Big Chill Race Report by:JDog

“We are going to milk it for all it’s worth,” I kept saying after every mistake or misfortunate we ran into or plunged upon ourselves. We were four hours into the paddle when the pain began to arise from our arms and back on the paddle leg of this race. At this point we were about six hours and forty five minutes into the entire race; a race that would prove to conquer us and drive us back to our wits faster than a horse running back to the barn.

Race starts at 10am sharp with the sound of the female race director bellowing through the megaphone. She warns us to pack enough food to last 15 hours so we know this first leg is going to be a monster. The morning is a crisp cool morning with gusts of wind reaching well over 30mph and producing a bone chilling wind chill factor on any exposed skin. She begins by giving us an envelope with our first set of directions inside. We stand there with our teams of four waiting in anticipation for the horn to blow. The count down begins and race is on. Each team shreds through their envelope to discover the start of the course. In the envelope there are Bastrop City Maps, Tourist Guides, and tourist maps, with one clue on the place we need to go to get our next clue. This type of start is fun in adventure racing because you have to think quick and get there before everyone else. If not there could be a bottle neck at any special test the director might throw at you. All at once like a wild buffalo stampede each team is off in the same direction to make it to the next clue. At this clue we have to catch a goat in an arena and bring it to the volunteer in the middle. So without even thinking about it I jumped the pipe fence and took off to catch a kid. This was easy because I just corned the goat herd as other racers frolicked after them aimlessly. Now for the next clue; we had to find the opera house and take 4 canned goods. Then, we had to complete a puzzle for the next clue. This section of the course took us about 1 hour and 45 minutes because we were not able to run due to an injured teammate. It wasn’t that big of deal that we couldn’t run because after all this was a 24 hour race and we needed to conserve as much energy as possible. So we raced for all the clues and locations in town so that we could advance to the next leg. The last part of this leg we received our large water proof topo maps, the first two legs of the race, and the coordinates to go with them.

The next leg is the paddle leg. We launched our two kayaks at about 11:45am Saturday morning. We paddled down stream in on the Colorado River for about 20+ miles. This is where most of our problems began. We started out ok and feeling pretty good. We only had 3 check points to find on this leg but they are really far apart and when I say far apart I mean about 2-2.5 hours apart. Crazy! Our paddling vessles were not the right equipment for a race of this distance. One kayak weighed about 95lbs and the other about 70lbs with beams of about 32inches wide. That’s huge for a paddle this long. The more weight you have and the wider the beam the more drag you have. The more drag you have the more work you do and the more work you do the more pain you feel. Our kayaks were our remedy for being miserable on the water. At CP2 on the water we did have to get out of the boats and go find 4 quick points that had special letters on them that we had to spell and bring back to the boat docking area at the CP. The word we had to spell was duet. This was good to do because it warmed our bodies and gave our shoulders a much needed rest.

Now it’s off to CP3 of the paddle. The end is in sight, or is it? The map that we had used a datum of like 1983; so what that means is that the map hasn’t been updated since 1983. As we get closer to our final paddle CP we know to look for a bridge that crosses over the river. You can’t miss it, it is an obvious bridge. Finally we see it, but something isn’t quite right, it is way too close to a power just north of the bridge, but I don’t think anything of it and begin to paddle stronger to reach the bridge. About this time it is getting dark and it’s time to break the glow sticks and bring out the headlamps. Come to find out the area, Smithville, had added a new loop and that first bridge that we saw was the loop bridge. Talk about depressing! So here we are in a miserable situation with our 95 lb kayak that I am ready to sink at this point and still not there yet. This leg ended up taking us about 7 hours. But to our surprise at the end of this paddle were to angels waiting on us cheering us on. These two angelic, shadows gleaming in the dark where next to CP3. They were Katrina and Diana our support crew, two of our spouses. We could not have gone as far as we did without them. We love you guys!!! Your support for us kept us going and we needed it!

