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Getting around Bonaire: Looking for advice on distances for biking
Bonaire Talk: Getting around Bonaire: Archives: Archives 1999 - 2006: Archives - 2002-09-11 to 2004-06-30: Looking for advice on distances for biking
Top of pagePrevious messageNext messageBottom of page Link to this message  By Kathleen Heithorn-Althoff (New BonaireTalk Poster - Post #3) on Sunday, January 25, 2004 - 1:54 pm:     Edit PostPrint Post

Hi,

I'm bringing my own mountain bike down for a trip for the last two weeks in March. I'm having a hard time gauging distances with the current info on the net. I'm staying at Lion's Dive north of Kradjilakdkadnkd and I'm wondering if this is central enough to get to a lot of destinations on day trips without having to rent a car.

Thanks!

Kathleen
Toronto, Canada

 

Top of pagePrevious messageNext messageBottom of page Link to this message  By pat murphy (Experienced BonaireTalker - Post #109) on Sunday, January 25, 2004 - 6:22 pm:     Edit PostPrint Post

i don't know how fast you ride but i would estimate you could get to kralendijk from lions dive in about a 10 minute ride. from town to the salt pier is about another 5 miles, then from salt pier to white slave is about 2 or 3 miles. your only concern would be the wind....

i'm looking into buying a bike while i'm there and hope to do a lot of riding these next few months.

 

Top of pagePrevious messageNext messageBottom of page Link to this message  By Kathleen Heithorn-Althoff (New BonaireTalk Poster - Post #6) on Sunday, January 25, 2004 - 6:37 pm:     Edit PostPrint Post

Thanks Pat!

I'm still foggy on the positioning of the island as well - I'm guessing Kralendijk is on the leeward side of the island along with all the resorts - so is the National Park due north on the island? I guess if I'm biking up and down the leeward side I will always get a crosswind rather than a headwind or tailwind?

I think I need a map. Hard to find stuff on the net about this before getting there.

Cheers,

Kathleen

 

Top of pagePrevious messageNext messageBottom of page Link to this message  By herman mowery (Experienced BonaireTalker - Post #273) on Sunday, January 25, 2004 - 7:40 pm:     Edit PostPrint Post

Kathleen,

Here is a link to a site you may find useful, it's a fairly good map of Bonaire. Lions Dive is #24 on the map and is between Capt Don's and Buddy Dive. And yes, all of the resorts and Kralendijk are on the leeward side of the island.

http://www.skyviews.com/bonaire/map.html

 

Top of pagePrevious messageNext messageBottom of page Link to this message  By Kathleen Heithorn-Althoff (New BonaireTalk Poster - Post #8) on Sunday, January 25, 2004 - 7:52 pm:     Edit PostPrint Post

Wow - great site Herman! Thanks a lot.

 

Top of pagePrevious messageNext messageBottom of page Link to this message  By Jake Richter (Moderator - Post #4719) on Sunday, January 25, 2004 - 7:55 pm:     Edit PostPrint Post

And keep in mind that the wind blows, strongly from the east/south east, which makes bicycling in those directions a real chose (at least if you are as un-aerodynamic as me).

It takes me a leisurely 15 minutes to bike from my house to downtown, and I'm about 3-5 minutes by bike north of Lion's Dive.

Jake

 

Top of pagePrevious messageNext messageBottom of page Link to this message  By Kathleen Heithorn-Althoff (New BonaireTalk Poster - Post #9) on Sunday, January 25, 2004 - 8:08 pm:     Edit PostPrint Post

Hi Jake - thanks. Since you live near Lion's Dive, can you tell me how far a good supermarket is? I have a kitchen in my suite and intend on doing a lot of cooking rather than eating out.

I looked at your profile and noticed your the owner of a Web development company. I work for an IT company in Toronto that develops Web-based solutions for primarily universities and colleges in Canada. We develop on open Internet technology for Unix, Oracle etc. We also produce and develop sites to help students find schools both domestically and abroad:

http://www.SchoolFinder.com
http://www.StudyinCanada.com
http://www.ScholarshipsCanada.com

I'm down in Bonaire on my own from March 17 to April 1. If your interested in talking shop - let me know: kheithorn@edgeip.com.

