Team Cyclepath was in full effect at the Tahoe Big Blue 12hr AR this year. Karl and I raced the event while Cynthia was the volunteer-on-the-spot at a remote transition checkpoint. Karl and I placed 7th overall (out of 44 teams) and 3rd in our division! We ran a hard strong race and proved Team Cyclepath’s ability to paddle, bike, and navigate with determination. We made a couple of mistakes but recovered from them well and raced hard to the finish.
Also, it was great to see other friendly faces such as Dogs in Space, John Turner, Bullmoose Extreme, Mike Chastaine, Jason Sala, Diet Coke Bob, and others.
Race report coming soon (if we don’t soon get caught up in this Moab madness) but for now there are a few pictures courtesy of the Big Blue Adventure Series:
Karl and Randy at the Finish Line in King’s Beach, CA
Karl and Randy looking a bit too dirty post-race.
Randy, Todd Jackson (director of the event), and Karl post-race.
*Note* Yes, we are wearing Shooting Stars garb to a Big Blue event. This just means we’ll have to wear our new BB t-shirts to an SVS event. 
Cold day in Tiberon! Wow, but what a cool group of people to literally ‘hang-out’ with. Saturday the 9th we met up with the California Alpine Guides’ Scott and Commala and learned the basics for our soon-to-be expedition race in Moab, Utah. Will Gilmore the AdventurePac leader of PacWestAthletics organized the event for the AdventurePac beginner team and then invited others along.
There were a few dirty avocados there as well, and for a brief period, I thought they were ok people. (just kidding, these people are ok most of the time 
)
Check out California Alpine Guides for more information on classes, trips and places to go.
Videos:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=oiOvpJx22cQ
This may very well have been our best race to date. One would not get that impression looking at our race results alone. We managed to put several obstacles in front of us just to add to the difficulty of the course. By the end of the day we were quite pleased with finishing.
A shameless plug…Go Cyclepath!
This was the largest race in regards to team participation we have been part of this year. Over 50 teams were entered and the weather was typical SF, cool and moist. We arrived before dawn and started setting up our Transition area. The maps were handed out at 7:30 followed by a race briefing We surprised and happy to run into Jacob and Angie from “Its better with a chick”. They made the trip up from Southern California to take in this inaugural event.
Team Captains milling about for the team briefing.
The race started a little past 7:30 with a kayak leg around Alcatraz. Some teams went to the South side of the island and others (us included) the North. The Northern route group appeared to us; to gain both time and space on the Southern group. We were either the second or third team to round the buoy on the East side of island, and were passed by two teams on the way to CP 3. We took a slight detour into aquatic park on the way back (don’t ask) but it seemed like a good idea at the time. We were the fifth team off the water and were totally stoked! Not a position we are used to.
Kayaks on Parade
A fast transition had us on our way across the Golden Gate to the Marin headlands. In order to keep the speed down and protect tourists, each team needed to take 25 minutes for the crossing or they would be held up on the other side (CP 5). Upon arrival we saw teams plotting their courses for the mountain bike leg. We asked where the instructions were and at this point discovered they were back at the transition area … humm, wonder how that happened? We could have gone back but figured what the heck, we’ll beg, borrow, barter and when all else fails follow!
Brian of Dirty Avocados planning his race strategy
As we were riding up Conzelman road we were passed by Brian of the Dirty Avocados who was racing solo. We spoke for a bit prior to him dusting us in the fog. We hung a right on McCullough Rd and coasted down Bunker Road most of the way to CP6. A short climb and we ran into several racers leaving CP 6. We followed the crowed to CPs 7 & 8. Now all of this was familiar territory thanks to the Brawl. A 4-person team passed us on the downhill portion of the road just prior to the Miwok trailhead. We dropped further back and exited stage left as they kept going down the highway.
This victory regardless of how sweet was short lived. Those who know us; know that uphill mountain biking, well uphill anything is not our strength. The same team caught and passed us about 10 minutes later as we were nearing the top of the ridge. A short traverse was follow by a drop into the Tennessee Valley, (CP 9) teams then headed down to CP 10, which was at the congruence of two trails. A short backtrack and then climb to the top of the ridge. I was scratching my head confirming our route choice when Bull Moose Extreme caught us. We worked some navigation and traveled together until CP 11. As we were nearing CP 11 we fell a bit behind Bull Moose Extreme having stopped to chat with John (John Jacoby admired my bike) Turner.
Mark and Lynn of Bullmoose
CP 11 was craftily hidden slightly off trail. As we were recording the word from the orienteering flag on our passport, several teams seemed to come out of the wood work. There must have been 10 teams mumbling about plotting CP 12. We started back up the ridge as some of the teams began to pass us. Hum, OK…ALL the teams passed us.
CP 12 was located on top of the highest summit, which was the beginning of what we believed was the most fun part of the course. A couple of miles of fire road and double track downhill, with a set of nice tight hairpins on the double track. These trails eventually ended back at the Tennessee Valley and CP 13. We did our check in, and helped a racer in need.
