See individual summaries for each event.
2009 MTB Bikes: Salsa MotoRapido, Ritchy NiTi
Team: WVMBA, support by ProBikes.
2009 Events:
WVMBA-Big Bear XC-Finished, not a good race.
Greenbriar Marathon-Excellent race until two flats.
WVMBA-Mountwood-Better start, but fell off and finished bad.
Dirt Sweat Gears 12Hr Solo-Conditions made the course hike a bike, only did 1 lap.
Mohican 100-Finished, on the long side of usual time, 12hr.
Davis WV Road Race-Finished, OK considering I used a mtb with road tires.
WVMBA-Massanutten XXC-Finished, good race, lots of fast competition.
Granny Gear 12hr Duo-Finished, not a good all out effort.
1/2 Trail Run Marathon-Rachel Carson Challenge-Finished 14.4 mi, 4hrs, 3500ft climbing. MASS 9Hr Solo-Finished @ 8hrs with 47 miles total.
Tour de Burg Stage-Finished 5 out of 6 days.
6 Hours of Power Coed Duo-Finished 1st.
Wilderness 101-Set my own PR & felt good!
WVMBA-Big Bear Ultra XXC-Great race, felt good. Finished 2nd.
Shenandoah 100-Lost 2hrs to flats, had to DNF @ mile 86/10hrs.
Shannock Valley XC-Finished 1st.
Roaring Run XC-Finished, slower than any past year here.
Roaring Run MTB Road-Flatted and finished.
Smuckers Peanut Butter Festival MTB XC-Great race, felt good. Finished 1st.
WVMBA-Revenge of the Rattlesnake XXC-got lost, prorated finish.
MOM Racoon Creek CX-Finished, not very well, + did first tandem cx!
MOM Grove City CX-Finished, not very well, + did next tandem cx!
WVCX Marilla-Fourth Open Wm, + did tandem cx.
LaRuta! MTB Stage-Finished!
Thursday, December 31, 2009
Wednesday, December 30, 2009
Dan Chew's Endurance Stepclimbing Challenge
Cathedral of Learning-Dec 26th
Can you think of a better way to start the day after Xmas than by setting the alarm for 4AM, and heading to the Cathedral of Learning for a 6AM start, and begin climbing the sauna-like, dusty, stale air filled stairwell? Yeah, me neither.
So, Dan has been doing this for years (see his website for climbing records set, etc) , and recently a local untrarunner woman set a new record for the most consecutive climbs up the 36 flights of stairs. She finished 103 in 24 hours. A counterchallenge was arranged!
I saw the note about the challenge and was somewhat interested in the woman's new record and had fleeting thoughts of actually seeing how close I could get to her number. That thought went in and out of my head multiple times, often leaving as quickly as it would show up! The kicker was I just was not in the mind set to pull an all nighter for this right now & without doing that there of course no way to even come close to doing anything than just a long day of exercise.
I tell Dan I am in for the 6AM start, but I am just going to go for a good part of the day at my own pace, and not setting any goals for trying to get a record number of climbs. To myself, I am figuring about 20X would pretty much tire me out & be a good day of exercise! He replies that if I can get in anything more than 40X, I will actually be in a second place to the ultrarunner, as she initially only had 40X and so far no other women have done even that many (I don't qualify for the Rookie record, as I have actually been on the steps a few times in my life.....darn! I recently went there just a few times and at the most did a stretch of 8 climbs just for an evening of exercise, no record ideas in mind). Ok, I agree.......I am in to do just over 40X. Still in the back of my head was a dirty plan to see what my hourly pace was, and if good enough maybe consider to just keep going.
JP has absolutely NO intention of heading down to the start with me, as he HATES early mornings and plus it's quite a drive from our house. I get up and get going, planning on he will show up sometime during the late morning and do a few climbs with me. I get there along with Jon Pratt, we both get a few minutes late start, but before you know it we all run into each other and the party is ON! Along with Dan is his nephew and a few triathlete friends, 5 of us total, and lots of others come and go during the day.
The 36th floor is our functional transition area, with us each having a pile of boxes, bags, coolers, shoes, etc out for easy grabbing. The guys have family close by and during the day have some planned support to show up. I just have what I brought and JP for any emergencies, but he wasn't going to be around all day, but really I don't like too much help so this is ok.
The guys are setting fast paces, I try to keep mine toned back instead of worrying what they are doing so I end up doing several sets alone & a few with someone or other. After about 3 hours I start to feel settled in to a pace, but surprisingly my avg remains the same....5X/hour. This continues, until hour 6. I hit a accidental bout of dehydration with completely no sweating, along with some soreness was already beginning in various areas! I had been drinking, and more liquid felt just bloating so I just had to back off a little for one hour. That hour was the only one out of my total 9hrs that I dipped below my avg and got only 4X in. After that, I picked back up, although feet/knees/etc were taking a toll already.
Hour 6 and climbs 30-34 were the rough ones, JP was there making fun of my dwindling pace. He quickly stated he would see me around and took off to run with the guys. Cool, now I can have some peace and quiet:-) At this point I also ditched the tennis shoes and put on comfy fur lined crocs...not the easiest to walk in but sure nicer to my bunion feet!
Climbs 35-40 I got back onto 5X/hr, and at 40 of course felt SO relieved that it could almost be over. I still had fleeting thoughts of staying, as if you realize I could keep the pace even for just 3 more hours and then dropped to 4X/hr, I would have beat the women's current record! But it still kept nagging at me that I didn't want to have to recover from an all-nighter or be so sore I couldn't walk the next day! And I didn't want JP to spend what turned out a pretty nice day hanging around the cathedral being bored! Before he left, he brought me some extra food just in case, and I finished out another 3X just to be above the current 2nd place number, with total climbing time of 9hrs. Then it was time to sadly call it quits. I packed up & watched with envy as all the other 6AM starters were valiantly still going. Turns out they set some new records overall too!
I am pretty sure that next year, if not before then, I will be up to challenge the current womens consecutive climbs in 24 hours!! It's on my list of things to do.....maybe.
Can you think of a better way to start the day after Xmas than by setting the alarm for 4AM, and heading to the Cathedral of Learning for a 6AM start, and begin climbing the sauna-like, dusty, stale air filled stairwell? Yeah, me neither.
So, Dan has been doing this for years (see his website for climbing records set, etc) , and recently a local untrarunner woman set a new record for the most consecutive climbs up the 36 flights of stairs. She finished 103 in 24 hours. A counterchallenge was arranged!
I saw the note about the challenge and was somewhat interested in the woman's new record and had fleeting thoughts of actually seeing how close I could get to her number. That thought went in and out of my head multiple times, often leaving as quickly as it would show up! The kicker was I just was not in the mind set to pull an all nighter for this right now & without doing that there of course no way to even come close to doing anything than just a long day of exercise.
