Ski to Sea 2012

Ski to Sea Race 2012

There’s no intention to do a 2012 recap here but I would be remiss if I let the year go by without mention of the Ski to Sea Race held at the end of May. It was sandwiched in between going to Florida to build a patio and my prostate surgery in June but that in no way diminishes that fact that team “Act du Lieber” finished the race in style with a good time had by all, well almost all.

The intent from the outset was to include family and friends in an event that focused more on fun than competitiveness. That’s not say we all didn’t give it our best but the goal wasn’t to beat ourselves to death to stand on the podium at the end of the day.

What we did do was sit on the deck of The Green Frog Acoustic Bar and eat food and drink pints and pal around.

Our neighbor’s Heather and Leif have lived here for 17 years or so but never had the opportunity to race in S2S. I think that was the impetus for gathering up a team. The idea was to get family members together and on a lark to call upon an old friend from Seattle days to compete with us and reconnect.

So the team comprised of Heather as the cross-country skier, Alison’s daughter Amber as the downhill racer, Alison the runner, Leif the road biker, Tony and his daughter, Elise, the canoeists, my son Seth the Mt Biker and me the kayaker.

After each completed leg there’s a hand off so Amber handed off to her mom and Seth handed off to me, which was an added bonus to the day.

We had everybody lined up but we still needed a canoe. I found one for a great price in Seattle, a big sturdy red tub of a boat. We thought we were all set but Heather, a paragliding enthusiast, had a flying accident, making an emergency landing on what she said was the only snag in the field and cracked the bones in her leg. Sorry Heather, it will be another year before you compete.

Fortunately for us Heather’s flying instructor, Yaro, was willing to fill in at the last minute. Now we’re good to go.

The race itself is a transportation nightmare. Only a select few can go up the mountain, there are road restrictions and since the course covered a 100 miles people were strung out everywhere. We had a team meeting and lasagna feed here at the Golden Hour the night before and planned our strategy.

Race day dawned cool but dry. Amber, Alison and Yaro headed up the mountain early, Leif went part way up to where the road bike leg started and I ferried Tony and Elise to their start and then picked up Seth to be dropped off downriver for the Mt Bike leg.

By the time I got to the kayak input I realized I missed the general meeting but readied the boat for a windy wave tossed ride across the bay.

Here we are actively pursuing our quest:

Yaro

Amber

Alison

Leif

Tony & Elise

Christopher

Where’s Seth’s picture? Good question. I was also asking myself on race day “Where’s Seth?” Seth had a chain break and he had to stop and repair it mid race. We beat the cut off though and I was able to grab the wrist band and get on the water. Out beyond the breakwater the waves were washing up over the bow of the boat. The low profile boat usually skims blithely over the water but that day I felt like I was paddling a submarine. Good thing I had a spray skirt.

A minute under nine hours overall. My daughter Kate, her mate Cory and their baby Alianna were also there to greet us. Kate had also been there when Seth started his leg of the race. It was great to have everyone around. Heather was there too.

The finish area was packed so the team headed up to Green Frog to refresh. Sunny deck, good beer, good food, lousy service.