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April/May 2018 • ISSUE #102
KEEPER ISSUE KIM MORIARITY making a difference
FRIENDS OF THE INYO DAVID ALLFREY from Yosemite to Baffin Island
+ LOW EXIT BASE 20 ASJ—June/July 2012
MILLS PEAK + MTB TRAIL OPENING SBTS celebrates a milestone
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Editor’s Note
The Fred Beckey Effect Dirtbags will rule the future
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have been following the student led protests across the nation in response to the school shooting at Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School on February 14th. What I am seeing is a shift in national consciousness being led by a group of teenagers and it’s a wonderful thing. After decades of political gridlock around gun violence it appears rapid change is forthcoming. I am convinced that life is a series of breakdowns followed by breakthroughs. In other words, life is messy. Whether you are talking about questions of national importance like gun control, or personal issues like health, career and family, the pattern of breakdown followed by breakthrough seems inevitable. Recently while watching Dirtbag, the excellent film about the life of Fred Beckey, I had a mind-blowing realization. If you are not familiar with the movie, it is about a legendary mountaineer who spent his entire adult life climbing mountains non-stop. I was watching the movie and suddenly I understood that Beckey was right. His unwavering dedication to adventure is the way forward for all of us. This may sound crazy, but I am convinced that our entire society is in the middle of
For the rest of my life I am going to mountain bike as much as possible.
and throwing punches, a bunch of other security guards arrive on the scene and the homeless guy is tackled to the ground while the crowd cheers. In tiny letters below the video it says, “8.5M Views.” In my hometown of Santa Cruz, signs of the breakdown are everywhere. Traffic gets worse every year. Many people spend half of their monthly paycheck just on rent. The homeless population is growing steadily and no one has figured out how to deal with the situation effectively. Clearly we are having a national
Recently while watching Dirtbag, the excellent film about the life of Fred Beckey, I had a mind-blowing realization ... suddenly I understood that Beckey was right. His unwavering dedication to adventure is the way forward for all of us. a massive breakdown, and Fred Beckey’s breakdown. None of this is sustainable, life represents our breakthrough, our path so here is what I am going to do about forward as a nation. it: mountain bike. For the rest of my life Here is what I mean by national I am going to mountain bike as much as breakdown: Our president is hosting an possible. In addition, I will also surf and ongoing reality TV show that gets weirder climb and snowboard and hike. Every by the minute. The show is constantly day will be about getting on my bike playing on our smartphones, TVs and and going on long rides or engaging in radios. At first it was interesting, but now some sort of adventurous activity. The it’s just a train wreck fueled by advertising breakthrough starts with me. That’s the dollars and social media. The show goes epiphany I had while watching the movie on, but we all feel exhausted instead of about Fred Beckey. One hundred years entertained. from now people will say, “2018 was the I pick up my smartphone and viral videos year America had a breakthrough. All of a start automatically playing one after the sudden we just got completely disgusted other. I watch, even though I don’t want with sitting in traffic, and money, and viral to. The latest viral video is from a shopping videos and devoted our lives to mountain mall where a homeless man is about biking and other adventures. The tipping to get in a fight with a security guard in point was a movie called Dirtbag. That front of a large cheering crowd. “DO IT! movie caused a breakthrough, and we DO IT! DO IT!” they chant. It’s a sad slice became happier and more environmentally of Americana: some poor homeless guy, responsible after that.” probably suffering from PTSD, fights a mall Will you drop out of the rat race and cop who risks his life while making $14 devote your life to adventure? Send me an hour. After circling for 2017. a while an email, love to hear from you:horn. matt@ Campfire memories fromaround Sea Otter, ASJ editor, MattI’d Niswonger on the plasitc adventuresportsjournal.com.
Inbox
Fanmail, Feedback, Ideas & Opinions In response to Feb/March Backcountry Issue // #101 Adventure Lifestyle
A New Reader
Kudos
Hello, I just read your editor’s note on self care and the power within. I had to write — I agree whole heartedly, I also went to Outward Bound’s 21 day alpine mountaineering school, but mine was in Colorado Sanger De Cristos so I know the feelings of that experience. I just returned from my job in SF and I live in Alameda. It takes a while to get home and it’s late — I didn’t get home until 11pm ... I grabbed a copy of Adventure Sports Journal at Sports Basement and headed home on my bike. I sat down to relax and started to read “the news” ....ugh, my head immediately started to get filled with irrelevant negativity, so I put the iPad down and opened up the copy of Adventure Sports Journal. What a relief to read your article, thanks for the inspiration! It totally shifted my train of thought. Everyday life can bombard us with craziness but what matters is getting out and doing something. If I can scare myself a little once in a while, even better!
I just discovered your Feb/March Issue #101 with real enjoyment and much interest. Thank you so much! Our glorious, wide-wide world of adventure and exploration is simply amazing. Wonderment and spiritual fulfillment are essential in my life; and your magazine “hits home!” I look forward to creating and growing a relationship with your publication. Our small family business is constantly challenging, inspiring and rewarding. Enrichment in our great outdoors gives opportunity to learn, grow and prosper. Thank God for family enterprises, independent hard workers and the love, grace and mercy we are blessed to share.
What a great publication you guys have. I thoroughly enjoy the articles and editorials and am inspired by ASJ owner/operators & staff’s vision and commitment. After reading the last issue (Feb/March), I am planning a XC ski trip with some friends to head towards Glacier Point and will probably stay in the yurt (just south of the park) that advertised with you. Thought you and your advertisers would like to know they get a bang for their buck. Thanks again!
— Drew Stemway
— Paul Ahearn
— Michael Caughlan We love hearing from our readers. Drop us a line at
asjstaff@adventuresportsjournal.com
ASJ READERS!
Stop by our booth at Sea Otter Classic, where we will be celebrating our KEEPER ISSUE with a special events raffle. Enter for your chance to win an entry to the Carson City Off-Road, Sagan Fondo, Hopper Adventures event of your choice, and more!
Campfire memories from Sea Otter, 2017. ASJ editor, Matt Niswonger on the plasitc horn. www. advent ur espor t sjour nal. com
7
Table of Contents
Photo: Paul Miller
departments
6 7 10 12 30 32 38
features
Editor’s Note
The Fred Beckey Effect
Inbox
ASJ Readers Chime In
Ear to the Ground News & notes
EPiC
Friends of the Inyo
Event Profiles
Featured upcoming events
14 16 18 20
Photo: Gabriel Mange
Pacific Yurts
Celebrating 40 years
Pro Climber Dave Allfrey
His biggest struggles and what makes him tick
Low Exit BASE Calculated Risks
Kim Moriarity Wildey Living Like Jay
22 24 26 29
Photo: Alex Edge
Bikepacking in SLO County A father/son journey
Mills Peak Trail
A community effort
Old Cazadero
Racing bikes on mixed terrain Photo: Crister Brady
Ace Your Race
Tips for first time MTB racers
Cover Taking on a big creek crossing on the Old Caz course (Paul Miller).
Keeper Calendar
DON’T MISS AN ISSUE – Subscribe to Adventure Sports Journal
Gear We Love
Mail a check for $20 to PO Box 35, Santa Cruz, CA 95063 along with subscriber name and address, or order online at adventuresportsjournal.com/subscribe.
From Sea Otter to 2019 Goodies for an active lifestyle
Photo: Joanne Hihn
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8 ASJ — April/May 2018
asj contributors who is your outdoor hero? PUBLISHING + EDITORIAL
leoniesherman
People who use their passion to bring positive change to their communities and the world: Wangari Maathai, Sylvia Earle, Rachel Carson, Winona LaDuke, Vandana Shiva, Rick Ridgeway, David Brower, Yvon Chouinard.
chrisvanleuven
My outdoor hero is the late Marc-Andre Leclerc. He climbed hard on rock, ice, and in the alpine, but more importantly he was a blast to talk with. I loved his humor and perspective. He will be missed.
kurtgensheimer
Greg Williams, founder of Yuba Expeditions, Downieville Classic and Sierra Buttes Trail Stewardship. People like Greg create the amazing outdoor opportunities on public lands.
havenlivingston The friend who shows up with a smile and respects the LNT ethic! And the women who have brought greater recognition to women in the outdoors like Lynn Hill, Bianca Valenti and Nouria Newman.
clairmarie
sarahjordan
jimbrady
cristerbrady
My outdoor heroes are all the men and women who push the boundaries and excel regardless of upbringing, struggle or circumstance. Those who defy “normal” and cut their own path!
Two women, Shari Kain and Lynn Bessette, were national champions when I started mountain bike racing, and have always been very welcoming and supportive. I really appreciate their talent and generosity! John Muir. He traveled slowly and observed; dreamed and then acted on a vision larger than himself.
PUBLISHER Cathy Claesson cathy@adventuresportsjournal.com EDITOR-IN-CHIEF Matt Niswonger matt@adventuresportsjournal.com MANAGING EDITOR Michele Charboneau michele@adventuresportsjournal.com COPY EDITOR Jennifer Stein jen@adventuresportsjournal.com CONTRIBUTING EDITORS Leonie Sherman, Chris Van Leuven, Kurt Gensheimer, Haven Livingston, Clair Marie, Sarah Mordan, Jim Brady CONTRIBUTING PHOTOGRAPHERS Leonie Sherman, Dean Fidelman, Paul Miller, Alex Edge, Clair Marie, Cheyne Lempe, Clayton Boyd, Kristoffer Wickstrom, Joe Spota, Kaori Photo, Dwight Follien, Called To Creation, Jim Brady, Crister Brady, Gabriel Mange, Julia Runcie, Joanne Hihn, Wendy Schneider, Alex Ertaud, Ken Miller, Merge4/ Cindi Busenhart, Michelle Marlow, Howard “Boots” McGhee, Vallarie Way LAYOUT Cathy Claesson & Michele Charboneau
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COVER DESIGN Juliann Klein ADVERTISING ACCOUNT EXECUTIVE Cathy Claesson I 831.234.0351 cathy@adventuresportsjournal.com EVENTS & DISTRIBUTION Matt Niswonger matt@adventuresportsjournal.com EVENTS MARKETING Michele Charboneau michele@adventuresportsjournal.com Jennifer Stein jen@adventuresportsjournal.com Opinions expressed are those of the authors and not necessarily those of Adventure Sports Journal or our advertisers. We usually agree with our articles, but sometimes we don’t. We welcome all contributions. All content © Adventure Sports Journal 2018. No part of this publication may be reproduced without permission of the editors. ADVENTURE SPORTS JOURNAL PO BOX 35, Santa Cruz, CA 95063 Phone 831.457.9453 asjstaff@adventuresportsjournal.com
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Yosemite Facelift Camping Registration Opens May 1
Ear to the Ground
Photo: Dean Fidelman Collection
News & notes from the outdoor industry
Legendary Climber Jim “The Bird” Bridwell Dies after Illness
The legendary Yosemite climber Jim “The Bird” Bridwell died in Palm Springs on February 16. He will be remembered for his contributions to not only Yosemite climbing — some 100 first-ascent free climbs plus A5 big wall routes on Half Dome and El Capitan — but also cutting-edge alpine routes from Alaska to Patagonia. He is survived by his wife, Peggy, and son, Layton. Bridwell had many adventures around the globe, and was known for this hard-driving, hard-partying approach. In a January 2018 GoFundMe campaign, his son explained that Bridwell suffered complications from hepatitis C. “My mom suspects he could have contracted that from any number of his adventures, but more likely than not it came from the tattoo he received from headhunters during his cross-navigation of Borneo back in the ‘80s when I was a kid.” Bridwell passed peacefully surrounded by friends and family. He was 73.
“Godfather of Santa Cruz” Vince Collier Dies on Surf Trip
The man renowned as “The Godfather of Santa Cruz” passed away at age 57 from a heart attack last week on a Mexican surf trip. Collier was an especially influential surfer on the Santa Cruz surf scene. He was best known as one of the first surfers to do aerials. Collier reportedly suffered the heart attack walking back to his lodging after a surf session at El Mojon beach in San Miguel del Puerto.
Camping reservations for Yosemite Climbing Assocation’s (YCA) 15th annual Yosemite Facelift open May 1. This year’s event — which is held each fall to clean up trash and debris from around Yosemite National Park after the busy summer season — will take place Tuesday, September 25 through Sunday, September 30. The number of volunteers allowed per camping request is now limited to four. Last year, 3,194 volunteers turned in 6,790 pounds of debris which was then sorted for recyclables. Yosemite Facelift was created in 2004 by YCA, in partnership with the National Park Service, to encourage climbers and other visitors to clean up the park at the end of the busy summer season. For more information, visit yosemiteclimbing.org/ facelift-2018.
Bike Park Opens in San Jose
New Twists at Kamikaze Bike Games Mammoth Mountain’s Kamikaze Bike Games is back for 2018 with some exciting new changes and additions. Running September 21-23, the event’s venue moves to Main Lodge, and boasts a fun lineup of events, including the California Enduro Series/EWS Qualifier Enduro, an all-new MegaKami “Le Mans start” Kamikaze downhill race, a free enduro at Chair 11 for kids 12 & under, and more. Event Production Manager Caroline Casey says, “We’re thrilled to change things up this year, and staging at Main Lodge will offer an especially festive feel. The MegaKami’s Le Mans start puts a new twist on an old favorite, and we’re looking forward to getting more youngsters out racing with our kids’ events. And of course, enduro racers will love the new course!” Learn more at kamikazebikegames.com.
The long-anticipated opening of a bike park at Lake Cunningham is set for Saturday, April 14. The San Jose city park is combining its existing skate park with the new bike park to create the all-new ten acre Lake Cunningham Action Sports Park.Admission to the grand opening is free; each rider must sign a waiver and obtain a wristband in order to enjoy the facility. Learn more at sjactionsports.com.
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Carson City Economy Surges as Outdoor Destination
Lodging properties in Carson City saw a nearly 27 percent increase in revenue in 2017 — the highest in the city’s history — according to numbers released by the Carson City Culture and Tourism Authority. “It’s very good. It’s fantastic,” said David Peterson, interim director of the Nevada Department of Tourism and Cultural Affairs. “They’re doing a great job with outdoor recreation, sports tourism, and the arts and culture scene is really taking off. All of these things are contributing to the lift.” The revenues reflect a steady growth over the last five years, showing a 67.9 percent increase since 2013 when lodging revenue was at $13 million. Dunn, who took over as executive director of the Carson City Culture and Tourism Authority in 2013, credits the success to the community’s rebranding as an outdoor and cultural destination, bringing in events such as the Epic Rides Carson City Off-Road. Visit visitcarsoncity.com/ride-carson-city for more information.
