Jenny and I got through the week with a pretty clean slate.  Jenny had a flat on day one and a mechanical problem with her hub on day 5, but nothing that was race ending. We both went through a set of brake pads each and did the changes and maintenance on our own.  Well, we did have a little help from Mike Broderick, our camp neighbor!  We each had one rough day physically, but this was also nothing that was race ending.  For early season miles, we were both really happy with how our legs performed and how quickly we slipped into pedaling again.

I was really happy that Jenny and I ended up being compatible race partners and camping companions.  I can relate to her Kiwi sense of humor and we both have the racing maturity to get through multiple day events.  It takes a lot of planning, patience, teamwork and self-preservation to come out the other end of one of these events unscathed.  I am a little scathed from a high speed gravel crash on day 6, but otherwise all that remains from the race are some great memories and hopefully some killer fitness.

We both went into this race with the intention of some awesome early season training and a bit of adventure.  We got both.  Although some of the route information seemed inaccurate, courses changed during the event and my odometer died on day 5, we rode somewhere around 500km this week and an estimated 30,000 ft of climbing in approximately 25 hours of racing.  Not bad for 6 days of training in January!  I have no idea how we finished in the overall rankings.  The race results that are posted do not add up, so it’s difficult to tell.  I can tell you that only 18 teams finished day 5, including us, so technically less than ½ the field completed the whole course.  It was not an easy task and I feel really good about our achievement.  The Virgo in me would really love to see accurate race results and exact mileages and be able to compare our performance against the other athletes, but I’m practicing my patience and just chalking it up to a great travel and training experience.

I would recommend this race, but would caution anyone interested to come with the intention of being self sufficient with bike maintenance, camping comforts, route finding and bring plenty of travel and race experience. This is truly one of the most beautiful places in the world and getting to see it on your bike is the best way to travel.

I have two more weeks here of training and racing.  The next stop is the Tour de la Patagonia, a 3-day stage race in this same area! I have created a set of photos on Flickr for all to see as well.

Cheers

Reba

Stage Five of the Trans Andes challenge was held today in Huilo Huilo national reserve. The stage was shortened and changed from the original route because of the weather and difficulty of the riding. It was a good idea to change it as we woke to rain and started in the rain, but maybe some details where missed due to the last minute decision to alter the course. Such as course marking and sufficent marsheling. So while we where riding we came upon, yesterdays course, todays original course, todays modified course and tomorrows course.
It created a good dose of chaos! Riders ended up everywhere from here to Argentina. Literally.
Rebecca is a survivor and an adventure racer so for better or worse we THINK we rode the correct course and our predicted 3 hours took 5 hours 30. We are worked over, so are our bikes, and equipment.
With such a late finish its been very hectic to try and get everything in order for the last day tomorrow.
Tomorrow we hope to cross into Argentina with our top ten position still in place. We believe we are in 9th. Fingers crossed for us all. Here are some funny pictures to showcase what our race has been like.

Cheers

Reba

The race is going very well, and it has been such a great experience being here camping with everyone. A very “family” type environment where everyone is sharing/talking etc. You can check results and photos on the Trans Andes website. I will do my best to put together a full report soon!

Reba