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