|
|
|
|
"Looking back, I couldn't tell you when that little one inch square piece of duct tape attached itself to my front mountain bike tire. I remember noticing it on the 2500-foot climb out of Ventura to the top of Sulfur Mountain. Round and round it went, ticking off the minutes and adding degrees on the thermometer. It wasn't until the second 3000-foot climb and the 100 plus heat that I started to wonder if the little piece of duct tape was helping to drive me crazy or keeping my mind sane." |
|
|
|
|
Occasionally I would think back on the beautiful start of the race in the Ventura Harbor. The cool ocean water, the sun rising behind, and the mild temperature. Ron, Roy, Dina, and I made short work of the twelve-mile paddle on smooth water to TA #1 where we would begin the mountain bike BBQ ride.
As we crawled up that second mountain, little did we know we were about to have a panic attack. We had been informed of a natural spring that would provide drinking water midway through the first bike leg. As we approached the location, we began to consume our remaining water to make room for the fresh, cool water that lie ahead. I began to look for palm trees, or green foliage, or maybe even just a tree (trees were very rare here). Then I saw it, the spring. It was about a six inch round wet spot in the road. We would be lucky to squeeze a tablespoon out of the mud. Since we were in the lead, and crying wouldn't help, we decided to press on. Somewhere in the excitement I had lost my freeloading piece of duct tape.
Dina charged ahead and set a great pace up that mountain. Ron, Roy, and I assisted each other in an attempt to keep up. Soon we found a scrub that produced some shade. We had been looking for a spot to give our bodies a break from the beating sun and heat. (Remember this, even if the map says Los Padres National Forrest, that doesn't mean that there are any trees.) So we sat beneath this shrub, thinking about how good water would be. Within a few minutes, a sheriff on a quad-motorcycle came driving along with a couple cases of water. We told him the story about the dried spring, and the troubles that lie ahead for the other teams heading up the mountain. Soon he was on the radio, arranging for bottled water to be at the top. We imbibed in his extra water and began to contemplate leaving our shady spot and continue racing.
Here came Team Epinephrine, charging up the hill, one right after the other. But rather than pass us (shame us), they headed straight for our shade. So we all squeezed into this little spot of shade. Adam Goodvibes, (a very honest, funny, good guy) reassured us that it was truly hot out there, and that was about as far as he wanted to go for a while. We knew that that feeling wouldn't last long, so we pulled ourselves from the shade and headed on up to the ridge. Epinephrine caught us at the next checkpoint and then we started doing the chasing.
For the most part, the navigation was pretty simple in this race. One CP was not were it should have been (no team got it), and I spent more than 45 minutes proving it to myself. If I had a little more confidence, I would have spent only 5 minutes looking and then carried on.
The run/trek section was a nice climb back up to ridge we had just came down from on our bikes. It led us to a "bush-whacking" section that ended at the top of a dry waterfall. After a quick 300-foot rappel, a short run put us back on our bikes for the last time.
We still trailed the leaders, and knew that Epinephrine would be hard to catch on the bikes. After a two-mile road that climbed 2000 feet we were on the final descent. The single track leading back to Ojai was scary. It would be challenging in the daylight when we were riding fresh. But it was now 3 a.m. and we were tired. So we made our way down, slowly, and were really hoping to hold off the team from behind. We were all happy to see pavement. On the asphalt it was just a few miles on a gentle downhill slope to the finish line.
Some notes about this race. It never got cool. I remember the night temperatures were still hot. It was however a huge relief from 105 degrees. Remember that even if the map shows natural springs; don't believe it (especially if it's in the summer). Oil platforms can be dressed up to look like something else, like a small island with palm trees. Pringles may not be the wonder food your mind tells you it is.
Dan Rathbones
|
|
|
