Chadron AR

By Michelle Thompson

Friday started with a drive to Chadron, from southeast to northwest Nebraska. We

elected to take the back roads. The beginning of the tour is a trip through time

starting in the early 1900's in small town Nebraska. This includes your

occasional sod house and  Ford model A.  Lets not forget the historical , Car

Henge. As the trip progresses you start to notice a change in the landscape that

is intriguing. The land becomes something most would not expect to see in

Nebraska (unless they grew up in the sandhills). It becomes more desert like

with the topography being a cross between the valleys and meadows of the

flatlands And the mesas of western Colorado. Gorgeous!

Once we arrived,we checked in at Wreckers bar and plotted points. This had some

interesting moments but we were able to contain our enthusiasm for pure

adventure racing and complete the job.

Our race began Saturday morning at 8. Friday had started with very warm temps

near 90. Saturday it was 50, very windy, cloudy and a 60% chance of rain. We

started on foot with about a 3 mile run. Dave had made a choice to go a

different route than everyone else and it paid off. We were able to leave

transition before any of the other teams.

Next up were 2 long bike sections. Probably 30 miles total. It started with team
challenges. The first was a paddle around buoys in the state park pond.

(Unfortunately there are no large bodies of water in this area).This was done by

Craig and Dave with Michelle happily cheering them on. The next was a boot camp

obstacle course including fabrication of a wood bridge with  pegged boards,

missile carry, water container carry, 15 pushups, 10 situps,stepping over waist

high series of boards, and 5 pull ups. Dave and I swear there was a mysterious

underground magnetic force just under our feet at this station. We completed it

with a solo guy from Colorado. Then the cycling began. It took us through the

state park and the national forest. Beautiful scenery when you weren't watching

for giant cow pies or those mysterious mounds of dirt made by an unknown
reptile. Both of these sections were primarily off road on single track or

marked "trails" following trail markers through the forest. Dave was spot on

with all points. At the beginning of the bike section we saw a team in pursuit,
not too far away. After a couple more points we never saw them again but knew
they were there just waiting to take over the lead. This kept us pushing
forward. Lots and lots of climbing and technical riding and lots of "daggumits".
 At the end of this section we were free again to feel the wind in our faces as

we descended from the forest. I could sense Craig's private celebration being

rid of the single track and back on roads again.

The final leg was on foot and very short, maybe 1/2 mile up hill of course. We

were able to complete it in spite of the strange neuromuscular disorder that

Michelle had acquired while on bike. We were all pleased to complete the race in

1st place with a time of 6 hours and 1 min. the next competitor to finish was

the solo racer from Colorado 45-50 minutes later.

Things we learned 1) it pays to have a navigator that is racing in his backyard
(i equated this to Alpine Shop racing in Missouri ), 2) Craig discovered a
miracle juice called Perpetuem that gives you magical powers, 3)positive
attitudes are invaluable