Savage Throwdown

For our first official Sunday ride of the 2007-08 season we rode across (except the lunatic who bombed straight down) the dam to the Struble and out to Penny Packer for some “slow racing.” It was a great way to shake out the cobwebs after a month on the sidelines. Also 7 guys “slow racing” sure drew a few stares from passersby.

Time to get the weekday rides going again. This month we have 3 birthdays so we’ll try to fit a Chelsy’s trip in this week. Note the time change for this week:
Tuesday depart LL at 8:30pm – Woods trails are a mess right now, but Monday and Tuesday are dry so we’ll hope they firm up a little.
Thursday depart UL at 9:00pm – Chelsy’s so bring some cash, we’ll see if they recognize Riley without his bobsled uniform. There is possibility of rain late in the week so we’ll monitor this one.

Note: After a month of no use, your batteries are likely down 30% so be sure to top them off before Tuesday night.

OK, now for the BIG NEWS. We have an “Adventure Sprint Race” coming to OUR BACK YARD at the end of next month. It is called “The Savage” and it entails 20 miles of trail running, orienteering, mountain biking, and paddling. Sort of like a triathlon except groups of 2-3 compete as TEAMS, not individuals. So if you need some motivation to get off the couch and impress the ladies, this is surely it. We have registered one team already – Anegada 1703 (JA, CD, SF) – and surely this group can field a couple more teams at least! Check out the website for more details on the event, photos from past events, mandatory equipment, and online registration http://www.goalsara.org/yr2007/sav_race.html. Note this is the first event I’ve ever encountered that REQUIRES you bring a knife (that’s got to be a good sign).

Team Anegada 1703 has discussed our goals for this race and they are twofold: no training injuries and HAVING FUN. We have not deluded ourselves into gunning for the podium. Finishing will be great, not finishing last would be even better. Regarding training, if we have enough interest from this group we might start mixing up the rides in a few weeks – shortening them and combining with running and paddling to help everyone with the cross training. Also I have a canoe with paddles – if anyone is interested in borrowing at any point just say the word. Finally note the the schedule of clinics on adventure racing skills: 3/25 (French Creek) and 4/15 (Hibernia). We’ll consider designating these as our monthly roadtrips for March and April.

I think that’s it for now. It’s good to be back in the saddle.

Chris