Published on Feb, 2025
I did this by myself with just one guide, Julius, about a week ago. Total time on the bike was about 3 hours, and we were moving at a pretty good pace the whole time. The route took us through a few different villages and there was a ton of stuff to see - mangroves, fish traps, baobabs, cashew trees, small quarries, creeks/streams, livestock, some wildlife, a solar farm & a power plant, and a bunch of other stuff that I'm probably forgetting. Julius was awesome and answered all of the questions I peppered him with along the way.
I'd echo other folks & make sure you're comfortable with the bike up front. There were a few frames to choose from. I found the brakes were weak on the ones I tested, but we were able to tighten them up & test them quickly before we got going (side note - make sure rear brake are solid b/c there are a couple steep downhill sections and a solid rear brake will help make sure you don't flip over the handle bars). I had 0 issues mid-ride, but as others noted, the guide does bring tools along the way & I felt confident they'd be able to fix things up on the fly.
Couple other things:
- This is probably common sense for any tropical/equatorial destination but I would definitely recommend wearing sun block. There were a few sunny, shadeless stretches and if you're pale like me, you'll get absolutely roasted once the UV index climbs.
- Bottle of water was provided, and we stopped for a snack/drink a couple times along the way. I didn't bring any food/drink of my own & I was fine.
- The steep slopes were relatively short. You can probably dismount & walk the bike up/down as needed if this is problematic (ex you're not the strongest rider and/or doing this during the wet season where unpaved roads presumably get slippery)
- Someone left a review a long time ago suggesting this was exploitative or expositional. I want to say I did *not* get this vibe at *all*, and to me this felt like just a normal ride through a neighborhood (though with some excitement from kids about a mzungu passing through)
