Well I have made it down to Costa Rica without any hick-ups. Will's place is great and the family is awesome. The only disappointment is that the rain won't stop. If all goes well when Jonothan gets here on the 25th the weather will smarten up and we can get some riding in before the race. I have been reading the Sport Psychology for cyclists and having some good laughs there are some good training tips and lots of mental focus tips. It is a must read for Tobi.

I found out Big Bri is coming down to race. Super awesome, it will good to have him down here. He has raced this before and will help us with day to day strategies.  

Not much to say yet, I look forward to the next few days checking out the country and just waiting to race.

I am leaving Nelson to head to Costa Rica in a few days and WOW am I ever excited! This will be my first trip out of North America. I get to bring my bike and race. How sweet is that?!.

For those that haven't heard about the race, here's the short of it.

I will be racing across the country from the west coast to the east coast in four days.  I will pedal about 400 km and I will be climbing up and around 2 volcanoes. With roughly 40 000 feet of climbing involved, this race is considered the toughest mountain bike race in the world. Right up my alley, I think...

I am really excited. I am fortunate to have this opportunity to challenge myself and race with some hard core international pro racers. I am also glad to know Leighton Poidevin and Jonathan Firth, two fellow racers and friends from Canmore, Alberta will down for the race.

This adventure wouldn't have been possible without help from Will Muecke. I met Will last winter cat skiing up at Baldface lodge with my friend Rain Harrison. Rain told him that I like to ride bikes and Will liked my energy, so he invited me to come down to Costa and race La Ruta de los Conquistadores.

I also need to thank Colby Large and Giant bicycles for helping me get the right bike for the race. Big thanks Ross and the crew at Gerick Cycle and Ski for all the support and the time off work. Thank you NRG Enterprises for the great Cliff food products, awesome Maxxis tires, Nuun hydration, and Hope parts.  Thanks Kootenay Mountain Culture and Nelson Cycling club. Lots of love and thanks to all of my friends and family. Love you Tobi. I'm gonna miss you.

Follow the day to day results on http://www.cyclingnews.com/ and wish me luck.

One week until I make my way to Costa Rica to race La Ruta des Le Conquistadors. I will be meeting up with my supporter Will Muecke and his crew from http://www.corecoholding.com/pages/team.html. 

I am very excited and nervous but know that whatever the out come is it will be an unforgettable opportunity.

Thanks to everyone for helping me make this happen.

Suffer Fest lives up to its name

Kaslo Suffer Fest lives up to its name.

The new cross country race courses brought out a lot of racers. 30 competed in the 100km and a little over 30 in the 40km. I decided to race both, in doing so it meant I had to finish the 100km in 6 hours to make the one o'clock start time for the 40km. I got in 3 minutes behind the start but that didn't matter. The crowed egged me on to go and I wanted to I just didn't feel great. I filled my bottle and headed out on the 40km course. I was exhausted, dizzy and kind of sick feeling. I kept my head down and drank my water hoping I would get a second wind. After about an hour and a half, 20km or so, I got my second wind. I came to life and had to ride a section that we ended the 100k on. It wasn't awesome it had hard climbs and mandatory hike a-bike sections. But I got it done and end my day of riding with a total of 140km in 9 hours. The elevation gain was
14 000 ft and I finished 3rd in the 100km and 10th in the 40km.

The trails were great the weather was perfect and the race organizer was top notch. I look forward to going back and doing it again.

Check out these gps coordinates and check out the Kaslo Suffer Fest web site and mark it on your calender for next year.

http://www.kaslosufferfest.com/
Garmin Connect - Sufferfest 100k bike
Garmin Connect - 40k XC Bike Sufferfest 2011