La Ruta day 2 - Awesome!

Making it through the gauntlet of Day 1 was well worth it.  Today was the most beautiful day of Costa Rican cycling I've ever had.  Relative to last years Day 2, there's more climbing, and more of it is steeper.  It's mind boggling.  The first climb was absolutely killer.  My granny gear worked perfect, so I decided to try to ride everything.  I paid the price at the end for the novelty of cleaning everything, but it was fun riding the super steeps.  We were rewarded with blue sky views all day (which came with a little extra heat on our backs).  The first climb also had a singletrack descent.

 

The second climb was just as long and challenging as last time, but I used the middle section to rest up, so I had fun grinding away up the mountain.  The Day 2 finish is also much more sane.

 

Barring odd mechanicals or the like, all our crew will finish.  Cory Wallace blazed in very close to Roberto Heras - very impressive to say the least.

 

Actually studying the profile of today is interesting - it's mind boggling how straight up and straight down this stage is.

 

The guy who came in 3rd today is basically unknown, even in Costa Rica.  Race organizers spoke to him when he signed up, and he said he came into San Jose a couple times a year, but lived in the mountains and had been training.

 

ClimbingCraig had a good day, and I think he really enjoyed the sightseeing, competition and the crazy terrain.  It's all so much more fun when you're feeling normal.

 

Also no updated information regarding Pat.  We're assuming he's recovering fine maybe watching the race coverage on TV.