The Esprit race was the first race for Go Banana to show off their new colors. Brian, Jason and Thomas arrived sporting the sought after Go Banana race jersey. After checking in we located our arch rivals team PFO, they were visibly worried at the sight of us (or maybe the smell, we will never know).
The race started with a trekking section. We ran up the road feeling good, even though Thomas hates running. Once reaching the highway we took our bearing and were off. After a brief moment of tears from Brian and Jason (stinging nettles really sting) we were moving quite well. Once we reached the top of a peak there was a brief moment of confusion as we thought we missed the checkpoint. Then we remembered that the checkpoint was at a scenic lookout, and that unfortunately meant climbing higher. We reached the checkpoint in 6th place, and yes the directions were correct, the south face was quite steep!
After a short drink we took our new bearing and were off to CP2. We quickly hit an ATV trail and followed it. After a while Brian and Jason questioned the route's direction but then Thomas convinced us (gave us a beating, to which Jason replied “not in the face, it’s my livelihood”) we were going in the right direction. We then ended up at the dump which was not CP2! We then hung our heads in shame and ran the 5km to the checkpoint. Many thanks to the riders who passed by yelling encouragement: “Go Banana!”. Just then our nemesis team PFO passed!
Once finding CP2 we were excited to be on the bikes. We hammered it down and the road and after a brief bit of confusion about road names we found the correct route and made it to the boats.
Thomas quickly pumped up the boat as Jason organized the paddles and Brian went for a pee (hey I have a small bladder). After a few 180 degree turns we got the hang of things and Jason steered us towards victory. Thanks to the team who took a break so we could feel strong and pass someone.
At T2 we quickly deflated the boat and Brian had another pee (remember small bladder). Our gear bag was missing but luckily we wore our cycling shoes in the boat. We then headed down the road at 30km/h to the finish. We hit the finish line in 7th place, our best showing yet and ahead of the dreaded team PFO.
Team PFO finished a few minutes later and came first in the women’s division, congratulations girls! We all then headed to the water for a beer. After a few drinks and some temporary tattoos it was clear that team Go Banana is catching on, even PFO was considering joining up (we already have one, thanks to Robin).
All in all it was a good day, even with the navigation error (which wasn’t really Thomas fault). We even made the podium with a 5th place finish!
Go Banana!
PS> Jason sucks
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