Across the Pain Barrier: wish you were here? Nibali and Chainel take a trip across the Pain Barrier. Photo by Jered Gruber Hey Guys, Hope all is well back home. Our trip has been interesting and eventful, although not all of it so enjoyable. But I suppose that's the price you pay for a sense of adventure! After a long discussion within our group we finally agreed that we'd take a trip across the Pain Barrier -- we'd travelled so close to the border and our curiosity finally got the better of us. Of course we'd all heard the stories; the self-satisfied tales from some far flung land, beyond even the maps of less intrepid tourists. The stories of survival against the odds, of going deeper and deeper into uncertain territory. We wanted to see what all the fuss was about. Well! What a curious place it is. One of our group had been there once before -- some race he'd done, well out of his depth. Only briefly across the border before his timidness caused him to turn back and retreat to the safety of the pavement citing an imaginary injury or fictional mechanical. But as one of the locals pointed out to us, it's necessary to stay longer than is comfortable in order to really get a feel for the place. What struck us almost immediately was the language. No guide book or dictionary can prepare you for the dialect spoken; despite its vague familiarity it's entirely incomprehensible