Toronto Cyclist Completes Her ‘Tour de Cuba’

Gerry Molinolo, Founder, OYE! Tours

Though much preparation went into mapping out her route and ensuring she had the proper replacement parts in case of any mechanical difficulties with her bike, Gerry did not concern herself with how fast it would take to reach each city nor where she would stay once she got there. “Part of the adventure is letting things unfold as you ride. I speak Spanish and have always felt very comfortable in Cuba. It’s an incredibly safe country; Cubans are also beautifully hospitable. Besides, except for the Eastern part of the island, I often feel I know Cuba better than I know Toronto”, says Molinolo.

The original plan was for the trip to be divided into 11 stages and to be covered in 14 days. However, during the first half of the journey from Baracoa to Ciego de Avila, Gerry decided to combine 2 stages into one and cycled 215 kilometres (her longest ride to date) from Santiago de Cuba to Las Tunas. This effort put her one day ahead of schedule; she arrived at the half way point (Ciego de Avila) on July 2nd. Due to unforeseen circumstances, the cycling trek had to be put on hold for 10 days but it continued on July 13th with a 152 kilometre ride from Ciego de Avila to Trinidad on the south coast. Being so close to gorgeous beaches in Trinidad, Varadero and Havana, Gerry extended her rest days and arrived in Pinar del Rio on July 18th, 2006. In total the ride across Cuba –from Baracoa in the East to Soroa in the West (and then back to Havana for easier access to transportation) and from Trinidad in the South to Varadero in the North – took 55.5 hours and extended 1357 kilometres.

Full details of the ride across Cuba can be seen on http://cycleacrosscuba.blogspot.com

Upon completion of the ‘Tour de Cuba’ Gerry decided that she would race across the island next year. For now Ms. Molinolo is very happy with her accomplishment and even happier to have been able to take down cycling equipment to help out the Academia de Ciclismo in Ciego de Avila as well as the local Masters Cycling Club. Many thanks again to Oviel Falcon at Travelbest Carlson Wagonlit (www.travelbest.ca) for sponsoring the airfare, and a big shout out to EPIC Cycling (www.epiccycling.com ), Sweet Pete’s Bike Shop (www.sweetpetes.com ) and Cycle Solutions (www.cycle-solutions.com) for donating bike parts and clothing. Gerry would also like to extend a special thank you to her husband and family for supporting this journey.

416-417-5360
info@oyetours.ca

OYE! Tours
#103-10 Dora Ave.
Toronto, ON M6H 4J2