I tell Dan I am in for the 6AM start, but I am just going to go for a good part of the day at my own pace, and not setting any goals for trying to get a record number of climbs. To myself, I am figuring about 20X would pretty much tire me out & be a good day of exercise! He replies that if I can get in anything more than 40X, I will actually be in a second place to the ultrarunner, as she initially only had 40X and so far no other women have done even that many (I don't qualify for the Rookie record, as I have actually been on the steps a few times in my life.....darn! I recently went there just a few times and at the most did a stretch of 8 climbs just for an evening of exercise, no record ideas in mind). Ok, I agree.......I am in to do just over 40X. Still in the back of my head was a dirty plan to see what my hourly pace was, and if good enough maybe consider to just keep going.
JP has absolutely NO intention of heading down to the start with me, as he HATES early mornings and plus it's quite a drive from our house. I get up and get going, planning on he will show up sometime during the late morning and do a few climbs with me. I get there along with Jon Pratt, we both get a few minutes late start, but before you know it we all run into each other and the party is ON! Along with Dan is his nephew and a few triathlete friends, 5 of us total, and lots of others come and go during the day.
The 36th floor is our functional transition area, with us each having a pile of boxes, bags, coolers, shoes, etc out for easy grabbing. The guys have family close by and during the day have some planned support to show up. I just have what I brought and JP for any emergencies, but he wasn't going to be around all day, but really I don't like too much help so this is ok.
The guys are setting fast paces, I try to keep mine toned back instead of worrying what they are doing so I end up doing several sets alone & a few with someone or other. After about 3 hours I start to feel settled in to a pace, but surprisingly my avg remains the same....5X/hour. This continues, until hour 6. I hit a accidental bout of dehydration with completely no sweating, along with some soreness was already beginning in various areas! I had been drinking, and more liquid felt just bloating so I just had to back off a little for one hour. That hour was the only one out of my total 9hrs that I dipped below my avg and got only 4X in. After that, I picked back up, although feet/knees/etc were taking a toll already.
Hour 6 and climbs 30-34 were the rough ones, JP was there making fun of my dwindling pace. He quickly stated he would see me around and took off to run with the guys. Cool, now I can have some peace and quiet:-) At this point I also ditched the tennis shoes and put on comfy fur lined crocs...not the easiest to walk in but sure nicer to my bunion feet!
Climbs 35-40 I got back onto 5X/hr, and at 40 of course felt SO relieved that it could almost be over. I still had fleeting thoughts of staying, as if you realize I could keep the pace even for just 3 more hours and then dropped to 4X/hr, I would have beat the women's current record! But it still kept nagging at me that I didn't want to have to recover from an all-nighter or be so sore I couldn't walk the next day! And I didn't want JP to spend what turned out a pretty nice day hanging around the cathedral being bored! Before he left, he brought me some extra food just in case, and I finished out another 3X just to be above the current 2nd place number, with total climbing time of 9hrs. Then it was time to sadly call it quits. I packed up & watched with envy as all the other 6AM starters were valiantly still going. Turns out they set some new records overall too!
I am pretty sure that next year, if not before then, I will be up to challenge the current womens consecutive climbs in 24 hours!! It's on my list of things to do.....maybe.
Friday, December 11, 2009
Dirt Rag XX Punk Bike Enduro 2009
I think this year would be like my 6th time to go to the annual Punk Bike, not sure. Either way, it's close to home, local trails, always cold, always muddy, & always a fun day on your bike! This year was the XX anniversary & Dirt Rag overcame a major glitch with the usual start/end not being available & I think ended up finding an even cooler rental building right in Emmerling Park. Even closer to home for me so I'm not complaining! The course was shortened overall, and kept to a smaller area of trails, but looped around pretty well to get some good riding sections in.
So I decide to dress all crazy, but in my overzealous costumeness, I get all mixed up. Colors aren't matching (I AM colorblind, remember?), and you really can't tell what the heck I am! The idea was that a small group of other girls my own age (you know, 'Cougar'-age) display our proudness for being so well middle aged. Each was a 'Cougar', but with personalities, mine was of a Dominatrix. Yeah, that went together real great! Well, I need to keep in mind next time.....'Keep it Simple, Stupid' & it will probably be better! Anyway, here are three of us that got the theme together:
Dirt Rag write up, pics & vids of 2009 Punk Bike:
http://www.dirtragmag.com/blogarific/punk-bike-enduro-xx-edition
So I decide to dress all crazy, but in my overzealous costumeness, I get all mixed up. Colors aren't matching (I AM colorblind, remember?), and you really can't tell what the heck I am! The idea was that a small group of other girls my own age (you know, 'Cougar'-age) display our proudness for being so well middle aged. Each was a 'Cougar', but with personalities, mine was of a Dominatrix. Yeah, that went together real great! Well, I need to keep in mind next time.....'Keep it Simple, Stupid' & it will probably be better! Anyway, here are three of us that got the theme together:
(Me, Kim B., & Elizabeth L. dressed up)
So, EVERY year I say I am not even getting sweaty to just stand around between the stages and every year I do it anyway. This year included, although I sat out 3 stages, I attempted to get a good start at the rest and picked my way through the mud without any major damages. Sharon L. came out this year, and MAN she was goin' for the points! Until a horrible run in with a divet:
(Sharon's bike with bent rigid fork & tacoed wheel)
She got a loaner and was back in the game but missed a few too many stages in the downtime for overall points, otherwise I am pretty darn sure whe would have cinched it this year!
Unlike the far past, JP gets dressed up nowdays too. But like the past, he also is really looking forward to carrying as much alcohol in his backpack as possible & making sure he finishes all of it before the end of the ride. This year he really also wanted to have a GREEN face for some reason, I heard about the green face for weeks. So, he accomplished his goals & here is what he came up with, HULK, whose growling sounds got louder & wipeouts became common as the backpack got lighter(!):
(JP as the HULK)
Thanks for another year of putting on a fun event in the burgh!Dirt Rag write up, pics & vids of 2009 Punk Bike:
http://www.dirtragmag.com/blogarific/punk-bike-enduro-xx-edition
Wednesday, December 9, 2009
La Ruta de los Conquistadores Summary
Thoughts about this trip, why I went, what I learned, what I am thankful for, how we did it, & my afterthoughts:
-what is it?
-Mountain Bike Stage Race from the Pacific Coast to the Caribbean, crossing Costa Rica in (4) days & covering ~250 miles, 43,000ft of climbing.
Day 1: 108km, 14,000ft, (max alt:1170m) Pacific Jaco Beach to San Jose
Day 2: 75km, xxxm, (max alt:1856m) San Jose to Tres Rios
Day 3: 85km, xxxxxm, (max alt:3025m) Tres Rios to Turrialba
Day 4: 121km, xxxxm, (max alt:840m) Turrialba to Limon Carribean Beach
-frequently rumored by below sources + others to be one of the hardest annual MTB stage races in the world with a few scary tidbits thrown in, and also an awesome life experience:
event website: http://larutadelosconquistadores.com/info/
top endurance listings: http://www.time.com/time/specials/packages/completelist/0,29569,1869820,00.html
other articles:
http://www.adventureworldmagazineonline.com/cycling/the-17th-edition-of-la-ruta-de-los-conquistadores-is-two-weeks-away/
http://www.epic-mountain-bike.com/laruta.html http://www.naturelandings.com/articles.php?article=164
http://www.dirtragmag.com/print/article.php?ID=1172&category=features
Mountain Bike Magazine, 11/09
Velo News Race & Ride Guide 2009
This is one exerpt I really liked:
"They keep it real in Costa Rica. For how long this will continue I don't know. Probably not too long. But as of today, in La Ruta you can get really lost, dehydrated, break all your teeth, and get run over by a train. No bright orange sign with block letters will warn you of this and no lawsuit will make your heirs rich. Thank God for la Ruta and those who keep it wild, cruel and wonderful."
