Every once in a while I have had a brake through race. This was one of them. My training in preparation for Primal quest had been going well. Although the results in Baja were not what I hoped for – physically I was strong and fast the entire 4 + days.

Physically, with the exception of a nagging calf injury, my health was good and my plans of frequent rest seemed to be working. In addition I had raced at Cool last year so I knew the kind of effort that was needed.

This year Will and Brain were joining me as 24 hour soloist, Jon was on the 8 hour course and Jen, DP, Aja and a guest were racing as a 4 person teams. So we would have lots of help and excitement. We also had a great crew.

My goal was to cover 200+ miles (last year I did 187) and win the Masters Division. In addition, I just wanted to keep moving and avoid any major brake downs.

The race started fast. My first few laps felt good and I was making good time. (1:02, 1:04, 1:06.) I was drinking as much as I could because it was warm. Lap 5 I stated cramping a bit. A handful of E-caps and I felt better.

Lap 6 I pitted to eat solid food, change clothes, clean the chain and put on lights. In and out in 20 minutes.

Just after midnight, I had 10 laps (123 miles) in and was still feeling strong. I took another 20 minute pit to eat, clean the chain and switch the gearing. For you gearheads – I was running a 33X18. I switched to a 33X20 to make the climbs a bit easier.  For the record, I was riding a Gary Fisher Rig with 29 inch wheels.  I used semislick Stan’s 29er Crow tires. They were perfect.

My new lights were great.  The 600 lume Dinotte worked like a champ. Light weight, with long burn times, I could see what needed to be seen.  Even with these great lights, some of the down hills were so fast that I would have to ride by memory and hope that nothing changed.

The course was 12.3 miles long with about 1500 of climbing. Out of the start chute was a fun single track that I could whip through. This lead to a small climb, another quick down hill, then the first real climb. After that came a screaming down hill leading to another fun bit of single track through the trees. A short climb on single track leading to the decent into Knickerbocker creek. Through the creek and then a very steep climb out (which I walked every time,) then a fast down hill, a relatively flat single track leading to the road to the aid station. A fast road downhill, then climb back out. A fast down hill leading to Salt Creek. The climb out of Salt Creek was the longest and hardest with 2 separate climbs. I rode the whole thing the first 4 laps. Thereafter I walked a 150 meter section in the middle. Finally, after the last climb, a smoking downhill with some short climbs and finally to the pit area. This course was 1.3 miles longer and 300 feet more climbing then last year.

After the midnight pit, I continued to ride strongly till around 4 am. That lap (#13) was wobbly and I was really feeling the 160 miles I had put in.

Just after 5 am I came in and pitted for about 40 minutes. I slept for about 5 minutes in a chair, ate, changed clothes and as soon as it was light took off for the last 6 hours.

At this point I was about 45 minutes ahead of 2nd in the division. I pushed through laps 14, 15 and 16. I was still moving well, about 1:20 a lap. I flatted on lap 16 – the only mechanical of the day. Finishing lap 16 (196 miles) I was told I was still about 40 minutes ahead of second. Just to be safe and because I had time, I went out on lap 17. I finished in 23 hours 27 minutes. 209 miles with about 25500 feet of climbing

I won the Masters Division (an open 45+ division) on a single speed. I was 4th over all among all solos. Interestingly, 3 of the top 4 and 7 of the top 12 were single speed riders.

Brian was 12th overall and 6th in the single speed division. Will was 5th in the open division and 15th overall. Jon got 10th in the 8 hour division. Jen, DP, Aja and Chris took 4th in the open 4 person division.

A great day for the DA’s.

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Dirty Avocados complete Primal Quest Certifications

The road to Primal Quest is a long one. Hours on the bike, on your feet and in the kayak. Many weekends away from home working on skills, and technique. Learning to work as a team while improving one’s own-fitness. On top of it all we have to complete various certifications that are required by the Primal Quest organization.The Dirty Avocados started early. On December 2, 2007 both DA teams traveled to Las Trampas Regional Wildness for navigational instruction, map reading and plotting. As a final exam we did a full on orienteering course/race. The team navigators, of course, breezed through while everyone else picked up some tips and increased their skills. It was a beautiful day and everyone learned a great deal. The DA’s took the top three spots on the

Orange course with Adam Doti taking 1st, Susan Bower 2nd and Brian Schmitz 3rd.

