6-16 March 2014 Vuelta Ciclista a El Salvador

“Small disciplines repeated with consistency every day lead to great achievements …” - John C. Maxwell

Synonymous with reliability, consistency – accentuated by excellence – is a virtue. However, when it comes to the start of the cycling season, my consistency towards illness and injury has become quite tedious.

Jono (right) and Super Willy (our El Salvadorian driver) getting our bikes loaded up ready to head to a stage.

This year, flu symptoms struck on the flight to El Salvador and stuck with me for the first several days of the two week visit. Vanderkitten was represented at the Vuelta Ciclista a El Salvador by six riders: Amy Charity (USA), Kate Chilcott (NZL), Liza Rachetto (USA), Miranda Griffiths (AUS), Rhae Shaw (CAN), and myself.

 

Me, Amy, Miranda, Willy, Kate, Rhae, and Liza ready to roll for a ride.

The Vuelta kicked off with 3 one-day races. While the team scored a top 10 and 3 top 20 results, I hung out the race accommodation, El Salvador’s National Institute of Sport – Hotel Indes, nursing a racking cough. Unfortunately most effective cough medications contain ingredients that are on the banned substances list, leaving me to nurse my cough with copious amounts of chamomile tea.

Hotel Indes, the National Institute of Sport of El Salvador, our home during our stay.

Sleeping, being incompatible with coughing, didn’t go well. My poor roommate Amy had to play a bit of musical beds, switching rooms for the first week so that she could actually get some sleep.
After several days, my flu symptoms subsided and quickly progressed into a lower lung infection – either bronchitis or pneumonia. Feeling exhausted, my lung capacity below 80%, tackling the mountainous terrain of El Salvador wasn’t much fun.  


Stair climb to the team presentation dinner.

With over 20 volcanoes and approximately 85% of the country covered by mountains or high plateaus, the Vuelta El Salvador is quite a hilly race. The tour included seven categorized climbs scattered over 700 km in nine days of racing. The most noteworthy came in Stage 4, an 1100 m climb to finish atop the volcano El Boquerón.

El Boquerón watching over San Salvador.

El Salvador borders the Pacific Ocean on the south, Guatemala to the west and Honduras to the north and east. With a land area approximately equal to that of Massachusetts or Wales and a population between 6 and 7 million inhabitants, El Salvador is the smallest and the most densely populated country in Central America. The country's capital and largest city, San Salvador, where we were based for the duration of our stay, is among the fastest growing cities in the world, currently home to 2 million plus residents.

El Salvador, the smallest and most densely populated country in Central America.

Although north of the equator, El Salvador experiences verano, or summer, between November and April, when the air is dry, hot, and hazy. And with temperatures generally averaging 35°C (95°F) during each stage, HOT is exactly what we experienced. Air thick with smog added to the challenge.

Rhae, Liza, and me, adorned with lots of ice!, checking our bikes before the start of Stage 3.

The tour included 75 starters representing 20 countries and composing 14 teams. Vanderkitten was the most multinational team with riders from four countries. Our top finishes came from Miranda, 9th on day 2 in the Grand Prix de Oriente, and Rhae, 8th in the Prologue.

Rhae waiting for the countdown on the start line start the prologue.

While we achieved some top notch results with 16 top-25 finishes over the nine days of racing, crashes and illness hampered our tour. The best part of the trip off the bike in the friendships made.


Liza, Rhae, and Kate with locals out to cheer us on.

Before heading back to the US, we enjoyed a delicious dinner of El Salvadorian pupusas, a sort of tortilla stuffed with cheese and fillings. Yum!

Jono ready to tuck into a pile of pupusas!