Disbelief,


That is the only way I can describe the feeling of a car driving straight toward you without seeing you and knowing it will soon hit you and there is nothing you can do about it.




Last night Cheryl didn't have school, the dinner was made for all 5 kids and the night was mine. It was dark and starting to rain and I was himming and hawing between riding my bike or just driving to the Y. I committed to riding. There was Yoga at 6:45, spin at 7:45 and then a 30 minute core class. After that I could just get back on my bike and ride on. This was going to be great. I could get 4 focused hours in.


Back in the work world I had guys that worked for me at the Chicago Mercatile Exchange "The Merc" and the Chicago Board Of Trade. These guys worked in the pits and were hooked up to me electronically in NY. Occasionally dealers in the pits would put on bad trades. These were positions that would go really wrong. Sometimes they would just keep loading it on getting deeper and deeper. In fact, it was my job to blow them up, sometimes. I had a big firm behind me and after all, it was a zero sum game and they were trying to do the same to me. Occassionally, these guys would be physically removed from the pit when their capital was expended. Sometimes they would have a heart attack and they would be removed. In either case the guy was "Carried Out" as in "that guy just got carried out". It would be said with a laugh and snicker but deep down we all hoped that our number wouldn't be coming up anytime soon.

Last night I got carried out.


Riding on the road scares me. I prepared well. I went for the best light. I dug out the team Light and Motion HID. This is one intense som bitch. I put the flashy red on the back, I put on the reflective vest, heck, I even had reflectors on my wheels. It wasn't enough. I was riding well and felt safe as I headed up Wollochet towards Hwy 16. After I crossed the overpass, there is an intersection. Oncoming traffic has a long approach left turn lane. One car turned left way in front of and across me and a second was approaching to turn. As always when I am uncomfortable with a car, I pointed the HID straight at her. I illuminated her interior. I wiggled my head back and forth in a no motion to signal her. She appeared as though she was slowing and maybe stopping. But she didn't so I spotlighted her again. As she entered the intersection it was clear that she wasn't stopping and I was already in the intersection. I gave it one hard push to try and avoid her. She never hit her brakes.

She clipped my rear triangle and immediately threw me airborne. I can remember watching her bumber hit my bike and then I was down in the middle of the road pounding the pavement. I was pissed. I got my ass up and out in this crappy night, had a good workout planned and now I'm laying in the middle of the road in the rain. at least I had my Alpha SL keeping me dry. After sufficient pounding to get my anger out I got up and knew that nothing was seriously dammaged. A guy came up to me as I was dragging my bike out of the road. he kept telling me to sit down and I kept trying get up and assess the situation. You know check the bike check me. I told him I would just ride home and he told me to sit down and shut up. People were standing around on their phones horns were honking and I just wanted a little yoga. I took 600mg of ibuprophin (reflext action) and asked him for some dirt.


In my mind this guy was in the car that hit me. yah, of course if you hit somebody you rush to there aid right? So I was nice to the guy but eventually ask "did you hit me?" Of course not, it was a woman so were is she. I see all sorts of people but not her. She is gone, drove off. I felt sorry for her. More action now cops/firemen. now I really just want to ride home into the dark. But of course my bike doesn't work anymore.

Free ride in the medic car complete with tests and a policeman to take the report. Cheryl is now on her way and the policeman tells me that the woman came back but I don't see her. My blood pressure is through the roof 167/110 as I am still pumped but in fact I was so out of it that I wouldn't realize until today.


But I am alive. Kevin tells me he missed me and doesn't want me to have an owey. This morning he broke out his tools to fix my bike. My left side is knackered and I have been shaking all day. Notice the piece of car stuck to my bike



Post Script:
I went to get the police report. The lady claims she had a green arrow. I called her to get her insurance. She hasn't called me. What a let down. I sense another long drawn out saga.


Post Post Script:
I went to my kids conferences tonight. We I walked in the band teacher comes up to me and asks how my hip was doing. I said WHAT...did Sarah tell you about it. He says "I was the guy ho pulled you out of the road" He was the guy that kept telling me to sit down. I remember everything so vividly except his face. I know this guy really well but i was just out of it. He told me that he was behind me and saw the whole thing. He couldn't believe the lady hit me and how much air time I got. He also confirmed that I had the green light. What a roller coaster 24.

