The 2008 Baja Travesia was an experience I will never forget. It was a week of all sorts of emotions, dramas, moments, and good times! Below are some I will never forget.

• Sleeping under the warm stars on the roof of our San Felipe bungalow
• Swallowing half of the Sea of Cortez while paddleboarding
• The desert death march that started the race and begging locals for water
• Being chased several times by packs of dogs
• Wading in waste high, weed choked water ways
• Weaving in and out of poison oak of all types
• Hacking my way through Spanish conversations with locals
• Teaming up with favorite teams while racing; the other DAs, Gold Rush, Dancing Pandas, and Suburban Rush are always fun to see and travel with while out on the course
• Seeing my truck take a beating and still pushing through; yea!!
• Walking away with some of the worst poison oak ever
• My first ever surf entry…in a solo sit on top!
• Dipping my beaten and blistered feet in the salty Pacific after five days of racing. Ouch!!!!!!!!!!
• See every random piece of good sold while waiting at the boarder
• Having the BEST and most lovable crew ever to walk to the AR earth! Thanks again, gals
• Once again facing desperate and dire circumstances with my team and seeing us look that in the eye, say “bring it”, and then persevere!
• My first trip to Mexico
• Completing my longest and toughest adventure race!

Stay tuned for more recaps and race reports from the rest of Avocados.

### BEGIN RACE UPDATES ###
(most recent update on top)

  

TIME: 3/28/08 - 7:00PM PST
Race Clock: 4 days 6 hours 30 minutes into the race

The Dirty Avocados Team 2 just finished the race joining their compadres having traveled many miles from the sea, thru the desert, over the mountains and winding around the foothills and canyons to the ocean!

Look for race reports from these guys and gals in the next week with the real details of how it went here on dirtyavocados.com.

The teams wish their families and friends the best and thank their sponsors for helping them to get to this race.

The Dirty Avocados next big adventure is Primal Quest Montana, a ten day expedition race consisting of only 500 miles with 100,000 feet of elevation. We’ll start training tomorrow after we get some sleep.

An adventure race is still not over until all the teams are in so let’s keep the rest of the teams out on the course in our thoughts.

TIME: 3/28/08 - 4:30PM PST
Race Clock: 4 days 4 hours into the race

The Dirty Avocados Team 2 and SuburbanRush are in the water and heading in right behind our friends from Santa Cruz, California Team Lucky to the finish.  This should be a quick kayak because the crew describes Mike, Susan, and Brian as fired up for the finish.

TIME: 3/28/08 - 3:33PM PST
Race Clock: 4 days 3 hours 3 minutes into the race

American Dirty Avocados Team Two and Canadian SuburbanRush have teamed up for the last leg of the bike and the kayaks to the finish!  At this very moment, the teams are biking the dirt roads of Ensenada toward the kayak and finishline.  

According to random callers along the course some of the town’s dogs have come out to either chase them or join this GROWING ameoba team to the finish. 

So, Roll on DirtyAvocadosSuburbanRush Team!

TIME: 3/28/08 - 3:00PM PST
Race Clock: 4 days 2 hours 33 minutes into the race

GoldRush is done!  Mark Richardson, Melissa Griffiths and Adrian Crane crossed the finish line 21 minutes ago! The will be able to enjoy the glory of finishing the race during siesta time in Ensenada (I hope a restaurant is open for those hungry racers).

TIME: 3/28/08 - 12:30PM PST
Race Clock: 4 days into the race

Day four of this five day race and it looks like all teams will be over the finish line today.  Dirty Avocados Team One is still eating having showered and feeling good.  They also did not have much info related to where Dirty Avocados Team Two is located specifically, but will check in when they hear something.  Adam Doti said that he has been trading notes with other team’s navigators and all agree the navigation was tough.  The maps indicate that GoldRush MotherLoad/RWG are in the TA for the kayak and thus almost done.

TIME: 3/28/08 - 10:55AM PST
Race Clock: 3 days 22 hours 25 minutes into the race

Team GoldRush MotherLoad/RWG is approximately 10 miles to the beach in Ensenada.  Most of the ten miles will be fast on city streets (hard compacted dirt and asphalt,) so this should go fairly fast, finishing the bike in less than an hour from now.

