Anecdotes

First edition:
Participating in the Challenge of the Missionaries, was for me one of the best races I run. What exciting of this challenge is to combine a number of factors totally outside the conventional hardness of the circuits, landscapes, weather, the cyclists share with friends and people, and so on.
In my case, I would like to comment that in the third stage (step 3 of the mountains), route of 57 km. That was long hikes (aprox.de 8 Km), downhill, rivers, mud, heat, etc.. When was the 4th time career around, I was on the last big climb, when suddenly, amid the silence and suffer a lot of pain, both physical and psychological, produced by the high attrition, it crosses in front of mine, at approximately 5 meters, a cat mountain beautiful, dark gold color with black spots, at that time I was feeling cold, from head to foot, the rudder of my bike went sideways, fortunately, I was able to control and not lose balance, then, I was assimilating the encounter and left blew by the great luck of seeing a wild animal in the jungle.
Many thanks to the organizers, achieved a great career, great experience and now, I will be alert to the second edition.

David Indacochea Arana

At announced the completion of the first edition of the race XC in San Ramon, Chanchamayo, called "The Challenge of the Missionaries," more than one of my group of friends cyclists called us a lot of attention. It was a competition of mountain biking in San Ramon, Chanchamayo in our central jungle, a few hours from Lima 6, which for the first time that I see in Peru, had his own web page, good organization, a description of the race and Many sponsors in the area. My group of friends knew that it was a spectacular setting for the practice of mountain biking, any path or circuit is new for us, or circuit paths with other new features that are always very motivating, as simply being in roads in mountainous jungle, surrounded vegetation, in a warm and sunny in August. In addition, it was a race for amount of time, distributed in 3 stages in two days, or not to stay with us ibamos desire to be mounted. For something we train week after week in lime, something to compete month after month in various careers, to enjoy events like this Challenge promised to be missionaries.

We agreed immediately Luis Fuster, David Indacochea, Roberto Rios and Jorge Pun (who writes), together with friends to go to the Missionaries Challenge. We had also coordinated meet Gustavo Orellana and Roberto Alcantara who went together with some friends of yours pachacamac, and also with Jonathan Davis and Monica Velasquez. All gentita that we are always the faces in each competition that we offer. In addition to the type of competition in stages over two days, the scenario that I consider mountainous jungle insurmountable for the XC, also go a good group of friends ... Told them over and over again to my friends that this trip was not lost.

Because the competition took place on Saturday 25 and Sunday 26 August, our exit from Lima was on Friday afternoon to leave the job, traveling most of the road at night, but very entertaining friends, and coming to San Ramon at 6 hour trip, to sleep around 5 or 6 hours, but either asleep to the sound of the river Chanchamayo you arruyaba, excited at the same time as it is the next day of competition.

Stage 1 - against the clock by teams.

Juntándonos in the main square of San Ramon approximately at 7:30 am for registration, see all the cyclists, many strangers from other provinces. There is always something special and highly motivating to be preparándote for a game at another arena again, in another province, with new competitors, mostly unknown to one, and a journey that most probably did not know, which was a factor of adrenaline and additional euphoria.

We were together all the corridors of lime to form our teams of 4 against the clock for this team. It was easy to love teams with strategy to know each other and our qualities. We needed to 3 of 4 passing the goal together, as would be the third time the rider of each team, the fourth will be a safe, just in case a fall or have a mechanical problem or remain launched one. We were excited about this stage, because although short and almost symbolic, it was a stage for us to do that route in lime and platoon level, and above that we know and we operate as a team in platoon. We also wanted to start good competition and receive 50 seconds off as a bonus for the top spot.

It was hoped the departure of a team after another, we played one of the last teams to leave, and at 9 o'clock in the morning he solaso and looking for shade sweat less, but all this heat was very welcome to have been only yesterday in the cold winter of Lima.

It was our game surrounded by much public villager and the various authorities in the area, provided the powers in the province tend to become a feast for the people hosting the competition. Corrimos together Gustavo Orellana, David Indacochea, Jorge Acho and Jorge Pun, compact and an uneven pace through the streets of San Ramon, a circuit of nearly 3 kilometres which had to give 2 laps ... Must have been at least 11 corners of 90 degrees, mostly unpaved, which makes it a real rally at the same time.

