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For the keen cyclist, Solomon Islands offers some interesting rides, ranging from easy-going flat gravel roads to challenging tracks suitable only for fit riders and good mountain bikes. The longest stretches of road are on Guadalcanal and Malaita, but other provinces also offer short and pleasant rides. These notes include details for rides in Guadalcanal, Rennell and Malaita.
Note: You will need to bring your own bike. Rides described below have been modified from rides done by different cyclists over a period of time. If you are a cyclist in the Solomons and want to share info on rides you think others might find interesting please contact us.
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- Carry all your basic spare parts and tools, because you won’t find bicycle repair shops on the way!
- Distances quoted in this section can be deceiving: 10km on a road in Solomon Islands can feel like twice that distance on a good road, and take proportionally longer to ride as well. Don’t automatically assume that a 14km length of road will be easy and straightforward – it’s best to be geared up for bad conditions and a long, hard ride, and you’ll either be well prepared or pleasantly surprised that it was easier than you had imagined!
- Don’t forget to carry plenty of fluids, and salt replacement solution is also good. Also carry plenty of protein foods – you may well find Navy biscuits, noodles and Taiyo at canteens along the way, but not much in the way of decent energy food. Dried fruits, chocolate and museli bars are good and compact.
- Roads and tracks can be very bumpy, so padded bike pants and gloves are highly recommended to lessen the pain and numbness and make your trip more enjoyable.
- This is pretty obvious, but it’s best to start your ride as early in the day as possible to beat the heat. Rain generally develops towards the afternoon and evening, so an early start may also mean beating the rain and mud.
- Roads that cut through clayey soil can be impossible to traverse. The Turarana road is a great example, where recent rains turn the road into a slippery, muddy adventure, your brake blocks will jam up with great globs of clay, and you can’t even push your bike, never mind ride it. This problem is usually only present on roads in hilly areas, including logging roads.
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The rides described below are presented as some of the options available for morning or full day rides around Honiara. For the fit, adventurous cyclist, just keep following the highway east or west from Honiara till you’ve had enough, and try out the side roads to see how far you can go. There are many other inland roads besides the ones described below. |
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There are several different options for cycling in North Malaita, depending on whether you fly or catch a boat to the start or from the end of a route, and also whether you wish to double back on sections of road. Two options are presented here – a long (and at times challenging) route, and a shorter (easier) route, both around the northern part of Malaita. |
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Early morning start around 7am and hit the road by 9am.The first day is long and hard. The road is well shaded, and pretty flat. There are a few hills – but on the whole pretty manageable. Make sure you bring plenty of water, as there are few villages and streams along the way. You should reach Lavanggu at around 2pm, here you can get fresh coconuts to fill your water bottles. You should arrive at the lake by dusk.
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This route covers the equivalent of part of Day Three and all of Day Four of North Malaita Loop Ride, but at a more leisurely pace. This route runs from Suafa Bay to Auki – approximately 100km in all. The road hugs the coastline around the northwest part of Malaita.
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This awesome mountain bike ride takes you in a loop from Rove, up past Ngossi and Tasahe and Titingge. By this stage you've climbed several hundred metres in altitude and cruise along dirt roads with great views of the sea in one direction and the mountain jungles in the other. The route then drops back down into the SkyLine area and then onto Mendana Ave, from whence you can return to Rove. One of the best rides in Honiara - allow 2-3 hours. See Google Map with added commentary for details. |
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Cycling