TIME: 3/28/08 - 10:10AM PST
Race Clock: 3 days 21 hours 40 minutes into the race

 

Pictured above from Dirty Avocados Mission (Out-of) Control, I am on the phone with Donato and the Dirty Avocados Team 1 right now and they think they are washing off with Zanfel and Technu, specific poison oak washing soaps. 

Goldrush/RWG is well on the way having hit the first waypoint in the bike to the finish moments ago.

Also, we’re still looking for some better information on Dirty Avocados Team 2.  They are battling their way up a very bushy canyon according to Adam.

TIME: 3/28/08 - 9:30AM PST
Race Clock: 3 days 21 hours into the race

There are 2 great notes on the race blog about the Dirty Avocados Team 1’s finish: Official Race Site Blog

TIME: 3/28/08 - 8:47AM PST
Race Clock: 3 days 20 hours 17 minutes into the race

Adam Doti, Jen Rigoni, and Adam Armijo are done and celebrating at the finish!

They will take eat and take a nap and then will be back to great the other teams as they finish.

TIME: 3/28/08 - 8:20AM PST
Race Clock: 3 days 19 hours 50 minutes into the race

We are projecting (with confidence in our predictions for once) Dirty Avocados Team 1 to finish in the next 2 minutes!  They are 20 yards from finishing the kayak and then they have a hundred yard dash to the finishline

TIME: 3/28/08 - 7:51AM PST
Race Clock: 3 days 19 hours 21 minutes into the race

One of the great race directors of Baja Travesia, Karen wrote in the race blog that Dirty Avocados Team 1 is about to enter the harbor and cross the finishline.  She wrote that Donato is there holding Tecate beers for them.  So, being astute reporters here a 1,000 miles away decided to fact-check her superb reporting by calling Deep Throat himself, donato.  Donato’s near done finishing those beers he brought for the team.  Guess he wants to be a little drunkbuzzed when he tells Jen that he smashed the fender of her trunk in the desert!

 Dirty Avocados Team 2 just hit another waypoint in the canyon at 6:27am local time which as a reminder is 7:27am PST.

TIME: 3/28/08 - 2:00AM PST
Race Clock: 3 days 13 hours 30 minutes into the race

Dirty Avocados Team 1 has completed the last major trek of Baja’s wildlands. GoldRush MotherLoad/RWG could be catching some sleep or sneaking up to take another spot. They have made a good come from the back from the start of this race. Finally, about an hour ago Dirty Avocados Team 2 pinged their satellite transponder to signify they are well on their way too in this last major trek and have passed a team in front of them. Go Teams; roll on home!

TIME: 3/27/08 - 10:40PM PST
Race Clock: 3 days 10 hours 10 minutes into the race

Just checking in to say that we don’t have any updates for our three teams as the crews are in an area that cell phones cannot receive signal probably. It may be a while before we do hear how its going.

TIME: 3/27/08 - 5:00PM PST
Race Clock: 3 days 4 hours 35 minutes into the race

Karen and Jeaninne, the crew for Dirty Avocados Team 2 called to say that Mike, Susan and Brian’s spirits are high despite being back in ranking currently.  They believe that they will be able to ”power thru” the next section.  Their feet have very few blisters; 2-3 small things!  Mike has a small piece of wood embedded in a leg (splinter really) and he’s not stopping to pull it out; he’s decided to take it to the finishline!

TIME: 3/27/08 - 3:40AM PST
Race Clock: 3 days 3 hours 10 minutes into the race

Adrian Crane’s son John, who is crewing with a friend for Team Goldrush is ready waiting the team’s arrival at TA7.  We hope they are their soon so they can take advantage of the light going into the next section.

Dirty Avocados Team 1 has already been on that trek and are still pushing hard to finish strong.  Donato and Misty are fine and almost at TA8 in a location called La Jolla.

Dirty Avocados Team 2 pulled into TA6 approximately 14 minutes ago and are likely happy to be hitting the bikes which is their strength.

TIME: 3/27/08 - 11:30AM PST
Race Clock: 3 days into the race

Three days into the race and the Dirty Avocados Team 2 is gaining speed from the back.  They just went from CP14 to CP15 in 2 and a half hours.  It took the currently projected winners of the race 3 hours to do this same leg.  They can still make a decent run from the back.  Its rumoured that teams ahead are considering dropping due to “team issues” and injuries.  This is a race more than any in a while that is all about staying in the game despite the challenges and set backs.

