The title of this blog was muttered many a times last weekend. Just wanted to summarize the out of this world and sometimes funny and sometimes shocking moments we had on our trip down to the Carlton Super Sports Festival in Tissamaharama last weekend. Felt like we were on a leg of the Amazing Race. =P
Background: Heading to the triathlon portion of the Carlton Super Sports weekend to promote Ironman Sri Lanka. S and A from HFP Racing who are the foreign organisers of Ironman Sri Lanka are planning to compete in this local triathlon. I, was planning to do results for the triathlon.
12pm: Meeting in Colombo with the Tourism Board ... leads to a meeting with the Ministry of Defense at 1pm. After our meeting with the Tourism Board, we roll up to the security outside the Ministry of Defense with 6 people in a 5 pax car. The car is too weighed down to get up on the ramp of the entrance. Security waves us to the alternate entrance. We get in. Cell phones confiscated. Metal detector. Pat down. We're through. Set back our departure time by one hour.
2pm: Meeting done and back at the Taj hotel. Super hungry. Lunch. The guys speed pack.
3pm: We're off for one more pick up.
4pm: Finally on our way through Kotte. Super congested. Reach the Southern Expressway at about 4:30pm.
5:15pm: 2/3 down the way car breaks down. Something smells over heated. We hang out on the side of the highway waving to passersby and have a good chuckle. Pile back into the car - go the rest of the way in 2nd gear and travelling on the shoulder.
5:45pm: Reach the toll booth at the Galle (Pinnaduwa) exit ... the stop causes the car to essentially stop running. The gear box won't catch. We pull over. Call for a tow. B breaks out her hula hoop - we hula a bit, do some kung fu moves, eat some mandarin oranges, ride a local bike and wave to more locals.
6:45pm: Tow from Galle arrives. This little truck is attached to the car with a tether that looks like "a bunch of bedsheets tied together". Away we go on a 5km tow to Galle at about 30km/h.
7:15pm: We reach Galle. Pulling into the repair shop, a scooter fails to see the tether between the car and truck and runs right into it. Thank goodness it was at the wheel and didn't clothesline the rider. Rider is shaken, but okay. They start to look at the car. We look to food. Into a local restaurant we go - two Lion Strong beers make things better for most of us. Awesome fried rice. Yum! Call the triathlon organizers saying I might not make it to Tissa. Summary? I have to make it for the end of the event not because they need my skills, but they need my computer to actually do the results. Contemplate transport and accommodation options.
9:00pm: Van hired to drive us to Tissa.
10:00pm: We depart for Tissa. Call guy we're supposed to borrow bikes from for S & A's participation in the triathlon. No answer.
12:00am: Try calling for bikes again, no answer.
2:30am: Finally arrive at Yala Heights in Tissamaharama. Unload. Sleep.
6:00am: Wake. Breakfast.
7:30am: Call for bikes again - phone is off. Advised to go physically and pick up bikes anyways. Try to relay that to our jeep driver.
8:20am: Arrive at race site. Didn't stop at bike pick up - driver didn't understand us. Lost cause!
8:30am: Scheduled race start. Doesn't happen. More time to find bikes!
9:00am: B secures two bikes from passersby for S & A. One is a rusty single speed purple cruiser. Second is a rusty single speed plain 'ol bike!
9:30am: Tri starts. S & A shockingly are not in the lead out of the water. We later find out many people "walked" the swim. S tries to go on the "regular"bike but has difficulties with the bike seat. Friendly local offers his nice mountain bike for S to race on and off S goes. Amazing. A completes cycle portion on cruiser bike! Could really have used some WD40. S is finished the run course at this point. Goes back out on the run course with A.
11:30am: I'm doing results. Race is over. B gives 1000LKR ($10) to guy we borrowed purple bike from. He beams like there's no tomorrow. Trying to coordinate meeting with CSN, the organisers of the Super Sports weekend, who would eventually become a sponsor of Ironman Sri Lanka. Would have done promotions but left promotion materials back in the car. Find out that person we want to meet with never came down for the event weekend is back in Colombo. Time to arrange transport back to Colombo.
3:00pm: Multiple phone calls later, transport finally arrives arranged through the amazing My Village Guesthouse that Chad and I stayed in back in November. Love these guys. Our other alternative was through a different connection in Galle - 3.5 hours away (yes, they would have come to pick us up all they way from Galle just to drive us back to Colombo. crazy).
