Ground Zero

Simon and I are now in the small coastal village of Huatulco, ground zero for the 2nd version of the 6 day, 765 km TransMexicana mtb race. The gun is ready to go off in just over 12 hours and the Mexicans are looking scared.

Throughout the race I will be doing daily reports for Sleepmonsters which can be viewed at www.sleepmonsters.com

Time to roll.......

Guate Gongshow part 2

From ChiChicastagongshow Simon and I figured the excitement would wind down a little as we planned on putting the bikes away for the long bus trip back to Guatemala city and then onward to Mexico. Too leave ChiChi we found a mini bus, paid $5 each extra for our bikes and handed them to the driver who tied them ontop of the bus. We hopped in the bus and it took off and the driver drive our bikes straight into a cement overhang leading out of the bus station. A little concerned I jumped out the window and crawled up on the bus to access the damage. My $ 500 front wheel was mangled and bent beyond repair but luckily that was all the damage. The bus driver got out and tried explaining it wasnt his fault but rather the cement walls fault for being in the way. Not reallty caring too much about whos fault it was I tried getting some information so I could make an insurance claim but all the driver could tell me was that he worked for a guy named Juan. After a lenghty conversation it became apparant that Guatemala is a free system where liability doesn´t exist. Later on we caught another bus in which the driver tossed our $ 5000 bikes on top like a couple of rag dolls. Still a little rattled from the previous incident Simon and I climbed on top of the bus to rearrange the bikes so they wouldnt be smashing togethar for rough cobblestone ride out of Antigua. The bus driver lost it, pulled Simon of the bus then proceeded to shut the window which was used as a step so I couldnt get down. I continued to re arrange the bikes and tie them down while the bus driver started pulling his hair out and trying to get the tourist agency to take our tickets away. After I finished with the bikes I sat down on top of the bus and waited as I wasnt to crazy about trying to make the 14 ft jump down. After a few minutes Simon managed to get in the bus to re open the window so I could get back to solid ground. The proceeding trip to Guatemala city was rather fast as the bus driver let loose his rage on the gas pedal. The next day was spent driving to all 8 bikeshops around Guatemala city with our friend Oscar trying to find a new front wheel for my bike which proved rather difficult but in the end we found something we could work with. Too repair, Simons bike took 3 hrs and mine took a little over 9 as the mechanics were still finding La Ruta mud in my shox and bearings. $ 300 later I had new bushings for my shox, a new front wheel, tubless tires, clean bottom bracket and pretty much a brand spanking new looking bike. Later that afternoon Simon and I hopped on a bus for the 20 hr ride to Mexico. A day later we are still feeling hungover from the trip but we are where we want to be and our bikes are ready to roll.

ChiChicastaGongshow

For the past week my buddy Simon and I have been riding all over Guatemala training for next weeks race in Mexico. For the first 3 days were were joined by the Race Organizer of Guatemalas 3 day mtb SR El Reto del Quetzal. He toured us across the 300 km course on countless miles of singletrack and up thousands of meters of climbs. Having a Guatemalan guide was pretty sweet as we got an inside look into the country and taken to some places we never wouldve found ourselves. After our friend returned to his home in Guate city, Simon and I headed out with a change of clothes in are packs and headed up to the highlands for 3 days were we road across a 3000 m plateau from the town of Nebaj over to HueHuetenango. The dirt track we were on was freshly made and didnt mess around as it headed straight up for 4 hrs of riding. Up top the sceneray was amazing as the landscape was barren and full of small huts with people running around the hillsides. After touring around for the last 7 days, riding over 36 hrs, we are pretty worked over and now sitting in Chichicastenango on market day. After walking the markets for an hour we have optly renamed the town ChichicastaGongshow. Everywhere we look people are decending out of the mtns to the small town transforming the streets into a carnival setting as they try to sell everything from axe heads to chickens. We are accompanied by gringos all over the place as tour buses have acended into the town to join the chaos. Later today we will try to make our way over to Guatemala city to get our bikes repaired and pick up the rest of our luggage before we head out to Mexico for some restful days of surfing in Puerto Escondido before the TransMexicana race starts on the 22nd.