The next week, on December 9th, the DA’s met in Marin to work on their climbing certification. Under the learned guidance of Jon Bonwick, the DA’s repelled and ascended the rock working on valuable techniques and skills to allow them to tackle the ropes section in

Montana. It was another beautiful day and everyone enjoyed working together.

On January 12th and 13th the group headed to Coloma for the White Water Kayaking training. This two day course was expertly taught by Jason Gates and Gigi Mcbee. The river was cold and the air temp colder as the DA’s learned how to read the river and negotiate the various obstacles found in Class II and III water. Although chilled to the bone, everyone enjoyed the class and learned a great deal.

On February 23, 2008, it was back to the water. The swim certification only required a mile swim and 10 minutes of treading water. However, the DA’s wanted to be fully prepared so they also took a swift water safety class. They learned how to swim through rapids, swim up river, eddy to eddy and how to deal with strainers. We rode river boards and practiced rescues. We all left with a renewed appreciation of the power of the river and the skills to deal with many of the issues that we hoped never occur.

Our final certification was first aid. On March 1, Jon Masztakowski did an excellent job taking a great deal of information and breaking it down into a very practical application. We were all given the tools to help us make the important decisions that sometime arise.

Now that the DA’s have completed all of the required certifications, we can focus on preparing for PQ Montana. But first – Baja.

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 Grognard Bicycle Company has generously donated a custom bike frame as the GRAND PRIZE for the Make-A-Wish raffle being held by the Dirty Avocados.  Many other companies have also donated products to be awarded at the raffle as well. Great Shwag  from Sole Custom Footbeds, RedBull,  Kaia Foods, Motion Based, LaSportiva Shoes and many more will be awarded to the lucky winners.
Raffle tickets are $10.00 each

Grognard Bicycles are hand made by Sacramento’s David McCormick.  David builds steel bicycle frames custom fit and tuned to match your body, riding style and goals.  The frame can be designed to be either for a mountain bike, road bike or single speed.  The winner will contact David directly and set up a time to be fitted.  The frame will then be custom build to the winners specific needs.

The raffle will be held on June 1, 2008

Log on to DirtyAvocados.com/Wish for details how to obtain your tickets.

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Over the last week of rain and cold weather I’ve had a lot of time to be cold and wet. Anyone that has raced with me will tell you that it almost always rains when I’m on the course (who else gets rained out of

Moab twice?) Through all of this I have learn a few things about racing and training in the cold and wet. Being a nice guy I thought I would share some it.

