Adventure Racing

March, 2010

Hinton, VA
by Phil Dawson

 

            So, I’m finally getting around to writing about EFix 2010.  EFix essentially began a fantastic year of racing for me, so I really think it deserves a report even though it’s over a year late.
            Initially I wasn’t even going to do the race. I couldn’t find anybody to race with and soloing for 50 hours didn't sound fun.  A little internet dating through A-list quickly paired me up with Chad Markle from Salt Lake City.  He’d been thinking about doing it solo too, but liked the idea of pairing up as a two man team.  I had a little performance anxiety (do NOT continue the internet dating motif!) since Chad had done ump-teen Primal Quests, etc; but a mutual friend, Jeremy Khulen, said Chad was a great guy and I'm hoping he said the same about me to Chad.  Chad also brought the name "Raging Burritos," his favorite restaurant in Atlanta, along with him and "Richmond ASR: Raging Burritos" was born.
            We met at the check-in site.  Chad had gone to the Bluestone State Park initially, but luckily had a smart phone and Googled his way to the Bluestone Camp and Retreat on the other side of the Lake.  The route to the Camp had been part of the 2008 EFix third day bike course and it brought back a few memories.  We spent the evening planning gear and practicing getting bikes into canoes. It turned out to be easier than we had dreaded, but it was still a pain.

            Friday morning’s check-in started with a long line of racers and then two HUGE maps.  We had map folding down to an art by the end of this race.  It seemed like we had plenty of time to plot everything, but as always it wasn’t enough time to be comfortable.  The inevitable scrambling ensued as gear and food was finalized. 

            The weather up to race day had been crazy in West Virginia.  Bluestone Lake had been 40 feet above normal levels and rumors of mud everywhere proved to be true.  Race director Ronnie Angell said this had been at least the fifth workings of the race course due to crazy water levels and persistent snow pack.  Snowshoes had even been on the original gear list, and the weather continued to be a factor even at the 2PM start.

            It was SNOWING!  Ronnie was laughing away saying something about “if it doesn’t kill you….” as the gun went off and we headed out on the bike prologue.  We went straight up to the ridgeline along the camp road and then back down along muddy trails to the camp again.  Chad and I decided to disassemble the bikes and put them in the canoes before we headed out on the trek section.  We didn’t want to get back in the dark and have to take bikes apart.  The trek took us south over the ridge, down the other side, west along the Bluestone Lake shore, and then back over the ridge for a total of three checkpoints.   Don’t forget…it was still snowing until about checkpoint one!  We could have opted to stay low and along the lake shore on the way back, but teams that did that ended up stranded on the path due to mud and debris…our first good navigation decision. 

            We were now back at the Bluestone Camp and given more points to plot.  These points were mostly optional and involved an initial paddle upstream, a dumping of bikes and gear, more paddling upstream, and then lots of night trekking and an eventual return to the bike drop area.  Around dusk, Chad and I portaged down the hill to the put-in, navigated the mud as best we could and began the upstream paddle.  Usually Bluestone Lake is just that…a lake.  The weather had made it a fairly swift moving river which got faster the further upstream we went.  Staying close to the shore and using every barrier you could to avoid the current was key.              Dumping the bikes was a huge task due to the mud.  It got everywhere.  In places it was at least 1 ½ feet deep and could easily suck shoes off if you weren’t careful.  Of course it took so much longer than we planned, but we were back in the canoe without bikes and paddling upstream with a pretty good moon.  We hugged the right bank, stayed in as many small channels as possible, used islands as current blocks, and slowly crept upstream.  We pulled up where checkpoint three had been.  We knew we could get out and trek up to the only mandatory point for this section at the head of Indian Mill Creek.  Paddling all the way there was only for the super strong and a few teams did. 

            We now made a fateful navigation decision.  It was night; the optional points looked really hard for a two-person team; a fog was rolling in obscuring the hillsides; and Ronnie Angell races are all about making cut-offs.  We crossed paths with Dima who was doing the race solo, and we all decided to head straight back to our canoes without even attempting the optional points.  This was our second good navigation decision.  We later heard horror stories about checkpoints on hillsides in the fog, cemeteries missed numerous times, four-person teams having to canvas hillsides countless times.   The canoe paddle back downstream, through the fog, took no time at all! 

