I have done some riding over there and the roads are shit. Best to take your own bike with at least 28s on it (plus you can stuff some greenery in your bike bag). Last time I was there I tried to hire a bike and all I could find was cruzers with baskets.
Deus in Cangu is great, the food is also awesome.
Every thing you buy from the stalls is shit.
I will be there from Christmas day until the 8th of Jan too mostly staying in Cangu.
Use two wallets. One with just enough cash for day, the one you pull out in public. The other with the rest of your shit. What they don’t know you have they won’t try and steal from you.
Acting like a local not like a tourist equals way less hassles on the street. ie no bum bags and dSLR hanging round your neck!
if you go out clubbing, dont bring a wallet or phone if you dont need it, just stash the cash down your pants or socks lol. last time i was there in june/july there seemed to be a high rate of pick pocketing, little kids would swarm you asking to buy their shitty bracelets only to be emptying our your pockets, taking your watch off etc.
maybe gypo can give you some advice on riding as he was there during that time with his bike?
p.s. that part about paying heaps of cash to cops is crap, locals were telling me max 50k, just pretend its all you got… most i paid was 100 but we were on kawasaki klx125’s poppin mono’s haha