Maria at first checkpoint in third place

Day 4 of the Black Ice Race and several teams on the marathon have made an awesome effort covering over 100 miles on their mountain bikes to reach the checkpoint. Jezz and Mat, followed closely by Maria, arrived at 18.30hrs and 18.40hrs respectively after a gruelling day on the ice. They are all in good spirits and looking remarkably fresh after a long day.

We are still waiting for an update from Maria but a fellow racer has this to say about the conditions. The first day and evening on the ice was a major shock for us and we had no idea that the conditions on Lake Baikal could be so harsh! It was a frightening wake up call.

 Just a quick update. Today started well. I was up nice and early and on my bike. Got about an hour of good cycling in and the winds here just got stronger and stronger throughout the day until I couldn't stay on the bike any longer. It was literally blown from underneath me on a lot of occasions. And when I thought it couldn't get any worse I hit a field of sastrugi so then spent the next two hours dragging my bike in high high winds over that. By about 6:00pm  I was just lucky to pitch my tent which took me two hours to do in the strong winds, but I am now safely inside and have had something to eat.

Day One- Horrific start

I am finally tucked up in a tent thanks to two very nice guys Jez and Matt. We had a pretty terrible start because the wind has been really ferocious in our faces and we have not really been able to cycle much at all. It has been freezing cold, but now everything is fine and we are having some food in the tent in sleeping bags. Yes, morale is still OK. I can't say I am looking forward to tomorrow but will take one step at a time.

Maria jets off to Moscow

Arrived at Terminal 4 at Heathrow with three hours to spare in spite of intermittent fog on the way. Maria very excited even though she couldn't get her very large bike bag through the bollards. That was a minor concern considering her massive challenge ahead. Lots of good luck wishes came in today from friends far and wide.
Just had a text from her saying 'arrived in Moscow after a rather eventful journey. Great group of people with lots of chat about tactics. It's anyone's race.'
Don't forget Maria is raising money for Alzheimers, click on the Just Giving link on her website.

Yoga for relaxation

The nerves are building so I've decided to head off for a yoga class tonight to try and ensure I get a good nights sleep.

My mother will take over from here with write ups and you can also keep up with the latest news on the Extreme World Races Website.