Lord Cromwell

usara6[1]
Originally uploaded by gtrogers.

The team at nationals receiving our third place plaques


usara5[1]
Originally uploaded by gtrogers.

Glenn only drinks the best. Bulliet bourbon cut with nuun lemon-lime.


usara7[1]
Originally uploaded by gtrogers.

The results of drowning one sorrows in a third place finish. Notice the gloves. They were our prize.

United States Adventure Racing Championships

This past Weekend Mari Chandler, Matt Hayes and I went out to Missiouri to bring back the trophy to the pacific northwest. We gave it our best and came close to pulling it off. but in the last few hours of the race a key navigation error cost us first and second place.

I wasn't sure what to expect. I have raced large races before like PQ but these usually have the best in the world because of the huge prize money. This race had a large field of 80 three person coed teams. Some I knew were good most were unknown to me. since this race is so late in the year, it is hard to be in peak condition for it. At the end of
September, I was completely burned out. October would not be a month to inprove my fitness, I would need to just not lose it. This together with some weight gain had me worried that if a top team showed up in there best condition, I might have a real dissapointing race.

I surrounded myself with a great team. Matt is unbelievable on the bike and Mari is a driver on foot. And these are just their strengths. Their weaknesses are better than most other teams strengths. I have raced with both of these mates before but this was the first time that we all raced together. knowing both of them, I knew that there wouldn't be any problems (either physical of personnal).

We flew into clear cold blue sky Missiouri on Thursday. The race was organized by Jason Eberhart and his Wife Laura of Bonk Hard Racing. They put on the Might Mo last year. This guy puts on a great race. Well organized, great volunteers and a good course design with no control placement problems. I wanted to do this race because i knew it would be well done and we would be able to go up against some of the best amatuers in the nation. It is easy to think you are real good when you just stay in the PNW and never face off against new teams. So we were off to terst our metal.

Thursday we checked in, assembled our bikes, went to the prerace meeting, and had a great dinner. Maps were to be handed out at 5 AM so there was really nothing to but socialize. I tried to talk to as many teams as possible. I wanted to catch up with some old friends from ATP, EMS and other teams. I also wanted to meet new teams who i am sure have heard of DART before and now could see who we are. I tried to do what Cyril would want and made the team wear their jersies and be nice.

So after a long night of sleep we got our maps. A short paddle on the lake, short o course, bike, run, paddle, run, bike. 18 hours, 25 controls (plus 10 O controls) and no bins for gear. Everything you needed you carried with you from the start. I was tempted to go light but I remembered that RVG packed well at the 4th DAR race so we all used the ISO and didn't skimp. It was cold out there and it was going to be cold and wet the next night. I was glad I brought my Arc Teryx set up. I wore my full kit and in my drybag I put an extra pare of gloves, my Tau, and Alpha SL. The SL may have been overkill because no rain was expected but I knew the when we got out of the boat, we would all be cold and wet and this is a great all around jacket that serves me well as a heavy windbreaker.

The start had us running. Matt and I to the boat and mari up a road to get the o course control card. We got to the bopat and I raced around and just yanked one into the water. I think that I shocked everyone with my unglamourous yank into the water. And we were off. Matt and I have been OC paddling for the past month to get ready for this race so once on the water we just rocked the place. It was dam cold and foggy. By the time we got to the end on the lake to meet Mari, the boat and paddles were covered in ice and we couldn't move our fingers. We attempted to put Mari's seat into the boat but our hands were like clubs. These boat were wider than the ones we had been training one and it requires some adjustment that we just couldn't do. Finally we got it loosened up. Thank goodness I had reiforced the seat with two quick relase buckles otherwise we would have been dead last. RVG you are going to really like the new setup.

