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Team Santa Fe Newsletter
September 2005
RACES
AdventureXstream
12 hour Vail Adventure Race
White River National Forest, near Vail, CO
September 10, 2005
http://www.gravityplay.com/axs
Team Santa Fe Bear Pair: Kim and Jan Bear 1st/41 pairs/ time 8:31:00
By Kim Bear
This was to be the last race of the AdventureXstream series. Jan and
I had done 2 of 3 AdventureXstream races, but had missed the Breckenridge
event because of doing the TransAlp mountain bike race in July. We entered
into the race in first place (Coed Pairs) with a total of 150 points while
the second place pair had 145 points. It was going to be a close race;
the race had sold out with a total of 41 pairs. Plus, in Colorado you never
knew who would enter because of all the unknown athletes who do these
types of races "just for fun".
We drove to Vail and found ourselves driving another hour into the National
Forest for the check in for the race. The region was very isolated, but
beautiful. We had enough light to scout the area and took advantage.
We had never done this race before and were unfamiliar with the area.
After it got dark, we found that there were few facilities. We decided
to drive back to civilization and eat. It began to storm so we decided
to stay close to the race site opting to sleep in our little truck. This
way we could get an early morning start. It rained all night (which is
really emphasized when sleeping in the car).
We got to the start line to begin a 35 mile mountain bike ride at 7am.
It was cloudy and the storm hadn't quite cleared out of the valley. We
started a "forever" climb on a road that was muddy and wet. Mud thickly
caked onto our bikes and puddles were so deep and wide that you had to
ride blindly through them. Three hours later we arrived at the first CP
along with the co-ed pair from Vail "Team Pedal Power". I had met the
Team Pedal Power woman, Michelle Keane years earlier in Santa Fe. Michelle
came as a sponsored mountain bike racer by Wild Oats; she had given a talk
to a group of women to inspire racing mountain biking. I knew she would
be very competitive. Out of the transition, Team Pedal Power took off running.
Jan and I hiked out with trekking poles in hand and I clipped onto his
pack so he could tow me; Jan set a steady climbing pace. The trek would
be about 3 miles up to the top of the mountain. We stayed on trail until
tree line broke and then bushwhacked to the checkpoint. We lost sight of
Pedal Power. As we ran down, we were worried that there was another pair
in front of us. Heading back to our bikes, we saw the rest of the field
working their way to the checkpoint we had just found. We quickly got back
on our bikes and headed back the way we had come to get to the river put
in. It took us 1 hour and 39 minutes. Once at the river, we found a strong
head wind which was relentless! At times it felt like we were getting pushed
back upstream. We finally finished after 2 hours of paddling the 11 miles
to get to the finish. We ended up being the first pair across the finish
line and the 6th team overall finisher coming in after two 4 person teams
and 3 soloists.
Jan and I had been very nervous about our ability to hold onto first
in the series standings for pairs. We both were very doubtful at the start
line that we would finish well. We were pleased to win the series and
the race. AdventureXstream puts on challenging races with a very nice
staff to support the racers. We enjoyed 2005 series.
Thanks to all of our sponsors. We could not have done it without Team
Santa Fe sponsors: Montrail, ThorLo, Lowe Alpine, CW-X, CamelBak, GoLite,
Suunto, Bolle, Outdoor Research, Litespeed, BTI, Gaerne, Polar, Sofsole,
Dermatone, Hydropel/Genesis Pharmaceuticals, and Schrade.
New Mexico Orienteers September
Event
September 17th, 2005
Los Alamos, NM
http://www.nmorienteers.org
Jan Bear and Ries Robinson, 1st place Orange(vetting), 4th Place Red(mis-marked
control)
By Jan Bear
Ries and I went to Los Alamos to vet the orange course and run the red
course, thus we arrived at the starting area at 9 AM helped set up the start/finish
line area and headed out on the orange course, it took us about one hour
to check the course and we were back at the start/finish to get ready to
do the red course. The red course proved to be a little problematic for
us as control #4 was mis- labeled, we found the control right away but because
it was mis-labeled we look for the "proper control" for the next 30-40
minutes, finally we said to ourselves that there must be a mistake and
headed out to finish the course. The rest of the course went fairly well
but our delay at control #4 cost us a first or second place finish. It
was still a great event and dealing with errors it part of any event so
as always it was a good training activity for us both The red course was
certainly challenging with very little running or hiking on trail most
of the course entailed bushwhacking.
Team Santa Fe sponsor gear used on this day: Montrail, ThorLo, CW-X,
CamelBak, GoLite, Suunto, Bolle, Outdoor Research, and Schrade.
