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The plan was to do the longest bicycle tour in that country's history. From the Easternmost point to the Westernmost. Point to point, zigzagging my way through all 13 Provinces....

Kevin Foster's Tour de Cuba (1996)

Brh
2004-09-15 10:40:19

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DC. There wasn't much I could do about it, except deal with the issue, if any, when I returned.
Somewhere between Artemisa and Pinar Del Rio we passed the 1000 mile mark of the Tour. We celebrated by resting under a shady bridge a half-hour.
During the Tour, I discovered the last 35 miles was under military guard. We would need special permission to enter the area. In Pinar Del Rio, the last major city on the Tour de Cuba, Alfredo and I secured the necessary documents to finish the vision and enter into history as the only ones to complete the longest cycling tour in Cuba.
We spent the night in the coastal town of El Cayuco before the final push toward the Westernmost point on the island. The next day we rose early to complete what we had begun. By early morning, we came to the guard post, where the Commandante kept us detained several hours until we were thoroughly checked out. Because of the isolation of the area, the government is always suspicious of anyone, especially the unique combo of a Cuban and American, wanting to enter, for fear their countrymen would try to escape.
You ever wonder why no American wants to escape his country, I asked Alfredo, as we sat beside the gate, looking out to the Caribbean before us. He shrugged. Because where else would we go with all the freedoms we have?
When permission was finally granted, we took off as soon as the gate was raised, and entered into a world so untouched by man I felt I had passed through another age. Giant komodo dragons darted in front of us. Rats, the size of small dogs, screeched in the nearby brush before appearing. Wild horses and pigs roamed freely.
On the afternoon of December 11th, we came to the final lighthouse that stood like a lonely sentinel. In 21 days, we cycled 1158 miles. It was also my mother's birthday.
The small group of people that kept watch in the area invited us to spend the night with them, where we ...