            A slog through the mud again brought us back to our bikes at about 2AM.  Other teams were there; some going out for a second round in the woods; some just getting there from Bluestone Camp.  Teams were already all over the map.  One thing we hadn’t anticipated: the mud had frozen on the bikes!  We had to chip it off as best we could and set off.  Initially, gears didn’t work and brakes were frozen; but eventually everything functioned and nothing broke.  We were just behind Dima as we set off up the first of countless hills.

            The bike course generally took us south and west.  Since it was below freezing, it took me a while to figure out how not to sweat profusely on the uphills or freeze solid riding back down.   I got the clothes figured out by about the second big uphill//downhill combo.  Around 5AM , one of those adventure racing moments happened.  We were tired and cold as we pulled into the tiny town of Lerona, WV.  There was a Liberty gas station so we stopped just to get something out of the vending machine.  Remember….it’s 5AM.  The door was open so we pulled on it and Chad says, “I smell bacon!”  We couldn’t believe it.  We sat down to scrambled eggs, home-made hash browns, and sausage….at 5AM!  Some locals were in there sitting around chatting and didn’t quite know what to make of us; so we started talking and trying to explain this lunatic sport.  They just laughed.  We took a quick 20 minute snooze and then headed on to Pipestem State Park as the sun started coming up.

            The trek through Pipestem Park was nice.  Getting my feet into frozen solid, muddy shoes was a trick but we were soon trekking fast.  The sun was up, the frost was melting, the view from the lookout tower was fantastic, and the waterfalls were gorgeous in the morning light.  We chose a clockwise route and got checkpoints 22 through 26 by 11AM.  We figured Dima was the only team ahead of us as we set out on the next bike leg. 

            Once again we made a good route choice.  We chose to backtrack and do many more miles on fairly flat roads rather than carrying bikes down and up power line cuts.  We actually caught Dima by the last checkpoint since he had chosen a rutted jeep trail with much elevation change rather than the road.  The last downhill was a screamer and we were back to our canoe and the mud.  After again disassembling the bikes and stowing them in the canoe, a fairly short 7 ½ mile downstream paddle brought us to checkpoint 31 and Bluestone State Park.  Another wade through even deeper mud enabled us to get our bikes put back together and afforded a little time to eat and get ready for a long bike leg.  We started up the first of 3 monster climbs as we headed out of Bluestone State Park about 10 minutes behind Dima.

            We rode on as night fell, but it wasn’t quite as cold.  We were making cut-offs easily and felt pretty good.  However, by the third 800 foot climb we were getting pretty beat.  I got ahead of myself with the maps around Dunns, WV, but we stopped and asked a guy spread out under his truck fixing axles and he set us straight.  Team Tecnu-Extreme blew past us up the last hill but one of their teammates was really hurting.  Once again, by the last checkpoint, we caught Dima and rode into Camp Creek State Forest and checkpoint 35 together at about 10:30PM.

            The map made the navigation for this trek look simple.  There were trails and cemeteries all nicely marked on the map.  It didn’t turn out to be so easy. We joined Dima, since three is always better than two in the dark, and headed north.  Once again we planned on only getting the mandatory CPs since we had to be back by 2AM.  Checkpoint 39 proved difficult, we stumbled upon checkpoint 37 and then it was off to checkpoint 36 in the opposite direction.  We chose a trail along a stream which proved to be my downfall.  It was wet, dark and so rocky that you really couldn’t go quickly without risking an ankle. Dima chanced it and took off.  The minutes ticked away and by the time we got to good trail we had to run at 8 minute pace to get back in time.  I couldn’t do it.  If only we’d transitioned faster…biked harder…taken the trail we were familiar with on this trek.  We passed Dima breathing really hard on his way back to transition.  He made the cut off by 8 minutes.  He was the only one who did.  We slowed down, got the last point, luckily found a heated restroom, took a short nap but woke up too early because concrete is cold, then headed back to transition.   We didn’t make that last cut-off.

