The Cuba Option
Bike UK|March 2018

In 1996, adventurer Chris Baker shipped his BMW R100GS to Cuba. He learned a lot in three months and even wrote a book about it. It’s a great place to ride a bike…

Ben Lindley
The Cuba Option

Where are you right now?

I’ve just returned home from leading a National Geographic Expeditions trip to Cuba.

Back in 1996 you shipped your GS to Cuba. How did you manage that?

I’d been contracted to write a travel guidebook and saw an opportunity to create an adventure out of my research journey. I would ship and ride a motorcycle with a view to writing a travelogue which was eventually published by National Geographic. As a journalist, I was licensed by the U.S. government, but transporting the bike was a challenge due to U.S. embargo laws. Fortunately, I found a skipper with a license to run humanitarian aid and he agreed to take me across from Key West. I arranged paperwork upon arrival. It’s all much stricter these days.

What was it like riding through Cuba back then?

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Esta historia es de la edición March 2018 de Bike UK.

Comience su prueba gratuita de Magzter GOLD de 7 días para acceder a miles de historias premium seleccionadas y a más de 9,000 revistas y periódicos.

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