The Rift
A lunar experience.
Curtis and Raylyn set off for the volcanic island to reunite with the Pas Normal family in Iceland for the bucket-list race: The Rift.
130 miles of Icelandic terrain. Terrain that is Earth in its most natural state. Untouched. The team was able to experience the biggest treat and witness a volcano that was actively erupting. It was quite breathtaking to witness the Earth’s core spewing from the surface, and dip our feet into the “blue lagoon".
The first 50 miles or so of the race was mostly all up-hill. And when we say up… we mean several pitches that boasted the “walk of shame line”. Too steep to ride. This was the part of the course where you felt like you had landed on another planet. Terrain that went from green to black to red and then to white! It was totally surreal to ride and look off in either direction and see waterfalls and moss covered mountains.
A course where you had 12 total river crossings. Some crossings were deep and some were shallow. A course that you took around a volcano and over glaciers.
We never thought we would have to ask ourselves what tires do you run on sharp lava rock? - (We ran the Challenge Getaway XPs, for those of you who were wondering.)
The part of the island where we raced had not received any rain for a week or so. This caused the roads to turn into washboards from all of the extreme off-road vehicles that brave the terrain. It made for one extremely bumpy ride for a good portion of the race. These conditions gave the race some of the hardest conditions the event has witnessed.
The best part of the trip was reuniting with the Pas Normal family. About 12 of us bunked up in The Rift camp house. International Cycling Club riders from South Korea, Norway, Denmark, Germany, USA. It’s always special to be able to spend time with one of your partners, and we always thoroughly enjoy our time with PAS. They are a brand excited about racing and pushing themselves on the bike. They all have an appreciation for fashion and adventure.
On Friday we took part in the PAS recon ride where we hosted over 200 riders to see the finishing section of the course.
“This turned out to be key for me (the recon ride): With about 40 miles to go in the race I was caught by a very strong, Serena Gordon Bishop. I was so tired from all the wash boarded roads that when she caught me I had to search for my second wind because I knew it would end up being a race to the finish. The final 10 miles of the race is where I used the last bit of energy I had to ride hard through the final rough section and river crossings to get to the pavement that would take me back to the finish. I was really proud to find the extra energy at the end of a 130 mile race. The past few events left me empty, so it was a win in itself to finish the event with strength left in the legs.” - Raylyn
Raylyn finished 2nd place behind Unbound 200 winner, Caroline Schiff.
Curtis had a tough battle as he suffered a few mechanicals on course and had to play catch up most of the day, but still rallied with a strong finish.
Iceland was a trip we will not soon forget! We owe a huge thank you to the Pas Normal Studios team for the excellent support over the weekend. We are so blessed with the amazing places that the bike has taken us, and the community and relationships that we’ve formed along the way.
We hope you enjoy some images from the trip below!