-photos?
there are not many, part of the challenge is that it's held during the RAINY season in the RAINFOREST, hence the cameras didn't get pulled out too often & the event only had one photographer which didn't provide numerous photo ops. What photos I do have are posted on Facebook at this link:
http://www.facebook.com/album.php?aid=176746&id=621536207&l=95e99d3321
-why?
1-if you know me you know the rainforest is one of my few dream trips. Along with all the inherent dangers that might be lurking, I wanted to get as deep in it as I could but yet feel somewhat safe with the structure of an event that had at least had some support in place, at a cost that didn't totally break my savings. This did That.
2-again if you know me, you know I laugh when something is described as hard. Multiple definitive sources say this race is hard. Hard means you might actually DIE trying to do it, basically if 1,000+ peeps have finished the event & no one has DIED it can't possibly be all THAT hard to at least finish!! Plus it might be fun to be really scared.
3-again if you know me, you know I am terrified of getting older & having a second midlife crisis I fear if I don't do a few things now my body is not going to hold out much longer & I will lose my chance! I decided last year a few Stage Races were something to do to combat my aging self!
-some things I proved are true/what I learned:
1-real fear IS completely in your head. No moment is ever really as bad as you think it is at that given moment. I had a few really scary and BAD moments on this trip, but now they are over and I can have some more!!
2-bikers are not necessarily your friends, they are other people that ride bikes. Period. Along with all the genuine and maybe not so genuine "good lucks" there were some 'why would you do THAT, it's something only pros would do'. Coming from people I have encouraged, cheered for, and even took to initial races, I feel bad for these ones because they have a lot of eye opening to occur yet in their own life! In addition, this is right on the event website:
Are most of the riders experts? NO! most are regular folks that train very hard and have the willpower to finish. It is not an easy race, but anyone who knows their body and listens to what it tells them can finish. If you go out too fast, you may not make it, so pace yourself. Plan on being on your bike for 10 or 11 hours with very few stops.
3-unfortunately, it proved that a bike event is something I will never be able to do 100% independantly, this of course is not a stunning revelation, but one that will affect some future goals.
-what I am thankful for:
1-JP offering to help me go when no one else wanted to go. Even though, at times, he probably didn't want to go!
2-good advice from racers who had done the event before.
3-being allowed to tag along at a stage race earlier in the year with the SVBC for practice.
4-lots of last minute help from the following:
-Tim Carson (pro bikes)-for getting in some last minute orders & super quick bike work.
-TJ Platt (top)-for home delivery service with a smile in our hectic last minute's of packing.
-Richie Rich/Bill Alcorn-Bikeflights.com-for getting their first ever international shipping quote for us in only a few days! Ship your bikes with Bikeflights!!
-how we did it:
1-of course the pro crowd has expected support the entire way, and amateurs wanting to finish follow suit and typically place heavy emphasis on having a support crew. (as we soon learned about every 10 feet on the course!) We knew this and knew we were not having, nor did we want, support people other than the checkpoint basics & ourselves. This was going to be a disadvantage, but we were willing to risk it. We made sure parts were new on bikes, packed as many of the common spare parts as we could and the things that didn't get packed we crossed our fingers were the right decision to make! That's how we did it.
-my afterthoughts:
-I did not expect to place well, and with all that went on, that part came true! I finished far at the back but am ok with it. I got to do what I wanted to do & the trip was worth it.
-I thought this before and I still think it now, I think it's more charactor to not have a constant support crew. It might mean you actually don't finish which would bite because it's expensive, but I think it ruins the self fulfillment portion of the challenge. I mean pro riding is different, they are guts out to get a good time against each other, but for the rest I would not feel as if I accomplished something if a carful of food and cheering was along my side the whole way? Not to mention the extra traffic was quite bothersome to the rider field. Most of the event I was riding more/less alone, lots of time to focus on myself & really challenge myself on every obstacle that came up and make it by myself. That was sweet.
-Would I do this event again? It is a great event, but hhmm, for a few reasons, probably not.
I was disappointed in the amount of road.
The RR bridge crossings were a little much for me to cope with.
I would rather do this again as a buddy system, as I will write about later on why.
-Would I do another stage race again? hhhmmm, for a few reasons, yeah most likely.
The constant go-go-go day after day is like a different time zone. Nothing matters except sleep-eat-ride-mechanics-eat-sleep-eat-ride, repeat.
So now you know all that, on to the gory details!
-what is it?
-Mountain Bike Stage Race from the Pacific Coast to the Caribbean, crossing Costa Rica in (4) days & covering ~250 miles, 43,000ft of climbing.
Day 1: 108km, 14,000ft, (max alt:1170m) Pacific Jaco Beach to San Jose
Day 2: 75km, xxxm, (max alt:1856m) San Jose to Tres Rios
Day 3: 85km, xxxxxm, (max alt:3025m) Tres Rios to Turrialba
Day 4: 121km, xxxxm, (max alt:840m) Turrialba to Limon Carribean Beach
-frequently rumored by below sources + others to be one of the hardest annual MTB stage races in the world with a few scary tidbits thrown in, and also an awesome life experience:
event website: http://larutadelosconquistadores.com/info/
top endurance listings: http://www.time.com/time/specials/packages/completelist/0,29569,1869820,00.html
other articles:
http://www.adventureworldmagazineonline.com/cycling/the-17th-edition-of-la-ruta-de-los-conquistadores-is-two-weeks-away/
http://www.epic-mountain-bike.com/laruta.html http://www.naturelandings.com/articles.php?article=164
http://www.dirtragmag.com/print/article.php?ID=1172&category=features
Mountain Bike Magazine, 11/09
Velo News Race & Ride Guide 2009
This is one exerpt I really liked:
"They keep it real in Costa Rica. For how long this will continue I don't know. Probably not too long. But as of today, in La Ruta you can get really lost, dehydrated, break all your teeth, and get run over by a train. No bright orange sign with block letters will warn you of this and no lawsuit will make your heirs rich. Thank God for la Ruta and those who keep it wild, cruel and wonderful."
-photos?
there are not many, part of the challenge is that it's held during the RAINY season in the RAINFOREST, hence the cameras didn't get pulled out too often & the event only had one photographer which didn't provide numerous photo ops. What photos I do have are posted on Facebook at this link:
http://www.facebook.com/album.php?aid=176746&id=621536207&l=95e99d3321
-why?
