October 5/98 8:55 am - Adrenalin, Ironman

Posted by Editor on 10/5/98
 

Final Adrenalin Race Report
(courtesy Janet R.)

It's 5:00 pm, west coast time, as the sun begins to set on the 1998 season for the Kokanee 24 Hrs of Adrenalin series. The seventh and final race of the season is over and what a race it was. For starters, it was located in sunny southern California near Palm Springs. But don't let the California part fool you. The temps overnight here hovered around zero degrees celcius as almost 300 people rode for almost 12 hours hours of night riding in this picturesque desert mountain location. The host site was the Desert Sun Centre located in Idyllwild, a quaint town about 2 hours outside of Los Angeles and nestled in the San Jacintas Mountain Range.

For those of you who know about the 24 Hrs of Adrenalin format, please skip down a paragraph. For new comers...here's the quick and dirty on the race format. Teams get together to race off-road for a full 24 hours. There a variety of categories to meet your fitness levels and desire for pain (solo, 2 person, 4 person, 5 person and corporate teams of 6-10). The race starts at noon Saturday with a LeMans style running start before riders pick up their bikes to head out on a course that is usually between 16-18 km in length. Riders carry a baton and when they come through the transition area, they pass off the baton to the next rider and on it goes. The winners are determined by the most number of laps in the least amount of time over the 24 hour period. The race is over at noon on the Sunday.

And now for some race highlights! The course here was simply marvelous! This was the first time these trails have ever been used for a race although the locals have kept it a well ridden secret. Cheers to the local folks (Ralph and crew) who designed the course that was described to me as relentless (in that there were no easy cruising areas) yet provided a taste of everything you could hope to ride in this area (desert trails, mountain pine trees and rocky mountain climbs) while still leaving room for both experienced mountain bikers and novices to enjoy a great race.

Quick Notes:
*Animal spottings include 1 mountain lion, many bunny rabbits, lots of woodpeckers and blue jays and of course, squirrels.
*Team VeloNerd rode the entire race with real nerdy clothing and tacky ties. It was always a spectator higlight to guess what awful outfit might come out next.
*Although most participants were Americans....there was one Canadian in the crowd. Thanks for making the trip down!

And now for the race standings:

SOLO MALE
Notes: Pat placed first in our first race of the season in Northern California (Laguna Seca) and second at our recent race in Silver Star, BC. He missed out on first here by only 10 minutes after making up almost one hour of time! Hats off to Pat!
1. Bernard Hug, San Diego 19 laps 24:00
2. Pat Norwil, Mazama, WA 19 laps 24:10
3. Randy Wolfe, Palm Desert 18 laps


SOLO FEMALE
1. Patty Struve, Truckee 13 laps 24:05
2. Wendy Skean, Mountain Center 10 laps
3. Zu Schramm, North Vancouver 10 laps

2 PERSON
1. Go Hard or Go Home, San Bernardino 23 laps
2. Beer Sounds Good, Canoga Park 21 laps
3. Al La Sa, Capitola 14 laps

4 PERSON ELITE
Notes: A member of the second place team was also winner of the fastest lap time clocking in at 44 minutes. Most other teams averaged around one hour.
1. The Back Alley Cats, Temecula 27 laps
2. 2 B Ammounced, La Quinta 26 laps
3. Team Cycology, San Diego 24 laps


5 PERSON OPEN AGE CATEGORIES (Add up ages of all five members and fit into one of the categories below:

100-149
Notes: The first place team was also the overall course winner logging in the most number of laps.
1. Team Universal Cycles, Studio City 27 laps 24:30
2. Bike USA, San Diego 24 laps
3. Diego Francisco, Encinitas 24 laps

150-199
Notes: Only 19 minutes separated first and second.
1. Team With No Name, Hemet 25 laps
2. Back Alley Mountain Cats, Temecula 25 laps
3. Mountain Bike Central.com 24 laps

200+
1. Woodcrest Bikes, Moreno Valley 23 laps
2. Back Alley Mountain Bikes, Temecula 22 laps
3. Ten Tired Testicles, Rancho Mirage 21 laps

ALL FEMALE
You guessed it......
1. Back Alley Mountain Bike Women, Temecula 19 laps

CORPORATE (6-10 riders)
A really close race here througout the entire 24 hour period where only 4 minutes separated second and third place.
1. Mission Cyclery, Chula Vista 25 laps
2. CBF Racing, Moorpark 25 laps
3. Idyllwild Psycolers, Idyllwild 25 laps

Thanks to those of you who have tuned into our many race updates this season. We and Canadian Cyclist appreciate your visitations! For more information on the 24 Hrs of Adrenalin races, check out our cool web site at www.trilife.com and remember, until next season, 'trilife or die'!


Canadian Wins Ironman

Well, it may not exactly be cycling in its purest sense, but Canadians were at the forefront of the Ironman Triathlon World Championship in Hawaii yesterday. Canadian Peter Reid won the men's race in a time of 8:24:20. Belgian Luc Van Lierde finished second (8:31:57) and Lother Leder of Germany was third (8:32:57). In the women's race, Natasha Badmann of Switzerland won (9:24:16), Canadian Lori Bowden was second (9:27:19), and Fernanda Keller of Brazil third (9:28:29). Defending women's champion Heather Fuhr of Canada finished 5th.