Once we were all in the boat, we were in the middle of the pack and only a short paddle to the next CP. This means that if we arrive to the cp in the middle of the pack, we would be waiting in line to punch the control. We all knew this and we dug deep and hammered. Matt is a real easy going quiet type. Since he was in the back, be was supposed to call the switches with a loud "HUT". This is ment to keep us together but I like the intimidation factor of closing and dropping other teams to the steady cadence of HUT. But because to boat was shorter and wider that we trained in, it was even more difficult to keep straight so matt was back and forth and Mari and I were opposite and in sinc. so not hearing the cadence i took over to keep Mari and I together while Matt paddle on whichever side was needed to keep it straight. And the paddling practise paid off. We were passing team like they weren't moving. We finshed this three mile paddle in about 5th place and we were off on the O course.

We could get the controls in any order and we went off in a clockwise direction. in hindsite, counterclockwise would have saved us about 500 meters running. I hit all the controls but one. I went up the wrong rentrant and it cost us about 10 minutes. We say Mike Binton Taking pics along the way. It was great to see him. we finished about 7th with golite and we were off on our bikes with a fast TA in 5th.

The biking was great fun. There were great trails in open hardwood forests. Lots of small ridges and hollows. Lots of small but continuous ups and downs. We reelled in our first teams at the second control. We had caught EMS and Springfield bikes and proceeded to drop them. now we are talking. This is where we should be. there was some funky control were they sent us to another control. When we got close MOAT caught us. They were in the lead but made a bad turn. right on now were are in 1st time to put on some distance. NOT...we made our first couple of nav errors that cost us no more the 15 minutes and were were quickly put be in 8th. OUCH. Hammer time. All great trails fully ridable and nice technical swoops and we just worked it. We came into the next TA tied for second with EMS, ATP, etc and left on foot.

This spot and trail section was part of the mighty mo race and I recognized it. We needed to run down a road and get on a the Ozark Trail. As we were going down, I was getting my maps and crap together so the other three or four team were 100 meter ahead of us and they blew right past the trail. I quietly said to my mates, we are taking a hard left up here and hitting it hard and quiet. Back in second and feeling great. We nail the next three controls and arrive at the boats to find ourselves in first place.

We were warned that there was going to be alot of hike a boat because if the low water. We had 20 minutes on MOAT when we started but our lack of coordination allowed them to caught us after 2 hours on the water. As they went by we watched as they were able to get over logs and shallows were we had to get out of our boats. Finally the water was deeper with more paddling and less dragging and we would catch up while paddling and drop behind over obsticles. It was very frustrating but we finished together. It was just getting dark and it was cold. I broke out the Arc Teryx and was thankful I brought it along.

We had about 10 miles and 6 controls of this trek back to our bikes. We nailed the first 3 but I chose a longer route on road and MOAT went straight up a creek bed to the fourth. In Washington, travelling in a creek is never advised but in open hardwood forest, it is fine and we were now back in second but strong. It was shaping up to be a mountain bike race until we got to the last control. EMS had also caught up and now the three of us were looking for this last trek control. However, I made a significant nav errorand our race was over. We were no an hour behind and there was only a two hour mountain bike back to the finsh. The nav wasn't real difficult on this section so there wasn't any chance of closing the gap.

The team was clearly deflated. We had the ablitiy to win this race. We were just as strong but I couldn't close the deal. After the race, Robin Benecassa said she was hiding at the control in the dark as we passed within 50 meters. I will bring the trophy home to the PNW next year.

I want to thank our many sponsors that made this all possible.

Hammer nutrition fed me with perpetum and tropical gel and kept me strong with race caps, mito caps, and anti fatigue caps.

My Gregory ISO pack fit great and held all my gear

My Montrail Hardrocks were a perfect fit for this race's conditions

Arc Teryx kept my warm and dry throughout

Michelin Dual compound AT tires provided unmatched grip and no flats while other teams had multiple flats

What a beautiful day. I feel like going out and riding a hundred miles. I am getting primed for this race. I wish it could have been a bit earlier in the year so I wasn't so much past my peak but such is life. There will be some good teams there from around the US. It will be interesting to match up against them and see where the chips fall after we kick some serious butt. After this race it will be nothing but fun trainings in the PNW and planning for next year..

