Our jersey trivia this month highlights the “La Ruta de los Conquistadores” stage race held each year in Costa Rica. La Ruta, as it is commonly called, takes riders from the Pacific Coast to the Atlantic Coast of Costa Rica, crossing five mountain ranges, climbing 29,000 feet and spanning 161 miles over a three day period as it follows the route of the Spanish conquistadores across the isthmus of Central America. By the way, it took the Spaniards 20 years to complete the journey.
La Ruta is considered one of the most difficult athletic events on the planet. It is certainly the most diverse and definitely the muddiest.
Day One is hot, humid, muddy, hot, humid, rainy, hot, humid and steep. Did I mention HOT and HUMID. In 2018, Lance Armstrong described Day One as the toughest day he had ever had on a bike. Take my word for it, it is a VERY hard day.
Day Two departs the jungles and rain forest and moves into the high altitude volcanic central region of Costa Rica. In contrast to Day One, Day Two is usually cold and wet as riders climb for hours on the shoulders of 12,000 feet volcanoes before descending several thousand feet through the clouds to the eastern slopes of the mountain ranges.
Day Three is the easiest day, if anything at La Ruta could be called “easy.” Its only about 40 miles long, but it is even hotter than day one and there are multiple rivers to cross and abandoned railway trestle bridges to negotiate across. Ever rode your bike down the center of a railway track over the railroad ties? You do at La Ruta and it is not a smooth ride. When you finally see the Caribbean Sea and negotiate the last several miles along the coast line, you know that you have just completed something very special.
We have the La Ruta de los Conquistadores jersey hanging prominently at MMC and are proud to have a couple MMC Ride Crew members that are La Ruta veterans. Most remarkable is Anthony Casarona, who has completed the La Ruta three times. Wow, that is truly amazing. Well done, Anthony!!!!