First and foremost – you are going to have to get use to the idea that you ARE going to be cold. There is nothing that you can do about it, so suck it up. The question is not whether you will be cold, the question is how cold will you be and will it impact your performance. Being cold is OK, being hypothermic is a problem.Understand what makes you cold. Water against the body sucks the heat away from it. Wind takes heat from the body as well. Wet and windy at 45 degrees can be much worse then a dry, calm 32 degrees. It is keeping moisture off the body and protecting it from wind that will keep you from getting too cold. Insulation is the third part. Holding the body heat in is the goal.You have to have a good attitude about it. If you are cold, everyone else on your team is also cold. Complaining about it only makes it worse. On the other hand, if you cross over that line into hypothermia, you need to let your teammates know so you can get some help.Keep key areas warm. Your head, neck and hands are most important. Most of the heat goes out of your head and neck so have something to cover them up. A Buff, as thin as it is, works really well. A shower cap over a bike helmet is another light weight item that will help keep your head warm. Cold hands can be very painful and prevent you from actually doing things with your hands. Having good gloves and a spare pair when the first gets wet is a good idea. I have been playing with using surgical gloves under other gloves. It works OK but my hands sweat a great deal so I’m not totally sold yet.Don’t over dress. It’s better to be a bit cold then too warm. Once you start running or climbing you will sweat which puts water against the body. That sucks the heat away. You should be cold at the start. Your activity will warm you up. If your comfortable at the start, you will over heat and get wet from the inside. Keep moving. Stopping is what gets you cold. Do everything you can to keep moving. If you have to stop, do jumping jacks or run in place or anything you can to keep your body moving and therefore warm. Carry heat packs and remember you have them. At Gold Rush I carried them but forgot I had them. Anyway, a chemical heat pack on the neck, chest and/or under the arms will keep the body core warm which will help keep everything else warm.I have not found anything that is waterproof if it rains hard and long enough. Just understand that no matter how much money you pay, 12 hours in the rain equals getting soaked.I have yet to figure out a way to keep my feet warm. Ever since Raid the North Extreme I have had trouble keeping my feet warm so maybe it’s just me. Bootees and waterproof socks help but my feet still get cold, even if they are dry. Another suck it up situation.Learn how to use your space blanket. When things get bad your space blanket can be your best friend. First make sure you have a new one. If it’s been in your pack all year, it will not work, won’t unfold and will be worthless. Spend the couple of bucks and carry at least two good new ones. If you are really wet and cold, strip down and wrap the space blanket around your bare skin. I put the middle at my neck then wrap it from either side around my chest and around my back. Then put your wet clothes over it. Although it feels strange it will help keep the water off of you and the heat in. It really saved me in

Canada. I recommend trying it in practice one day. Knowing how it works and how to put it on will really help when you are fighting with the space blanket in the pouring rain at night when you half frozen. Anticipate when the weather will turn on you. We all like to travel fast and light. But having an extra layer at 2 in the morning can really make a difference in how well you move.Keep an eye on your teammates. If you’re cold, so are they. Make sure they don’t get so bad that it becomes serious. Hypothermia is serious. One of the biggest problems is you just get stupid and make poor decisions. Work together to make sure you don’t get to that stage. Especially keep an eye on the navigator because his/her decisions can make a huge impact on the entire team. I once was so cold I missed an obvious turn that lead the team 8 miles and 800 vertical feet down the wrong way. It was raining in LA (of course) and it lead to a DNF.I recommend reading “Hypothermia Frostbite and Other Cold Injuries” by Gordon Giesbrecht Ph.D and James Wilkerson M.D. if your are doing expedition racing. Understanding the problem and knowing how to deal with it will not only make your race a better experience but could help you prevent something bad from happening – like a DNF.

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The Best and Worst of 2007

 

                2007 was a great year for me personally.  However in keeping up with the National Inquirer and other such “need to know” type of periodicals I’ve decided to share some of the best and worst moments that I experienced on the AR field.    

                Getting lost for 57 hours on the mountains of Haida Gwaii at Raid the North Extreme without food or dry socks was a bummer.  Having the team (Melissa, Will and Brian) pull together and keep their wits about them was not only a high point but assured our survival.                  

                Watching Melissa and then Brian lose their balance and start flying down an ice packed couloir at RNTX was one of the scariest moments I’ve ever experienced.  Walking away from that with relatively minor injuries was a

high point. 

                Also at RTNX, having my feet get destroyed on the second trek causing me to decide to quit AR and sell all of my gear on Ebay was my lowest point in AR.  Having my teammates talk me into going forward so we could do the 8 hour portage was, in a very sick AR way, a

high point.

              Finally jogging down the road to finish in front of the cheering crowds in Prince Ruppert was the best.  There really were cheering crowds.

 

                Melissa falling and hitting her head (hard) at Big Blue Oakridge was a low point.  I’m pretty sure she had a concussion.  Doing the midnight paddle on a perfectly clear night with the Milky Way and shooting stars over head was a real highlight for me. 

                Doing an endo 15 minutes into the 1^st bike leg at Oakridge, breaking my seat and shifter was a low point.  Having zip ties to fix the seat and  being use to riding a single speed was cool. 

                Covering 187 miles and finishing 5^th in the single speed division of the 24 hours of Cool was great.  Finding out that if I had entered my age group I would have won by 2 laps and been awarded a new bike was a drag. 

