Cycle Cuba Challenge 22 April – 3 May 2012

The Cycle Cuba Challenge is a fantastic way to experience Cuba and to raise money for the Music Fund for Cuba at the same time.

Monies raised will go towards the Miramar theatre restoration . As well as seeing this restoration work in progress, you will also deliver essential educational and musical equipment to a school for visually impaired children in Havana where you are guaranteed a rousing reception from the school salsa band.

Cycle Cuba Challenge runs 315 kilometres from Santa Clara, site of Che Guevara’s evocative mausoleum and historic victory against Batista’s troop train and climbs to the remote and rugged Lake Hanabanilla, high in the Escambray Mountains, then downhill to the charming architectural delights of Cienfuegos and onto the Bay of Pigs, location of the CIA-sponsored invasion force defeated in April 1961. The route dips and falls alongside the turquoise blue Caribbean to Trinidad, Cuba’s best preserved colonial town and UNESCO World Heritage site. The route passes through dramatic scenery and along quiet rural roads away from the usual tourist trails, with opportunities to experience vibrant Cuban culture at first hand. From the finishing line we return to Havana, where we have received a special invitation to take part in the inspiring May Day Rally in Plaza de la Revolución. We celebrate a wonderful group achievement with our famous celebratory meal at a top Havana restaurant.

You can read reports from past participants on the 2008, 2009 and 2010 tours here.

What does the cost include?

The tour costs include return flights with Virgin Atlantic from London Gatwick direct to Havana, UK Departure Tax, 10-night’s accommodation based on two people sharing twin rooms with en suite facilities, entrance to all visits and excursions (other than those marked as optional) and all meals listed in the itinerary. There are comprehensive back up and support services throughout the Challenge.

  • Dedicated support team including a cycle tour manager, a fully qualified mechanic, who works with the Cuban national cycle team, and an English speaking local guide.
  • 100% vehicle support. Transfers in air-conditioned coach.
  • Luggage and spare parts carried on support vehicle.
  • 4L of bottled water per cyclist per cycling day.
  • Detailed route descriptions and daily briefing sessions.
  • Hotel accommodation equivalent to 2/3/4 star standard and all, except one, have swimming pools.
  • Full board, except 2 lunches & 2 evening meals. Pack lunch on cycle days.
  • Special invitation to participate in the May Day Rally in Plaza de la Revolución addressed by Raúl Castro.
  • Specialist visits to Teatro Miramar restoration project, a school for visually impaired children, a health care centre, a primary school and a neighbourhood community project.
  • Guided cultural and historical visits, including Casa de la Música, a traditional Cuban music venue, Trinidad city tour, Che Guevara’s mausoleum, Tren Blindado, Bay of Pigs and a walking tour of Old Havana, a UNESCO World Heritage site.
  • Celebratory evening meal at the end of the challenge.

What is not included: Cuban Tourist Card, currently £15, travel insurance, Havana airport departure tax (CUC25 as at May 2011), single room supplement if required (£150 per person) and any services not listed as included.

Go on, grab the experience of a lifetime and register today. When you are cycling through a beautiful rural Cuban landscape by day and dancing to an intoxicating salsa rhythm by night you won’t regret it. Cycle Cuba Challenge is a great way to be involved in delivering essential educational equipment direct to young visually impaired Cuban school children.

After receipt of your registration fee we will send you:

  • Sponsorship forms and a detailed fundraising pack including ideas and suggestions to help you reach your sponsorship goal.
  • A suggested training schedule.
  • Cycle Cuba Challenge T-shirt.
  • An information dossier including recommended kit list.

CYCLE CUBA CHALLENGE 2012 ITINERARY

Day 1. Havana. Transfer to Hotel Plaza in Old Havana.

Day 2. Santa Clara. Introductions to the Challenge Support Team and initial briefing meeting. Transfer to historic city of Santa Clara, where the legendary Che Guevara victoriously intercepted a government troop train in 1958 and heralded an end to the dictator Batista. We will be visiting Tren Blindado, the dramatic and evocative bronze statue of Che Guevara, which dominates the Plaza de la Revolución, and Che’s revered mausoleum. Later we will test ride our bikes.

