photo courtesy larutadelosconquistadores.com.

The 2010 La Ruta de Conquistadores mountain bike race across Costa Rica kicked off this week and the stage 1 results are already in with Benjamin Sonntag in first place but only by minutes. For those who are interested in following the action, race updates are being posted via Twitter and are also streaming video at livestream.com (though we couldn’t get the video to load earlier today).

La Ruta is a notable race for a couple of reasons. It’s one of the longest running mountain bike stage races at 18 years (the race website is adventurerace.com so you know they must have been one of the first). La Ruta is also considered by many elite athletes to be one of the toughest mountain bike races on the planet due to extreme climbs, sketchy terrain, stifling heat and humidity, and its remote location. The four stage race takes riders from the west coast of Costa Rica along the Pacific to the east coast and Caribbean Sea.

This year, race organizers have modified the rules a bit to discourage outside support. Traditionally Costa Rican competitors have had an advantage because they’ve had supporters follow them along the course on motorcycles. Without the support from outsiders this year, it’s anyone’s race.

In the women’s race, Leadville 100 winner Rebecca Rusch is looking for her first victory at La Ruta. Rusch last raced La Ruta in 2005 and is looking to improve on her fourth place finish that year. After stage 1 Rusch is about 30 minutes behind women’s leader Angela Parra Sierra but it’s a long race and anything can (and usually does) happen.

The race concludes Saturday so check out the La Ruta website for the latest updates and results.

Photo by John Ussenko

Anyone else out there ready for winter to be over?  I’m looking outside this morning at the five inches of snow we got yesterday and can’t help but think I’d rather be somewhere warm and tropical.  Then out of nowhere, I receive an email from Marla Streb who is in Costa Rica getting ready to put on her mountain bike skills camps there this summer.

The camps sound like much more than just practicing drills and getting a guided tour.  Here’s what Marla herself has to say about it:

The 3 day, 4 night camp is all-inclusive, so you get personalized skills clinics, lodging, meals, zip-lines, surfing, yoga, wild animal parks, jungle epics to waterfalls… and you’ll be riding a sweet Orbea Occam freeride rig. There are women’s only camps on the schedule as well.  Just bring your helmet, sunblock, and sense of adventure!

Not only do you get to ride in a tropical paradise, you’ll be mastering mountain bike skills like doing manuals over obstacles, braking techniques, and climbing effectively all while being led by a world cup champion!  I think meeting and riding with Marla in a more personal setting would be a real treat, I have always been inspired by her passion for mountain biking after reading her biography.  I am sure that passion will be evident in how she runs the skills camp.

I can’t think of a better way to spend my summer vacation.  Check out Marla Streb’s website for camp dates and reserve your spot soon!  Until then, keep thinking warm and tropical thoughts.