Esta vez visitamos Guasina. Un lugar ubicado en el sector Palmarito, a las afueras de Carora, estado Lara, Venezuela. Fui invitada por Rubí, del team Sun Bike Carora al cual pertenezco desde hace unos meses.

Rubí fue la encargada de organizar la logística del viaje, desde la comida hasta el traslado de las bicicletas. Acordamos reunirnos el domingo 27 de agosto a las 5:00am. Salimos apenas los muchachos acomodaron las bicicletas en el camión de Eduardo, eran las 6:15am el sol apenas empezaba a salir.

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This time we visited Guasina. A place located in Palmarito, on the outskirts of Carora, Lara state, Venezuela. I was invited by Rubi, from the Sun Bike Carora team to which I belong since a few months ago.
Rubi was in charge of organizing the logistics of the trip, from the food to the transportation of the bikes. We agreed to meet on Sunday August 27th at 5:00am. We left as soon as the guys put the bikes in Eduardo's truck, it was 6:15am and the sun was just starting to rise.

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Después de una hora en carro llegamos al punto de inicio, era un grupo grande así que, por seguridad, se dejaron los carros en el estacionamiento de un local cercano gracias a Óscar, un compañero que conoce a los dueños del local.

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After an hour's drive we arrived at the starting point, it was a large group so, for safety reasons, the cars were left in the parking lot of a nearby store thanks to Oscar, a fellow member who knows the owners of the store.

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Apenas dejamos la carretera y nos adentramos en la zona a pedal, nos recibió una subida de tal inclinación que a muchos hizo dudar si habían hecho bien en venir. Subí unos metros, las tres primeras subidas. Desde ahí, al igual que otros amigos, caminé los tramos más difíciles. Me advirtieron lo complicado de la ruta, pero al ver las fotos del lugar sabía que tenía que conocerlo. Había ido para disfrutar, así que no quería agotarme en menos de un kilómetro.

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As soon as we left the road and entered the area by pedal, we were greeted by a climb of such steepness that many doubted whether they had done well to come. I climbed a few meters, the first three climbs. From there, like other friends, I walked the most difficult sections. I was warned about the difficulty of the route, but when I saw the photos of the place I knew I had to know it. I had gone to enjoy myself, so I didn't want to exhaust myself in less than a kilometer.

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Nos fuimos agrupando según nuestro ritmo. Mi velocidad y la de quienes que me acompañaban (Beatriz, Brenda, Sarah y Jaime) me facilitó tomar todas las fotos que deseé. Nos parábamos cuando lo considerábamos necesario. De esa forma recorrimos gran parte del camino, en un punto nos encontramos con Fernando, quien nos acompañó en todo el recorrido. Es admirable su capacidad para subir, bajar para chequear cómo estábamos todos y volver a subir como si nada.

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We were grouped according to our pace. My speed and that of those who accompanied me (Beatriz, Brenda, Sarah and Jaime) made it easy for me to take all the photos I wanted. We stopped when we considered it necessary. In this way we covered most of the way, at one point we met Fernando, who accompanied us all the way. It is admirable his ability to go up, come down to check how we were all doing and go back up as if nothing happened.

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El recorrido fue tan hermoso como hostil. El sol no dio tregua, apenas se hicieron las 9 de la mañana se disipó el poco frío que sentimos al llegar. Por suerte, en ocasiones, el camino se hacía boscoso y nos arropaba un poco con su sombra.

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The ride was as beautiful as it was hostile. The sun gave us no respite, and as soon as it was 9 o'clock in the morning, the little cold we felt when we arrived dissipated. Fortunately, at times, the road became wooded and we were sheltered by its shade.

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Atravesamos el río muchas veces, lo que nos permitió refrescarnos y lavar el fango que se pegaba en nuestras bicis a causa de los charcos (muy apestosos) que hallábamos en la vía. Había muchas fincas en todo el camino y, como era de esperarse, nos topamos con con vacas, chivos, caballos, perros y sus desechos a lo largo del recorrido.

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We crossed the river many times, which allowed us to cool off and wash off the mud that stuck to our bikes from the (very stinky) puddles we found on the road. There were many farms along the way and, as expected, we encountered cows, goats, horses, dogs and their waste along the way.

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Seguíamos subiendo y el camino parecía no acabar. Nos cruzábamos con motorizados de la zona que nos decían cuánto faltaba, se estima que el recorrido en carro rústico es de 2 horas aproximadamente. Calculé que en bicicleta nos tomaría al menos el doble, llegaríamos alrededor de las 12 del mediodía, así que me relajé y —como dice mi amiga Alix— me entregué al disfrute.

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We continued climbing and the road seemed to go on forever. We crossed paths with local motorcyclists who told us how much time was left, it is estimated that the trip in a rustic car is about 2 hours. I calculated that by bike it would take us at least twice as long, we would arrive around 12 noon, so I relaxed and -as my friend Alix says- I gave myself to the enjoyment.

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Al terminar una extensa bajada nos encontramos con unos árboles majestuosos al lado del río, un breve recordatorio de cuan pequeños somos comparados con la naturaleza tan formidable.

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At the end of a long descent we come across some majestic trees beside the river, a brief reminder of how small we are compared to nature so formidable.

