In 2015, flood postponements derailed my TWS plans so I jumped into the Missouri River 340 as a solo racer. I was quite satisfied with the just under 50 hour finish in flood water so it was easy to turn my attention to the bike and dedicate 2016 as a Tour Divide year. Well, if you read the previous blog posts, you know how that went, so it happens I was home for the postponed date of this years TWS.
Jeff was running in a very competitive 4-man with Debbie Richardson and Bobby Smart with Amy Boyd coming in to replace RD Kissling who could not make this years flood postponment. They had a more than full and capable support crew so if anything, I would just be following along to watch.
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| Angela (AssCap), Becky and SheilaT (TCs), Bobby, Pam (AssCap), Amy, Debbie, Jeff |
A few days before the race Jeff got wind of 2 2-man teams coming from California. We'd been aware of the guys as they'd originally been asking around for a 6-man boat. They were counseled by veterans about how incredibly difficult it would be to get a 40+ foot long boat down a skinny river they'd never seen. Advice heeded, they decided on 2 tandems for the race.
A 2-man team can be supported by 1 person but it sure is easier with 2. One team, Sean Dickson and Mike Durkin were supported by both their wives. The other team with Joe Decker and Mark Jones had only Joe's wife Nichole. By now, they'd already reached out to John Bugge who not only has done like a zillion TWSs but also makes and rents boats. As is John's way, he was generous with his knowledge and gave the teams much advice about the river. They also reached out to Jeff. This is how I got connected. Jeff told me they could use a 2nd support for Joe's boat so I offered up and they accepted.
The idea to do TWS stemmed from Joe Decker who in the 1990's saw a list of the then 10 most difficult races in the world. He decided to do them all and has since been ticking them off his list.
http://gutcheckfitness.com/about/company-history/
It would seem he gathered some accomplices and headed to Texas. They arrived just 2 days before the race and were able to only scout the first 25 miles of the course.
Unlike the wide open Missouri, the TWS follows the skinny, twisty San Marcos river then the Guadalupe. The rivers have down trees, dams, small rapids in addition to snakes, alligators... The majority of participants will spend from January to June repeatedly running sections of the river to learn how to efficiently navigate all of the obstacles. A day and 1/2 to see it would be on the light side. Not impossible, just, well, challenging. This short film by Yeti features Jeff's team last year and is a good summary of what the race is like.
https://vimeo.com/142413700
I met Mark, Joe and Nichole on Friday - race check in day. They stopped by my office to pick up flares I was loaning them. Right away I was impressed. Not by their resume. I know lots of people with equal or better. I was impressed with their attitude. Their intentions were not coming from a place of arrogance but came with a humble respect for the race and what they were about to try. I became excited to see them tackle it and to help them however I could.
They were pretty well organized. Not their first ultra distance rodeo so they needed very little from me at the start, That was perfect because I wanted to see Jeff's team come though the Rio Visa rapid section early. A video I took from there:
For the rest of the day Saturday, I followed Nichole down the river, helping at hand off spots and checkpoints. I gave river advice where I knew it, drawing pictures in the dirt and sharing pages from my TWS binder. At every stop, the guys might have been tired but were all smiles and Ok, what's next. I stayed as long as the Palmetto State Park bridge. It's a very tricky spot and I wanted to see them safely though. They did fine and went on their way, making it to the finish in a very respectable 59 hours. Well done guys. I hope you come back!
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| Leaving Fentress |
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| Portage Luling/Zedler |
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| Seadrift! |
I went home Saturday and got to paddle some myself Sunday morning.
I then drove south again to catch up with Jeff's team #444. They were running in 3rd place with 4th and 5th within minutes. It was a nail biter all the way to the finish but 3rd it stayed!
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| Rio Vista |
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| STB-TC Makein it happen! |
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| Leaving Salt Water Barrier |
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| Finish! |
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