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September 2008 Team Santa Fe Activities
RACES:
Vail 12 Hour AdventureXstream Adventure Race
Vail, CO
Sept. 6th, 2008
http://www.gravityplaysports.com
1st Place Coed Pairs and 4th Place Overall
By Jan Bear
Vail is the fifth stop in the AdventureXstream race series, Kim and I have done three of
the four races so far this year and this would be number four. The race is held outside of
Vail near the Colorado River. Kim and I spent the night before the race in the pickup,
truck camping as we drove up to Vail on Friday for check in at 6PM. After plotting the
course and packing our bins we found a good spot to park and went to sleep it was a
beautiful night but chilly. Race day was clear and cool to start but the day evolved and
ended up with perfect racing weather. We started with a fast 8 mile mountain bike to the
first transition, plotted some more points and were off on a 2 hour trek to reach 3
checkpoints and then hike to the first of two kayak put ins. A quick change of clothes and
we were off down the Colorado River for a fifty minute paddle then back onto the
mountain bike for a 3 and a half hour ride that seemed mostly up hill. Next it was back in
the kayaks for another short paddle to the finish line. Our time was 8 hours and 2
minutes, 1st place in the coed pair division. The race was very well attended and while we
were doing the 12 hour race there was a sprint race taking place. After receiving our first
place medals we drove all the way home to Santa Fe.
Thank you to Team Santa Fe Sponsors: Litespeed, BTI, Bike & Sport, ThorLo, GoLite,
Gaerne, Camelbak, Montrail, Leki, Niterider, Dermatone, CW-X, Princeton Tec, SofSole,
Shain, Polar, Hydropel, Outdoor Research, Suunto, Polar HRM, Maxxis, E-Caps, Wingnut
Gear, Potable Aqua and Bolle.
Cedro Peak Mountain Bike Race, NM State Championship
New Mexico Off Road Series Race #10
Tijeras, NM
Sept. 14th, 2008
http://www.nmcycling.org
Kim 1st Place Sport Women 50+, Jan 3rd Place Expert Men's 50+.
By Jan Bear
Race number ten of the New Mexico Off Road Series was an intense 17 mile loop of
single-track with steep climbs, loose rock, fast smooth narrow tracks as well as some
double track. Race day was sunny but very windy and cool for the race start but warmed
up quickly with the exertion of the race and the trees cutting the cool wind. For me the
race started very quickly as I forgot my Camelbak in the truck and had to rush back to get
it and by the time I got back to the starting line the race was on. On the first hill up a small
dirt road before reaching the single track my heart rate was already 150BPM. For the
experts there as a short 6 mile loop with a big climb and a steep rough single-track
decent before we started the main 17 mile loop. I was already tired! The loop seemed to
go on forever but was great riding but I was not enjoying it the way I'd like because my
heart rate was so high and of course I was racing. It felt like the course would never end
but it did very quickly, in fact too fast so I didn't get a chance to over take Karl who was
about a minute in front of me. It was a great course and well attended. Kim had a great
race and beat all her competition. The day ended with Kim and I being able to spend
some time with our daughters who attend UNM in Albuquerque and Kim's brother, his
wife and kids.
Thank you to Team Santa Fe Sponsors: Litespeed, BTI, Bike & Sport, ThorLo, GoLite,
Gaerne, Camelbak, Montrail, Leki, Niterider, Dermatone, CW-X, Princeton Tec, SofSole,
Shain, Polar, Hydropel, Outdoor Research, Suunto, Polar HRM, Maxxis, E-Caps, Wingnut
Gear, Potable Aqua and Bolle.
Horny Toad Hustle Mountain Bike Race, NMORS #11
Las Cruces, NM
September 21, 2008
http://www.hornytoadhustle.org
Jan Bear Expert 50+, first, 2:38:51 (27 miles) and Kim Bear Sport 50+,
1st 2:06:32 (21 miles)
By Kim Bear
This was the second year for me to do this race and Jan's third time. The race begins
early in the morning, but it gets hot very quickly. The route was changed, but the terrain
was the same. The race began at 8:00 am on Sunday morning and by 10:00 am the
temperature was already up around 90 degrees. The course was set on the Dona Ana
Mountain trails which gave us a variety of terrain with fast rolling sections, short rocky
climbs, and cacti. The expert course was 27 miles with 3400 feet elevation gain and the
sport class was 21 miles with 2700 feet elevation gain. It was a fun and fast course. I
enjoyed the race. Jan captured first for the Expert 50+ category. I came in second for
the whole sport category, but won my age division. We both received a "horny toad" belt
buckle to commemorate our finish. I received some very nice beer glasses while Jan
received a cash reward. I will definitely let myself be "dragged" to this race in the future. It
was well run, with a challenging yet fun race course.
