June 19, 2016
A pretty ho-hum ride along the auto-pista through a couple of towns ending in a hostel behind a pizza joint.
Cycling Stats
Start Point: La Cruz, Guanacaste, Costa Rica
Destination: Bagaces, Guanacaste, Costa Rica
86.9 km trip, 5:09 time, 49 km/h maximum speed, 16.9 km/h average speed
Route Description:
This day is on a single lane in either direction road. It has undulating hills with what seems to go down more than up. You get to Liberia after about 65 km at which time the road becomes like a toll highway with a fabulous large shoulder and again undulating hills. It is now a divided highway with two lanes in each direction.
Accommodations:
We found a hotel just near the highway in Liberia that wanted $65USD per night and so we rode on. We pulled the plug after close to 90K in Bagaces. One hotel quoted us 18,000 colones ($36) and we chose one for 15,000 ($30) with AC, wifi, fan and fridge.
What happened…
Andrew writes: We stuck to our guns about taking the auto pista today and as a result we didn’t really see anything, and it was kind of boring. We ended up cycling through Liberia pretty early, and as it turns out, Liberia has about the best bicycle shop (for parts) in Central America. I only found that out a few weeks later when I was in Panama looking to buy bike parts. Ugh. So take note!
Opting to continue riding, we made it as far as Bagaces before the headwind got to be too much for me and I called it a day. It was still early, maybe 1300hrs or so, but we settled into one of three hostels in the small town located behind a pizzeria. Then we rode around the town, bought some groceries and enjoyed the air-conditioned room for the rest of the afternoon/evening. Sometimes you need a day like today to make the rest of the days that much more special.
Amanda writes: Sure sometimes highways can be boring, however as we continue to smash out the miles it feels fabulous. Good speeds, good roads, good company all makes for productive cycling. A mi me gusta! (translation: I like it!)