Explore the West, Southern California
guns ablazing
romerol / 09.09.2006
A knarly 30 k mtb section with a strategic run or bike loop in the middle was the pivotal point on this first section. The six foot, lanky local physical therapist does have some local advantage but only to the altitude. This region of the course is new to even Ted but his nav and pure strength put him 11 minutes ahead of Team DART NUUN the series leader. Cyril and the gang looked fresh and had a blazing transition onto the first of three trek sections. This one only 11km, but with many route options. Cyril, Ryan and Jenn chose a more conservative route, and lost 10 minutes to Devito (a former Team SOLE member).
The father son Finlay duo are looking in peak condition and had had a surprisingly solid bike, only 9 minutes off Dart Nuun. Their specialty is the water section, and if they can keep the lead in their sights until the late kayak, anything is possible.
Other notable mentions - Feed the Machine will continue unranked, as two person male. Christian Burke blew out a Mavic rear hub, then female newcomer from Rosarito, Baja succumbed to the 8,000' terrain with a possible case of exercise induced asthma.
Team Lucky, had the misfortune of arriving to TA1 with no crew, then had some vehicle issues, and forced to take a 3 x's longer route to the TA. They did 11km in bike shoes.
Paul Ablett of Big Bear Lake looked solid in 4th place overall, and was all smiles. His crew of Chelsea and Tony were treating him well.
Eric Ervin was off to a good start, as he had the fortune of landing crew in veteran PQ finisher Kevin Cadieux. Team Dirty Avocado's boys were being dragged by the workhorse Jen Klafkin. She is a definite force to recon with in AR today.
In the back of the pack action, Team Stride of U.S./Canada, came in 23rd place at the first TA. With two punctures, and some navigation errors already under their belt they'll need to work hard to keep within the first cut off time at 10pm tonight.
SleepMonsters