Epic Rides Launches 2018 “Hail the Trail” Fundraiser
After a successful inaugural year raising more than $26,000 for trails, the second annual Epic Rides “Hail the Trail” fundraiser launched March 1 with a goal of raising $40,000 by raffling off four high-performance mountain bikes worth $6,000 each. Cannondale Bicycles, Pivot Cycles and Specialized Bicycles have so far each donated a mountain bike worth $6,000 or more to be raffled off after each Off-Road Series event. One more brand is expected to contribute as well. Proceeds from the raffle will be evenly split between the four host communities in the Epic Rides Off-Road Series and the organizations that maintain the trails in them: Prescott Mountain Bike Alliance (PMBA) in Prescott, Arizona; Colorado Plateau Mountain Bike Trail Association (COPMOBA) in Grand Junction, Colorado; Muscle Powered in Carson City, Nevada; and Friends of Arkansas Singletrack (FAST) in Northwest Arkansas. Learn more at epicrides.com
Seating
Photo: Called to Creation
EWS Welcomes Northstar Enduro to 2019 Tour
The Northstar Enduro, which takes place at Northstar California Resorts in Truckee, joins the Enduro World Series (EWS) for its 2019 season. The event is a favorite round on the California Enduro Series (CES) schedule for its physically demanding and highly technical course. Attracting some of the world’s most talented riders, it is one of the three prestigious events showcased on the CES Golden Tour, and this year joins EWS’s inaugural North American Continental Enduro Series. EWS Managing Director Chris Ball says, “We’ve been really proud to work with a growing and developing CES over the past years. From Qualifying events to one of our inaugural 2018 Continental Series events and now a 2019 World Series round, it’s fair to say that the EWS is really excited to bring the global spotlight to California and with none other than the brilliant team at the CES.”
Dawn Wall Documentary Debuts
REEL ROCK recently unveiled its most ambitious project yet: The Dawn Wall, a Red Bull Media House Production in association with Sender Films. The documentary tells the definitive story of the climb that captured the world’s imagination: Tommy Caldwell and Kevin Jorgeson’s astounding free climb of the 3,000-foot face of El Capitan in Yosemite, January 2015. The film had its North American Premiere at Paramount Theatre in Austin, TX on March 11. Stay tuned for more information on showings. You can check out the trailer here: adventuresportsjournal.com/ dawnwall.com
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11
EPiC: Environmental Partnership Campaign
Friends of the Inyo
Advocating for and protecting California’s iconic wild lands By Leonie Sherman
I
f the Eastern Sierra is California’s playground, then the non-profit group Friends of the Inyo (FOI) is playground monitor, custodian and the funnest kid to play with all rolled into one office, five full-time staff members and over a dozen seasonal employees. When concerned individuals got together in 1986 to comment on a new management plan for Inyo National Forest, they never imagined the scope and effectiveness of the organization their ragtag band would become. Over three decades later, FOI collaborates with every agency along the 395 corridor to advocate, explore and steward the area’s greatest legacy — its public lands. “Friends of the Inyo is the only non-profit that works to protect the entire Eastern Sierra region,” says FOI Executive Director Wendy Schneider. “We work all the way from Lone Pine to Bridgeport, from the desert to the summit. We make the phone calls, we fight for the budgets, we advocate for science based management plans, we do policy work. We get out there and solve problems.” “Our mission has three main branches: preservation, exploration and stewardship,” explains FOI Stewardship Program Director Julia Runcie. “We are directly involved with local and regional political advocacy, we sponsor public outings on public lands, and we coordinate yearround volunteer events to do trail work, pick up trash, remove graffiti, plant and water native plants. All of our activities help restore the area and make sure that recreation on our public lands is sustainable.” When the group started they were confrontational, pushing back against what many locals saw as poor management of shared resources. But as the group has matured they’ve earned a reputation for listening carefully and working well with a wide range of individuals and groups, from Death Valley National Park to BLM to the Inyo County Supervisors. “Local agencies really look to us when they have tasks they can’t complete in house,” says Runcie. Thirty years ago, Inyo National Forest hired 10-15 folks every spring to do trail maintenance. These days almost every Inyo Forest Service employee works inside. FOI takes up the slack by fundraising to hire trail stewards. Their seasonal crew removes downed trees, constructs water bars, and clears some of the country’s most popular footpaths, including sections of the John Muir Trail. They 12 ASJ — April/May 2018
also interact with visitors to stoke their enthusiasm for the area and educate about Leave No Trace principles. Some of their largest volunteer events have been as a part of climbing festivals. Every year the American Alpine Club hosts the Bishop Fall Highball Craggin’ Classic — three days of clinics and partying in the Buttermilk. “This past year, 141 climbers came out to volunteer,” says Runcie. They helped plant bitter brush, picked up several hundred pounds of trash, reduced massive fire rings at camp sites and delineated trails by lining them with rocks. “People were so grateful for the opportunity to do some work and pay back the area for all the good times they’d had there,” Runcie explains with a grin. “A lot of folks followed up to ask about more opportunities for volunteering.” Thanks to FOI, learning how to take care of the land is part of festival goers’ climbing education. This past February, FOI worked with Death Valley National Park to restore the Racetrack, an ancient lake bed tucked between tall mountains and covered with sinuous tracks made by rocks that get blown over the frozen surface by winter winds. Recently people have been making their own tracks by driving illegally over the playa. One person even landed a plane out there. Those tracks last many decades. The Park Service won an OHV grant to efface those tracks and called on FOI’s experienced and enthusiastic crew to help with the project. Eight FOI volunteers joined the park service and used rakes and a hand-powered rototiller called a Garden Weasel to pulverize the sediment in the tracks. Then they used concrete floats to level the surface and applied hundreds of gallons of water. “It was amazing to watch these hexagonal shapes and cracks form right before our eyes,” says Runcie. “We had about 20 people working for four hours and managed to efface 500 feet of tracks,” she continues. “There are several miles of those vehicle This page, top to bottom: Sunset on Centennial Flat (Joanne Hihn); Teamwork in stewardship (Wendy Schneider); Cleaning up at the Buttermilk Boulders, an increasingly popular climbing spot (Julia Runcie); Trail Ambassador Astra Lincoln demonstrates proper sawing technique to volunteers (Alex Ertaud). Opposite page, top to bottom: Walking to the worksite on the Ansel Adams Wilderness Project (Ken Miller); Stewardship Program Director Julia Runcie works on effacing illegal tire tracks on the Racetrack Playa in Death Valley (Joanne Hihn).
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tracks on the playa, so it’s a monumental task.” Judging by FOI’s past successes, they are up for it. “We are basically a one stop shop for environmental issues in this area,” explains FOI Operations Manager Michael Cleaver. “The diversity of projects we contribute to reflects the diversity of the land we are working to protect.” The scope of their work points to the disintegration of federal oversight on our public lands. “If we weren’t doing this work it wouldn’t get done,” says FOI Communications and Outreach Manager Alex Ertaud. But shifting federal priorities can encourage a resurgence of grassroots involvement and commitment. Schneider explains, “If you enjoy these places, if you climb or ski or hike or fish or ride an OHV here, get involved and help take care of them.”
JUNE 2, 2018
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The Desert Renewable Energy Conservation Plan (DRECP) Threatened The Desert Renewable Energy Conservation Plan (DRECP) balances recreation, conservation and renewable energy development on 22.5 million acres in seven counties in southern California. After eight years of negotiations, all the major stakeholders — motorized and non-motorized recreational users, environmentalists and government agencies — agreed to streamline renewable energy development while protecting wild lands for scenic beauty, environmental integrity and recreational use. Then, President Trump issued an Executive Order to increase energy development on public lands, jeopardizing the entire plan. “The DRECP is a a science based long term management plan,” says Friends of the Inyo (FOI) Executive Director Wendy Schneider. “The Trump administration wants to remove the few environmental protections that exist because there’s a belief they interfere with economic activity, like mining or development of wind farms. Friends of the Inyo fights to keep those protections in place.” So when the BLM met in Lone Pine to discuss Trump’s directive, FOI packed the room with over 70 people. Every single one of them spoke in favor of preserving the plan the way it stands. The next day, when Inyo County Supervisors met to discuss their response to Trump’s order, they were met with such a large audience they were forced to seat people in the lobby. Again, every person spoke in favor of preserving the DRECP. The Supervisors agreed to draft a letter stating they do not support reconsidering the DRECP. FOI joins other non-profits across the country who are fighting back against federal directives that would harm their communities. Grassroots support and community engagement empower local and state agencies to resist. “Friends of the Inyo is a small part of a larger legislative process,” says FOI Board Member Michael Prather. Consensus among mountain bikers, backpackers, OHV riders and deep ecologists is rare. When all those folks agree with the California Energy Commission, California Department of Fish and Wildlife, the US Bureau of Land Management, and the US Fish and Wildlife Service, the result is an exquisitely crafted document that required hundreds of hours of painful meetings and difficult compromise. President Trump’s Executive Order threatens to make the entire process null and void and would require all stakeholders to start over again. — LS www. advent ur espor t sjour nal. com
13
Pacific Yurts Celebrating 40 years of portable structures By Leonie Sherman Photos courtesy Pacific Yurts
14 ASJ — April/May 2018
When Alan Bair was a young tree planter in the Pacific Northwest he saw a photo of a Mongolian ger — or yurt — in National Geographic and thought it might be the solution to his housing woes. Living out of a pup tent for weeks at a time while he was in the field on contracts was getting stale. He never imagined the yurt he built from scratch would provide a livelihood for his family and a dedicated crew of 35 employees. Forty years later, the company he started, Pacific Yurts, has shipped thousands of simple, round structures around the globe. Americans know what a yurt is thanks largely to his efforts.
B
air bought a piece of undeveloped land in rural Oregon, and he and his wife moved into the yurt while they got a garden going and built the house they’ve lived in ever since. Though they’ve added a porch and replaced the fabric on that original yurt, it still stands on their property. “My kids’ friends and visitors love to stay there,” Bair explains. Before long people started calling to ask for help putting up their own yurts, or to enlist Bair’s assistance in building a yurt on their property. Along with two other partners, Bair started the business in a dairy barn outside of Cottage Grove, Oregon and began to manufacture the shelters. Originally he shared shop space with a bike trailer manufacturer and a furniture maker. Now Pacific Yurts operates two facilities near Cottage Grove and produces hundreds of yurts every year. “Without even knowing what an entrepreneur was, I became one,” says Bair with a laugh. “We might have sold 15 yurts that first year,” says Bair with a sigh. “We weren’t making a lot of money and my original partners decided it wasn’t for them. Those first few years were a struggle,” he admits. But then Bair discovered electronically welded fabrics. Pacific Yurts won an award from the Industrial Fabrics Association International which brought a lot of exposure along with credibility and contacts. A new customer, who was an aerospace engineer, introduced NASA insulation and Bair’s company became the first to use it in a yurt.
“The premium fabric on our yurts comes with a 15 year warranty,” Bair explains with a hint of pride. “That’s a longer warranty than most roofs!” Nomads from Central Asia were the first to use yurts, but in the 21st century, people from all over the globe appreciate the traditional structure. “I think something deep inside us longs for a simpler life,” explains Bair. “And a yurt, well, it’s round, there’s a view of the stars at night, you can sense when wind kicks up and hear the rain falling but stay warm and cozy inside. A yurt really speaks to people, it represents a simpler lifestyle.” “The use of a yurt is limited only by imagination,” says Bair. Pacific Yurts customers have used the structure as a fly fishing lodge in Patagonia, and a heli ski base camp in British Columbia. People use them as art studios, and parks in almost every state rent them out in developed campgrounds. A native judge in the southwest calls his a hogan and uses it as a community court house. Tahoe Treetop Adventure Park has one suspended eight feet up in a Jeffrey Pine that they’ve used as an office for seven years; the trunk grows out of the skylight. “It holds up really well, even in the winter,” says CEO Jesse Desens, who was impressed when the yurt stayed standing after last year’s monster loads of heavy snow. “All our customers walk in there to sign waivers and make reservations, and they just love it.” The rise of ecotourism means resorts are the fastest growing segment of Pacific Yurt’s business. “A lot of
campgrounds and sustainable lodges want a light footprint, and visitors want to make sure they’re not harming the environment. A yurt really bridges a gap there, where families can be more comfortable than regular camping, feel close to nature, but know that they’re doing no harm.” And Pacific Yurts has gotten right on board with the trend towards luxury in the wilderness, offering larger models, which provide space for add-ons like a bathroom, a full kitchen, a wood-burning stove, thermoglass French doors. One customer has even installed a wide screen TV. “We started providing yurts for ‘glamping’ before there was even a name for it!” Bair says. Bair is most proud of the customer service offered by Pacific Yurts and its team of skilled workers. Every customer gets a survey a few weeks after receiving his or her yurt. Feedback is almost all positive, but occasionally customers offer ideas for how they can improve their product. Employees work as a team and focus on quality and craftsmanship every step of the way, right down to the presentation of
Opposite page top to bottom: Yurts are simple and aesthetically pleasing; Alan Bair co-founded Pacific Yurts over forty years ago. This page: Exterior and interior views of Yurts. The versatile shelter is being used to offer year ‘round “glamping” for outdoor enthusiasts who don’t want to sleep in tents.
generate income even during the shoulder season. “It’s really gratifying to know that a beautiful scenic area has been able to remain open to the public thanks in some part to the money they get from renting out our yurts,” says Bair. And 40 years after cobbling together his first model from scratch, he’s still in love
The use of a yurt is limited only by imagination, insists Bair. Pacific Yurts customers have used the structure as a fly fishing lodge in Patagonia, and a heli ski base camp in British Columbia. People use them as art studios, and parks in almost every state rent them out in developed campgrounds.
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15
Uninterrupted Drive Professional climber David Allfrey By Chris Van Leuven
From Patagonia to Baffin Island, Allfrey seeks out the most inaccessible summits in the world; retreat is his last option. We discovered what makes him tick and his biggest struggles.