TIME: 3/27/08 - 9:15AM PST
Race Clock: 2 days 21 hours 45 minutes into the race

According to Donato, all Dirty Avocado Teams are fine.  Their feet have a few blisters, but they are not as raw as as some teams near the back .

Last years race was really a race uphill on bikes and a big hill in the canyon section heading east.  This year is all feet up hill and bike downhill.  Which is tougher depends can depend on your strengths, but no matter how good you are on your feet you are likely feeling it.  Brian has spent a lot of time exploring how to survive these races with feet and turn around to give the rest of us some great pointers that we incorporate in prevention and treatment of hotspots to blisters. 

The crews were their Dirty Avocados Team 1 and GoldRush when they pulled into CP16/TA6.  Both teams are likely now on the way to CP17.  This next bike section includes 2 kilometers (1.24 miles) of sand.  Last years bike included a ton of sand and it is as much of a mental challenge as a physical one.  Mark Richardson and Melissa Griffiths were on the same team at last years Baja Travesia and they did well riding in the sand challenge back then.  Mike Chastaine comes from the Folsom area of California where the trails have quite a bit of sand so he should be able to motivate Brian and Susan through that short, but still challenging section.

Dirty Avocados Two are probably headed to TA6 on foot trekking across a valley plain after a long night bushwacking up a canyon.

TIME: 3/26/08 - 10:00PM PST
Race Clock: 2 days 11 hours 30 minutes into the race

Donato reports that he briefly spoke to Mike Chastaine, Susan Bower and Brian Schmitz.  They were concerned with how the other teams were doing.  By now the three are likely out of the transition at CP13/TA5 out for a trek that is 6 to 9 hours for the teams that had the advantage of daylight.  So, we can expect they will be on this trekking leg most of tonight and tomorrow evening they should be at the finish or very near it.

GoldRush/RWG with Mark Richardson, Melissa Griffiths, and Adrian Crane looks good according to Donato.  

Donato mentioned that Dirty Avocados Team 1’s Adam Doti looks incredibly awake and ready to navigate the next section.  Jen Rigoni and Adam Armijo are doing well, too.

Donato and Misty arrived early at the next transition, TA7 in a town called Ojos Negros, which is north on Highway 3 here:

Map Location of Ojos Negros

TIME: 3/26/08 - 5:30PM PST
Race Clock: 2 days 6 hours into the race

Goldrush/RWG making big gains and was in the same transition, CP13/TA5 where the Dirty Avocados Team 1 is and where Dirty Avocados Team 2 is heading to.  The trek from CP13/TA5 has a significant bushwacking section.  Bushwacking is a term for walking off trail in bushes simply put.  Its physically demanding and mentally demanding in terms of navigating.  Team GoldRush/RWG has one of the best bushwacking navigators on it, Mark Richardson.  With Melissa motivating Mark and Adrian likely helping in the navigation the three should do very well tonight in this section in the dark.

TIME: 3/26/08 - 4:45PM PST
Race Clock: 2 days 5 hours 15 minutes into the race

Donato and Misty, crew for Dirty Avocados Team 1 after a long difficult drive are just arriving into CP13/TA5.  The Dirty Avocados Team 1 with Adam Armijo, Jen Rigoni and Adam Doti had pulled into 4th place and have likely let a little of he lead go waiting for their crew.  However, this has been a great chance for them to sleep and I understand they have not had much. 

TIME: 3/26/08 - 3:17PM PST
Race Clock: 2 days 3 hours 47 minutes into the race

The crew for Dirty Avocados II is waiting at Valle de la Trinidad (CP), while Misty and Donato are racing up from the last transition.  Donato said that Ensenada traffic was heavier than expected.  As you can guess this is as much of a race for the crew as it is for the teams.  Both deal with navigation, lack of sleep, rough trails, etc.  The crews race really begins when a team comes into transition. 

After the teams check in with the race official at the checkpoint/transition they flag the team over to where the crew vehicles are parked.  Likely the crew has set out a large tarp as a floor and spread out the teams gear to make the transition run smoothly.  In transition the crew can feed the team, help them switch gear, possibly assist the team in navigation or race strategy and most important of all check the team to make sure they still sound coherent and ready for the next leg. 