1-if you know me you know the rainforest is one of my few dream trips. Along with all the inherent dangers that might be lurking, I wanted to get as deep in it as I could but yet feel somewhat safe with the structure of an event that had at least had some support in place, at a cost that didn't totally break my savings. This did That.
2-again if you know me, you know I laugh when something is described as hard. Multiple definitive sources say this race is hard. Hard means you might actually DIE trying to do it, basically if 1,000+ peeps have finished the event & no one has DIED it can't possibly be all THAT hard to at least finish!! Plus it might be fun to be really scared.
3-again if you know me, you know I am terrified of getting older & having a second midlife crisis I fear if I don't do a few things now my body is not going to hold out much longer & I will lose my chance! I decided last year a few Stage Races were something to do to combat my aging self!
-some things I proved are true/what I learned:
1-real fear IS completely in your head. No moment is ever really as bad as you think it is at that given moment. I had a few really scary and BAD moments on this trip, but now they are over and I can have some more!!
2-bikers are not necessarily your friends, they are other people that ride bikes. Period. Along with all the genuine and maybe not so genuine "good lucks" there were some 'why would you do THAT, it's something only pros would do'. Coming from people I have encouraged, cheered for, and even took to initial races, I feel bad for these ones because they have a lot of eye opening to occur yet in their own life! In addition, this is right on the event website:
Are most of the riders experts? NO! most are regular folks that train very hard and have the willpower to finish. It is not an easy race, but anyone who knows their body and listens to what it tells them can finish. If you go out too fast, you may not make it, so pace yourself. Plan on being on your bike for 10 or 11 hours with very few stops.
3-unfortunately, it proved that a bike event is something I will never be able to do 100% independantly, this of course is not a stunning revelation, but one that will affect some future goals.
-what I am thankful for:
1-JP offering to help me go when no one else wanted to go. Even though, at times, he probably didn't want to go!
2-good advice from racers who had done the event before.
3-being allowed to tag along at a stage race earlier in the year with the SVBC for practice.
4-lots of last minute help from the following:
-Tim Carson (pro bikes)-for getting in some last minute orders & super quick bike work.
-TJ Platt (top)-for home delivery service with a smile in our hectic last minute's of packing.
-Richie Rich/Bill Alcorn-Bikeflights.com-for getting their first ever international shipping quote for us in only a few days! Ship your bikes with Bikeflights!!
-how we did it:
1-of course the pro crowd has expected support the entire way, and amateurs wanting to finish follow suit and typically place heavy emphasis on having a support crew. (as we soon learned about every 10 feet on the course!) We knew this and knew we were not having, nor did we want, support people other than the checkpoint basics & ourselves. This was going to be a disadvantage, but we were willing to risk it. We made sure parts were new on bikes, packed as many of the common spare parts as we could and the things that didn't get packed we crossed our fingers were the right decision to make! That's how we did it.
-my afterthoughts:
-I did not expect to place well, and with all that went on, that part came true! I finished far at the back but am ok with it. I got to do what I wanted to do & the trip was worth it.
-I thought this before and I still think it now, I think it's more charactor to not have a constant support crew. It might mean you actually don't finish which would bite because it's expensive, but I think it ruins the self fulfillment portion of the challenge. I mean pro riding is different, they are guts out to get a good time against each other, but for the rest I would not feel as if I accomplished something if a carful of food and cheering was along my side the whole way? Not to mention the extra traffic was quite bothersome to the rider field. Most of the event I was riding more/less alone, lots of time to focus on myself & really challenge myself on every obstacle that came up and make it by myself. That was sweet.
-Would I do this event again? It is a great event, but hhmm, for a few reasons, probably not.
I was disappointed in the amount of road.
The RR bridge crossings were a little much for me to cope with.
I would rather do this again as a buddy system, as I will write about later on why.
-Would I do another stage race again? hhhmmm, for a few reasons, yeah most likely.
The constant go-go-go day after day is like a different time zone. Nothing matters except sleep-eat-ride-mechanics-eat-sleep-eat-ride, repeat.
So now you know all that, on to the gory details!
Tuesday, December 8, 2009
La Ruta Day #4
Well, this day is supposed to be roll-out-of-the-mountains & RAIN-to-the-sunny-coast day and everything will be golden. I knew that couldn't be true and of course it was not. This is what turned out to be what seemed at the time, a string of bad scenes. Even though the climbing total was less than any other day & all bunched in the first half, it was steep gravel that went on & on & on.....in the pouring RAIN. I took all this day's climbing a little too easy not realizing how much time it was taking, but feet were sore and I thought it would be ok since the end of the day was flatter. Once at the final top, it was fast gravel/road descending in blinding pouring RAIN. I didn't see many people here or get passed much, so I figured I am pretty close to the back. agh.
This continued until we got out of the mountains & went through a huge banana plantation (a jungle in itself!) and several small 'ghetto'-like countryish towns that were scary enough you did not want to go very slow. Hoofing it through these I saw lots of racers here and there so wasn't too worried, I just tried to keep others in sight since I figured I was near the back and didn't want to get stranded out here alone for some reason.
BRIDGES!! I hit the famous railroad bridges, one after another, 6 total, each scarier than the previous. Pictures don't do these any justice, they are much sketchier than I imagined. Although local kids are running on them barefoot and I come up on lots of racers boldly walking across, I slow to a snail pace as I recheck my footing continually for fear of slipping to my real death. There are no sides on the bridges, the ties are wet, not all straight, some are rotting & some are soooo far apart I doubt my legs can reach let alone take a step towards & make it, and multiple feet below are raging muddy rapids and we all know if you survive the fall by some odd chance, downstream are waiting 15 foot crocodiles(!) I use my bike for balance with each step. Just when you think you are the end of the pack since for the last 50 miles you've seen few racers, suddenly a million people come up behind me on these and....seriously.....they NEED TO PASS! This frustrates me to no end. In their rush to cross many take the optional 'bike taxi' device across when it's available. This device sits on the tracks and is pedaled across, not much safer but faster and you don't have to walk. So the taxi wants to pass me, but there is not actual room to pass! They hold on to my sleeve so I don't fall in, I rudely state 'if I go in, so are YOU!' I really want to cross all these by myself and just take my time, but on the two big ones with the taxis I could not tolerate the bike taxi continually passing me, so on these two after about half way across I ended up jumping on it to get done. That was disappointing to do, but I really thought it passing was going to cause me to fall! The other 4 bridges had no taxi but were not soooo long so at least I got to be scared and almost crap my pants on those ones! JP later tells me he attempted to ride across all the bridges and made a few.....he insists that a bike could not possibly fall through the ties, I completely disagree along with the other 1000 peeps that walk across! Needless to say, I need to check the safetiness of rides before he is allowed to go on another one!!
