A day at the races

I've been riding with several Belizean racers.  One man, Joslyn, is a guy about my age, with nine kids, who rode (with Greg Lemond) in the 1984 Olympics. Joslyn is training his four youngest kid kids to race, with his 20 year old  daughter and 18 year old son both racing in the elite categories, and his 10 year old boy and 12 year old girl riding in the juniors.

Joslyn wanted to ride in a race down in Dangriga, a coastal city about 80 miles away.  He didn't have a car, and he asked if I could drive them (his two sons, his son's friend, and himself) to the race.  I thought this would be a good cultural activity for for some of my students, so I agreed. 

He wanted me to race, but I was pretty uncertain, I took my bike, but thought maybe I would just ride around during the race.

We got to Dangriga, and race fever was in full force at the town roundabout.  The start line was marked, and the police motorcycle waiting the lead the race.  There were a bunch of cars and motorcycles both driving support, and just to watch.

Before I knew what was happening, Joslyn had me signed up as a team member with his little group, and I hesitantly lined up with the racers (see the pics).  One man from Dangriga came up to me, and told me not to steal the race from the locals. I assured him I was just riding for fun, and no way would I be winning.  He seemed quite happy about this. 

The race started, and there was a big surge as they left town, about 20 racers.  I had expected this, and I held back, knowing it was a waste of energy so early in the race (a 35 mile out and back road race). Actually I didn't even know how long the race was as we started, I only figured it out when we got to the 17.5 turnaround point! 

So I was last on the road, but as they slowed, after about 2 miles I was back in the middle of the main group, just enjoying the draft, and cruising at about 25, Then a guy in front of me crossed wheels with a guy in front of him and went down.  I was maybe 6 inches from his rear wheel, and I couldn't do anything but go right over him, so I went down myself. I somehow only got a little road rash on my knee. I saw my water bottles go flying, and as one hit the ground, the top came off, the precious contents quickly flowing out.  I jumped up, grabbed my bottles, made sure the other rider was okay (several support cars had stopped and were helping him up) and I straightened my brake lever, and took off.  I thought "Well, now I'm out of the main group, I can just ride at my own pace".

I decided I didn't want to ride the whole thing without someone to draft, and I got in a aero position, and started to chase down a group of riders, about a mile ahead of me now.  As I did so I noticed the guy who fell, behind me on my wheel.  As we continued, with me at the lead, we caught up with Joslyn's 10 year old son, and I shouted for him to get in line too. I finally, after about 5 miles, I caught a guy who was chasing the main group.  I wanted to draft for awhile and recover from chasing to catch up after the wreck. As soon as I got on his wheel to draft him he swerved and accelerated, trying to drop me and those drafting me.  Wanting his draft I reeled him in and he surged again. He did this a few times, and I finally shouted (perhaps too much adrenalin?) that I wasn't going to let him drop me. He settled down, and after a few more minutes, catching my breath, I decided to bridge up to the main group, and I passed him, with my little group of drafters behind me, and about 10 miles into the race I caught the larger group, including Joslyn and his older son Joslyn Jr.  Jr was favored to win, so everyone was watching him.  I asked and was told this was the lead group, about 10 guys.  I was surprised, but felt good, so I thought I would stay with them as long as I could.

I was getting thirsty in the heat, and from the high pace, and I was glad I still had the other water bottle, and that I had stuffed a Gateraid in my jersey pocket at the last moment.  I was even gladder for the Gateraid when I reached for the other water bottle, and found it now had a big hole in the side as I squeezed it! Also, I soon found out that a neutral support cycle that was following, was ready to hand bags of water to anyone racing. What a relief, as it was about 100 degrees!

Every few minute someone would drift to the left, to get rid of drafters, and jump, attacking.  The group would respond, and chase them down.  Then everyone would be winded, and slow down a bit.  I decided that was too much work on a hot day, and let the group go each time, but in a few minutes would always catch them without having to vary my pace.  Much more efficient.

Periodically we would pass spectators standing along the road.  Most of them had water bottles or bags, and they would spray us to cool us as we passed.

