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Filling Up at the Gas Station

Susan McKenzie / 03.10.2005

Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs stand on the lawn under the neon Charrua Gas Station sign, looking out (or so it seems) for teams approaching. The fairy tale heroine and her little men are everywhere in this part of Brazil – on lawns, in shop windows, on store fronts and even here, on a small patch of grass beside a highway gas station. Snow White is part of this region\'s Italian heritage (like Oktoberfest in Gramado reflects its German heritage)

As the sun sets, the sky is streaked with varying shades of pink and red and salmon, streaks of colour sneaking through the trees and spilling onto the cars ands trucks that have begun to assemble.

At dusk, Buff Nike ACG arrives in first place, approaching at a run. They are muddy and breathing hard after trekking nineteen kilometres with a horse through mud that was two feet deep in times. The horses are part of a “social activity� at Ecomotion designed to carry food to needy residents of the region.

“It was hard going, but it was fun too,� says Shane Sigle. “I really like sections like that in an adventure race. They really break up the monotony of biking and running and paddling.�

Pushing hard to keep the pole position, the team spends very little time in the TA. They use the gas station literally as a filling station, stopping only to eat and check maps. They are on their bikes with hardly a chance to breathe.

Night had fallen completely by the time Merrell Wigwam Adventure arrives at the TA in second place, surrounded by TV cameras, photographers and several cars with their headlights on.

“We’re feeling okay,� Ian Edmond says as he adjusts his bike.

The team hasn’t slept much on this race, but it wasn’t for lack of trying.

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