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SubMann
12-16-2009, 06:43 PM
I went to Costa Rica for a well deserved break. I couldn't help myself and had to rent a bike. No one else in my party rode so I did some local forays into the country to terrorize the locals.

http://www.dualsportbc.com/photogallery/data/787/115P1040172.JPG

I emailed Wild Rider in San Jose and they said they would have a bike for me. I showed up and since all of their bikes were out, they bought a new DRZ400S for my riding pleasure. Thanks guys!

This was my base camp in Jaco (rhymes with taco and the 'J' is an 'H'). mmm tacos...


http://www.dualsportbc.com/photogallery/data/787/115IMGP3803.JPG


The roads are brutal. What it took a 4x4 many hours to cover, I'd blast through in just a few minutes. As usual for tropical countries the roads are very twisty with steep drop-offs and spectacular views.

http://www.dualsportbc.com/photogallery/data/787/115IMGP3822.JPG

Returning to San Jose to drop off the bike and fly home, I came across this wet bit. The map, GPS and bike shop all indicated that this was the route. Umm, no. Time to turn around and find a different route. At one point the road followed a ridge and became very narrow with a steep drop on either side. The two car tracks had collapsed so that there was only the middle strip remaining. I didn't get a photo as my pucker factor was too high. But this linked me up with my river detour and I made it back to San Jose in time for my flight. Whew!


http://www.dualsportbc.com/photogallery/showphoto.php?photo=17927&sort=1&cat=500http://www.dualsportbc.com/photogallery/data/787/115IMGP3819.JPG


So that's it, just a couple of days blasting around. Would I return and do more riding? In a second! It is cheap, reasonably safe and the locals are friendly and accommodating. Once off the beaten path there is very little English though.

bajaman
12-16-2009, 07:08 PM
Nice...:tup:

Buck
12-16-2009, 08:23 PM
I can see it's safe by the razor wire in the first pic. ;)

koots_roots
12-18-2009, 02:42 PM
looks nice. how much a day to rent in CR? i was just in ecuador for a month and rented a bike down there ($70 for a DRZ for one day, pretty steap IMO). met a bunch of locals that were trying to import from the states cause prices were steep for imports there.

there was some incredibly scenic roads and single track though, i definately want to go back, but next time hopefully with my own bike or rent for a few weeks.

SubMann
12-18-2009, 08:15 PM
It was $80/day which I thought was pretty good. There is no mileage limit. The road can beat up a bike pretty fast. Renting a KTM 450 EXC in Moab is over $200 a day. Now that is steep!

koots_roots
12-19-2009, 08:49 AM
SubMann wrote:
It was $80/day which I thought was pretty good. There is no mileage limit. The road can beat up a bike pretty fast. Renting a KTM 450 EXC in Moab is over $200 a day. Now that is steep!

yea, its all relative i guess. when you can get a nice room for $5 a night, $70 a day for a bike seemed steep at the time, but whatever it was worth it and id def. do it again.