T
This page, top to bottom: Allfrey ascending fixed ropes in Baffin Island, June 2015 (Cheyne Lempe); Black and white portrait (Clayton Boyd). Oppotsite page, clockwise from left: Allfrey tending the anchor while partner Cheyne Lempe follows in Baffin Island (Cheyne Lempe); Leading Zodiac’s Nipple Pitch while climbing El Cap with Alex Honnold (Gabriel Mange); Belaying on The Radiator, a cutting edge aid route in Zion National Park (Kristoffer Wickstrom). 22 ASJ — April/May Dec/Jan 2014 16 2018
he lashings started as the sun set over the Central Valley. It began as whips of water before erupting into a wild, gushing fire hose. All at once the 1,575-foot Horsetail Falls deviated from El Cap’s east flank and hit us with everything it had. As we hung by climbing slings midway up the face that soggy March day eight years ago, winds swept across the Valley floor, smacking the wall below us and roaring up in a violent mixture of cottonball clouds and whistling air. We crawled into our hanging shelter, burrowed into our sleeping bags and waited it out until morning. That night, winds caught our hanging shelter and threw it around like a bronco bucking its rider. “To this day that was the most terrifying night I’ve had on El Cap,” David Allfrey shares over the phone from his home in Las Vegas. In the morning, as the sun rose behind Half Dome, we peered out of our hanging perch to see saturated black streaks cascading down the wall around us, pinching off and disappearing in the breeze. To me, the climb was over – I was too cold, too shell-shocked — but Allfrey shrugged it off and wanted to continue. “We would have gotten wet, but it wouldn’t have been that bad,” he later told me. Since I’ve known Allfrey, now 33, I’ve rarely seen or heard him retreat off anything. Once he was a whisper away from the summit of Fitz Roy in Patagonia when a building storm forced retreat. He and Cheyne Lempe reached the deck when the clouds opened up; it didn’t stop raining hard for a week. Another time, he was smashed in the back by falling rock in Baffin Island, the injury forcing an immediate evacuation. Short of those times, he reaches the summit at most any cost, sometimes with worldfamous Alex Honnold, other times with his closest friends or fellow members of The North Face climbing team. What makes him stop and reflect, other than wild storms and falling stone, is the knowledge that as the
years have passed more and more of his comrades have died in the alpine. “I never said no to a big trip until now,” he told me in December. In recent months one friend died in a rappelling accident, one committed suicide and another suffered a severe spinal cord injury caused by a 120-foot fall. He had arrived home from a trip to the Cirque of the Unclimbables in the Northwest Territories, where he used rafts to float 250 miles down a river and completed the first ascent on a 1,000-foot tower (plus more feats), to a laundry list of bad news. “People were getting hurt in Yosemite. There was a huge rockfall off El Cap, and lots of death and destruction,” he said. “And once I felt like I had processed Hayden’s death [Hayden Kennedy took his own life after he and his girlfriend, Inge Perkins, were in an avalanche that killed her], then Neils Tietze died in Yosemite in a rappelling accident. Those all caused me to pump the brakes.” Big pause. He chokes up through the receiver. “That could be any of us. That could be me.”
Going Inside That winter he moved his training and climbing circuits indoors where he could enjoy a homogenized, controlled experience, one free of sketchy rappels, stuck ropes, unstable cliffs and unpredictable weather. Day in and day out he’d get his work done, then hit the climbing gym, doing laps until his arms turned into jelly. He would also take his girlfriend out to dinner and generally play it safe. The whole time he thought about the friends that were no longer with him and “reflecting on where my heart is with it all.” Then the anxiousness crept in and he knew it was time to get going. “I’m always in a state of planning and figuring out what the next thing is,” he says. “Because of that, I’m not always in the now.”
Then he got a call from seasoned expedition climber Paul McSorley, from British Columbia, who invited him to climb a first ascent big wall deep in the Colombian jungle with his friend Kieran Brownie. The two banged out their route in a fraction of the time they planned, despite climbing in 110+°F heat that made their skin melt, before heading to the next objective. Next they caught a bus halfway across the country to climbing area La Ventana (The Window), a limestone cave over a 2,000foot waterfall. The night before starting up, they heard rumors that the routes were unsafe due to the protection bolts corroding in their holes. They took one look at the wall and the rusty bolts peppering the ceiling and turned around — it wasn’t worth it. When I caught up with him soon after his trip, at the end of February, he was planning his next expedition, this
time to Pakistan to climb Trango Tower in the Himalaya with members of The North Face team. You can hear the intensity in his voice. And when he climbs, it’s with that same rhythmic, steady drive as when he talks, like a train. “Fast is fast, slow is fucked up and slow!” is his mantra, meaning if you never second-guess, just move, the summit will be reached. He doesn’t let go of the receiver until he knows plans are concrete, an action set. He’s like a Rottweiler clamping its jaw on a new toy.
From Pacific Edge to the Himalaya Allfrey’s parents started climbing in 1970 and introduced David to the sport when he was eight. Raised in San Jose, his youth consisted of frequent climbing trips to the Sierra
with his family and learning his father’s trade of cleaning carpets and windows. His mother taught high school AP Chemistry. At 14 he began balancing work with the family business, school, and climbing, logging 12-hour days. He enrolled at UC Santa Cruz keeping his feverish pace, adding big wall climbing to his repertoire in 2009, ticking off El Cap routes during long weekends with his mentor Scott Lappin. He also climbed daily at Pacific Edge climbing gym. After graduating, he worked as a substitute teacher, worked on Yosemite’s prestigious Search and Rescue team, and performed rope access work on wind towers before returning to the family business of washing windows and carpets. In the near decade I’ve known him, he’s only gotten stronger and faster. In 2013 he and Alex Honnold made the first one-day ascent of El Cap’s Excalibur route in 16 hours 10 minutes, cutting the record by 23 hours. They later climbed the 3,000-foot formation seven times in seven days. Where most parties ascend Yosemite’s Leaning Tower in two days, he’s climbed it in two and a half hours. He’s taken expeditions to the Northwest Territories, Patagonia, Baffin Island, Colombia, Africa and Mexico. To date, he’s climbed El Cap 49 times via 29 routes. For these and other significant ascents, in 2016 Allfrey won the American Alpine Club’s Robert Bates Award for “outstanding accomplishment by a young climber.” The award is one of his most prized possessions. Today he lives with his girlfriend of 10 years, Carmen Johnson, a speech pathologist, in Vegas. He ekes out a living as a climbing guide in Red Rock Canyon National Conservation Area, washing windows and collects a check from title sponsor The North Face. “I’m glad to finally have a rest day,” he said over the phone, having recently returned from back-to-back climbing trips. But he soon admitted that a rest day doesn’t mean he’ll hit the couch and watch T.V. “I may end up doing manual labor in the backyard, which isn’t really a rest day activity, it’s windy out here like 50 mph gusts.” As we went to press, we learned that Allfrey and Carmen Johnson were married. Follow his travels on his website, davidallfrey.com, and on Instagram @daveallfrey.
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17
Low Exit BASE Calculated Risks By Clair Marie
Despite what most people believe, BASE jumpers don’t have a death wish. Instead we have a powerful desire to push ourselves to our limits and beyond. We challenge what we’re told are the limits and move past our fear in an educated and calculated way.
M
ost people think of BASE jumping as a crazy, adrenaline packed sport that attracts misfits and people with a screw loose. Why would anyone want to fall off a cliff? Well ... I am one of those people. In addition to climbing and mountain biking I also happen to love BASE jumping, and in particular low exit BASE jumping, which generally refers to jumps of less than 1,000 feet. I don’t think of myself as crazy. Instead I am someone who likes to practice safety and self-reliance. For those of you who don’t know, BASE is an acronym that stands for Building, Antenna, Span and Earth. The
act of BASE jumping is to jump from one of these four main objects with a parachute on your back. Unlike skydiving out of an airplane which has both a main and a reserve parachute, a BASE jumping system only has one parachute, there is no reserve chute. BASE jumpers have one chance for success, which makes safety and preparation crucial! There are many different disciplines that fall under the sport of BASE jumping: There’s Wingsuit BASE jumping from high cliffs and buildings that allow you to soar almost like a bird; track suit jumping that propels you forward using your body and a special suit to give you
This page, top to bottom: Exciting canopy flight after a short BASE jump in Oregon (Clair Marie Backwards POV); Exit Bliss and freefall freedom in Moab, Utah (Alex Edge). Opposite page: Working on body rotation during a low exit jump (Alex Edge).
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maximized distance while allowing your arms and legs to move freely; and then there is just BASE jumping — jumping from an object, no specialized clothing, and opening a parachute to land safely on the ground.
How to mitigate risk BASE jumpers spend a lot of time identifying risk and figuring out the best way to mitigate that risk. Our sport has inherent danger associated with it. We have millions of years worth of DNA pumping through our veins telling us that if we jump, we’re going to die. That knowledge, that feeling that’s ingrained within us creates fear. Fear is totally normal and healthy to experience, but our goal is to push past that fear in the safest way possible. I have three pillars I go by: — Know your ability level. Know what you are capable of and what you are not yet able to do. — Operate well below your ability level. Sometimes things don’t go as planned and if you are giving 100%, you won’t have room to correct an error or deal with a situation. — Be aware of the company you keep. In BASE jumping there is a really strong group mentality that factors into safety. It is almost like borrowed confidence. You are hanging out in a group and one person might be really experienced and ready to accept the risk associated with a specific jump, but another jumper might not. But because of the group mentality it is not uncommon to see new or inexperienced jumpers making bad decisions because other more experienced jumpers decided for themselves that they were comfortable with it.
The risks of low exit BASE A standard free fall time during BASE jump in the US will range from 1-10 seconds depending on the height of the object you leap from. The taller the object, the longer free fall you will get. Longer free fall and taller jumps aren’t always safer, just as lower jumps aren’t necessarily more dangerous. Each individual object has its own very unique traits that you need to pay attention to, and every jump has to be approached differently to ensure the best possible outcome.
Generally speaking though, safety comes from separation and separation is a result of time spent in the air. Lower jumps equal less time in the air, which equals less separation. The biggest risk factor associated with jumping lower objects is the potential for an object strike. If for some reason the parachute does not open perfectly your body is closer to the object, the time a jumper has to correct the problem is very short and the potential for an object strike is increased. Object strikes are incredibly dangerous and account for a high percentage of BASE jumping related injuries and fatalities. When your body and parachute hit an object not only does the jumper suffer from the initial impact but there is the possibility of getting hung up on a snag point and dangling hundreds of feet in the air by something that could give away at any given time. This leaves the jumper suspended in the air waiting for rescue. If the jumper doesn’t get hung up, they will likely strike the object multiple times on the way down before hitting the ground with incredible force. Another risk factor to consider when making low jumps is the reduced time under the parachute and the fact that the jumper is opening his/her parachute much closer to the ground. When making short jumps even milliseconds count. The jumper’s timing has to be perfect when opening his/her parachute, and fatalities resulting in a low pull or mistimed pull are not uncommon. Ideally a jumper would open high enough to have the ability to fix any potential issues and still have time to safely make his/her way to the landing area. Generally, the more time a jumper has under the parachute the better chance he/she has of landing safely. When jumping low objects the time spent under the canopy is minimized giving the jumper very little option to correct an issue or find an alternate landing area. Although the stakes can be higher when participating in low jumps, I enjoy it because it requires proper preparation and being at the top of my game. Low exit BASE forces me to react quickly and accurately under pressure. Most importantly it has taught me to not be afraid to walk away if things aren’t right. For me, these are skills that help me in every aspect of my life.
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19
Kim
Seventeen years after losing Jay, Kim Moriarity Wildey is taking her foundation to the next level By Haven Livingston
On June 15, 2001 professional surfer Jay Moriarity drowned while free diving in the Indian Ocean off the coast of an island in the Maldives. At the young age of 22, when most surfers are freewheeling their way through life, Jay was becoming legendary. From his courage at taking the first full wipe-out at Mavericks to his friendly smiles in the line-up, Jay had a following long before the days of Instagram. His death left a deep wound in the hearts of many, but most of all it dealt a devastating blow to his wife of barely a year, Kim.
I
n spite of her pain, Kim Moriarity dug deep into her heart and found a way to shine Jay’s love back out into the world. Seventeen years later she continues to lead a movement of compassion based on the legacy that Jay left behind. The Jay Moriarity Foundation (JMF) is a nonprofit organization grounded in the principles of love and kindness that Jay was best known for. Starting out as high school sweethearts, Kim and Jay Moriarity were married in 2000 at ages 24 and 22, respectively. Their life together was full of play and giving back to the community. With the ocean as their greatest playground, they spent time fishing, paddling and beach running together. Both surfed for Team O’Neill and coached surf camps in Europe. They were active in the community group Pack Your Trash. While Jay was gaining popularity in the surfing world with equal parts surfing prowess, kindness and positivity, Kim was out of the limelight as a local hero in their hometown of Santa Cruz. She was training to be a firefighter/EMT and volunteered as a coach for the Soquel High School surf team. As a couple their greatest goals were to enjoy life together and make the world a better place. When Jay died, Kim was cut loose from her mooring. Adrift and uncomfortable in her own skin, she was thrust into the spotlight in Jay’s absence. Days after his death, hundreds of people gathered at Pleasure Point near the Moriarity’s home for a surfer’s style farewell paddle-out. The number of people shocked Kim, but what surprised her more was how Jay’s spirit broke down the barriers between people and moved them towards a common goodwill. “Seeing everyone so distraught with their faces soaked in tears of grief and shock that he was not physically with us anymore, and to watch enemies embrace each other and people who had never even met him be brought to their knees with sadness, my heart and soul knew then that Jay had left me with a bigger mission,” Kim told ASJ during an interview for this article. Kim has since remarried and now goes by the name Kim Moriarity Wildey. 20 ASJ — April/May 2018
That day was a catalyst for turning a devastating and unimaginable tragedy into a positive movement. Losing Jay brought Kim to her knees and swallowed her with grief, but it never stopped her from helping others. “I started planting seeds of love and light in those open wounds,” she said. Three months later she created the Jay Moriarity Foundation with the purpose of making the world a better place for everyone. At the one-year anniversary of Jay’s death, the Santa Cruz Paddleboard Union held the inaugural Jay Race paddle event as a celebration of Jay’s life. At the time, Kim wasn’t excited about the race. She was still dealing with her life being turned inside out. But the event proved to be a genuine gathering of the community, and within a few years she was an integral part of it. When Hollywood came knocking to make a movie about Jay’s life and his quest as a 16-year-old to surf Mavericks, Kim wasn’t keen on answering. Going public about their life was never her goal, and she feared glamorization of his story. Eventually she agreed and worked closely with the film producers, but her involvement was aimed at keeping the story and the actors as true as possible. “With Chasing Mavericks, my goal was that I wanted to reach people’s heart. I wanted it to inspire them to be better people, because that’s what Jay was all about,” she said. During the nine years of making the movie she continually relived her life with Jay. “I wasn’t able to fully mourn his loss until after the movie was released in 2012,” she said. To this day, messages continue to roll
into her inbox from around the world about how Chasing Mavericks changed peoples’ lives for the better. And for Kim, that makes it all worth it. This is the essence of Kim Moriarity Wildey; if she can do something that will help others she will, even when it is a sacrifice to herself. She is the kind of person who feels like your best friend five minutes after meeting her. She genuinely cares about everyone. “I bleed red too,” she says in an effort to convey the feeling that we are all one. “At the end of the day we are all in this together.” The popularity of Chasing Mavericks infused the Jay Moriarity Foundation with a rush of energy. Suddenly the Jay Race was on the international paddleboard race map. The JMF took over running the event and it became a substantial fundraiser for the organization. For the second consecutive year, the 2018 Jay Race will be a USA Paddleboard team championship qualifier in the distance race on stock paddleboards. It will also be held on what would have been Moriarity’s 40th birthday. Proceeds from the Jay Race and the JMF benefit local Junior Lifeguard programs, Oceans of Hope and the Angel Warriors for Kids. Through the rush of attention, Kim stays true to herself. The kids obstacle course at the Jay Race is still her favorite part and she’s intent on keeping a family focus on the event. When Polly Sirles and Michelle Marlow joined Kim and her team two years ago, they started a program through the JMF focused on helping families that have medically fragile children or parents, called Angel Warriors for Kids (AW4K).
