2014 Fat La Ruta

Fat category of the world-renowned La Ruta de los Conquistadores, a three-day MTB stage race that runs trans-Costa Rica from the Pacific ocean to the Caribbean sea.  Known as the "toughest mountain bike race on the planet" La Ruta is a classic on any bucket list.  Here are some quotes:

"La Ruta is a soul-sappingly hard, exotically wild, singular journey across laughably steep inclines, hysterically steeper descents, through jungles, plantations, villages, across ecosystems and temperate zones, over volcanoes and beaches and terrain that you never quite imagined you could ride on a bike." VeloNews

"This is quite possibly the hardest of all mountain bike events on the Epic Endurance Bucket List. For perspective, consider that for time-in-the-saddle it’s like doing the Leadville 100 three days in a row. There’s more climbing than Leadville in Stage 2 alone, and in half the distance!" Chris Carmichael