When teams leave the crew packs things up.  Figures out their next leg of the race to the next transition and may check out with race officials as they leave. 

Donato mentioned that he’s passed out and helped other teams other than his own which is part of the culture of adventure racing.  He loaned a wheel to Mike Chastaine of Team Dirty Avocados II, supplied Extreme Mountain Sports with a red blinking tail light, and loaned Team Lucky a front brake.  Good man Donato!!!

TIME: 3/26/08 - 1:30PM PST
Race Clock: 2 days 2 hours into the race

As referenced by race organizers on their blog our teams are all in the area of Mike’s Sky Ranch in the middle of Baja. A motocross rider made some great video of the roads and trails nearby. This is definitely the kind of roads the crews are taking to support the teams in the field. There are several videos here:

Mike’s Sky Ranch Area

Realize the teams are traveling on roads like these while on mountain bikes, slow they maybe going a little slower and thus safer!

TIME: 3/26/08 - 11:00AM PST
Race Clock: 1 day 23 hours 30 minutes into the race

Race organizers just blogged that they spoke to Melissa of Team GoldRush/RWG by Radio. She wanted friends and family to know that they are happy and moving well! See full post at Update for Team Goldrush

TIME: 3/26/08 - 9:30AM PST
Race Clock: 1 day 22 hours into the race

As the leadboard seems to indicate Dirty Avocados are in 5th place! Dirty Avocados II are list behind them now and probably stopped to catch some sleep before sunrise. Goldrush is still moving consistantly which may be an advantage in such a challenging race.

The maps seems to show that the teams are headed to the Colonia Lazaro Cardenas area, a small town on Highway 3 where the road bends north. This town was site of a transition last year that we hit during the second night of a race course that was headed South East instead of this year’s that is heading generally northwest.

Leaving the the transition heading northwest on the trek the teams will cross sandy tracks and likely will head through several cactus farms along the way. Local farmers are very friendly throughout Baja and race organizers in their pre-race preparations talked to the locals along the way.

TIME: 3/26/08 - 1:15AM PST
Race Clock: 1 day 13 hours 45 minutes into the race

Let’s review what we have left.  Note that this first bike will likely be finished this morning and the teams will begin the trek in canyonlands in daylight.  Looking at this it seems we have a long way in just pure miles to go, but of the 154 miles to go in total, 60% (94 miles) are mostly downhill on bikes and only 32 miles are trekking with a 11 mile kayak at the finish. 

1. Bike mostly downhill single track.  This will likely be one of the many highlights of their journey 91km (57 miles)
2. Trek in canyonlands 26km (16 miles)
3. Bike another big downhill 60km (37 miles)
4. Trek in rolling foothills of Baja likely in and around farms 25km (16 miles)
5. Bike to the coast near Ensenada area 35km (22 miles)
6. Ocean Kayak to the Finish in Ensenada 17km (11 miles)

This is the time of the race that is a real “gut check”, with each team member likely going through a few emotions and questions of why they are doing this.  They think of the things they love so much at this point, that really drives them home and will press forward to a great finish. Back of the pack teams may rightfully reason that the risk of going on would be too much to burden their loved ones with if they are concerned about any issues.  Most people that have never raced at this level just don’t understand that multi-day expedition racers do think of the loved-ones at home as part of the decisions we make out there.  And its not just our own family that we have in our considerations.  As a team, a good team, we think of each others’ families and then we consider, mitigate, or completely avoid risk that may seem unnecessary in light of our priority one: come home healthy to you all with great fun to tell you about!

From our crews I have heard from tonight I can say that our teams are racing with good spirits and smiles on their faces.  They may be tired, but they are enjoying the race, the surroundings, and all the friends they are meeting along the way.  They are seeing a side of Mexico that is sort of a turn of the clock back to simpler times.  The hospitality of the local farmers of Northern Baja is kind and mellow.  I bet by now the teams have even had some of the local cooking made in the transitions.

Jeaninne and Karen are headed to meet dirty Avocados 2 for the transition to the trek in a place called Valle de la Trinidad. They have more funny crew stories than they can tell me over the phone right now.

