RACE REPORT: Golden Gate AR
Monday, August 28th, 2006It was cool and grey summer Sunday morning in San Francisco as the first ever Golden Gate Adventure Race was ready to start. And as this Dirty Avocado twisted his head left, then right, looking for his teammates, he remembered, “Shit, I forgot…I’m doing this alone!”Suddenly Todd Jackson (Race Director) ran down the beach yelling, “Go, go!!”. Frantically, we dragged or carried our boats to the water’s edge and then paddled like crazy. The pack immediately split into two streams. Most instantly cut across the channel; the remaining few (including me) turned right and skirted the coast, betting on a more forgiving current. Regardless, our first objective was to hit CP2 (CP1 was eliminated prior to the race) which was a buoy a little ways northeast of Alcatraz.
Some thirty minutes into the fun, several short, intense blasts from a horn rang through the Gate! We ALL turned our heads to see a massive tanker slowly coming under the Golden Gate Bridge and directly at us. The safety boats then sprang into action. Quickly, they split the pack in the channel. Minutes later, one safety boat motors over to me and says, “Don’t turn into his way!! And hold on. The wake this guy will bring will send you flyin’!”
As I shifted in my seat to clear my shorts of you know what, I anxiously paddled while watching for the tanker from the corner of my eye. As it passed me, I gaped at the ten foot high WALL of water (I’m not kidding!) it was pushing. (A sight I’ll never forget!!)
After my duel with the tanker, I then tangoed with an Alcatraz ferry and finally a barge. I finally bagged CP2 and then paddled in toward Fisherman’s Warf looking for the Liberty Ship, Jeremiah. That was an easy find (as I continued to follow the lead paddlers). Finally, I turned west for the home stretch to Chrissy Field. I finally reached shore, stowed my boat and quickly transitioned to the bike.
As I raced out of the TA and over the Bridge, I considered, reconsidered, and reconsidered again the instructions, pictures and maps I just received. After arriving at CP5 on the north side of the Bridge I had about 10 minutes to kill, given I beat the 25 minute transit time.
I was finally allowed to move on and I went up and over Cozelman Rd down to CPs 6, 7 and 8. Looking back, a better move would’ve been to avoid that climb and ride around and down through the Tunnel. Oh well, this was the first of several cases in which local knowledge hurt rather than helped me (i.e., knowing too much can lead to rash decisions and bad assumptions).
I finally arrived at CP9 and then motored to CP10. I asked the gals there how far ahead my fellow DAs were. “25 minutes!”, one barked. “Damn Skins!!”, I mumbled. I then shifted to a low gear and began the long grind up and over Coyote Ridge, and down to the Green Gulch farm (by Muir Beach).
After bumping into a few others looking for CP11 I went off by myself, looked, and found it. “Dirty” was the clue word. “How appropriate!”, I thought. I then headed for CP12 by beginning the looong climb towards CP13 (which was the location from which the directions said CP12 could be plotted). BUT, before I began long decent down to CP13, I thought to myself, “Self, this would SUCK if I get down to CP13 and then realize I actually need to be up here to find CP12.” So I dropped my bike and plotted CP12. I realized, to my bliss, that CP12 was in fact up near where I now was! As I started toward CP12, I caught the smell and sight of a Dirty Avocado! Yup, it was the Skins. All four of them were dragging their butts up from CP13 and towards CP12. (BTW, CP12 was a brilliant move by Todd Jackson, the Race Director. It was a classic example of why one must always plan/plot two or three moves ahead! Many that day learned this lesson the HARD way!)
After finally finding CP12 I jammed down to CP13. I then started the big climb towards CP14. About 10 minutes into that climb I sensed something was wrong. I listened closely and discovered my rear tire was loosing air…fast! I had a flat!! I threw my bike down. I tore open my pack and discovered my bike repair kit was back at the transition area (for the record, this was “recommended” and not “required” gear). As I cried to the sky in agony, I considered my options. Instead of pathetically waiting for another rider or racer to offer help and supplies, I ran my bike and dumb ass back to CP13. There I bummed a tube and kit off a couple of racers. (I forget their names, but thank them eternally for their help!!) Altogether, I lost about 25 minutes.
I was very bummed…but not defeated!
I then (again) started the big climb towards CP14. I bagged CP14, raced over the Bridge, and transitioned to the run. This is where I knew my race would be won or lost. Navigation (especially plotting) is not my specialty. (But that’s one reason I did this race solo–to strengthen that skill!)
I realized I had to pick up more details at Sports Basement. I arrived to pick up maps and instructions. After spending about 20 minutes plotting four CPs, I raced out and into the Presidio. I decided to run the circle of CPs backwards, thinking that I’d see more racers coming at me and that would clue me into where the CPs were (I could use all the help I could get!). In a couple of cases that worked! In the other two cases, I was off base and spent some time running in circles.
After finally bagging all four run/orienteering CPs, I raced back to the finish. And crossed the line 9 hours and 35 minutes after the start. That was good for second among solos. Not bad for my first race as a solo.
Good times!
Brian Schmitz
DIRTY AVOCADOS pits
PS, some lessons learned:
- Racing with a team is by and large more fun and fulfilling
- Local knowledge can hurt more than help if not used carefully