So, that finally being over, back to the ghetto beach towns, riding off and on the tracks suddenly I am riding & talking with 5 costa rican-like boys. I am happy to have some people for a bit. Other than them I don't see anyone else around now. I begin to check the mileage, there should be a checkpoint at mile 64, I am at 62, I ask them if they have the same mileage and if the checkpoint is near. They report 'oh, we don't know anything about the course, we are not racers, we live here and just riding this section'. I glance at their bikes.....NO RACE PLATES(!) OMG. We were very warned to not trust or listen to locals not related to the race. The next word out of their mouths is asking me all kind of personal questions, like who I am here with, what I know about where I am riding to, etc. I get a puke feeling and try to not make it obvious as I keep checking to see if any racers are coming up behind that I can get with. No such luck. Agh. They all just passed me on the bridges! So now the mileage gets past 64 & no checkpoint, I wonder if I missed a turn again. Inside I start freaking out figuring I am now lost in the caribbean coast jungle with strangers I do not know & there is nothing I can do to fix it. And if I miss the checkpoint, I am DNF. Why am I here??? The statement, 'This was crazy' crosses my mind again.
Suddenly, an arrow!! I AM on course, but the mileage/checkpoint issue is confusing me. I make the turn and ahead I see two racers making the next turn onto the last dreaded stretch of the tracks of death that are supposed to be super bumpy and lots of miles. I take off to keep them in sight and ditch the locals ASAP. I know the end is not far off now. Once on the bumpy tracks made with cement rails I keep going as fast as I can to catch the two racers, I am looking down and look up....they are gone! huh? I can see the tracks for miles, and I see nothing else. Geez, they must have speeded up so I speed up, a little bell going off already that something is not right. I am desparate to NOT get those locals by me again, this section is deserted jungle coast, with swamps everywhere, and I am still not quite sure why I never saw mile 64 checkpoint. Not where I want to be with a group of strange boys. Eventually, a track section is covered in sand....but NO bike tracks. Oh crap. Big bells are going off now. How I have done this again?? I hesitate on backtracking, afraid of seeing the locals, but in a few minutes I see them through the swamps and they yell that I missed a turn and they will help me. I tell them NO, keep going, I will find it. I trudge back looking frantically for YELLOW arrows, scared to death the locals are backtracking too and I will be stuck with them. For the second time on the trip my eyes well up, and something I don't do often I start hysterically bawling my eyes out as I walk along. There are no racers on the tracks anywhere, there are strange animal noises everywhere, there are huge salt water swamps on both sides of the tracks, & I see no marks!! More than anything, I am now at mile 70 and wonder if I am not going to get to the finish on time on the final flipping day?!?
As I look around, one thing is nice though, the tracks parallel the ocean here and are only like ~8th of mile from it, it's all black sand & the palm trees grow right out into the waves. It was one of the prettiest calming beach scenes I ever saw. I was so happy to be getting to ride through such a wild part of nature that I otherwise would never get to do.
Ok, back to reality, look for the arrows!! Back to bawling, I look up, there is a racer!!! I RUN towards him, hysterically telling my story of getting lost & have no idea where the turn is. Thank god he is a nice guy from Belgium and has great English!! He calms me down, and points to a telephone pole right beside me.....GREEN arrows!! Geez, they switched the colors here (?), and in my defense, I am a little color blind so the green barely stood out on the dark pole. He agrees I should not be in this section alone, he is riding slow with some mechanicals & he has done the course before. He is unsure of the checkpoint issue too, but he is sure we are on course. He escorts me down the stretch of black sandyness & through the deepest salt water bogs I ever thought existed! Several miles later, ~74 miles, we hit the check, somehow it was moved but we made the time cutoff with no worries!! whew, that was close.
So, now a few more miles to the road, and then a nice finish right out to the Caribbean Sea at Limon Beach. Did I mention that it is still RAINING! Yep, the one year I do the event, even the notoriously sunny finish seems to vanish.
So, JP knows right away something happened as I got in sooo late, so he is there with my damp duffle bag & helps me get all situated for cleaning up a little and eating. We opt for the late shuttle back to San Jose which ends up being very late! We arrive to the hotel beat and hit the hay. We have a few days to relax & pack our bikes up before our flights home.
In our last few days there we tried to do a few things, but driving directions are bad here in the city areas so we didn't get much done. On one RAINY afternoon, we did a touristy hike around Paos Volcanoe, which is 'transitional forest', it was ok but we would have like to do a lot more with the time we had. During our trip home, we repeatedly said:
'never again'
'too much aggrevation for a bike ride'
'too stressful'
'jp has to worry too much about my bike stuff that he can't spend time on himself'
Needless to say, now all recovered, we are already planning a next adventure to somewhere! hehe.
This continued until we got out of the mountains & went through a huge banana plantation (a jungle in itself!) and several small 'ghetto'-like countryish towns that were scary enough you did not want to go very slow. Hoofing it through these I saw lots of racers here and there so wasn't too worried, I just tried to keep others in sight since I figured I was near the back and didn't want to get stranded out here alone for some reason.
BRIDGES!! I hit the famous railroad bridges, one after another, 6 total, each scarier than the previous. Pictures don't do these any justice, they are much sketchier than I imagined. Although local kids are running on them barefoot and I come up on lots of racers boldly walking across, I slow to a snail pace as I recheck my footing continually for fear of slipping to my real death. There are no sides on the bridges, the ties are wet, not all straight, some are rotting & some are soooo far apart I doubt my legs can reach let alone take a step towards & make it, and multiple feet below are raging muddy rapids and we all know if you survive the fall by some odd chance, downstream are waiting 15 foot crocodiles(!) I use my bike for balance with each step. Just when you think you are the end of the pack since for the last 50 miles you've seen few racers, suddenly a million people come up behind me on these and....seriously.....they NEED TO PASS! This frustrates me to no end. In their rush to cross many take the optional 'bike taxi' device across when it's available. This device sits on the tracks and is pedaled across, not much safer but faster and you don't have to walk. So the taxi wants to pass me, but there is not actual room to pass! They hold on to my sleeve so I don't fall in, I rudely state 'if I go in, so are YOU!' I really want to cross all these by myself and just take my time, but on the two big ones with the taxis I could not tolerate the bike taxi continually passing me, so on these two after about half way across I ended up jumping on it to get done. That was disappointing to do, but I really thought it passing was going to cause me to fall! The other 4 bridges had no taxi but were not soooo long so at least I got to be scared and almost crap my pants on those ones! JP later tells me he attempted to ride across all the bridges and made a few.....he insists that a bike could not possibly fall through the ties, I completely disagree along with the other 1000 peeps that walk across! Needless to say, I need to check the safetiness of rides before he is allowed to go on another one!!
So, that finally being over, back to the ghetto beach towns, riding off and on the tracks suddenly I am riding & talking with 5 costa rican-like boys. I am happy to have some people for a bit. Other than them I don't see anyone else around now. I begin to check the mileage, there should be a checkpoint at mile 64, I am at 62, I ask them if they have the same mileage and if the checkpoint is near. They report 'oh, we don't know anything about the course, we are not racers, we live here and just riding this section'. I glance at their bikes.....NO RACE PLATES(!) OMG. We were very warned to not trust or listen to locals not related to the race. The next word out of their mouths is asking me all kind of personal questions, like who I am here with, what I know about where I am riding to, etc. I get a puke feeling and try to not make it obvious as I keep checking to see if any racers are coming up behind that I can get with. No such luck. Agh. They all just passed me on the bridges! So now the mileage gets past 64 & no checkpoint, I wonder if I missed a turn again. Inside I start freaking out figuring I am now lost in the caribbean coast jungle with strangers I do not know & there is nothing I can do to fix it. And if I miss the checkpoint, I am DNF. Why am I here??? The statement, 'This was crazy' crosses my mind again.