                Mistaking a road for a contour line at the Tahoe Big Blue, thus making a huge Nav error was the low point of that race.  Smoking through the O course, passing BAARBD and finishing a strong 4^th was a real high.   

                Getting signed up for Primal Quest and signing on Susan Bower as a new teammate has been a real high.  Forking over a $3125 to sign up for PQ was a bummer. 

                Associating with the Make-A-Wish foundation has been a real high.  Working through all of the legalities has been a drag. 

                Pulling in to the last transition in first place at Gold Rush was a real high.  Getting passed in the TA (by BAARBD) as we tried to overcome hypothermia to finish 2^nd by 12 minutes was a bummer.  It’s nice that we got to the point where finishing 2^nd can be a low point. 

                Above and beyond everything, becoming a confirmed member of the Dirty Avocados’ with all of the great people on that team has been the real

high point of the AR year for me.  2008 promises to be even better.

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In the spirit of Thanksgiving,

Dirty Avocados Adventure Racing would like to thank the adventure racing community for another super year! 

 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

California homes.  Enjoy your Thanksgiving and holidays!

 

Dirty Avocados Adventure Racing

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Folsom Sprint – A race typically completed with two members was run this season by three Dirty Avocados, Aja Cook, Adam Armijo, and Mike Chastain. The race started with a half mile run from what once was the water bank of the Folsom Lake to the new water line of the Folsom Pond. The three of us took off at the count down in an attempt to sprint to the water line, to Mike and Adam’s dismay they found an initial challenge of trying to run with two inflatable kayaks in 20 mile an hour winds. I had sprinted ahead unaware that the two men were having such problems. When Mike and Adam finally arrived at the waters edge we found ourselves near to last place.

 

During the quick paddle across the pond, we were able to paddle ourselves into fifth position just before the run leg. The three of us took off down the sandy waters edge for a short 2 or so mile run. Trucking past teams we quickly placed ourselves in third position. From the run we got back in our boats for a short paddle north up the lake to a round about that would head us back to the start/finish line. Mike had an idea of cutting time by pulling boats onto shore and running over the finger that was standing between us and the alcove where we had started the race. This choice was extremely effective, putting us in first for a few short minutes before the teams in second and third caught on.

 

Quickly over the finger and back into the water we were passed again by the team who had originally held first place. Once we arrived at the start finish line we found ourselves back in third place.

 

We quickly transitioned from the kayak onto our bikes. With minimal gear that was needed we quickly left the transition area in second place. I believe we were in the TA for no more than a minute. We rallied the single track trails of the Folsom Lake area for no more than an hour and a total of ten miles. During the bike leg we passed no one, but were passed by one super fast coed team that ended up taking second overall, Tahoe Surgery Center

 

The second transition came where we dumped our bikes in the same transition and ran back down to the waters edge where we found ourselves faced with an obstacle of sorts. One team member was to use a small one gallon bucket to take water from the lake, run the bucket to the partner, who was holding a 4” PVC pipe that had 11 to 13 holes drilled into the side. The one member retrieved water from the lake, poured it into the pipe, while the other teammate attempted to plug the holes with various body parts in order to hold the water inside. There was a small ping pong ball inside the pipe and the object was to get the ping pong ball out without touching the ball, or tipping the pipe. On average it was taking the teams five minutes to complete this activity.

 

Once we completed the task teams were to sprint back up from the water line to the finish, which for some was a grueling task since several of the sections were 5” deep sand traps. The Dirty Avocados ended up taking forth and fifth overall, since we were supposed to be teams of two, with an elapsed time of two hours and 4 minutes.

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Join me in welcoming Susan Bower as our newest Dirty Avocado. Susan will be joining Will Gilmore, Brian Schmitz and Mike Chastaine during Primal Quest. For those of you who don’t know Susan, she is an amazing mountain biker and runner and over all stud adventure racer. She has raced with Team Subaru but most of her recent racing has been with Thin Aire. Two years ago she and her Thin Aire teammates won the over-all Big Blue Championship narrowing beating out a then very fast Silly Rabbit team. After taking a year off to have twins, Susan is back in the game. She was a major factor in our outstanding division win and 4^th place over all finish at Tahoe Big Blue. The next weekend she wiped out the woman’s field in the amateur X-terra race in Tahoe – her first ever tri.Susan is a very enthusiastic and fun person and we are very pleased that she is going to join us. Please join me in welcoming her.

