Puerto Rico Explored: Cycling 800km Around The Island of Enchantment

Рет қаралды 4,433

Күн бұрын

In this captivating video, join me on my first international bike trip, an unforgettable bike camping and travel adventure exploring the enchanting island of Puerto Rico. From the rugged mountain trails to the pristine beaches, I embark on a 800km journey, immersing myself in the rich culture, stunning landscapes, and the resilient spirit of the Puerto Rican people.
Witness the beauty of Puerto Rico as I pedal through vibrant towns, camp on picturesque beaches, and discover hidden gems along the way. Encounter the hauntingly beautiful abandoned buildings that tell stories of the island's past, and marvel at the natural wonders that make Puerto Rico a true paradise.
Through this video, I hope to inspire you to step out of your comfort zone, embark on your own adventures, and embrace the beauty and diversity of our world. Join me as we explore the Island of Enchantment together, and let the magic of Puerto Rico captivate your heart.
Don't forget to like, comment, and subscribe to my channel for more exciting bike camping and travel content!
- Jordan(they/them)
Instagram: / jordanvegbike
Twitter: / jordanvegbike
Strava: / strava
Twitch: / jordanvegbike
0:00 Intro and San Juan
1:48 Time to Hit the Road
2:54 Cycling and Road Safety
3:19 Mar Chiquita
4:22 Arecibo and Isabella
5:58 Aguadilla and Rincón
7:12 Abandoned Beauty
9:07 Traversing The Salt Farm
9:57 The Lighthouse
10:46 Onwards to Salinas
12:00 Trails and an Old Bowling Alley
12:56 Ferry Ride and Island Getaway
13:35 Exploring Vieques and Saying Goodbye
#BikeCamping #bikepacking #biketour #puertorico #vegancyclist

Пікірлер: 70

@LuisAngel64 Жыл бұрын

Hello Jordan, I was waiting for your video, I help you carry your bike at the Airport while i was waiting for my ride, I enjoy the video very much, you visited places that I haven't visit yet in spite that I born and raised in Puerto Rico, Thank you for visiting Us and show the World that my Island is rich in culture and that we have beautiful beaches and of course delicious food... Welcome back again anytime... Once again, Welcome to Puerto Rico...

@JordanVegBike 10 ай бұрын

Luis! Thank you so much! You were one of the first people I interacted with while I was here, a great warm welcome to this beautiful place. Thank you so much for being kind and I'm really glad you enjoyed the video and appreciated how it showed your home. Thank you again.

@anibal4381 4 ай бұрын

WOAAOOOO.......!!!! I just want to say thank you for such a beautiful video, it was AMAZING! You just made me realize how much i miss my island. I'm from Rincon and haven't been there for 26 years. Thanks again.

@JordanVegBike 3 ай бұрын

Rincon is so beautiful! I'm glad it gave you a bit of home nostalgia, definitely worth a visit back if you can!

@jrsanchez6603 6 ай бұрын

First of all basketpacking is where its at! A tip-of-the-cap to you sir!.. I left the island 36 years ago as a kid. After watching your vid I've decided to go back and travel in a bike at the place where I first learned to ride a bike. Thank you and thanks to the algorithm for bringing me here. Borinquen me llama.

@JordanVegBike 3 ай бұрын

I love that so much! I hope your travel and adventures go well and you have a great time reconnecting with your home. Muchas gracias y buen viaje!

@JayVariety 7 ай бұрын

Absolutely amazing

@JordanVegBike 3 ай бұрын

thank you, glad you enjoyed :)

@robinpacheco5334 3 ай бұрын

Thank you for this. It’s refreshing to see my home through the lens of such good visual storytelling, all the way from the mainland United States where most of us Boricuas have moved to because of the hardships you described in the video. Blessings!

@JordanVegBike 3 ай бұрын

thank you for the nice words. Hopefully PR has a bright future.

@raulmemoirs 6 ай бұрын

You did an amazing job in showcasing the beauty and diversity of my island in 16 minutes. But I want people to know that there is so much more to offer! The center of the island which is where the mountains are is beautiful! I hope you enjoyed! And thank you for visiting my hometown, Arecibo.

@JordanVegBike 4 ай бұрын

thank you! I definitely regret not exploring the center of the island. If I had more time and stronger legs for all of the hills I know it would have been an amazing experience as well.

@MyLoganTreks 3 ай бұрын

Yes! Hopefully his second trip will take him through the beautiful waterfalls and mountains of Ciales... I want him to speed cruise to Mar Chiquita. Besides less cars and traffic if he goes through the Central Mountains. Plan the group ride in June for Pride!

@cryder106 Ай бұрын

❤ omg someone made a video of what i was just thinking! Love this for you!

@mackymaca 8 ай бұрын

Lovely content!

@JordanVegBike 7 ай бұрын

Glad you think so!

@gpardoch 9 ай бұрын

impressive video! great job

@JordanVegBike 9 ай бұрын

thank you so much!

