Robin Williams once said “ is the closest thing to flying”. And he was right. Many of you who haven’t ridden a bike since you were a kid can remember what it was like barreling down the sidewalk with a smile from ear to ear squinting against the wind with your friends chasing you down the block and then skidding to a stop on the corner and turning around to do it all over again; or flying down that shaded road on a lazy summer afternoon with the cicadas evening symphony coming from the foliage as you zoomed by.

For those of us that still cycle we relive those experiences every day. The breeze cooling your skin, the wind song in your ears, the vibration of the road beneath your wheels or the crunch of dirt as you ride down the trail. If you’re a road cyclist you become addicted to the speed, a mountain biker to nature, a commuter to the trip, and an urban cyclist to dodging traffic. But we all share the wondrous experience of self propulsion by mashing those pedals and magically rolling forward. Some faster than others, some with more style, but all moving forward, all going somewhere, no matter where that may be.

Palmas del Mar is a cycling paradise. Nowhere else in Puerto Rico can you ride your Beach Cruiser or Mountain bike or Hybrid or Road bike safely along smooth paths or roads and trails in the safest community on the island. From the complete cycling family to the arduous competitor that trains every day, Palmas plays host to every sort of cyclist.

Local Palmas residents like Dr. Carlos Maldonado, Javier López, Ramón López, Claudia Rodriguez, Hamid Azize, José Pagan, and yours truly are all avid cyclists that compete or have competed as amateur athletes in local Mountain Bike and Road Bike disciplines as well as renowned international events such as the Absa Cape Epic, Las 100 de La Parguera, Ruta de Los Conquistadores, La Vuelta Puerto Rico and other prestigious events.

It’s easy to recognize a cyclist, we’re the ones with the bugs in our teeth – from smiling so much as we pass you by screaming like a kid.  Remember what it was like – “Get on your bike and ride!”