TIME: 3/25/08 - 11:08PM PST
Race Clock: 1 day 11 hours 48 minutes into the race

The super crew, Jeaninne and Karen of Dirty Avocados II  just called to say that racers Mike Chastaine, Susan Bower and Brian are great despite some sore feet.  Mike is a solid navigator and has good back up with Susan and Brian near.  Get these three near a bike and they will ride off in a dust cloud.  They are making good time on their feet too, thus this is why they’re a little sore, but no worries the bike legs will given them more rest and the race ends with a kayak leg.

Its true that DART-nuun and the Yoga Slackers are way off course and that Dirty Avocados II may now for the time being is in 6th place.  Lead teams have paid the price of being lost for pushing so fast in the beginning. Their lack of sleep is catching up.  However, this is still a close race given the chance for error and breakdowns with still nearly half the checkpoints to go.

 Goldrush and Dirty Avocados I are doing fine and are still in the running given the errors that have been made at the front of the pack.  Melissa Griffiths, Mark Richardson and Adrian Crane of Goldrush/RWG have a good amount of experience and quality training going into this race and with the kind of positive determination that each of them seem to hold in their core they should begin taking ground from weaker teams that may have shot ahead of them.  Team Dirty Avocados I with Adam Doti, Jen Rigoni and Adam Armijo are close to the middle of the pack and with Adam Doti’s keen ability to strategize, Jen’s super motivating attitude and Adam Armijo’s ability to add to both the brains and braun to this team they have a chance to rise from the mirky middle of the pack of racers.

TIME: 3/25/08 - 2:40PM PST
Race Clock: 1 day 3 hours 10 minutes into the race

All Dirty Avocado Teams are out of the canyon ascent and are visible moving on the west side of the Sierras. We hope the rest of the field makes it out soon too. Goldrush/RWG checked in to CP 8 about an hour ago. Dirty Avocados Teams I and II are ahead of them on the downhill bike. Stories coming out regarding the canyon ascent sound epic and that we can look forward to our friends telling some great tales when they return from Baja.

TIME: 3/25/08 - 10:45AM PST
Race Clock: 23 hours 15 minutes into the race

Donato is driving in from the west to meet the teams at the base of the mountians. He is about 4 miles from the base of the hills and should be there with in a few minutes: Location of Dirty Avocados 1 Crew

Race tracking is getting better as teams are beginning to push there buttons withing view of tracking satellites. The team pages at www.bajatravesia.com show that the Dirty Avocados II are out of the mountains. The leaderboard at Sleepmonster.com is being manually updated with this information, a great effort on their part to cover the race! The leaderboard may still be inacurate fo now, but check the team pages for now for the most accurate location of teams:

Location of Dirty Avocados 2

The links to Team Dirty Avocados Team 1 and Team Gold Rush Motherload/Racing with Giants are showing two very strong climbing teams still not up in the canyon. I would bet they they are close to Dirty Avocados 2:

Location of Dirty Avocados 1

Location Team Goldrush/RWG

TIME: 3/25/08 - 8:40AM PST
Race Clock: 21 hours into the race

Teams are climbing near Baja’s tallest peak, El Picacho del Diablo or “Peak of the Devil.” No worries the big bad guy is not there right now according to satellite tracking.

There is a good pin point of the peak here Peak Map

TIME: 3/25/08 - 7:45AM PST
Race Clock: 20 hours into the race

Donato, the crew for Dirty Avocados I writes that he’s OK.  He did have an issue with the crew truck getting stuck in sand.  Luckily for him the crew for Dirty Avocados II, Jeaninne and Karen were near to provide the “towing” power.  Donato wrote a short note on our mobile blog thanking his girlfriend for teaching him how to tie a knot.  I guess it was not just any knot, but the truck is free and looks fine. 

The crews left the eastern side of Baja last night and headed to the western foothills to meet the teams heading west at the transition from canyon trek to bike.  I received notes from Donato as he headed up the Highway 5 and then he turned west on Highway 3.  At Colonia Lazaro Cardenas he turned west and was near Los Coches this morning still traveling. 

Through the night race directors have been making a valiant effort to put out the latest they knew about teams progress, however most all the teams are still in the most remote part of the race, one long canyon ascent.  They probably have had some sleep except for the current lead teams.  We should see our teams out of the canyon by about noon or as possibly as late as early evening here on the West Coast. 