About 10 miles in we passed through a village, and encountered some typical speed bumps, going about 23 mph.  The guy in front of somehow flipped.  This time I had a little space, and braked, and barely got around him.  At 17.5 mile out we got to the turnaround.  The main group surged for the premiums, and I let them go, getting to the turn around after them.  We turned in to a headwind for the return, and mostly up hill.  I decided I needed that group draft again, and since we were mostly climbing, I reeled in the main group again.  

Jr and this guy with a Garmin jersey (Sherman, I found out later) were really marking each other, and the pace was fast, as they tried to prevent an escape.  I was glad when Jr and the Sherman finally escaped, about 15 miles from finish. I was happy, as I wanted Jr to win, and now the peleton settled a bit.  The guy who had fallen, and taken me down, rode up beside me, and thanked me for pulling him back to the leaders.  I told him I was happy to help.

One guy, with a huge bundle of dreadlocks in a hair-bag, was riding with us, with his phone on his stem (with a rubber band), loudly playing Reggae! I told him "nice tunes", and he smiled.

As we rode in the headwind, I found myself second in the line, and then the guy in front signaled for me to take a pull. I went to the front and pulled for several miles, into a pretty hard wind, and over several hills. I finally drifted left for the next guy to take over, but no one wanted to pull, they just all followed me left.  So I just slowly started to back-off my speed.  Eventually, after I dropped the pace to about 15, they went around me.  

However, no one wanted to pull.  And this one guy at the front started to weave left and right across the road, and everyone (including me) were weaving around, and I thought sooner or later there was going to be a wreck.  I felt great, so, exasperated, I raised my pace, and was soon riding tempo at the lead of the group again.  We were about 10 miles from the finish, and I pulled main group for the next five miles.

As I lead the group, the support vehicles were all pulling up beside me, asking if I wanted water, and spectators in cars were shouting, "go white-boy!". I felt pretty good, and I considered attacking the group, rather then pulling them, but then decided that would be foolish.  A support motorcycle came up and shouted that the two leaders were 6 minutes ahead. I thought good for them, well out of reach.

Then the unexpected.  The two leaders were jockeying, as neither wanted to pull the other the last five miles directly into a coastal wind to the finish. Also, Jr did not want a sprint finish for the win, as he felt sure Sherman could out sprint him. So they slowed, and suddenly ahead I saw this traffic jam of support cars and pickups and motorcycles as we caught the two leaders.  Then I saw Jr, and he was shouting to me and waving "go, go".  I was confused, and a little nervous with all the chaos.  The main group was around me, and they started to accelerate, so I went way to the left, around the neutral support cycle, and pushed hard, not sure what else to do. I assumed I had a group on my wheel, but didn't have time to check, and I was pushing hard at 20+ into the head wind on a slight downhill.

Then I looked up and noticed that the lead police motorcycle was cruising just ahead of me, honking to clear traffic, and I then realized I was first man on the road.  I looked behind, and unbelievably, no one was in sight, and I could see at least a mile back. I was shocked.  Very unexpected.  I knew it was about 5 miles into the wind, heading directly for the coast, to the finish.  I assumed they would catch me, as it was a group, but I thought I should at least ride my best to make it look good. So I put my head down, and kept riding a hard tempo pace. One car pulled beside me and the passenger yelled "you are pounding them man", while pounding his fist into his hand. He seemed quite excited by the drama unfolding.

I passed a larger group of spectators, and they all sprayed me with a massive blast of water, mostly to my head and face, almost knocking me over. I wasn't completely sure of their motives, but I did find the relief from the heat nice.

I didn't know what else to do, so I just keep pushing, basically riding in time trial mode, with my forearms on the handlebar tops in an aero position.  It was hard, and painful on my arms, because the road was really rough, and there were nasty speed bumps as I approached the town. 

At 2 miles out I looked back again, and there was still no one in sight as I entered the outskirts of town, just cars and pickups (filled with Belizeans) shouting "Go white-boy!".  

