mtbo Poland

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Day 9..race day 2

A bad day in the forest...
Executive summary would go like this:
Went to Ostrada on 8.53 train as my race start was post 1630
Got back for lunch at 2pm
Race started 1745,,,we had 100 minutes to complete.
I didn’t complete as darkness fell so dnfed.
Ostrada is a nice town on lake edge, It is the start of the Ostrada to Elblag canal which I wont go on as thw times don’t fit with racing. It is more run down that Olsztyn is. Brushed off 2 beggars,,one old and one about 12! Standard request was 5 PLN..about $3NZD.
Had okay but expensive espresso and looked at a museum and some churches, They have this cool wakeboard thing on the lake between 2 towers and it mechanically swings u around a course of about 400m. I don’t do wakeboards.
Race time for me turned out to be late..we were on the exact same course for the World elite men..slowest time was apparently close to our cutoff so there was no way I was going to finish on time. Felt good tho for most of the 12 controls I got. I was riding fast..for me and I knew where I was riding as well which is unusual. Then I looked at my watch and realised it was close to 100min cutoff and with 6 controls to go and darkness happening it was a no go to finish so exit strategy was head south and east. Alas I got lost and ended up off map in the next village. Still had to ride back 3kms and tell finish line the last person was safe! A car guided me home in the dark!
Finished dinner at 9pm.
Ready to collapse and get ready for 2moros race which is 4km shorter but perversely we get 10 more minutes. I may finish?

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