CP 14 was located on the costal trail between Bunker and Conzelman roads. A quick jaunt and downhill to the golden gate returned us to CP 15 in short order. We popped back over the bridge (I said that kind of nonchalantly, didn’t I?) The Golden Gate is one of the most wonderful crossings I’ve ever experienced. To, run, bike or walk it is something to behold. There is a magic to that place.
Big sigh, all in all, our entire race was ok to this point. We were still in the top half of the field and feeling pretty fresh. We did our check out and were told the instructions to CP 17 were on the board. The directions indicated we were supposed to go to 610 Mason Street to get further instructions. Seems odd, but what the heck, during Ocean Blue we were doing an urban thing in downtown Half Moon Bay. The map on the board has Old Mason Street in front of us and Mason Street down town. So we took off to Mason Street.
As we were on the 600 block and working our way down the hill to 610, after having our pictures taken by tourists on the cable cars (I was towing Cyn) a lady helpfully told us it wasn’t here. “What do you” mean I said. “The address you are looking for is not here”. Apparently several teams had come this way only to find disappointment and heartbreak.
So, we worked our back to the transition area and tried to figure out what happened. Cyn then said “THE SPORTS BASEMENT DUHH!” Ugh, there was truth in those words; they were/are a race sponsor after all. Upon arrival (at the Sport’s Basement) it was obvious this was the place. We picked up our packets; said hello to the other adventure racers. Sat down and plotted the coordinates with the Basic Roamer AR tool from ARNavSupplies.com very quickly. Compared notes with the team next door and started off on the trek; looking for cannon balls and stable history. Most of our energy both physically and emotionally was pretty much spent at this point. We kind of muddled through this section and staggered to the finish line after nearly 11 hours.
This was one of those races that graced us with a dose of humility. Some lessons we thought learned, came back to bite us when our guards were down. One of the many things we love about this sport. We were pleasantly surprised to find our luck had changed once we crossed the finish. A quick peak at the raffle list had us both leaving with additional swag. It looked like everyone who raced won something. Our friends at http://cyclepath.com/ heartily support our AR habit and thoroughly enjoy our trials and tribultions while competing. They are very AR friendy and welcome all racers.
Posing for the camera
Enjoy the journey,
- Karl and Cynthia Royer
This Labor Day weekend I was able to head off to Oregon to visit a friend for a few days. During the mini-vacation I was able to do some trek training and even taught my friend wilderness navigation skills. We were able to to hike in a coastal rainforest near Ecola State Park; here we followed mostly trails but went off trail through one section. Off-trail in coastal Oregon (and I’d imagine Washington and British Columbia) is an interesting experience - the vegetation is very thick and moisture makes everything very soggy. This means that there is some question that the log you are about to step on will hold your weight and in many instances it did not. However, the coastal forests were a nice change from the high deserts of Reno, Nevada and it was nice to actually practice bushwhacking with real live bushes rather than relying on my usual “sagewhacking” techniques. We also headed to Mt. Hood to hike on the Timberline Trail and to get some alpine-style experience. I tested out wearing my Under Armor leggings (which I bought last winter but only used once) and they worked great as well as testing out a Buff headscarf. The Buff is an interesting article of clothing popularized by old-school Eco-Challengers and I believe it did a sufficient job in keeping the sweat out of my eyes. The temperature wasn’t too cold so I will be interested to see how a Buff does in sub-32F temperatures. Will the moisture freeze to my scalp? Either way, I think the Under Armor and the Buff will be a perfect addition to my repetoire for Moab 3-day race in case we head up in to the La Salle Mountains.
On the way back from Oregon I stopped off for an overnight trip at Lassen National Park. My intention was to summit Lassen Peak and so after camping at Summit Lake South campsite I rose early in the morning to nab the summit. My goal was to be the first up there in the morning but unfortunately as I neared the top two people intersected my path while coming down. I gotta wake up earlier next time! I did the trail in race clothing and race pack and charged the peak at a bit less than race pace. For a 5 mile distance with ~2000ft of ascent and ~2000ft descent I did the peak in 2hrs 5minutes with that 5 minutes being the summit stop. After a bit of rest at the parking lot and a stop to see some of the geothermal action of sulfur pots my vacation was over however I think a return to Lassen NP is in order in the near future. I’ve heard the nordic ski touring there is awesome…
This month’s field test involves the use of Arnavsupplies Waterproof Pedometer. Enclosed in miniature dry-bag for the digital pedomter and coming with a hip or shoulder belt option, the pedometer has the potential to be a useful tool in any racing environment a race director or nature can throw at a navigator.
Randy’s navigation games article on night navigation highlights the importance of knowing how far you’ve travelled over a given period of time. It can be the missing piece of information that helps decide a particular path to take, or if you’ve gone to far and overshot the checkpoint (that never happens).
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