{"id":48328,"date":"2026-05-19T08:43:14","date_gmt":"2026-05-19T07:43:14","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.alananna.co.uk\/blog\/?p=48328"},"modified":"2026-05-19T08:43:23","modified_gmt":"2026-05-19T07:43:23","slug":"costa-rica-the-coast-to-coast-adventure-begins","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.alananna.co.uk\/blog\/2026\/05\/costa-rica-the-coast-to-coast-adventure-begins\/","title":{"rendered":"Costa Rica – The Coast to Coast Adventure Begins"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

I managed to sleep a little in the hotel in Quepos, but not much. Fortunately, I\u2019m quite used to this and function pretty well on next to no sleep, so I felt fine. We started the day with a nice breakfast, and then I pfaffed about with my bike for a while as I\u2019d brought my own SPD pedals and shoes, along with my own saddle.<\/p>\n\n\n

\n
\"My<\/a>
My Stead for the Trip<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<\/div>\n\n\n

Today was the day we started our Coast to Coast adventure across Costa Rica for real. It had felt like a long time coming. The travelling and the first couple of days in Costa Rica had seemed slightly drawn out, all leading to the sleepy little town of Quepos on the Pacific Coast. According to the itinerary, the plan for the day was a 19 km cycle with 350 m of elevation gain, followed by a 14 km hike with 1000 m of climbing and then a 700 m descent.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

In the past, I\u2019d have been confident not only of completing this sort of day, but probably of being one of the strongest in the group. That\u2019s no longer something I can assume. I\u2019m older, I\u2019ve had a heart attack, and I can\u2019t train the way I once did. With such a small group of four, there was nowhere to hide. In the end though, there was little point worrying about it. All I could do was get on the bike and see what happened.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

MTBing into the Naranjo Valley<\/strong><\/h2>\n\n\n\n

With doubts about my ability these days, my plan was simply to take things steadily, so that\u2019s exactly what I did. I pedalled along with virtually no effort, just gently turning the pedals. Thankfully, the pace was comfortable, and I was keeping up without any issues, although I was soon sweating heavily in the heat.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\"Ready<\/a><\/figure><\/div>
\"Easy<\/a><\/figure>
\"Easy<\/a><\/figure><\/div><\/div><\/div><\/div><\/div>\n\n\n\n

We stopped at a shop for some supplies and then continued along the road for a while before heading off onto forest tracks. I couldn\u2019t really tell how much effort the others were putting in, but I was having no problems keeping up, and everything was feeling surprisingly manageable so far. The pedal-and-shoe combination that I had been worried about was fine too, and the scenery we were cycling through was amazing as the rainforest closed in around us.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

After almost 12 miles (19 km, as promised), we descended to some buildings where Memo, our support driver, had set up a table loaded with food. We had a second, larger breakfast there and made packed lunches for later in the day. There was ham, cheese, delicious tomatoes, peanut butter, jam, bread, various biscuits and nut snacks, along with a selection of fresh fruits and juices. Perfect \u2014 and there was loads of it too.<\/p>\n\n\n

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\"Pit<\/a>
Pit Stop<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<\/div>\n\n\n

The first MTB section had been fine:<\/p>\n\n\n\n

<\/div>