Suddenly, an arrow!! I AM on course, but the mileage/checkpoint issue is confusing me. I make the turn and ahead I see two racers making the next turn onto the last dreaded stretch of the tracks of death that are supposed to be super bumpy and lots of miles. I take off to keep them in sight and ditch the locals ASAP. I know the end is not far off now. Once on the bumpy tracks made with cement rails I keep going as fast as I can to catch the two racers, I am looking down and look up....they are gone! huh? I can see the tracks for miles, and I see nothing else. Geez, they must have speeded up so I speed up, a little bell going off already that something is not right. I am desparate to NOT get those locals by me again, this section is deserted jungle coast, with swamps everywhere, and I am still not quite sure why I never saw mile 64 checkpoint. Not where I want to be with a group of strange boys. Eventually, a track section is covered in sand....but NO bike tracks. Oh crap. Big bells are going off now. How I have done this again?? I hesitate on backtracking, afraid of seeing the locals, but in a few minutes I see them through the swamps and they yell that I missed a turn and they will help me. I tell them NO, keep going, I will find it. I trudge back looking frantically for YELLOW arrows, scared to death the locals are backtracking too and I will be stuck with them. For the second time on the trip my eyes well up, and something I don't do often I start hysterically bawling my eyes out as I walk along. There are no racers on the tracks anywhere, there are strange animal noises everywhere, there are huge salt water swamps on both sides of the tracks, & I see no marks!! More than anything, I am now at mile 70 and wonder if I am not going to get to the finish on time on the final flipping day?!?
As I look around, one thing is nice though, the tracks parallel the ocean here and are only like ~8th of mile from it, it's all black sand & the palm trees grow right out into the waves. It was one of the prettiest calming beach scenes I ever saw. I was so happy to be getting to ride through such a wild part of nature that I otherwise would never get to do.
Ok, back to reality, look for the arrows!! Back to bawling, I look up, there is a racer!!! I RUN towards him, hysterically telling my story of getting lost & have no idea where the turn is. Thank god he is a nice guy from Belgium and has great English!! He calms me down, and points to a telephone pole right beside me.....GREEN arrows!! Geez, they switched the colors here (?), and in my defense, I am a little color blind so the green barely stood out on the dark pole. He agrees I should not be in this section alone, he is riding slow with some mechanicals & he has done the course before. He is unsure of the checkpoint issue too, but he is sure we are on course. He escorts me down the stretch of black sandyness & through the deepest salt water bogs I ever thought existed! Several miles later, ~74 miles, we hit the check, somehow it was moved but we made the time cutoff with no worries!! whew, that was close.
So, now a few more miles to the road, and then a nice finish right out to the Caribbean Sea at Limon Beach. Did I mention that it is still RAINING! Yep, the one year I do the event, even the notoriously sunny finish seems to vanish.
So, JP knows right away something happened as I got in sooo late, so he is there with my damp duffle bag & helps me get all situated for cleaning up a little and eating. We opt for the late shuttle back to San Jose which ends up being very late! We arrive to the hotel beat and hit the hay. We have a few days to relax & pack our bikes up before our flights home.
In our last few days there we tried to do a few things, but driving directions are bad here in the city areas so we didn't get much done. On one RAINY afternoon, we did a touristy hike around Paos Volcanoe, which is 'transitional forest', it was ok but we would have like to do a lot more with the time we had. During our trip home, we repeatedly said:
'never again'
'too much aggrevation for a bike ride'
'too stressful'
'jp has to worry too much about my bike stuff that he can't spend time on himself'
Needless to say, now all recovered, we are already planning a next adventure to somewhere! hehe.
Monday, December 7, 2009
La Ruta Day #3
Arriving at the start, the Giant locals come through with the wheel! I am SO glad & keep bowing to them because I can't say anything they understand. In the back of my mind I know anything could go wrong with a borrowed wheel, but at least I have a chance.
Day #3 is not so intimidating on the elevation chart as Day 1 or 2. Although we climb lots and go from 1200m to 3000m total with some false downs in it, the day is basic up a live volcanoe (Irazu) via some double track and then ongoing forever switchback pavement. It is RAINING. RAIN gets harder and a little cooler as we near the top. Everyone stops to put on jackets, etc. I have a jersey and arm warmers and only pull the arm warmers up on the false downs. At checkpoint 1, I see most all the midpack girls taking a huge rest, I wonder why? I figure to just keep going I feel good so I head up the start of the long road stuff first, just figuring they would all catch up. I get to the top, where the terrain is known to change drastically and only 1 girl in sight. It is windy RAIN, I pocket some sandwiches, lube a little, and tear off for what I know is going to be a super bumpy slick rock long descent. The volunteers all attempt to hold me up for several moments, claiming it will get colder on the descent and I NEED my jacket on. Finally I get across to them that I have one in my pack, but if it is not colder than now I don't need it. Finally they get it and let me continue! It's like freakin 55. Down the other side of the volcanoe is all old volcanoe rocks everywhere, yet it is like a road to them here. It's wide, the rocks are big and covered in mud but you can really pick a line and just keep bumping downward. I get 'out of control' fast & just keep bouncing along, don't see any girls the entire time and pass a lot of guys walking. I almost collide with freerange cattle, horses, and chickens. I hit the bottom checkpoint thanking god for no flats or chain issues & onto the continuing descent to town on fast smooth wet pavement. The RAIN is so hard I can barely see but keep going. I finish ok this day and this was a super fun day!
This day ends in a country club, JP is there all cleaned up & helped me get everything done and ready for the shuttle on time back to our inner city mountain town hotel. It is still POURING RAIN. Once again, we prepare our damp duffle bag items for the next & final day.
Day #3 is not so intimidating on the elevation chart as Day 1 or 2. Although we climb lots and go from 1200m to 3000m total with some false downs in it, the day is basic up a live volcanoe (Irazu) via some double track and then ongoing forever switchback pavement. It is RAINING. RAIN gets harder and a little cooler as we near the top. Everyone stops to put on jackets, etc. I have a jersey and arm warmers and only pull the arm warmers up on the false downs. At checkpoint 1, I see most all the midpack girls taking a huge rest, I wonder why? I figure to just keep going I feel good so I head up the start of the long road stuff first, just figuring they would all catch up. I get to the top, where the terrain is known to change drastically and only 1 girl in sight. It is windy RAIN, I pocket some sandwiches, lube a little, and tear off for what I know is going to be a super bumpy slick rock long descent. The volunteers all attempt to hold me up for several moments, claiming it will get colder on the descent and I NEED my jacket on. Finally I get across to them that I have one in my pack, but if it is not colder than now I don't need it. Finally they get it and let me continue! It's like freakin 55. Down the other side of the volcanoe is all old volcanoe rocks everywhere, yet it is like a road to them here. It's wide, the rocks are big and covered in mud but you can really pick a line and just keep bumping downward. I get 'out of control' fast & just keep bouncing along, don't see any girls the entire time and pass a lot of guys walking. I almost collide with freerange cattle, horses, and chickens. I hit the bottom checkpoint thanking god for no flats or chain issues & onto the continuing descent to town on fast smooth wet pavement. The RAIN is so hard I can barely see but keep going. I finish ok this day and this was a super fun day!
