Trioba 24 hour Race Wenatchee, WA

Some time after 1 am and before sunrise while bonking, I walked behind my teammate Chad. Susan and Don, my other teammates were up a little farther up some trail we had found. We? I should say Don found. We were heading east, but for some reason I thought we were going north, even though that would make no sense because five minutes earlier we were heading south. The elusive CP11 lay somewhere ahead of us. Eighteen hours earlier we had started off on our journey.

We had finished Mr. Toads Wild Ride aka the kayak section mid-pack. Then we met our support crew at TA 1. Many thanks to Jim and Carol for all their help. The transition went smoothly and like always Don, with all his experience, was ready long before the rest of us.

The first bike ride started with a little city travel and then a slight uphill. The uphill then continued and gained a few degrees. Then it gained few more degrees and continued some more. By now I was chugging along a slightly undesirable pace (turtles were keeping up with me). Lucky for my team and I, Chad is super bike tower guy. After hooking on to the tow, we started to blow by other riders and teams. We got more than our fair share of stink eye from people as we went by.

Some more hills later, both up and down, but the majority seaming to be up, we ended up at TA2.

We started the hiking leg off doing fine, but somewhere along the way we lost some time and a few more teams passed us while others pulled farther ahead of us. Don and myself are not what would be called running types. Plus we took a less than perfect route to CP4. We were never lost, however, the trail we were on did seem to end abruptly about a mile from where we wanted to be. It turned out we were about 300 vertical feet below the much wider and well-used trail we should have been on.

After TA3 it was back onto the bikes. What a surprise we started out with a nice long climb. Near the top we hit some single track. With my legs twitching and cramping I thought to myself, (I should have gotten these clip-less peddles more than two weeks before the race. Then maybe I could have ridden with them more than three times. Yea whatever. Quite being a wimp and peddle. Ouch. Cramp! Quick fall up hill.)

After CP7 it was down Mission Ridge. As the sun moved low into the sky, the cross winds picked up. For once in a race the downhill section was not too fast or short. In fact we were hoping the trail would end sooner because the sun was setting and we did not want to be on the ridge trail at night. Lucky for us we only needed our lights for the last five minutes. It was through CP8 and off to CP9.

At CP9 we were told it was taking teams four to five hours to finish this trekking section. However, that was the lead teams and they had completed the section in the light. At a little after 10 pm we set off on our trek. CP10 was fairly easy to find. Go north and head up the hill until you reach the peak. After CP10 there was a major decision to make. Take the longer looking rout on the map that followed a ridge line in a kind of half circle or take the shorter looking direct line approach. Don suggested staying high, which sounded like a good idea, and since he has by far the most experience that is what we did.

Over three and a half hours later we were west of and higher then CP11. To get to that point we had traveled around the ridge. Several times thinking we must have crossed that last saddle by now. We had run into team �Which Way Out� and exchanged ideas about where we thought we were. After a team meeting it was decided that we head due west. There was a road over there somewhere and we would hit it eventually.

Once we hit the road, which was at the top of a very steep hill, we turned south. Then things go fuzzy for a few. We were bushwhacking. Then we were on some animal trail. The trail got bigger and all of a sudden foot prints. We started going down a finger. Then we saw a fading glow stick and the ground. Chad put it into his pack and down the hill we continued. Finally CP11. Then it was down to the river. Mountain goat, Don, made the bushwhacking descent look like the race had started at CP11, while the rest of us slipped and cursed our way down some ridgeline.

The hard part was over. Well except for the decent down to the road and then one more 1000-foot assent too CP12, but that was mostly on fire roads and a marked trail. The sun started to rise at 3:30 am and was up by 4 when we reached the repel section at CP12. What to say about the repel except it was windy and cold on top of the cliff. We woke up the volunteers and started getting dressed. The windy picked up some more as Don went over the edge. Chad and Susan followed. Did I mention that it was windy and cold on the exposed cliff? With my hand sticking and mouth chattering I tied on and went over. Many thanks to the volunteers who spent the night at CP12. The tents did not look all that warm.

The roads and trails winded around though CP13 and back towards CP14. It was onto our bikes for a simple down hill and then through town. That is when I realized that hiking in bike shorts for 8 hours causes some uncomfortable side effects. The peddling was slow and painful as the sun climbed into the sky. As my team sped ahead of me I enjoyed the view of overlooking Cashmere and the river.

After seeing the final standings I was quite happy with our time. The race was a 24-hour race and we finished in 26 hours. That means we got all our moneys worth plus two hours. Why would you want to do a 24-hour race if you don�t get the enjoyment of trekking and bushwhacking in the dark? But most importantly we started as friends and finished the same way. Plus team WAR owes us big time and they know why.

Race stats:
Bike: 52+ miles 8,700+ feet elevation gain
Trekking: 20+ miles (I�m being nice) 7,000+ feet elevation gain
Mr. Toad�s wild ride: 6+ miles, two swampings of water.
Repel: 50 feet (maybe, it was damn cold and windy)