Conquering Costa Rica
By Ryan Hope, Elko Daily
Free Press
ELKO — Most Americans who travel
to Costa Rica do so to visit the
country’s acclaimed beaches and
resorts or to catch a wave on a
surfboard.
Few travel to the Central
America country to put
themselves through a grueling,
four-day race in its hot and
humid swamps, hills and jungles.
Consider Elko’s Bruce Frazier,
Jr., one of the minority.
Frazier, the manager/owner of
Office Furniture Supply, is an
avid mountainbiker and has been
eyeing a trip in November to
Costa Rice for the La Ruta de
los Conquistadores race for some
time.
The race, which organizers claim
is the toughest mountain bike
race on the planet, is easily
the most challenging endeavor
Frazier has embarked on during
his success-filled career. It’s
one he’s taking seriously and
has spent years preparing for.
“I would like to do well,”
Frazier said. “I would hate to
go just to show up. If I can get
through the first day, I’ll
definitely push to get up the
stage. If I get through the
first day, then I’ll see how it
plays out.”
The race traces the route of
Spanish conquistador Juan de
Caballon from the Pacific Coast
town of Jaco across the isthmus
to the Caribbean Sea.
Altogether, the race spans 220
miles, but the rugged terrain
and tropical climate make the
going slow.
It’s all part of the experience
though, and Frazier is giddy
just talking about it.
“I like going to different
places to race,” Frazier said.
“It’s a lot of fun to go to new
areas and see new things. It’s
kind of a trip as well as a
race. This is definitely going
to be a start. There’s a couple
of other races I’m looking at
for next year.”
Tagging along will be Frazier’s
wife, Lisa, daughter Maddie, 16,
son Collin, 11, and friend and
fellow biker Bethany Elson from
Park City, Utah. The family has
an additional week of
sightseeing and vacationing
planned in Costa Rica, so the
trip won’t be just to follow dad
through the jungle.
Frazier first became familiar
with the race five years ago. At
the time, it seemed like an
impossibility in his mind to
ride through a nature reserve
full of poison dart frogs, skirt
the edge of the Irazu Volcano
and cross numerous rivers and
swamps. More than half the field
drops out during the first day.
But since then, Frazier has
competed in several 24-hour
races and warmed up to the idea.
The training has been a weekly,
if not daily, routine for
Frazier and he feels up to the
challenge. Ask him though, and
competition is only part of the
reason he’s involved in the
sport.
“Cycling is kind of my therapy
more than anything,” Frazier
said. “I do it because it gives
me a chance to get away from the
phones, people and work. I can
just go out and not think about
anything. I can center myself.
The racing is just fun.”
Frazier was introduced to the
sport in 1986, when a college
roommate let him borrow his
mountain bike and he’s been
hooked ever since. He began
racing competitively in 1992,
endured a slew of injuries
including a broken leg and
dislocated shoulder, has had
bikes fail because of mechanical
problems beneath him, yet still
is as much in love with the
sport as he was when he started.
“I like riding bikes, but I love
you,” Frazier correctly said
within earshot of his wife.
In 2006, Frazier’s mountain bike
team, Misbehaving in the Four
Players, received some national
recognition when it won the
championship of the 24-hour
series it has been involved in.
It was the crowning moment of
his career to win the title with
teammates Al Kacin, Jeff Van
Blarcom and Dave Walther from
Elko and John Tucker and Karen
Dodge from Park City, Utah.
The group has spent plenty of
hours traversing the hills of
Nevada and many other western
states. In Elko County, the
group already has a good set of
trails, formed by the area’s
abundant cattle. The bovine
follow the contours of the hills
and are quite the trail
builders.
As long as cows are treading
trails and there’s a bike to
ride, Frazier will be on it.
“It’s a lifetime sport,” Frazier
said. “Age doesn’t play into it
so much. I went to a 24-hour
race and there was a 74-year-old
guy in it. That kind of gives me
hope that I can continue to do
this for a long time.”
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Elko mountain biker Bruce Frazier is training for a
multistage race later this year in Costa Rica. (Ryan
Hope/Elko Daily Free Press) |
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