La Ruta retrospective

It was a great race this year. It's getting more organized as each year goes by, but it still has Costa Rican flavor and is full of surprises. The new stage 2 was great, I think it's a great substitute for the additional 3 hours of suffering we skipped by switching back to the day 1 paved climb (this gives a chance at a greater than 50% completion rate on day 1).

This is the hardest race I've been to, even picturing anything harder makes me cringe. I'm so proud of Tori that she made it through it all; 40 hours on a bike in 4 days isn't easy. In fact I think this race in many ways was beyond her capability, but that she expanded her capability to pull it off. It was motivational watching the finishers in her realm come across the line each day. This race is hard enough as it is for the very fit, but to watch people come in at 10 hours day after day looking just shattered, yet willing to do it day after day, was inspiring.

It's an individual race, but all that really means is that each person gets their own timing chip. To me it seems much more social than a partner race like TransRockies. You bond with those around you to make it through. Pack your gels for the day, then add 3 more in case your friend on the trail is bonking. Bring an extra chain quick link, or another tube. What goes around comes around.

To give an approximate quantification of the level of effort, the climbing in the first 3 days was as much as 7 days of TransRockies. I'm not sure I've ever climbed as much on a bike in such a short time. The sheer vertical in the grades ridden to achieve it were mind boggling, especially the new day 2. Steeper than Home Road, yet many, many times longer. It just never wanted to stop. Trish also quoted that her ride time was longer than her 7 days at TransRockies too despite only having 4 days of racing here.

This is more than a bike race, so you need to be more than a bike racer - you need more endurance than you can possibly train for, good descending skills, strong hike a bike legs, trailside mechanical skills, patience for things that run on tico time, a positive attitude for each challenge that presents itself when you least expect it, and a really strong will to keep moving and not quit no matter what happens. You can never think that "you've got this in the bag" or "the finish is just around the corner", as that's when the next obstacle presents itself. It's almost comically niave that people stand at 5am near the Pacific clad in lycra with a dozen gels in their pocket feeling adequately for the task at hand.

It's refreshingly unhindered by North American customs. Why not blast off 10 minutes of fireworks 15m away from 500 people standing in a start queue at 5am, despite the fact the rest of the town and tourists are sleeping? Cancel a mountain bike race due to rain and a muddy course... seriously... if 500 people can cross 360km of rainy country and ford it's swollen rivers, why would you ever cancel a race for our level of rain? Why not run a race on live train tracks requiring racers to cross trestle bridges with no railings and missing ties? It appears dangerous, but our rules are also formed in the context of a society dealing with problems like smog and pollution, obesity and smoking. I'd take a "danger" like finding traction on a wet log above a river - one I have a degree of control over - any day.

We had a great time this year as a group, it was a fun way to do the event. I'm so happy that all of the deadgoat's had a great time down here and did well too. "Deadgoat" has become synonomous with achievement in my mind. Meeting Cory Wallace finally was interesting - he's such a nice guy, and did this race in total seat of the pants Costa Rican fashion. One water bottle and a little Cristal 350ml bottle in his back pocket, no extra jersey for the Volcano, and the famous quote "there's checkstops for food out there, right?". I have to overcompensate on the preparation side, some people just have the raw horsepower to get through these events.

I'll have to think about whether or not I come back next year. I feel I can improve in results, which is a small contributor. Racing others here is basically irrelevant, it's more about coaxing what's inside you to the surface, and seeing how you feel under duress.

Really though I love the cleansing and rebirth of it all. I can't even picture anything harder that I'd really want to attempt. I do pursue suffering as a hobby, but you need to draw the line somewhere, and this race is as hard as any sane person needs. Everyone hits rock bottom out there somewhere, whether you're near hypothermic in the rain, near heat stroke in the jungle, or so tired you can hardly turn another pedalstroke and you've got to climb another 400m of vertical at 20% grade, or your high tech bike has balked at the challenge and you've got miles to push it.

Ask Trish, Jack or Tori, who are now officially La Rutans, if they remember any easy parts out there ; )

I love it because it's so un-Norte Americano. Bike computers hardly work, and high tech stuff is reduced to junk within days and needs replacement. This is no tri-geek race that can be approached with Watts and the science of effort, where the challenge can be quantified ahead of time. You don't know if you'll ride for 3 hours in the baking heat between checkpoints, or if it will be tropical rainshowers where you need to carry a mudded up 40lb bike for 3 hours - but you'd better be ready for either.

There's something purifying about being so close to the earth. At home we seperate ourselves from it with walls, roofs, heating and air conditioning. Here you get only a roof at night and the rest just becomes irrelevant or not applicable. The rain washes your face and runs in your mouth, your body is covered in mud, you wade through running rivers and standing puddles, and you take it at whatever temperature mother nature throws at you. At the end of it all you realize that's exactly what each of our bodies was made for, and the rest that surrounds us might just make life a little to easy.

I've been in waist deep mud and water on and off for four days, and sweated gallons, and been cleansed by the driving rain. I can hardly think of anything more fulfilling for my mind and body. It helps me get a little closer to the Costa Rican motto "pura vida" or "pure life".