I remembered to grab my video camera before taking off for a ride, and this time I stop in at Mocha Spoke for another segment in our “Grenada by Bike” feature.

Please excuse the fact that I cut off the top of my head once again in the video.  I either need to practice centering my face I the shot, or hire a camera person.  Anyone wish to apply?

I was out repping #bikeschool in this video and stopped in to show you the beginning stages of Mocha Spoke.

Here’s another edition of our Grenada By Bike feature in which we highlight a different aspect of Grenada as seen from a bicycle.  This time around I stopped just West of the capital city of St. George’s to capture a cruise ship in at port.

It’s said that the cruise ship industry injects nearly $2 billion a year into the economies of the Caribbean, so you can easily imagine what these floating hotels mean to an island like Grenada.

Enjoy Your Ride.  Bike Grenada.

My friend Victor from Bicycle Lab and the Cycling 360 Podcast told me that he’d really like to see some video of what it’s like biking around Grenada.  He’s a wise man (he is a guru after all) so I’m taking his advice and today’s post is the start of our new Grenada By Bike feature at Loving the Bike.

When I’m on my road bike it’s all about the training so I decided to take Tina Turner (my commuter) out for a spin so I could grab some shots of me riding around.  The roads are the same ones I road bike on and maybe one of these days I’ll even take the camera out on a training ride as well.

Here’s a first look at Grenada By Bike…be sure to keep tuning in for more in this feature, and also let me know if there’s anything in particular you’d like to see me film while out for a ride.

If you don’t yet have plans for Christmas, and would like to spend the week of December 23 to 30th on the beautiful Caribbean island of Grenada….we’ve got a fantastic bike adventure for you.

As you know, I’m now living on the island of Grenada and running a bicycle cafe, tour, and rental business.  Along with this, we also put on kick butt triathlon camps from time to time.  Our big one is taking place at the end of March, and I’ll have more details on that very soon, but today I wanted to tell you about a little cycling holiday opportunity that just came up.

We’ve got one person coming in for the week of December 23rd to do some mountain bike and open water swim training with us.  He’s getting ready for the Escape from Alcatraz Triathlon and needs to put in some quality time on the bike and in the water.

We’ve set him up with a great package consisting of accommodations, bike rental, airport transfers, coaching (bike and swim), and a bunch of other good stuff.  It’s totally a last-minute thing, but we’d love to have you come join us as well.

Check American Airlines or Caribbean Airlines to get a flight, but the rest of it is all looked after by us……and you just have to know that you’ll be looked after beautifully.

Does spending the holidays on this amazing Caribbean island, riding bikes  and chilling out sound good to you?  Let’s do it.

Package Prices

The packages below include accommodations (7 nights including all taxes), airport transfers, Jamis Trail X2 Mountain Bike rental, Training (some just pointing you in the right direction, some with Darryl, some with Marc DeCaul and the Grenada Triathlon team), and more.  We can also set you up with good rates on tours or anything else you’d like to do while in Grenada.

(You’re also welcome to bring your personal road or mountain bike with you….take US$100 off the package price if you bring your own)

We have listed prices based on single and double occupancy (bring someone with you or get paired up in a room)

Option 1: Grenada Gold

2 Bedroom Apartment

Apartment has a fully equipped kitchen—stove, fridge, microwave, and all cooking and dining utensils—dining table and chairs, comfortable lounge area with sofa and coffee table. Care has been taken to provide comfortable beds from the IKEA deluxe range, as well as modern sun-block blinds. All bathrooms have a power shower. In the lounge is a flat-screen TV with over 25 cable channels. Each apartment has air-conditioned bedrooms and its own small verandah. Linens and towels are provided for you.

Total Package Price       – US$1,309.00 Single Occupancy

                                                  – US$789.00 per person Double Occupancy

Option 2: True Blue Resort

Standard Room

Includes balconies or patios facing the Bay and surrounded by gardens, these spacious rooms are decorated in Caribbean colors with teak furnishings and have fully equipped kitchenette, Cable TV, phone, ceiling fans and A/C. Option for king bed or two single beds.

