Gold Rush Summer Challenge 2009

Team Dirty Avocados with Brian Schmitz and Kyle Peter won the Gold Rush Summer Challenge in a new course record time of 4:36:27. While Dirty Avocados held the lead from early in the event, the competitive field of 15 teams produced a good race for second place and onwards.

Teams began with an orienteering section of 6 miles on the rocky terrain of Red Hills where 'Dirty Avocadoes ' returned in the lead to ACP1 and the transition to bikes. The 24 mile bike leg took teams to ACP 2 at the river. ‘Dirty Avocaods’ lost a few minutes with a minor navigation error on the bike but their lead was enough to withstand the damage. Bacconaise also lost a few minutes with navigation but their strong cycling got them to the river in 2^nd place just ahead of the‘GoGoGoGoGo’ who were doing well and passing ‘Technu Extreme’, in second place after the orienteering, who lost some of their hard earned progress with a long mechanical delay that cost them around 30 minutes. Firestarters, Ray Kablanow and Debra Cook, was just a further 15 minutes adrift at ACP2. The forecast high temperatures of 104 did not materialize and the teams had only the relatively mild high 90’s to endure.

The transition at ACP2 from bikes to boats sees teams put into the Tuolumne River beside the small village of La Grange. Boats lined up on the old bridge are portaged down beneath the bridge to the put in. The Tuolumne River flows out of the huge Don Pedro Lake on its way to the San Francisco bay. Team Bacconaise were passed for second place by ‘GoGoGoGoGo’ during the 8 miles of river.

Thanks are due to all the volunteer workers who make an event like this possible; in order of appearance:  Mike Ariza, Dale Ghaner, Al Miller, Vivien Kablanow, Kellie Hartley and Connie Arthur

The Gold Rush Team.

Results:

* Missed CP's at 1hr penalty per CP.