I knew that Gustavo was going to lead the group and that the youthful George Acho was strong and likely to last too well and that would go a step that will allow David and I can keep wheel. However the beginning I realized that I felt good, there were too many breakfast scrambled eggs and fried bananas and apparently not digerí well. I saw that David came to my entire wheel for which he indicated that sticking Gustavo because I was going to be enough as they pass the three target timed our time as a team. But he had to keep pedaling but perhaps more loaded and less hectic, because if any of the 3 had a problem, it would be my time to be counted for the group. They had only one shock to curb David Indacochea, lagging behind Gustavo Orellana why, having doubled its brake with the impact. As I came behind as the fourth rider to 30 meters, I waited for David and Acho I empalmase and continue without Gustavo. However Gustavo could give us the scope beyond which I could drop back to the team and allow Gustavo brings stronger again, I went uresni?evati remotely with more calm about 50 meters and spend goal triumphant, with the first place. The team we thought we could also play at the first desk was made by Luis Fuster, Jonathan Davis, Roberto Alcantara and Monica Velazquez, but the characteristics of the circuit and sudden braking of Luis Fuster, who made both Roberto Alcantara as Jonathan Davis who came to finish his round on the floor twice and losing valuable time having to cede many positions.

What we originally thought it was going to be a counter clock online on asphalt, ended up being a very entertaining against the clock in a circuit type rally, which had to anticipate the way, curves, and have the calm necessary to avoid becoming entangled with their own teammates.



Stage 2 - Monobamba. 36.5km

He hoped a false level of 36.5 km at this stage, a stage of middle distance and soft on a trail carrozable, which could develop a steady step. It proved to be a tough stage, combined with flat false trepadas sometimes steep, loose along a creek and a river. Pure ascent from San Ramon to 800 meters above sea level, to a village called Monobamba who was close to 2000 meters above sea level, a village in fact more of the characteristics of people who saw the jungle.

Riders departed violently, and as anyone familiar with the circuit, nobody wanted to be, where planes would perhaps not desirable to lose main peloton ... And not all were holding up more power and the majority began to become watered on the way, but it still pedaling a step test of endurance. Because I had breakfast in the throat, I was the first in my group of friends that was launched recently and after an hour I could feel better, finding my way and start pedaling something better and recover many positions. But the final kilometres surprised us not only with greater height already felt, if not by zetas uphill and good trepadas, which eventually upset over a ... But for the moment one saw the people across the river that had to cross loading the bike. The river was so refreshing that more than one remojó intentionally and turned to drinking water heladita. There was a beautiful ceremony and medals to the winners that day, and then the municipality of Monobamba offered us several trucks and vans to take us back to San Ramon this afternoon. The trip back in the truck loading area was a very nice closure that day. One could see much of the landscape back that one could not appreciate during the race itself, all the ups and road trail carrozable, vegetation and trees surrounding and covering the road, the river along the way, the hills green on the other side of the road, the bridges that one had crossed, and all this accompanied by a couple of dozen cyclists satisfied, it was impossible not to feel that we were part of the same group, all comrades, joined by cycling.



Stage 3 - Step 3 of hills. 57km

After an excellent lunch and dinner and rest of the day before, breakfast and a more healthy and fit for a cyclist, consisting of a plataso noodle and no eggs or fried bananas, we felt very good and lively. This stage promised to be the decisive stage as a stage of 51km (ended up being 57km), and having to go 3 mountain ranges, which included most roads but also their areas of technical single tracks on slopes of hills, mud and everything others can offer the mountainous jungle. It began, and then the long haul, ended in the same square of San Ramon. It was estimated that about half of the trail was going to be ups and the other half letdown, which meant that we would obviously most of the climbing career. An endurance test.

