Hello

Has anyone rode or rented a road bike while on St Martin. I am looking going there in Feb 2006 for a week and wanted to do some biking while I am there.

Hello

Has anyone rode or rented a road bike while on St Martin. I am looking going there in Feb 2006 for a week and wanted to do some biking while I am there.

I've lived on SXM for about 16 mos., and you can rent bikes at Tri-Sport, an LBS in Simpson Bay. The roads can be a bit treacherous with the traffic as crazy as it is.

If you really want to ride, you can meet up for a small group ride at the shop. Or, you can rent a MTB and go out on the trial.

Landscape is pretty hilly here, but on the French side there are some very nice roads.

I'm looking for the same info...I'll tentatively be there the last week in Dec., so I'll try to remember to post my experience. I still don't know if or which bike I'll bring.

Well, I can vouch for the fact that the French side has better roads than the Dutch side, but either way, from where I've been, riding is limited to mountain biking. Road riding is mostly dangerous due to the *ahem* non-standard driving practices of the locals and rubbernecking tourists. The roads are narrow with limited or non-existent shoulder to ride on, and VERY ROUGH at times. Most of my experience is on the Dutch side, but from what little I saw on the French side, it wasn't a huge improvement, but your experience may vary. The areas I saw were from Mullet Bay to Phillipsburg to Orient Beach; basically the South part of the island. If you're staying anywhere between Grand Case through Marigot and around the West point of Island, there may be much better riding there. Hopefully I can explore and get back to you, but from what I've seen, just leave the bike at home. If you stay anywhere near Juliana airport, then just leave the bike and enjoy your stay. I recommend trying a kayak/canoe rental on the lagoon if you want to get some exercise or try something new. But if you're up for the challenge, there is some fairly steep hillclimbing to be had here, but depending on where you go, it could be scary. I was riding in a car with my co-worker who knew I wanted to bring my bike, and he thought it was downright dangerous here and not worth the risk. I tend to agree, very little fun factor and too much risk. I hope this helps. Also, if you like airplanes, the beach at the end of the airport is a "must do" for a while. There's nothing like the feeling of a big Boeing going 50 feet over your head. Then the brave will stand behind the airplanes as they take off; some of them bailing into the water for the big ones (yes, I did it...) It's something you'll never see anywhere else in the world. The beach bar just to the side had great food and cold beer and a speaker dialed into the tower so you can hear them coming (also a chalk board with noted arrivals such as Air France's A340 and 747) but there are plenty of 757 arrivals to keep you interested for a whiile.

If you're staying anywhere between Grand Case through Marigot and around the West point of Island, there may be much better riding there. Hopefully I can explore and get back to you, but from what I've seen, just leave the bike at home.

I got over towards Marigot and once on the French side the roads were much better, but unless you're staying in that part of the island, you'd have to get there and you'd still be relegated to the main roads in that area...I guess you could ride to Grand Case/Cul de Sac area and get in a few miles, but for me it wouldn't be worth bringing the bike. Way too many crazy drivers! Good luck and enjoy the trip!

St. Maarten/St. Martin MAP (http://www.caribbean-on-line.com/sm/smmap.shtml)