Eppie's Great Race 41

Four days before Eppie's Great Race, I got an email from Tom saying that he needed a last minute bow paddler for the last leg of the race, a 6.35 mile downriver paddle in a tandem open canoe.  As luck would have it for me, his paddling partner had a change of plans and couldn't make it back to Sacramento in time for the race, so I was in.

I don't know Tom very well, but I have tons of respect for him and it's awesome to see a great canoeist paddling in California.  He's fun to paddle with, he's a really positive ambassador for California paddling and is just a pleasure to be around.  I knew we'd paddle well together and was looking forward to canoeing downriver with him.

This was the 41st year of Eppie's and the country's oldest triathalon, but the first year for me.  It was great to see a well-organized race getting so many paddlers onto the Lower American river for some fun and exercise and to raise money for Sacramento County Therapeutic Recreation Services.  Tom had assembled a pretty great team and when Scott and I made the handoff from cycling to paddling, we were around tenth place overall, the second canoe team to hit the water.  The first team of canoeists got about a 3-4 minute start on us and were within sight for the first half of the race.  They were paddling a faster canoe, but we held ground the whole way.

Our run was almost flawless as we held speed, hit all of the whitewater right on our lines and finished in a pretty good time of 48:47 averaging about 7.6mph.  Nice race!

Fun on the Russian

photo by John Burgess, Press  Democrat

East Bay sup / CCK sup / BPC / TBD sup did awesome at the Russian River Race this weekend in Healdsburg.  Organizers put on the Drought Edition this year due to low water on the river.  The 15-mile course was cancelled, but the 5-mile was still on with almost 200 paddlers.  Leading up to May 3rd, water levels slowly rose and presented a very runnable river leaving just a few areas of shallow water to portage or scrape over.

Last year I paddled the 15-mile course on a standup board and finished third.  But, my board did not fair well, coming home with a damaged fin and two holes.  No problem, all was repaired.  This year, however, knowing water levels could be even lower, I opted to race in a solo canoe.  Turns out I was the only person to enter solo canoe so I was added to the Men's Single Kayak division.  I felt slightly disadvantaged, but didn't care too much as this race is more about the fun than the competition.  Of course, I can get a little competitive on the water, so I went hard anyways.  

I got a good start and hit the narrow river in fourth.  I quickly moved into third and drafted one and two for a couple minutes.  These guys were going hard, but weren't fast enough, so I moved over and went for the pass on both of them.  As I passed right, three others moved up the left, also passing.  As we all moved back in line, I ended up back in fourth position, but with three fast paddlers in front of me.  They all slowly dropped me, but I caught ground in a few areas where I made better reads on the channels and found more fast water.  Nearing the end, I reeled third in to just a few boat lengths.  I could see the finish and increased my pace to put the pressure onto him.  Well, it worked because he crossed a slight eddyline and began to turn, against his will.  That was my chance and as he started to spin he noticed me about to overtake him and panicked.  That little panic was enough of a chance for me to pass him in the last 200 feet.  

So, 55 minutes 06 seconds later, I crossed the finish line third in a field of 23 kayakers with the 6th fastest time overall.  You know what they say about canoeists?  Half the paddle, twice the paddler!

In the end, our crew walked away excited with armloads of swag.  Nice job crew!

Women's SUP

• 1st - Laury Croter, 1:05:30
• 2nd - Lucija Hadziselimovic, 1:12:52

Men's SUP

• 1st - John Walsh, 52:50
• 3rd - Mitch Silverstein, 58:14

Men's Single Kayak

• 3rd - Matt Palmariello, 55:06

Laury (1st - women's sup) & Mitch (3rd - men's sup)

Celebratory high five as Lucija crosses the finish line.  John (1st - men's sup), Lucija (2nd - women's sup)

Sea Otter Classic, April 5th - 14th

Sea Otter Classic!  One of the best events of the year loaded with long days, exciting competition and an incredible team of people.  Camp fire sessions, radio chatter, stupid question of the day.  Gator done!

If you've never attended, check it out next year.  For a long weekend in Monterey, 60,000+ people celebrate cycling at Laguna Seca Raceway with a jam-packed schedule of road racing, dual-slalom, downhill, cross-country, coastal tours, dirt jumping, cyclocross and dozens of other bike events.  Surround that with an enormous expo of over 400 different exhibitors with all the newest products.  Top that off with family friendly activities, movie premiers, good food and plenty of beer to wash it down.  I'm not religious, but I'd call that bike heaven.  Not a bad place to live for 10 days each spring.