“Seeing everyone so distraught with their faces soaked in tears of grief and shock that he was not physically with us anymore, and to watch enemies embrace each other and people who had never even met him be brought to their knees with sadness, my heart and soul knew then that Jay had left me with a bigger mission.” — Kim Moriarity Wildey
Opposite page, top to bottom: Kim holding the Jay Moriarity Merge4 socks (Merge4/Cindi Busenhart); Jay Race poster (JMF collection). This page, clockwise from upper left: Prone paddlers at the start of the Jay Race, Capitola (JMF collection); Kim with husband Murphy Wildey and Gayle Brubaker in front of the JMF booth at the Pleasure Point Street Fair (Michelle Marlow); Kim and Frosty at the Jay Race (Kim’s personal collection); Kim with the kids at the Jay Race — the mini Jay Racers were all wet and so was Kim from all the hugs! (Howard “Boots” McGhee). In 2017, AW4K teamed up with Cops Care Cancer Foundation along with private donors to adopt 51 families and supplied them with their Christmas wishes. AW4K provides practical needs for families that other organizations don’t provide. Kim puts in sweat equity alongside other volunteers to do things like sterilize houses so sick kids can come home from the hospital, supply new tires to a vehicle that transports kids to medical treatments, and run errands for families in need. In addition, the JMF is in the process of implementing an
the
fun
anti-bullying program in schools sharing Jay’s life story as a catalyst for positive change. There is no end to Kim’s altruism. She always knew she would spend her life in the service of others, she just never knew it would look like this. “I’m hard wired for helping others,” she said. “I can’t help but want to reach out, jump in and make people’s lives easier.” She is the truest living example of the motto, “Live like Jay.” Not because she is like Jay, but because she is true to herself and embodies courage, compassion and kindness.
starts here ...
“Jay set a great example of how to be a better and more loving human being,” Kim said. “It can be as simple as smiling and saying hello to someone. Holding a door open for someone and finding ways to help each other and our communities. It’s all about making human connections and truly, just genuinely caring about everyone and everything around you.” Registration for the 2018 Jay Race is now open. Be a part of this incredible event and fundraiser on what would have been Jay Moriarity’s 40th birthday. jaymoriarityfoundation.org
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21
Bikepacking with Crister A father and son journey through SLO County By Jim Brady
We climbed a steep cattle road in the afternoon light into the Temblor Range, crossing the San Andreas fault. Not a tree in sight, the dry grasses were brown and brittle. Behind us the view stretched to forever, 100 miles across the plains, over the Caliente and San Raphael Ranges, with smoke plumes rising from the fires along the Los Padres Wilderness. Towards evening, the track we’d followed, hoping to get to the crest, ended abruptly. Cold winds were picking up, so it was time to make camp. Perfect. A view to forever with the winter sun setting quickly and throwing a shadow across the valley.
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ur paths as father and son have crossed, merged, overlapped, and diverged through the years. In this current phase of life I am nearing the end of a 45 year journey as educator and outdoor trip leader, and my son Crister is entering a career as a family medicine doctor. Luckily we had some time together in late-December for a bikepacking trip. This time the plan was to stay local, cycling deep into our own backcountry, the Los Padres National Forest. Plans changed as the Thomas Fire, the largest wildfire in California history, erupted at the southern edge of the Los Padres, raging along the mountains and into communities. Smoke and ash made breathing tenuous, and any foray into the backcountry out of the question. So we chose to bikepack the Carrizo Plains, the largest single grassland plain in California, approximately 50 miles long and 15 miles across, between the Temblor and Caliente Mountain ranges in southeastern San Luis Obispo County.
22 ASJ — April/May 2018 Dec/Jan 2014
A History of Bikepacking Sometime around 55 years ago my friend and I let air out of our Schwinn Sting Ray bike tires and headed up the trails into the mountains near our home, into the Los Padres. To celebrate our 8th grade graduation we put some stuff in our backpacks and cycled up and over San Marcos Pass, staying in a cabin for a few days along the Santa Ynez River. It felt good to not know what each day’s adventure would be, where we were going or how we would get there. Then, decades later, I set off on a bike journey homeward from the Central California coast, my first time using a real rack and panniers. We called them bike bags. Cool, but they kept getting caught-up in the spokes and had to be rigged with bungee cords. That two-day one-night 150 mile July ride was memorable. I found what turned out to be the steepest back road I’d ever ridden, taking me up and over the mountains from the coastal fog to blistering summer heat. And in the evening when I finally arrived in camp, I was awakened by a ranger and his blinding flashlight. He said I couldn’t sleep there and made me pack up my gear, load it on the bike, and then escorted me down the road back to the camp entrance, staying with me until I paid the fee and joined other cyclists in the Bike ‘n Hike. Sleep deprived, I woke early and rode the final 70 miles of rolling hills homeward. I was tired and sunburnt, but smiling. That two-day adventure helped encourage my propensity for wilderness camping, cycling and hiking. Since then I’ve led cycling journeys with students across Australia, New Zealand, England and Ireland, Hawai’i; from Andes to Amazon in Bolivia, and on dozens of local
trips in California and the Southwest. Then, twenty years ago, I led the first group of middle school students to bikepack the trails and dirt roads from Canada to Mexico. We’d thought about riding East to West across the US, but were drawn to the path less traveled, the newly mapped Great Divide Route.
On the Road with Crister Last December, my son Crister and I found a few empty days to explore the Carrizo Plains together. Since sixth grade Crister has bicycled thousands of miles with me. In high school he set out on his own, riding 3,000 dirt miles across Australia and the length of Chile with his surfboard on a trailer. We found over the years that these journeys have enriched our lives immeasurably. Crister drawing from his experiences to expand his views on community and health, and me always striving to provide experiential learning opportunities for my middle school students. Now, our plan for our brief three night trip in the Carrizo Plains was to take the path less traveled and simply enjoy being together under the sun and stars for a few days. Darkness fell by 5pm on our first evening, but we stayed up and enjoyed the Geminids Meteor Shower arcing across the moonless sky. Awaking on the second morning to a strong dry wind, we seemed to take forever to heat breakfast and pack our gear without the efficiency we both knew can take a few weeks to ease into. It was also December, so we had to pay attention to the weather and warm clothes, but our mountain ridge campsite separated us from the below freezing temperatures in the plains below. Our first challenge was water — it was only our second day and our chosen route had already humbled us. Luckily, a cattle trough just down from our camp did the trick. Loaded to the brim, we descended out of the Caliente Range hitting nearly 40mph before hitting the brakes. We passed the dried white Soda Lake to the North and pedaled southward. Riding side-by-side on the gravel and sand track with not a car in sight I was reminded of thousands of miles along the Great Divide. Crister read my mind and remarked how wonderful it was to be only a few hours from home and yet feeling really “out there.” Before we knew it, we were at a fork in the road. We could continue southward as planned towards an
Opposite page, top to bottom: Self-portrait of Crister and Jim climbing towards Caliente Peak with a view to the north behind them (Crister Brady); Riding across the Carrizo Plain with smoke in the distance from the Thomas Fire (Crister Brady). This page, clockwise: Crister descends a grassy ridge trail towards Soda Lake (Jim Brady); Jim climbs in the evening light up the ridge on the Western edge of the Carrizo Plain (Crister Brady); Fully loaded with food, water, gear, and of course, the Charango (Crister Brady).
increasingly smoky horizon, or jump straight across the plains and climb up into the Caliente Mountains. The decision was as clear as the ridgeline to the West, but it meant taking at least a half day off our adventures. No problem. More time to explore sidetrails and take in the beauty of a place we had to ourselves. With our newly relaxed timeline Crister proceeded to get out his camera and ride up and down some ridiculously steep 4x4 tracks — nearly eating a Carrizo dirt sandwich, but recovering at the last second and pulling alongside me, wide-eyed and grinning. “Whoa, that was awesome! Get any shots?” Nearly a doctor, but always a kid on a bicycle. Out across sandy tracks and onto a large deep gravel road over the next few hours, our illusion of a more
relaxed timeline dissolved as we seemingly inched towards the base of our climb to our ridgeline camp. The winter sun was already beginning to retreat as we started up the climb. Crister rode ahead, waiting for me at each switchback turn. Long, mountainous shadows grew across the valley as the road steepened and eventually abandoned all switchbacks and followed the steep ridge skyward. Now having climbed nearly 4,000 feet, my focus became camp and rest, but Crister mentioned a small trail he had seen just off the road. “Looks like it follows the ridge back to our car. I think we should take it tomorrow.” That evening we stayed on the ridge with a magnificent view thousands of feet below us and hundreds of miles in all directions. The plume of smoke in the distance
somehow made us feel further from home, but the familiarity of our backcountry surroundings and our tired bodies was reassuring. Over dinner we rose to the challenge of remembering each of the 72 campsites from the Great Divide and read excerpts out loud from The Expedition, a book that recounts characters, mishaps and lessons learned from crossing the Australian Outback as part of the world’s first human-powered circumnavigation. Crister strummed his Charango — from his travels in Bolivia and Chile — while we sung old favorites like Rocky Racoon and the self-written We Like Dirt. The night sky gave us another meteor show before I drifted to sleep and Crister poured over his GPS planning our off-the-path route for the next day. We awoke at dawn to take a route that at first glance on the map had no paths and no obvious trails. We had no idea how long it would take us. Was it rideable? An old trail sign marked the beginning and a barely visible jeep trail turned into animal paths along grassland ridges, through juniper trees, and dry arroyos. It was a route of pure adventure and discovery on our bikes and even as we made miles, we weren’t sure that we would connect with our destination. Smiles and hoots ensued all day as we simply enjoyed each other’s company and the landscape that surrounded us. We were happy when we connected with the road, but both of us could have kept going on the path less traveled for weeks more. Just like my early bicycle explorations in the mountains on my Schwinn and later with bungee cords to hold my bike bags in place, we finished this one with new ideas for where to explore next. Grateful to have had these days together and time to recount the many adventures we have shared over the years, we can’t wait for our next trip.
festival ready FIND ALL YOUR WENZEL FESTIVAL A N D C A M P I N G I T E M S AT:
wenzelco.com
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Nine Miles of Community Building The story of Mills Peak Trail By Kurt Gensheimer What started in 2007 as a dream to construct a 9-mile multi-use singletrack trail with 3,000 vertical feet of elevation came to its full realization on January 16, 2018, when the final 1.7 miles of singletrack on Mills Peak Trail in Graeagle, CA was completed. It was a final build that bypassed an unpopular jeep road that interrupted the flowing singletrack experience of this now widely popular trail. This 11-year project was an enduring partnership between the Sierra Buttes Trail Stewardship (SBTS), numerous public agencies, including Plumas National Forest – Beckwourth Ranger District and Eastern Plumas Recreation District, Ibis Cycles, many volunteers and local supporters.
B
uilding a trail to provide worldclass recreation opportunities that can help save an economically struggling region is not an easy task. Numerous complicated grant applications to state and federal funding sources were turned down, forcing SBTS to get creative. The most innovative was the $5 Bucks a Foot campaign, raffling off a brand new mountain bike to one lucky
24 ASJ — April/May 2018
winner. Through two different $5 Bucks A Foot campaigns with Ibis Cycles, the giveaway raised more than $100,000 for the construction of Mills Peak. This fundraising idea SBTS pioneered was so successful that it’s become a model used with other trailbuilding organizations across the country. While having money enables construction, the work can’t get done
without blood, sweat and tears – all of which were shed building Mills Peak thanks to an army of volunteers, many of which are Lost Sierra locals. Whether battling through walls of manzanita, using winch lines and hoists to move giant rocks for trailbed armoring or walking the trail each season with a chainsaw to clear downed trees, hundreds of people have played a part in the construction and maintenance of Mills Peak. “What most people don’t realize is that ninety percent of a trail building effort takes place before construction even starts,” said Ron Heard, a Clio resident who’s been instrumental in creating Mills Peak Trail, volunteering hundreds of hours on the project. “It took years to get this new 1.7-mile reroute approved and only a few months to build it.”
FUEL FOR EVERY DAY
Opposite page, top to bottom: Volunteers put in the finishing touches on the final 1.7 miles of Mills Peak Trail; Massive rock walls and moss coated pines are abundant on Mills Peak Trail. This page, left to right: Mills Peak Trail before and after construction; Ibis Cycles helped fundraise more than $100,000 for the construction of Mills Peak Trail.
Along with Trails for Recreation and Community (TRAC), an eastern Plumas County trail advocacy and public outreach group, SBTS engaged the local community as well as folks as far away as Reno and the Bay Area to volunteer time and effort on Mills Peak. But the going was almost never easy. The creation of Mills Peak tested mettle and resolve, the breaking of many hand tools and pushing the limits of motorized equipment. “Old Wobbly” – the trusty SBTS trail dozer that’s built 80 miles of singletrack and maintained 800 miles of existing trail since 2010 – even met its match on Mills Peak. Thanks to the frozen ground and massive rocks that needed to be moved in constructing the final section of trail, Old Wobbly lost a limb, its steel arm snapping clean off, hanging only by its hydraulic hoses. Thankfully custom bicycle frame builder Cameron Falconer of Quincy stepped in to help, using his welding expertise to put Old Wobbly back together, enabling the completion of Mills Peak before the snow really started flying. “The process of fundraising, designing, constructing and maintaining Mills Peak
Trail has been an educational workshop for us,” said Greg Williams, SBTS Executive Director. “Having gone through the process, we now want to share our experience and knowledge with trail organizations, community leaders and land managers in hopes we can inspire others to help revive the mountain way of living through recreation.” This ribbon of singletrack providing fun, beauty and enjoyment drawing international recognition and visitors was a true community effort, bringing much needed tourism dollars to the economy of Plumas County. Mills Peak Trail is proof that a motivated and organized group of folks who want to do something good for the future of their community can persevere, no matter how deep or challenging the digging gets. The public is invited to join SBTS on Saturday, May 19 for a Mills Peak Trail volunteer workday, putting the finishing touches on the trail tread as well as having an official grand opening ribbon cutting ceremony. More information about volunteer Trail Daze workdays can be found at sierratrails.org.
