Wicked Sunsweet 24hr Adventure Race

Photo by Mike Bitton
Glenn Rogers of team nuun/Clif grabs a checkpoint in a culvert during the Wicked Sunsweet 24hr adventure race in Oakridge, Ore.

Oakridge, Ore., was recently ranked by a national magazine as the second-best mountain biking location in the United States, beaten out only by Moab, Utah. So why the heck hasn't anyone outside of the Pacific Northwest heard of Oakridge? Now that the Wicked Sunsweet 24hr adventure race has wrapped, I bet the word will spread like wildfire.

Green Waters Park in the center of town served as headquarters for the race, which begain at 10 a.m. on Saturday, Sept, 23. The course was so Wicked that only six of the more than 30 registered teams were able to finish the whole thing. Thankfully, time cutoffs allowed slower teams to complete a "sport course," and still see the highlights of the area, which included a 100-foot rappel.

While I normally work alone covering adventure races, I got to host two new friends this time around. Julie was in my Jeep, supporting solo racer Duncan Sailors. Jalen was with us as well, supporting his mom, Terri Smith.