Turrialba the Terrible - 75.5km, - Up - 5,032 - Down - 1,825

Today starts with breakfast and then I try to change the worn out cleats on my shoes - they don't work. We spend some time trying to modify the cleat and pedal to no avail. I am then able to borrow at set of SPD pedals and cleats to fit an extra pair of shoes that I brought.

This time it is I who takes off 20 minutes late from the group with Bob and Paulo showing me the way. We head through the town of Turrialba and then climb for the next 3,500' or so on the side of Volcan Turrialbe in the rain eventually meeting the rest of the group at the top of the climb where Bicycle Bob needs to help Big Mike, one of the guys from Texas, fix a broken spoke.

We climb for a little more and the Paulo tells me that most of the climbing is done so at this point I decide that I want to pull a wheelie. I go right over on my back quicker than I can get out of the SPD pedals which I am not used to - lucky I had a lot of water in the CamelBak. Elbow scraped and the back is a little sore but I am not hurt enough to end the ride. It keeps raining as we keep pedaling to the point most of the crew is freezing during the lunch stop.

We descend through a beautiful valley, stocked with farms on every hill, to the valley floor below eventually crossing a deep canyon that has a dam holding back a large body of water. Most of the countries electricity come from hydro power and with all this rain and elevation it sure makes sense. At this point I am ready for the cold beer and the hotel but we still have a few more kilometers to get there. We arrive in the town of Orosi which has one of the oldest, if not the oldest colonial church in the country. Just past town another 6 km and we arrive at the hotel Rio Perlas. The biggest day in the saddle so far with three more to come that might be equally as hard.

More to come