TIME: 3/25/08 - 12:01AM PST
Race Clock: 12 hours 32 minutes into the race

Teams are ascending the canyon tonight and will likely be finding a place there to catch some sleep. This canyon trek to a place called “Top of the World” will take teams into the late morning and early afternoon tomorrow. This is a major portion of the race.

Our teams have the option of carrying very powerful, but extremely lite, headlamp lights from DinotteLighting.com to brighten there way up the canyon for very safe travel at night. They also, choose to carry heavier bivy sacks for this section given the air tempurature in this section is about to cool off very fast. As required gear this year I believe teams maybe carrying tents and thus in their bivies while in a tent they should be pretty toasty. The teams are not alone in this canyon. First, there is likely a sweeper walking up from the rear making sure there is nothing wrong with the back of the pack and there is possibly a ropes safety crew somewhere in there. Rumour has it that Yishai of Big Blue Adventures and the director of Central Coast Challenge has put up some of the ropes and is out on that course. So, there is help in this long demanding climb

Crews, organizers and the reporter plus driver from sleepmonsters are driving around to the next transition, which will take them hours.

The race directors have added some videos to their website, Dirty Avocados is one of the teams with videos up from the prerace; definitely fun to look at. Also, there leaderboard was pulled down, but the sleepmonsters.com reporter on scene who wrote another good piece about the trek section this time included a list of the current rankings during the desert trek at the end of her blog. A lot of the current order will change this first night as teams make decisions on whether to go foreward or sleep until sunrise. No matter the score tomorrow morning realize the teams in front likely paid a sizable price for that lead and we will see later that afternoon if it was worth it.

I will be off for a ride tomorrow morning and will likley check in after 8:30AM PST. Goodnight.

TIME: 3/24/08 - 06:03PM PST
Race Clock: 6 Hours 33 minutes into the race

The teams are likely well into the Rally Car Leg and probably glad to have rested their feet after crossing the desert today.  

We know this because we are presently here in the Dirty Avocados Situation Room somewhere down an old mine shaft from the Goldrush Era in Northern California.  Notices being sent by carrier pigeons, geese, duck and other fowl migrating north are arriving regularly with the teams’ exact coordinates. Actually, there is no “we.” Everyone on the team is in Baja except Aja and I.  Also, no we are not in a mineshaft.  However, I am sitting in a war room of sorts with all sorts of screens and phones and things that make anyone feel just plain connected to information.  Also, I am receiving live satellite tracking from one of our teams’ crews which is the most accurate and up to date description of how the race is progressing for our teams which you can assume are near each other given they are fairly similarly matched for these first legs of the race.

The race website and their official news source have been expectingly slow to put out updates.  We anticipated this given the race organizers  are very busy putting on one of the best races in North America, plus they are using very new technology to track racers.  Right now, the race officials are focused on what they do best which is putting on a great race and with that they are likely smoothing out issues along the way.  Issues popping up today could have included a myriad of things such as what to do with all the paddleboards that racers paddled to the main beach in San Felipe, at the same time they are monitoring teams from afar and coralling lost teams on course, or they were lining up the many volunteer rally cars.  The race site for Baja Travesia just started updating little markers representing teams, however some of those teams do not look like they have gone very far.  If you look at the leaderboard it shows clearly that fast teams listed behind slower ones are not having their satellite transponders working and this could be either errors with the device/service or the racers are just forgetting to press the button on it that sends out a signal to show where they are presently.

The adventure racing news service that is there to cover the race did not bring their own satellite internet connection, so their coverage is delayed, but still really worth the read for the local color.  The writer is doing a good job describing the local besides the race itself plus she doesn’t use as many run on sentences as I do to convey the details!

The Dirty Avocados figured this news delay may be the case so, some of the crew are checking in occationally with us.   So, far their notifications show that the race progressed north along the shore from San Felipe and then they headed east into the desert toward the mountains.  This is good. 

