3/15 - day 6 (day 4 of BR)

 3/15 - day 6 (day 4 of BR)

Today was our first day riding with the Cuban Masters. They looked like ordinary guys who were pretty fit when we met them the night before at dinner. Here they look like genuine pros. The guy on the right was the one sitting at our table. 



Here are two of their bikes. Pretty normal stuff: mechanical ultegra components.



Mike has the same Felt below on his trainer.


The route was a long loop.



Notice the orange highlighting in the lower left corner. I have never seen Walter get off his bike going up a hill before. I have a picture of it in case I ever need something from him.



Here we are at the first rest stop. This guy is 74. He rode with us for a good portion of the first leg. He would soft pedal and coast for a while so we could ride with him and from time to time, he would kick it in and drop us like we were standing still.


One of the things we noticed and really appreciated was that all of the Masters would point out road hazards. This was a nice courtesy to try to keep us safe because oftentimes racing wannabes, like our friends in the OCC (Onondaga Cycling Club) are generally not so thoughtful. 


Across the street from the first rest stop was a tiny elementary school with six kids. A couple of kids were out sick so there were only four that day. The teacher let them out to play 2v2 soccer on a small cement slab behind the building while we chatted, two boys versus two girls. Two of the kids were hers. The other two lived nearby. 


We were not supposed to take pictures of the school, especially of the kids. 



Here’s the next rest stop. Feels a little like the south pacific. More coconut water.



Lunch was at a little restaurant that you could easily miss if there wasn’t one of our guides standing in the driveway.



The BR guides were very good at setting expectations low, so when they said the rest of the loop was on road surfaces that were even worse than before, Walter and I and most of the other BR riders decided to pass. Mike decided to do it and when we passed him in the bus, he had two of the Masters pulling him. We were sure he was in heaven. I regret that I didn't see it soon enough to get a picture. 


Back at the biosphere, we had a tour of the community's grounds. The community is self-sufficient including a pharmacy. The guy in the red shirt was very animated. 



Here are some of the pictures of the community. Many of the housing units looked nice.


Some looked like left-over Soviet barracks.


Here's a lecture about health care at the community.


That grey building is our hotel.
 


Here's another example of building around nature rather than bulldozing it.


He took us to the studio of an artist who lived in the community. Walter chatted him up with an eye to mounting an exhibit at Art Rage. 



Here's the view from his studio.



We had dinner at a vegan restaurant, also on the grounds. The food was OK, not great, but it was creative and a nice change from the usual. They made a nice presentation.



Here are my data for the day: https://www.strava.com/activities/8720174386


Cuban Masters!! Elier and José Ramón (Ramoncito) triatletadjose@gmail.com

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