Cyclepath Adventure Racing

I organized an all male team to compete at Baja Travesia.  Cyn recovering from post season surgeries was not in a position to train.  I like to race all male on occasion just to let the testostone flow.  Hani Juha and John Turner agreed to join me on this journey and we decided to race under their banner; Racing with Giants (http://www.racingwithgiants.com/).  John badly sprained an ankle during the BAAR Brawl.  Hani and I made a short list of potentional teammates and in stepped Will Gilmore, who proved to be a wonderful addition.  The addition of Will, one of the founders of team Dirty Avocados, hypenated our team name to racing with giants - dirty avocados ( http://www.dirtyavocados.com/)

All three of us are writting on portions of the race.  I drew the proverbial middle straw and below is my account of our venture:

Finishing the bike leg our team limped into TA3.  My bike’s rear shifter failed within the first five kilometers of this (the first) bike leg.  Hani’s mechanical prowness became evident shortly.  He used zip ties to hold the shifter cable tight and keep me in the second chain ring on my rear cassette.  This allowed me to complete the remainder of the course with 3 speeds.   I used the word limp because my bike was down to 3 speeds and my main HID battery was used up.

Our transition was not what one could call lightening fast, an issue that would plague us throughout this race.  On the bright side, our timing was such that we were able to join forces with the Dirty Avocados (DA) for this first night navigation/orienteering leg.  Our rules of travel (directions) were very clear about crossing a road and climbing a gate.  Upon completing this task we found ourselves on a fire road that headed in the general direction we wanted to travel.  Mark Richardson and Will Gilmore (the two navigators) worked together throughout this section.  We turned off our headlamps to better see the land features around us.  Upon reaching the saddle, Will triangulated to confirm our location on the map.  All was right as we followed the trail north and down into a valley of sorts.  The road started to turn too much westerly and we stopped to evaluate our maps.  At this point we saw several teams returning from the direction we were heading.  We waited until they moved out of our vision prior to initiating plan A.  Plan A was to bushwhack east until finding the road (trail) that ran north/south as a back stop and then picking up the CP several meters off of said pathway.  We all stood facing north and then real sudden like, made a right hand turn and started walking down through a canyon of sorts.  Mark Richardson and Donato Polignone (DP) did the majority of trail cutting through this section.   Upon hitting the bottom of the canyon our way forward appeared to be blocked by hills, hum plan B?  We were feeling fairly bleak when DP found a path through a narrow canyon that lead south.   This trail opened and closed several times prior to spitting us out in a cactus farm.  We milled about here for too long trying to make it be the place we wanted it to be.  Upon surrendering to the fact that the CP wasn’t here, we were able to think a little more macro and found the CP shortly there after.  The second and final CP of this leg was out of the forest in relative open land.  The sun was rising and we decided to take advantage of the topography (flat) and run.  The CP was quickly identified and nabbed prior to finding the most direct route to town.  Hani’s linguistic skills came in handy as we were able to talk our way through some private land (short cut) and enter town to find the center square and our next TA.  Our transition to bike was status quo for us.  Once on the bikes we circled the town square just to make sure it was all there prior to leaving town and heading east for the second bike leg.  The sun was rising and heat and hydration were going to be issues.  The next CP was 28 kilometers away and with Will’s solid navigation we found it with little difficulty.  Upon leaving this CP we needed to do a 200 meter hike a-bike.  There is something about carrying a bike back-pack style to bring out the primal beast.  We climbed to the top of the ridge and were supposed to ride east for a couple of kilometers prior to dropping down into a canyon.  We came to a trail head and saw what looked to be too many tracks heading east (for the amount of teams that came through) and what seemed to be the right amount of tracks heading west.  At this point we did something very dangerous….we thought!  The three teams ahead of us must have gone forward and (couldn’t find the trail?) and then back tracked.  Obviously the map was wrong.  Why else would there be tracks heading the other direction?  We really were in the middle of nowhere and the chances of people being out here mountain biking were well, zero.  A funny thing happened though.  