No More Fridays

Today was my last Friday as an elementary school teacher. It was kinda sad, knowing I won't see these people every day like I have for the past three school years.

This time next week, I'll be somewhere between Salt Lake City and Estes Park, Colo., where I'll attend a Trail Running and Writing workshop. I'll go directly from there to Big Sky, Montana, where I'll cover the Primal Quest expedition adventure race for the adventure racing news website Checkpoint Zero. So even though I'm leaving teaching, and hoping for a giant decompression break, instead, I'll be a road warrior with places to be, and things to do, until about July 6.

But that's OK. 'Cause after that -- I'll be free. And on a whole new professional adventure!

USARA National Championships, Santa Barbara, Calif.

Photo by Mike Bitton

Adventure racers mountain bike past palm trees in Santa Barbara, Calif., during the USARA National Championship race.

The first weekend in November I covered the national championships of the United States Adventure Racing Association (USARA), held this year in Santa Barbara, Calif. It was a great time to be away from Portland, Ore., since we were logging record rain totals every day I was gone!

It was a little strange to be at a race where I only knew a few teams. At Primal Quest I knew dozens, at and the Wicked and TRIOBA races here in the Pacific Northwest, I know even more. Walking around the starting line on the beach, I only met a few groups I recognized. Where were all the so-called "top teams" of the sport? I guess they don't bother with "grassroots" racing any more. Or maybe they were taking the weekend off so they could be in Rio for EcoMotion Brazil. That was the case with my friends from DART-nuun in Seattle.

I'd never really spent any time in Santa Barbara before, just drove in once when I lived in SoCal and took a stroll on the beach with my wife. This trip was different. I spent three days driving around town and up and down the San Ysidro Mountains that form the city's dramatic backdrop.

It's funny the things I miss about California -- being so close to Mexico; seeing $100,000 cars being passed by Kias; and the ever-vibrant Los Angeles International Airport. Things I forgot I didn't like -- the endless supply of rude people; maniac drivers in the fast lane of every freeway; and a parade of lousy radio stations. KCRW FM in Santa Monica is the only exception.

I was welcomed like family into the rental home of team Mighty Dog from Atlanta, Ga. Sherry and Ardie Olson, team manager and captain, respectively, have taken me under their wings every time I've seen them since May 2006, when we met at the Mighty MO Expedition adventure race in the Ozarks of Missouri. One of the greatest things about adventure racing is reuniting with friends every few months, always in a diferent state, and sometimes in a different country!

Daylight hours were spent taking photographs of teams. Dark hours were spent downloading photos off my memory cards and onto my laptop. There was no stress to put up stories and photos every night, since the USARA said they had their own method of updating their web page to keep family and friends up to date on race conditions. Sadly, it didn't come together for them, which left fans in a lurch. About a dozen people asked me Saturday morning where all my stories and photos were. I told them Checkpoint Zero had agreed not to post anything until AFTER the event, so as not to compete with the USARA information machine.

I spent a lot of time talking to athletes after the race about training and nutrition, as I will be racing in 2007. In fact, Iwill be racing next month! There's a BEAST race near Seattle on Sunday, Dec. 3. I'll be there with some other newbie adventure racing friends from Portland to see how we all perform under stress. Nutrition and training have become an important new part of my life since I decided to race in 2007. I'm lucky to have so many elite-level adventure racing friends to point me in the right directions!

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.

Outdoor Retailer Summer Market

Every August and January, about 1,000 outdoor sporting goods gear manufacturers gather in Salt Lake City for an industry-only trade show called Outdoor Retailer. The August show is Summer Market, and the January show is Winter Market. I just got home from Summer Market, and what an experience it was!

On assignment for Checkpoint Zero, North America's leading source for adventure racing news, my job was to find gear of interest to adventure racers. The show is so massive, it's not easy to whittle down all the good stuff to just great stuff. I'm eager to return next summer and do it again, though.

