Well, folks, it’s been another long, hard day in the life of a Primal Quest Racer.  Luckily, without as much rain, lightning or hail!  For the main body of teams, it was another 24 hours of slow and steady progress on the bike course.  Reports from the field indicate that yesterday’s downpour had a considerable effect on the course, creating a thick, gooey mud that made riding nearly impossible in certain areas.  At times, the mud would be so thick, it stuck to the wheels and picked up stones, which it then deposited in the derailleurs and chains of unsuspecting bikers. Many teams opted to push their bikes through the muck, which explains their slower-than-expected progress.

A racer rappels down sheer rock face to the valley far, far below

For the lead teams, today brought a refreshing – and thrilling – new challenge: the ropes course.  Racers ascended Little Devil’s Tower and one other of the high peaks on the High and Wild Climb. They faced two rappelling sections, as well as a zipline and a Tyrolean traverse.  Teams were unabashedly enthusiastic about the experience.  After completing the first ascent, Merrell Haglofs Multimania was wide-eyed and grinning, almost running to the zipline they were so excited.  (Hopefully the main pack will quicken their pace and reach the ropes course before the cutoff!).  Team Bones had an unexpected surprise after a quick snooze at Checkpoint 18. One racer commented that it was amazing what three hours of sleep could do.  A PQ Volunteer pointed out that they had actually been asleep for 6 hours!!!  The team took the news in stride, even though that meant they are now hours behind Team Cordura / Osprey Packs, which they had formerly been running neck-and-neck with.

The sport of adventure racing always has its ups and downs – the highs and lows of the races are what make it so compelling.  As an example, Team Endurox R4 found at an earlier checkpoint that they had lost their map for the U-Haul Mountain Bike Section.  One might assume this means their race is over, but not so at Primal Quest. They waited for the next team to come through – SCAAR – and asked if they could travel together until they move on to a new map.  SCAAR said yes, and they were off, traveling in a pack of eight.  This came in particularly handy when a SCAAR racer lost the rear derailleur off his bike.  The teams worked together to share the load of the gimpy bike – when it was impossible to ride “single speed” (his only option), Endurox R4 members helped push the bike.  Suze Falvey from SCAAR cited this camaraderie as one of the greatest parts of the sport.

When the two teams arrived together at CP18, they were finally able to part ways.  Immediately, Endurox made the decision to charge ahead to the climb site, while SCAAR took a quick snooze for about half an hour.  Their goal was still to make it out before the only “dark zone” on the course, enforced during the laser show at the Crazy Horse Memorial (from 8:30-9:30 each night).  They discussed their experience on the course briefly, all while continuing their preparations to head for the climb site. The team was at Primal Quest Montana, and they feel this race is just as epic – but in very different ways.  They cited the weather as playing a major role in the way they are running the race, and said they have encountered two of the three main types of obstacles – health, mechanical, and navigational.

One of SCAAR’s racers has been racing on a sprained ankle (or “cankle” as he referred to it).  The night before he left for the race, he twisted it when he stepped on his dog’s bone.  Nonetheless, he used his 26 years in the army as an airborne paratrooper to grin and bear it.  Although he was walking with a slight limp, he’s got the ankle wrapped up in a compression bandage and is indulging in “Vitamin I” (Ibuprofen).  “He’s so tough and solid,” teammate Suze said of his reaction to the ankle, “If he has to crawl out of here, he will.”  The pain ranks in the “pretty intense” category – luckily the team will likely be into the water sections within the next 24 hours, where he can rest it from the grueling effort required by the Merrell Marathon and U-Haul Bike sections.

Suze Falvey talks animatedly about Team SCAAR's adventures thus far

Despite their injuries, trials, and tribulations, Team SCAAR is having a great race and are effusive about their experiences here in South Dakota.  One of their fondest memories is the sight of two farmers running at them, threatening to shoot at them to try to keep them off the property.  On the other side of the fence (literally), another farmer was so excited to see them come through, he opened up his pasture to give them a shortcut, even though his horses were not sure what to make of the four racers on bikes.  They said they rode right through his garden, and he couldn’t have been more pleased. Other highlights include several wildlife sightings – four elk in a line, as well as a coyote running down the middle of the trail.  “Just another huge average day in South Dakota” they claimed… all while smiling at a level well above average.

This entry was posted on Monday, August 17th, 2009 at 3:05 am and is filed under Primal Quest. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.