Rider Profiles
Anegada Desert Duel, Jurassic Park and a Forbidden Place - Part 2!
By Mark McKenzie
Jun 17, 2005, 17:17

You will recall from my last email:

The race started around 10AM.
The winner Brian from Antigua crossed the finish line in just over an hour.
12PM (that is, 2 hours after the race started) I was classified as MISSING by Andy and a search and rescue party including Jim, Victoria and others set-out to find me.


You will also recall that I stopped at the point where Jim was providing details on the Elite Race Course.:

So here goes:

When Jim reached the point where he said “you make a turn into some coral rocks and there are few sinkholes and lots of bushes be careful………………….My mind went completely blanked and I resolved to getting lost.

I can state very frankly that I never got lost despite taking well over 2 hours to return to the hotel/ - start/finish line. Miraculously my course appeared to be longer the one the “pro cyclist MTBer guys did. Let us say that since I took over 2 hours to complete the course while the Brian and others took just over an hour then intuitively my course was twice as long and not a jack man can tell me otherwise. I may have been out for a joy ride but slipping and tumble first in sand, that seem endless, and coral rocks, that seem more like eternity can not be joy ride.

Let me cut through the chase…………..I never got lost, we all did the same course but my course was longer and I will tell why a bit later…………For now just think of the desert, oasis, illusions but most importantly hallucination………..just as you see in the movies when people are lost in the Saharan Desert in North Africa and they think you see a pond of water but it turn out to be just hallucination.

Shortly after Jim provided us with the routes for the Anegada Desert Duel we posed for a picture and soon after David set us off. Out the hotel, left up to the roundabout and left onto the first stretch of sand roughly 1 to 2 miles…………..

From what I can recall I did reasonable well up to the roundabout …………. To give you a better idea I did well for the first 200 to 400 yards because up to that point I could still see the “big boys about 200 to 400 yards ahead but most importantly I had very good company behind me…………Pat was close by and…….…Jackie for sure was still behind as well as a few others. Most importantly our youngest competitor, and soon to be rival, a little boy whom I judged to be no more than 4-5 years old was also behind me with his guardians.

My friends from then on that was perhaps the only time during the race that I had other competitors behind me. All h…………..broke out for me once we turned on to the first stretch of sand. Even my little competitor at one point threatened to surge ahead but of course I kept my cool and worked like crazy to retain the my psychological advantage over my little friend …….even in the midst of his guardians urging him to overtake me………………Sebastian (Amicorp), one of the little boy’s guardian, feeling sympathy and pity for me asked me in a very concerned voice, “Mark are you alright?”

Sure as night is from day, I completely ignored not some much because I really wanted to but just as importantly, because I could not open my mouth to offer him the dignity of a response least I created further imbalance on my already wobbly bike. In any event I was well focused not let this little boy pass me as I can assure had he done that, sand or no sand, I was prepared to take a massive fall…………You can say I was balancing for dare life!

A quarter of the way through the 1st 1 to 2 miles of sand, Pat, Steve, Sam and other surged (rather rocketed) ahead by more than 150 yards with Jackie marginal ahead of me by about half that distance. By now only my little friend (I rather consider him friend because on Sun he was threatening to be classified as major foe!) and his guardians behind by less than 20 yards…………….A point of interest……………. they could have been much closer than I thought…….All I knew I heard them very clearly but dare not turn to look back in order to see how close behind they were. My entire focus was on staying on my bike…………….Which proving to be a major challenge and a major goal!

By the time I reached about half way up this stretch, the Red Cross vehicle and its occupants (including my work colleague Denise) were immediately behind me. I can only assume that the Red Cross team had concluded that of the 4 competitors at the back (that is my little friend, his guardians and me) I was at the greatest risk……………….! For about half an hour the drove behind me only to later abandon me in the forbidden desert.

Nevertheless by time I was at the half way point on section, some of the novice cyclists were on their return………………picture it clearly…………..They would have cycled close to 2 miles well before I completed 1 mile. Akeel was clearly leading that pack and I think Pat was in 3rd and Jackie a little bit further back.

I was alone on this stretch with the individuals in the Red Cross vehicle offering instruction on where best to ride……………I contemplated in asking them why the h…………..they don’t come and ride and let me drive?

As I approached the first turning point, the volunteers asked me if I was doing the fun novice and if so this was my turn around point …………..I ignored them and made the right turn………………which in any event was easier than making a U-turn in the sand.

