Day 4
Another tough one. 50 miles with almost 8000 ft of climbing. Last 2000 ft started at mile 40 and ended t mile 43. That's right 2500ft in 3 miles with a pretty steady grade of 20%.
We started off in a nice pace. I could see Trever was feeling good or at least MUCH better than day 2. I, on the other hand was feeling nauseous. I kept burping some guava juice from breakfast and was having issues eating.
We covered the first 20 miles under 2 hrs so we were doing ok we then hit a 10 mile section of with some pretty technical parts and most people were having issues with it. We were not having the same problem. It was actually fun. I did realize that there are cool people and assholes everywhere. I flatted on this section, fixed the flat and kept going.
We've been hanging around with this couple from Switzerland, Yvonne and Simon. Really nice couple with a great sense of humor. We came up on them and they had stopped on the trail. I came up on Simon and had one of those "oh shit, I can't clip out" moments and headed down the hill. Nothing major, just some scrapes and bruises. Trever tried to help and almost fell on top of me. Kind of comical at the time.
We made to the second aid station and it was getting hot. We covered the first 30 miles in just over 3 hours. Still doing ok. Still not feeling well and not eating very much We stayed here for about 5 minutes and then moved on. We only had 20 miles to go. Piece of cake, right?
At this point I was doing fine as long as the grade was less than 5%. If it kicked up and I couldn't spin I was in trouble. Suffering. We expected the last aid station at mile 40 before the start of the last climb. Well,we hit mile 40 and no aid station. The aid station was at the TOP of the hill. WTF?!?! We were almost out of fluids. Trever was overheating. I could hardly pedal. This climb was a steady 20% for 2-3 miles and we had to sit down in the shade. We were both pissed. Most of the riders offered water. One in particular who calls me "americano" and truly thinks I speak Portuguese because somehow we communicate, filled up my bottle from his camelback. I call him "brasileiro". We pretty much walked for about a mile. Neither of us could pedal up the steep grade.
When we finally made it to the aid station it was scorching hot. Phoenix hot we heard it got up to 110 degrees. Brasileiro gave me a cold red bull and I chugged it. He then poured cold water on my head. He knew I was in trouble and was trying to help. About 60 seconds later I vomited the red bull and the last few gels I had taken. The medic saw this and had me sit down while they tried to cool me. Trever was waiting in what little shade there was.
Last 5 miles- why the fuck would they put an aid station 5 miles from the finish. We climbed a bit more. Brasileiro came by me and pushed me for a few seconds. Thank you!!
Finally back at the finish with a 2 mile descent. Back though town to the finish. Took us about 5:45. We were hoping for 5 good news is that we finished. I did find out that Trever gets a little grumpy when he's exhausted.
I got checked out by the medics because my body was burning up for the next few hours but they said I was ok. Just tired. No shit Sherlock.
Tomorrow we have 129 km / 80 miles but the climbing should not be too bad. Thanks for reading.
Wednesday, September 26, 2012
Ride Brasil 2012 - Day 3
Day 3 - XC stage
Today was a different kind of stage than what was presented to us as a cross country stage. The program said 5 laps around a 7 km loop and we didn't have to ride together. Both Trever and I were still tired from from yesterday - very tired.
We decided to ride by feel. I wanted to do well but wasn't sure how the legs would react. I decided to start fast and see how I felt. Trever was going to do the opposite. Start slow and increase the pace if he felt good.
We started at 10 am. The start was crazy with 300 racers trying to get the hole shot. The course was a true mountain bike course with fun twisty singletrack, double track, one hellish 50 yard hike-a-bike, a treacherous singletrack downhill and a section of pave on steroids. I had a decent start and did the first lap in about 25-26 minutes, then slowly started slowing down after each lap.
I lost one of my water bottles on the first lap so I had to stop after each lap to fill up so I wasted a little time. I started to get lapped by the pros halfway through my 3rd lap and I started to struggle a bit so I decided to stop "racing" and just ride it out. At the end of my fourth lap I was told that was it. I was a bit confused. Apparently everyone finishes on the same lap as the winner.
