A Quick Trip to Brasil
The travel from Santiago to Araxá didn't take all that long but the journey brought us worlds away from the bone dry yellow heat of the Chilean summer to the crawling green humidity of Minas Gerais, Brasil.
Mary and I had come to take part in the 17th running of the CIMTB Levorin Copa Internacional UCI SHC Stage race. 17 years is an incredible run for any event in cycling even more so in mountain biking and the healthy turnout on the order of 1,500 athletes at this event drove home the fact that the mountain bike culture in Brasil is thriving!
Athletes came from over 15 countries to compete, likely because there were a tremendous amount of UCI points on the line. Others came for the experience. Mary and I were there for both.
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| A little TV interview of the international field attending the 3 day stage race |
We all but signed our lives away at the rental car agency without truly understanding the exclusively spoken Portuguese except that we would pay dearly for not returning our car on time and in pristine condition.
Luckily we managed to cram in our sizable travel kit without having to break out the "just in case" roof strapping that we always bring along. Not that the guys at the rental company would have minded but more because we headed out of the airport directly into the first of the robust thunder & rain storms that passed through consistently, adding color to the entirety of the adventure in Araxá.
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| Aerial view of farmlands of Uberlandia |
We settled into a cramped but classy room at the Hotel Nacional Prevedencia that enjoyed the same incredible estate of the renown Grand Tauá Hotel e Termas. Truly an oasis of botanical beauty amongst a well worn and worked over landscape that consisted of little more than massive agriculture projects, fields, crops, tree farms and mines throughout our 160 km drive drive to Araxá from the Uberlandia airport.
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| Building up the bikes |
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| Mary in Araxá |
Within the stunning jungle garden the organizers developed a course worthy of a world class field that attended the event. Something on the order of 5 kilometers stocked with seductive red clay like single track that stood up incredibly well even in the throws of the most intense rainstorm that we have competed in for a long time. The 200 meters of climbing per lap was broken up into demanding sections some on exposed leg sapping antique cobble road and much of the rest on painfully steep single track deep in the shadows of the lush forest. The technicality of the trail was really up to how fast you wanted to push it, but more than enough to stain and scuff the jerseys of many who underestimated the seriousness of the business at hand.
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| Mike launching the jumps |
The action started on Friday with a single lap time trial that saw perfect tacky even ideal conditions for the elite women's race. The ladies set down scorching times in the heat of the day before the looming clouds unleashed a beast of a thunder storm throughout the entirety of the elite men's race. Amazing that it could be so different in just a couple of moments but seemingly it was nothing out of the ordinary here as the race organizers pushed forward with the day's itinerary without delay. I set out into the deluge alongside a crack of thunder that raised my adrenaline levels, at this point there was enough water on the course to hide curbs and if not for the tape that enclosed every inch of the course it would have been more intuitive to follow the run off streams than the track itself. I was really glad Mary was spared the experience and also that I only had to completely re tune one of our bikes for the following days races.
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| Mike's work space for the week… |
Saturday's short track took place on a 2k section of the course that included a decisive cobbled climb followed directly by a fast descent and some demanding bits and pieces. There was even a short hike a bike that necessitated a quick dismount and mount before returning to the venue in around 5 minutes. The mens field was large enough to necessitate 3 heats of elimination and a final round to crown winner. while the women's field was just the right size to sort things out amongst themselves all in one round.
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| Mary Stoked to rock 3rd in the Short track! |
Sunday brought out heavy crowds of enthusiastic spectators (with an estimated 15.000 in the park!), enjoying the action riding bikes, drinking and smoking amongst the festival within the fantastic garden setting of the Grande Hotel Tauá. The day was hot and steaming with humidity, the racing was competitive, even a bit more on the edge than usual due to the accumulated fatigue of the weekend, the points on the line and the vibe of the nationalistic crowd at this international event.
The elite and under 23 men shared the close quarters course with the elite women's field making things all the more hectic. The continuous stream of riders added an element of frustration for some of the racers when things clogged up at critical points throughout the competition. This also caused confusion to the crowds about who was racing who and unfortunately even to the race officials who were all but overwhelmed by their own decision to race something on the order of 200 fiercely competitive people with strategies in mind that required more than the available real estate.
The racing was decisive none the less and the overall results likely not altered too much by the course traffic. Perhaps the biggest challenge was the tropical heat and humidity that bled the sweat from the body and made even the most entertaining and fun aspects of the course seem like tough work.
Mary and I felt a deep sense of relief to have gotten through the weekend successfully. With all the logistics, travel and riding and racing there is always a chance that this might not be the case. We were served a reminder of this as the airline lost a critical piece of our luggage on the way to the event. We were a bit agitated but quickly resigned ourselves to going forward with our plans knowing from experience that our people from the tribe of the bike would somehow help us out with any and everything that we needed to get through the event.
We filled out the paperwork and moved towards customs just as our luggage emerged alone on a belt right in front of our eyes and only slightly worse for wear after some time spent in the rain out on the tarmac! :-0
Time and again through out our week in Araxá we were approached by Brazilian people and fans who thanked us for coming to their country and attending the event. The people here have big hearts and a deep love for sport, fitness and personal connection - especially those who live lives that are full of these things. We felt very welcomed by all and comfortable throughout our time here making us look forward to the next chance to return! Thanks to all who helped to make our trip here possible and even a highlight of what continues to be an incredible season!
Great rides and safe adventures,
Mike and Mary
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Keeping balanced with easy access to the right foods necessitated this fine spread - note Mary's fancy electric boiler stick… eggs, potatoes and hot beverages! No morning is complete without Jim's Organic Coffee or Guayaki Yerba Mate!
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