The Dominican beaches look nice.
Looking around, I think that the smaller towns will be more appealing to me by far than Santo Domingo, other than the unique historical interest of the capital. Funny for me to write that, since I'm often Mr. Ahistorical, but I like New World history.
Anyways, the coast looks like it for me, so I'm planning to head east, ride largely around the coast, then fill in the gaps!
The Dominican government website for immigration (to extend tourist visa) is hilarious. It has limited information, old style, etc.
By the way, Santo Domingo has a metro system, the only one other than San Juan, Puerto Rico in the Caribbean.
Republica Dominicana is growing on me. This often happens, after a difficult first while. For this reason, I consider it important to give places a chance to show their better side. In Santo Domingo, on my first day I accidentally walked into a rough industrial area, which was surprisingly close to the old city.
Now I've had a chance to see more of the city. I still think the drivers are nuts, but I'm getting a feel for the place. There are tons of food vendors, which is something I appreciate about many Latin countries. The sidewalks are narrow and difficult, and because of all the water-clearing gaps (it rains a ton), hard to walk a bike along.