It’s dark now and we land our kayaks and start getting ready for the bike leg of the event. At first we aren’t quite sure where we are but we quickly figure it out. The reason for not knowing exactly where we were was because the CP coordinates for CP3 the directors gave us were wrong.(COME TO FIND OUT THEY WERE RIGHT ON, sorry to blame the race director, it was us again) We still have CP4 and CP5 to get in this first leg but we get them on the bike. The bad part about this is we remember that for the second leg, the bike leg, the directions say NO TRAVEL ON HWY 71 IS PERMITTED. So because we are on the bikes we automatically, without looking at the stupid clue sheet, conclude that we can’t travel on Hwy 71 to CP4 and CP5, so the road we need to get us to CP4 must be in this parking lot. Right? Wrong! We wheeled around the stupid area at night looking for this stupid road that doesn’t exist thinking it has to be there because we can’t travel on 71. We decide we will just get in the grass beside 71 and if we get disqualified then oh well! So we start out doing that, but being the good, rule abiding racers that we are we feel guilty and decide to turn back around one more time just to double check. The grass was a HUGE mistake. We ended up getting three flat tires on our bikes. Lesley, Chris and Rodney all got flats at the SAME time. To top it off our brainless CO2 would not work correctly and it wouldn’t completely fill a tire up. And guess what, none of us brought a mini hand pump so we were OUT of air. We were just about to give up when another team came to our rescue with a mini hand pump. So we aired up our tires and headed for 71. This time we said forget it, we are getting on 71 whether or not it is allowed. So we did that and then I had a brain flash. Duhhhh!! the clue for leg one didn’t say anything about not traveling on 71 just for leg 2 you couldn’t travel on 71. And we were still on leg 1. AHHHHHHH its times like that, that make me want to scream and yell like I did when my brothers would shoot my GI Joe men into orbit with bottle rockets. I was mad, not at the race directors, but at myself.

So now we are off to Rocky Hill ranch where there is superb single track bike trails. We have several points to get here at night then we are headed back to the transition area. I went ahead and transferred the approximate location of the CPs from the topo map to the Rocky Hill Ranch trail map so that it wasn’t a total guessing game with the location of the CP and which trail we should take to get there. This proved to be a success. We struggled with some points but for the most part found everything without any problem. Good job Rodo! Once we found all the CPs it was off to the TA, then suddenly cccsssshhhhh…. We have another flat tire! And no air to fix it with. So I get my phone out and call Diana, “Hey we just had another flat and can’t fix it so we are going to drop out, wait what’s that I think I see a light in the distance. Let me call you back later we might still be in this.” Team 118 pulls up and offers some assistance and loans us a co2 pump and some co2, awesome! We fix the tire and we are off again. We travel on park road 10 I think or it maybe park road 1. I didn’t have the map at this point so I don’t remember exactly. This road is long hilly and brutal. Towards the end Rodney is shot but, Chris is feeling good because this is his strong point. Lesley is hanging on with Chris because she just finished an Ironman and is in excellent shape. I’m just trying to hang on and so is Rodney. About 2 miles before the TA my front tire goes flat so I decide to just roll down the down hills and walk the up hills. This worked and we finally made it back.

We checked in and we had to put together a puzzle that was a map of Bastrop State Park. On that puzzle map there were four CPs that we had to transfer to another map and then trek/run to those CPs. Before we got those CPs Katrina had the best meal of our lives waiting for us. It was exactly what kept us going, it’s what helped us “milk it for all its worth.” Diana was there giving support to us also and the good Lord knows I couldn’t have made it without her. So now we are off to get the CPs. We make several mistakes here but like I said, at this point “we are going to milk it for all it’s worth.” And that we did! Up to this point we had gotten all the CPs and were going strong but running out of time.

We make it back in and the director gives us the wrong sheet, she gave us the final leg sheet and I thought we actually might have a chance when she did that, but she raced back to me to get it from me and give me the right leg. Another mountain bike leg! WE decide to give up getting all the CPs and just get the closest one which ends up being the ropes course CP. We do that and come straight back hoping that we can get at least one CP from the next leg so that we can be officially ranked.

