Los Tornos – Santa Elena – San Luis – Santa Elena – Los Tornos. Note to self: never do this ride when it’s really sunny – wait for clouds, even rain – or stay home and booze.
So, this is a great ride - again for a dirt road ride (not much single track here in Costa Rica) but it does have some monster climbs and descents and if you plan it poorly like I did last week, you will be taking on the monster-est of climbs in the blazing sun……oh, don’t forget it’s like 400 percent humidity too – so if you are not used to it after living in like zero humidity the past 15 years, think twice about this ride Holmes.
Not sure of the mileage of this one but I’m guessing it’s around 25-ish.
The ride from Los Tornos to Santa Elena is pretty strait forward, lots of ups, a few downs, loose rocky shitty roads that this area is known for. From Santa Elena you basically head out of town towards the Monteverde Preserve, but about half way there you will see a small road on your right to San Luis. Take it. It immediately drops into an abyss and is actually paved in a few sections otherwise vehicles would not be able to make this grade if it was loose rock. It’s a great screamin’ downhill that is really easy to loose control – one of those deals where you a cruising along just fine and then you’re like “oh wow, that’s a cool bird” and then you snap out of it and realize you’re going WAY to damn fast and you’re like “sheeeeeeeIEEEEETTTTT!!! – and then you barely pull out of it.
Anyway, at the bottom of this canyon is the small town of San Luis (beer?) where there are a couple of small pulperias (tiny stores usually in somebody’s living room) to get some fuel. Once you cross the river at the center of town you are now in for a treat: about 1.5 hours of non-stop climbing back to Santa Elena. For me last week, it was brutally hot and my legs were actually dripping sweat – so plan accordingly. The halfway (ish) point of this climb is the intersection with the main road from the Pan Amercicana to Santa Elena – hang a right to get back. From this point it’s
less steep but less shade as well. As you are climbing, just remember – there is BEER in Santa Elena, and LOTS of it!
So, this is a great ride - again for a dirt road ride (not much single track here in Costa Rica) but it does have some monster climbs and descents and if you plan it poorly like I did last week, you will be taking on the monster-est of climbs in the blazing sun……oh, don’t forget it’s like 400 percent humidity too – so if you are not used to it after living in like zero humidity the past 15 years, think twice about this ride Holmes.
Not sure of the mileage of this one but I’m guessing it’s around 25-ish.
The ride from Los Tornos to Santa Elena is pretty strait forward, lots of ups, a few downs, loose rocky shitty roads that this area is known for. From Santa Elena you basically head out of town towards the Monteverde Preserve, but about half way there you will see a small road on your right to San Luis. Take it. It immediately drops into an abyss and is actually paved in a few sections otherwise vehicles would not be able to make this grade if it was loose rock. It’s a great screamin’ downhill that is really easy to loose control – one of those deals where you a cruising along just fine and then you’re like “oh wow, that’s a cool bird” and then you snap out of it and realize you’re going WAY to damn fast and you’re like “sheeeeeeeIEEEEETTTTT!!! – and then you barely pull out of it.
Anyway, at the bottom of this canyon is the small town of San Luis (beer?) where there are a couple of small pulperias (tiny stores usually in somebody’s living room) to get some fuel. Once you cross the river at the center of town you are now in for a treat: about 1.5 hours of non-stop climbing back to Santa Elena. For me last week, it was brutally hot and my legs were actually dripping sweat – so plan accordingly. The halfway (ish) point of this climb is the intersection with the main road from the Pan Amercicana to Santa Elena – hang a right to get back. From this point it’s
less steep but less shade as well. As you are climbing, just remember – there is BEER in Santa Elena, and LOTS of it!
