling down the side of the road. Of course each town had numerous dogs - mostly sitting down in the shade or looking for food. And finally goats, lots and lots of goats. Goats tend to be pretty active and like to cross the road. From a riding perspective they remind me of deer, unpredictable and a hazard.

 

[rulbe]

Wow Tom! I wish I could be there!!!! Glad you had a great time!

Randy

 

[Mellow]

Cool pictures, thanks!

 

[970mike]

Looks like a great time! Thank you for sharing!

 

[TRNewtown]

Day 6 of riding was our last day of riding on this trip. The day would take us from Barahona on the coast to the mountains in Jarabacoa where we would drop off the bikes. Robert raised the wind screen on my vstrom and the wind noise on the highway sections was tolerable. As we rode through two larger towns in the morning I felt more comfortable now that I had some more experience with how the traffic flowed in the DR. We stopped for lunch at a shaded area with streams running through. I was hot and we decided to cool off a bit in one of the streams.

At lunch there there were a bunch of kids hanging around and enjoying the day.

We then stopped at an iguana park, where the iguanas were protected by this man.

There are no pictures of the next part of the trip, or at least none that I am aware of. We were going though a small town on a hilly road, when traffic backed up. On a curvy uphill road we were passing a long line of buses, trucks, cars, a funeral procession, and smaller motos. On a gravel portion of the road a smaller moto carrying two swerved to avoid a large pothole, the vstrom in front of me skidded and came to a complete stop across my path. I applied the brakes hard and the bike went down on its right side and I separated from the bike and landed on my right side. I was probably only going about 5 mph. Damages from the fall included a bruised ego (it was my first time down), a broken turn signal, bent crash bars, and a sore left hand. My safety gear worked as advertised.

The last hour or so of riding brought some great twisty mountain roads. We stopped at a chapel at the top of the mountain to take a break.

 

[TRNewtown]

Wow Tom! I wish I could be there!!!! Glad you had a great time!

Randy

Hi Randy - It was a great trip and a great way to deal with the long winter. The trip also allowed me to take an extended test ride on a Wee-Strom. I don't have a Garage Mahal, but there may be some extra room in my garage for another bike. The Wee-Strom inspires confidence on gravel, even with my little mishap.

I put down some rock salt yesterday and hope to get out on my ST today. Not doing the Polar Bear ride today, but may head down the shore.

 

[TRNewtown]

Here are some additional pictures of the Carnival in La Vega

 

[TRNewtown]

Our first day riding. Pictures of our lunch stop on the top of a mountain and another stop where the pavement ended.

 

[TRNewtown]

Coffee beans everywhere...

 

[TRNewtown]

Some boats at the marina in La Salinas