10:00pm: Finally back in Colombo.
Not a typical weekend, for sure.
Background: Heading to the triathlon portion of the Carlton Super Sports weekend to promote Ironman Sri Lanka. S and A from HFP Racing who are the foreign organisers of Ironman Sri Lanka are planning to compete in this local triathlon. I, was planning to do results for the triathlon.
12pm: Meeting in Colombo with the Tourism Board ... leads to a meeting with the Ministry of Defense at 1pm. After our meeting with the Tourism Board, we roll up to the security outside the Ministry of Defense with 6 people in a 5 pax car. The car is too weighed down to get up on the ramp of the entrance. Security waves us to the alternate entrance. We get in. Cell phones confiscated. Metal detector. Pat down. We're through. Set back our departure time by one hour.
2pm: Meeting done and back at the Taj hotel. Super hungry. Lunch. The guys speed pack.
3pm: We're off for one more pick up.
4pm: Finally on our way through Kotte. Super congested. Reach the Southern Expressway at about 4:30pm.
5:15pm: 2/3 down the way car breaks down. Something smells over heated. We hang out on the side of the highway waving to passersby and have a good chuckle. Pile back into the car - go the rest of the way in 2nd gear and travelling on the shoulder.
5:45pm: Reach the toll booth at the Galle (Pinnaduwa) exit ... the stop causes the car to essentially stop running. The gear box won't catch. We pull over. Call for a tow. B breaks out her hula hoop - we hula a bit, do some kung fu moves, eat some mandarin oranges, ride a local bike and wave to more locals.
6:45pm: Tow from Galle arrives. This little truck is attached to the car with a tether that looks like "a bunch of bedsheets tied together". Away we go on a 5km tow to Galle at about 30km/h.
7:15pm: We reach Galle. Pulling into the repair shop, a scooter fails to see the tether between the car and truck and runs right into it. Thank goodness it was at the wheel and didn't clothesline the rider. Rider is shaken, but okay. They start to look at the car. We look to food. Into a local restaurant we go - two Lion Strong beers make things better for most of us. Awesome fried rice. Yum! Call the triathlon organizers saying I might not make it to Tissa. Summary? I have to make it for the end of the event not because they need my skills, but they need my computer to actually do the results. Contemplate transport and accommodation options.
9:00pm: Van hired to drive us to Tissa.
10:00pm: We depart for Tissa. Call guy we're supposed to borrow bikes from for S & A's participation in the triathlon. No answer.
12:00am: Try calling for bikes again, no answer.
2:30am: Finally arrive at Yala Heights in Tissamaharama. Unload. Sleep.
6:00am: Wake. Breakfast.
7:30am: Call for bikes again - phone is off. Advised to go physically and pick up bikes anyways. Try to relay that to our jeep driver.
8:20am: Arrive at race site. Didn't stop at bike pick up - driver didn't understand us. Lost cause!
8:30am: Scheduled race start. Doesn't happen. More time to find bikes!
9:00am: B secures two bikes from passersby for S & A. One is a rusty single speed purple cruiser. Second is a rusty single speed plain 'ol bike!
9:30am: Tri starts. S & A shockingly are not in the lead out of the water. We later find out many people "walked" the swim. S tries to go on the "regular"bike but has difficulties with the bike seat. Friendly local offers his nice mountain bike for S to race on and off S goes. Amazing. A completes cycle portion on cruiser bike! Could really have used some WD40. S is finished the run course at this point. Goes back out on the run course with A.
11:30am: I'm doing results. Race is over. B gives 1000LKR ($10) to guy we borrowed purple bike from. He beams like there's no tomorrow. Trying to coordinate meeting with CSN, the organisers of the Super Sports weekend, who would eventually become a sponsor of Ironman Sri Lanka. Would have done promotions but left promotion materials back in the car. Find out that person we want to meet with never came down for the event weekend is back in Colombo. Time to arrange transport back to Colombo.
3:00pm: Multiple phone calls later, transport finally arrives arranged through the amazing My Village Guesthouse that Chad and I stayed in back in November. Love these guys. Our other alternative was through a different connection in Galle - 3.5 hours away (yes, they would have come to pick us up all they way from Galle just to drive us back to Colombo. crazy).
10:00pm: Finally back in Colombo.
Not a typical weekend, for sure.
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