November 14, 2008 (San Jose, Costa Rica) — I had a great sleep last night. I set my alarm for 4:30 am, which I calculated would have given me time for breakfast and prep before catching the 5:30am shuttle to the start line in Quinta del Sol. After I double checked that the alarm was set for AM, I inserted earplugs to block the noise of San Jose city traffic, and drifted into a deep slumber and did not wake up again until 5:13 am. Oops.

That only gave me 18 minutes to get on the shuttle, and I definitely needed food beforehand. There was no way I was going to eat bars and gels for breakfast, as I nearly vomited yesterday from over-consumption of race food. I jumped out of bed, kitted up, packed my race bag, brushed my hair and teeth, then busted downstairs where all the racers and their yellow bags were gathered to board the shuttles. Nothing was really moving yet, so I ran to the breakfast room, grabbed three pancakes, two bananas, a slice of bread, and a cup of coffee, and chowed down in the lobby – all within the span of 18 minutes.

At the race site, I collected my bike, which the huge team of La Ruta mechanics had salvaged for me after the ravages of Stage 1. Then I headed to the staging area, where I got a berth near the front. The pack of 323 riders rolled out at 7:00 am to the blasting beats of techno music. The first 5km were fast, rolling pavement and several pacelines formed, but I stuck to the plan and went my own speed. I had 4,000 metres of vertical gain ahead of me, and I was not about to fry my legs by trying to stay with a group.

At the 5km mark, we headed onto a gravel track, which angled sharply skyward with some very steep climbs. I had heard about these, but it really takes an up-close and personal experience with them to fully appreciate the angles. I was stubborn, though, and refused to get off my bike, because I am incredibly inefficient on foot. The hardest sections were rough concrete slabs (I guess the roads are so steep, this gnarly concrete is the only way vehicles can get traction) that fully killed all momentum. The top of that climb was at 12km, and from there we were treated to a ridge traverse with some amazing views of the surrounding peaks and valleys. The day was super clear, so I could see green mountains like the backs of sleeping dinosaurs (the Island from the movie Jurassic Park is actually located in Costa Rica) way into the distance, with villages and coffee plantations strewn throughout the valleys.

The track descended quite quickly and roughly (I passed a guy walking with a completely shattered front wheel), and then veered sharply to the left, where I was treated to La Ruta’s brand new 3km section of singletrack, which slalomed through young coffee plants and then bisected a big grassy field, with one mildly steep turny downhill bit thrown in. This is the only singletrack in the entire four-day race, so I made sure to savour it by passing a lot of riders who were not used to the skinny trails.

After this, the course rejoined a gravel road, which suddenly plummeted towards the valley bottom via a precipitous grade. Not only was it steep, it was ribbed with huge, foot-deep ruts and greasy mud. After nearly 5km of this type of descending, my brakes were howling with heat. This made the near-misses with dirt bikes, dogs and trucks all travelling the same roads even more heart-pounding – but also so uniquely Costa Rican.

The next road climb followed by rolling gravel terrain passed by quickly and before I knew it, I was at the second feed zone at 30.7km, just in time for the next two long pavement climbs before the third feed. Those climbs went smoothly as well. I just kept spinning the pedals (after this race, I will write an Ode to the Granny Gear) and keeping my ticker in check. I’d passed yesterday’s second place woman, Sara Bresnick-Zocchi (USA) Pedalpowercoaching.com and third placed Tamara Goeppel (YK) Lekki Bike Extreme early on, but I wasn’t sure how far back they were. I tried to tell myself it didn’t matter, but I’m a competitor by nature. Nevertheless, I stayed disciplined.

I may also write an Ode to the Potato. Just the thought of eating bars and gels all day turned my stomach, so I opted for the boiled, salted potatoes in feed zone 4 on the way up the mega climb, which topped out at nearly 2,000m. Wow, compact, salty, easy to eat, lots of carbs – potatoes should be the new superfood! This was another long asphalt climb, but I was spurred on by cries of “Venga muchacha!” and cheers from children lining schoolyard gates.

As I descended towards the finish, riders got spread out more and more, and suddenly I realized I hadn’t been paying attention for “La Ruta” signs and markings, which come in the form of spray-painted neon green arrows on tarmac, walls, trees, rocks, etc., as well as red and white signage. I would sigh in relief as I saw arrows again, but quickly became nervous a km or so later, when again, I hadn’t seen markings in a while, and there are an impossible number of turnoffs, paths and roads. I stayed on track, however, unlike many others (it seems getting lost is a common La Ruta right of passage), and crossed under the finish banner in a time of 5:37.52 after 78km.

After another cold post-race shower and a big meal provided by the organizers, I shuttled back to the hotel, where I had another big meal at the Denny’s next door. Yes, Denny’s. Speaking of which, I’m actually kind of hungry again.

Tomorrow is Day 3 and the assault of the Irazu volcano, which peaks at 3,010m. It will be the shortest stage at 66.7km, but the climb will be grueling and it’s often cold and wet up top.

Quotes and Notes

– Cathy Zeglinski (BC) Northlands Medical still misses Whistler: “There was so much road. But when I hit the mud, I immediately got a smile on my face.”

– Cory Wallace (AB) Freewheel Cycle had a phenomenal ride today, placing ninth in the Open Men’s category. “It was a good day,” he commented.

– Tony Routley (BC) Team Whistler was also all smiles this morning: “There’s nothing flat in Costa Rica,” he said as a prelude to today’s incredible hilly stage. He placed second in Stage 2 and is ranked second overall in the Veterans category.

– Thomas Yip (AB) Motion Chiropractic/Chariot Carriers of Calgary is a first-time La Ruta participant. He’s enjoying the journey: “There’s really nothing else you can do, where you push yourself to the extreme, than by doing something like this,” he said.

– Craig Fabische (BC) Overtime Sports had some more bad luck today after he snapped his chain twice yesterday. The extreme braking caused his rear brake rotor to crack in several places: “I’m lucky it didn’t explode,” he said. He’s very pleased with his 17th place ranking in the Master A category. “I’m ecstatic.”