            The fire was still burning.  It was surrounded by teams trying to stay warm and get some sleep.  We checked in with the volunteers, but no one else seemed to care about our presence.  Everyone was exhausted.  This is one tough race! 

Since we didn’t make the cut-off we had to return to Bluestone Camp the same way we got here.  We hopped on the bikes and started up the first of those three tough climbs.  We passed many teams sleeping by the roadside or “camping” in nearby fields.  It looked like a battlefield.  We were worried about rain as the sun slowly rose to a grey sky; and fatigue was setting in as we had to stop twice on the last hill.    The last screaming descent brought us back to our mud-entombed canoe. 

We now had a 4 mile upstream paddle to the finish and we were in first place.  We got the bikes in and started paddling.  This is where the sleep monsters started showing up. There was lots of debris in the trees from the recent flooding.  I kept seeing people sitting up on the banks watching us only to find out that it was an old plastic bag, a seat cushion, an old jug, as we paddled by.   We got stuck in the mud once and had to get out and slog through it up to our thighs for a 100 yards or so; but we avoided the strong current and kept to the banks as best as possible.  A slow portage up the hill with Chad and me attached to straps like a couple of mules brought us to the camp and across the finish line in first place. 

It’s amazing how tired you feel after you cross the line.  Your body knows it’s over so it just gives in to all the pain and fatigue.  We had our pictures taken, hosed all the equipment off as best as possible, packed the cars, grabbed a quick shower and then a blessed nap.  Food is always delicious after one of these races and lunch was no exception.  The awards ceremony was a bit of a blur as was the drive home.  I drove until I got sleepy, pulled over for a 4 hour nap, and then headed home for good.  I was so pumped because we did so well.  We ended up fifth overall and first across the line.  It’s hard to beat that for a weekend.           

 

        

           

Rev3 “EPIC” Adventure Race

April 16, 2011

Front Royal, VA

                                       
     This race certainly was “epic.”  It was a test of gear and hypothermia avoidance for most of the day.  Hard rain for twelve hours was no one’s idea of a good time, though memory will probably make it seem a lot better as time goes by. 

            This time Richmond ASR: Raging Burritos consisted of me, my brother Robin from Boston, Andrea Randle, and Daniel Rodriguez.  We were already worried about the weather for at least a week since weather.com kept saying that Saturday would be awful.  Of course, Friday was gorgeous as we drove to Luray, VA for check-in, and Sunday after the race was also a beautiful day.  Race day was special!  We woke up a 5AM to a steady drizzle and temperatures in the high 40s.   They had predicted higher temps as the day progressed but it never got above 60.   We drove to Bentonville, VA in a steady rain and were toeing the line with everyone at 7:30AM.  The prologue consisted of 4 mile run into Shenandoah State Park to pick up our passports from a cabin.  Navigation was not hard since we all just followed the hoard of racers along the river’s edge and up the hill to the cabins.  We would travel this same trail at least four times during the race…it got pretty familiar.

            The prologue was really the only part of the race that was in the original plan.  Flood warnings had forced a cancelling of the paddle section and problems with permits the Monday before the race forced the designers to scramble and develop a completely different bike course in the George Washington/Massanutten area west of the start area.  They also had to transport us by bus from the old canoe put-in point back to race central and probably had to alter the O-course and trek sections after the initial bike.  I’m glad that we hadn’t had to deal with all of that. 

