Dancing Pandas break into 4th place

We last found the Pandas as they were preparing to leave CP15. They
were upbeat and full of energy. They were happy with their sleep
strategy to this point and they all smiled and said they were well
rested. Crew Chief Rob on the other hand didn’t seem to have slept as
much as the three Pandas. Masha admitted to having a couple of
vomiting episodes on the previous hike section, but she was unfazed
and ready to move on. Eric was thrilled to have received an email
from his kids and wanted them to know he was having fun. Tom and
Masha had nothing but raves to share about Eric’s meticulous
navigation. There were five teams that were stopped in this TA and
the Pandas were the first to leave moving them up to 4th place in the
overall rankings.

Team Extreme-Sports.dk was the next to leave after waiting for Helena
to have both ankles taped to ease the pain of tendonitus she is
suffering in both foot flexors. Mikael was full of humorous
anecdotes about the course. He explained that the team was so cold
last night that they all were wearing their space blankets inside
their clothes. But, even that wasn’t enough to keep the Swedes warm
in the chilly Baja air and they finally all agreed to stop and light
a fire to warm themselves and sleep a little before moving on. They
left the TA telling their crew they would see them at the next stop
in 5 hours. Their crew was meanwhile having a bit of an adventure on
their own. Their car was making some strange noises and putting off
some terrible smells. They limped into town where they managed to
talk to the Minister of Valle la Trinidad who helped them find the
local mechanic at home in the middle of the night. He managed to fix
their car and told them they were lucky they didn’t try to drive
further as he thought their car could have exploded (don’t worry
James, the car and the girls are fine).

Meanwhile, Kayak Lake Mead had arrived into the checkpoint at near to
midnight but was still asleep when we left at 4:30 a.m. Looks like
they are catching up on some sleep for a big push to the finish.

Support Crew Donato for the Dirty Avocados had some adventures to
share as well while his team slept in the idleing truck with the
heater cranked on. He said he had become the official BT bike
mechanic. He mistakenly brought his bike with him in hopes that he
might sneak in a ride between meeting his team at checkpoints.
Instead it seems he has used his bike for spare parts. At last count
he had lent out both wheels, the front brake, both pedals and his red
blinking light. And, he was happy about doing it.

The dark, dark Baja

The moon does not rise until the early morning hours. Athletes are going on their third day, some with as little as 1 or 2 hours sleep.  More and more mistakes begin to happen.  Patience wears thin.  Feet and body take a serious toll at this point.  The course is every bit as beautiful along the way, but you haven’t seen darkness till you are in the middle of Baja with no moon.  So dark is it here that it has a World famous observatory because of the absence of any light pollution from big cities and towns.  Most teams today passed through virtually the only town they will see the entire race, a town about 400 meters long with 3 family run cafes, a church and a school and a park (that was filled with goats when our CP staff arrived.)  Then it was back into the wilderness where the occasional light from a small ranch is all that they seen.  The two DART/nuun teams are mid way into the final canyon run and appear to have made things interesting for us.  Our SPOT tracking is just not giving us all the information we (and you) would love to have and leaves a lot for the imagination.  Glenn Rogers and his leading team (Mari and Sean) would love to dethrone Cyril and his squad.  But Cyril, Jen and Aaron have had fire in their eyes since their 6 hour mistake on Tuesday.

Many of the teams just might be feeling a tiny ocean breeze coming from the Pacific, a mere 50k away.  It is virtually all downhill from here.  The ocean was predicted to be roaring tonight and much to our surprise it is a bit tame while it awaits the lead teams.  We’re heading into the field so we can bring you more reports from the middle and back of the field from here on out.

A Real Battle

There’s a real battle going on for the 4th - 5th - 6th places… Take a look at the leaderboard to watch these teams swap places.  Right now at CP16 just 13 minutes separates the threesome.  Team Extreme-Sports.dk has taken the lead of this group and moved into 4th place.  Mikael from Sweden had a big problem with his bike and a new bike was brought to him lent by Andy of Team Feed the Machine.  It took a couple of car trips and a couple of motorcyles and about 3 hours to make it happen.  But after much walking with the broken bike and some towing and pushing and a little running, the team has managed to bring themselves back up in the rankings.  Seems this team is moving quicker at night when the temps are cooler, the adjustment from the Swedish winter to the intense Baja sun is a tough one.