The trail disappeared and then of course all bike tracks too.  This may have been our defining moment.  We worked together to carry, push and ride our bikes cross-country until we came upon the correct trail.  The drop into the canyon had a woowho or two along the away and marked the beginning of a long hard slog.  Over the next 3 hours we climbed about 1700 meters on a sand filled road that turned out to be half way decent in terms of ride ability.  Hani and Will took turns towing me on portions of this section when speed was an issue.  We moved into the high desert with the terrain change fore-shadowing what was to come.  As fortune would have it, and some good timing from both teams.  The DA team, arrived into this transition shortly after us.  A quick caucus and we were on it again, teaming up for a second night trek.  We were able to cross the desert during daylight and come to an outskirt of a farm town.  Instead of traveling the most direct route to the next CP (complete desert walk) we took the shortest route out of the desert and did a square type thing and were able to travel on roads of a sort.  This being a second night, things became interesting on the trail.  Will attempted to sleep while walking.  I held his backpack to make sure he didn’t fall on his face or walk off trail.  A five minute cat naps of sorts and he seemed to be rejuvenated.  As we neared the end of this transition, Hani was feeling the effects of sleep degradation to a substantial degree.  Entering the TA around 10:30 PM we found our transition box was not there waiting for us.  Melissa from the DA team offered us a tent that we set up.  Some sleeping bags were provided from crews supporting other teams.  In addition the crew from the Baja team provided some tamales, which we heartedly enjoyed and made ready for sleep at 10:30.   Will and I lay down to rest our bodies around 11:30; with thousands of thoughts bouncing in my head sleep did not come easy.  Our bins showed up at 12:30 and we immediatly started to process of breaking camp.  Thomas Bastis of team Aquan was assisting in this TA and provided some excellent foot care for Will.  We were off on the road by 2:30 AM beginning the final bike leg.  This leg consisted of a 28 kilometer fire road climb that had several sandy spots and then as we neared the top the trail had more rock gardens than sand.  The DA caught us on this leg and we road about half of it together.  Near the summit we found ourselves alone again.  We over shot the trail leading into the next TA and spent about 10 minutes milling about.  Will had good command of the situation and kept us focused on the task at hand.  We were back on track in no time and entered this TA with the DA.  We were greeted by the smell of fresh food.  The volunteers were cooking for us!  What a wonderful gift indeed! A quick meal and a quick transition had us ready to go.  We stopped by the DA site to caucus on the upcoming leg.  We agreed it was safer and most likely quicker to work the next section together as a unit.    Things went relatively smoothly up to the 900 meter mark, which was the last spot for water this side of the mountain pass.  At this point the term “canyon right” was confusing us, we knew we were in the correct canyon but could no longer find any cairns to mark our trail.  Will and I took a 20 minute sleep to clear our heads (basically we had been awake for about 58 hours).  The Wild Burrows, Hype and Barrbd Wire came up the canyon and joined us in our confusion.  Upon awaking from our nap and encouragement from Hani, our team went over the directions and topographic map and decided on a course of action.  The DA team was not ready to leave yet so we ventured off on our own.  The route was clear with a trail half way up the mountain.  We scampered up a ravine with Hani cutting trail and reached the ridge in a very short time.  Alas, this is where the fun began.  The final kilometer back to the pass we wanted consisted of a nasty bush whack.  The going was tough, or choices were to go  up and over every small peak which had granite for climbing or whack through bush with off camber footing.  We chose both.  Starting up and over and then traversing around.  Neither method was particularly fast.  We reached the canyon entrance CP just around dusk and dropped 200 meters into the canyon to get some much deserved sleep.   

Upon finishing this race, I felt a great deal of satisfaction.  Our team performed well.  We finished fifth place overall and first in the all-male division.  Hani was strong and powerful through-out the journey.  Will was the consummate professional, even keeled with a quiet strength and dignity.  The race organizers treated the athletes as the center piece of the event.  Our bins were placed and carried for us.  Hot food was served on two separate occasions.  This event offered true adventure throughout the course and I find myself looking forward to next year’s journey.