Cheers,

Kathleen

 

Top of pagePrevious messageNext messageBottom of page Link to this message  By Jake Richter (Moderator - Post #4736) on Wednesday, January 28, 2004 - 11:39 pm:     Edit PostPrint Post

Kathleen,

You can get most basic staples at the Sand Dollar Grocery store - about a 2 minute bike ride from Lion's Dive. Bigger markets are in town and south of town (15-20 minutes by bike).

As far as talking shop, come to Gibi's on Tuesday nights while you're on island. Call me on the Tuesday afternoon to remind me, and Linda and I will even pick you up on our way to Gibi's :-)

Jake

 

Top of pagePrevious messageNext messageBottom of page Link to this message  By Kate Hickson (Experienced BonaireTalker - Post #181) on Friday, January 30, 2004 - 4:53 pm:     Edit PostPrint Post

Kathleen-
There's a loop that my boyfriend likes to ride. We live in Belnem (just south of the airport). He heads due south on the shore road, passes the Salt Pier, cruises around the south tip of the island til it loops around and starts heading north. At Sorobon, he takes a left onto Kaya Statius Van Eps, and it's a straight shot (with a tail wind!) all the way home (about 5 mi.). He guesses the whole ride to be about 18-20 miles, and takes him about 1 hour, 15 minutes. It's flat as a pancake, but the wind can be so brutal as to make it a good workout. And he's in great shape! If you'd like a buddy, I'll ride it with you. I'll be there til March 30.

 

Top of pagePrevious messageNext messageBottom of page Link to this message  By Kathleen Heithorn-Althoff (New BonaireTalk Poster - Post #10) on Thursday, February 5, 2004 - 8:10 pm:     Edit PostPrint Post

Thanks Jake and Kate. Jake, I might take you up on the offer to Gibi's - someone else mentioned it in the dive section, sounds like fun!

Kate - I'm definitely interested in a bike ride buddy one day. I'll be in touch before I fly out to give you my details.

Herman - I noticed you're looking for a buddy when I was in the dive section. I'm travelling down there by myself - I have boat dives booked with Lion's dive (1 a day on average), but I'll be looking for people to do some shore-diving around the island. If you're going to have a car I'd be happy to pitch in for gas costs or whatever. You can e-mail me at kheithorn@edgeip.com. I'm down there from March 17 - April 1 (dive days March 18 - March 31).

Cheers,

Kathleen

 

Top of pagePrevious messageNext messageBottom of page Link to this message  By Dara Walter (Experienced BonaireTalker - Post #579) on Sunday, February 22, 2004 - 12:55 pm:     Edit PostPrint Post

Kathleen,

I lived on the island with only a Mt Bike for transportation for 2 years. I can suggest some good rides, advise you of times to get certain places and some off the beaten path "must sees". I did some tours for Bonaire Dive & Adventure and can hook you up with some riding buddies.

Write to me directly at dara@darawalter.com

Dara

 

Top of pagePrevious messageNext messageBottom of page Link to this message  By Dara Walter (Experienced BonaireTalker - Post #581) on Friday, February 27, 2004 - 4:29 pm:     Edit PostPrint Post

Another word of advice for taking your own bike - remove anything that is "removable" or has a quick release (especially your seat or tire pump and lights). It gets dark early and you must have a light, otherwise you risk having the police stop you :-) They don't go after thieves, but they will harass a lightless cyclist.

Also make sure that you have as good heavy cable and lock that will go through at least the front tire and frame, but preferabley both tires. If you lock your bike, put it in a hi traffic area and bring it inside at night. If you take it to Sorobon, lock it in front of JibeCity or The Place right out on the beach within eyesight.

Have fun biking Bonaire.

 

Top of pagePrevious messageNext messageBottom of page Link to this message  By Mikhail Kisin (New BonaireTalk Poster - Post #6) on Wednesday, March 10, 2004 - 2:21 pm:     Edit PostPrint Post

Kathleen,
I just put a new thread in "diving" section (a buddy for shore diving), please visit and give me your feedback if interested. I'll stay just the same area. I'll boat dive once per day and look for options on the rest of the day. I've been planning also to free couple of days for exploring Washington Park by bike or by renting a car - I'm not sure if they allow bikers to the park, but there is the place to go! I've read some threads about thefts on the island, so it's definitely wise to teem up for a trip.
How will you manage to fly your bike? Any special arrangements with the air company?That's interesting idea, h-m-m..
By the way, we'll probably fly the same flight, I suppose. March 17, Air Jamayca JM 66, 12.30 from Montego Bay. Am I right?
Mike

 


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