Who Knows..

So DART/nuun NW Kayaks set out on the final canyon trek.  We added in a couple of extra waypoints along the way to give all of you a little more information.  Now it seems DART/nuun NW Kayaks has pushed their SPOT ok button twice at the same waypoint 20 minutes apart.  I’m thinking that they are getting T I R E D from not so much as a nap since the race start.  You can hear the conversation… did you push the okay at the Waypoint?  hmmm… well I don’t remember maybe we should do it again from here…yeah as least they will see that we are close…do you push the SPOT okay?  Yeah I think so…. the three of them just talking in circles.  Hope they aren’t walking in circles.  Their crew meanwhile is waiting at San Carlos hotsprings.  We did tell teams that their crews would like it there and that it would be a good place to take some extra time on the course.  No, we’re sure they are pushing hard, maybe they can even hear a couple of cracking branches of Team DART/nuun coming up from behind.

Meanwhile the other teams are still making their way on the course.  The Yoga Slackers are continuing to do great.  Today was Daniel’s 21st birthday!  Happy Birthday Daniel.

We’re head back to the middle of the course to get some more team reports.

What’s Left??

Once Mari, Sean and Glen make it to CP19 at San Carlos they will be
close to the finish. Right now the course has been shortened a bit
due to expected 20-30 mph winds so teams will bike directly from CP19
to the beach. It’s a bit shorter than originally planed, but it puts
teams into the water in a safer place where they will be protected
from the winds. Then a short paddle to the finish line. Just need
these guys to get to CP19 and then they could be home free.

The Sun Sets on Day2

Team DART/nuun NW Kayaks arrived at CP18/TA7 in the lead, but they certainly weren’t taking anything for granted and their chatter in the TA repeatedly came back to knowing that their friends DART/nuun were charging hard from behind.  They hurried themselves along just thinking that DART/nuun just might bike around the corner any minute.  It just shows the respect that these two teams have for each other.  They were definitely showing sign of sleep deprivation.  We don’t have any time for sleep, Glenn told me and then spent the next five minutes looking for his compass which he lost one more time on the table in front of him before he finally put it around his neck and his team left for the next canyon which will take them to the final bike leg.

Oh the Baja

Baja Travesia, from white sandy beaches of the Sea of Cortez to the snowy high alpine mountains nearing 3,000m racers now make their way through the green rolling interior heading toward the rocky coastline of the Pacific Ocean. It’s a true adventure in every sense of the word.

The Sea of Cortez was a treat, a light breeze, blazing sun and warm emerald waters. The desert was scorching, veterans had blisters after just 20k and newcomers were beat.  Despite the Event Directors’ warnings the canyon was giant surprise for everyone, a non-stop beating even for the front teams. As for the Pacific Ocean that still lies ahead, the forecast is for high winds and big surf. In turn, the kayak course has been shortened, cut in half in fact and in true Baja Travesia fashion there will be no dark zone.  The course leaders will likely finish late, late tonight or early a.m. Thursday, but the rest of the field is still out on the course, pushing hard and doing their best to make it through.  Darkness is falling again.

Team Yoga Slackers - Brake Problems

Team Yoga Slackers arrived to CP16 and left their crew with a bit of a puzzle.  Lina has some problems with her disk brake system and now they are looking for a way to repair the brake.  Disk brakes are hard to come by in this sleepy part of Baja where horses are still not uncommon transportation in these little towns.  Most bikes around here still have the “pedal backwards” kind of brakes that we all had when we were kids so the Yoga Slackers crew has some hunting to do. They’ve got a little time to work with as their team is heading across the hot desert from CP13 to CP16.

All Teams are out of the Canyon and Biking

All teams are out of the canyon and the last teams are transitioning to the bikes.  El Rey Azul and Equinox are pulling up the back of the pack.  They are being told to be especially good with the navigation on this section.

More Team Details..

SuburbanRush.com took a nice long nap in the support area. Their support crew had a nice off road adventure to get to the transition area.  Team spirits are high and they have left on the bike in search of a warmer and drier climate.

Dirty Avocados Too - It appears the DA Too have made a bit of a navigation error in last night’s bike section.  They are taking a little extra time getting to Mikes Sky Ranch.  We’re keeping an eye on them now and watching for them to show up at CP12 any minute