Day 6 - Nov 20

Ok, it is official... I have died and gone to heaven.  

I am at the beach at San Jaun del Sur.  And life is pretty good...  Beautiful beach, the sound of the surf, gentle tropical breeze and cerveza!  Ahhhhhh :)

Of course to get to heaven at times you must traverse hell first.  And that could summarize the days ride.  I hesitate to go to the dark side of today as right now everything seems so good.  But I will dally into the dark for just a bit so you can get the full experience of the trip.

Today started out with 9k of dirt and gravel and then a climb of 5k with 21 percent grade.  Yes, 21% grade (for the non cyclists, that is really tough)!  The even worse part is that yesterday we went down that hill and it was so much fun.  But knowing how steep and long it was added an element of torture to it.  I don't mind climbs where you don't know how long and how steep because your mind is always thinking you are getting close to the top.  But when you know how bad it is and how long...  Ouch!

That was the beginning and then several great downhills which led us to the border crossing into Nicaragua.  The border crossing took several hours which puts us into the heat of the afternoon for the back half of the ride.  And heat it was.  I have lived in Memphis which is extremely hot and humid in the summer.  Today made Memphis in July seem like a walk in the park.  It was so hot and humid that it was hard to breathe.  The afternoon ride brought on a late significant climb.  I had run out of water just before the climb started and literally hit the wall as I struggled up.  There was a small coke stop half way up and I desperately needed water.  The only thing they had was a Pepsi Grande ( 2 liter).  I graciously bought it (probably paid double retail) and drank it as I needed fluids.  I also drenched myself off with their hose to cool down as well.  After a jolt of caffeine I continued the climb.  At the top I excitedly began the downhill into San Jaun del Sur.  With all the effort that went into conquering the hill there was going to be no brakes applied to take anything out off the descent.  So off I flew with reckless abandon (just kidding, I was super cautious,  yeah right!).  Mother Nature wanted to throw in a bit of difficulty factor and opened up the fire hose.  It started raining so hard that it felt like needles in my face.  Water came down so quickly that the road turned into a brown river.  It was quite exhilarating!  The glasses were covered in muddy water and made for a wonderful viewing experience.  You couldn't take them off cause you could not see with the muddy water the tires were throwing up.  It was one of those holy s#%^ kind of moments.  

But with all said and done, the toughness of the ride led to a phenomenal experience that I am having right now...

All I can say is wish you were here!  It is great...

Pictures:

The circuitous route that we went on today.  TDA, the tour company, never believes in the shortest distance between 2 points is a straight line.  :)

No shade at the border crossing.  The need to creat your own was a necessity.  Also, the concept of hurry up and wait!

The beach...

A statue up on top of the mountain over looking the bay.