Thank you to Team Santa Fe Sponsors: Litespeed, BTI, Bike & Sport, ThorLo, GoLite,
Gaerne, Camelbak, Montrail, Leki, Niterider, Dermatone, CW-X, Princeton Tec, SofSole,
Shain, Polar, Hydropel, Outdoor Research, Suunto, Polar HRM, Maxxis, E-Caps, Wingnut
Gear, Potable Aqua and Bolle.
AdventureXstream Expedition Adventure Race
Moab, UT
September 25-28, 2008
http://www.gravityplay.com/axs
RHOC Santa Fe, Carl Gable, Joel Krypel, Elberta Seybold, Keven Ormerod, 8th of 18 4 person coed
By Joel Krypel
I thought most people knew what adventure racing was but recently I have
come to find I was wrong. So I thought I would put together a time line of
the 3 day race we just did in Moab to help people understand it better. Although
it may actually make it harder to understand if you know what I mean. We
have a 4 person coed team of myself and my friends Carl, Kevin and Elberta.
Kevin and El are married and I like to refer to them as the kids because
they seem so young by comparison. Carl and I have been doing races together
for a bunch of years now and have done some 10 day races but for The Kids
this is the first race longer than 24 hours.
- Race Day Thursday 9/25/2008
- Day 1
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5:30 am Wake up, take last shower for 3 days
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6 am organize food into 12 hour portions and put in Ziplocs
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7 am have breakfast at race start hotel – last cooked meal for 3 days
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8 am race check in – get maps showing race course and order of events
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8:30 – 10 am plot check points and transition areas ( locations that you change events ) and organize gear
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10 am race orientation – do`s and don`t for race and first chance to see all the other teams
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10:30 am – noon finish organizing get ready to paddle remain calm eat lots of food
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Noon Race Start – last place all these teams will be together, the stories begin here, some are short stories
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Noon – 3:30 pm run 1 /2 mile to boats then a 14 mile paddle down
the Colorado River in one hour all the teams are totally spread out for
miles
- 3:30 pm carry boats then short hike to transition area to get ready for biking
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30 minutes in transition changing gear and eating
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4 pm start biking – this section was long sandy bottom washes with
crazy 4 wheel drive rock steps and had a 1000 foot high bike portage that
we did at 11pm with headlamps. This was also where I found out my bike lite
burned out and I would be doing the entire race with a puny handlebar lite.
Imagine holding a flashlight out your car window driving on the autobahn.
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2 am arrive at transition area
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30 minute transition to boating
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2:30 am start boating with headlamps down The Colorado – a very
surreal environment. At one point during this stretch El an I who were in
one boat together must have dozed off and when we woke we started paddling
upstream. Even when we passed another team going the other way and our team
mates were way down river calling to us we were convinced they were all wrong
and we were going the right way. This made for a good story for the rest
of the race.
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7:30 am get to boat take out – everyone is freezing and just wants to get in dry clothes
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20 minute transition to get ready for a 6 mile slightly up hill
razor scooter section , sorry I don`t have any pictures of 4 adults scootering
but I am sure it looks perfectly normal to the passing cars – Carl realizes
he forgot his helmet for this section so he sneaks ahead unnoticed and meets
us at the road
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7:50 – 10 am scootering
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20 minute transition to trekking – orienteering section
- Day 2
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10:20 am – 6pm one mile in to a via ferrata ( ascending a steep
rock section on a fixed rope ) then we spend all day out in the canyons looking
for one checkpoint that we never find . We are exhausted and dehydrated and
have to get back in time to make it to the 250 foot rappel before we miss
the cut off time. We do make it and I am so I can`t even thread the rope
through my rappel device. This section took its toll on a number of teams
we were to find out later.
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1 hour 30 minute transition time to start biking again – we all need some
recovery time after this section to refuel and cool down. This is also the
point where we decided to skip one of the two bike rides we are supposed
to do next and go on to a shortened course. Most teams chose this route in
the name of making it to the finish line.
