The Dirty Avocados cleaned up at the recent Coolest 24 Hour MTB Race.  Mike claimed 1st in the Men’s Masters Solo Singlespeed. Aja, DP, Jen and “guest” nailed 4th in the Co-ed Team catagory.  Will nabbed 5th in Men’s Solo and Brian grabbed 6th in Men’s Solo Singlespeed.  It was a super cool time!  Also, we had awesome support from our crew, as always!

The Dirty Avocados will be representin and racing at May 3-4’s Coolest 24 mountain bike race. Check us out during a live audio broadcast at http://ride424.com/.  Go there starting at 12pm on Saturday ’till 12pm on Sunday.  For more info on the race go to http://globalbiorhythmevents.com/index.phpoption=com_content&task=view&id=13&Itemid=29

We’ll be fielding 3 solo riders (2 of those will be riding singlespeeds!) and 1 team of 4.  These events are always a blast and this one will surely not disappoint!

Melissa and I had a great weekend on Mt. Shasta with about 11 others including Grif and Adrian. The weather was incredible, not a cloud in the sky and hardly any wind. I did the climb wearing boots, crampons, tights, shell pants, a thin base layer top, lightweight gloves with lines, and two fleece shirts. I didn’t need a shell. It was so nice on top I stayed there almost an hour.

The road to Bunny Flat was closed at McBride campground @ 4900 ft. elevation. We had to start there Friday afternoon which added 2800 feet and three miles to our ascent. We camped about a mile form Horse Camp at 7100 feet the first night and on a col at about 9900 ft. elevation on Casaval Ridge overlooking Avalanche Gulch on the second night.

On summit day four people returned to the cars and brought them to Bunny Flat (the road opened at 10am Saturday). The rest of us left at 4:15am for the summit. We started with three teams of three roped together. Two teams each had one member struggling early. We gave those two people their own rope and the let them continue at their own pace. After that there were four teams: three teams of two and one team of three, and seven people summited. I was able to move much more quickly after we rearranged the teams. I felt strong the whole time with no headache and reached the top with my partner around 11;36. Melissa was also looking strong when her team reached the top at about 12:15. The view was amazing. Mt. Hood and all the snow capped Cascade range was shinning in the sun to the west and north and Mt Lassen towered above it’’s surroundings in to the south.

Several of the people at the summit were very tired and the Casaval Ridge route seemed like it would be harder to descend than it was to climb. As a group we chose to return to our camp at 9900 feet via the non technical Avalanche Gulch route. Some huge glissdaes and a tedious post-holing traverse took us back to camp. I could see that the last people to return were a least 45 minutes behind. We were just starting to break down the camp when Adrian reached us on the radio and suggested we wait. When the final people dragged themselves into camp at 4:30 the group consensus was to camp another night on the mountain and hike the short hike to Bunny Flat on Monday morning. We finally had a bit of wind kick up around 3am Monday morning and no one was up and about in camp until about 8am. Once we were off the ridge the wind stopped and we were HOT hiking down. We ate together in Mt. Shasta before everyone headed home.

In the spirit of Thanksgiving,

 The lifestyle of adventure racing is a passion of ours and we continue to be stoked to share the excitement this sport feeds us.  We look forward to 2008, as it’s already packed with some good stuff—including Make-A-Wish fundraising and Primal Quest!    And we wouldn’t be as happy as we are without the unconditional support of our family and friends. Thank you!! Finally, we’d like to also thank our sponsors and supporters:

• Chapman
  University—let’s face it, we all want to relive some of our college days
• kaia foods—who needs preservatives when their Buckwheat Crunchies taste sooo good
• La Sportiva shoes—their mountain running shoes are as tough as nails
• MotionBased—their rad site lets us slice and dice our GPS routes with ease
• National Geographic Maps—their maps take topography to another level
• Red Bull—the stuff gives us wings
• Wingnut—we’re NUTS about their packs!

We hope to see and meet many of you on the trails, bluffs, mountaintops, canyons, beaches and waterways near and far from our

 

I’ve heard from several people who are struggling to get it together to come out and race the Gold Rush 24 Hour Adventure Challenge, GR24.  Here’s some reasons that all adventures racers in California and neighboring states shouldn’t miss it:

1. Team Karma is a grass roots group who promotes races because we love the sport.  Professional promoters have struggled to make ends meet finacially promoting 24 hour races.  There’s no big series by one promoter on the horizon.  Supporting grass roots events ensures the future of this great sport.
2. It’s a real 24 hour race.  No team will blow through this course in 14 hours and be home showered and in bed when the last team crosses the line.  The winners can expect to be done in no less than 19-20 hours.  Gold Rush offers route options so that all teams finish within a few hours of each other. 
3. The post race meal is well attended.  Because the winners didn’t finish 10-12 hours before the last teams most teams stay for the post race meal and awards.  Teams compare race stories and routes with other teams.  Novice teams learn from advanced teams, and teams that finish well are recognized by their peers.
4. Great volunteers are a long standing tradition at Gold Rush events.  We have several who make it a point to come out and volunteer at Gold Rush every year. 
5. An amazing course awaits those who race.  Team Karma always puts together a good course and learns more about what racers like every time. 
6. Free orienteering clinic by adventure racing pioneer Adrian Crane.  Adrian is one of only a handfull of people to have competed in all of the Eco-Challenge races.  This is an opportunity to learn from an adventure racing legend.  Check out his resume at www.teamkarma.com. 
7. The GR24 course is very scenic.  Missouri just is not pretty in November so skip USARA Nats and save yourself the airfair and travel expenses.  Race Gold Rush instead, you won’t be sorry.
8. GR24 is tough and the tougher the course the more rewarding the finish.  GR24 2007 will be very rewarding.
9. Great sponsors will provide prizes and swag bag items.  Hi-Tec, ZombieRunner.com, ARNavSupplies.com, Dinotte Lighting, Zanfel, and Kool N Fit will be supporting GR24.  You can demo lights by Dinotte Lighting and rotating mountain bike map boards from ARNavSupplies free of charge.  If you like it after you try it you can buy it on the spot…pretty cool!

Treat yourself to a great race and support grass roots adventure racing at it’s best.  Clear the calendar for November 10-11 and get a team together for the Gold Rush 24 Hour Adventure Challenge, you’ll be glad you did.  See www.teamkarma.com for details.  Also, join goldrushar@yahoogroups.com to keep up with the latest Gold Rush news.

Fourteen more days until the biggest adventure race some of the DAs and I will have ever done. It’s the Raid the North Extreme. It’ll be on British Columbia’s North Coast. And it’ll be epic! In fact, it already is. Over the last few days, floodwaters there have risen to heights most have never seen before! Below is an excerpt from a local paper describing what’s waiting for us. We can’t wait!!

Closed roads and possible power blackouts have sparked food hoarding in Prince Rupert and Smithers, where flood waters have risen to their highest levels in 80 years. The worst of the flooding may have passed for the Lower Mainland, thanks to lower-than-expected rainfall. But the danger remains high in the northwest, where 70 per cent of this year’s record snowpack remains on the mountains, ready to flow when warm weather strikes.

Bring it.