As soon as I made this turn I came up a few rocks and, what we would call in Jamaica, “nuff bush” and a few puddles of dirty water. At this point I thought to myself that if this is where Jim was referring when he said be careful……………..JEEZ! This is not too bad. I made up good time on this stretch…………As a matter of fact I did extremely well…………..I avoiding riding in any of the water puddles……….and most importantly I fell only once or twice. I think I impressed the people in the Red Cross vehicle so much on this stretch that as soon as we came up on the forbidden stretch of sand they went ahead and I never saw them again until more than 2 hours, after at the hotel.

For me it is on this stretch of sand that the challenge really started…………..I am judging this stretch to be well over 5 miles. After my experience on this stretch of sand last Sun. I don’t need to visit the Saharan Desert in North Africa. Two movies came to mind as I rode through this stretch of sand on Sun…………..Tom Hanks’ “Cast Away” and Bruce Willis “Six Sense”.

The movie Cast Away was on my mind because by the time I was quarter of the distance through this stretch I was so convinced that I have some how managed to cycle away from any sign of civilisation. In my mind there was no way under the sun that any rescue party will have any clue on how to find me………..I prepared my mind mentally to survive out there until somehow I am rescued……………………This perhaps was the first sign of my state of disorientation………………hallucination. There is much more to come.

I will tell you about “Six Sense” later.

Despite my obvious state of disorientation, I did pretty well…………….I discovered that no matter what happen I should keep on spinning and spinning I did do especially on those occasions when out of the blue just ahead is a …………………(I am not sure how to say this nicely)…………..deposit of wet and obviously nasty cow dunk. Through the this section of the course I had my best laugh to myself as I approach these unwelcome deposits but would have laughed even harder had I fallen into any…………My quest to avoid such falls would make good reality TV and good laughter. Don’t get me wrong on falls…………..I fell about 4 to 5 times in the sand but not in cow dunk.

To give you a clear picture of my experience through this section…………….Each time I wanted to drink I had to skilful dismount…………drink ………….and then struggle to get going again………and get going……..is just not easy on the sand.

One of my best experience on the sand was at the point where I suddenly had the urge to pee…………………At that point I dismounted had a good pee and accepted the fact that I would never return to civilisation. As I stood there experiencing the serenity of nature I started hearing things moving in the bush.

Now I will tell you about “Six Sense”.

There was scene in the movie when Bruce Willis asked the little boy “what happen” and the boy responded “I SEE PEOPLE” and Bruce asked what people and the boy said “I SEE LITTLE PEOPLE”.

I had a somewhat similar but yet different experience than the little boy in “Six Sense”.

Throughout my race on Sun I kept on hearing things in the bush……………….If you had ask me “What happen?” I would have responded “I HEAR THINGS” and you would have asked what things and I would have said “I HEAR LOT OF THINGS”.

I saw things that had me thinking that I was so far removed from civilisation that I thought I may have been in Jurassic Park with creatures that clearly were descendants of Dinosaurs. Hearing all the strange sounds coming from the bushes and seeing all these descendants of Dinosaurs I prepared myself mentally to be ambushed at any moment some creature or creatures jumping out of the bush. Had an attack taken place I am convinced I would have reached back to hotel well within 2 hours. Just before the start of race I saw Brain in one of his pre-race routine jumped off his bike and shoulders arm his bike rather swiftly while on the run. Had the attack taken place that is exactly what I had prepared myself mentally to do………..of course I would have run like crazy leaving the bike and everything else behind.

Now that I am thinking about it ……………………if I was so disorientated on Sun. which I think must have been a relatively cool day in the Anegada Desert……What would have happen to me on a very hot Caribbean day?………………….

My journey through the 5-mile stretch of sand continued and it appeared that the journey would never end. Somewhere along I became a bounty tracker………………The utility poles were used as sign that I am not too removed from civilisation………….However, even the poles some where along the route came to an abrupt end………………..At which point I looked for what appeared to be tracks from bike wheels.

I came up on one house/cottage/villa……….(I am not sure what) which was a good sign for me. However I felt pity for the sorry soul that live or stay in that house………I felt like a recluse by myself out there so I can not imagine the mental state of the person(s) who have to spend a night out there in that house.

Don’t get me wrong………….Even though I was alone……………..I certainly enjoyed myself………………The though of guiding myself back to civilisation was a goal to work towards.