BEFORE. DURING. AFTER.
NAKOMA SOMEWHERE BETWEEN
work & play.
Race for Trails
O
ne of the best ways to support the Sierra Buttes Trail Stewardship (SBTS) is to race one — or all! — of its events. More than just races, SBTS events are weekend long festivals that attract participants from all over the world. Race entry fees, along with event partnerships, are put to good use supporting SBTS’s mission to maintain and build trails. The events (described below) cater to everyone from professional athletes to spectators looking to spend a fun weekend in the Lost Sierra. Combined, SBTS events make up the Lost Sierra Triple Crown, which challenges athletes to the ultimate test of fitness and skill.
LOST AND FOUND GRAVEL GRINDER / JUN 2 / PORTOLA
Lost and Found encourages racers to “run what they brung” on a challenging and beautiful course around Lake Davis near Portola, CA. Road frames with knobby tires, full downhill rigs, fat tired bikes and everything in between can be found at this event.
DOWNIEVILLE CLASSIC MTB FESTIVAL / AUG 2-5 / DOWNIEVILLE
The Downieville Classic has been rolling for over 20 years and is one of the world’s premiere mountain bike events, delivering a weekend of racing and partying in the Lost Sierra. Riders opt for racing All Mountain (29-mile cross country race and 15-mile downhill with a 5,000 vertical drop) or just the cross country portion.
GRINDURO! / SEP 29 / QUINCY
The unique format of Grinduro combines the best elements of a mountain bike enduro with a gravel grinder-style road race. Festivities include two days of excellent food, a handmade bike show, an art exhibit, live music and camping. Learn more at sierratrails.org.
Work hard and play hard in the Lost Sierra at Nakoma Resort. Join the Nakoma team for the 2018 summer season and experience an unbeatable quality-of-life combination — earn a paycheck while checking out world-class trails, lakes and rivers. We’re hiring seasonal full-time positions including: Kitchen/culinary • Front of house • Hotel staff • Adventure staff Nakoma is surrounded by the Plumas National Forest near Graeagle, California, 50 minutes from Reno and Truckee/Tahoe, but without Tahoe’s high rents. In the heart of what’s known as the Lost Sierra, we’re minutes away from the renowned mountain biking of Downieville, Mills Peak and Mt. Hough. The Lakes Basin not only holds some of the best singletrack in the West, but it is home to endless hiking, dozens of alpine lakes and the spectacular Sierra Buttes. For the flyfishers, the Middle Fork of the Feather River is a short hike from the resort. Join the Nakoma team and enjoy competitive wages and benefits as well as a lifestyle that only a mountain resort can offer. For more information email jobs@nakomaresort.com. 348 BEAR RUN | CLIO, CA 96106 8 7 7. 4 6 2 . 5 6 6 2 | N A K O M A R E S O R T. C O M www. advent ur espor t sjour nal. com
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The Old Cazadero Classic Celebrates 20 Years A ride that evolved into one of NorCal’s most legendary bike events Words by Kurt Gensheimer Photos by Paul Miller
It all started 20 years ago as a training ride and an excuse to get friends together for a mid-winter pedal amidst the redwoods of the Northern California coast.
“I
was racing road bikes and mountain bikes at the time, and I just wanted to put together an annual training ride with friends,” said Miguel Crawford, founder of the Old Cazadero Classic and the Grasshopper Adventure Series. “I wanted to do something weird, something cool, something that would piss off my roadie friends.” Since its very humble and informal beginnings in Occidental, Calif. in 1999, the Old Cazadero Classic – known as the Old Caz – has grown from a small Sonoma County ride of friends into a phenomenon, attracting 600 riders including names like former pro road racers Levi Leipheimer and Ted King and international mountain bike superstar Kate Courtney. But the Old Caz has never been about attracting big names; it’s about going on a beautiful and fun bike adventure covering 53 miles with 4,700 vertical feet of climbing. Punishing at times, especially on the final four-mile climb up Willow Creek Road to the finish, but entirely rewarding. Mixing equal bits dirt and pavement, the Old Caz is part old school mountain bike race, part road race, part adventure ride and part gravel grinder. And the signature Old Caz feature – a knee-deep crossing of Austin Creek that’s too deep to safely ride which made for some choice photo opportunities. As a result, every type of rider and every kind of bike showed up at the Old Caz. Roadies in bright lycra with aero helmets, shoe covers and narrow slick tires, mountain bikers with baggy shorts, hairy legs and full suspension and riders like me who tried to split the gap evenly, riding a drop bar gravel bike with low profile mountain bike tires. There were even a few fat bikes that showed up. Oh, and a dude on a mountain bike with his dog in a backpack enjoying the ride. Never seen that before. Even though the Old Caz has evolved into what many would consider a race, for most folks the Old Caz is still a ride with friends and a little competition mixed in. Nothing could support that notion better than the finish line party 22 ASJ — April/May Dec/Jan 2014 26 2018
near the top of Willow Creek Road, complete with kegs of beer, hot dogs and majestic views of the coastal range out to the Pacific Ocean. In 25 years of participating in bike events, I’ve never experienced a post-ride party on the side of a dirt road with as many cool folks and sweeping vistas as Old Caz. Not a bad place to spend a few hours chatting it up with friends after putting in a hearty day on the bike. It was especially cool to see Crawford at the finish line, not holding a clipboard or a megaphone, but covered in mud wearing his riding gear. There aren’t many events I’ve ever seen where the organizer is organized enough that he can also participate in his own event. Respect. Yuri Hauswald, a Petaluma resident who races gravel bikes professionally for Scott Bicycles and works as Community Development Manager for GU Energy Labs, was at the first Old Caz and has participated in almost every edition since. “It’s so crazy to see how the Old Caz started and what it’s turned into,” said Hauswald. “But I can’t say I’m surprised. Miguel has always been a master of taking people on a real bike adventure in their own backyard.”
It’s All About the Route After riding the Old Caz it was dope-slap obvious why this event is such a hit; it’s all about the route. There’s something for everybody at the Old Caz. Steep, winding paved climbs? Check. Rowdy, rutted out dirt descents? Affirmative. Bike-eating mudholes? Yup. Flat sections of pavement for pacelining? Oh yeah. Tight narrow wet roads winding through enormous redwood groves? Plenty. Pristine mountain streams? Everywhere. Gates across the road that you have to climb through in obstacle course fashion? Why not. Downed logs to bunnyhop? You bet. Aid stations with bacon, beer and peanut M&Ms? Praise the lord. Finish line party with all your friends and competitors? Icing on the cake. With variety as abundant as this, what type of bike is best for Old Caz? “Whichever bike you bring,” said Crawford while holding
a beer and taking in the crowd of smiles at the finish line. It’s true. No matter what bike you ride you’re gonna have a good time, and there’s going to be a part of the course that your bike will be best at. There will also be a few sections where you wish you had a different bike. That’s another part of what makes the Old Caz such a hit; it’s an event that brings together all bike enthusiasts, breaking down the age-old barrier between roadies and off-roaders. The course also gives everyone a little bit of their own glory. The climbers can get their kicks accelerating skyward, the downhillers on capable bikes can have a dirt rally-fest passing dozens of folks, the power riders can shift into the big ring and string out the field on the flats and those just out for a cruisy day on the bike can enjoy it all. My lady Elisabeth, aka Swan John, did exactly that, taking all day to enjoy the ride, stopping at every aid station, taking pictures, meeting new friends and coming across the finish line looking as fresh and mud free as she did at the start. At the Old Caz, there’s a lot more winners than just the first person to cross the finish line.
Meeting New Friends Aside from the friendly competition and my adventure comrade Chris Brown keeping me company all day despite my flat tire and flat legs, I got to meet some new friends and incredible human beings. One of them was Jeremiah Kahmoson, the Executive Director of B-Rad Foundation, a 501(c)3 focused on outdoor youth development programs in the memory of his friend and climber Brad “B-Rad” Parker. As someone who has given back so much to his
IIt’s an event that brings together all bike enthusiasts, breaking down the age-old barrier between roadies and off-roaders. 2018 Grasshopper Adventure Series
Opposite page, top to bottom: Riders descend the gravel road into the town of Cazadero; Hopper organizer Miguel Crawford (fourth from left) has ridden every Old Caz over the 20 years. In his “spare time” he teaches Spanish at El Molino High School where he started a high school mountain bike team seven years ago.. This page, clockwise from upper left: Beautiful roads along the Russian River connect the dirt sections of Old Caz; Crossing East Austin Creek is always epic; Rich Thurman is as competitive as they come, but never fails to have fun at Old Caz.
community, Kahmoson showed up to the Old Caz entirely in gear that was donated to him by the cycling community. He, his wife and two daughters were victims of the Tubbs Fire, an inferno that destroyed more than 2,800 homes in Santa Rosa. “We literally had five minutes to grab what was most important and evacuate,” said Kahmoson. “After losing everything in the fires, this year’s Old Caz was personally significant in so many ways. Riding with this community is like coming home. For a few awesome hours life got simple, and the hardest decision I had to make was how hard to high five my buddies at the finish. Old Caz marks one wonderful step closer to ‘normal’ for me in this chaotic year.” The Old Caz is as much a celebration of being alive in a beautiful part of the world as it is a bike event. Put it on the calendar for next year and get ready for a good time. Get all the details at: grasshopperadventureseries.com. Those who wish to help the Kahmoson family can donate here: youcaring.com/jeremiahmkahmoson-975785.
The Old Caz kicks off Hopper Adventures’ Grasshopper Adventure Series, the original gravel, mixed-terrain adventure series which this year celebrates its 20th year. Located in West Sonoma County in Northern California, each Hopper is unique in its route and terrain and will challenge the rider and equipment like no other race series in the world. Come to adventure and explore or come to race and shred, it’s up to you. Prizes and cash are awarded to the top three men and women overall for each race, and prizes for the top three men and women in each category for the series. Winners also receive a custom Capo jersey and are crowned “Adventure Champion of the Universe.” Those vying for winning the series must compete in five of the six Hoppers, with the King Ridge Dirt Supreme required. A portion of the proceeds goes to the El Molino High School Mountain Biking Team, the Matt Wilson Memorial Scholarship, and the Ross Dillon Fund. At press time, two other series events had taken place in addition to the Old Caz: Chileno Valley on February 10 and the Super Sweetwater on March 17. Still to come: Lake Sonoma MTB on April 21, Skaggs and Super Skaggs on May 5, and the King Ridge Dirt Supreme on May 19. Plus ... coming August 11-12: The Mendo Hopper, a two-day epic adventure on little known dirt roads in remote Mendocino County. Learn more at grasshopperadventureseries.com.
roadshow
APRIL 19–22, 2018 Sea Otter Classic Monterey
MAY 4-6, 2018 Wildflower Experience Lake San Antonio
MAY 20, 2018 Surfer’s Path Marathon Capitola
COME BY AND SEE THE LATEST NEWS FROM OUR SPONSORS & ENTER TO WIN GREAT PRIZES.
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JOIN US FOR THE ULTIMATE MTB EVENT BENEFITTING THE MAMMOTH MOUNTAIN COMMUNITY FOUNDATION
Get up here for the bike bash of the year at this multi-disciplined event featuring some of the best enduro courses in the world and a brand new Megakami race. With music, great food, drinks and a kids enduro, there’s off-road fun for all. ENDURO • KIDS ENDURO • MEGAKAMI • EXPO AND MUCH MORE FOR MORE INFO AND LODGING DEALS, GO TO KAMIKAZEBIKEGAMES.COM
S
o you’ve signed up for your first mountain bike race. Now what? Follow these tips to help ensure that your upcoming enduro, gravel grinder, or cross-country mountain bike race is the first of many.
#1
Set your goals Assess your current fitness level and time available for training, define your personal reasons for racing, then set your goal. Is fun your priority? Or are you aiming to beat a certain time? Setting an achievable goal will motivate you through tough times, while setting you up for the blissful afterglow of race day.
#2
Get to know the course Prepare yourself mentally and physically by first taking the time to learn all you can about the race course. You’ll want to find out details on the mileage, elevation gain, and nature of the terrain. If the race demands more than what you’re capable of at the moment, train by gradually increasing your mileage and climbing until you can complete 80% of what the race requires, but with energy to spare. If the terrain is different from what you’re used to, consider a weekend getaway before the race to ride trails similar to what the event will serve up.
Ace Your First MTB Race #3
Tips from a seasoned pro By Sarah Jordan
Choose your equipment Following from #2, knowledge of the terrain you’ll be racing on is key. Crosscountry races vary greatly from venue to venue, so you can choose from any dirt-capable bike in your stable depending on the terrain. For enduro racing, a dual suspension bike with a dropper post is usually a must. Cyclocross and hardtail mountain bikes will help you sail
through the long miles of a gravel grinder. Tire choice is important—a race in the rocky Sierras will require bigger tires with more traction and stronger casing, while lighter and faster rolling tires would be a good choice for a race on smooth flowing coastal trails.
#4
Have a race day plan If the distance and elevation gain will test your limits, start your race at a relaxed pace, then dial up your effort later to finish strong. If you can pre-ride the course before race day, do it! You’ll be able to pick out key spots that play to your strengths, and spend time practicing where needed. Find out if the race organizer will provide water and snacks (or whiskey and bacon) and plan to carry your own nutritional supplies if needed. For best results, eat and drink what is familiar to you and stay away from strange new food choices before and during your race. Relax, smile, and take a deep breath on the start line. You’ve made it this far! Remember: You can always walk sections that you aren’t ready to ride and pull off the trail to let other riders pass.
#5
Enjoy the process From now until race day, relish the thrill of this new adventure! You’ll meet lots of like-minded new riding buddies at the event, and you may just get hooked. In the week before the big day, rest more, ride a little less, and get plenty of sleep. Sarah Jordan recently placed 5th in her age group at Cyclocross Nationals and is a former pro racer. Jordan leads the Race Curious program for Girls Rock Santa Cruz Women’s Mountain Biking. Visit them at girlsrock-mtb. com/race-curious to find out more! (Photo: Vallarie Way)
Demo a Norco Saturday May 12 at our annual Bike Fest. Get special pricing on a new Norco plus a free T-shirt!* Great food, stunt show, demos, vendors, family fun & free raffle.
