Most Inspirational Moment
Making it all the way to the top of the hills on the day in the mountains without getting off to walk, finally arriving at that amazing hotel in the middle of nowhere, and then swimming under the waterfalls at sunset.
Thoughts on Group Leader
Laz was, quite simply, the best Exodus leader I've met. You could tell instantly that he's passionate about his country, his job and cycling (and, like any Cuban, baseball!). He was very well organised, his local and historical knowledge were first class, he never tired of answering questions about Cuba, the trip itself, and his personal life, and he was sociable and friendly without being overbearing. He also understood very well the different personalities in the group and was always ready to listen and help when issues arose.
Advice for Potential Travellers
Take plenty of Imodium (most of our group needed it at some stage) and keep some loo roll with you at all times. Try to keep hold of small change for toilets and tips - you may also find it difficult to get rid of large bank notes in some places. Take an MP3 player if you want a bit of inspiration to get you up the big hills or for some of the long stretches when you find yourself on your own, and also for some of the longer bus transfers. Take enough money in UK sterling to see you through the trip (and a bit extra in case) - it's much easier and cheaper to change bank notes than to use a debit or credit card to get money, though it's possible in the larger places. If you're not a fan of plain food, take a bottle of hot sauce with you to liven up some of the dishes, especially if you're vegetarian. Take plenty of high factor suncream and SPF lipbalm - several of us managed to lose our lipbalms along the way and ended up with very sunburnt lips! We never found a shop that sold lipbalm although you can get suncream in the bigger hotels. I found it useful to have a thin long-sleeved top to cycle in one day when I had sunburnt arms. Above all, go on this trip with a very open mind - be prepared for the unexpected (random power cuts, lack of hot water or indeed any water, last minute changes to plan). There'll be a few pleasant surprises along the way as well. Brush up on your salsa skills as there'll be plenty of opportunity to try them out - knowing just a few steps will really help!
Suggestions
The local guides (and their families) will be very grateful for any donations of cycling kit (water bottles, helmets, cycle shorts, gloves), other clothing, toiletries etc at the end of the trip, whatever condition it's in (even if filthy after your cycling) - so when packing, you might want to consider if there's anything you want to use on the trip and then give away at the end. Also I'd recommend older clothing for cycling in rather than your shiny new stuff - if it rains you'll probably never get the mud and gunk out afterwards! Also I wish I had packed a couple of nice outfits for the evenings when we went dancing and so on, I just had shorts and a boring skirt, and my trekking sandals, and felt a bit frumpy compared to all the locals! Be prepared for a fair bit of time spent on the bus as there are quite a lot of transfers - miore cycling and fewer transfers would have been nice but they are more or less unavoidable. Also be prepared to cycle in a lot of headwind (although it's never cold) - you do get used to it pretty quickly and if you're lucky you may get a couple of days of tailwind too!