We estimate that Dirty Avocados, Dirty Avocados “too”, and the Gold Rush teams are near the canyon trek and have completed the rally car.  Seems teams are egging to get up the canyon and gain some distance on their competition.  At 5:43PM PST the sun began setting.  The desert has cooled and the teams are enjoying it for sure. There will be a near full moon waning tonight which will give them decent light as it appears somewhere to there east over the Sea of Cortez.

If for any reason other than my poor grammar that anyone would like to contact the current writer of this continuously updated blog please feel free to email me at willisnot (at) yahoo (dot) com.  If you like include your number and I will call you back.  Inspired by the team I am off for a 30 mile run.

This is a pre-race picture of Team Dirty Avocados I (from left to right: Adam Armijo, Jen Rigoni and Adam Doti)

TIME: 3/24/08 - 11:40AM PST
Race Clock: 1 hour 10 minutes into the race

By now teams are nearing the end of the paddleboarding leg.  Ahead of them is an afternoon spent crossing the Sonoran Desert.  Temperatures in the desert should be between 80 to 90 degrees today.  The forecast is 89 degrees in San Felipe with wind at 9MPH.  A combination of heat and wind will lead unprepared teams to dehydrate.  The Avocados coming from California have an advantage in the heat.  They are better prepared having been hydrating going into the race and likely took a good amount of water with electrolytes (NUUN electrolytes tablets) into desert trek. 

Movement across the desert will vary as the team winds around cactus and other bushes in sand and occasionally finding a dirt road hopefully. In other words don’t expect them to be doing any 6 minute miles. 

Last year those of us racing this part of the race enjoyed this section as night trek under a fairly lit moon.  Despite the light, I accidentally kicked a small cactus and had to run the remainer of the race with a cactus barb in my foot.  With the sun out I hope the team will not kick any cactus this year.

TIME: 3/24/08 - 08:43AM PST
Race Clock:T-Minus 1 hours 47 minutes until the race starts (10:30AM PST, 1:30PM EST) Note: local Baja time is Pacific Standard time +1 hour or Eastern Standard time -2 hours
The race details have been revealed and it looks as though they are going to have a great time and see a lot of country zig-zagging west between San Felipe on the Sea of Cortez and Ensenada on the Pacific Ocean.  Here is how the various legs of the race have been laid out:

1. Paddleboard in the Sea of Cortez: one team member will paddle a board while the other two are to run along the shore.  Occationally, they may switch who paddles the board.  Distance: 5km (3 miles)
2. Desert Trek to the rally cars 30km (19 miles)
3. Desert Rally Cars: 25km (16 miles) This use of cars is to get teams across a very dangerous section of Baja where if you are not in a vehical you will likely be run over one.  The rally cars will be driven by local drivers, but teams will have to navigate and the drivers are under strict instructions not to help them.
4. Alpine Trek to canyon start point and up a canyon to a place in Baja called “Top of the World.” They will be climbing 7,000 feet in this leg and going over 35km (22 miles)
5. Bike mostly downhill single track.  This will likely be one of the many highlights of their journey 91km (57 miles)
6. Trek in canyonlands 26km (16 miles)
7. Bike another big downhill 60km (37 miles)
8. Trek in rolling foothills of Baja likely in and around farms 25km (16 miles)
9. Bike to the coast near Ensenada area 35km (22 miles)
10. Ocean Kayak to the Finish in Ensenada 17km (11 miles)

Total distance 339km (217 miles) not including any circles teams may “strategically” choose to take  

At this moment the racers are moving slowly to the beach start in Baja.  According to Brian Schmitz of Team Dirty Avocados II, they will begin the race by paddleboarding in a relay meaning there is one paddleboard per team. 

A paddleboard is like a surfboard, but basically differs in thickness to support somone in the water and a paddle board has padding that makes it comfortable to stay one while paddling.  A paddleboard can be paddled either laying down or kneeling.  One team member will paddle the board as the other two will be running along on the beach.  Prior to this race the Dirty Avocados sought out a local expert paddler in Santa Cruz and those on the team that could took classes in this relatively new edition to adventure racing.  This may be the first time that actual paddleboards were used in a race.  So, you can understand why the team took classes from the best person they could find. 

TIME: 3/22/08 - 11:00AM PST
Race Clock: T-Minus 2 days until the race starts
Donato, Jen, Adam D., and Adam A. driven thru Palm Springs and are likely driving south along the Salton Sea heading south to the border crossing into the Baja California metropolis of Mexicali.  After navigating Mexicali, the tour will hit Mexico Highway 5 straight south to San Felipe.  They are almost all there!