S A N TA C R U Z
C AP ITOL A
*Event held at our Santa Cruz location. 831-427-2580. Limited quantities on free T-shirts. www. advent ur espor t sjour nal. com
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Event Profiles
Featured upcoming events
Photo: Joe Spota
SEA OTTER CLASSIC
RUN, SWEAT, LOVE
SAGAN FONDO
Known as a sprawling and energetic “celebration of cycling,” Sea Otter is cycling’s North American season opener. Professional and amateur athletes alike make the annual pilgrimage to Sea Otter to participate in some of the sport’s most competitive and enduring events. Hundreds of pro cyclists, including national, world, and Olympic champions, attend Sea Otter to race and meet with fans. Most of cycling’s racing disciplines are represented including mountain bike cross country, downhill, dual slalom, and short track racing. Road cyclists compete in circuit, criterium, and road racing. Also offered are cyclocross and a number of non-competitive recreational events for riders of all ages. The Sea Otter Classic also hosts the world’s largest consumer bike exposition in North America. The Expo holds hundreds of vendors who display new products, distribute free samples, and offer great bargains. The four-day, action-packed festival includes an international food court, entertainment, bike demos, stunt shows, and activities for children. seaotterclassic.com
Join Mini Mermaid Running Club and Young Tritons Running Club (collectively MMRC) at the Santa Cruz County Fairgrounds for this unique opportunity to get the whole family involved and spend time together doing something fun while sharing the same goal: crossing the finish line. 900 Mini Mermaids & Young Tritons from 25 different schools in Santa Cruz County will participate in this race after six weeks of training. Both programs center on teaching kids self-compassion through movement and mindfulness. “Run Sweat Love is about our community coming together,” says MMRC Executive Director Heidi Boynton. “This non-timed event is a celebration of family, community and our Mini Mermaids/Young Tritons crossing the finish line. There will be fun music, kids events, a family festival featuring local agencies serving the community, and an awesome start/finish line full of amazing volunteers cheering everyone on. This is one big party! There is something magical about crossing a finish line and Run Sweat Love gives this moment to all ages, all walks of life, and all abilities.” runsweatlove.com
The Sagan Fondo is a competitive gravel/dirt adventure inspired by 3x world champion Peter Sagan, designed to showcase one of his favorite places in California — the high alpine areas of the Sierra near Lake Tahoe. The event is produced by Bike Monkey, creators of Levi’s GranFondo. Short and Long course routes are available as well as a non-timed version for the casual rider. CX/ gravel bikes with 35cm or wider tires and mountain bikes are recommended. “I love California! My time in the Tour of California is some of the best of my racing season,” says Sagan. “Not only does California provide some of the best roads and most beautiful scenery in the world, the warmth and friendliness of its people are second to none. That’s why, together with Bike Monkey, I wanted to host an on-bike party in one of my favorite parts of the world.” Spots are limited to the first 1,500 registrants. The event benefits at-risk youth through the King Ridge Foundation and Specialized Foundation, with a fundraising gala on May 3. A road edition is in the works for November; location TBD. saganfondo.com
WILDFLOWER TRIATHLON EXPERIENCE
SILICON VALLEY BIKES!
ALES AND TRAILS
The Wildflower Triathlon Experience — affectionately known as the “Woodstock of Triathlon” — returns for 2018 to celebrate its 35th anniversary in Central California. Wildflower has partnered with Motiv Sports to ensure this beloved weekend event flourishes for 2018 and into the future. Led by Race Directors Terry Davis and Colleen Bousman, the team will be keeping the iconic festival atmosphere alive, and additional events, entertainment and activities will be incorporated into the weekend to expand the “Wildflower Experience.” In addition, the full triathlon race line up is back including the Long-Course, Olympic, Sprint and Mountain Bike. Here’s to a superior triathlon weekend combined with lifestyle events such as music and wine tasting for athletes, friends and family to enjoy! wildflowertriathlon.com
Join Silicon Valley cyclists at Kelley Park’s History Park for a day of celebrating all things bicycle at the Silicon Valley Bikes! Festival and Bicycle Show’s fourth annual event. Enjoy a day of family fun that includes BMX stunt rider shows, roller racing, bike polo demonstrations, music, exhibitors, bike repair clinics, local artists and artisans, and a spectacular bicycle show. Meet Santa Clara Valley’s cycling clubs and riding groups, and check out the Cargo Bike Village, Artists Colony, bike repair clinics, and more. The kids’ area features games, prizes, face painting, helmet giveaways and room nearby for parents to take a breather while they enjoy food truck fare and craft beer. Admission is $5.00, $5.00 per show bike, and children ages two and under are admitted free. siliconvalleybikesfestival.org
Ales and Trails brings mountain bikers and trail enthusiasts together to support Access4Bikes’ and Access4Bikes Foundation’s work in Marin County and throughout Northern California. This year’s event will offer a host of bicycle industry partners on hand to help with the ride of your dreams. Demo bikes will be available from REI, Specialized, Whyte Bicycles, Giant Bicycles provided by Bicycle BrüStop, Santa Cruz provided by Mike’s Bikes, Orbea, Salsa, Ellsworth, and Felt. This year’s Bicycle BrüStop Beer Garden will feature Faction, Fieldwork, HenHouse, Cellarmaker and Iron Springs Breweries, plus hard cider from Sonoma Cider and root beer for the kids. This family friendly event features a world class skills area presented by Gary Hill, live music, the famous kids race, and 400 of your closest friends to celebrate the success and struggles of opening more trails to mountain bikes. New for this year: camping and the first ever Specializedsponsored Ales and Trails Work Day! alesandtrails.com
April 19-22, Monterey
April 22, Santa Cruz
May 3-5, Truckee
Photo: Kaori Photo
May 4-6, Lake San Antonio
May 6, San Jose
Come See Us at Sea Otter! Stop by the ASJ booth at Sea Otter Classic, where we will be celebrating our KEEPER ISSUE with a special events raffle. Enter for your chance to win an entry to the Sagan Fondo, Carson CIty Off-Road, Hopper Adventures event of your choice, and more! 30 ASJ — April/May 2018
May 25-26, San Rafael
SANTA CRUZ MOUNTAINS CHALLENGE July 21, Santa Cruz
Photo: Dwight Follien
GROVELAND GRIND June 9, Groveland
The Groveland Trail Heads mountain biking club debuts its first cycling event: an adventure ride on mixed terrain (broken asphalt, hard packed dirt, some gravel) in the majestic Stanislaus National Forest with three routes to choose from for cyclists of all skill levels. The short route covers 17 miles with 2,200 feet of climbing; the medium route is 30 miles with 3,700 feet of climbing; and the big route is 47 miles with 5,100 quad-burning feet of climbing. The medium and big routes will have a special surprise for riders. All three routes are truly unique as they are very close to the border of Yosemite National Park. A post ride party tops off the day, complete with food, beverages (yes, beer!) and a raffle. This inaugural event — which stages out of Yosemite Lakes RV Resort and Campgrounds — is limited to 100 participants. grovelandtrailheads.org Get $50 lodge credit at Yosemite Rush Creek Lodge; use promo code ASJ. Check out their ad on page 8.
BUT WAIT — THERE’S MORE!
Photo: Cathy Claesson
THE JAY RACE June 16, Capitola
One of the most iconic paddleboard races in the world, the Jay Moriarity Memorial Paddleboard Race is held in honor of one of big wave surfing’s favorite sons – the late Jay Moriarity. Jay was known as much for his fearless big wave surfing as he was for his positive and always friendly attitude. To stay in shape for the winter big wave season, Jay became an avid paddleboarder and could regularly be seen logging countless miles on his paddleboard on the beautiful waters of Monterey Bay. This year the race takes place on Jay’s birthday! Participants gather annually to remember Jay and paddle their hearts out in his honor. All proceeds benefit the Jay Moriarity Foundation (JMF) to raise funds for Junior Lifeguard programs to purchase equipment and provide scholarships in Jay’s name as well as other ocean related beneficiaries. jaymoriarityfoundation.org Read about JMF founder Kim Moriarity Wildey, page 20.
Flip to page 25 for Sierra Buttes Trail Stewardship events, and page 27 for Hopper Adventures! Do you have an event you’d like to see featured in this section? Email us at info@adventuresportsjournal.com to learn about our event promotion packages. We specialize in raising visibility for YOUR events!
The Santa Cruz Mountains Challenge (SCMC) is the main fundraiser for the Santa Cruz County Cycling Club (SCCCC). The club provides grants to local non-profits that support cycling and health, and is staffed entirely by members and other volunteers. This year, SCCCC celebrates the 20th year of its popular road cycling event that offers four distinct routes through the scenic Santa Cruz mountains and along the coast. Route choices include: 45-mile / 2,900' of climbing; 75-mile / 6,800' of climbing; 101-mile / 10,100' of climbing, or the crown jewel ride — a 135-miler with 13,200' of lung busting climbing. Riders ascend through soaring redwoods, descend along scenic meadows, and pedal along roads on the Monterey Bay to the sound of crashing surf. santacruzmountainschallenge.com
EPIC RIDES OFF-ROAD SERIES Each Epic Rides Off-Road Series event welcomes mountain bikers of all experience levels with three different length courses (15, 30, or 50-ish miles) that challenge the mind and body plus deliver inspiring views of nature’s beauty. Whiskey Off-Road April 27-29 // Grand Junction OffRoad May 18-20 // Carson City Off-Road June 15-17 // Oz Trails Off-Road October 5-7
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2018 Keeper Calendar Visit us online for more upcoming events. Go to AdventureSportsJournal.com and click on the EVENTS button.
BIKING APRIL 14 — San Diego Tour de Cure / Del Mar Fairgrounds, San Diego / Tour. Diabetes.org 14 — Tierra Bella Bicycle Tour / Santa Clara County / Four different routes, from flat to hilly, you’re sure to find the route that’s right for you. 35M, 100K, 100M & 200K / Tierrabella.org 19-22 — Sea Otter Classic / Monterey / 10,000 athletes and 50,000 fans / SeaOtterClassic.com
29 — Nevada City Dirt Classic #2 / Nevada City / (Race #1 is the Sea Otter Classic) USA Cycling CA State MTB XC Championship / XC Bike Series, all ages and levels, kids’ course / ybonc. org/events/dirt-classic
MAY 5 — Grasshopper Adventure Series #5 Skaggs and Super Skaggs / West Sonoma County / Option 1 (Skaggs, road): 96mi , 9,325’; Option 2 (Super Skaggs, gravel and dirt): 96mi, 10,525’; Feel the tingles of epic adventure run up and down your spine / grasshopperadventureseries.com
21 — Bike Around the Buttes / Sutter / BikeAroundTheButtes.com
5 — Wine Country Century / Santa Rosa / 200K, 100mi, 100K, 35mi / Srcc. com
21 — Sierra Century / Plymouth / SierraCentury.org
6 — Delta Century / Lodi / StocktonBikeClub.org
21 — Ridge-to-Bridge / Marin County / Hike, run, or bike through beautiful south Marin / RidgeTrail.org
6 — Grizzly Peak Century / Moraga / 5 routes / Grizz.org/century 6 — Napa Tour De Cure / Yountville / Tour.Diabetes.org
JUNE 9, 2018 17, 30 & 47 mile routes in the stanislaus national forest The Groveland Trail Heads mountain biking club debuts its first cycling event: an adventure ride on mixed terrain (broken asphalt/pavement, hard packed dirt, some gravel) in the majestic Stanislaus National Forest with three routes to choose from for cyclists of all skill levels. All three routes are truly unique as they are very close to the border of Yosemite National Park. A post ride party will top off the day, complete with food, beverages (yes, beer!) and a raffle.
info and registration www.grovelandtrailheads.org www.facebook.com/GrovelandTrailHeads
32 ASJ — April/May 2018
6 — Silicon Valley Bikes! Festival & Bicycle Show / History Park, San Jose / Join the Valley’s biggest cycling enthusiasts and groups for a day of family fun and community building! / SiliconValleyBikesFestival.org 10 — Quick n’ Dirty / Escondido / Summer MTB race series kick off — other dates: May 17, 24 & 31; June 14, 21 & 28 / quickndirtymtb.com 19 — Grasshopper Adventure Series #6 King Ridge Dirt Supreme / West Sonoma County / Road/Cross. Option 1: 80mi, 8,176’; Option 2: 62mi, 7,026’; f you are looking for a supreme cross/dirt/gravel challenge this is it / grasshopperadventureseries.com 19 — Heartbreak Double Century / Palmdale / Spectacular course / PlanetUltra.com 19 — Tour of the Unknown Coast / Humboldt County / 5 routes / California’s toughest century / TUCcycle.org 20 — Nevada City Dirt Classic #3 / Nevada City / USA Cycling CA State MTB XC Championship / XC Bike Series, all ages and levels, kids’ course / ybonc.org/events/dirt-classic
20 — Strawberry Fields Forever / Santa Cruz County / An organized bike ride through some of the most beautiful regions of Santa Cruz County. 3 routes / 30mi, 100K, 100mi / StrawberryFields.org 26 — Ales and Trails / Miwok Meadow in China Camp State Park, San Rafael / 8:30 am to 4:00 pm / Access4Bikes. com/Ales 25-28 — Great Western Bike Rally / Paso Robles / GreatWesternBicycleRally.com 26 — Ridin’ High at the Ranch / Susanville / BikeReg.com/ridn-high-atthe-ranch 26 — Toro Enduro / Toro Park, Monterey / Round # 1 of the California Enduro Series / CaliforniaEnduroSeries. com
JUNE 1-3 — New Wente 8 Hour Mountain Bike Relay / Wente Scout Reservation, Willits / Family camping extravaganza / BikeMonkey.net 2 — Eastern Sierra Double Century / Bishop, Mammoth Lakes, Mono Lake & more / This is road bike heaven! / PlanetUltra.com
bike • paddle • run • swim • 2 — Lost & Found Gravel Grinder / Lake Davis / 30mi, 60mi, 100mi / SierraTrails.org 9 — Groveland Grind / Groveland / An adventure ride on mixed terrain in the Stanislaus National Forest with 3 routes to choose from for cyclists of all skill levels / grovelandtrailheads.org 9 — Incarnation 100 / Santa Rosa / A benefit for homeless services / 4 different routes / Incarnation100.org 15-17 — Carson City Off-Road / Carson City , NV / Three distance options to choose from / 15, 35 or 50 miles / carefully curated set of spectacular trails / EpicRides.com 16 — Mammoth Bar Enduro / Auburn / Round # 2 of the California Enduro Series / CaliforniaEnduroSeries.com
25-26 — Northstar Enduro / Northstar California Resort, Truckee / Round # 5 of the California Enduro Series / CaliforniaEnduroSeries.com
SEPTEMBER 8 — Mammoth Gran Fondo / Mammoth Lakes / 42mi, 70mi, & 102mi races through beautiful Mono County/ MammothGranFondo.com 14-16 — Stetina’s Sierra Prospect / Northstar, Carson, Mt Rose / supports High Fives foundation, 2 routes – 44mi or 78 mi / SierraProspect.com 15-16 — Unknown Coast Weekend / Ferndale / Touring the quiet coastal towns ofCMYK Ferndale, Honeydew, and CES Logo Petrolia, the ride consists of two Y-10 K-100 extremely hilly,C-10 but M-10 scenic days – 61mi on Sat and 39mi on Sun / ChicoVelo.org
2018 SCHEDULE
C-0 M-25 Y-100 K-0
16 — CF Cycle for Life / Half Moon Bay 21-23 — Kamikaze Bike Games / Mammoth Lakes / Enduro - Round # 6 / Fightcf.cff.org C-100 M-34 Y-0 K-0 of the California Enduro Series / 4 stage Enduro for the Jr/Beg/Sport Division 16-23 — Sierra to the Sea Bicycle Tour / Lake Tahoe to Golden Gate Park and a 5 stage course for the Pro/Expert Division. KamikazeBikeGames.com / SierraToTheSea.org 30 — Sully 100 / Diamond S Ranch, CA / This is all private land / Ride four 25 mile laps with about 3,500 ft of climbing per 25 mile lap / solo riders, 2- person teams & 4-person team categories / Showers, and plenty of camping for RV’s, tents, car camping./ NorthlanderEvents.com.