Trever managed to pull in 3 laps so we did ok. Not sure how they calculated times but we moved from 20th to 13th. Not bad for a short stage when both of us took it "easy".
Tomorrow is a 80km day so we hope to be done in about 5 hrs. We hope!! :-)
Today was a different kind of stage than what was presented to us as a cross country stage. The program said 5 laps around a 7 km loop and we didn't have to ride together. Both Trever and I were still tired from from yesterday - very tired.
We decided to ride by feel. I wanted to do well but wasn't sure how the legs would react. I decided to start fast and see how I felt. Trever was going to do the opposite. Start slow and increase the pace if he felt good.
We started at 10 am. The start was crazy with 300 racers trying to get the hole shot. The course was a true mountain bike course with fun twisty singletrack, double track, one hellish 50 yard hike-a-bike, a treacherous singletrack downhill and a section of pave on steroids. I had a decent start and did the first lap in about 25-26 minutes, then slowly started slowing down after each lap.
I lost one of my water bottles on the first lap so I had to stop after each lap to fill up so I wasted a little time. I started to get lapped by the pros halfway through my 3rd lap and I started to struggle a bit so I decided to stop "racing" and just ride it out. At the end of my fourth lap I was told that was it. I was a bit confused. Apparently everyone finishes on the same lap as the winner.
Trever managed to pull in 3 laps so we did ok. Not sure how they calculated times but we moved from 20th to 13th. Not bad for a short stage when both of us took it "easy".
Tomorrow is a 80km day so we hope to be done in about 5 hrs. We hope!! :-)
Brasil Ride 2012 - Day 2
Queen stage :-)
Things I learned today:
The reason why this race is a 2 person team event
One month is not enough time to prepare for this event no matter how fit or experience you are
Garmin 500 battery life is just over 10 hours
My bike is lighter than Trever's
Stage 2 we were told was the hardest stage with a distance of 90 miles and over 10000 ft of climbing. It sounded menacing and it was. The stage started with 10 miles of paved road and then another 10 on a rolling dirt road. We covered the first 20 miles in about 1 hour. We rode with the lead pack for the first 10 miles and decided to back off and be conservative. It was going to be a long day.
I knew Trever was not having a great day when he started falling off of my pace on the climbs so I started backing off or slowing down at the top of the climbs. We made to the halfway point in about 4 hrs and thought we were doing good time. Not slow, not fast. Steady. The weather was cooperating also with light rain for the first 4-5 hours. I was trying to help by pushing when I could.
This is about when things started to get ugly. Trever was looking worse even though he was eating and drinking. We hit the first singletrack which was fun and we kept motoring. At about mile 60 we started the most difficult crazy 30 miles. About 10 miles of technical singletrack with tons of steep hike-a-bike sections. This section was called vietnam. By the way I HATE VIETNAM!!
Just before the tough section Trever clipped his handlebars on a rock and did the most amazing endo. It was a thing of beauty. He landed hard on his shoulder and I truly thought he was done. I expected a broken collar bone or damaged shoulder. Luckily he only bruised his thigh, took some skin of his shin (nice memory of Brazil) and bruised his hand. We sat for maybe 5 minutes and then continued on.
At this point I was very worried about Trever. He looked bad so I started taking his bike on the hike-a-bike section and pushing both bikes up the hills while he walked, drank and ate. I was feeling very good. Felt strong. (this is why this race is a two person team event - you never know what can happen and why I know my bike is lighter than his).
Trever is one of the most fit people I know and has done more stage races than anyone I know, we've done a few events together and he has pushed and pulled me on more than one occasion so it felt good to be able to repay and I was set on doing everything I could to get him to the finish line. I must say that Trever only got a one month advance notice about this race while I have been preparing for 3-4 months.
We finally made it out of Vietnam and to the last aid station. We got Trever some medical help. They checked his blood pressure, gave him some anti nausea medication and forced him to eat and drink. We were probably there for about 30 minutes. All we had left was 13-14 miles of dirt road, 3000 ft of climbing with pitches up to 30%. OUCH!! We had 4 miles of rollers then the big climb and finally the descent into the finish. I pulled Trever again at the bottom and then the doors fell off. All of a sudden it was me feeling nauseous. I had to get off my bike a few times when it got too steep. At one point I got off the bike, took my helmet off and sat down. Another 10 minutes lost. Cramps started hit me near the top so I had to pedal one legged while still climbing.
