"This year is the 20th running of La
Ruta. In celebration it was a short 3
day format, with a non-timed white-water rafting trip on the morning of the
last day. Wake-up was again at 4am for
food, then we were off to the rafting trip.
We rafted for 3 hours down the Rio Pacuare. It was excellent. Right through the jungle with amazing views
and warm water. Our guide was very
friendly and also apparently quite skilled.
The rafting ended right at the start line of the
stage 3. We had over an hour to eat
some food and claim our bikes. No need
to change clothes, since we were required to raft in our cycling gear, helmet
and all.
I had looked at the overall standings the night
before and found that I was in 2nd place in the Open Men. Elite / Pro is a
separate category. In 3rd place was
rider #200, just 45 seconds behind me.
Turned out he was staying at our small hotel and I was able to spot him
by the big #200 on his official race bag.
The 1st place guy was over 10 minutes ahead, nothing I could do to catch
him.
So at the start, I lined up about 30 minutes early
and even then had to assert myself and simply went to the front and cut in
place right behind #200. He is was a
Spanish guy and had a very bright pink and blue jersey that was very easy to
identify.
The stage is a flat run to the beach along paved
and gravel roads and railroad tracks.
Total distance 55km and no climbs.
This would be a road / cross style tactical race. We rolled out as a huge group for about 10
minutes. It started raining and the
pack was very nervous, I was ready for a huge crash at any time.
Then we flicked a quick left off the pavement and
the lead motocycle hit the gas and the race was on. On like donkey kong. Rain and mud flying everywhere, rough gravel
road, a mine field of potholes and everyone at maximum effort. The chaos subsided a bit after two river
crossings that help us form into smaller groups. Number #200 was not in my group, and due to
my pack position at the start, I figured he was just up the road.
We were now on smooth gravel and I quickly realized
that the others in my group were not going to pull. So I sat on the front for about 20 minutes
and bridged to the next group and found #200.
We rode as a group for a while then took a few quick turns in town
before approaching one of the infamous a railroad bridges.
I was about 5th in our group onto the bridge. You simply carry you bike and walk across the
bridge, stepping on each lateral railroad tie.
There is no other floor, so if you slip, your leg will go straight down
between the ties. It would be really
hard to actually fall off or through the bridge, but it could really hurt and
is not fast.
Once on the other side we rode straight down the
center of the railroad tracks for a bit before a nice line opened up on the
left, outside the tracks. It was a
smooth transition to the outside and I watched the guy ahead of me hop out onto
the new line with ease. I tried to
follow, but my rear wheel caught the slick steel and in the next moment I was
in the grass with the my group flying past.
No love from these guys. I banged my shin but was otherwise okay, but my
front brake hose was rubbing on the tire.
I brought zip ties in my pack, so I stopped and reattached the hose to
my fork.
I got rolling again within a minute total, but now
I had to bridge up to the group again.
It took a solo 20 minute effort on gravel roads to catch them, but again
I found #200. I made the final catch
on another set of railroad tracks, this time no bridges, just riding down an
endless rock garden in the center. No
possible way to pass.
We exited the tracks and the group sat up and
started drinking and eating, so I attacked and they all chased back on within a
minute or two. I shuffled back in the
line and they kept a strong but manageable pace. The wise thing to do is just sit in and mark
#200, not risking blowing up in the last 15km of the race. There was not much trading pulls and I
watched as #200 went to the front and pull for over 5 minutes.
I felt the pace slack a bit as he started to fade,
so I took my chances and put in a big attack on the left. I was head down for around a minute then
took a quick peak to gauge the distance.
Huge gap, no chasers. I had got
lucky with the timing and caught them all in laziness. Now the question was - how far to the
end? I had 48km, so supposedly only 7km
to go. We were parallel to the beach on
a dirt road now, and as the km's ticked by, I could see more signs of
civilization. Pavement at 52km, a
shipyard, a hill and a nasty headwind.
The gap was steady, with them maybe 30 second behind. I didn't dare look back. Then a mess of cars and a left turn to the
finish line. I crossed the line
alone, but the others came in a bunch sprint less than 10 seconds behind. Time - 2hrs, 11sec, 19th overall across the
line.
So I was pretty sure I had defended my 2nd place
position, but then at the awards they called #200 for 2nd place and me for 1st
place. Apparently the leader did not
start or finish as he is unlisted in the stage 3 results.
The final official results have not printed yet,
but according to my math, I was 21st overall, the 4th amateur and the 4th American behind Alex Grant, Todd
Wells and Pua Mata. Of course, Alex and
Todd were over 2 hours ahead of me and Pua is a girl, but it works for me.
And now, only one thing left: #ahhffseason!" - Jim Meyer
Congratulations, Jim!!!
PCG Coach: Hunter Allen
