Chichibustan in Autumn -- Arima Attempt

On Sunday, a joint Franco-American expedition attempted to reach Arima Pass, a part of deepest Chichibustan long claimed by Belgian explorers for their crown.

We made it past the first bicycle portage -- the road construction having made noticeable progress since I was here in 2009 with Tom, the Belgian explorer, and Nishibe-san, our local guide.

But as we climbed, the jungle closed in, the road condition deteriorated, made worse by recent storms that had left the road covered with wet leaves and gravel in many places, our wheels slipping if we pushed too hard or tried to ride out of the saddle.  Eventually, we reached a stretch where the leaves hid an almost complete washout.  My rear tire flatted.  We turned around, defeated by the road, to head back for an important television event (NZ v France 2011 rugby world championship final).  Jerome flatted less than a kilometer into the descent, but the return trip was otherwise without incident, and swift.

Debris across the road to Arima

Unfortunately for the crowd at Chez Bouhet, the valiant French team -- which "showed up" for the first time in several weeks for the final match -- could not quite keep even with the almighty All Blacks of NZ.  On the other hand, my new Canyon "shows up" every ride, and performed well again yesterday with the fast HED Jet 6's -- a first try as I will definitely want them on for Saiko next month.