As I entered the town proper, I passed the 1 mile marker, and a man was waving a flag, thus signaling my winning of the last station prize. (There are intermediate sprint points in a race, and the first to cross each wins a special prize, usually cash).

About 1/2 mile from the finish, I hit a speed bump hard, and blew my rear tire.  I just kept pushing anyway, hoping my flat tire would stay on the rim.  If it came off, I would have to abandon, or try to win by pushing my bike and running. The tire held as I kept my pace high, and finally I passed the guy waving the finish flag.  I didn't know what to do next, so I grabbed a water bag, broke it, and poured it over my steaming hot head.  Some people were staring at me, a few came to shake my hand.  My two students were looking puzzled.  The professor won?

Several minutes later the leaders came in, and Jr sprinted for third, Sherman taking 2nd.  Jr's younger brother Derrick (at 10 years old) got best junior rider.  Joslyn came up after a few minutes and handed me $350 Belize dollars, and said these were my winnings for the team.  I hadn't even know we had a team. I took $100 to pay for the van fuel, and told Joslyn to distribute the rest to the "team".

This really was a team win, not a personal one. After the race I learned that the reason I got away without being chased was because my teammate Jr had shut down all attempts to catch me. By closely following any chaser, as a top placed rider, he could neutralize them. This is because they were unwilling to pull him back to me, only to have him (legs fresh from drafting) jump around them at the finish, and steal the win from them. So they would rather let me win, than take a chance on letting Jr win. Cycle racing is sometimes a strange and intriguing game, and I benefited from the other riders fear of Jr. Jr's tactics proved correct in the end, because the Garmin jersey rider did indeed out sprint Jr at the line. So by helping me win, we got a team win, something we would not have otherwise. So thanks to you Jr, I NEVER would have won without your help!
(Jr, wearing a pink team jersey, and his father Joslyn, are seen in a picture above, on either side of me, after the race)

Now they are trying to talk me into riding the main 70 mile masters classic.  This is a much more select group.  I don't know....

Jim

Race Information Link: http://amandala.com.bz/news/dangriga-sports-stats-9/

Friendly Island Adventure!

Today I rode the boat and got to the island. I slept on the car ride over, but not on the boat. I liked the boat, something about the way it floats encourages my imagination. I can conjure intrepid fantasyscapes, the tunes of a thousand false people play in my head. Basically, it's inspirational. I don't know what it is about boats, but I feel more comfortable on them than in cars. Too bad cars are much more prevalently used to travel.

I get a similar feeling on planes, to be honest, although planes are easier to ride on and they're more comfortable for sleeping (for me in particular because I'm so small and so my legs don't take up much space). It could be that it's just these modes of transportation are somewhat foreign to my life, but then again I have ridden on canoes and boats before, and I've also flown on a round plane trip before as well. Maybe it has to do with being in a more fluid medium? I'd probably change my tune if the turbulence was super bad or the waves were horrible. But who's to say for sure?

The island is super muddy, I wouldn't want to be here on a rainy day. Something tells me it's a possibility, though maybe I've just jinxed it.

Anyway, the internet is bad here, but it's really comfortable and the view is nice. Getting around here is worse than any place I've been at so far though with several flights of stairs, dust everywhere, thin doors and unnecessary steps everywhere. A nightmare for a wheelchair guy like me. Apparently this isn't a wheelchair accessible island.

But who cares about those wheelchair guys, am I right people?

Dad is sneezing up a storm here. He's allergic to something around here, probably. Or maybe this is his body's reaction to not getting a bicycle ride every two seconds. The truth is probably somewhere in between. You know what that means: THE GOLDEN MEAN FALLACY... STRIKES AGAIN!

