Jamaica is an amazing place to escape to while the rain and snow
hammer Vancouver and the trails at home in BC. In the spring of
2012 a posse of riders: Dean Payne, Andreas Hestler, Darren Butler
and Connor Macleod signed up for the Jamaica Fat Tire Festival, a
guided tour that would take them deep into the lesser known parts
of an amazing destination.
This crew of riders collected under the BC
Bike Race banner rolled out for an amazing bike adventure. It
was as much about camaraderie and experiencing another culture as
it was about escaping the foul weather of our dark BC winters.
The chance to be guided on the ground by locals and explore off
the beaten path in a destination like Jamaica was simply too much
of a good offer, so while the weather did it's thing at home we
journyed south and east to the amazing island of Jamaica.
Mountain biking is an amazing connector - it brings people
together and unites different cultures under one experience. We all
share the same passion for exploration whether our backyard or
abroad, mountain bikes are our vehicle of choice to take us into
the wild and beyond.
Click here or above to check out the edit and put
some sunshine in your day!
The photo's themselves speak volumes and attest to the depth of
culture that we dug into in Jamaica. Our local guides who took us
on a whirlwind tour facilitated all this and to properly share will
require as much contextual information as we can possibly give.
Welcome to Jamaica. As we waited in the open night air at
the airport for our bus to Ocho Rios on the West side of the
island, we bucked down to our flip flops and shorts and met our new
friend Red Stripe. A few short hours later we awoke to our first
daylight views of Jamaica and bright colors were what greeted our
eyes. From dreary BC rain to the vibrant colors of a Caribbean
nation the contrast was shocking.
The Bike Bash. We rode our bikes out of Ocho Rios and over to
James Bond beach, a small-enclosed park on a little finger of land
completely surrounded by crystal clear blue water. Here on the
green grass spit a running track would host numerous bike events: a
criterium, the Rambo Olympics, the bunny hop competition and a
skills relay course.
Many different types of bikes were present some with two wheels
and some with only one but everyone was equally enthusiastic and
the pool of talent was deep. These people were celebrating all
things bike in their very own way. The heat of the Jamaica sun was
building and so was the excitement of a critical mass of bikers
sharing their unique style.
Hanging out on the grass with the awesome people and watching
Darren go for it in the Rambo Olympics highlighted a perfect bike
festival. Later there were trophies for the Champions and bragging
rights given out for another year.
Sunburns, coconuts, Red Stripe, bright colors, bikes and great
people with big smiles would be the norm for the next seven
days.
As we moved deeper into the Blue Mountains, the facilities
shrank in size and modernization, but the smiles remained sincere.
Not having an understanding of the size of Jamaica we were all
amazed at the vast green jungles and huge mountains that ran down
to the many fishing villages dotted along the coast.
Moving around the island we were taken to places that few
tourists frequent, this is the beauty of adventure and working with
local guides. We began to truly understand what Island life is like
outside of the main thoroughfares.
Jamaica is warm and friendly and the green jungle gives and it
takes. The people who we crossed paths with live with the land and
the ocean, they were open and inviting and as inquisitive about us
as we were of them.
Much of Jamaica is undeveloped and quiet, a perfect retreat and
we felt right at home -escaping the urban jungle and the tourist
compounds we found the true roots of Jamaica. It was not hard to
think about Bob Marley and his Reggae and compare that to the
modern Reggae that comes out of Kingston one of the toughest cities
in the world.
Biking and Jamaica seemed like a perfect fit, the hot sun beat
down on our sweat stained shoulders and the tour rolled on. One of
those trips that you just don't want to stop, so easy to settle
into the their relaxed lifestyle and so different to our North
American ways. Getting there was as easy as Mexico or Hawaii and
being amazed or astounded would not adequately describe our
feelings.
Away from the cities, away from the rain we all found a little
Jamaica in ourselves and set about getting Awry Man. The Jamaican
dialect was in and of itself a spectacular puzzle and led to many
bouts of laughter as we tried to interpret what was being bandied
about between the locals.
Back to Kingston via the back alleys and the grey meshing of
rural and urban interfaces. Chickens everywhere remind us that our
routine fare of Jerk Chicken from very spicy to just spicy, tossed
in Scotch Bonnet sauce or not is something that rounds out the
whole travel experience. From Jungles to beaches, smiles and
murals, to endless potholes and the flavor of street smoked Jerk
Chicken - Jamaica is an all encompassing experience that will take
more than one visit to understand!
