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Maxima- with two or three months you could set up a series of "base camps" in eight or ten towns and experience all of Cuba! A different town as your base each week. Accommodation can be pretty cheap- about 20 to 25 CUCs in most casas particulares and not much more at the Islazul chain of hotels found in most bigger towns in Cuba. For a week's stay you could bargain even better rates. Food is pretty basic- and sometimes even rises above being only fuel.

Water purifier- get a SteriPen and treat your water the way that NYC does- with shortwave UV light!

chain lube- bring some for sure. i left my container of Phil chain lube behind when I left Cuba at the end of a bike trip. The guys were very thankful- although I think they were hoping for my bike!

spare tyres- one would be a good idea, two if you're feeling unlucky. The Vittorios may be fine if they are not really old; some newer tires like those by Continental have a kevlar layer that increases puncture resistance. I had a pair of Contiinental Touring Plus which did the 1100 km Cuba trip and another thousand since without one flat. The Gatorskins (28mm) would be a good choice.

Tire pressure is a key factor- make sure you get a good pump that can actually get up to 110 or 120 psi without requiring a massive pumping effort on your part. I have a Topeak pump- one of the Morph series, the Road one. Luckily, my Touring Plus tires only needed 75 to 80 p.s.i. You might want to get narrower tires than the 32mm ones I had; you could go down to 28mm. Most of Cuba's roads are pretty good, though there were times when the 32's were appreciated; what aren't needed are mountain bike tires, but it doesn't sound like that is what you're into.

Be prepared for the heat. I was there for three weeks in January and by 10;30 or 11 each morning it was pretty hot. I would start off at about 7:00 and get most of the day's cycling in by noon if possible. By the way, the wind seems to come (usually) from the south east but that won't be a crucial factor if you a cycling from a base city on different days.

Maybe get in touch with Cuba's national cycling federation (I am assuming they've got one!)...you might get some good tips there on road cycling- as opposed to the bicycle touring that I did.

If you want to see some pix and info on roads, accommodation, food, etc check out my blog posts from this Febrary on my tour of Cuba's Oriente

http://albinger.me/2012/02/

Have fun planning your trip--- Remember that the best time to go is probably between January to April- still hot but less humidity.

And have even more fun doing it! Sometimes the way to "reset" your self is to leave where you're at and immerse yourself in another reality. Cuba is definitely that.

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Try posting on the Cuba branch of Thorn Tree for info on non cycling Cuba stuff. Loads of info there from locals, ex-pats and tourists.

Beware taking too much stuff in as you may have to pay duty.

I presume you mean a (proper) visa. The tourist cards are only valid for one month and can only be extended (for one month) once.

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Check out crazyguyonabike.com and for a interesting riding experience "Bikes For Cuba" , High school cycling clubs in Cuba, go for a ride with them, very cool . I like 32 c tires, 2 spare tubes patch kits , extra presta adaptors,cables . Ride early , use a wet kercheif and check that the seal is on that purified water .I found that ' Tinctura de Guabaya' at the pharmacia very effective if you get stomach problems . The other idea is to take a folding Bike -trunk rack for use on collectivos . I left my bike there and plan to go back with another, Cuba is great cycling !

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Yes, my second thought was... do you know how hot Cuba gets??