Published in: Rides
“This trail gets a little singletracky, and after that, I’m not sure… could be a pretty cool path through the jungle. Could be a dead-end,” remarked Jurga, my riding buddy and partner in crime, as she pointed at an orange line on her Wikiloc screen. “Let’s give it a go?”
Armed with mosquito repellent, a vague sense of direction, and the aforementioned Wikiloc map that would sometimes work and mainly wouldn’t, we were scouting backcountry routes in Belize aboard two rental Lifan 250cc dual-sports. In just one week, we’d lead a group of female riders across the entire country, exploring dirt trails, rainforest tracks, caves, and remote places off the beaten path. But first, we needed to understand the lay of the land, test the mud soup sloshing ahead of us, and see just how much abuse the Lifans could take.
Belize is best known for its perfect white sand beaches, Caribbean turquoise blue waters, island resorts, sailing, and world-class diving. It’s a tiny country wedged between Mexico and Guatemala and isn’t exactly famous for motorcycle adventures.
But discovering the undiscovered is precisely what drew us there. Better yet, on dirt bikes. Best of all, in the company of other female riders.
• Girls on Bikes in Belize
Jurga and I have been organizing no-boys-allowed adventures here and there for a couple of years, taking women riders to places where they’d either hesitate to go alone or, as was the case with Belize, aren’t normally considered motorcycling destinations.
The “why” is simple: The world is a big and wondrous place, and exploring its less-known nooks and crannies on dirt bikes is ridiculous fun. The “who” is easy, too: We love riding with other women, giving them a little boost of confidence in an environment where speed or ability to wheelie is irrelevant, and creating meaningful connections. And the “where”: Anywhere remote, muddy, and obscure.
Five fearless adventuresses joined our Belize expedition, including Vanessa Ruck, better known as “The Girl on a Bike.” Vanessa’s story is nothing short of inspirational. She suffered a horrific accident on her bicycle a few years ago when she was struck by a car. Since then, she’s undergone several hip and shoulder reconstructions and years of recovery and physiotherapy to become miraculously even stronger than before. She took up motorcycling during her recovery, first riding street motorcycles, then throwing herself right into the deep end with dirt bikes. Last year, she finished the Romaniacs, one of the most brutal enduro races in the world, and took part in Rallye de Maroc—a Dakar qualifying rally race that can, and does, make grown men cry. In addition to her incredible story of recovery, persistence, and racing record, Vanessa also loves to travel, preferably on dirt bikes. So when we invited her to join the mayhem in Belize, she said “Yes!” without hesitation.
Our other four comrades in the Caribbean and sketchy bike life were Canadians Alana and Golnoosh, Suzanne from the U.S., and Mariska from South Africa. Different skill levels, backgrounds, countries, and one goal—to have as much dirt biking fun as humanly possible and live to tell the tale.
Could this international crew of women riders tackle Belizean mud, heat, and life on Lifans for 12 days? We were about to find out.
• Crocodile-Infested Rivers and Friendly Pythons
Starting our adventure in Hopkins, a small beach town a few hours from Belize City, we headed straight for the rainforest trails crossing the Cockscomb Jaguar Sanctuary, a wild place of jungle greenery and red earth trails that lead deeper into the rainforest.
We didn’t spot any jaguars along the way. Still, Suzanne, a Florida native, managed to pet a friendly python as it crossed the road, earning herself the title of “Snake Whisperer.” We’d been worried whether our riders would do well in the insane heat and humidity. Still, here they were, crossing crocodile-infested creeks like nobody’s business and taming boa constrictors as if they were cute puppies.
Next on the menu was some river tubing and a lunch of tamales by the water. Having finished the first day with a scenic ride to the beach, where Vanessa squeezed a few donuts on the sand out of her Lifan, we headed back to basecamp in Hopkins.
There, our host and bike rental owner Emma—a Swedish ex-pat who’d spent over a decade living and riding Belize—took us for lunch in a traditional Garifuna (descendants of West Africa) restaurant complete with an impromptu night drumming party, where we figured it was high time to try some local ceviche and coconut rum.
• Deeper into the Jungle
We rode north, covering a section of the Hummingbird Highway for the next few days. This is one of Belize’s most scenic roads, meandering across green, rolling hills and crossing Mennonite country. Belize is as diverse culturally as it is spectacular when it comes to landscapes: The Garifuna, Mayan locals, and Spanish influence here mix and merge with ex-pats from North America, Europe, and China, as well as Mennonite communities and just about everyone in between.
Belizean nature is as pristine as its Caribbean Sea coral reefs—the greenery of the rainforest brimming with wildlife is a sight to behold, and the deeper into the jungle you ride, the more you feel like Indiana Jones looking for some long-lost treasure in Mayan temple ruins being carefully guarded by iguanas and howler monkeys.