She gives us the last leg sheet and we only have 1hour and 30 minutes to finish. We plot the closest point and….. You guessed it too far away. So at this point we realize, in utter disappointment that we are not going to be ranked. It would have taken us 2.5 hours to get the closest CP on the last leg. Oh well…

We learned a lot during the course of this race. I realized even more so that I really do need a new kayak if I’m going to race that distance again. Chris learned that 24’s just aren’t his cup of tea and right now I wouldn’t disagree with him myself. But I’m young and dumb and want some more. Lesley is a great racing partner because she is strong and offers good advice. She also isn’t afraid to speak up amongst a bunch of guys. Rodney is always fun to race with as well. We normally do a really good job of navigating together. This race we just didn’t have it. Maybe next time…

We had fun, but what killed us was poor equipment, direction misinterpretation, a bad decision making, but what kept us going was each other and that is what this sports all about.

Big Chillin' with Team SteelSports

As the sky filled with light, the TA began to come alive with the sounds of teams preparing for what promises to be a great race.  The morning brought with it a crisp, chilly wind, which was  very  different from last nights 80 degree temp.  Team SteelSports started to stir around 7:50AM.  Justin decided it was time for him to get up, and everyone else followed along.  Rodney started a pot of "prissy" coffee and Chris discussed his morning restroom trip and reminded us of the word.  That bird is the word.  Lesley, unbundled out of her snuggle blanket and started packing her pack.  What we know so far about the race is:It starts at 10:00AM

• The race has a 24 hour cut off
• The fastest team is expected to finish in 16 hours
• One leg of the race may take teams up to 15 hours
• The boat drop is 2-3 miles away
• The paddle will be on a river, not a lake, with expected wind gusts today of 25-30 mph
• The bikes will be transported by the race volunteers to an undisclosed location
• Teams will have to trek with all their bike gear to reach this point

It's 8:15 now and the team is going to drop their boats and trying to warm up.  It's shaping up to be an exciting, and entertaining, 24 hours.

It's 9:00AM and the team is finishing up the last minute preparations.  Lesley cooked some sweet potato pancakes from a sweet potato she grew over night.  Rodney closed his curtain, but still put on a peep show in the "naked" room.  Justin has cleaned off his sticky feet and Rodney has done some kind of white man dance.  The pre-race meeting will be starting soon, so the excitement is building.  They are about to load their bikes in the transport van.  They are all getting dressed in their warm, race clothes and having breakfast.  Outside it's pretty chilly, but in the travel trailer, it's nice and toasty.   We might be a little spoiled.  

9:35AM After the pre-race meeting we now know:

• For the first leg of the race, they will be away from the TA up to 15 hours
• They will be starting on foot
• They will be taking biking gear with them
• The river is low enough that a person can stand up in it at any given point
• Teams don't have to get check points in order
• One set of instructions will have 2 legs
• The legs have to be in order
• They are required to take money with them

10:03AM: The race has begun.  The team was handed a sealed envelope to start the race.  At 10:00 all teams were allowed to open the packet.  The packets contained a ReMax real estate flyer for the Batrop area, a Bastrop Historical downtown map, an instruction sheet and another map.  The instructions indicated this leg would contain a road block where one member of the team has to complete a task.  They can use their cell phones to phone a friend during this leg.  They have to use the enclosed maps and other resources they find around town.  They have to collect clues and complete tasks along the way.  All team members have to stay together while searching for five different locations.  They have to turn in all 5 clue sheets.  We are feeling like this part of the race will be sort of like a scavenger hunt.  Team SteelSports left rather quickly, after reading the instructions and seemed to know where they were going.  They all had plenty of clothes, food and water.  We most likely won't see them again for awhile.  So Diana and I will be biking at the Rocky Hill Ranch in Smithville with my sister-in-law, Paige later this morning.   We are hoping to see them out there and snap some photos.  Otherwise, we will track them with the Spot tracker.  I will post more later.  Until then, keep us all in your thoughts and send them luck.   

