Yoga Slackers are not

The Yoga Slackers are still pouring it on but they’ve got teams hot on their heels.  Three teams are in the final canyon of the Baja Travesia 2008 and while we can’t quite watch their every move we do know that Bosi and Dancing Pandas are pouring it on.  The Pandas are well know for their calm demeanor, keen strategy and excellent pace setting and if you’ve been watching them, they have steadily moved up the leaderboard.  Bosi on the other hand has been up and down.  They are fast and furious but make mistakes that cost them a few places now and then. They are still grasping for a top spot, you will see their experience come into play as they strategize to the finish line.

Eastern Mountain Sports - Team eXXtreme - pull record time

The girls of Eastern Mountain Sports eXXtreme team amazed everyone with a record time on the bikes from CP16 to CP18.  They completed the leg in 5 hours flat with Melissa pulling the girls both mentally and physically.  The girls all stopped at the TA to fix blisters and eat some gourmet sandwiches prepared by Melissa’s parents.  At this pace they are certainly in position to attack for a top 5 overall finish.  They planned to exit the transition area quickly and make the most of the daylight hours.

The Consensus is…

All volunteer and CP staff agree that the most trashed and fatigued looking athlete is Daniel of the Yoga Slackers (don’t worry Mom).  In 2007 he led his Barely Legal team to a legendary effort up and over the Sierras.  This year he is running with Jason and Lina and they are pushing a new pace for Daniel.  It is taking its toll on him and he was seen gazing off into space at the transition.  The Yoga Slackers will have to manage their sleep and nutrition carefully in order to fend off team Extreme-Sports.dk who is quickly gaining on them.  At last count they had just a 20 minute lead over team Extreme-Sports.dk.

And of course remember the Dancing Pandas are still coming.  Eric is surgical with his navigation and this could benefit them in the last trek section.

Hibernation at the TA

Kayak Lake Mead arrived at midnightinto the Transition Area.  They have pushed themselves hard.  Amy’s feets are in bad shape with blisters covering most of them.  She said how do all these other people do it with blisters?  My feet are killing me and I’m trying my best to be tough but they hurt.  The father and son team of Robert and Druce slipped from 4th place as they took a 6 hour sleep in the TA.  They were planning to take things one step at a time and make their way toward the finish.  As fresh as they are after sleeping they should move quickly and maybe move up the leaderboard a bit.

The Baddest Rig of the BT 08

This foursome just met each other prior to the event, but they have a team spirit to take care of their team that is most impressive. Check out www.coloradoron.com to check out more about this new fan of adventure racing.  Ron says hello to his kids.  Hey kids looks like a car wash is needed when Dad gets home.

Notes from the Back

Shawii’s support crew came screaming into the support area with heavy metal musical blasting from both vehicles.  They are having a blast.  The latest report on Shawii is that they are having a great time and doing well.  They are amazed to find so many parts of Baja that they have never seen.  Kristen is still smiling and encouraging her boys along.

El Rey Azul - We interviewed their support crew and while they are moving slowly every effort they make it toward the finish line.  Pretty sure there is no team more determined to reach the finish line.  Team member Paul Ablett is hoping that his third time is a charm and he and his team will get the chance for some champagne at the finish line.

It’s DARK and COLD at 4:00 a.m.

The Eastern Mountain Sports eXXtreme team were holding on, but they
weren’t as chipper as all the race reports we had received. They
said they had gone out hard and realized it wasn’t their best
decision. They had since decided on a better pace and now they were
moving well. They quickly jumped into their crew truck to warm up
and perhaps to catch a little cat nap before moving onto the next
bike leg.

Quotable Quotes

“Well none of us was very handy last night, we were too tired. I was
carrying the map, but I thought that Rick was navigating so I was
just following him. It wasn’t the best direction.”
Mikael Lindnord, Extreme-Sports.dk

“We started to realize we were off the recommended route when we had
to carry our bikes and hand them to each other over car sized
boulders in the snow. Our navigation missed a little.”
Rick Baraff, Extreme-Sports.dk

“Yeah we saw the Eastern Mountain Sports girls heading up the wrong
canyon, straight up a waterfall. We thought wow those girls are
tough how the hell did they make it up that?”
Dancing Pandas

“We saw a lot of teams going the wrong way up the canyon, we tried to
follow the white ribbons that we found, because that’s what the
organizers told us to do. We saw some other teams that we know
didn’t see any ribbons on their route.”
Team Lucky

“I thought I’d bring my bike with me and grab a nice ride here and
there while I was waiting for my team. It wasn’t going to happen, I
haven’t had a minute to rest so I just gave out bike parts to help
the other teams.”
Donato, Crew for Dirty Avocados

“It’s been a brilliant experience, I am really enjoying it. I can’t
believe how cold it gets here.”
Adventure Racing Legend, Adrian Crane, Team Goldrush Mother Lode /
Racing with Giants

“Let’s get going boys.”
Said three times in five minutes by Melissa Griffiths, Team Goldrush
Mother Lode / Racing with Giants

“It was one of the scariest nights we’ve ever lived through, we
really didn’t want to die in Baja.”
Support Crew, Team Lucky about being lost trying to find transition
area 13 in the black abyss of central Baja

“We were sure we were going up the right canyon. I was following
along on the map. There was one place where the canyon went a little
south and I couldn’t find that section on the map. I just figured
that it had changed a little since the maps were printed.”
Christian Burke, Feed the Machine recalling a sleep deprived moment

Team Hilarious Forced to Withdraw

Team Hilarious wasn’t laughing when Christina Moon was forced to
withdraw from the race with an injury to her leg. She initially took
a couple of falls in the canyon and took a couple of good blows to
her shin. After a rest at CP13 Christina awoke in a lot of pain and
could hardly put pressure on her leg. She suspects a small fracture
or bone bruise on her shin. Her leg is swollen and painful, but
she’s still in good spirits. Claire and Nikki chose to continue on
as a twosome for the time being while Christina hopped in with the
support crew.

We just learned of some problems that happened last night with Team
Lucky. Apparently Team Lucky’s navigator Jeremy made a huge
navigation error when something metallic on his clothing made his
compass point the wrong direction. It was a little while before he
realized the impact it was having and he was able to make the
correction to get the team back on track.

Support Crew for SuburbanRush.com definitely have one of the coolest
vehicles in Baja. Support crew Ron wants to say hello to his kids.
Hey kids looks like you have some car washing to do when Dad gets home.

Had Enough Lucky Jokes?

Their bad luck continues and so do their smiles. We met team unLucky
on a long, desolate road in the middle of the desert. Four figures
walking in twos. Hmm… who’s that? oh yes remember Sylvie from Team
Feed the Machine had joined team Lucky in previous chapters. Now the
foresome were limping quietly down the road in the morning sun.
Limping, well it’s because they have been hiking for the last 9 hours
in their bike shoes. Their crew didn’t arrive in time at CP13, did I
say that right? CP13 - Team unLucky doo doo doo do doo doo doo
do…. So they are off to break the curse hoping they’ll have crew
and bikes waiting for them there. They wanted to make sure that we
thanked the crew from team SuburbanRush.com for taking care of them
and feeding them at 13.

Speaking of Team SuburbanRush.com we found them walking down the same
road with a little more bounce in their step. They knew that Team
Lucky was just ahead and they were doing their best to catch them.
Dean and Tania couldn’t stop themselves from bragging about Lannie’s
excellent navigation throughout the course. They told us they’d all
been calculating the timing of each remaining leg as they were
biking previously and planning a nice finishing time for themselves
until they realized that their calculations excluded a bike and a
trek leg…so they’re adding 12 more hours to what they had planned.