I've been working on the team for 6 years with dozens of other 'work all day work all night' core crew with experience to spare.  It's one of these events where the people make it exceptional.  Not to downplay the cycling, because it's highly energetic and inspiring, but the people are just plain fun and transform work into play.  Positive vibes are abundant.  Good times.

my ride for the week

WRX test drive

Dual Slalom start

Flyover on the cyclocross course

the office

Cyclocross - the craziest spectator event at Sea Otter

California 100 SUP Race

On Saturday I participated in the inaugural California 100 paddling race from Redding to Chico on the Sacramento river.  100 miles of continuous paddling is a challenge for anyone in any discipline and I opted to do the course on a standup board.  I anticipated a conservative, consistent pace down the river and was shooting for a time under 14 hours 24 minutes.

Michael Melville & I started the race in the adventure class at 6am with 50 or so other racers.  The relay teams and competitive class racers would start one hour later at 7am.  We both positioned for a front of the pack upriver start, rounded the buoy and took off downriver towards the first rapid on river left.  That rapid helped break the pack up, and gave me a quick lesson on how the Starboard K-15 would handle rough water - just fine.  My fin clipped a rock in the first bend, sending me to my knees quickly.  The river was flying in sections and the pillowy whirlpools following almost every rapid could easily grab a rail and roll the board.  After recovering from the fall and paddling a few more minutes I found myself next to Michael again.  Minutes later the pack started to head river right, across a flat lagoon towards a point that cut off a significant stretch of water.  Dropping into the large standing waves at the far end we both went to one knee to negotiate the rough water.  Later that day Michael confessed he didn't want to take that cut-off because he knew how big those waves were.  He did it anyways so he wouldn't lose ground.  

I landed at checkpoint number one about 2 seconds ahead, jumped off the board, carried it up the embankment and began filling water and dropping layers.  Michael turned in his number, and jumped back on the board.  I didn't know what to make of it and continued to finish my refueling & resting.  Fewer than five minutes later I re-launched and couldn't catch a glimpse of him - he was gone.  Only 25 miles in and I thought it was decided.  Michael is a fast paddler and I wasn't sure I'd be able to catch him.  He had a couple falls, and I paddled like mad.  After another 25 miles of continuous paddling, I had somehow made up a considerable distance and was slowly reeling him in.  By the time I entered checkpoint number two around mile number 55, I was about 20 seconds behind him.

Just behind Michael for the first 90 miles.  Photo by Lisa Thomas

The stop lasted about 2-3 minutes and we were back on the water.  I took a few seconds longer than him to refuel and was just behind him heading downriver for another 25 mile stretch.  I made up at least 10-15 seconds at that checkpoint and was determined to not let him gain too much more of a lead.  I did everything I could to match his pace and at one particular river diversion I chose the faster line on river left and made up another 2-3 seconds.  We were matching pace with each other so well that our positions were being determined by the lines we were taking and by whoever could stay in the fastest current long enough.  It came down to river reading to find the fast lines and constant calculations to decide what would be faster, the outside line with stronger current or the inside line with less distance.  I was 2 seconds behind him when we landed at checkpoint number three.

We both turned in numbers, raced to fill water and then got back to the boards.  Luckily I had a friend at this stop who grabbed me some gu, opened some energy gels for me and tossed them onto my foredeck as I was re-launching.  I had taken some other food from my bag and tossed it on my deck, but never had enough time to open it, nevermind eat it.  While floating downriver on my knees I was able to slam some almonds and beef jerky, Clif energy products and water as I watched Michael increase the distance between us.  If I didn't eat there was no way I'd catch him.

Michael Melville at Jelly Ferry Bridge looking strong.  photo by Lisa Thomas

About 10 miles later, around the 90-mile mark, I somehow passed him and for the first time was able to stay in front.  I gained a couple boardlengths per mile for the next hour and slowly increased the distance between us.  I was completely weary by this time and looked back every once in awhile expecting him to be right there.  In the end I edged him out by a very slim margin and finished in 12 hours, 33 minutes averaging 7.57 mph.  We had a clean, honest race that wasn't determined until the very end and I'm still stoked that a 100 mile race was that close for that long.