New Mexico Orienteers
September Night-O
September 24th, 2005
Los Alamos, NM
http://www.nmorienteers.org
Jan, Kim, JJ, Samantha Bear, Paul Laur. Bob and Carol Kurth Jan, Samantha
and Paul 3rd Place Long Course
Kim, JJ, Bob and Carol 2nd Place Short Course
By Jan Bear
What an awesome event. The NM Orienteers put on there first Night-O
in Bayo Canyon a newly mapped area. There was a long and short course;
they were both lots of fun and well done. There were not as many entrants
as the regular September event but those of you who missed it really missed
out on some great fun. Kim convinced several family members and friends to
come out to do the event however only a few showed up. Kim, JJ my daughter
and my parents did the short course and Samantha my other daughter and a
friend Paul did the long course. We saw several deer during our hike and
really enjoyed Bayo Canyon in the dark. The NM Orienteers continue to put
on well run fun events.
Team Santa Fe sponsor gear used on this night event: Montrail, ThorLo,
Lowe Alpine, CW-X, CamelBak, GoLite, Suunto, Bolle, Outdoor Research, and
Schrade.
Tour
de Acoma
100 mile Bike Race
September 25, 2005
Acoma Pueblo, NM
http://www.nmcycling.org
Deb Werenko (1/5: time 4:39:17, Gary Johnson: 6/30: time: 4:39:18) 35
total participants.
By Deb Werenko
This was the inaugural Tour de Acoma 100 mile race, set in the beautiful
country around Acoma Pueblo. The race started at Acoma Sky City Casino
and toured on back roads to sky city and up and out of the valley it is
located in and around the pueblo lands and the park service lands surrounding
the pueblo. The stunning views of red sandstone cliffs and plateaus the
race wove through made it worth the effort.
The day was windy, naturally. The race started with a relatively mellow
lead out by a team from Albuquerque. Gary and I stayed with the lead group
which whittled itself down to about 10 riders at the base of the BIG hill
just north of the pueblo, about 25 miles into the ride. This hill proved
to be the separating element of the race. Gary finished 5th up the hill
I was 6th and the race stayed that way for the next 3 hours. The three
that finished together at the lead, stayed together. I caught Gary with
the help of a train of a guy who pulled a small group of us up to Gary.
Just as we caught him we were met by a welcoming committee that felt it
needed a bit of a cyclist for posterity so he (a large yellow furry bundle)
lunged into our pace line and took out one rider causing a very spectacular
cartwheel of that rider. Gary managed to stay upright while leaping over
the bike and the dog on his bike. We all circled back, made sure the rider
was OK and that an ambulance was called and then went on to catch the 4th
rider. He worked with us to the end from that point on, he and Gary worked
together and I hung on for dear life and we managed to finish in fine
form.
Tres Piedras to Tierra Amarilla
Road Race
June 11, 2005
Tierra Amarilla, NM
http://www.nmcycling.org
Deb Werenko (women: 3/7); Gary Johnson (masters: 11/20)
By Deb Werenko
This was a well attended one day multi-distance race set in beautiful
northern New Mexico on Hwy 64/42 between Tres Piedras and Tierra Amarilla.
The day was cold and windy with gorgeous blue skies and a course which
included hills and flats starting at Hopewell Lake. The men's master's race
was ~47 miles with a loop which headed west initially with a turn around
at the overlook over the Brazos Cliffs. The women's race was shorter (~29
miles), skipping the western end of the loop. Both races swept through the
valley east of Hopewell Lake and turned around after climbing partly out
at the other end. The finish was a long climb back up to Hopewell Lake with
one false summit.
The men's A race had a particularly exciting finish with upstart Sam
Johnson beating local favorite and long time racer Todd Bauer in a sprint
which seemed to erupt like a firecracker with about twenty yards to go. It
was worth standing in the cold wind eating Taos Cow ice cream to see.
Crest Race
June 5, 2005
Sandia Crest, NM
http://www.nmcycling.org
Deb Werenko (women: 11/16; time 2:20); Gary Johnson (masters men: 16/20;
time: 2:11)
By Deb Werenko
Sandia Peak is located just east of Albuquerque, New Mexico at the top
of the Sandia Mountains. The "Crest Race" is an annual event starting at
the Four Hills shopping center (at the mouth of Tijeras Canyon) and ending
about ¼ mile from the crest. This was a very well attended event
with groups from all over the southwest having a presence. The day was sunny
and warm with the usual head wind up the canyon. The groups went off in time
trail fashion starting with the men's cat 1 and 2 who had a longer ride,
looping over Heartbreak Hill and back around to Hwy 14 and then up to the
crest. The Master's men and all the women raced the ~28 miles from Four
Hills to the crest without any extra miles. This race is an old favorite
and great training ride for all the hills to come later in the summer.
Training Events
Santa Barbara Run, 30.5 Mile Trail
Run
Santa Barbara Canyon, Northern NM
September 17 2005
Carl Gable, 6 hours 12 minutes
This run was the day after I got a new set of CW-X clothes. They
were perfect for a long run on a clear cool day. The run covers 30.5 miles,
part off trail, and reaches an altitude of 12386 ft with a total climb
of apx. 4100 ft. Thanks again to CW-X.
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