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Dirty Avocados Adventure Racing is raising money for the Make-A-Wish Foundation® of Sacramento and Northeastern California. The Dirty Avocados will be sending two four-person teams to July 2008’s Primal Quest Expedition Adventure race and will use Primal Quest as a platform to raise money to grant a special wish for a local child.

Sacramento, CA (PRWEB) October 11, 2007 — Dirty Avocados Adventure Racing is raising money for the Make-A-Wish Foundation® of Sacramento and Northeastern California. The Dirty Avocados will be sending two four-person teams to July 2008’s Primal Quest Expedition Adventure race and will use Primal Quest as a platform to raise money to grant a special wish for a local child.

Primal Quest, deemed the “world’s most challenging human endurance competition”, is a perfect fit for an effort to help a child that is enduring a life-threatening medical condition.

According to Adam Doti, one team’s captain and a father of two young boys, “We are so blessed to have our health and to be able to participate in adventure racing. We are living our dream. We just believe that we should use this forum to help kids achieve their dreams.”

Several of the Dirty Avocados have young children. “We are so fortunate to have healthy children and to be able to provide for them. Not all kids are so lucky. We just want to help” said Mike Chastaine, father of three girls, and the captain of the second Dirty Avocados team.

While Primal Quest is still nine months away, the Dirty Avocados are well into their fundraising and training. A component of the fundraising will be raffles for outdoor and sports gear and services donated generously by local companies. For more information on the raffle, the fundraising, the training and preparation for Primal Quest visit DirtyAvocados.com.

ABOUT THE SACRAMENTO MAKE-A-WISH FOUNDATION–The Make-A-Wish Foundation grants the wishes of children with life-threatening medical conditions to enrich the human experience with hope, strength and joy. The Foundation, founded in 1983, is now one of the largest chapters nationwide, and has granted 3,000 wishes and grants over 230 wishes per year. While the Foundation follows the policies and guidelines of the Make-A-Wish Foundation of America, the Sacramento and NE area chapter operates as a separate 501(c)3 organization. All funds raised by the Foundation are used to fulfill it’s mission in the 24 counties it serves. For more information about the Sacramento Make-A-Wish Foundation, visit makeawish-sacto.org.

ABOUT DIRTY AVOCADOS ADVENTURE RACING–Dirty Avocados Adventure Racing is made up of every-day athletes from Northern California’s Bay Area and Central Valley. We are guys and gals with mixed backgrounds and vocations, including fire-fighting, teaching, high-technology, and finance. As teams and individuals, we compete in local, regional, national, and international adventure races along with various other endurance sports and expeditions. Dirty Avocados is sponsored proudly by MotionBased.com (MotionBased.com), La Sportiva (sportiva.com), Red Bull (redbull.com), Chapman University (Chapman.edu) and National Geographic (maps.nationalgeographic.com). For more information about Dirty Avocados Adventure Racing, visit DirtyAvocados.com.

ABOUT PRIMAL QUEST EXPEDITION ADVENTURE RACE–Primal Quest Expedition Adventure Race is widely considered to be the most difficult and arduous challenge in endurance sports. Primal Quest is the world’s premier Expedition Adventure Race, attracting the best adventure athletes around the globe. The 10-day, non-stop event is held in a remote region of the world each year. In July 2008, Primal Quest will take place in the United States’ western mountain states. Visit ecoprimalquest.com for additional information.

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Last month Jen and I were invited by Scott Gibson of Wingnutgear.com, the inventors of the MPS Alpha pack, to support them at the 2007 Outdoor Retailer Show in Salt Lake City, UT. It was very last minute and I wasn’t sure if we would be able to pull it together so fast. But I was able to reroute my return business trip home and Jen was able to hop over from the Bay Area.