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Anteriormente nuestra compañera María nos pasó por un lado en moto con su bicicleta en brazos, pensamos que llegaría mucho antes que nosotros pero la encontramos unos kilómetros después. Se había caído y su cadena estaba rota, por suerte estaba en compañía de Marisol, se separaron del grupo por lo que el resto de los compañeros no se enteraron de su caída.

A los 30 o 40 minutos llegaron los dos carros de apoyo que fueron con nosotros, quienes en varios puntos nos salvaron con la hidratación y esta vez ayudaron a María, ella decidió continuar el trayecto en carro.

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Earlier our companion Maria passed us by on a motorcycle with her bike in her arms, we thought she would arrive long before us but we found her a few kilometers later. She had fallen and her chain was broken, luckily she was in the company of Marisol, they were separated from the group so the rest of the companions did not know about her fall.
After 30 or 40 minutes the two support cars that went with us arrived, who at various points saved us with hydration and this time helped Maria, she decided to continue the journey by car.

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Continuamos y en ese punto todo era plano, no sabíamos si estábamos en el camino correcto, ya no estaba tan marcado por las motos y carros, aún así seguimos. En un momento tuvimos que cargar nuestras bicicletas por encima de una cerca para evitar atravesar un charco profundo que estaba en la vía. Al avanzar nos encontramos a Chonchón y a Mexicano quienes se habían regresado a buscarnos.

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We continued and at that point everything was flat, we did not know if we were on the right road, it was no longer so marked by motorcycles and cars, we still continued. At one point we had to carry our bikes over a fence to avoid crossing a deep puddle that was on the road. As we went on we met Chonchón and Mexicano who had gone back to look for us.

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El río a nuestro lado nos hizo saber que faltaba poco, en menos de 5 minutos ya estábamos en Guasina. Revisé mi Strava: 24km. Soltamos las bicicletas y nos fuimos a conocer esa belleza natural. Ya todos se habían bañado en el río, nos llevaban una buena ventaja así que, mientras Rubí y otros compañeros hacían las hamburguesas, fuimos a echarnos un baño.

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The river next to us let us know that we were not far away, in less than 5 minutes we were already in Guasina. I checked my Strava: 24km. We dropped the bikes and went to see this natural beauty. Everyone had already bathed in the river, they were well ahead of us so, while Rubi and other companions made the hamburgers, we went for a swim.

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Nos adentramos en el lugar para ver el tobogán y el pozo. Caminamos un poco más hasta encontrar un espacio más solo, había mucha gente. Yo me ubiqué en el borde de una piedra donde chocaba el agua que bajaba, quién necesita un spa cuando puedes darte un masaje con el agua del río?

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We went into the place to see the slide and the well. We walked a little further until we found a more secluded space, there were a lot of people. I positioned myself on the edge of a rock where the water was crashing down, who needs a spa when you can get a massage with the river water?

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La vista era hermosa, nos rodeaban piedras enormes cubiertas con ramas verdes. Algunos pozos eran profundos, lo que resaltaba su color azul. Después de relajarnos en el río y hablar un rato quedamos recargados. Tomamos muchas fotos y fuimos a comer. Las hamburguesas sabían a gloria.

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The view was beautiful, we were surrounded by huge rocks covered with green branches. Some of the pools were deep, which highlighted their blue color. After relaxing in the river and talking for a while we were recharged. We took lots of pictures and went to lunch. The hamburgers tasted like glory.

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Algunos regresaron en carro, los demás decidimos pedalear. Para no quedarme atrás salí antes con algunos compañeros, el resto el grupo nos alcanzaría luego.

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Some returned by car, the rest of us decided to pedal. In order not to be left behind, I left earlier with some of my companions, the rest of the group would catch up with us later.

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A pesar de su dificultad se me hizo mucho más fácil el regreso, pedaleé la mayoría del terreno y lo que no pude lo caminé, eran subidas bastante exigentes, incluso a las motos se les complicaba.

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Despite its difficulty, the return trip was much easier, I pedaled most of the terrain and what I could not I walked, they were quite demanding climbs, even the motorcycles had a hard time.

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Kilómetros después llegó la noche, ya faltaba poco para terminar el recorrido. Con cuidado descendimos por aquellas subidas intensas del principio hasta llegar al restaurant donde dejamos los carros, eran las 7:30pm.

Sin duda fue una ruta exigente: 48 kilómetros de montaña. Allí se pone a prueba el trabajo hecho durante los entrenamientos y, sobre todo, la fortaleza mental. No es fácil enfrentarse a ciertos retos porque sabemos que implican riesgos, pero con valentía se pueden superar. Nuestras caras reflejaban cansancio, pero también la satisfacción de haber alcanzado el objetivo.

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Kilometers later it was nightfall, and it was almost time to finish the tour. We carefully descended through those intense climbs at the beginning until we reached the restaurant where we left the cars, it was 7:30 pm.
It was undoubtedly a demanding route: 48 kilometers of mountain. There we put to the test the work done during training and, above all, mental strength. It is not easy to face certain challenges because we know that they involve risks, but with courage we can overcome them. Our faces reflected fatigue, but also the satisfaction of having achieved the objective.

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