"Eso! Eso!" Racers receive cheers from children in Catholic school uniforms,
friends at rest areas and staff in cars as the bikes climb ever so slowly
toward the clouds of this spectacular canopy forest. La Ruta is underway, the
riders are in good spirits and — best of all — this end of the rainy season
is thus far dry today.
Later, the chattering of English and Spanish mixes with the clattering of
tired bikes and the sight of medical staff administering IVs at the finish of
La Ruta's first stage. It's a warm Friday midafternoon and all the top
riders have finished their first day of racing, rested in the tall grass and
— if they could sit up straight — eaten a lunch of arroz, spaghetti, ensalada
and Gatorade.
| ...one of these monsters scored a
fisherman the other day when he went to retrieve his line from the polluted
river.... |
|  |
Aboard the MountainZone.com mobile internet command center (a minivan with
cigarette-lighter adapter blazing), all can be seen of the carnage that is
stage one of La Ruta. SUVs are parked all around the finish line, while
medical personnel attend to exhausted and dehydrated riders and organizers
prepare to move the race to tomorrow's location. One surprising thing is just
how chipper many of the top riders are — while stragglers are treated to a
long rest and a cool drink.
Time is against riders in La Ruta, as competitors must be off the course by
sundown. "We used to let riders keep going in years past," a staffer tells
me. "But then they'd wander into the finish at like 10 at night in the
middle of a fog." So this year's motto may be keep up or get off the course.
Nearly 200 riders began Friday's first stage, as the race struck out of a
scenic coastal resort on the Pacific side of Costa Rica near Punta Leona.
Three am wake-up calls went out to everyone, breakfast was served at four,
and the race officially began at 5am. With a hoot and a holler all
riders headed for the hills. The MountainZone.com staff gathered our cameras and
jumped in the back of pickup trucks — driven by insane locals whose one
mission was to pass all riders on the steepest section of the mountain trail.
Of the large field, we were told that 80 racers hailed from North America
(mostly from the US). Colorado is definitely in the house this weekend, many
riders deciding to set a course for adventure and see how this race stacks up
to their high-altitude events. Many of them ran into each other in the
airport, and they've formed a very informal team going up against the
seemingly unbeatable Costa Ricans.
| Two
ladies from Colorado were ruling the women's field, serving notice that the
American women came to ride.... |
| |
Well into the race (at 7:00am), riders were grinding up the first of many
ridiculous hills, their spirits as high as their blood sugar levels. That
would soon change, but for now the long string of riders wound their way up
dark forested passes, gaining 3,000 feet of elevation before quickly losing
it all on even more ridiculous descents.
Fifteen enormous crocodiles basked in the warm tropical sun as the race
progressed nearby, our guide telling us how one of these monsters scored a
fisherman the other day when he went to retrieve his line from the polluted
river, flowing from the capital city of San Jose. We were impressed and
quickly scampered back into the 4x4, rejoining the race and being duly
impressed by the many fields of sugar cane, papaya and coconut trees and
various wildlife slithering around the tall grass.
With three major mountain chains running lengthwise through the country,
riders will have plenty of climbing and descending as they work their way
from Pacific to Caribbean. Volcanoes, fertile valleys and dense rainforest
between have already wreaked havoc on bikes and bodies — and we only crossed
one of the ranges.
Riders and bikes continued their slow climbs and high-flying descents
throughout the morning, as a local 24-year-old Costa Rican rider took a
commanding lead over his countrymen and any other male challengers. Two
ladies from Colorado were ruling the women's field, serving notice that the
American women came to ride.
One of them, Christina Beggy, finished 2nd in her class and was impressed
with the course when we caught up with the Handlebar and Grill team at the
finish line. "It's awesome!" she said as she wiped the red clay off her legs.
Asked if she believes this to be the world's toughest mountain bike race she
paused and said, "I don't know — Montezuma's Revenge is pretty tough. I'll
have to wait until this is over to decide. But it's definitely tough."
Friday evening saw the circus relax for the night, as the production moved to
two hotels downtown before embarking on Saturday's next stage. Racing starts
at 6am, going from San Jose to Turrialba, two thirds of the way to the
finish and several mountains from the finish in Limon on the Caribbean side
of the country. But riders won't be there until Sunday, so check back often
for more updates from La Ruta.
– Ari Cheren, "El Gringo Loco," for MountainZone.com
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