I was seriously honored to race along Michael.  If we hadn't had this friendly rivalry on the river there's no way I would've finished in that time.  He pushed me to go faster and for that I'm grateful.  Big respect to an amazing paddler, competitor and athlete!  Nice race Michael!

Michael Melville & I at the finish

The Starboard K-15 is awesome..

coming into checkpoint 3.  photo by Lisa Thomas

The California 100 is the only paddle-sport ultrathon in the state and is produced by Rivers for Change, a not for profit organization founded in California in 2011 dedicated to engaging, collaborating & promoting conservation through Source to Sea adventures.  They did an incredible job on this event!  Check out their website and consider joining one of their events.

Davenport Downwinder SUP

The Davenport race last saturday, put on by the Ghostryders Watermans Club, was one of my toughest days on water ever..  I've paddled sea kayaks in some very challenging conditions and this was right up there.  20-25 knot sustained winds created some good sized swells a bit mixed up.  The route is a 14-mile downwind shot from Davenport Landing to the wharf in Santa Cruz.  There had to be close to 100 racers on paddleboards, standup paddleboards, surfskis & outrigger canoes.  The mass beach start was exciting to say the least and once we all hit the wind, just a bit offshore, racers scattered like mad.

By the end, the winner finished in under 2 hours.  I was closer to the 2:45 mark which was a few minutes slower than I wanted to paddle the course in.  I'm fine with that though, it just shows me that I have some improvements to make & having something to work on is good for me.

The finish line

shore to shore

Last Saturday I woke early, loaded the wagon and drove out to Stinson with coffee in hand to check out the 4th annual Shore to Shore Paddle Race.  I told myself I was only going to be a spectator and wasn’t going to race, but once reminded that my entry fee benefits the Stinson Beach Junior Lifeguards, I figured what the hell.  If anything I’ll gain some insight as to where I stack up to other local sup’ers.

Arriving early and to far-from-ideal conditions we said our hello’s and went to the starting line at the Brighton courts in Bolinas.  Lots of folks on hand and clearly some quality support for the junior lifeguards.  It was pretty nice seeing so many people stoked to paddle, too.  Just to be clear, this is a paddling race, not an SUP race.  There were lots of prone racers, many on standard longboards, and a handful of open canoe and kayak paddlers. 

I landed in heat 4 with all the other sup paddlers and wandered to the surfs edge once heat 3 was away.  On the go, I took two slow steps into the sea then a few long quick strides and onto my board.  I nailed the start and am convinced it’s because of my experience paddling hard in the kneeling position.  I surf sups quite often and sometimes use this technique to break out.  Also, I learned early that knee paddling is a great strategy on windy days.  The decreased wind drag on the body and increased cadence of the paddle stroke make for quick paddling.  Plus, it’s a stable position for opposing whitewater.

Once clear of the breakers, it was quick to my feet and into a fast stroke with as long a reach as I could manage in the choppy conditions.  A quick pivot with my head and I realized I was in the front of the pack, where I would stay for the rest of my race.  The guys in front slowly pulled away and I did manage to chase down and pass one or two paddlers in the 2.75 mile race (I was in the short leg – the more experienced racers paddled an 8-mile course).  Except for the two times I fell off the board, there was little action mid-race.   A fall is hardly serious save for the fact that it can quickly lose you precious positioning and lots of time.  At the turn buoy I caught a few racers from heat 3, made my way left and passed some on my sprint to the beach.  Again, my time in the surf paid off as I got onto a wave and surfed my 14’ Bark Expedition all the way to shore with grace.  It was by far the high-point of my race and left me on the beach all smiles.

A quick jog to the finish and I was the 2^nd paddler across the line, 1^st in my division with a time of 36 and a half minutes.  Courtesy of the race organizers, we were treated to a fantastic lunch of oysters and beer, followed by a short awards ceremony.   Hats off to the 8-mile racers and congrats to the event organizers for putting on a great race with a very friendly and supportive vibe.  Nice job helping me get more obsessed with standup. 

We made our way home in the dark after spending the rest of the day at Bolinas surfing and eating.  The next day the deep waters we raced in were closed due to a great white sighting close to shore.

getting into start position

two small steps and couple deep breaths

36 and a half minutes and tired.

The permanent shark warning at Stinson Beach.