I decelerated into the dusty lot in front of the little Bella Vista hotel in Valle Trinidad at race mile 110 at 8:11 am. I was five minutes ahead of my schedule. My team got me in and out in five minutes and I was gone again.
The math? 807…I’m at 110, that’s a little better than an eighth complete. The next section is fast. 70 miles an hour – but it’s brief. Turns come up fast at that speed. A racer is always pushing to a speed where danger is manufactured and hyper-vigilance is necessary, no matter what the terrain.
I see a bike down on the left ahead, and another guy tending to him. He has a broken leg. A few miles later an ambulance is coming. Good thing we are on a graded road so they could access him. It was a road called “Mike’s Road”, named for Mike’s Sky Ranch – a motel for racers 25 miles off the paved road in the middle of God’s country.
It was getting warmer, but not warm enough to take my race jacket off and subject myself to the 55-degree wind. I was happy there was wind. It was my wind. It meant I was moving forward.
“It’s not who is going to let me, it’s who is going to stop me” – Ayn Rand
Larry, I own a fence contracting business in Myrtle Beach and subscribe to your blog. Wanted to let you know, I am enjoying your Baja updates. I just returned from a trip to visit my daughter in San Diego and part of that trip was three days in Baja with the Carrasco family. My daughter is Josear Carrasco’s neighbor and a very good friend with him and his wife in San Diego. We stayed with Josear’s family in Rosarito and learned much about his and his father’s experience with the Baja races. Mentioned to them you were blogging your experiences and he thought you all might have met out on the course.
Thanks for the enjoyable reads.