Backyard Challenge VII
race report

BYC7 was a huge success! Despite the weather everyone had great attitudes and there were all levels of abilities from first-time adventure racers, to racers who have done the largest and longest races in the world. A BIG thanks to Peggy, John, and Mike for helping out and standing in the freezing wind, sideways sleet and snow all day with me! Couldn’t have done it without them!

The air was just right for an Adventure Race on a cold and drizzly Saturday morning in April. It was great weather on Friday and Sunday, but Mother Nature had other plans for us! Regardless, 14 teams still came out to play in the depths of Cheyenne Canon. I was glad to see everyone still smiling and joking around as they put on warmer clothes and got on their rollerblades for the first start. It was evident that rollerblading was not a very strong discipline for most teams as there were a few crashes on the way down the hill to the start. It was questionable to remove the rollerblading section due to the soaked roads, but after all, this is supposed to be an adventure?!

The rollerblading section was short and all the teams were back to switch to bikes within 20 minutes. Several seemed real happy to get to take them off already. The first section of biking went steadily uphill along some trails and a dirt road to the rappel site. There were a few wrong turns and extra mileage added by some, but everyone got to the rappel in decent time. The two solo racers and Team HFC got there just as I was finished setting up the rope and anchors! The award for most original route goes to Team Slider for attempting a shortcut that lead them to carrying their bikes on their backs up scree, boulders, and roots along with their 35-55lb rucksacks complete with IV’s and catheters for trainings sake!

The slab of granite that the rappel was on was quite cold and the rope got soaked but everything went flawlessly. All the teams dropped their bikes in the closed tunnel near by, did the rappel, then off on the trekking/bushwhacking section. Denali, my faithful watch dog, was glad to guard all the bikes and get petted by whoever was willing to put their hand out. The course kept leading higher and higher in elevation then off the trail, through a saddle, and down the other side that lead to some interesting moments for teams! Though the bushwhacking was short and mostly downhill, it was north facing and held a lot of snow and had a few extra inches of snow from that morning! If that wasn’t enough there plenty of sticker bushes, downed trees, loose rocks, and freezing cold water to deal with. If teams were able to get through all that crap and find the correct trail, they were lucky and on their way back to the bikes. It sounded as if a lot of different teams worked together on this section to find the right way, or head in the wrong direction, OOPS! The fastest folks were through the trekking in just over 2 hours, and then it was a rappel again and back on the bikes.

The final biking section was a roller coaster ride of singletrack, roads, and screaming downhills! By far some of the best trails in Colorado Springs. The morning snow and moisture made the ride even more interesting and a few stitches in one case. From the finish we could see everyone flying downhill on the last section to get some warm clothes, food and beer. I was incredibly pleased with all the teams finish times and efforts. Everyone was smiling, laughing, and had good stories to tell, as well as some head-shaking at the bushwhacking section! It was a pleasure to put this BYC on and meet some really great people. Unfortunately the battery in my camera died, so I have no pictures for the website. D’oh!

Thanks everyone for coming out to BYC7!

-Jeff Kunkle