Top of the hill and 2 mikes to the finish. Relief!! We made it to the finish in about 10:30 hours. Barely!! Trever got two I.V. Bags in him while I found us a hotel (1 mile climb - MOFO). Rode back into town, got some burgers, picked up our luggage, dropped off bags and hitched a ride to the hotel. An exhausting fucking day,,
Tomorrow is the XC day so we don't have to ride together five laps of a 4 mile loop. I wonder how much energetic I'll have. At least it shouldn't take more than a couple of hours. Stay tuned.
Things I learned today:
The reason why this race is a 2 person team event
One month is not enough time to prepare for this event no matter how fit or experience you are
Garmin 500 battery life is just over 10 hours
My bike is lighter than Trever's
Stage 2 we were told was the hardest stage with a distance of 90 miles and over 10000 ft of climbing. It sounded menacing and it was. The stage started with 10 miles of paved road and then another 10 on a rolling dirt road. We covered the first 20 miles in about 1 hour. We rode with the lead pack for the first 10 miles and decided to back off and be conservative. It was going to be a long day.
I knew Trever was not having a great day when he started falling off of my pace on the climbs so I started backing off or slowing down at the top of the climbs. We made to the halfway point in about 4 hrs and thought we were doing good time. Not slow, not fast. Steady. The weather was cooperating also with light rain for the first 4-5 hours. I was trying to help by pushing when I could.
This is about when things started to get ugly. Trever was looking worse even though he was eating and drinking. We hit the first singletrack which was fun and we kept motoring. At about mile 60 we started the most difficult crazy 30 miles. About 10 miles of technical singletrack with tons of steep hike-a-bike sections. This section was called vietnam. By the way I HATE VIETNAM!!
Just before the tough section Trever clipped his handlebars on a rock and did the most amazing endo. It was a thing of beauty. He landed hard on his shoulder and I truly thought he was done. I expected a broken collar bone or damaged shoulder. Luckily he only bruised his thigh, took some skin of his shin (nice memory of Brazil) and bruised his hand. We sat for maybe 5 minutes and then continued on.
At this point I was very worried about Trever. He looked bad so I started taking his bike on the hike-a-bike section and pushing both bikes up the hills while he walked, drank and ate. I was feeling very good. Felt strong. (this is why this race is a two person team event - you never know what can happen and why I know my bike is lighter than his).
Trever is one of the most fit people I know and has done more stage races than anyone I know, we've done a few events together and he has pushed and pulled me on more than one occasion so it felt good to be able to repay and I was set on doing everything I could to get him to the finish line. I must say that Trever only got a one month advance notice about this race while I have been preparing for 3-4 months.
We finally made it out of Vietnam and to the last aid station. We got Trever some medical help. They checked his blood pressure, gave him some anti nausea medication and forced him to eat and drink. We were probably there for about 30 minutes. All we had left was 13-14 miles of dirt road, 3000 ft of climbing with pitches up to 30%. OUCH!! We had 4 miles of rollers then the big climb and finally the descent into the finish. I pulled Trever again at the bottom and then the doors fell off. All of a sudden it was me feeling nauseous. I had to get off my bike a few times when it got too steep. At one point I got off the bike, took my helmet off and sat down. Another 10 minutes lost. Cramps started hit me near the top so I had to pedal one legged while still climbing.
Top of the hill and 2 mikes to the finish. Relief!! We made it to the finish in about 10:30 hours. Barely!! Trever got two I.V. Bags in him while I found us a hotel (1 mile climb - MOFO). Rode back into town, got some burgers, picked up our luggage, dropped off bags and hitched a ride to the hotel. An exhausting fucking day,,
Tomorrow is the XC day so we don't have to ride together five laps of a 4 mile loop. I wonder how much energetic I'll have. At least it shouldn't take more than a couple of hours. Stay tuned.
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