Along the way, we tackled muddy trails, a few hairy sections of rocky climbs and sketchy wooden bridges, singletrack running through the savannah, and tracks crisscrossing the jungle. Belize is a small country, but the riding delivers no shortage of dirt tracks, paved routes, and plenty of things to see and do.
Massive underground caves, river cruises, Mayan villages with friendly locals, beach towns, snorkeling expeditions, and bioluminescence tours make it an adventure destination on steroids—just as long as you’re willing to put up with mosquitoes, heat, humidity, and unpredictability… lots of it!
Every once in a while, a planned lunch place would be closed for no other reason than that it was Wednesday (or someone’s birthday). Trails would sometimes disappear in the grass or be so washed out we’d need to help each other across; a promising swimming hole would be gated and locked, “air conditioning” in a hotel would mean a rickety little fan or one of the Lifans would suddenly decide to kickstart only.
At the same time, a small opening in the ground would lead into a magnificent stalactite cave no tourists ever get to see; a river cruise captain would turn out to be a poet, and a local indigenous family would invite us to lunch in their home; and a farm stay would offer horseback riding early in the morning just as the sun rises, setting the jungle ablaze with the first light, mist, and dew rising from the damp earth. It was common for the locals to wave and smile, amused by the spectacle of a bunch of women on dirt bikes. And if those things weren’t enough, we’d get to see spectacular waterfalls, scarlet macaws taking flight, and sample delicious local food in the most unexpected places. Belize is still mostly untouched by mass tourism and exploring it from our motorcycle saddles felt like adventure in its purest sense.
• The Lifan Life
Speaking of motorcycles, riding Lifans was a first for all of us. We were aware of the reputation Chinese bikes have in the West, but the funny thing was, those 250s took on anything we threw at them—mud, rocks, creek crossings, tip-overs, overly-enthusiastic clutch abuse, and a lot more. Sure, they’re nowhere near as sprightly as Huskies or Yamahas, but they’re wonderfully forgiving for beginners, stable and reliable on any surface, and capable enough on dirt and gravel roads. That said, long highway miles on the Lifans would be painful, but we weren’t riding Belize for the highways. Instead, we were off exploring the most remote trails we could find, and for that purpose, the Lifans held up brilliantly. We bent some gear shifters and shattered a few handguards, but all in all, they were steady, ready, and fun.
As for our intrepid adventuresses? Jurga and I couldn’t have asked for a better crew. There was no shortage of both the classy and the hilarious, the ballsy and the sweet, the adventurous and the kind—but most of all, it was about the connection and the sisterhood (and, yeah, sweaty boob jokes).
Motorcycling is male-dominated—that’s impossible to deny, so when a group of like-minded women gets together to explore a place like Belize, it’s truly magical. Mixed riding abilities from six different countries united for the love of two-wheeled adventures. The trip saw us helping each other and growing, not just in riding but also in roadside repairs, snake handling, and lots of giggling. I’m not usually one to sway towards women-only motorcycle events or rides—perhaps because of my own expectations of us girls—but there, having experienced a female-only motorcycle trip, I’d do it again. The gals were total badasses, and while I love riding with men, there was a completely new connection, new bond, and an incredibly empowering energy of being a group of capable ladies out in the wild!
“It was an action-packed whirlwind,” Vanessa shared after the tour. And Jurga and I couldn’t have agreed more. It seems this women-only dirt biking business may escalate, as we’re now plotting and scheming another scouting trip to Colombia. Or Thailand. Or both—but likely, we’ll be riding Chinese bikes in weird places again.
As for Belize? It’s a wild and beautiful country, and a place you can’t quite understand unless you spend at least a few weeks trying to pick your way through jungle trails and muddy rainforest on a dirt bike, heading nowhere in particular and everywhere you can get to.
It’s got Mayan origins and Jamaican vibes, remote places and Caribbean islands, improvised drumming parties, smiling locals, and incredible wildlife—both on land and in the sea—and it’s still hard to describe something going on to draw us back again. Perhaps it’s just the mind-boggling greenery. Maybe it’s the touch of pristine wilderness. Or perhaps it’s that elusive sense of freedom and authentic adventure.
• CALLOUT:
If you’re thinking of riding Belize, it’s best to aim for spring or late fall months (keep an eye out for the hurricane season around September-October, while mid-summer can be insanely hot). No visa is required, but you only get thirty days upon entry; you can extend this for another month at the immigration office for $100 per person. In addition to dirt biking, there’s plenty to see and do—caves, river cruises, snorkeling, diving, island hopping, and fishing, so it’s best to plan at least three weeks here to take it all in. Motorcycle rental is available in Hopkins, Belize, and yes, it’s the famed Lifan 250s—but they’re more than enough on Belizean trails.
Eglė Gerulaitytė is a freelance writer on a quest to ride around the world and share her adventures with other riders.
@egleontheroad |
AdventureBound.world
Read more ...
http://adventuremotorcycle.com/rides/moto-adventure-belize