In the past it took me forever to get packed for a 24hr race. Now it seems easy compared to other races. The hard part is geeting the bike there. I am looking at shipping the wheels and putting the bike in a cardboard box so I don't get penalized by the airlines. We will see how it works out.

My body is knackered this morning. I had a great weekend up on Whidbey Island this weekend. ran, biked, and paddled all around Fort Ebey and Casey. Have a look at http://www.attackpoint.org/weeklyactivity.jsp/user_2463p:// for the details.

Mentally I am getting more focus and excited every day. Matt Hayes, Mari Chandler and I will be represent DART-nuun at nationals in two weeks. After my last race in September I had a serious case of over racing/training burnout. I just needed to hide in my house for a while. Doing my taxes didn't help any. I would use any excuse I could find to avoid a workout. Now I am back on track metally and look forward to driving hard. I can remember cycles like this when I worked. There were times when I just couldn't get myself out of bed and other times when I couldn't wait to get into work and make it happen.

Now I find myself metally planning my base training for the next 4 months. Thinking about all the cool trainings we are going to be doing. After nationals, I will take some time off. I am planning on going camping with Mathew and maybe Sarah up in the Olympics. Fishing, target practise, hiking, biking, and just takin it easy.

What does it take to improve my bike? Aaron, RVG, Matt, these guys are great bikers and can easily drop me - always. I need to improve my abilities this winter. I hate pushing at 85% while they are at 65% talking and leaving my in there tracks whilst climbing. So this is the plan:

TOP every wednesday night for technical training
Joining Old Town road team
Begin teaching spin class
weight training focused on legs

I think that training by myself doesn't provide maximum output as compared to training with better bikers who push me, hence the OT road team. Every sunday morning

Teaching spin class will require a committment that i show up at least once a week and put out at threshold. This will help for that "I like to go out hard" as RVG describes it.

Now to clean gear

IMG_6095
Originally uploaded by ledusledus.

This weekend was the rainfest. I have been shut up doing taxes for the past week and I need to get out. Nationals are coming up and I need to step it up and get ready to rock. Saturday Aaron, matt and I went out to the Olympic Peninsula to collect flags from the 24hr race. I thought that it would take us about 4 hours. 7 hours later we were soaked and back at the car have covered about 40 miles and 7,800 vertical feet.

Sunday Matt and I teamed up for the first annual Peterisoba. It was a Latvian style bike orienteering event that included plenty of bikewhack and hike a bike. We were given a set of 92 directions. These were distances and a picture of an road intersection and the direction to go. There wasn't much elevation gain so it was a nice recovery day after Saturday. However, because of out lack of Latvian orienteering skills, we lost the race and spent another 6 hours in the pouring rain. The race was suppose to be only 3 hours. kundos to Manny's for their solid performance.

I'm back!! Where did the summer go? It has been a blur. I spent two weeks with boy scouts, two weeks traveling and racing in Montana, been to Tahoe twice, Oakridge once, and spent countless hours in the Olympic Peninsula designing an AR course.

Kids are back in school and my life is settling back in. Time to do my 2006 taxes

Roger getting a rub down
Originally uploaded by gtrogers.

Right before the rogaine last weekend I caught roger and Yumay lathering up Rog for the big race. I didn't ask what was being applied but the whole situation looks like something that should have taken place in the bedroom.

Also notice the fancy short shorts. I wore a pair like that once and Cyril let me have it. the whole camp gave Roger unending grief about them. But alas Roger did make it second and mike and I had to stop early. Mike's stomach completely shut down on him. It was quite scary. Whenever he ate or drank he would throw up violently.

Next time I am going to get Mike on a Hammer nutrition diet for the race.

Lord Cromwell

Spider's eyes glow at night when you shine your headlamp on them.

I have been in a bit of a funk lately. Its amazing that how most of my friends have the same types of funks. I sometimes wonder how they deal with them and get out. It seems for all of us we are at are most upbeat when we have a goal in mind and are training hard for it. Once we get injured, distracted or otherwise have the wheels come off it is hard to find the on ramp that gets us back on our merry way.

