Lagoon Bike Tour

We had a great bike tour with Bonaire Wellness yesterday afternoon.  14 riders journeyed out to Lagoon on a nice dirt road east of Antriol.  Then we tried out a new single-track trail that Miguel had just finished creating the day before.

Above, we see Miguel working up a credible Bernard Hinault grimace.

The narrow trail wound it's way among the cacti.  We suffered from a few flat tires, but the fun riding and great views were worth it.

Check out that view in the background.  This loop might even be more interesting when ridden in the reverse direction.  I'll have to try it soon.  So many trails, so little time...

Fly to Bonaire Cheap

A big thank-you to the Bonaire Insider for alerting me to the special sale price Inslel Air has on their Saturday, Miami to Bonaire flight.  I haven't flown this one myself yet, but I know a few people who have done it and liked it.
Between now and Saturday, June 19, the round trip price on the Miami to Bonaire run is only $280!  So,  in the event that I have to zoom up to the States  to see Sandra and her doctors, I'll most likely give Insel Air a try.

Up on the Tower Again

After months of on the ground painting and preparation, there are men up on our antenna towers again these days. They are beginning a four to six month process of replacing all the cross braces on our four towers.  Tower number three is in the worst condition, so that is the one they are working on first. 

They are repairing the places on the tower where the guy wires attach, and then they are going to go back and replace all the braces in between the guy wire points.

The guys were buffeted by 30 mph (48kph) winds, but seemed ok with that.  They had to be careful when raising and lowering the parts, so that they didn't go sailing out into space at the end of the hoist rope. 

 You can see (from left to right) Kevin, Lionel, and Juni installing some new braces.  The places where the bars touch the tower and touch each other haven't been painted yet because all the metal parts in the tower have to make good electrical contact with each other.  The tower is the antenna and the radio signal has to see it as one big unit.  The bare areas will be primed and painted after they are installed bolted down.

Here are a few of the old braces that were just removed from the tower.

Washington Park Bike Tour

As I mentioned back on January 20, I have just spent most every Saturday morning in the wilds of Washington Park during the last two and a half months. I was helping Joost, an intern with the Park, map and clear some new mountain biking trails. We scouted out lots of possible trails and cleared three of them, totaling about 11 kilometers or so of challenging single and double track riding.Joost is now back in Holland finishing up his project report, but last Friday, Miguel, of Bonaire Wellness Connexions, and I peddled a 26km loop in the park that connected all three trails. Then on Sunday morning, Miguel lead a group of 17 intrepid souls on a longer route through the park that also included these new trails.

There were some flat tires, crashes, and one unplanned excursion into the cactus. The trails are very hilly and even the expert riders were exhausted by the end, but the reports I've heard so far about the ride have been enthusiastic.

Miguel has posted lots more pictures from the ride on his Bonaire Wellness web site.

New Bonaire Documentary in the works

Check out the Web page telling about a new documentary in the works about the Bonaire windsurfing kids.
There is a great youtube clip about the movie too.