While there, I got to see Rich Brezeau and Gordon Wright of the Primal Quest expedition adventure race. I also saw people from SOLE Custom Footbeds, Merrell shoes and Backpacker Magazine that I'd met at Primal Quest in Moab about a month ago. Several adventure racers were at the show nurturing relationships with sponsors. I spent time with members of teams DART-nuun, Salomon-Crested Butte, Silly Rabbits, Gerber Gear, Adventure Racing Concepts, WickedAR.com, Bulleit and Jen's Men (now called Men for Hire, as Jen has retired). What a treat to see all these people again! They all inspire me to train harder and enter more races.

TRIOBA 12-Hour Adventure Race, Snoqalmie Pass, Washington

Photo by Mike Bitton
Members of team Double Trouble/Peak Physique descend from Checkpoint 9 during the TRIOBA 12-Hour adventure race at Snoqualmie Pass, Wash, on Saturday, July 15, 2005.

I spent Saturday, July 15, covering the TRIOBA 12-Hour adventure race at Snoqualmie Pass, Wash. It was very comforting to be in the forests of the Pacific Northwest, after having spent a couple of uncomfortable weeks in Moab, Utah, for the Primal Quest expedition adventure race. The high temperature during this TRIOBA 12 hour never even cracked 70 degrees! Home, sweet home!

Some real news came out of this 12-hour race when team Mergeo.com defeated regional powerhouse team DART/nuun. It's a rare day DART finishes anywhere other than first place in the four-person, co-ed division. Here, they got second by 17 minutes.

In DART's defense, all four of the athletes that raced here -- Matt Hart, Aaron Rinn, Ryan Flemming and Jennifer VanGorder -- toed the starting line at Primal Quest in Utah back on June 23. Hart was with DART; Rinn was with SOLE Custom Footbeds; and Flemming and VanGorder were with Gerber Gear.

Mergeo's talent pool included orienteering guru Eric Bone, comic relief Aaron Vanderwall, triathlon diva Julie Heidt Schnepf, and Scottish workhorse Ruaraidh Stenson.

A Little Diddy, 'Bout Dan and Diane

Photo by Mike Bitton
Diane Bush and Dan Miller sit for a portrait in the garden of their Richmond, Utah, home.

On my way home from the Primal Quest expedition adventure race in Moab, Utah, I stopped for the night in Richmond, Utah, to visit with longtime journalism friends Dan Miller and Diane Bush. Dan was the photo editor of the daily newspaper in Logan, Utah, when I was in photojournalism school at Utah State University in the same town. Diane was a photo intern who came to work at the paper for a summer, and never returned home to Minnesota. As is the case with many small-market journos, Dan and Diane are no longer in the biz. Dan shoots occasional freelance assignments, and runs a non-profit dedicated to keeping OHV riders on legal trails. Diane bakes artisan breads in Logan, and runs a soapmaking business from home. The time I spent with them was peaceful, a welcome change from the non-stop action of Primal Quest. Thanks, D and D, for putting me up for the night!

Ryan VanGorder Returns to Primal Quest Headquarters After Close Call With Heat Stroke

Photo by Mike Bitton
Ryan VanGorder and his wife, Jennifer VanGorder, pose for a portrait outside Primal Quest headquarters at Red Cliffs Lodge near Moab, Utah.

Ryan VanGorder, workhorse for Seattle-based adventure racing team DART-nuun, was taken off the Primal Quest expedition adventure race course via helicopter four days ago after suffering what doctors here have called a classic case of heat stroke. Whether Ryan would survive his close call with the sudden illness was in question for the first few hours.

Thankfully, Ryan's condition improved daily while in the hospital in Grand Junction, Colo., and today, Ryan returned to Primal Quest headquarters to thank the doctors who very likely saved his life.


"I thank you and my family thanks you," Ryan said to Primal Quest Medical Director Bill Webster.

All the well-wishers who spotted Ryan at headquarters expressed great relief to see him back on his feet.

I'd heard through the grapevine that one of the first things Ryan did when he woke up in the hospital was ask for enchiladas. When I saw him today, I gave him a big hug and apologized for not having any enchiladas to give him. Everybody laughed. We were far too close to not having that laugh with Ryan.

Welcome back, bro! I can't wait to see you back in the Pacific Northwest woods where we belong, instead of this blast-furnace desert.