22-23 — Bike MS: Waves to Wine Ride / SF / 1 or 2 days and 6 routes to choose from / WavesToWine.org
30 — Climb to Kaiser (plus Tollhouse Century & Millerton Metric) / Clovis / Rated as one of the 10 toughest rides in America / ClimbToKaiser.com
5-7 — Levi’s GranFondo / Santa Rosa pantone 3005 c / 10th Anniversary! il Regno, Gran, Medio, Piccolo, Family Route, 5K, 10K / LevisGranFondo.com
30 — China Peak Enduro / China Peak Mountain Resort in Lakeshore / Round # 3 of the California Enduro Series / CaliforniaEnduroSeries.com
6 — Ashland Mountain Challenge / Lithia Park in Ashland / Finale of the California Enduro Series / CaliforniaEnduroSeries.com
JULY 14 — Death Ride - Tour of the California Alps / Markleeville / 5 pass ride, 129 mi, and 15,000 feet of lungbusting climbing / DeathRide.com 28-29 — Crafts and Cranks Enduro / Snow Summit at Big Bear Lake / Round # 4 of the California Enduro Series / CaliforniaEnduroSeries.com
AUGUST 2-5 — Downieville Classic MTB Race and Festival / Downieville / All Mountain World Championships, XC Adventure Race, Downieville Downhill / DownievilleClassic.com 4 — Marin Century & Mt Tam Double / Marin County Fairgrounds / 33mi, 65mi, 100mi, 125mi, 200mi / MarinCyclists. com 5 — Silicon Valley Tour de Cure / Palo Alto / Tour.Diabetes.org
Pantone Solid Coated CES Logo
29-30 — Grinduro / Quincy / Gravel grinder plus MTB style enduro, 2 day pantone ds black festival / Grinduro.com Pantone 123 c OCTOBER
✶CES Golden Tour Events
✶EWS North American Continental Enduro Series
MAY 26 Toro Enduro JUN 16 Mammoth Bar Enduro JUN 30 China Peak Enduro JUL 28-29 Crafts & Cranks ✶AUG 25-26 Northstar Enduro SEP 23 Kamikaze Bike Games OCT 6 Ashland Mtn Challenge
✶ ✶ ✶
californiaenduroseries
.com
JUNE 30, 2018
black CES Logo 14 — Los Angeles Tour de Cure / Santa Fe Recreation Dam / Tour. k-100 Diabetes.org
14 — TBF MTB 50-Miler / Granite Bay, Folsom Lake SRA / 50mi, 25mi, solo and teams / TBFracing.com 20 — Solvang Autumn Double Century / Solvang / 193 miles with about 11,800′ of climbing, century option / PlanetUltra.com california enduro series - january 2013 artwork: gary davidson / veryscarygary@gmail.com
20 — The Hammer Road Rally / Friant / 3 routes, food and music festival / HammerRoadRally.com 20-21 — Bike MS: Bay to Bay / Irvine to San Diego / 1 or 2 days and 4 routes to choose from / BikeMS.org
NOVEMBER 9-11 — DG Ghilotti Cup / Santa Rosa Cup / Santa Rosa / 3-Day Cyclocross Tournament / BikeMonkey.net
NORTHLANDEREVENTS.COM www. advent ur espor t sjour nal. com
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2018 Keeper Calendar Visit us online for more upcoming events. Go to AdventureSportsJournal.com and click on the EVENTS button.
PADDLING APRIL 28-29 — Kern River Festival / Kernville / Brush Creek Races; Hyside Raft Race; Triathlon - Run, Pedal, Paddle; SUP/Kayak Downriver Race; T.J. Citizen Slalom & SUP Race / KernFestival.com
MAY 12-13 — Reno River Festival / Reno, Tahoe / RenoRiverFestival.com 26 — Watermans Memorial Race / Carnelian Bay Lake Tahoe / #1 of the Tahoe Cup Paddle Racing Series / TahoeCup.org
JUNE 10 — Thunderbird Paddling Festival / Sand Harbor, Lake Tahoe / Epic scenery and miles of Tahoe’s classic shoreline sporting large formations of granite boulders and secluded sandy coves / LakeTahoePaddling.com
34 ASJ — April/May 2018
16 — 17th Annual Jay Moriarity Memorial Paddleboard Race / Capitola / We gather to remember Jay Moriarity and paddle our hearts out in his honor; All proceeds go to the Jay Moriarity Foundation / JayMoriarityFoundation.org
JULY 21 — Waterman’s Paddle Jam / Carnelian Bay Lake Tahoe / #2 of the Tahoe Cup Paddle Racing Series / TahoeCup.org
AUGUST 11-12 —Ta-Hoe Nalu Paddle Festival / Kings Beach / World’s original SUP race - races, demos, clinics, expo / TahoeNalu.com
SEPTEMBER 21-23 — Feather River Festival / Tobin / California’s biggest whitewater festival / AmericanWhitewater.org TBD — Sierra Showdown Paddling Challenge / South Lake Tahoe / 5 mi, 8mi, Big Blue Waterman, kids’ race / LakeTahoePaddling.com
RUNNING
29 — Big Sur International Marathon / Big Sur to Carmel / bsim.org
APRIL
MAY
Mar 31-Apr 1 — The 420 Games Los Angeles / Santa Monica Pier / Run, ride, skate, or bike and forge a new respect for cannabis users; music concert, beer tasting, cannabis education / 420games.org 7 — American River 50-Mile Endurance Run / Folsom to Auburn / 25mi option / AR50mile.com 14 — Heartbreak Ridge Run / Camp Pendleton / Half marathon, 10K, 5K, kids 1K / mccscp.com/heartbreak 14 — Mt Tam Wild Boar Half Marathon & 10K / Mt. Tamalpais State Park / Envirosports.com 21 — Ruth Anderson Ultras 50K, 50M, 100K / Lake Merced / UltraSignUp.com 21 — Miracle Miles for Kids 10K Walk/ Run / Morro Bay / A beautiful course along the water’s edge / mm4k.com 22 — Run, Sweat, Love, 5K, & 1K / Santa Cruz County / Running with the family, Sweating with joy and loving every step / runsweatlove.com 28-29 — SLO Marathon & Half / San Luis Obispo / 5K and kids’ races / slomarathon.org
5 — Miwok 100K / Stinson Beach / Miwok100K.com 5 — Wild Wild West Marathon / Lone Pine / plus 50K, 50mi, & 10mi / LonePineChamber.org/events 5 — Armstrong Redwoods / Guerneville / 50K, 30K, 17K, 9K, 5K / PCTrailRuns.com 5 — T9 Mermaid Run East Bay / Fremont / Women’s 5K, 10K, half marathon, & Sirena18mi / MermaidSeries.com 12 — Love My Mom 5K / Folsom / Celebrate our moms / Focus on fitness not competition / 5K and kids’ dash / folsom.ca.us 12 — Muir Woods Marathon, Half Marathon, & 7 Mile / Stinson Beach / Challenging trail run / EnviroSports.com 12 — Quicksilver 100K & 50K / San Jose / Scenic, hilly trails and fire roads / Quicksilver-Running.com 20 — Surfer’s Path Marathon, Capitola Half Marathon / Santa Cruz & Capitola / The majestic course travels the Surfer’s Path, featuring amazing coastal views of world famous surf breaks. Surfs UP! /runsurferspath.com
bike • paddle • run • swim • triathlon JUNE 3 — Truckee Running Festival / Riverview Sports Park / 5K, 10K, half marathon, kids race / TahoeTrailRunning.com 9 — Henry Coe 5K/10K Fun Run and Walk / Gilroy / Easy, fairly flat dirt trail course through the beautiful late spring scenery / CoePark.net
JULY 4 — Run to The Beach / North Tahoe / 5K & 10K / TahoeTrailRunning.com 23-25 — Badwater 135 / Furnace Creek & Lone Pine / “World’s Toughest Foot Race” - 135mi from Death Valley to Mt. Whitney / BadWater.com
29 — San Francisco Marathon / San Francisco / Full, 1st half, 2nd half, 5K, 9-10 — Marine Corps Mud Run / Camp Ultra 52.4mi / TheSFMarathon.com Pendleton / 25th Anniversary; 10K, 5K, AUGUST kids 2K / MarineCorpsMudRun.com 4 — Salinas Valley Half Marathon / 10 — Run to Squaw / Olympic Valley / Soledad / bsim.org 7.9mi run alongside the Truckee River / 11 — Marlette 50K and 10 Miler / TahoeTrailRunning.com Lake Tahoe NV State Park / RRCA 10 — Squaw Valley Half Marathon / Championships / TahoeTrailRunning. Olympic Valley / SquawValleyHalf.com com 16 — Bootleg Beatdown Trail Run / Bootleg Canyon, Boulder City, NV / The ultimate Bootleg Canyon challenge; 5K, 5mi, 10mi / DesertDash.com 17 — Run in the Name of Love / Carmel-by-the-Sea / 5K run & 2K dogfriendly walk / Run4Love.org 24 — Burton Creek Trail Run / Tahoe City / 6K, 12K, Half Marathon, Kids / TahoeTrailRunning.com
11 — The 420 Games / San Francisco / Join professional athletes, executives and families for this 4th annual active lifestyle event that works to break down the negative stereotypes about cannabis / 420games.org 19 — XTERRA Lake Tahoe Trail Run / Incline Village, NV / 5K & 10K / TahoeTrailRunning.com
SANTA/CRUZ MOUNTAINS CHALLENGE ROAD/BIKE/EVENT Saturday/July/21/2018 45M / 75M / 101M / 135M
Register online at: santacruzcycling.org
AUGUST 4, 2018 Half Marathon • 5K
Run along the River Road Wine Trail, then indulge in the bounty of the county at our Post-Race Festival at Pessagno Winer y. REGISTER TODAY at salinasvalleyhalfmarathon.org
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2018 Keeper Calendar Visit us online for more upcoming events. Go to AdventureSportsJournal.com and click on the EVENTS button.
RUNNING, cont.
22 — Lederhosen 5K & 10K / Squaw Valley / After the awards and raffle enjoy the annual Squaw Oktoberfest / TahoeTrailRunning.com
AUGUST 25 — Moonlight Madness / Cottonwood Valley, Las Vegas, NV / Half marathon with 1550’ vertical climb / DesertDash.com
SEPTEMBER 1 — SLO Ultra at Wild Cherry Canyon / Avila Beach / 50mi, 26mi XC, 13mi XC, 5mi / SLOUltra.com 1-2 — Headlands Marathon, 50, 75 & 100-Mile / Sausalito / PCTrailRuns.com 16 — Emerald Bay Trail Run / Lake Tahoe West Shore / 7mi mostly single track route with moderate climbs and descents / TahoeTrailRunning.com
30 — Pacific Grove Double Road Race / Pacific Grove / PGdouble.com
OCTOBER 6-7 — Bizz Johnson 10K, Half Marathon, Marathon, 50K / Susanville / Run through scenic Lassen National Forest / CoastalTrailRuns.com 7 — Urban Cow Half Marathon, Relay & 5K Run/Walk / Sacramento / UrbanCowHalfMarathon.com
16 — Whiskeytown Relays / Whiskeytown Lake / 19.9mi paved, dirt / SweatRC.com 22 — Big Sur Trail Marathon, Half Marathon & 5 Mile / Andrew Molera State Park / EnviroSports.com
23 — Truckee Marathon / Truckee / Plus Half Marathon & Relay / TahoeTrailRunning.com
7 — Great Trail Race / Truckee, Tahoe City / Bike or run / GreatTrailRace.com 21 — Surfer›s Path Hang 10/5 / Santa Cruz & Capitola / This event features a 10 mile and 5 mile course with scenic, beach front a coastal views. Come to Santa Cruz and Hang 10 or Hang 5! Surfs UP! / runsurferspath.com
41st Annual
Tierra Bella Bike Tour
April 14, 2018 Four beautiful routes through Santa Clara Valley • Easier 35 Miles • Hilly 100 Miles • Hilly to Rolling 100K • Challenging 200K
Register early and SAVE Team discounts available. Visit www.tierrabella.org for details.
