DR650 day ride in Costa Rica

[katanarama]

Managed to get a day off during a recent business trip to Costa Rica.
Went straight to wild-rider.com and rented a brand spanking DR650L for the princely sum of $70 for the day. I have rented XR250s from these guys before and I wanted to try some less technical (read “faster!") riding, the big Suzuki should fit the bill.

[katanarama]

Goal was to get home before the early afternoon rains started. In rainy season you can set your watch by the 1PM downpour. This shot is typical of the terrain once you get off the single lane paved roads. Mountainous and jungle-y with road surfaces varying from nicely graded gravel to bombed out fire trail. Yeah!

[katanarama]

Rainy Season means mucho agua and washed away roads. Came across several work crews using big machinery to make the road passable. Lots of mountain bike riders were out also. These guys are a great source of local knowledge and pointed out a killer section that ran for 15 KMs that I would have missed. Puravida!

[katanarama]

It is easy to get carried away once you have the measure of the bike and a feel for the local conditions. The DR has great torque and is nicely stable over undulating roads. Best to take a wide line around the corners – you never know what is coming the other way. (apologies for picture quality – the camera on my phone cant deal with bright conditions)

[katanarama]

A full 9 kilometers of this. In short, a small river burst its banks and decided the road was the path of least resistance. Some of this was heavy going but most just plain fun. The DR dealt with this surprisingly well. The tires on the bike were surprisingly good for the entire day's riding. On the paved twisty sections they held on nicely, they were great on the gravel and even in this mud they did a good job. A little noisy on the freeway and I would not overly trust them on wet paved roads but perfect for my little adventure.

[katanarama]

Stopped at Manual Antonio for lunch. Actually it was 9:30 AM so I had bacon and eggs..again. Story is that this airplane was abandoned by the CIA after an identical Fairchild C-123 was shot down over Nicaragua. Current owners bought it and after moving it piece by piece to the coast turned it into a bar & grill. Great story on the whole thing here: http://www.elavion.net/

[katanarama]

This was one of my favorite sections. Running through a palm plantation it was fast and hard packed. Managed to see 130KMs on the speedo at one point. Came to my senses shortly after.

[katanarama]

Costa Ricans love bikes and for many they are essential & cheap transport. Stopped for a quick and calming beer at this bar. The quad you see parked out front is typical, I saw everything from agricultural quads to 2-stroke raptors licensed and unlicensed during the day.

[katanarama]

If you get the chance , go riding in Costa Rica. The rentals are high quality and cheap, the people friendly and the country side unbelievable. Here are some pictures from a short vacation I took down there in May.

http://www.bcsportbikes.com/forum/showthread.php?t=100237

[smokinjoe]

:thumbup

[maggotbreath]

Stopped at Manual Antonio for lunch. Actually it was 9:30 AM so I had bacon and eggs..again. Story is that this airplane was abandoned by the CIA after an identical Fairchild C-123 was shot down over Nicaragua. Current owners bought it and after moving it piece by piece to the coast turned it into a bar & grill. Great story on the whole thing here: http://www.elavion.net/


thats hilarious!!

[WarChild]

I lived in Costa Rica for 3 years. It'd be a great place, if it weren't for Costa Ricans :)

[greenboy]

Just f*n awesome. I can only dream of riding in a place like that. :thumbup

[Triplepete]

Nice! Good idea to rent a bike, take it off road, get it filthy, and not have to wash it when you get home! Awesome.

[katanarama]

Nice! Good idea to rent a bike, take it off road, get it filthy, and not have to wash it when you get home! Awesome.


I would rent a bike every weekend and do just that here in BC if I could.