@beezub4311 2 ай бұрын

Loved the story ! BTW, great production ! I've seen lots of bike tour vids - this def stands out

@duzer Жыл бұрын

Right on! This is great.

@JordanVegBike Жыл бұрын

hey Ryan! Thank you very much! Hope your trips are going well, as well :)

@cryder106 Ай бұрын

I hope i get to do this one day❤

@Crazy.lobster. 11 ай бұрын

Awesome dude,thanks for sharing

@JordanVegBike 10 ай бұрын

glad you enjoyed! :)

@victorcollazo3951 Жыл бұрын

Wow this guy Single handedly beat any commercial that the local DMO can produce. Good job Jordan! Thanks for coming to PR... I hope cycling takes off on the island. P.s. PR is not international travel for US citizens. But I think I saw a red maple 🍁 somewhere

@JordanVegBike Жыл бұрын

hey Victor thank you very much for your kinds words, I'm glad I was able to do this place justice of sorts. I really hope cycling continues to get more and more popular in PR! and yup, I'm from Vancouver, Canada :P

@corcaa Жыл бұрын

LOVE IT! Gracias Jordan!

@JordanVegBike Жыл бұрын

Thank you!! I'm really glad you enjoyed it :)

@cyrusf.4039 Жыл бұрын

Great work Jordan. I especially liked your drone shots. Very impressive.

@JordanVegBike Жыл бұрын

thank you, Cyrus. The drone is definitely the (relatively) heavy thing I carry that I only use a few times during a trip but definitely am usually happy I brought it.

@antoniocorigliano68 Жыл бұрын

Amazing video…bravo ciao da Milano Italy 👋🏻👋🏻

@JordanVegBike 10 ай бұрын

thank you!

@rustybrockmann2344 8 ай бұрын

Hi Jordan, I just rewatched this one and wondered if you had any difficulty eating vegan on the trip. Also, how much time do you spend alone? How do you deal with the inevitable fears that arise on these trips? Did you wild camp every night? Enough questions, I loved this one and admire your willingness to test your limits and experience the unknown. Stunning photography and editing along with a lovely choice of music to accompany the images. Thank you for sharing another wonderful video.

@JordanVegBike 7 ай бұрын

I'm going to get canceled for this but I thought the food in Puerto Rico wasn't *that* special. A lot of westernized fast food and animal products. The meal highlights were for sure the more latin, caribbean and black inspo. Plantains, beans, etc. Most of my time was alone! (The more solitude I have, the better my videos tend to be :P Definitely isolating at times. Partially why I liked Vieques at the end because the town at the south (Esperanza) because it was like a tourist hotspot and being social there was really easy. Besides the hotel in San Juan, I got one Airbnb in Ponce (after a bad previous night of sand flea things) as well as a hotel the night after that. (The beach area I planned to go to ended up being way more marsh-like than expected and it reminded me of the beach with the sandfleas. Wild camping is an interesting term. Puerto Rico has a bunch of these public, state park/beach areas that seem like they were originally built and developed a few decades ago as almost state-owned and operated beach condos/bungalows. Most of them seemed to be in various states of abandonment or disrepair, likely because of hurricanes, recession and other economic forces. Glad you enjoyed!

@CanadianSledDog Жыл бұрын

Sweet video, great way to explore a new place! Beachpacking is the best.

@JordanVegBike 10 ай бұрын

so nice! I wish I actually found more continuous beach routes but my tires weren't quite ideal for that.

@CanadianSledDog 10 ай бұрын

@@JordanVegBike sand and snow are my favorites that's why a plus or fat bike is the bike for me!

@Jean-jk4zv 10 ай бұрын

Wonderful ❤ Bike check please we are curious what’s the frame ?

@JordanVegBike 10 ай бұрын

glad you enjoyed! It's a Fairdale Weekender Nomad.

@edzeppelin933 Жыл бұрын

I'm heading on a quick bikepacking overnighter tomorrow. I was losing a bit of interest in it. Watching this helped to rekindle my motivation and inspired me to just take my time and enjoy it. Thanks Jordan. I always enjoy your videos.

@JordanVegBike Жыл бұрын

Ed love that, hope it went well!

@wilfridolleras4215 8 ай бұрын

Great job! I would've liked to see a more lengthy video. For those who are thinking of doing a bike ride like this, you'd better be in shape. When I was a youngster I attempted to pedal a bike to my home uphill, but wound up walking the bike up the mountain instead of riding it. No easy task. Thanks, Jordan. You obviously have great filming tools.

@JordanVegBike 7 ай бұрын

There was definitely one major hill that I had to walk up, winding up this jungle while it rained. Not the most fun part of the trip! Longer videos sounds great, I try to balance out what is interesting vs. boring/less wide appeal. What would you like to see in a longer video? More of me talking, more details about specific places, gear, route, etc? Let me know!

@codak604 Жыл бұрын

Very inspiring, well done!

@JordanVegBike Жыл бұрын

thank you very much!