It's 4:08PM.  Several of the 12 hour teams have checked in, but no 24 hour teams.  The front desk said not to expect them until midnight or so.  We've been following them constantly on the Spot Tracker site and figure they've been paddling since about 11:40AM.  Last we checked, looked like they are still on the water.  The sun has not shown it's face today.  The weather is just cold and windy at times.  I'm sure for the racers, it's not pleasant.  

At 5:30 PM we asked where to bike drop was and decided to go cheer on the team from that location. We drove to Riverbend Park and found the bike drop, which was also where they exited the water.  We were still tracking the team using the Spot Tracker, so we had a pretty good idea of how long it would take them to arrive.  Several teams had already started the biking leg and while we were waiting several teams exited the water.  At 6:40, after the sun had gone down, we saw the gleam of glow sticks reflecting off the water.  Team SteelSports arrived on the sandy beach of the river where we were waiting.  The CP was on the dock a few feet away, but they had to drag their boats up a sandy hill to the boat drop location.  Rodney's pants were soaking wet from the long paddle.  They seemed tired and a little cranky, due to slow kayaks, which will later be "burned".  Chris punched the CP.  They all changed shoes and clothes and Rodney and Lesley found a bathroom, to refill water packs and warm up.  Justin re-plotted some CPs for the next leg of the race, which is mountain biking.  The only restriction they had was they could not ride on, or near, Hwy 71.  They had a rather long transition, which is why they looked liked they were going in circles on the tracker.  When we left them, at 7:40, they were headed to Hwy 153 toward Buescher State Park, then to Rocky Hill Ranch, gathering CPs along the way.  We later learned, they had trouble finding a road to ride on other than Hwy 71 to take to Hwy 153.  That is another reason why they looked like they were going in circles.

At 8:40, Justin sent Diana a text message stating they had 3 flat tires and ran out of air.  We're crossing our fingers that they have no more flats, because he said they would have to DNF, or call it quits.  We wouldn't mind going to get them now, but know the disheartened drive back to TA would be no fun.  So far, they have not missed any checkpoints.  The weather tonight is projected to be 27 degrees with a north wind of 5-10 mph.  If they can just maintain good bikes, stay warm and stay focused, they will make it back to the TA and will be able to refresh themselves for the rest of the race.  From our trailer we can see the check in desk and we see 4 bike lights, but don't expect it's our team, yet.  Most likely, they will be biking for quite awhile longer.  Slideshow of bike drop/water exit.

4:15AM:  Since we never heard back from them about flat bike tires and needing a ride back to TA, I went to sleep around 10:00 and Diana fell asleep around midnight.  We woke up about 30 minutes ago because our generator for the trailer, ran out of gas.  The noise was keeping me asleep, oddly enough.  We checked the tracker site a few minutes ago and it looks like they are closing in on the TA.  They are within the park grounds.  They've been racing for 18 hours and 15 minutes.  So far we know they have completed some special tests, a monumental paddle, trekking and miles and miles of biking in the dark, some on roads, some on trails.  

6:00AM:  The team made it back here around 4:30.  They were energized and positive.  They have not missed a single checkpoint, but ended up with 6 flats.  They had to push bikes on the way back to TA.  They ate some warm soup and changed out of their wet clothes, socks and shoes.  Justin told us about his rodeo days helping him gain the experience he needed to be able to catch a goat earlier today.  They layered up again for a trekking leg with high spirits and laughs.  They were given three pre-plotted check points around the park.  From the looks of the points, they are in a triangle on different ends of the park.  Looks to be rather hilly and will most likely take them awhile, but overall, a short leg.  They took only a few lights with them, since the sun will be up soon.  The next leg of the race will be more mountain biking and traversing.  That should get them close to finishing up.  We have aired up all their bike tires and hopefully that will get them through the remainder of the race.  Cut off time is 10:00, so they've got 4 more hours to go.  They seemed up for it when they left here at 5:25, after we located the passport that was temporarily misplaced.  The temperature is 37.8 currently.  Thankfully it didn't get as cold as projected and the wind has died down to zero mph. So this leg will just be chilly.  The temp should be in the mid-50s soon and after the sun comes up, I know they will be even more enthusiastic about completing the race.  