I arrived in SLC Friday morning and made my way over to the convention center in my sweet Pontiac Grand Am rental car.

I parked and walked up to the convention center, but words can’t describe the excitement I felt as I approached. Adventure racers are certified gear addicts. So sending one to the Outdoor Retailer show which is like an REI flagship store on steroids, could prove to be disastrous!

I opened the door and Scott was there to greet me with my badge, Jen was to arrive later that evening. When we reached the top of the stairs all I saw was gear, clothing and toys as far as the eye can see! Rows and rows and rows of STUFF.

For the rest of the day I assisted Scott at his Wingnutgear booth and demonstrated to passerby’s how we as Adventure Racers use his packs for racing. I did manage to peel off and make the rounds to check the scene out.

Buzz Burrell from La Sportiva’s Mountain Running team and our newest sponsor was there and shows us some of the new footwear for the ‘08 season. Gordon Wright, Bay Area icon for adventure racing press and the infamous BAAR BRAWL “training event” surprised me. I found Paul Romero and Karen Lundgren over at the Sole booth and was lucky enough to show up the same time one of my mountaineering idols, Ed Viestures was about to do a book signing.

Later that day Jen finally arrived and before Scott hosted a booth-beer-thirty party we made the rounds. We met lots of great people. One that stands out was Bert from Life is Good. The clothing line that you see at REI that have the little sick man on them. Bert was also having beer-thirty party. As we made our way back to the Wingnut booth we stumbled into a few more parties and an espresso café.

After the show, Scott took us and a few other gear addicts out for sushi for dinner. Turns out that Scott and a couple other had scored passes into the JanSport private party later that night. Jen and I were without the special “wristband” which could only be used once for entry. So no two-in and one-out scheme! So we made our own party down the street at the Red Rock Brewery… which looked to be full of other party rejects as well!

Saturday was more of the same. Mind bending quantities of booths, swag and things to test and play with. Even a couple rock walls and a tide pool!

I’m also including the blog post from Gordon Wright below. He the newest Checkpoint Zero author.

The first time I arrived in Salt Lake City’s Salt Palace Convention Center for Outdoor Retailer, I knew I had found a second home. Walking around was like seeing my Rolodex come to life. This year is no different.

Fellow CheckpointZero blogger Mike Bitton is here, working hard as always. Troy Farrar is making the rounds, representing adventure racing with his usual easy-going authority. I had dinner last night with Rebecca Rusch and Jon Dorn, the editor of Backpacker Magazine, to talk about our incipient plans to race in Primal Quest. Even Adam Doti, the face of adventure racing in the Bay Area and a key member of Team Dirty Avocados, is here, hitting up gear makers and generating sponsorships.

In a word, AR is well-represented. There’s been some talk recently, some hand-wringing, some whinging, about how how our sport is on the decline. To that I say: not really. Sure, it’s incredible growth hasn’t sustained itself over the past ten years, but that would be impossible. Adventure racing is now in a maturing phase, a phase that means we’ve actually made it as viable, well-known sport - at least around these people.

And these are the people who count most to our community. They’re the ones that run the retail outlets where we buy our gear. These are the people who cough up sponsorships so that we can AFFORD gear. And they’re the people who actually make the gear that we use.

I met with the two head marketing people at Wigwam, makers of killer socks, and they couldn’t have been more happy with Robin Benincasa, who has been relentless in putting out the word on her sponsor. I had a meeting with the PR maven of The North Face, Amy Goldhammer, who was pumped about her company’s new AR shoe, the Crusade. (An early look at this shoe is exciting folks - it’s a very light, really functional, grippy shoe that should really get some attention from us).

In the show’s daily magazine, they interviewed six people and asked, “Who is your Outdoor Idol?” That’s a big question, and the responses ranged from Magellen to Meriweather Lewis. But two people cited adventure racers: Rebecca Rusch and Ian Adamson.

So that, I think, shows that the exploits of racers still resonate with the people who count. So quitcher whinging and make plans to attend Outdoor Retailer next summer.

Did I mention that a ton of booths have free beer every afternoon???

- Gordon Wright 

 

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