            After the prologue, we quickly transitioned to bikes and headed west across a bridge that was already a foot underwater.  The next few miles were a test of gears, chains, and shifters.  Many teams were delayed by mechanical problems.  We had a couple of incidences of jammed chains and non-functioning shifters, but escaped any major problems.  The real test was staying warm.  We had three large hills to climb and descents through a constant downpour.  Climbing heated you up nicely, but descending cooled you off badly.  We all had to add clothing during the ride, and though we were constantly wet, we were semi-warm.  After 54 miles of hard riding, driving rain, one fairly costly navigation mistake, and yo-yoing team emotions we arrived at the Bixler Bridge canoe put in and waited for our bus to leave.  We huddled under a pop-up tent with a few other teams for about 20 minutes and then all crammed into the bus. Our bikes were laid out on a flat-bed trailer behind as we tore up route 340 back to Bentonville.  Our driver must have been a NASCAR wanna-be as we sped around corners and up hills.  No one wanted to look out the back for fear that all the bikes had been spilled in some huge pile somewhere back along the highway.

            We spilled out of the bus into a cold driving rain and immediately began shivering and chattering teeth.  A quick change of shoes got us ready for the next trekking section.  We immediately started running, back across the same submerged bridge, to try and get warm.  We had just two points to find on about a 7 mile trek, but the rain really started coming down and we were worried about getting back across that bridge if the river rose too fast.  Luckily the bridge was still there when we returned and over the next few minutes the rain let up a bit.

            We got to the car and changed into some dry clothes.  The weather was looking better so we were hoping for the best as we plotted the 21 points for the O-course and started out.  Lady luck was not in our corner.  The skies darkened and you could see the sheets of rain coming over the ridge.  It started to hail!  I think this is where even Daniel lost any remaining positive vibes as we trudged on into the Shenandoah Park.  We hoped to nail all 21 check points and we started out well.  We had gotten six points before it got dark, had a stop at the overlook for a beautiful view of the river valley, saw a complete rainbow, and were heading to  CP 39.  There it was, on the other side of a raging river that probably was usually a small stream.  We could find no way across.  Later, when we returned to the TA, we found that the race directors had expected us to swim across the river.  Frankly, this was the last straw for the team.  Getting wet on races is OK; but fast moving water, 50 degree weather, and encroaching darkness….probably not very smart to be swimming across rivers.  Our tactics changed.  We headed off for the last two remaining mandatory points and decided to just return to the TA.  We had one more “AR moment” as the full moon broke through the clouds and illuminated the landscape beautifully.  Andrea’s cough was worse and her throat was really sore; my left knee was unusually painful and starting to swell; Robin’s ankle was hurting.  None of these things were show-stoppers, but the elements had defeated us.  We got to the TA, took a look at the mountain bike map for the next section, and decided to pack it in.  Later, we talked to a team who had done the mountain bike section and they were all expecting to have to replace their gear sets.

            It was about 11PM so we picked up our bikes, removed as many wet clothes as possible, and climbed into the car for the ride back to Richmond.  Red Bull helped me stay awake and we were home by 2AM.   It was disappointing and maybe we could have gutted out the last bike section, but no one was having any fun.  The elements had defeated us this time.     Phil Dawson

           
          

SOGGY BOTTOM 6-HOUR BIKE-O

February 26, 2011
By Phil Dawson

            “Richmond ASR: Raging Burritos” fielded a team of two for this race.  Daniel Rodriguez and I drove down to Surry, VA early that Saturday to join race director Mark Montague and his merry band of adventure planners for a fun ride in the country.  Tim Dunkum was also down there helping Mark run the show by volunteering to man the orienteering section at Pipsico Scout Reservation.  The weather was perfect.

            Unfortunately, right from the beginning, Mark had misplaced some maps.  So after some initial scrambling, plotting of some points, and altering of race courses we were racing by 10AM.  We were going to have to do a lollipop-type race course in and around Claremont, Virginia and something called Sunken Meadow Pond.  Because of the initial map snafu, it was difficult to get our bearings.  We skipped the first point because we really couldn’t get a good idea where we were on Route 610; but putting together some field borders, road intersections, and reentrants we quickly found the second point and from then on were on a roll. We attacked the course counterclockwise and slowly reeled them in. 

