Actually, Loiza Aldea (or just Loiza) for short is the "old slave town". Piñones is right along the outskirts of Loiza. Most likely, the "bike shop" that you saw near there is Ciclonatura which runs bike rentals. The area of Piñones is known mostly for two things -nature trails for hiking, biking, walking, etc near the mangrove forest and fried fritters -there's a string of kiosks and little hole in the wall/ dive bar-like establishments along that road.
erik, you are right...biking is not something you necessarily go to PR for. There is, however, tons of road biking, lots of competitive riding, but really not too much riding just for fun riding and/or commuting unless you are really hardcore. It's really hard to be a car-free cyclist there safely and that is why I choose not to live there although Cupey/San Juan is my hometown.
Ignacio, there are all kinds of little talleres (shops) tucked away on the island, but I do not know of any community bike shops (using the term in the same way that erik does and what you inquired in your email), but i've also not lived in PR for over a decade. If you're serious about starting one in PR, the best ways to go abt it is rallying all the like-minded folks you know and just start doing it. There is quite a bit of activism at the UPR. If you're not already familiar with some of those groups, you might wanna look into em.
I wouldn't be surprised if you find other people into bikes like we are in PR...just things tend to happen in a bubble and you hear about it if you know and/or look for the right people. Ignacio, feel free to email me (wanda@communitycycles.org) if you wanna bounce some ideas around about starting a bike collective
-also more sources of info/ideas/feedback/discussion:
this group, TheThinkTank, is an awesome wealth of info!
Bike!Bike! - annual gathering of bike collectives -an incredible opportunity to get/share ideas with other like-minded folks
Bike Collective Wiki - a bigger directory of community bike shops and other info
Hope you find some ideas and encouragement on these sites...wanda
Wanda Pelegrina Caldas Community Cycles, Boulder's only non-profit bike shop Become a member or sponsor an Earn-A-Biker today. Use our secure online donation form. Thanks!!
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From: eriks@therecyclery.org Date: Mon, 10 Aug 2009 12:53:18 -0500 To: thethinktank@bikecollectives.org Subject: Re: [TheThinkTank] Bike shops in Puerto Rico?
I was down there in the winter and looked around ahead of time... basically, no... and I wouldn't personally want to ride a bike there, but I guess i'm also used to a much different style of road use. I couldn't even take my turn driving there! There was a regular people bike shop in isla verde (carolina) and i saw what might have been a bike workshop type thing (without all the subcultural implications of most images we would attach to the phrase (community bike shop") on one of the main roads running west out of isla verde into los pinones. Los Pinones was described to me as an old slave down and somewhat off the traditional tourist maps--even though it is 20 minutes from the airport. I was curious when i was there (last day on the island) about whether i could have borrowed/fixed up one of the many bikes in the yard.
Anyhow, beset of luck.
On Sun, Aug 9, 2009 at 1:36 PM, Josh Brown josh@communitycycles.org wrote:
Anyone know of, or work at, a bike project in Puerto Rico?
We recieved an email (below) from someone looking for one.
Thanks!
josh.
---------- Forwarded message ----------
From: Community Cycles igiduran@yahoo.com Date: Sun, Aug 9, 2009 at 12:26 PM Subject: Ignacio Duran has contacted CC about Other
To: josh@communitycycles.org
This message was sent from
Ignacio Duran
igiduran@yahoo.com
Ignacio has the following comments
I just discovered your website, I'm interested in the social benefits of cycling and would like to be active in Puerto Rico, but I noticed on your list of collectives (showing the different one by States) and noticed that there is none in Puerto Rico, so my question is: is there maybe one that you know of but has not made it to the list or do you know what I could do to start one? Thanks, Ignacio Duran
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