Season 2014

[Bierzo Baggie]

Race 2.
Xabalín trail.

“Xabalín” means baby boar and the woods above Rimor are infested with the little beauties. This is a new race on the agenda and it was a very pleasant surprise.

Thoroughly enjoyed the route although my legs were still sore from the Alto Sil 2 weeks previously. Recovery takes a lot longer these days.

Discovered a few new paths and trails. Many of them have been named and framed by the thriving mountain bike community. The longest and most spectacular one was called K2. You may well guess why. The descent cuts a near vertical line through a dense forest of dwarf oak. Here I lost control of my legs and instinctively grabbed out at passing branches to slow me down. One gnarled stump was so rotten it snapped in my hand and I ran 20 yards brandishing a tree. One more for the bizarre moments collection.

Not for the first time my legs took such a battering that the upper quad muscles cramped up near the end. Ran a section backwards which seemed to put everything back in place.

Post-race lunch in Rimor village square with a delicious wild boar and bean stew. Yum yum.

2 hours 48 minutes,
67th out of 91 finishers.