It was rainy all week, a relentless seven days of overcast and cloudy conditions with mist, drizzle and steadier downpours coming and going twenty-four-seven, it seemed. A few breaks in the precipitation were relief, sunshine time totalling maybe three hours between Sunday and Friday. On Saturday morning, I clipped in and rode a colleague’s bike, a beaten-down hardtail with a seized up front shock and gearing that worked fairly well, up towards the Turrialba Volcano. It was misty-to-light-rain the entire 3+ hours in the saddle, but I enjoyed it nonetheless.
Last year, I rode the same 30 mile loop, having to stop and stretch out my legs during the 1.5 hour ascent to the middle region of the mountain (7300 feet). This time, I made it the whole way up and back down without any needed such break. I surprised myself. The straight elevation gain from Turri town up to the high point where I traversed the mountain below the volcano is around 5600 feet. Add in the ups and downs along the way, and it probably pushes closer to 7000 feet of total elevation.
In May, I plan to push to the top and hopefully ride across to Irazu.
Bravo on your improvement of your ride. I love that when I conquer a mountain that I had previously struggled against. Its good to see you had some success in the rainy season as well. Some single track trails can be a whole new ball game when they are wet. Thanks for the great photos.
back in turri in a few weeks, and then again in september. i’ll miss the reventazon race by a day. bummer! check back on some news about liberia, guanacaste mtb.