The Openwork Foundation Cuba Cycle Challenge 2025: Day Two
By Laura Sanderson, Sandmartin Financial Advisers
So, we may have had a “boring day” (in Colin’s words) ahead of us, but luckily for us, we’re not a boring group, and Cuba is certainly not a boring place to be!
The day started in a very entertaining way: we woke up to no power in the hotel. (Note to self: make sure cycling gear is out and bags are packed the night before while we still have power, doing it with a head torch was a little more challenging!) Big shout-out to Ian Sanderson, who went straight down to reception to speak to the one person working at the time, who didn’t speak any English. I’m sure that was an interesting conversation… but I think it ended with him shouting “lights” and waving his hands at the ceiling. After a few phone calls, we got the power switched back on, hooray! Then, just to keep us on our toes, the water went off after the lights came back on. So, a fun start to the day.
Next, three of our cyclists almost didn’t get breakfast because the lady was convinced, they’d already eaten and were trying to sneak seconds! But we got them fed in the end.
It’s clearly catching on that you can bring your children on these trips to act as your carer. I’ve been looking after my dad, and Davey, Hannah, and Simon (self-explanatory). Meanwhile, Sasha isn’t even carrying her own luggage anymore, why would she, when she has Dora for that?
We had a great warm-up, complete with motivational words from Sanjay. Dora and I added a little twist of our own and threw in a few twerks which, in fairness, turned out to be quite effective on the lower back!
Then we set off on our long cycle, and it was fantastic riding out of the city, busy, bustling streets and a true essence of Cuba. The old-style cars and buses all beeping and waving as they passed us. Things settled down until some of us decided we’d had enough of our own bikes and wanted to play bike swap! Not naming any names (Emma). Emma stole Lisa’s bike, and Lisa clearly wasn’t having any of it, when she got her bike back, she sped off so quickly that no one had a chance to get near it again.
The rest of the day went smoothly. It was quieter on the serene country roads, and we got the kms under our belts. It did start to get a little hot, and even the drinking water was warm. I was very glad to see that bus at the end, or I’m not sure the hotel would have been the only thing to black out! We finished with a rare delicacy of chicken and rice and an extra-strong pina colada, serenaded by a man playing a jaw…yes, a jaw.
All in all, a great day. It may have been “boring,” but it gave me such a great opportunity to really be present, take in my surroundings, and think about how privileged we are to do a challenge like this. People spent so much time saying to me before I came, “Are you mad?!” But I think you’d be mad not to do something like this, especially in aid of giving back to those less fortunate than us. So, a message to anyone curious about getting involved in the next one: do it!
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