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[RC] Caja del Rio Ride Report - Joe LongI just returned from the Caja del Rio ride near Santa Fe, New Mexico, ably managed by Deirdre Boak. This is a new ride, they put it together in only a few months and did an excellent job! Beautiful trail (rocky in places, but not a problem if ridden with care), well-marked, good vetting, plenty of water, friendly management, yummy lasagna supper after the ride. The finish line was a little way outside of camp, with a good open runup to it and plenty of shutdown room after. They had one of the best trail maps I've seen, one that was actually useful! Points of interest and water availability clearly marked, as well as distances and intersections, all in color on waterproof paper -- on the back of the rider card! What a great idea! They had 20 riders start the 55, and 35 start the LD ride, and only had one pull from each ride. This is the year I plan to see how well Sanshra can do racing, and get back to riding 100's. The good news is that Shanshra and I finished second overall by 30 seconds (First Lightweight) and he was still feeling good at the end, all A's and B's on his BC exam. The bad news is that I sprained my ankle when Sanshra stumbled and fell on my leg, putting our plans to ride the 100 at Fort Howes in doubt. At about the 35 mile point Sanshra stumbled and went down on a dirt road. I ended up eating dirt in the ditch at the side of the road, and Sanshra rolled onto my leg. Shanshra wasn't hurt at all, thank God. As for me -- nothing broken (I don't think, it hasn't been x-rayed yet), and the two fellows with me stopped and helped me get my bearings and get back aboard. I made it into the vet check, where we used the hour hold to tape up my ankle and I was able to continue. At this point I think there is a reasonable chance I will be able to ride Ft. Howes, I'll know more after I've been to a doctor. If you get a chance to ride this ride in future years, I heartily recommend it. -- Joe Long jlong@xxxxxxxx http://www.rnbw.com ============================================================ In my experience (22 year worth) most endurance riders are great people who will go out their way to help and be friendly. ~ Laura Hayes ridecamp.net information: http://www.endurance.net/ridecamp/ ============================================================
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