My family helps me alot. I like the noise and chaos that happens when there are 5 children and two adults in a house. David the baby just lays around and watches the show. Kevin is naked and running around in circles yelling naked boy having just got out of the tub. Mathew is chasing him with some invented gun. Laura is playing her clarinet at 100 decibles. And Sarah is just in a foul mood yelling at anybody who passes by.

It has really been a tough month. Not my worst mind you. I had to remind myself at one point that it was actually nothing compared to the first few months of 2001. first, after all the work for baja, it was over the first day. Then as you know our car broke down in the middle of our family trip that was suppose to be relaxing. What do you do when your car is broken down on the side of the road in the middle of nowwhere with you family in it, twice? And then Sea Otter; I am smart enough to know that in a short race my ass gets toasted by most everybody else on the team. I am older and they are just bad ass racers. I specifically didn't elect for any sprints with the team. Then Matt blew up his knee.

Matt would have been great in Sea Otter. I think that it was a race that was tailored to his abilities. When the teams got set, I made the mistake of racing a short race and doing the nav. It is hard enough to keep up with Seegs and Aaron but to nav as well is just more heeped on the pile. I should have insisted that Aaron nav since he is such a strong biker. So in the struggle of the race they see me at my worst and I feel like I let them down a bit. My performance was less than optimal.

Finally, I got to spend another week away from the family and that's propably the worst. When I am going away to a long race and I am in the middle of it, I always tell myself to go fast and get it done so that I can get home or at least talk to my family sooner. That's my motivation.

So I took last week off from everything. Spent time doing what needed to be done. Maybe it's God's way of letting me know what's most important. In the end, it doesn't matter how many hours I train or how well I do at a given race, I have my family and that's where my real life lies. I just wish I wouldn't eat so much when I'm in the funk.

Now, I'm hungry to get back in it and I will be doing more speed workouts and short races so that I can suffer well when RVG is riding me like an old mule.

Lord Cromwell

So I went to the dealer. We are nowhere closer to fixing the problem. After two weeks and who knows how much money. Know they know we have a problem and don't want to talk to me until the manager gets back on Monday. I am afraid that it will get ugly. I am going to try to negotiate a fair price to get my car back. If they play hardball, my sister has found some CA consumer laws that should be on my side. I will tow it home and take it to a reputable dealer.

I called my wife and told her I was riding home. She would have nothing to do with it. She said I could start riding but she was coming down to pick me up. she said I was away long enough and to prove her point she put Kevin on phone and told me to explain to him why I was going to be another two days.

I rode for 8.5 hours and about 112 miles on my mtn bike. she ran into me at about 12:30 AM halfway between Cresent City and Grants Pass.

It was still a great ride but I'm happy to be home.

Lord Cromwell

I am being held hostage in Eureka.

I try not to communicate with the toyota dealer because last week they told me if I didn't like the service I could take my car elseware. So Weds afternoon, I just drove by to see if my car was still in the back lot or actually in the shop being worked on. To my surprise it was in the shop. Hence, they got the heads back are were putting the car back together. Ya baby that means that the car should be done by Thursday afternoon. Only one more night here.

So Thursday I plan a bike/run. On the run I get real excited that the car will be fixed and I can drive home. I push real hard and had a great run in the big redwoods. When I got back to the ranger station I call the dealer. Yes the car is back together but there is a funny sound that the mechanic is trying to sort out. Funny sound WTF. They have had the car for over 2 weeks and after that time and who knows how much money all they can say is that there is still a funny sound???

Needless to say I was crushed. I got another hotel and talked to cheryl 3 or 4 times as I tried to sort this out. I want to got home not stay another week. I was very depressed. I actually went out and bot some ice cream. We decided that Cheryl would drive down to pick me up if the car isn't ready today.

I found a pool this morning and went swimming. When I am not pushing hard, the pool is the best place to think. And I had an epiphiny. I have everything I need, I will just ride my bike home. It will take a couple of days but what the heck. It will be an epic bike training. The rental car needs to go back at 2 so I will go to the dealer at noon and make a decission.