TIME: 3/21/08 - 6:43PM PST
Race Clock: T-Minus 3 days until the race starts (Monday 11:30AM)
Avocados began rolling south across the border over the last day. Donato wrote, “Word has it Brian and crew are already in San Diego, Mike and Susan are leaving today and Mark and Melissa are already in Baja.” Donato, Jen, Adam A., and Adam D. are staying in LA for the night.

TIME: 3/20/08 - 4:00PM PST
Race Clock: T-Minus 4 days until the race starts!
Tonight, the teams will begin to head south to the border of the US and Mexico. Along the way they will be staying with relatives and friends. This is the only warning to those relatives and friends to lock their doors and turn-off all their lights or at least hide their food. They are coming

TIME: 3/17/08 - 11:56PM PST
Race Clock: T-Minus 6 days until start.
We’re busy packing, tuning our bikes, and buying a lot of food!

 

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Click here for most recent update.

Looking for information on the Dirty Avocados participating in the Baja Travesia? You’ve come to the right place!

We will be releasing race updates in a few ways:

1. We will post from the road as long as we have cell reception and service. You can read our short mobile blogs from the home page or by clicking here; On The Road Blog.
2. Will is going to be posting manual updates to our “Baja Travesia Race Update” blog. The most current update will be posted at the top of the article, THIS article your reading now. Read below for most recent update from Will.
3. In addition, you can check out the race web site to view a leader board. There Google maps pinpoint teams’ locations LIVE via GPS Satellite, you can read racer bios and more! Go to http://www.bajatravesia.com
   **Please, note that a GPS map location of the team that hasn’t moved in a while doesn’t mean anything is wrong with the team. Most likely it is poor satellite reception. We could also be sleeping!

As far as who is actually racing? It’s going to be a reunion of sorts in San Felipe. We have 2 Dirty Avocado teams if 3. Team “Dirty Avocados” consists of Adam Doti, Adam, Armijo andJen Rigoni and of course Donato as our crew! Our second team is Team “Dirty Avocados Too (II)” consisting of Mike Chastaine, Susan Bower and Brian Schmitz. Also racing is Mark Richardson and Melissa Griffiths with Adrian Crane representing the local favorite race; Team “Gold Rush”.

We would like to pay a very special thanks to our sponsors and supporters. Without them much of this wouldn’t be possible. Please, read all about them on our Sponsors Page or in the footer of this page.

Finally, leave us a note of encouragement in the Comments area at the bottom of this post.

~ Adios!

 

Karen and Paul working on almost as little sleep as the teams racing keep the race organized from there latest mobile command center which is now at the finish line. Dp

Team DA 1: currently biking to last 5k trek on the beach (with paddles) to the final kayak. They should be paddling into the Encinada harbor as the sun rises. One final treat for the team from this incredibly challenging course. I have seen and talked with many of the teams throughout the race and from my perspective this race has challenged teams to the fullest.
Team DA2: we spotted their crew arriving at TA9. They are in the final trek of the race. I would expect them in mid day on friday.
Team gold rush motherload entered the final trek ahead of DA2 and were in good spirits when we last saw them at TA7.
Dp.

The baja travesia is not only tough on the racers its taking its toll on crew vehicles, gear and crews as the crew are on their own race to get to each TA in time.
Sorry jen I (dp) fixed it with tie-wraps. I’m just happy to report that I wasn’t driving. Not that it makes a difference if u saw the roads we were driving on hint think Baja 1000 rally roads!

If redbull was a controlled substance we would be in a mexican housegow right now. Dp

I knew there was a reason my girlfriend was taken me climbing. What I didn’t know was that my new found knot tying skills would be used to build a makeshift towline from a now officially retired climbing rope to get the DA team1 car out of a sort of ditch in the road. Don’t worry we are all ok and thanks to the crew from DA team 2 we all got the car out. The car being Jen’s Honda ridgeline truck. Jen, I wasn’t driving! And it looks like u car is unharmed as well Pictures to follow but now we are on to TA4. Dp

Pre race team shot

Pre race preparation to protect the nips from the paddle board.