The Big Loop
Level : Moderate road .
Duration : 70 Km/ 3 to 4 hrs.
Elevation : 200 Meters
Duration : 70 Km/ 3 to 4 hrs.
Elevation : 200 Meters
This is a long but easy weekend ride, taking you through varied and interesting scenery, from the hill forests of Fig Tree drive to the tropical beaches of the Jolly Harbour area. It is probably best combined with a lunch stop, whether on the west coast beaches or towards Fort St James in St John's. Some bike riding fitness is required, but only because of the distance covered and the heat. I prefer to do this loop clockwise, in order to avoid the sometimes ferocious easterly headwinds along Old Road... but then again have been faced at times with equally bad headwinds on the way inland back from St John's to Falmouth... so it is really a matter of personal taste. Sunday afternoon riding can be a bit scary- thats when the boy car racers come out of the woodwork and road cruising anarchy is at its very best!
If you are travelling through Swetes village on a Sunday, a stop at the village church is highly recommended. The service here is given by a fiery pastor in a kind of American evangelical style (no offense meant to anyone), and the crescendo of 'Halleluyas' and 'Praises to the Lord' delivered with apocalyptic fervor is amazing. The large congregation is dressed to the hilts, and the sight of dignified ladies in their best Sunday outfits seeking pationately the 'salvation of the lord' -the word rapture comes to my mind- is maybe one of the best windows I have seen open on the Carribbean culture, a step beyond the too often canned rastafarian stereotypes.
To reach Fig Tree drive, take the main St John's road. A few kilometers after Liberta, turn onto Fig Tree drive proper, past Swetes and towards Old Road. This good asphalted road with little traffic travelling through the southern Antiguan hills in lush and varied surroundings is somehow at the core of most long rides on the island. Good job that its is a bloody nice road and an even better ride.
The only variation possible along here is to go through the village of Sawcolt, which by-passes the steepest section of Fig Tree. Further along, after the zip wire jungle park, a fairly steep downhill will bring you down to Carlisle Bay and Old Road. There are some stunning stretches of beach beyond that on the way towards Jolly Harbour.
Have a break and a swim somewhere along here; if you do not want to spend a fortune at a beach restaurant, try the food tent set up on weekiend on Darkwood beach. You might be the sole whitey there! Or keep riding towards St John's. Russell's at fort St James, about 3 or 4 kilometers away on the North side of the Harbour is a good choice.
Leaving town, follow the road towards the airport at first, then continue towards Parham.
About 15 kilometers out of town, after the Parham junction you wil reach a roundabout with a petrol station (slightly after the huge weird roundabout by the new cricket stadium) . Go straight ahead, ignoring the road to All Saints on the right.
Take the next right, about a kilometer away. This will take you to Potswork Dam along a nice country road with little trafic; after the dam and the clay pot shooting range another right will put you on to the familiar road to Belsheda, Willoughby and Falmouth, about 10 kilometers away.