I posted my report on the Brasil Ride last week. My teammate/parter for the race, Jeff Kerkove has posted his recount. He had it even worse than me.
Again, Brasil Ride was a 7 day stage race we attended in Brasil, but were forced not to race because American Airlines lost our bikes and we could not start.
Brasil Ride Report by Jeff Kerkove
This will be anything but a race report. Instead, it will be about a nightmare travel and some fun times in Brazil with great people. It was no secret that Sonya and I put in the time and training to compete at the 2011 Brasil Ride Stage Race. After our 3rd place finish in 2010, we decided to work hard and head back to try to better our 3rd place in the Mixed category. We were both 100% mental and physically fit to ride hard for 7 days in Brazil.
Both Sonya and I left for Brazil on October 21 on an American Airlines flight that would have us going from Denver to Chicago to Miami to Salvador, Brazil. Once in Salvador, Brazil it would be a 6-8 hr bus ride to the start city of Mucuge, Brazil.
The air travel was a bit sketchy at times. Flights were delayed for one reason or another. I barely made my flight to Brazil from Miami. Sonya missed it completely and would arrive later that evening while I arrived in the AM.
When I didn’t think things could get worse, they did. When I arrived in Salvador, my bike did not. The AA Baggage Agent said that the bike was coming later on the same flight as Sonya and would be delivered to me later that evening in Mucuge. OK, no problem there. So, I rode in the bus to Mucuge with the plans of Sonya, her equipment, and my equipment arriving late that evening.
Around 10 PM, Sonya arrived. Problem was, only Sonya arrived. All of Sonya’s luggage and clothing, her bike, and my bike still missing by AA. If we didn’t get our bikes by Noon the next day, we would not be able to compete in the race. Sonya and I went to bed with the hopes of bikes being delivered early tomorrow morning.
That next morning we woke up to no bikes. We instantly went into back-up mode to find bikes for the week. None were available. So we had to wait. And waiting we would do.