Nevertheless I suffered some serious state of hallucination……………….I even imagined 2 US military black hawk touching down and kidnapping me without any witness. I saw ahead where the distance the sand looked as if the sand had come to end only to reach the point and realise that there was even much more to go.

A Suzuki vehicle passed me with some tourists……………….They must have been lost also.

Now I am by no means a tall man…………………there were no more utility poles.

Imagine this when I looked ahead there is a stretch of sandy road to eternity and when I looked behind me it was the same. No sign of civilization ahead or behind………………Logically I thought since I was more or less cycling east to west through the sand then and I came out of civilisation, then civilization must lie north or south that is either to my right or left.

In my quest to sense the direction of civilisation I got off my bike several times and look as far as I could see to my left and to right for signs of utility poles………and sure as (and it has nothing to do with my height) I never saw any signs of utility poles……………………..Each time I did this I became more and more convinced that I am absolutely lost in Anegada Desert which by then I had dubbed the Forbidden Palce.

Lost I was not…………….I later came upon the real coral rocks and sink holes and bush that Jim spoke about……………………..I was ecstatic as I thought I was coming to end of the course………………….My tears of joy however soon turned into tears of sorrow and harrow.

I have never cycled on a rocky path before…………….I think I did well on Sun. Brain told me that the joy MTBing is all about conquering a trail…………I think I accomplished that on Sun.

About 100 yards on the rocky, bushy trail my front wheel bucked …………….and I went tumbling over the handle bar and front wheel onto the palm of my hands still connected to the bike with its 2 wheels pointing to the heavens and still spinning…………………It picture to behold!

This however was a major crisis moment for me. Hear I am in a very precarious and vulnerable position to an attack from aliens that are obviously descendants of Dinosaurs. As there were signs that cows roamed the area my mind visualise a mad bull take advantage of my position and bucking the daylight of light out of me………………..I therefore quick rolled to the side, un-clicked one foot, then the other and soon I was on my way again but not before I had very good laugh at the position I was in with the bike on top of me. I counted my luck of escaping with all limps intact.

I recalled David saying he would try and drive through the rocks to follow the race………………..I am not sure he did but I can’t imagine a vehicle getting through.

After an eternity of rocks and bush I exited onto a relatively short stretch of sand……………Remember I now well adept at cycling in sand given my previous 5-mile experience……….I was a master of sand.

As soon as I got of this bit of sand………….I came up on my first search and rescue party …………Jim, Victoria and another person…………Victoria asked “Mark where were you? Everybody is looking for you.” Jim also asked me if I wanted to continue.

I barely acknowledge both Jim and Victoria but rather remained entirely focused most importantly with the joy of returning to civilization I wondered to myself………….Why are they be looking for me?………The clock on my bike was showing around 11.45AM and as far as I can remember the ferry was not leaving until 4PM. Technically in my mind I am not missing until after 4PM. You have to understand………….The essence of what life is about is overcoming odds……….by thinking this way I gave myself hope………..That was my motivation to continue and conquer when other had obvious long mastered and finished course.

Jim pointed me to the next marker. I got though the final stretch of sand relatively easy…………Soon I was on to the paved road which also seem like eternity. Shortly after I was joined by Jim and Victoria and others in the rescue vehicle…………………..Jim drove up close to me and told me to go back to the hotel…………….I told Jim very bluntly that I had absolutely no intentions of doing the final leg of race which required a ride back and forth on the very first 2-mile stretch of sand. I told Jim he could go ahead…………….And the kind gentleman he is he told me he and the others are not leaving me……………….I guest I very vulnerable…………..On that I went into a hard gear raced in the direction of the hotel.

In the final analysis I came up on both Pat and Jackie looking very concerned. I also came up on Rick. Rick despite not doing the race but rather allowing young Akeel to use his bike was so concerned he got on his bike to search for me. I really appreciated the concern that all the cyclists and the rest of my friends had…………

I the end I had fun on Sun.

We had lunch. Some of us went to the beach while other just chit chatted.

It was a great day…………………….After the race I have decided I am going to write a book…………..by compiling all of these emails. I have had some very enjoyable experiences through cycling and I think others may be interested in reading my stories. I try to relate my experience just as they happen……..

I am in St. Johns on Sat. and Beef Islands on Sun……….I think racing back to back will be an even much more funnier experience.

Cheers.



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