Biking in Batroun
Looking for something fun to do European style? Head up to one of the last cities in Lebanon that appears to have been unaffected by the nationwide economic crisis: Batroun. I’m not sure how this coastal Christian city still seems to represent a carefree, affluent lifestyle after everything that’s happened in the country, but it nevertheless appears to have been miraculously spared the brutal hand dealt by fate to the rest of Lebanon. Here you’ll find surprisingly European-like sidewalk cafés, gourmet restaurants, high-end clothing shops, and beautiful beaches.
Seeing as how we had too little time to go on a hike that day as originally planned, my boyfriend had the spontaneous last minute idea of going for a bike ride in Batroun.
This idea turned out to be brilliant. Of course, since we didn’t own our own bikes, we opted to rent from a local rental shop tucked along the side of the main road. A friendly local girl helped us to get set up with a couple of standard Trek bikes accompanied by dorky helmets and we were off. While my boyfriend started us off with a lazy roll through the tight streets of the old town, I was internally dying from a restless itch for speed. After maybe ten minutes of burning minimal amounts of calories, I told him, “Let’s ride on the main road because I want to go FAST.” And so, like the typical independent-minded Western woman that I am, I spurned the casual guidance of my Lebanese male partner and took over the lead.
Now, I’m not sure whether the fact that I desperately wanted to ride with all my might like a crazy woman down the Sea Road was due to the fact that I love riding bikes and have only ridden a bike in Lebanon once since having moved here four years ago or to the fact that I had chocolate fondue for breakfast (you think I’m joking, but I’m not), but whatever the case, I needed to GO. While my boyfriend was still trying to figure out how to operate his gear system after an entire adolescence and adulthood spent deprived of riding a bike, I was pumping up and down the rolling Sea Road hills as fast as I could. Okay, well maybe not quite as fast as I could. I’m not that bad of a girlfriend. I did stop and circle back every so often to make sure that my habibi was still chugging along behind me. Don’t worry guys, he eventually remembered how to switch gears properly and was right there pumping alongside me.
To be honest, I didn’t expect there to be much to see while riding a bike along the Lebanese frontage road considering how dirty other parts of it are, but apparently I had forgotten how beautiful the coastal area surrounding Batroun is. The weather was idyllic with 24℃ and clear blue skies, and I marveled at the rolling, green hills and spectacular view of the sea. It was one of those times where you are reminded of just how beautiful Lebanon is and how it maybe hasn’t been totally corrupted by humanity after all. I could have gone on like this forever, or at least until we had ridden romantically off into the sunset, but unfortunately, we were paying by the hour for the bikes, and I had to work later that day. So we stopped at a scenic overlook and snapped a few shots of the view and us with the bikes, and then we headed back. The way back turned out to be much quicker than the way out. Probably because by now my boyfriend had remembered how to ride a bike, and I was no longer holding back. Taking our hands off of the handle bars with our newfound confidence and flying down those hills, we felt free like we hadn’t felt in ages. Where were we? Europe or Lebanon? What bliss.
After having returned our bikes, my boyfriend and I took a stroll around town since we had an extra hour to kill before we needed to go home. As we meandered through the quaint streets lively with curious tourists and relaxing locals, we found ourselves suddenly filled with a renewed thirst for adventure and excitement about creating memorable experiences exploring every nook and cranny of Lebanon. And in the wake of two rocky weeks of interpersonal and work issues, this short excursion was exactly what we needed to revive our kindred spirits, as we found ourselves drawn back to one another with a childlike first love once again.