            Claremont is an interesting place.  It’s a small town situated on a bluff overlooking the James and therefore a small vacation spot for those without means.  You see beautiful views of the river blocked by trailers, chained barking dogs, and multiple front-yard cars.  Get the picture?  Some of the points seemed to be on private property and we gingerly stepped by huge dogs in pens that probably wouldn’t hold them if they wanted to jump.  Mark later informed us that he had talked to all these property owners but we didn’t know that at the time. CP 30 even had its own crazy dude who threatened to shoot a few racers if they encroached on his property.  Turns out it wasn’t his property.  Mark had to quickly erect a sign warning us not to go after CP30.  A few other points near Claremont Manor, rumored to be owned by the feudal lord-like Mr. Kirby, had a ranger-type guy driving around in his Jeep informing us that we were trespassing.   It certainly added color and good post-race stories.  By choosing the counterclockwise route we avoided a lot of this local color and were thankful for it. 

            The points were well placed, fun to get to (some in retrospect), sometimes in swamps, sometimes on steep hillsides, and forced us to keep a close track of our position at all times.  At four hours in, we started to keep a closer eye on the clock.  A few trips through mild briar patches slowed us down, but we were still on track.  Unfortunately, we did run out of time and had to by-pass CP 18.  We got all the others.  Our last conquest was CP 14.  This was the point that was difficult to find due to the map problem at the beginning.  We were counting minutes, checking intersections, measuring distances, and Daniel nailed it.  We dropped bikes, walked into the woods and there it was.  We had given ourselves five minutes to find it and now had 3 minutes to spare.  The ride back was fast, but with an ever-present head wind, and we beat the cut-off by 6 minutes.  Some delicious stew and barbecue (Daniel doesn’t like vinegar BBQ by the way!) got our energy levels back and we drove home knowing we’d done pretty well.  “Too Many Kids” was there too, so we figured we hadn’t won.  Turns out we got third overall.  Not bad for a beautiful ride in the country.   

 

                                                                                    Phil Dawson

Hello Adventure Racers!

Hampton Roads Adventure has posted our 2011 Adventure Race Schedule to our website:  http://hradventure.com

1.  SPAR (Spring Adventure Race) - 4/8 Hour courses - April 9th, 2011
2.  SPROUTE (Spring Route AR) - 6/12 Hour courses - June 11th, 2011
3.  Tidewater Traverse Adventure Race - 18 Hour course - July 30th, 2011
4.  Storm the Eastern Shore AR - 30 Hour course - September 24th, 2011

All 4 races are part of the Checkpoint Tracker Points Series!  I hope you can make it out to race with us.

Chris
Hampton Roads Adventure

Follow us on Twitter:  http://twitter.com/HRAdventure
Be our fan on Facebook:  http://www.facebook.com/pages/Hampton-Roads-Adventure/120422254662942

Race Description:

 

The Soggy Bottom Boys are excited to introduce a challenging, thrilling, and brand new course for the 2011 Orienteering Rogaine and Land Nav Challenge! This 2nd year event had a huge turnout of satisfied racers in its Inaugural 2010 date and we look to be even bigger in 2011 with new courses and a "slightly" different venue. The 2011 event promises a little bit of everything, navigation wise, to help tool up and work on your Nav skills for the new race season. There will be traditional Orienteering w/ pre-plotted O-Maps, Mountain Bike AR-style Navigation and bonus UTM plotting Navigation, Simpler Rules, ALL in one race! (Not to mention awesome warm Winter post-race food).

 

General Course Info: There are 3 available events to register for:

 

1. 3-hr Score-O Rogaine (Find as many points as possible in 3 hrs adding up to highest score in shortest time)

 

2. 6-hr Adventure Race Style Navigation (Using MyTopo Map, check points and find as many CPs in 6 hrs on feet and on/off Mountain Bikes)

 

3. 12-hr Adventure Race Style Navigation (The Trifecta of Racing: Rogaine race to start, 6-hr course following and complete race with some night-O back on feet)

 

Location:

 

Start/Finish will be held again in Spring Grove, VA this time at Camp Eastover, 1.5 miles away from last year's Start/Finish at Pipsico Scout Reservation due to no bldg avail at Pipsico. Directions to Eastover are included in the 2011 race info and FAQs on our webpage at www.sbbracing.com . Secure Parking at the Start/Finish provided.

