During our trip to Nicaragua we saw people catching rides in interesting looking bicycle taxis.

Since we like to give different forms of transportation a try, we knew at some point on our trip we would try a ride on a bike taxi. This would take place during our visit to the colonial city of Leon.

Before we could step foot off the microbus (a van which holds around 12-15 people) from Managua, we were approached by a small mob of people offering us rides to the central part of the city on one of the bicycle taxis.

Since we wanted to take a ride on one of them anyway, we agreed to go. At the price of $1 per person, how bad could it be? We were told the trip would take around 10 minutes but it took more like 20 (and seemed even longer due to the uncomfortable back support).

Once we got going I noticed that I was feeling every bump possible on the road. However, the views from the bicycle taxi were far superior to those of the regular (car) taxi which we took back to the bus station the following day! Lucas really enjoyed it too.

Along the way we saw tourists and locals catching rides in these bike taxis. The price is certainly fair but the comfort is something to be desired…

Early into our ride we encountered a bit of a traffic jam. Trucks, cars & bicycle taxis oh my!

I was beyond happy when the ride was over. However there was one thing left to do.

It was my turn to take the bicycle taxi for a spin. Who’d want to do such a thing? Me of course- the same person that paid a tuk-tuk driver in Lake Atitlan, Guatemala to get a chance to drive his tuk-tuk around the village… Just for fun!

I didn’t take the bicycle taxi for a long ride but boy was it tough to drive. The front is so bulky which makes it very hard to steer. What made things worse was that each time I turned the steering wheel, it felt like my knee was getting cracked by the front of the taxi.

Riding in a bicycle taxi in Nicaragua is tough work regardless of if you are the driver or the passenger!