A 'friendly' adventure race pipe dream?

[McWade]

Hi all,

If I were super fit I would consider entering one of a dozen or so adventure races around the globe and would be willing to spend the time and money to do so. A couple are here in Oz. Although I enjoy being a spectator of many organised sports, that kind of thing has never been my 'cup of tea' as a competitor. There are loads of great organised adventure races around but most fall into the organised/corporate/(dare I say yuppie bushwhacker - i know I'll lose some here..) races to be had. But that is not what I'm thinking. I'm thinking more a DYI grass roots amateur fun race.

The prime example of such a thing would have to be the Alaska Mountain Wilderness (summer) Classic. Objective is to get from A to B, leaving no trace, self propelled and unsupported, using any means one wishes - walking/running, cycling, pack-rafting, paragliding, and whatever else you can dream up - with rescue being an individual responsibility. Check it out here http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Alaska_Mou ... ss_Classic .

There are many places in Australia where such a race is achievable. There does not need to be all that many racers to make something like this fun. Is there anyone out there that would like to get involved with something like this? I'm in Perth and as a kick-starter I suggest a route something along the lines of Boyup Brooke to Augusta - any self propelling transport allowed, no using marked roads, anything else goes (of course private property would be out of bounds unless permission is sought and gained for all). ALL would have to be WELCOME, regardless of pretty much anything (except maybe violent tendencies or illegal drug use). If the first proves to be fun I think it could easily become an annual thing, maybe going from state to state - it is not inconceivable.

Is this a just a pipe dream or are there a few people out there who are keen? Is there anything like his out there already in OZ?

Any thoughts, in favour or not, would be most welcome.

Cheers,
Clint

[justacouch]

Something like this recently started on the east coast:

http://www.wildernesstrials.org/forum/

Sounds rad.

[McWade]

Thanks justacouch, rad indeed!

[justacouch]

As an east coast rapper I had to look at google maps to know what Boyup Brooke to Augusta looked like - but from satellite eye view - that's Fargo country.



https://maps.google.com.au/maps?saddr=B ... 1&lci=bike

Also, you might have seen the Hunter Race Trail (the HuRT): http://www.bikepacking.net/forum/index.php?topic=2806.0 and http://hunterracetrail.wordpress.com/ and more on the popular social networking site that's taking over the world and at the same time is like a chair, apparently.


Edit to add HuRT.

[McWade]

Boyup Brook to Augusta is a route I have though about for a while. It can be split up to smaller sections rather than doing the whole things e.g. Bridgetown to Nannup. What I had in mind in particular is 1) access to water 2) a town at both ends 3) existing walking and bike trails that run close to the Blackwood or tributaries. I was also thinking packraft rather than bike (no reason the two couldn't be combined). Doing something like this in pairs would be fun too I think.

Thanks for the info on the HuRT. That's way outa my league but looks awesome.

[McWade]

Bit more info on biking/paddling/walking in the region here if your interested: http://www.warrenblackwood.com.au/Canoe.html