This day ends in a country club, JP is there all cleaned up & helped me get everything done and ready for the shuttle on time back to our inner city mountain town hotel. It is still POURING RAIN. Once again, we prepare our damp duffle bag items for the next & final day.
La Ruta Day #2
This day is shorter than day #1 and does not have the mud mess, so the start gets to be at 6AM, yippee! Roll out right from the hotel sitting in town at 850m & STRAIGHT UP until we reach 1800m, within 10km. Nasty stuff. Some was smooth, some was not. There were portions I had to walk but I rode all that I could, I'd say a good portion of it. At last check my garmin was reading ~37-39ish grades & that was not the steepest, but the garmin didn't catch it all. This put us up in some country farm areas as we started to descend on country roads, some very steep roads down(!), in which the people were really cool. As you pass by small schools, children walking to school/playing, and farm workers, everyone cheered in spanish. I don't know what they were saying but it sounded nice, and it was like having your own little tour de france ride! Some kids had out hoses to squirt you when it was hot.
The second big climb hit long paved switchbacks to 1800m again, it was humid HOT, I got passed a lot here as I was tiring out and trying to take some pressure off what were becoming sore feet. At the top I took a few kodak moments and savored the valley views which were so lush green and peaceful. Hard to believe they are also some cow pastures? weird. So my mileage says the end is within an hour, I am ok that a few more girls passed me & are now barreling down the road/gravel descent, I know there won't be THAT much time between our finishes. Then my first disaster, suddenly I come to a intersection with NO COURSE MARKINGS!!!! oh no, so far the course has been marked very well so I know right away I missed something yet I refused to believe it. I go a little further, I continue to second guess my decision to turn around and waste some time. Eventually, after what I find out later is about 6 miles off course, I high tail back desperate to find the turn I somehow missed. I am frustrated as I check my time, I have 3 hours till cutoff but I am not sure where I am and what the last climb could be like. Then disaster two strikes, I feel gears slipping and within minutes I got nothin. Rear hub has died. The vision flashes before me that I am not going to finish on time today, and not make the official finishers list. My eyes start to well up. With all the preparation, how could THIS happen?? WHY did it happen?? HOW could I miss a turn that other people found, and my hub temporary miracle fix no longer works. This is not meant to be, everyone was right, this trip was a dumb idea! I am just about ready to burst into tears when I look up and see the missed turn!!! Suddenly it's all better! I figure it's about 5 miles from here to walk and I have 2 hours to make it so off I go walk/running/fred flinstoning it as fast as I could. A motorcycle support guy goes past a few times, he thinks I am just walking from being tired & I just give him the thumbs up and he takes off. About an hour later I reach a town, and figure about 2 miles to go, he comes by again. This time I realize I know him, (he is Roberto Haras' rico suave spanish support friend & helped JP with mechanicals on day 1) he asks more questions, then insists he get me to the finish line rather than walk. I refuse the offer kindly as I DO NOT want a DNF, he looked sad, as he is a formor world champion moto guy from the 80s & is here lovin' scooting around rescuing lives during the race! He grudingly says 'have it your way' and revs away. 10 minutes later he is back, he has news for me. He told the organizers what happened & where I am, they said it's a bad section to walk in alone and he can tow me in and I will not get a DNF, I will have legitimate finish. (The rules state is you ignore organizers direction for sag, you will get DNF) So ok, I get ready for a 5mph tow, but that is not what he had in mind. He slaps his hand on my back and revs it up, flying through tight city streets & corners where stops are optional for everyone and passing can occur in oncoming lanes, we weave in and out for 2 miles at 40kph!!! I hit the finish line that fast! whew, that was fun in a sick sort of way:-)
So, I know it's late, and today's set up is to get shuttled to a hotel from the finish. Dinner, shower, mechanics are here and everything will shut down very soon for the night and the last shuttles will leave. This leaves little time for figuring out what I can do, if anything, about my bike. We did not pack extra wheels/hubs. I frantically start eyeing the clearing out lot for JP. He is nowhere. I Spanglish the best I can to the mechanics and they start to tear my bike apart. I grab some grub while still rushing about, finally I find out JP had seen I didn't come in at a time he expected and all the other girls did so he got over worried & is out on the course with a ride looking for me. They have radioed to tell them I am back, but it seems to take forever until they get back. I fill him in, we get our options, and rico suave offers to be a translator and the local Giant Demo guys end up saying they can get me a loaner wheel to use it will be there in the morning. I cross my fingers as I head to the shuttle. It is pouring RAIN.
This has been a stressful day, I lost over 2 hours time & feeling emotional blah because there is nothing I can do to guarantee even my start the next day & it makes me very uneasy. I did find some comfort in that Tinker & others missed the same turn, he got off course far enough that he decided to bail on an official finish. Shuttle to a trendy city hotel suite, get a young tico-turned-american roommate, have major difficulties getting checked in, hang in the restaurant iwth racers, & prepare all our damp duffle bag items for Day #3.