8:05AM:  The team returned from the trek about 10 minutes ago.  Their transition was quick and efficient. We put their helmets on their heads for them.  They left with climbing harnesses on, biking with no refills of water or food. This is the next to last leg.  The were able to get all the CPs on the leg they returned from so they still have not missed any CPs.  However, in order to be counted as an "official" team, they have to get one checkpoint from each leg, so they are biking a short distance to traverse and getting one CP.  Not the only CP for that leg, they are skipping all the others.  The final leg is a trek and they will get as many CPs as possible in order to finish by the cut off time, but will be skipping some there as well.  They left here a little after 8:00 an seemed eager to finish up with outstanding attitudes.  

At 8:40 the team arrived back at the TA.  After looking over the coordinates for the last let, they decided the nearest CP would take them longer than the alloted time, so they've finished the race.  They will be ranked as DNF, since they skipped the last leg.  They still seem to be pretty positive and glad to have had a full day of racing.  We are starting some breakfast off eggs, bacon and biscuits for them now.  Justin will be posting a race report later this week.  Until next time, thank you for supporting Team SteelSports and tracking them online.  It was a great race and an enjoyable weekend in the cold, windy great outdoors.  -Katrina

Still smilin' and profilin' even after 22 hours and 45 minutes of racing.  

Heading out to the Big Chill 24-Hour Adventure Race

Well, travel day is here!  It has been a hectic work week, with little sleep and training, but I'm glad it's here.

For those of you looking in during the race to see how we're doing, Katrina will be posting updates during the race.  She may even post some race pictures :)

The Race:  The Big Chill 24-Hour Adventure Race

The Promoters:  www.TooCoolRacing.com

Location:  Bastrop, TX (Bastrop State Park and Rocky Hill Ranch, Smithville, TX)

Start Time:  Saturday, January 24, 2009 @ 10:00 am

End Time:  Sunday, January 25, 2009 @ 10:00 am (hopefully we are finished before then)

Weather:  http://www.weather.com/weather/local/USTX0082?lswe=bastrop,%20tx&from=searchbox_localwx

Track us during the race by clicking the "Spot" link 

Thanks for watching!

Rodney

Bodcau WMA

I must say that I had a great time designing the course. I was very pleased considering I didn't even go out to make sure we could get all the CP's. I didn't have time to do that. We were only blocked off from 1 Cp but we were only like 100 yards from it. (maybe more.) Overall it was tuff not to give away clues but I was just along for the ride and I did put my two cents in a time or two just because I wanted to keep the team atmosphere. Overall Rodo did an outstanding job navigating through the course. I wish I had a camera with me becuase I saw parts of that area that I've never seen. The beauty of this area you can't even fathom. Some of the cyprus trees along the routeless laiden bayou have to be over 100 years old.

Great time we had and look forward to possibly directing a race at the WMA.

Fun times with my FRIENDS!

Team Training at Bodcau WMA Maps

The training session was pretty chilly, but the main issue was the wind!

We started the day with a 4.3 mile trek, followed by an approximate 5 mile paddle and finished with a 16.3 mile mountain bike.  Total was 25.6 miles.

During our training session last Saturday, Justin carried my GPS to verify that we found the fake CPs he gave us.

This map shows trek and paddle legs:

The second map shows the entire area we covered; however, the GPS did not pick up some of the mountain bike route:

Finally, we also carried my new Spot Satellite Tracker.  You can follow the link and look up the training date, but that option is only good for a certain time period after the tracking event.  Here is the picture:

We had a very fun training day and I think it was very productive.  What a great way to spend a Saturday!  

Thanks for looking!

Team Training at Bodcau WMA

The SteelSports team racing in the Big Chill on January 24th, will be training Saturday, January 10, 2009 at Bodcau Wildlife Management Area.  

We will paddle, run and bike, while navigating to various checkpoints.

Feel free to track us, using the Spot Tracker link to the right.

Thanks for reading!

Rodney