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7:30pm start biking to the Lasal Mountains – we bike for 3 hours
then take our first sleep of 1 hour – we just go to sleep on a rocky slope
on the side of the road
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6:15 am arrive at next transition area and sleep for one more hour
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20 minute transition to go trekking
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7:05 am start trekking – we are out of the canyon and in the mountains
now, it’s a beautiful morning and all the trees are turning, the scenery
is spectacular. It would be so perfect if we didn`t all have this nasty chafing
thing going on. 3 hours out and it starts raining , 4 hours out and it is
hailing now too. The next check point is 1 hour and 30 minutes away. We decide
to take the penalty and not get the last 2 check points on this section and
hike back to the transition area.
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4 pm back at transition area , the sun is out.
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30 minute transition to the next bike section
- Day 3
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4:30 pm start our final bike ride. This section starts with a 2
mile downhill followed by an 8 mile uphill then its back into the dirt just
in time for dark. By now I have figured out how to ride on the edge of my
teammates lights to see , but that means riding alongside somebody over rocky,
ledgy, sandy terrain which is very freaky for both riders, and that’s no
mentioning the state of sleep deprivation that we are all in. Imagine that
autobahn thing but now you have one eye closed and someone is driving right
in your blind spot. Somehow it works out and we make some good high speed
miles with no casualties.
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3 am we roll into the last transition area – the next section is boating
again and there are some rapids so nobody can put in the river until 7:30
am that means sleep. The night turns cold and I gave my sleeping bag to El
because she gets really cold, so I spend the night awake and shivering in
my bivy bag.
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7:30 pm put in the river , the sun comes over the canyon walls and we have an uneventful paddle to the finish.
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11 am cross the finish line. Wet , dirty, smelly, exhausted and happy.
This time line has many many stories in it that would have made this into
a novel I don`t have time to write now, but I hope its an entertaining insite
into what an adventure race actually is.
We actually ended up first of the teams that did the course we did. Only one pro team actually finished the entire course.
AdventureXstream Expedition Adventure Race
Moab, UT
September 25-28, 2008
http://www.gravityplay.com/axs
Team Santa Fe Bear Pair: Kim and Jan Bear DNF
By Kim Bear
This was the last race of the AdventureXstream series for 2008. Jan and I were holding
on to first place in the series by a good margin but knew this race would help us to win
the series outright. Moab is usually very nice this time of year with warm days and cool
nights. We have had a few years with bad weather so we were expecting anything. The
race began at noon on Thursday. It was very warm. We began with a 16 mile paddle to
the takeout at the Moab Boat ramp. We jogged across the Colorado River over a new
pedestrian bridge to get to our bikes. The next section took us on our bikes to Kane
Creek, over to a short portage then to Hurray pass and finally up Jackson's ladder to
Amasa Back. We came back down in the dark to Kane Creek road and rode back to the
Moab Boat ramp. We then paddled another 16 miles past the potash plant to the potash
boat ramp. Jan was complaining about feeling hot and having a hard time cooling down
his core temperature. He was sweating copious amounts. We then rollerbladed 6 miles
back to Gold Bar boat ramp. It was about 4 in the morning, so we opted to get on our
bikes and get the checkpoints on Poison Spider Mesa. The sun came up and it was
another very hot day. Jan was profusely sweating and again complained about difficulty
bringing down his core temperature. We stopped people on the mesa for cold water, but
that still did not help him. We completed the bike to Gemini Bridge and then back down
Long Canyon to next CP at Gold Bar boat ramp. After hiking to the rappel, it just did not
seem to be fun as Jan felt so poorly. I convinced to stay at the CP where we slept for a
couple of hours. When we woke, he was still feeling poorly so I convinced him to pull out.
We were going to win the series as we were the only co-ed couple and it just did not
seem worth the price. Next year we will figure out how to work through "overheating"
issues. The race was well run and organized. The volunteers could not have been nicer
to us. We were sad to leave, but glad for our decision. It still took a couple of days to
recover making me feel that the right decision had been made.
Thank you to Team Santa Fe Sponsors: Litespeed, BTI, Bike & Sport, ThorLo, GoLite,
Gaerne, Camelbak, Montrail, Leki, Niterider, Dermatone, CW-X, Princeton Tec, SofSole,
Shain, Polar, Hydropel, Outdoor Research, Suunto, Polar HRM, Maxxis, E-Caps, Wingnut
Gear, Potable Aqua and Bolle.
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