Team Dirty Avocadoes-Pitts won the Gold Rush Summer Challenge. The event was held under blue skies around the small Gold Rush town of La Grange in central California. The temperature was one hundred plus, a typical central California summer day, with a couple more degrees thrown in for global warming. Teams began with an orienteering section of 6 miles on the rocky terrain of Red Hills where team Rabbit Fire finished in 1hr 20 minutes leading the pack by 10 minutes. After transitioning to bikes the teams tackled the 23 mile cycling leg where the heat really began to be felt. The lead team went off course early in the section letting several teams get ahead of them. At the end of the bike leg Dirty Baarbd arrived at the river first followed in quick succession by Dirty Avocados-Pitts and Two Old Fat Guys. Once into the 8 miles of generally swift river, Dirty Avocado Pitts managed to over haul Dirty Baarb by the final checkpoint and paddled to victory by 2 1/2 minutes.

Thanks are due to all the competitors who braved the heat and all the volunteer workers who make an event like this possible; in order of appearance:  Megan Lubinsky, Ryan Grether, Ray Nichol,  Brian ‘the river’ Schmitz, Dale Ghaner, Mike Catzalco, Tom Grether, Connie Arthur

Team Karma

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