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Team Sole’s first-hand account of “Day 0�

Karen Lundgren / Team Sole / 23.08.2007

Team Sole’s Karen Lundgren and Paul Romero are taking advantage of this race’s staged format to juggle their hours on the race-course with recovery between stages “writing race reports from a comfortable couch, situated in the hoel lobby surrounded by marble pillars and countless servants.� www.teamsole.com

Thursday August 23

All the teams are staying at a quite nice hotel at the top of the Fairy Lady Mountain. It\'s beautiful here, lush and green and a nice respite from the heat in the city of Wulong which lies 1,000 m below. The bus ride up to the hotel was in the dark so we weren\'t sure what to expect as we headed down to the city for the opening ceremonies and the prologue aka \"Day 0.\" The four buses left to take the athletes down 2 hours of constant, narrow, steep switchbacks - the road to Wulong. All the buses honking their horns at the blind corners to warn drivers coming our way. We pass several villages and acres and acres of terrace farming on the steep hillsides. It\'s a sight we can\'t stop looking at.

We arrive in the city and it\'s bustling. The shops are opening and the streets are filling with people who line the pavements like they are waiting for a parade, they have come to watch the 24 teams in the Wulong Mountain Quest. The buses stop near the start line and the location for the opening ceremonies. We all walk out the of the buses with our jaws open. It\'s surely the biggest opening ceremony we have even seen for an adventure race. Music is blaring, there are banners and flags and balloons and all the other things you imagine when you are in China --Giant dragons and drums and bells and colorful costumes. All for the race.

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