An adventure race!
I'm having fun in this picture, I promise!
It's inevitable that I'd end up here-- knocking at the front door of adventure racing.
This fall, I began orienteering with the Cascade Orienteering Club. Every other Saturday, I'd be running, bushwhacking, screeing, wading, climbing and scrambling around a park, map in hand, looking for the next orange flag.
This winter, I got my first mountain bike (full suspension!) and have been discovering the art or ramming into obstacles with gusto.
Pour them in a pot, mix them together, and..
ADVENTURE RACING!!
The Lord Hill Adventure Race included kayaking (optional), orienteering, mountain biking and trekking. But basically, for me, it was 5 hours of traversing up and down the landscape, on foot and bike, eating peanut M&M's, Snickers and Clif Bloks. And it was AWESOME.
I did it solo, and was the only female to do so. I think I came across as a bit stoic-- but really, I was just a bit nervous and self-conscious. There was no one around for me to bounce jokes, funny observations, or navigational queries off of. It was me, my head and my sugary treats. While I value alone athletic time for it's introspection, I would have had more fun with a friend or three.
"Do da ditty dum ditty doo,we're lookin' for T 12 on a knoll..Do da ditty dum ditty doo.."-Team of 4 sang while trotting behind me
*The team behind me in the photo won a prize for best team name with "Blackman and Robin". The best team names are never PC.