@veggyeater 8 ай бұрын

The view and the amount of effort is astonishing. But considering that it is in the south, have you encountered tribulus rerrestris, a noxious weed that busts bicycle tubes? Here in Kuban i am paranoid about it all the time, so i dont ride over the grass

@JordanVegBike 7 ай бұрын

ooooh I had one major puncture which was like a large needle/thorn that was basically a nail. I don't know what kind of plant it originated from, though. Maybe that's the one?

@veggyeater 7 ай бұрын

@@JordanVegBike pretty much like it, hope it wasnt much of a bother to you

@marcosvazquez5512 Жыл бұрын

that nest thing you were talking about is a termite nest.

@JordanVegBike Жыл бұрын

thought so, thanks Marcos!

@GrindThisGame Жыл бұрын

Great editing on this one. Really sets a calm vibe.

@JordanVegBike Жыл бұрын

thank you very much! Calm isn't always what the algorithm wants but it's what I want so oh well :)

@micahkraus3997 8 ай бұрын

Hi Jordan - thank you for creating this video about your adventure on PR. You've inspired me to do a similar ride and I'm wondering if you would be willing to share more thoughts and insights now that some time has passed? Currently I'm most interested in three things: 1. Road conditions when riding on the coast. Was it annoying to ride on coastal roads or was the traffic pretty quiet? 2. Gravel roads. I see lots of dotted lines on my RideWithGPS map which gets me excited, but I'm concerned that some of those areas might be private or restricted property. I also don't want to encounter long stretches of loose sand on a loaded bike. Curious if you have insight. 3. General safety. When you were in remote areas did you feel safe? How about when you were in small villages, were people cool? Thanks so much!

@JordanVegBike 7 ай бұрын

Had a longer response which got deleted lol. My RWGPS is in this article: bikepacking.com/news/puerto-rico-explored-video/ Note the dotted sections at the very south west of the island. If they are dotted and coastal they are probably very impacted by storms, specifically sand. There was deep sand for some of that area that required me to push my bike. If you had fat tires you would be okay but anything less required pushing. So maybe try to get some timely and local info when you are there. Otherwise about private roads it probably really depends and I can't see your map. But back to mine there were some private roads I ended up on that seemed very chill, specifically the wind farm (very south and central of PR). I bet there is a lot more gravel and private roads that would be useable but obviously would take a lot more research/local knowledge to find the reliable ones. Drivers were mostly very chill and respectful, though your tolerance may vary. After the first day or two I felt incredibly safe. Some people who lived in some of the towns were more concerned for my safety than I was, but also I got the sense that camping is just not something that people commonly do so I just don't think they had much practical experience and there concerns were probably more fueled by crime reporting in the news than any actual evidence.

@micahkraus3997 8 ай бұрын

Sorry another question - If you were to do this again, would you ride in the same direction? It looks like the prevailing winds are from the east and I'm wondering if it would be better to ride clockwise around the island? I see that's what the Vuelta route does. Thanks again!

@JordanVegBike 7 ай бұрын

I feel like I don't know enough about the wind patterns to say... if Vuelta PR does it the other way they probably have a good reason for doing so... I did enjoy having the option of hitting up Vieques for the last few days... though wish I had time left to go to El Yunque... if you went the other way you could hit up El Yunque early in the trip and not miss it at the end like I had to.

@riskyrax Жыл бұрын

Nice !

@JordanVegBike Жыл бұрын

thank ya!

@joec3247 Жыл бұрын

What kind of bike did you do this on, what did you pack for this adventure? Would love to see a video with these questions answered! Great video 👍🏽

@JordanVegBike Жыл бұрын

good questions! This is a Fairdale Weekender gravel bike. The packing question is one I've received in the past, so definitely time to make a video about it specifically. Glad you enjoyed! :)

@VeganTwosome Жыл бұрын

Really enjoyed that. Those drone shots were incredible. How was the vegan scene?

@JordanVegBike Жыл бұрын

heya thanks a lot, glad you enjoyed it! I think San Juan had a pretty decent vegan scene (you can probably tell by some of the graphiti). Other places had a few spots every so often. Overall decent but nothing amazing (also things were overall quite pricey, partially because of USD>CDN exchange rate.)

@gaslitworldf.melissab2897 Жыл бұрын

Over a decade ago, I visited the island for just a weekend. I was intrigued by what appeared to be a kind of resilience despite all of the poverty and colorism (so obvious from a tour bus). The divide between visible African and Spanish ancestry was also obvious. Sometimes history doesn't repeat, it just keeps going - having never stopped at all. Nevertheless, it's a place of extreme beauty and I can see why most people want to continue there - even if it means they will ever struggle. I assume that churches, charities and general community offsets the want. That said, as a mid-tone brown American, I have no desire to visit such a place again. The colorism there resembles what I saw in my own US family, and I hated it. it so painful. I can't/won't tolerate it.

@JordanVegBike Жыл бұрын

hey thank you so much for your very well written and insightful comment. I especially liked what you said about history doesn't repeat. Your observations about the power dynamics in Puerto Rico seem fairly accurate and I definitely sympathize with your desire not to want to spend time in a place where that is such a dominant reality.