The second big climb hit long paved switchbacks to 1800m again, it was humid HOT, I got passed a lot here as I was tiring out and trying to take some pressure off what were becoming sore feet. At the top I took a few kodak moments and savored the valley views which were so lush green and peaceful. Hard to believe they are also some cow pastures? weird. So my mileage says the end is within an hour, I am ok that a few more girls passed me & are now barreling down the road/gravel descent, I know there won't be THAT much time between our finishes. Then my first disaster, suddenly I come to a intersection with NO COURSE MARKINGS!!!! oh no, so far the course has been marked very well so I know right away I missed something yet I refused to believe it. I go a little further, I continue to second guess my decision to turn around and waste some time. Eventually, after what I find out later is about 6 miles off course, I high tail back desperate to find the turn I somehow missed. I am frustrated as I check my time, I have 3 hours till cutoff but I am not sure where I am and what the last climb could be like. Then disaster two strikes, I feel gears slipping and within minutes I got nothin. Rear hub has died. The vision flashes before me that I am not going to finish on time today, and not make the official finishers list. My eyes start to well up. With all the preparation, how could THIS happen?? WHY did it happen?? HOW could I miss a turn that other people found, and my hub temporary miracle fix no longer works. This is not meant to be, everyone was right, this trip was a dumb idea! I am just about ready to burst into tears when I look up and see the missed turn!!! Suddenly it's all better! I figure it's about 5 miles from here to walk and I have 2 hours to make it so off I go walk/running/fred flinstoning it as fast as I could. A motorcycle support guy goes past a few times, he thinks I am just walking from being tired & I just give him the thumbs up and he takes off. About an hour later I reach a town, and figure about 2 miles to go, he comes by again. This time I realize I know him, (he is Roberto Haras' rico suave spanish support friend & helped JP with mechanicals on day 1) he asks more questions, then insists he get me to the finish line rather than walk. I refuse the offer kindly as I DO NOT want a DNF, he looked sad, as he is a formor world champion moto guy from the 80s & is here lovin' scooting around rescuing lives during the race! He grudingly says 'have it your way' and revs away. 10 minutes later he is back, he has news for me. He told the organizers what happened & where I am, they said it's a bad section to walk in alone and he can tow me in and I will not get a DNF, I will have legitimate finish. (The rules state is you ignore organizers direction for sag, you will get DNF) So ok, I get ready for a 5mph tow, but that is not what he had in mind. He slaps his hand on my back and revs it up, flying through tight city streets & corners where stops are optional for everyone and passing can occur in oncoming lanes, we weave in and out for 2 miles at 40kph!!! I hit the finish line that fast! whew, that was fun in a sick sort of way:-)
So, I know it's late, and today's set up is to get shuttled to a hotel from the finish. Dinner, shower, mechanics are here and everything will shut down very soon for the night and the last shuttles will leave. This leaves little time for figuring out what I can do, if anything, about my bike. We did not pack extra wheels/hubs. I frantically start eyeing the clearing out lot for JP. He is nowhere. I Spanglish the best I can to the mechanics and they start to tear my bike apart. I grab some grub while still rushing about, finally I find out JP had seen I didn't come in at a time he expected and all the other girls did so he got over worried & is out on the course with a ride looking for me. They have radioed to tell them I am back, but it seems to take forever until they get back. I fill him in, we get our options, and rico suave offers to be a translator and the local Giant Demo guys end up saying they can get me a loaner wheel to use it will be there in the morning. I cross my fingers as I head to the shuttle. It is pouring RAIN.
This has been a stressful day, I lost over 2 hours time & feeling emotional blah because there is nothing I can do to guarantee even my start the next day & it makes me very uneasy. I did find some comfort in that Tinker & others missed the same turn, he got off course far enough that he decided to bail on an official finish. Shuttle to a trendy city hotel suite, get a young tico-turned-american roommate, have major difficulties getting checked in, hang in the restaurant iwth racers, & prepare all our damp duffle bag items for Day #3.
La Ruta Day #1
JP and I have been 'getting ready' all summer for our chosen big bike adventure, La Ruta in Costa Rica. You'd think we would be organized and ready to go, but it's never that easy for us! So we start the trip off with me misreading our flight departure time, forgetting my license at home, and hitting the airport just in time to RUN for our first plane. whew, that was close, we proved that you CAN get from check-in to plane in about 14 minutes.
We leave a few days earlier than needed due to most likely not all luggage will be on time and this is the case. So after a long day of flights & shuttles, I end up stuck with no bike & no clothes for two days. At least it's warm & we are on Jaco beach, the hotel also has some really crappy free bikes you can take so that is about all we could do. We explored what we could on them.
We leave a few days earlier than needed due to most likely not all luggage will be on time and this is the case. So after a long day of flights & shuttles, I end up stuck with no bike & no clothes for two days. At least it's warm & we are on Jaco beach, the hotel also has some really crappy free bikes you can take so that is about all we could do. We explored what we could on them.
(riding along Jaco Beach area)
Having an extra day to relax, we decide to check out the jungle on a suspended bridge hike. We figure it's a short drive, main highway, let's just rent a economy car (fiesta like). We know we were told by lots of friends the roads require 4-wheel drive to get anywhere but seriously we were only going up the road 20 minutes! Anyhow, you can imagine what happens next, one turn off the highway to the destination and we are four-wheeling on extreme mountain roads & across waterfall runoffs in a Fiesta!! I even got out at one point to not be directly involved in any damage! So once we reach the spot, of course the pouring RAIN starts, the park people tell us it's REALLY DANGEROUS to venture out on a hike NOW that mudslides occur, etc, etc. I ask...'could we die?' they say '....yes.' hhmm, I blurt out 'then yep, we are still going!' So they drop us off at the entrance, warn us they are NOT responsible for us & lock the gate behind us, and we venture along. About 6 bridges to cross, kind of scary being so high but JP the naturalist is able to spot a toucan since we are up in the trees at times. The trail quickly turns to a gushing river & popping around in the water I see little flourescent treefrogs, my favorite and what I wanted to see! We observe them closely......but do not touch or lick. We manage to get the Fiesta back without apparant damage:-)
(eating lunch outside in the jungle restaurant during a RAINFOREST RAIN)
So the day before the race start, the place is crowding with riders & the race meeting is on. We get lots of information, and are quickly introduced to Spanglish, the conversation method we will hear & get a little tired of for the next 10 days. Every communication takes three times as long & everything is printed twice. Before we start meeting & greeting my bike is here, some damaged needs repaired & we head out with others to check out the prologue to the first climb before the afternoon RAIN begins.
(checking out the prologue start)
Race Day #1
The rumor is day #1 is SO hard & that if you can finish it, the other days will seem easy. To be fair and make sure everyone has a chance this day, it is necessary to start at 5AM. Freak. Stuff all your belongings for the next 4 days into a duffle bag, throw the rest of your luggage into storage for the week, and we are off totally dependant on the race organizers to come though for us. This day is good for me, after a ton of gravel climbing & some nasty downhilling in some huge rutted out packed trails, we get to the famous mud crap miles in the jungle and it starts to RAIN. When we hit it I LOVE it, I am ready to hike-a-bike all day if I have to! Everyone is whining & people start to slow down as they get frustrated with bikes packing, weighing a lot, etc. Thick mud at some points is over my knees and rocks are in it so footing is careful. I have carried my bike from the mud start so it never gets too heavy & when I do coast a few down hills I can hear the river crossing at the bottom so know I can rinse & lube which I do at every crossing. A few are deeper with fast current but not too hard. Finally out of the jungle, I am excited for more. But the excitement fades quick as I find out we are in for a 20 mile ROAD climb, followed by some extra gravel climbing to the end. Agh, about 1/2 up this all the peeps that hated the mud start to catch up to me and they like the road! Bummer. Anyhow, I finish this day with an ok time and nothing was too much of a pain in the butt, I didn't feel over pressured to meet the check point times, even without having a race pace for any long areas. This day is finished by rolling right into the night's hotel, sweet set up with dinner & bike cleaning waiting. JP is there all cleaned up and helps me get settled in & we get our stuff ready for Day 2. Unfortunately, he did not have such a geat time, with chain issues early on and the realization that in packing somehow part of his chain tool was missing, it took him some extra time to get going again after lots of walking. Once back, he got rooked on the price of a badly needed new chain:-(
We both had packed a little more than planned for this day, still skimpy, but not knowing how the stations would be a little more was safer. Now we know, so we both pack a little skimpier for Day 2. There was enough food, drinks, mechanical help, bike wash, etc at the stations. You really just needed to have stuff for about 15-20 miles on the trail with you and bike know-how.
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