Daily Continental breakfast buffet included

Total Package Price     – US$2,289.00 Single Occupancy

                                                – US$1,289.00 per person Double Occupancy

Option 2A: True Blue Resort 

Waterfront Suite

By the water’s edge, specially designed to bring the natural beauty of True Blue Bay into a room full of Caribbean comfort and leisure. Featuring tropical designed furnishing, indulgent fabrics and easy going colours, these two level suites have relaxing living room, kitchen, dining area and generous balcony with comfy furnishings on the lower floor. The upper level has a queen bed, ample bathroom with shower and an intimate veranda with cozy outdoor chairs to seat and enjoy the astounding panoramic view of the Bay.

Daily Continental breakfast buffet included

Total Package Price     – US$2,889.00 Single Occupancy

                                                – US$1,589.00 per person Double Occupancy

Christmas 2012 is going to be a whole lot of bikey fun and we’d sure love to spend it with you.  If you have any questions or would like to book your Grenada bike holiday, please contact me directly at darryl@lovingthebike.com.

Today’s guest post comes from Deb Keiser.  She is a New York-based journalist who wrote this article about one of my favorite places on Earth, so I just had to post it. Formerly a staff travel writer for the New York Daily News, Deb contributes regularly to newspapers and magazines of the Hearst Conn. Media Group.

Nevis, A Mountain Biker’s Honeymoon

- by Deb Keiser

For years I had dreamed that if ever again I should tie the knot, it would be on the tiny and exclusive island of Nevis, wedding capital of the Caribbean in the West Indies. Nestled close to her sister island, St. Kitts, Nevis has long been a wedding-honeymoon destination – a private tropical paradise where couples stroll hand in hand on quiet beaches and stay at high-end resorts that make honeymoons very sweet.

But dreams change, and so has Nevis. Now, although she is still full of romance, she’s getting active and welcoming a whole new set of suitors.

In November, I made the trip with my boyfriend, David Wilson, but instead of a wedding dress, I packed my cycling gear – bike helmet, shoes and pedals, as well as some new bike jerseys. With Nevis Peak, a volcanic crater, looming high in the center of the island, Nevis is a perfect spot for cycling enthusiasts who want to explore lush mountain trails that once connected sugar cane plantations in the 1700s.

Yes, David and I were in Nevis for a week of mountain biking, not a wedding, and we arrive with a flourish that sets us apart from other visitors.

We fly from New York to St. Kitts, and then, under an open blue sky and a huge horizon, take a water taxi across the narrow channel that separates the two islands of this Federation. We get a good Nevis welcome: choice of Ting (local soda pop) or beer. This boat is moving fast, and it was a long trip. I go for the beer.

Our destination is Nisbet Plantation Beach Club, a historic resort that combines new guest cottages with restored colonial buildings. This was once the property of Lord Horatio Nelson who was in power in the late 18th century, when the British ruled.

But first, we make our way to Oualie Beach right off the dock to find Wheel World, the island’s rental shop, and its owner, Winston Crooke, a tall, sophisticated man with a British accent and legs of steel, who has been expecting us. His shop has a good selection of Trek bikes, and with international triathlete Reggie Douglas who will be on hand as our guide, there can be no better combination.

Although Nisbet Plantation has sent a driver and a van to collect us and our luggage, David and I determine that it would be much more fun to start riding straight away and make the two-mile ride to Nisbet on bike. Crooke cocks his head, and shoots us a broad smile when we announce our plan, and then gives us the thumbs up. “Of course, sure, why not!” he says. “I am not sure it’s been done before, but let’s do it.”

Reggie Douglas, James Weeks, and Winston Crooke

We change into our cycling shorts and shoes, and are quickly outfitted for our bikes. The driver grabs our bags, and we take off on a well-paved winding road, being careful to remember that here, since this was once a British colony, you ride with the motorists on the left side of the road.

We are the first ever – so we are told later -  to arrive by bike at the sixth best hotel in the world for 2010, and the Caribbean’s top hotel according to Travel + Leisure’s 2011 rankings of The World’s Top 25 Hotels.

The beautifully restored Great House, which dates back to 1778, is our first impression of Nisbet Plantation as we arrive, an awesome colonial mansion where Lord Nelson entertained, and where guests also feel like royalty as they savor the fine cuisine and enjoy outstanding service during dinner and as they enjoy tea in the afternoon.

We park our bikes on some waiting bike racks, and make our way to our cottage, one of 36 units on the plantation. It borders the Avenue of the Palms, a breezy expanse of manicured lawn that runs right down to the ocean, which our patio faces. Behind us, Nevis Peak and its clouds provide an unparalleled vista. This may not be our honeymoon, but it sure is beginning to feel like paradise.