 

Date and Times:

 

Saturday Feb 26th, 2011. 3-hr race starts anytime from 11AM till 1 PM. 6-hr race starts anytime from 10AM till Noon. 12-hr race starts anytime from 8AM till 9AM. Further details revealed below.

 

Race Fees:

 

3-hr Score-O Rogaine cost is $35 per person (incl T- shirt, map and post race food). 6-hr Score-O Rogaine/Land Nav cost is $45 per person (incl T-shirt, maps and post race food). 12-hr Score-O Rogaine/Land Nav cost is $55 per person (incl T-shirt, maps and post race food). Registration by Feb 7th guarantees a T-Shirt. After Feb 7th, no T-shirt guaranteed! Race day registration is available for an additional $10 per person. Secure Registration opens NOW at www.sbbracing.com

 

Detailed Course Info:

 

Go to www.sbbracing.com for complete 2011 Race Info and FAQs and to register today!

(below is a race report by team mate, Phil Dawson, who recently competed at the Checkpoint Tracker National Championship Adventure Race in Moab, UT. It is also posted on our forums section if you would like to post any messages or your experience at the race. His race photos can be seen in the "Phil's Photos" section of the Gallery")

CHECKPOINT TRACKER NATIONAL CHAMPIONSHIP

MOAB, UTAH

OCT 29-30, 2010

 

            I sat next to a couple on the flight from Richmond to Dallas.  They lived near Boulder, CO and loved visiting Moab.  They gave me all kinds of suggestions on what to see: check out the Italian restaurant in Grand Junction, drive route 128 to Moab from Grand Junction, see the watercolors in the small room in the basement of the Red Cliffs Lodge, and go see the Tom Till photo gallery in Moab.  By the end of the weekend, I had done all of the above except the restaurant in Grand Junction…and all the things were really cool.  But, enough about that….

            Richmond ASR: Raging Burritos was a new mix of folks this time.  Chad (raced with him at EFix this year) and Darci (amazingly strong athlete from Seattle) picked me up in Grand Junction and we drove to Moab via route 128 (of course!).  We met Mike Kirklen (friend of Chad’s from Park City, Utah) at Chad’s condo and then drove to check-in at the Red Cliffs Lodge.  Check-in was lightning fast without  meeting or director talk and we spent the rest of the evening finding dinner, packing and dropping off gear at two different TAs that were not too far from Moab but in different directions.  Luckily, we had two cars and four racers. 

            So…it’s late October in Moab and it’s pretty cold in the morning….just about freezing when we got to Red Cliffs.  The first section was a short 3 mile river board down the Colorado.  The Colorado was a balmy 50 degrees so we donned our wetsuits and got ready for the 8AM start.  It’s not easy running from the start to the river put-in while wearing fins.  I ended up walking backwards, jumped in the water, finally started breathing again, and paddled off.  It wasn’t that bad. 

The take-out was a bit of a mad house.  We had to transition to inflatable kayaks and there hadn’t been a lot of separation during the river board so everyone was there together. Mike and I jumped in a kayak and Darci and Chad found another without too much hassle.  Everything seemed in working order (though pretty uncomfortable for a 50 year-old with a stiff back) and we started our 4 hour, Class I and some Class II, paddle down the Colorado.  We kept the wetsuits on since it was still ice cold and were only able to take them off just before the take-out at the Gold Bar Parking area.  My Seal-Skin socks were nicely filled with river water and remained so for the entire paddle.  My feet finally warmed up about 20 minutes into the next trekking section.  

Chad and Mike are frequent travelers to Moab so they knew the area well.  Chad had figured out the race course before we even started and this helped a lot.  We received more maps and satellite photos of Poison Spider mesa at the kayak take-out and quickly plotted the next section.  Once again, not a lot of separation had occurred on the paddle and a bottle-neck quickly developed at CP3, a via ferrata that was the only up to the remaining CPs.  CPs 4 through 8 were all optional and we quickly had to adjust our race strategy because of the 90 minute delay.  This was really the only race director snafu, but in the long run it did take us out of contention for any hardware.  Our team really wanted to do the tyrolian traverse and rappel, so we nixed a few CPs and got to the traverse (CP11) early, knowing that there would be a back-up at the 6PM cut-off.  I’ve never done a traverse and it was a blast.  This race was starting to become an epic adventure.  A quick rappel and a walk through waist deep water followed the traverse and led us down a ravine for a quick jog back to the TA.