Day 3. Santa Clara to Hanabanilla. 54km. The first day’s cycling includes some steep climbs and descents heading towards the Escambray Mountains. The landscape is dotted with tall majestic royal palms and Tiñosas, turkey vultures, soaring overhead on the thermal currents. We visit a Policlínico, a local health care centre, and see first hand some of Cuba’s many achievements in the field of health care. One final demanding climb takes us up to Lake Hanabanilla.

Day 4. Hanabanilla to Cienfuegos. 53km. We start with a steep descent. The day is marked by sweet smelling citrus groves and busy, bustling market towns of this rich agricultural region. A quintessential Cuban landscape with small bohíos (farmhouses) and guajiros (farmers) tending their fields with ox drawn ploughs. In the evening we have an invitation to attend an informal meeting with the Committee for the Defence of the Revolution (CDR) with local families, from grandparents to grandchildren. After welcoming speeches, we will have the opportunity to chat with local families and gain a valuable insight into present day Cuban society and take our first tentative salsa steps.

Day 5. Cienfuegos to Bay of Pigs. 89km. The longest day along a slightly undulating route. Cycling along the single main streets of small rural villages we pass Cuban grandparents, sitting on the verandas of their wooden houses, exchanging memories. Maize dries on the pavements in the hot sun. We share the road with tractors, oxen and shy, smiling cowboys on a cattle drive.

Day 6. Cienfuegos to Guajimico. 52km. Leaving Cienfuegos we take a rollercoaster road and head inland. There is ample opportunity to sample local homemade Cuban foods and drinks at roadside stalls including guarapa (sugar cane juice), a natural energy booster. You will not be able to get enough into your bike bottle; so drink up before moving on.

Day 7. Guajimico to Trinidad. 56km. We join the scenic coastal road as it dips and rises through a landscape of green fields and grazing cattle. The Sierra del Escambray rises ridge upon ridge on our left hand side and the turquoise waters of the Caribbean lap the shore to our right. We pass several deserted sandy beaches where fishing boats, rustic beach huts and local fishermen’s lobster pots line the water’s edge. At the beach lunch stop you will have time to enjoy the ultimate hedonistic cycling experience; leaning your bike against a palm tree, take a dip in the Caribbean and enjoy a rapid spin dry back in the saddle. After an exhilarating 315kms and 5 amazing days in the saddle we reach the finishing line on the Caribbean beach. In the evening we make a celebratory visit to Escaleras, a traditional live Cuban music venue, to listen to those intoxicating salsa rhythms and add some new steps to our rapidly expanding repertoire.

Day 8. Escambray Mountains. Out of the saddles today, we hike deep into the Escambray Mountains. The terrain is hilly as we trek through the thickly forested National Park with opportunity to glimpse the shy Tocororo, Cuba’s national bird. Passing through an area of coffee plantations we take a final steep descent to a plunging, steep sided waterfall. On our return we take a short walking tour of Trinidad’s picturesque plazas, quiet inner courtyards and cobbled streets.

Day 9. Havana. An early morning transfer to Havana, where we take a fascinating walking tour of Old Havana, a UNESCO World Heritage Site, with many impressively restored colonial buildings and historic sites.

Day 10. Havana. The group has a special invitation to join over a million Cubans taking part in the May Day celebrations, one of the most important events in the Cuban political calendar. A truly inspiring event in Plaza de la Revolución with its iconic images of Che Guevara and Camilo Cienfuegos. After a free afternoon for further independent exploration of this fascinating capital city, we celebrate a tremendous group achievement at an authentic Cuban restaurant and have an optional opportunity to visit a glitzy nightclub to relax and enjoy the salsa magic of Havana.

Day 11. Havana. We attend a donation presentation at Abel Santamaría School for visually impaired children where we have the opportunity to meet staff and students and see first hand how the educational equipment will be used. We are guaranteed a rousing reception and gifted musical performance from the school salsa band. Mid afternoon transfer to the airport for the return flight, arriving London Gatwick the following day.