Dinner is outstanding, and the cocktails couldn’t be better. I feel as though I could live forever, but knowing we ride tomorrow, we turn in early, and sleep like babes.

After breakfast the next morning at Coconuts, an open-air pavilion overlooking the pool and beach, we get started. Reggie with his dreadlocks and easy manners meets us, puts us at ease, and shows us the Nevis that we came to see. He is an island hero, and cheers of “Reggie, Reggie” follow us everywhere as we ride with him.

We begin on the road that runs around the island, but he soon veers off and we find ourselves on grassy trails that take us to the hills of the interior. I am not an advanced rider, so I am careful and hesitant. Reggie has been talking and laughing with us, but watching us, too, estimating our ability on the trails. The terrain, after all, for me is challenging. But soon I realize that he knows better than I do exactly what I can handle.

We go off road, I navigate well enough to feel comfortable, and we head to Cottle Church, built in 1824 by an Anglican priest to allow slaves and their owners to worship together. Now in ruins, the church beckons, and we put our bikes down. I look skyward where once a roof stood, and feel the sacredness of this place. We get very quiet as a breeze blows through the air, and I say a prayer of thanks for being here.

Another highlight of the trip puts us on bike trails that take us through pastoral fields of high grass, and Winston Crooke is with us for this ride. Soon, a decision must be made. Do I take the easy route, or challenge myself? Why make the trip if not for a challenge, right? So we head uphill. The ruts are deep, the road rocky. I am working as hard as I can to keep the bike upright and moving, and we ultimately get to a quarry called Maddens Estate. With the guidance of world-class riders Winston and Reggie, I get the advice I need to ride through the sand without incident. It is the best lesson I ever had.

Soon we are back on the road. I’ve done it. The rest is cake. Eventually I ask at what level I am riding, and the answer makes me smile: intermediate, and here, in Nevis, that’s worth something.

Reggie gives us a history of the island as we pass old sugar mills, and we learn why Nevis was called Queen of the Caribbean: in the 16th to 18th centuries, she once was one of the area’s biggest sugar producers. This ride is worth every bead of sweat – and there are more than a few – as we are rewarded with a view of the Atlantic from an area called the Potworks, once an estate. The island’s medical school is nearby.

On another day, we visit old plantations, now boutique hotels. The killer bee, as Reggie calls it, is Zion Hill, a road that takes us to Golden Rock plantation, which has a honeymoon suite in a sugar mill. A stop at Montpelier Hotel is next, and then with a sense of accomplishment, we head back to Nisbet, where we have booked a massage for two in the Palms Spa. David and I may not be on our honeymoon, but here in Nevis, we are in paradise.

For more information on cycling in St. Kitts and Nevis, feel free to contact me or check out the following websites:

www.neviscycleclub.com

kathrynbertine.com/cyclist/st-kitts-and-nevis-cycling-federation

www.nevisisland.com

I’ve had some pretty cool jobs in my time, but nothing can compare to the position of Mountain Bike Tour Guide that I once held….oh, and I should also mention that this job was located on the Caribbean island of St. Kitts.

Okay, so having a job that puts you on the seat of a bike has got to be enough to make it the best one ever all on it’s own, but there was so much more to it as well.  The bike tours were catered to the cruise ship passengers who had just arrived on the island and had chosen a bike tour as their option for the day.  We’d get everything from hardcore cyclists to others who looked like they’d never been on a bike a day in their lives.  But no matter who they were, we would have a fantastic time with them.

One of the things that made the tours so great was that I did them along with one of my best friends in the world…..Royston.  He’s been my good friend since I first went to St. Kitts and was even the best man at my wedding, and hanging out at work with my best buddy made things extra special.

I also liked the instant gratification that came with doing the bike tours.  Seeing the smiles on peoples faces and befriending everyone while riding through cane fields and trails was one of the best perks that came with the job.  Of course, having them hand you a nice fat tip before heading back to the ship was a pretty great instant gratification as well.