Day Twenty Four in Belize:

     Today is the day, our last day before leaving for home. I am starting to get excited but I am sad that I am leaving this beautiful country. It has been a great experience to see everything and meet so many different people. The food will definitely be missed of course. Today most of us skipped breakfast because this place called, Glenda's was closed so I just slept in until about 9:30 this morning.
     We went to go snorkeling today for a couple of hours and we visited two different coral reefs and an area that had stingrays and sharks that we got to swim with and pet them. The guides would throw in food for the sea creatures to eat while we watch, pet, and take pictures with them. The shark skin felt like a cheap thing of sandpaper and the stingray just felt like wet rubber. I have been around these animal before, but not in the wild and not this big in size. That was our first stop. Our next two stops were beautiful coral reefs. The first one lasted about 45 minutes and we just followed our guid while he showed us all the different coral and fish on the way down the path. We saw three eels that were probably the scariest thing I have seen the whole time we were snorkeling (yes that includes the sharks and stingrays). Whenever you got close to the eel, it would come right for you with its razor sharp teeth ready to bite and sting you. So we just swam away after seeing that for a couple of minutes while the guid was messing with it. We saw so many different kinds of fish, but unfortunately, I had taken so many pictures at the first stop that I only had a couple pictures left for the rest of the snorkeling time we had. Stupid of me. So I just took the rest of the pictures of the coral and hopefully got some of the fish in them.
     After that stop, we went to our final stop. This stop was do whatever you wanted place. It just mainly just coral with a small amount of fish so there was not a lot to see but it was not to see the coral up close without someone guiding you the whole time. Now I want to go snorkeling at other places to see what all they have. When we were done there, we headed back to the boat and went back to the shore.
     We skipped lunch because we were going to get a big dinner that would cost a lot of money so we just did not eat until then. We just relaxed until dinner. We had a few different choices for dinner, so I had boneless chicken breast that was really good. It came with coconut rice and shrimp. It was worth the wait. After dinner, I went to go get some ice cream since this was our last night here. We all went our separate ways again and are now relaxing by doing our own thing. Tomorrow is going to be a long day, but I am ready to go home for a while before school starts up again.

Dinner in Caye Caulker

Day Twenty Three in Belize:

     Well today was the day. We left the log cab-ins and went on our long van ride to Caye Caulker. Apparently there was breakfast where the other guys were staying at but when I got there, all of the food was gone so I skipped out on breakfast. So I had a couple of my cookies before we left. We had two vans this time so we could hold more people and luggage. I am not sure how long the ride took, because I was asleep or busy playing games to pay much attention on where we were going. It just felt like a long time.
     Our first stop at a water taxi to get to the island. I never knew that had those down here and that was fun to ride in and see all of the different islands and the clear blue water on our 45 minute ride to our destination. Of course I took a lot of pictures on the boat. The boat was packed out with people so it was really uncomfortable when the taxi would hit a big wave. We had to stop at one place before arriving at Caye Caulker since that was the first stop for the taxi. Some people stayed there so that made more room on the boat.
     When we finally arrived at Caye Caulker, we stood right outside of the boat and enjoyed the view. The clear blue water, the palm trees, and all of the other islands around us. It was a great view and this place is beautiful. We started walking to our hotel shortly after this. This place is some kind of Chinese hotel that is super nice in every way. The building itself is huge and beautiful, and the rooms are big and well made even though there is sand everywhere but you cannot really help that around a beach. We had lunch shortly after we arrived. We had fried jacks with meat inside that was to die for. I have never had a fried jack that was so good before. This place also has the best orange juice in the world (so my professor and mentor says) and I believe that it is the best.
     After lunch, I decided to take a nap while most of the group did other activities. When I woke up, we went to dinner. We sat outside (glad it did not rain!) to eat our meal. They served French fries, chicken on the bone, rice, and beans. The chicken was a pain in the butt to get the bones out but the chicken was amazing.
     After dinner, we went out for ice cream. I had a scoop of chunky monkey (banana with chocolate chips) and a scoop of Oreo on a waffle cone that was so good. We then went into a shop, but did not have anything I was looking for unfortunately. Hopefully I will find the things I am looking for tomorrow. Tomorrow we are going snorkeling finally! Super excited about that and we are spending the day at the beach.

Day Twenty Two in Belize:

     Well, today is the last day at the log cab-ins for us that are going back home on Monday.  We are getting up early tomorrow to go to a new town that is more of a touristy area so I am sure there will be a lot to do around there. I have experienced so much on this trip already that I did not think there was going to be more activities in Belize! I am super pumped for all of the fun things we are going to do in the little time we have remaining.