After several brief ceremonies of the municipality of San Ramon and police who were part of the party and the celebration was generally left in the road for a few miles initials, which immediately became a career path, divided into platoons working 3 as a team, a bunch chasing the other, until we got out of the track on the right to meet head on with our first ascent or climb in land carrozable trail. It was another day of hot sun, and from the start the scenery was beautiful and extremely motivating. We had come quite compact cyclists this first climb which became a battle right away, there was not much respected by cyclists by the distance at which we were going to face.

The trepadas, although roads were in such a tilt, that at least one third of cyclists, if not more, were forced to get off their bikes and walk more inclined sides of the slopes. In addition to the tilt is the fact that these trails are not as stated due to the nature of the land in the jungle and rain, they could be found in parts averages desniveladas and cobbled, partly sandy rise in full and others with some mud. Since it had much technique involved in such a climb. It was also surprising to see more of a cyclist with the rim pinchada on the rise probably due to the areas of the climb that were covered with some vegetation, which in my experience can be avoided by collecting spines. Unfortunately cyclists had with the rim on the road pinchada calling camera or pump because it had embarked on a stage run long and technical, and without a pump or unknown camera parts, or patches! I spent at least 3 cyclists in these circumstances on the first climb of 7 miles, and 50 still missing.
Unfortunately it was not competitive and could provide my own camera parts or pump, or stop to help. It was a race where you had to have gone as a Boy Scout on an adventure in the jungle, prepared for everything, if not, you run great risk of losing the race on that day and at that point the sum of the previous phases, and the purpose of the whole trip. Luis Fuster likely lost its first place in master go by without camera or pump, as always thinking that nothing was going to happen, Jorge Acho lent him his camera and pump, but Fuster replaced the camera without reviewing the rim so it again down by the rim probably bring a thorn in the tire, which forced him to finish abandoning despite the aid received. Unfortunately later pinchó Jorge Acho, who had lent their parts to Fuster and ran out of parts, and also probably lose up to half an hour of time and any possibility of podium and prize. It was a race where the extension, one could afford to click two or three times and fix it up and probably end up in the same position anyway.

Later joined the first descents of the day, the same description of the roads climb, but ducking .... Or tilted, rocky, desniveladas, sandy, wet parties, parties with mud, or extremely funny and techniques if it was going to get off to a good pace. After a climb finish in next few narrow single tracks (routes goat), among farms of pineapples at the top of the slopes of the hills. For parties then entered a jungle covered again and remained the single mud tracks now with more of a root in the way that required a charge the bike, rodeabas trees, descendías for crossing small rivers of water in the creeks, came back to climb again by loading the bicycle parts, meanwhile circulating around you butterflies giant blue, and orange and yellow. The scene was so incredible that not wanted to be the race never ends.

This stage after being among the hills at the head of San Ramon, after a few kilometres of new asphalt road, went across the valley Chanchamayo to circumvent hills with similar characteristics behind San Ramon. Everything was just as beautiful and incredible, with the difference that this second half and felt like a second half, has already been installed pain, fatigue, thirst and more (which fortunately was always calm for stores for bottled water during most of the routes). Now if he had become a endurance race, where cyclists were scattered in such a way that you do not cross a single cyclist in more than an hour, as was my case. There was already a stage psychological, and still continue holding holding, knowing that every time you advance more and lack less. Luckily the road was only one and was well marked, which know that despite not seeing a single rider in the last hour, know that seguías on the right track. The arrival in the town of San Ramon was a river crossing a wooden bridge and a former nonetheless fatigue, motivadísimo came to the main square of San Ramon where expecting an audience that applauded warmly. Thanks to a good stage I managed posicionarme third in the Masters category, making the podium three times, first by the team against the clock, then by this stage and then overall, in addition to receiving cash prize!

David and Roberto Rios (despite having problems with a wheel), also came extremely happy and alucinados the stage of this day. All three agree that more bacán was what we have done in cycling in our lives. We had to stay in shape, whether or if, as you wearing thin.

At sunset enrumbamos back to Lima extremely happy and more than pleased with what had been this weekend, hoping to be repeated and already making plans for next year.

Requirements for the coming year is to be in shape, fitness and endurance and also bring camera parts, patches, a pump that works and perhaps the toolkit small ...
Jorge Pun Stossel