Here are my limiting factors.
I only have the Gregory Reactor So I can't carry too much
I don't have adequate clothes because the RD at the last race has the bin
I only have 1/2 tube of nuun
I only have enough perpetum for 6 hrs so I will need to get food along the way
I only have enough light and motion batteries for 8 hrs so I will need to conserve

I do have a tube of hydropel. I figure it should take me 40-50 hours. I am not sure if I can do it but at least it will save Cheryl some driving time. If I do ride it out at least my life will be back in my own hands. If you read this and live along I-5 in Oregon look out for me or give me a call. I could use more nuun and perpetum.

Wish me luck. I am going to now go clean the rental car and pack my gear. I am tired of this crap.

Lord Cromwell

Greetings from rainy Eureke. This place is a real piece of work. The bum to normal person ratio must be the highest of anyplace in the world. Or at least it would appear that way. There are also four high end bike stores in this tiny town. Is being a bum in NorCAL just a way of life? Why do they all sleep in the village green and have signs asking for gas money?

My car may not be ready until Friday so I have found some riding and if the rain lets up from the downpour, I should be able to get out. Maybe tomorrow i can find somebody to work on surf entry exits with me.

Later
Lord Cromwell

I am here in sonoma waiting for my car. My saga didn't finish with a ride home from baja. On the way home the family truckster broke down and is sitting in Eureka CA. We rented a car which I still have. Since Matt injured his knee, I filled in at Sea Otter. Now I will work my way north running and riding as I go. Hopefully my car will be runing in the next couple of days.

Sea otter was a tough race for me. I tend to stay away from shorter 6hr or less races because my old body can't keep up. I was racing with Seegs and Aaron. We had a great paddle. We were almost the last on the water because we took more time to plot but we came off second.

The bike leg was real long. I didn't eat or drink properly and cramped up badly after 2 hours. Seegs and Aaron could have moved much faster but for me. The good news was we were racing with Nike for an hour or two. The RD misset some controls and the four top team were in a cluster. unfortunately it came down to luck as to whom would find the wayword controls. While DART-nuun was in the lead early on, Nike got lucky and found 14 to take the lead. Our team finished 2nd, DART-nuun 3rd, and wingnut 4th.

Races shouldn't be decided by luck. If I get back Home

Lord Cromwell

I have resolved to write down the first day of our Baja Travesia Race. It might be a bit long and there are no pictures because our camera is at the bottom of the pacific. I am writing it down because it is helpful for me to understand what went right and what went wrong. Hopefully, I have learned from this experience and those who read this might learn as well. I encourage any additions, corrections, or clarifications. Also, the headings may become cumbersome and a drawing could help.

PreRace
I take paddling seriously. I live in the PNW and due to the cold water; any paddling in open water can turn deadly. I am not exactly sure why I let my guard down for this race. Maybe it was the warm temperatures or the fact that the water was glass last year. In any event, no serious piece of emergency gear was required and I didn’t bother to bring flares of a waterproof VHF radio like I would around home in more favorable conditions. The basic required emergency gear was a whistle and “family style walkie talkie”.

After the surf entry/exit testing the day before the race we noticed that our rear hatch had some water in it. It was a red flag that was not noticed at the time. For big water in rough conditions, it is recommended that inflatable bladders be placed in hatches and compartments. This ensures that water taken on is limited and the boat will always remain buoyant with the cockpit cowling above the waterline. Unfortunately we did not take action to remedy this situation.

These gear issues would not prove to be catastrophic but in the end they would effectively limit out choices at critical points.

Race Start

We were configured with RVG in the back, JVG in the middle and myself upfront. We chose this setup because RVG is the heaviest and should be in the back. He steers and keeps a visual of everything around us and calls out instruction from his vantage. I paddle a great deal and would focus on power and cadence. My focus is the 5 to 10 feet in front of the boat. JVG has great power to weight ratio and while paddling hard, she also focuses on keeping me steady.

The race started with a 1 kilometer paddle out of the harbor in calm water. We were paddling well. We had paddled so much together that this pace was easily sustainable compared to our training paces. By our conversations and feel, I could tell that the team was in a good shape at the pace. We were leading the pack and pulling away.

