Last Minute Planning

I am a busy lady right now! Planning a trip with two races to South America is nothing I am new to, but for some reason it never gets any easier. This time I will be racing in two separate stage races in Argentina, which if you get the chance to visit, take it. The intensity of the weather and the rugged landscape are a photographers dream, and I am stoked to get to race down here again.

Last time I was in this area of the world was for the 1999 Eco Challenge when I raced with the first 3 woman 1 man team to ever place in the top 10 for an adventure race. We were 4th overall among a bunch of mostly male teams. I was really green as an adventure racer at that time and put this team together myself with the best adventure racers in the US. It was the beginning of my AR career. I remember the Argentina locals cheering for us at the finish and calling us “las diosas” (the goddesses!)  This part of the world is still one of my favorite places I have ever been. It’s great to be returning for such a long trip, on a bike this time, but still representing female athletes and racing with other strong women.

I will be competing in the TransAndes Challenge which is a five day stage race from Chile to Argentina on some of the most beautiful singletrack in the world. Jenny Smith, an endurance athlete from the USA, who is also an Xterra athlete will be pushing the pace for us. Racing with her will make a great training race for both of us. The race starts in the town of Pucon, which is one the larger dormant volcanoes in the area.

The Tour of Patagonia is the second race on the agenda, and is a three day race back to Chile. I will racing with a journalist, who by all means is not slow! Heidi Volpe is a freelance journalist and mtb athlete from the USA, that will be writing a story for both Outside Online, and hopefully for other publications as well.

Although I leave next Wednesday for South America, I have quite the full schedule for this week. Between training and packing, as well as organizing the movie tour, I am going to a two day backcountry skiing retreat for Greg’s birthday. A cabin in the Sawtooths and doing some hiking will be a great way to have a nice active weekend. Then on Monday I do a 12 hour whirlwind business day in Chicago to visit SRAM. I always like getting back to Illinois since I grew up in that area.

I’ll keep you posted on the events leading into the race!

Cheers

Reba