Costa Rica Guide
Getting Around
By bicycle
Costa Rica's terrain makes for easy cycling compared with neighbouring countries and, as there's a good range of places to stay and eat, you don't need to carry the extra weight of a tent, sleeping bag and stove. Always bring warm clothes and a cycling jacket, however, wherever you are. As for equipment, rear panniers and a small handlebar bag (for maps and camera) should be enough. Bring a puncture repair kit, even if your tyres are supposedly unbustable. You'll need a bike with a triple front gear – this gives you 15 to 21 gears, and you will really need the low ones. Make sure, too, that you carry and drink lots of water – five to eight litres a day in the lowlands.
There is very little traffic outside the Valle Central, and despite their tactics with other cars (and pedestrians), Costa Rican drivers are some of the most courteous in Central America to cyclists. That said, however, bus and truck drivers do tend to forget about you as soon as they pass, sometimes forcing you off the road. Roads are generally good for cyclists, who can dodge the potholes and wandering cattle more easily than drivers. Bear in mind that if you cycle up to Monteverde, one of the most popular routes in the country, you're in for a slow trip: besides being steep there's not much traction on the loose gravel roads. Although road signs will tell you that cycling on the Interamericana (Pan-American Highway, or Hwy-1) is not permitted, you will quickly see that people do anyway.
San José's best cycle shop is Bicimania, at the corner of Paseo Colón and C 26. They have all the parts you might need, can fix your bike and may even be able to give you a bicycle carton for the plane.