Hot catered meal after the ride Multiple rest stops with great food including fruit, snacks, baked goods and drinks! Excellent SAG support www.tierrabella.org For more information: Phone: 408.255.7957 Email: tierrabella@actc.org
Presented by the Almaden Cycle Touring Club 36 ASJ — April/May 2018
21 — Folsom Blues Breakout Half Marathon / Folsom / Plus 5K and kids’ 1K / FolsomBluesHalf.org
NOVEMBER
AUGUST 18 — Lake Tahoe Sharkfest Swim / Incline Village, NV / Sand Harbor 1mi swim / SharkFestSwim.com
3 — Trail of Glory Trail Run / Cottonwood Valley, Las Vegas, NV / Run just below the beautiful cliff faces of Red Rock Canyon; Marathon, 30K, Half Marathon, 8K / DesertDash.com
18 — Golden Gate Bridge Swim / San Francisco / 50 swimmers, 1.15mi open water swim from Golden Gate Bridge south tower to Finger Point Rock / WaterWorldSwim.com
11 — T9 Mermaid Run San Francisco / Golden Gate Bridge & Crissy Field / 5K, 10K, & Sirena10mi / MermaidSeries.com
25 — Lake Tahoe Open Water Swim / Sugar Pine State Park / 1/2mi, 1.2mi, 2.4mi / TahoeSwimming.com
11 — Big Sur Half Marathon / Monterey Bay / bsim.org
9 — Truckee Swim Classic / Donner Lake / 1/2mi, 1.2mi, 2.4mi / TahoeSwimming.com
23 — Black Mountain Friday Trail Run / Sloan Canyon, Henderson, NV / Escape the crowds and #optoutside / DesertDash.com
DECEMBER 1 — Death Valley Trail Marathon and Half Marathon / Beatty, NV / EnviroSports.com 2 — California International Marathon / Folsom / #1 Boston Qualifier, Spectacular State Capitol Finish / RunCIM.org 8 — Hark the Herald Half Marathon & 10K / Angel Island, San Francisco / Hilly loop / EnviroSports.com 9 — Jingle Bell Rock 5K / Santa Cruz / Plus kids’ 1K; Bring a toy for Toys for Tots, go for a walk or run along the San Lorenzo River Levee / FinishLineProduction.com
SWIMMING JUNE 9 — 25th Annual Alcatraz Sharkfest Swim / San Francisco / 1.5mi from Alcatraz to Aquatic Park / SharkFestSwim.com 16 — Tahoe City Swim / Commons Beach, Lake Tahoe / 1/2mi, 1.2mi, 2.4mi / TahoeSwimming.com
JULY
SEPTEMBER
29 — Alcatraz Invitational / Aquatic Park, San Francisco / 1.27mi open water swim from Alcatraz to Hyde Street Pier / serc.com/alcatraz-invitational/ information/
OCTOBER 13 — Alcatraz Swim with the Centurions / San Francisco / 1.25mi swim from Alcatraz to Aquatic Park / WaterWorldSwim.com 14 — San Diego Sharkfest Swim / San Diego Harbor / 1mi open water swim / SharkFestSwim.com
Triathlon/Duathlon APRIL 14 — Millerton Lake Triathlon (Crow’s Nest) / Friant / SierraCascades.com
MAY 12 — Folsom Lake International Triathlon, Super Sprint Tri, & Aquabike / Granite Beach / TBFracing.com
JUNE 3 — Orange County Tri Series / Lake Mission Viejo / OCTriSeries.com 3 — Groveland Gears & Grooves Mini-Triathlon / Groveland / 1mi swim, 22mi bike ride, & 5.12mi run / GrovelandGearsandGrooves.com
1 — Dip & Dash Aquathlon #1 / Santa Cruz / Relay and Swim Only / FinishLineProduction.com
9 — #1 Tri for Fun Sprint and Super Sprint Triathlon/Duathlon / Rancho Seco Park, Herald / TBFracing.com
21 — Alpine Fresh Water Swim (FKA Truckee Donner Lake Open Water Swim) / Donner Lake / 1/2mi, 1.2mi, 2.4mi / TahoeSwimming.com
10 — Rodney Strong Vineyards Monte Rio Triathlon / Sonoma / Olympic & Sprint / VineMan.com
22 — Golden Gate Sharkfest Swim / Sausalito / 1.6mi open water swim, south tower to Horseshoe Cove / SharkFestSwim.com
16 — XTERRA Tahoe City / Commons Beach / Triathlon, Sprint Tri, Duathlon / BigBlueAdventure.com 23 — Summer Splash & Dash / Santa Cruz / FinishLineProduction.com
MARKETPLACE
bike • paddle • run • swim • triathlon JULY 1 — Dip and Dash Aquathlon #1 / Santa Cruz / Short Swim - 750meter swim & 4mi run, or Long Swim 1500meter swim & 4mi run, or Swim only / FinishLineProduction.com 7 — June Lake Triathlon / June Lake / HighSierraTri.org 14 — #2 Tri for Fun Triathlon/DU for Fun Duathlon (Sprint & Super Sprint) / Rancho Seco Park, Herald / TBFracing.com 15 — #2 Tri for Real Triathlon, Aqua Bike, 1.2m/2.4m Open Water Swim / Rancho Seco Park / TBFracing.com 21 — Eppie’s Great Race / Rancho Cordova & Sacramento / 5.82mi run, 12.5mi bike, 6.1mi paddle / EppiesGreatRace.org 21-22 — Donner Lake Triathlon / Truckee / Half Tri, 70.3, Olympic Tri, Sprint Tri, Kids’ Tri, Aquabike / DonnerLakeTri.com
AUGUST 12 — #2 Tri for Real Triathlon, Aqua Bike, 1.2m/2.4m Open Water Swim / Rancho Seco Park, Herald / TBFracing. com 12 — Dip and Dash Aquathlon #3 / Santa Cruz / International - 1500yd swim & 10K run, or Sprint - 750yd swim & 5K run, or Swim only / FinishLineProduction.com 12 — Tri Santa Cruz / Santa Cruz / International & Sprint Tri (& relay); Olympic and Sprint Clydesdale & Athena; International & Sprint Aquabike; Sprint Paratri; Dip and Dash / FinishLineProduction.com
19 — Oakland Triathlon / Jack London Square / OaklandTri.com
72 miles of pure liquid fun
Learn the skills of a pro from a pro!
Lake Tahoe Water Trail
19 — XTERRA Triathlon / Lake Tahoe / Olympic, Sprint, Duathlon / BigBlueAdventure.com 25-26 — Lake Tahoe Triathlon Sprint / Tahoma / Half Tri , 70.3, Olympic Tri, Sprint Tri, Duathlon, Aquabike / LakeTahoeTri.com
SEPTEMBER 2 — Bear Valley Triathlon / Bear Valley / ItsYourRace.com 9 — Ironman 70.3 Santa Cruz (formerly Big Kahuna Tri) / Santa Cruz / Ironman.com
© Corey Rich / Aurora Photos
22 — Semper Tri, Devil Dog Duathlon, & 7K Run / Camp Pendleton / mccscp.com
Find your paddle adventure at
23 — 36th annual Santa Cruz Triathlon / Depot Park, Santa Cruz / Race on the scenic Monterey Bay & iconic Highway 1 / SantaCruzTriathlon.org
Launch & Landing Sites • Maps Paddle Routes • Paddle Shops Campgrounds & Lodging Events • Water Safety Info
30 — XTERRA SuperKid Triathlon and Splash & Dash / Santa Cruz / Ages 7-15 / FinishLineProduction.com
OCTOBER 6 — T9 Mermaid Triathlon & Duathlon / Capitola / International Tri, Sprint Tri, Sprint Du / MermaidSeries.com
MTB Skills Coaching Certified IMBA ICP 1,2,3 & Betterride Certified. 3000 plus hours of professional coaching.
LakeTahoeWaterTrail.org
asingletrackmind.com • (209) 662-5392
Explore the High Country
Matthew Larsen Wheelbuilding ....
Ebbetts Pass Hwy 4
Handbuilt Bicycle Wheels Chris King DT Swiss Hope Shimano Shutter Precision Stan’s Sturmey Archer Paul Velocity White Ind. WTB
NOVEMBER 4 — Morro Bay Triathlon / Coleman Park, Morro Bay / Olympic and Sprint / Beautiful coastal route; option to substitute swim with kayak or SUP / MorroBayTri.com
View & list events for free on our website at AdventureSportsJournal.com
When you aren’t racing... Sea Kayaking and Stand Up Paddle Boarding /Santa Cruz / We offer the highest quality sea kayaking and stand-up paddle boarding instruction taught by friendly ACA- trained instructors / KayakConnection.com / 831.479.1121 A Single Track Mind - Professional Mountain Bike Skills Coaching / 1-day Core Fundamentals — May 12, Auburn / June 2, Santa Cruz / July 28, Marin / 2-day Core Fundamentals — June 2-3, Santa Cruz / July 28-29, Marin / August 18-19, Palo Alto / Summer Mtb Race — June 9, Tahoe / Youth Mtb Camp — July 17-19, Truckee. ASingleTrackMind.com May 5-9 — 5 Day Wilderness First Responder Course / Bishop / WFR training is great for outdoor educators, guides, SAR, and outdoor adventurers. SierraMountainCenter.com/Tours/5-Day-Wilderness-First-Responder/#all May 31- June 4 — White Mountain Crest Hike / White Mountains, Bishop / Explore the Bristlecone Pine and much more hiking in the White Mountains. SierraMountainCenter.com/Tours/The-White-Mountains-Crest-Hike/#all June 1-3 — RAY: Restorative Arts and Yoga Festival / Granlibakken Resort, Tahoe City / A unique event that features therapeutics, energy workers, yoga instructors, guided meditation and metaphysical teachings that will inspire and heal the mind, body and soul. Do not miss the chance to enjoy the outdoors and rejuvenate your mind, body, and spirit while immersed in a weekend of learning and self-discovery / Granlibakken.com/wellness-packages
775-997-5634 www.mlwheels.com
Kayaking, SUPing, Hiking, Mtn & Road Biking, Disc Golf, Climbing, Camping, Bear Valley Adventure Company Rentals, Sales, Service and Information
(209) 753-2834 www.bearvalleyxc.com
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Gear We Love
Goodies for your active lifestyle
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1. Yakima HighRoad Bike Rack Secure, sleek, and simple to use, the HighRoad is Yakima’s newest premium upright bike mount. The adjustment-free hoop, with its TorqueRight™ tightening knob, loads a variety of bikes quickly and easily. The HighRoad secures the bike by the wheels for ultimate bike protection. The rack’s new versatile wheel hoop fits 26" to 29" wheels and tires from 23mm to 3.25" with no adjustment needed. Its new integrated TorqueRight™ knob quickly and easily secures the bike with precision, requiring no wheel removal and making no contact with the bike frame. This makes the HighRoad a great option for carbon fiber bikes and custom paint jobs. The rack boasts a sleek, low profile tray that minimizes hatch interference, and its tool-free, universal mounting hardware fits most roof racks. Add your own bike lock to the integrated lock loop for additional bike security when your vehicle is parked. yakima.com MSRP: $229.00 2. Alchemy Goods Haversack Shoulder Bag For those who love to upcycle and also appreciate quality construction, the Ag Haversack is a great option. Made from recycled bike tubes, this bag can be used everyday as a purse and is also roomy enough to accomodate a laptop, ipad, camera, lunch or whatever else you might need for work or travel. The full front flap offers extra security and a zippered pocket underneath the 38 ASJ — April/May 2018
flap makes it easy to protect and organize your stuff. The adjustable strap is made from a recycled seat belt and is easy to adjust to a wide variety of lengths and is very comfortable even when you have the bag at max capacity. The 7.5" L x 11" H x 4" D bag is plenty roomy, holding 330 cubic inches / six liters of goodies. It weighs just 20 ounces, and is made of upcycled bicycle inner tubes and nylon fabrics. The piping comes in a variety of colors. This bag will stand up to the toughest use — you won’t know how you lived without it. alchemygoods.com MSRP: $100.00 3. Big Agnes Q-Core SLX Sleeping Pad The Q-Core SLX ups the ante on quilted comfort in the backcountry. Redesigned offset I-Beams create incredible multi-directional support and stability. The Q-Core SLX is lighter, tougher, easier to inflate/deflate, packs smaller, sleeps warmer. When it comes to superlight, three-season comfort this pad stands alone. This compact pad is rated to 15°F, boasting built-in advanced heat reflective technology, and antimicrobial treatment inside the pad prevents microorganism growth. The quilted top provides a cushioned pillowy sleeping surface, as comfortable as your bed at home; larger outer chambers keep you comfortably cradled in the middle of the pad. Made of durable superlight nylon ripstop fabric that improves tear strength and durability by 25%, the pad also boasts aviation grade TPU lamination
technology for ultimate durability. Its high volume valve allows for efficient and easy inflation and super-fast deflation. The Q-Core SLX comes in a variety of lengths and widths. We especially enjoy the doublewide which tucks perfectly into our Cabin Creek doublewide sleeping bag. Repair kit included. bigagnes.com MSRP: $139.95 - 249.95 4. Montem Sneaky Snuggler Puffy Camping Blanket The Montem Sneaky Snuggler Blanket is the ultimate camping quilt! With a temperature rating of 40°+ it keeps you warm indoors and out and you’ll stay comfy no matter where you go. Made of 20D Ripstop Nylon with DWR, the blanket is water and tear resistant. It folds out to a comfortable 54" by 80" making it perfect for one and extremely cozy for two. And it’s not just for camping! We love lounging with this quilt at home, taking it on picnics in the park, and relaxing at festivals and concerts on it. The Sneaky Snuggler easily converts to form with its convenient carry bag, which packs down to a mere 9 by 17 inches, making it the ultimate travel companion. montemlife.com MSRP: $119.99 5. GSI Outdoors Microlite 500 Flip-Top Vacuum Bottle - 17 fl. oz. This incredibly lightweight vacuuminsulated bottle is the answer to our prayers. With its sleek design and clean
construction, this high-spec, durable Glacier Stainless Vacuum Bottle will keep your beverages hot or cold for hours and hours. Perfect for commuting, picnic, sporting events and base camping. Hot beverages stay that way for a whopping ten hours, while cold ones stay icy for double that time. As if that’s not enough reason to love this bottle, it’s 33% lighter than traditional designs. Its 2mm walls are thinner than most single-wall plastic bottles for a compact footprint, and its push-button, flip-top cap locks closed for transport and locks open for easy drinking. gsioutdoors.com MSRP: $25.95 6. Crazy Creek Drop Sac The Crazy Creek Drop Sac boasts an ingenious design for holding unruly gear of all sorts. Simply lay the Sac flat, place gear on top and pull the drawstring to “containerize.” The sac is perfect for holding wet fly-fishing waders and boots ... and makes a great changing mat too. Use it for climbing ropes, ski gear, children’s sporting goods and toys or just about anything when you are in a hurry to pack up and go. The Drop Sac tucks into its own integrated zippered pocket for easy peasy storage. It’s made of 420D coated ripstop nylon fabric, and includes a reflective nylon drawstring. Capacity is 4300 cubic inch / 70 liter volume; it measures 56 inches in diameter, and weighs just 15 ounces. crazycreek.com MSRP: $30.00
LEVIT Y | LUMINA
Yo u k n o w w h a t i s n ’ t c o o l ? S u f f e r i n g for the wrong reasons. Suf fering t h r o u g h p h y s i c a l c h a l l e n g e s ? T h a t ’s cool. Suf fering because your pack h u r t s ? N o t c o o l . S o w h e t h e r y o u ’r e p l a n n i n g o n d o i n g t h e L o s t C o a s t Tr a i l in a weekend or set ting a blistering p a c e o n t h e Tr i p l e C r o w n , w h y n o t take an ultralight pack that feels good on your back? Af ter all, nothing weighs more than pain.