     Today for breakfast we had cereal, yogurt, and a muffin. It sounds like a small meal, but it was quite filling so it did it well. We then chilled until we left for class in the afternoon. I did not know I was suppose to be doing some of the homework that the guys in the class were doing so I found out the hard way today while I was checking on my paper. What a surprise that was. Luckily, I got it all done today so it was not that bad and it was fun to be working for a class that I enjoy. We had two classes again today.

     After classes, we left to go back to the log cab-ins. When we got there, we all went our separate ways until dinner as usual. I was also helping my mentor with some networking stuff that had to be done before we leave. It was mainly finding out what was wrong with an access point and fixing wires so that it looks presentable in the cabins.

     We then went to dinner. This was probably the best chicken I have ever had. It was Parmesan chicken with backed potatoes, garlic bread, and a salad. I honestly could have ate another one if they gave me one. I am going to miss the food that they serve here and the people serving it. Everyone that works here are very nice and willing to help any way they can. We had a friend that is a teacher at one of the schools join us with him and his family. It was nice to talk to him as a friend and not as a co-worker since we did help his school with the Wi-Fi. He had the cutest little baby girl. I tried to make a funny face by giving her "raspberries", but she cried when I did that. So after a while, she was looking at me again and I just smiled big, she did as well. I finally knew what made her smile so I continued to do it every so often to see that cute smile of hers. We got chocolate bananas for desert that were out of this world. They were frozen on a stick that was unique. I do not think they have those in America, so I will miss those too.

     We went back to our rooms after desert. So here I am writing this to end my night. Our professor said that there was no class tonight that it was going to be a party. I believe they are watching a movie tonight but I did not hear which one so I am on my bed for the night unless I get a better offer. I cannot wait for snorkeling!

Day Twenty-one in Belize:

     This was probably the most relaxing day that I have had on this entire trip and it was much needed right before we leave this country. Our professor and mentor left early this morning to go to a meeting instead of eating breakfast with us. I was planning on sleeping in until noon, but that did not happen. I am too used to getting up at 6:00am and going to bed before 10:00pm and I have never done this in my life, even when college started I would have to get up at 7:30am but did not go to bed until after midnight. So I stayed up and waited for breakfast at 7:30am. We had French toast and eggs. I have not had French toast since our time in Guatemala so it was nice to have that again. I always enjoy a good breakfast and it makes my day much better so I am glad that I did not sleep in and skip breakfast.
     After breakfast, we all went into the log cabin that most of our guys stayed at to chill. We were there for most of the morning and played some video games to relax our minds. Today was also a homework day for those who were behind and we had plenty of time to do it all. Most of the homework was the journals I believe. I really hope I have enough to meet the requirement for them but it is hard to check it with no computer.  I have had to barrow a guys computer to just turn in some of the homework. I ended up skipping lunch since I did not want to leave my room so I just had a bunch of my snacks. That filled me up for the most part. I then continued to have a nice day with doing nothing since I do not have homework to do except this journal. After a while, I took an hour nap before dinner. It was amazing even though it was really hot in my room and I did not bother turning on the air conditioning. I am not sure why I did not do that, stupid me. I went to dinner after my nap. We had beef stew, rice, and a salad. It was a nice and tasty dinner.
     After dinner, we had class that lasted about two hours. It was definitely an interesting one. We discussed what we learned and what might have changed us during our time here so far since some of us are about to leave. So we took some time to reflect on everything we have done so far. After class, I went back to my room out my stuff there and came to the restaurant up the hill to enjoy a virgin piña colada while doing this journal entry. I could get used to this, but unfortunately, I am leaving in a couple days. We are leaving Saturday to go stay somewhere else for a couple of days until we leave. I hope we do a lot of fun stuff before we leave! The thought of going home is kind of bitter sweet. It is nice to realize how fortunate I am but it makes me sad that not everyone can enjoy what i enjoy. I am glad that I came on this trip to see how other people live their life.