It was getting towards dusk, so we transitioned quickly to bikes and took of like bats out of hell!  We must have been doing 24 or 25 mph in a pace line back into Moab.  I was thinking to myself, “I can’t keep this kind of pace up for too much longer.”  Luckily, it wasn’t too far to Moab.  We were also having some lighting issues so Chad was trying to get to Moab to get some replacement bulbs before bike stores closed.  We didn’t make that cut-off, but Mike and I had extra lights; so we stopped at McDonalds, had some real food (Darci would disagree), put the lights on the bikes, and took off pedaling up to Slick Rock Mesa and the next TA.

Here we were given a choice.  We could trek or bike the next section…in the dark.  Chad and Mike, knowing the terrain, strongly suggested trekking.  I was worried about my knee not holding up for a long trek over endless sandstone domes, but quickly realized that biking this would have been close to suicidal.  All but one of the points were fairly easy to find; and we eventually found that one after we regrouped and re-plotted our course.  The trek took about 6 hours, and we were all ready to get back on bikes when we returned to the TA about 5AM.  I think Chad was the only one who really knew what we were in for.

We headed southeast towards the La Sal mountain foothills.  We just kept going up!  I estimate we climbed about 4500 feet and topped out at about 8500 feet according to my altimeter.  The scenery was gorgeous as the sun came up, bathing the hills in early sunlight and lighting up the sky with all shades of red, orange, and eventually clear blue. I was having trouble with both fatigue and altitude near the end and, for the first time ever, had to get towed.  Chad and Darci were still going strong, so Chad hooked me and Mike up in a bizarre 3-person tow pattern and dragged us to CP23 at Mountain Loop Road, and the high point of the race.  The view was awesome and the ensuing descent was epic.  It felt like the Tour de France as we dropped into Castle Valley: hunkering down for aerodynamics (and warmth!), cutting the corners on the hairpins, slowing down for the icy patches, maximizing both sides of the curves to maintain speed.  When we got to the flats in Castle Valley, Chad pulled just like the night before.  A couple of teams stuck on to the train; we blasted by a couple more; I tried to lead at the same pace but Chad was back within a minute or two once again offering to lead…which he did.  A few small hills slowed the pace down below 25 mph and the finish line was there in no time.  We crossed the line at 10:30AM, 26 ½ hours after the start.  A quick nap (except for Darci who busied herself packing bikes and doing all the hard work) and a big lunch got us all back to feeling close to normal. 

We had been so lucky.  It had been cold, but it was late October in Utah for heaven’s sake…. not as cold as it could have been.  It stayed bright and sunny the whole race.  I spent a weekend racing with awesome athletes; and the course was epic.  It was a great way to spend Halloween!

Friends and supporters of Wayne Goodman, recently injured in freak mountain biking accident and now rehabing at the McGuire Veterans hospital, showed their generosity on Saturday, December 4. Donations totalled $2307.80 which will go to help Wayne deal with his medical bills and other related expenses.
Our thanks to all who have donated and supported Wayne!

2011 will be a very ambitious year for us and we hope to see most of you at most of our 2011 events. We plan to stay with our core philosophy that if you design an event that puts the racers needs, well being and enjoyment first, it will be a successful event! As many of you heard, 2011 will have 1-2 Outdoor Rogaine style races, 1-2 Paddle style races, 1 Urban O-Meet, 1 Adventure Race with classes for both seasoned racers as well as Novices and a few Skills Clinics.http://sbbracing.com/ 

Odyssey Adventure Racing has posted their race schedule for 2011 and we have it posted here on our calendar. The link to their website is included so go directly to the OAR website from our calendar to register or gather more information.