We were warned the day before that swells were predicted for up to 9 feet. As we rounded the jetty we immediately faced 3-4 foot swells and a wind off of our starboard quarter of about 10-20k. Our first checkpoint, CP, was the southern tip an island about 8 miles out in the ocean at a heading of WSW 247d true. The swell was from the NW 315d and the wind was from the NNW 337d. Also, there was a 2K southerly tidal drift. We opted for a heading of approximately W 270d to compensate for the above factors. This was approximately the northern tip of the island. It also allowed us to take the waves more frontally which is safer and efficient and we would spend some time approaching from the lee side of the island which was calmer. Our heading did ultimately give us a 247d course made good. However, the pack behind us opted for an unadjusted course of 247d. While we were putting distance on the field, we were also taking a more northerly route. If the pack continued their heading, they would need to make constant course corrections to the north while we started more to the north and drifted south toward the CP as we paddled.

I expected the crossing to take no more than 2 hrs, or 4 mph. I took us almost 3 hrs. During that time the swells had grown to 6 feet. At approximately 2hrs, we started pumping. Going through large waves in a 24ft kayak water naturally works through your skirt and into the cockpit. We were constantly blasted by waves as we moved forward. Being in the front, I would take them full on right over the top of me and could occasionally feel the water drain down my wetsuit and out my legs.

We had also noticed the day before that the bulkhead between the first and second cockpit wasn’t sealed at the bottom. This allowed water to pass between JVG and my cockpit. It also meant that JVG could effectively pump both of our compartments. At regular intervals JVG would crack the leeward side of her skirt, slide the pump in and empty our compartments while RVG and I kept it steady into the waves and wind. We attempted to have RVG pump but the boat would become too unstable when he ceased paddling.

I can tell you that waves come in sets. Three to four big ones would come through and then we would have a minute or two of small waves. Without speaking, we could all see the pattern and we knew what needed to be done. When the way was clear, I could feel the boat lunge forward as we all dug in hard.

When we got to the island, we rested near the southern tip in a sheltered cove. We had hoped to go ashore and pump the boat and check the hatches but the shore was covered with seals so we took turns pumping, eating and drinking as we floated in the cove. We knew that it was going to be a long day and eating whenever possible was imperative. We headed S about 200m to the southern tip of the island expecting to find the floating CP. It was nowhere to be seen. We assumed we just beat the race officials out to the island. We took a picture and headed off to the next CP.

Our heading was down the coast SE. As we cleared the southern tip of the island, we entered a confluence where the waves had grown to 9ft from the WNW and the wind, still from the NNW, had grown and was creating 1-2 ft swell across the larger swells. We had about a 3 to 4k open water crossing to a point of land. We were now almost running with the waves. About ¾ across, we dumped the kayak. We quickly sorted out the most efficient way to bail out the boat. First RVG and I would get the rear compartment while JVG worked up front. When the back was empty, the boat had enough buoyancy to keep the cowling above water and we could finish the front. We would do this 4 more times before the day was done.

I always paddle in a neoprene wetsuit. I get ridiculed and hot but a good farmer john and booties are your last defense against hypothermia. RVG had brought his neoprene but opted for tights and JVG had shorts and my paddling jacket. Since I had my wetsuit on, we would get JVG in the boat, followed by RVG, and I would get in last.

Going with the waves is much more unstable that going through them. I learned this from the small swells I encounter at home. In addition, our heading necessitated that we take them at an angle off the rear starboard quarter. If we just went with them, they would ultimately run us into the cliffs. All kayaks are designed to turn into waves. So the effect of these waves if taken at out heading would be to turn us perpendicular to the waves. So like everyone else, we would ford out to sea, and then take the line back toward shore. It was almost like tacking in a sailboat. Unlike everyone else, our boat was more instable because our rear compartment was slowly filling with water from the waves coming over the stern.

