Biking in Belize

Here in Punta Gorda, bikes are the most common form of transportation. While we may have trash lying everywhere, at least we can breath fresh air (unless you happen to be biking behind an old U.S. school bus that is now used as public transportation in Belize). Biking around Punta Gorda has given me so much joy. The bikes here take me back to my childhood. They are fixed gear, and to break, you must pedal backwards. This last characteristic has spelled disaster for me quite a few times, as I have a tendency to pedal backwards when I am coasting. The tires are wider than mountain bike tires, primarily because these roads are terrible. I am not sure if we can really call them a road. On Main Street, you have relatively consistent pavement, but when you veer from this road (as you must do, since it is a one-way street), you find yourself in the middle of a giant obstacle course. For the most part, I think I look drunk biking around town, attempting to dodge large potholes, and trying to find the most even ground. You see, the paved road here just ends, at odd spots, or breaks off, and the dirt road is not any better.

This is the road I take every day to get to and from work.

Front Street, though beautiful, has its hazards.

Any time I start picking up speed, I usually often find myself bouncing through a very large pothole, crossing my fingers that I did not just pop a tire or bend a tire frame. I quickly learned why everyone bikes so slowly. But despite the terrible roads, and the iffy bike, I love biking around PG. One of my favorite things to do is bike down Front Street, along the ocean, in the evening on my way to my apartment. With the ocean to my left, stars coming out, waves crashing, and me dodging one pothole after another, I couldn’t be happier.

Front Street at sunset.

But, I let myself go on a tangent there. I actually set out to write this blog about the other reason bikes make me so happy: people carry THE most ridiculous stuff on their bikes. I mean, without another means of transportation, they really don’t have any other option, but it makes me laugh every time I see it. Below, a list of things people commonly carry on bikes:

An additional passenger, sometimes a child, but often a grown adult.

An entire family. You laugh. I’ve seen it.

Chainsaws.

Machetes.

Brown paper packages tied up with string. No, really. I saw this one day on my way to Santa Teresa.

Weed whacker. (Is this their real name?)

Large planks of wood.

5 gallon jugs of water.

Pales full of tamales.

A large tower (at least 3 feet tall) of plastic bottles.

Large bags of garbage.

Bundles of tree branches for fire wood.

Banana bunch towers.

A sizable tree trunk.

I unfortunately, do not have photos of any of these occurrences, as they are fleeting moments, but you’ll have to trust me on this. People carry EVERYTHING on their bikes, and it is hilarious.