Working in your element along with your best friend also brings out about as much fun that can possibly be had. Each tour was a bucket full of good times.  Along the tour we would make several stops and give people historical facts about the island, but Royston and I always had a way of making the facts really fun and goofy.  You see, each tour one of us would cycle in front and lead the group while the other would drive the support vehicle behind….and then we’d switch off for the next one.  Well, on the tours that I biked and Royston drove we’d make people laugh with our Plantation House history lesson. We’d tell them about life on the plantation, the slaves, and the eventual abolishment of slavery. Then I’d go on to say that the locals are making up for it now by making the white dude sweat it out here on the bike while my partner relaxes in his truck (see the photo on the right to help you get the joke).

So what was your best job ever?  Did it have anything to do with cycling?  Let us hear all about it.

It might be a tiny little island, but the Caribbean island of St. Kitts is home to some of the West Indies best cycling. Actually, it’s sister island Nevis is pretty dang good for cycling as well.  The area of the twin-islands is 261 square kilometers (101 square miles), with St. Kitts occupying 168 square kilometers (65 square miles) and Nevis 93 square kilometers (36 square miles).  Yeah, it’s that small.  To put it in perspective, imagine it as being approximately 1.5 times the size of Washington, D.C.

One of the good cycling friends I had while living there was Shannon who was on the island attending Ross University School of Vet Med.  She spent three years on the island and totally ripped up the pavement while she was there.  Not a pro….but definitely one of the strongest female riders I’ve ever seen.  Below is a question/answer session I recently had with Shannon:

Loving the Bike: When you found out that you’d be going to St. Kitts for Vet school, did you know it would be a good place for cycling?

Shannon: No,  in fact I heard from people that it was not a good place to cycle due to the narrow roads.

Loving the Bike:  How did you find that out?

Shannon: Soon after arriving  I bought a used mountain bike to commute to school and the grocery store.  I soon found friends that encouraged me to ride around the island.  From then on I was hooked.  After a year of racing triathlons and cycling races on my mountain bike I was able to get a good deal on a road bike.  That is when the real fun began!

Loving the Bike: What was your level of cycling like prior to going to St. Kitts?

Shannon: I had done a cross country norther USA bike tour with a few friends.  I also had jumped into a few collegiate road races when I was injured  and could not run while at Cornell.

Loving the Bike: What was your level of cycling like by the time you left St Kitts?

Shannon: By the time I left I was not only doing triathlons but had also done many road races of varying distances up to 75 miles.  I had traveled to other islands for international races.

Loving the Bike: What were the best things about riding in St. Kitts/Nevis?

Shannon: The great weather, and beautiful country.  Doing a “loop” of the country was such an amazing ride (33 Miles), sometiimes I would even do it two or three times

Loving the Bike: What were the worst?

Shannon: The crazy buses that passed you going super fast on a curve and there was no shoulder.

Loving the Bike: Tell me about the competitions you took part in while in St. Kitts?

Shannon: There was a race (triathlon or local biking race) almost every weekend.  These were a lot of fun, great people and beautiful courses.  Nevis, especially put on a large number of cycling races that were open to people of all levels.  I would highly recommend participating in these to anyone.

In addition I  participated in longer races on other islands. For example,  a 75 mile road race both on Anguilla and on Tortola.  Anguilla was amazing  but I was disapointed as they changed the prize money for men versus women and were very macho on there thoughts despite my placing.  Tortola, also an amazing place. However,  I was hit by a car during my race there so  my experience became  less then desirable.

Loving the Bike: Don’t I remember you also getting hit by a goat once?

Shannon: Hahahaha.  Yes I did get hit by a goat during a triathlon on Nevis.   In the rain, coming  down a hill around a corner there was a whole herd of free range goats in the road,  try as I might my reaction time was not good enough.  I flipped over my handle bars.  The goat was fine and ran off.  I had cracked my helmet and my brakes were rubbing but i did get up and finish the race and still managed second place.

Loving the Bike: What tips or advice would you give to someone who’s planning to go cycling in St. Kitts?

Shannon: Make sure you ride both the island loop and the peninsula, they are both so beautiful!  Be careful with the free range animals in the road.

Loving the Bike: What are you currently doing with cycling?

Shannon: I am training for duathlon world chanmpionship in Spain and I have been recruited by an all women’s cycling team in TN.  Using the nutritional cleanse system has allowed me to heal from my injuries and come back even stronger then before.

Shannon has a lot of expertise on cycling, St. Kitts, and Living a Healthy Lifestyle…if you’d like to contact her with any questions she can be reached at scf7@hotmail.com or at her website, http://www.DrShannonDawkins.isagenix.com.