We would dump one more time before CP2 but got in and expected to be first only to find out that the course had been shortened, CP1 Eliminated, and we were now over 2 hours behind the leaders. This is something that we went over again and again. One of the race directors admitted that he did not check the conditions before the start of the race. After the start, the other RD went out in a powerboat, saw the conditions and told the “lead teams”, those on a more southerly heading, to just go to CP2. The other DART team told the RD that we were ahead and to the north. I was told that he looked for us but I am not sure how hard he looked. From my perspective, he had an obligation to account for every team and inform them of the change. Unfortunately, he had no water safety director and we didn’t see any of the promised safety boats. He was overwhelmed and undermanned. From his perspective I can only guess that he performed a risk assessment that placed us, a strong lead paddling team, at less risk than the under qualified teams that were already being picked up by boats and returned to the start.

Throughout the day, the swells were building. By the time we had pumped out the boat, ate and pushed off, we would be about 2.5 hrs behind the leaders. They would be finishing in less than an hour and we were just starting out into the teeth of the growing seas. Once again, when we checked our rear hatch, we found it was 1/3 full of water. Another red flag but the urge to catch up and get back in the race precluded common sense.

Soak this up. In the hours that followed, the real mud hit the fan. We happened to be at the right place at the right time and do what need to be done. I will finish the story later.


Lord C

We are all safe and now on the east coast of baja. It was quite an experience. I looked at some of the pictures that Erik posted and they don´t quite show just how big the waves really were. We are all a little dissapointed but happy to be here. Now we have to deal with the aftermath of all the lost gear and boats and the fact that many racers were put in such dangerous conditions without an adequate safety plan. I was very dissappointed with myself for not looking after my own safety. What kind of moron sends people out in 20 foot swells with no flares and a "family style walkie talkie".

On a good note, I got to meet Dean´s wife and son last night. It was nice talk with them about the experience. In the coming days, I will write a complete account of the that day.

Glenn

I am here in Ensenada. It is 60 and very sunny. All the race related details have been posted on RVGs blog and at dartadventureracing.com under the news tab. Erik is updating the info daily. When the race starts tomorrow are we are out, it may be hard to get internet access.

I left Seattle on early Saturday morning in the pouring rain. When we arrived in SD it was sunny and 70. It is really nice travelling with Ryan, Jen, and Erik. Nice and casual, no stress. Whe got Jen's bike, some breakfast and headed on down to Mexico. when we got here we settled in and did gear checks. After that, I went out for a run looking for the church. Got some directions but just ended up running up the highest nearby hill and loking for it. In an old city like this, it it the largest building outside of the tourist area. I run down to it and had a look.

Sunday morning, Cyril, Aaron and Jen arrived. Aaron was supposed to be on our flight but he was late. I went to mass. The Cathedral is unbelievable. One of the most beautiful I have eer seen. It's amazing that you can travel the world around and feel completely foreign but when you go to Mass we are all the same. It was in spanish but I could pretty much understand the whole mass.

During Sunday we had to do skills testing which included some ropes and then kayak. We have our triples down here and and surf entries/exits are tough. We dumped it on our final approach. Today we have meetings maps bd then final packing. The pressure will rise from here.

The is a great lpace for a race. I hear that we will start off with an eight hour padle. What they didn't plan on was the strom that is coming in. Predicted 25-30 knot winds NNW at the start. It could mean a real cluster. In the end it means a slog that will be a lot longer than planned. At least the water is warm. If we are lucky we will be able to use the sail and rock on down the coast. After that, we go into the mountains. I also heard that there is more treking this year which should be better for our team. they plan on having us is the canyons for 24-36 hours.

I need to go, its the captains meeting. I will write more from San Felipe in a few days.

Lord Cromwell

It is pouring down rain outside and cold. I think that I have everything packed for the race and for Cheryl's trip to meet me in San Diego. We fly out tomorrow at 6:00 AM. That means I get to rise at about 3:30.

I will not be updating until April 7th when I return. Unless there is internet access somewhere along the line. Cheryl will meet me on the first and we will spend a week in the hot south.

There may be race updates at
http://www.dartnuunracing.com/
or
http://www.bajatravesia.com/

Keep me in your thoughts. The suffer fest will begin on tuesday and we will hopefully get it over the fastest so that we have the most free time at the end.

Later

Lord Cromwell

boat ready to go

boat ready to go
Originally uploaded by gtrogers.

Here comes the big lifter

Here comes the big lifter
Originally uploaded by gtrogers.