Dry land swimming

stroller pushing

clicking our heals at great heights

and wearing big hats

We really think this is going to help.

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Brian, A-Bomb, Susan, Will, Adam, Jen, DP and Mike

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Aja Cook. Aja is one of the original Dirty Avocados. She has lots of AR and Mountain biking experience and is going to be a huge help to us as we work our way through the Montana back country. Aja is good with bike repairs and will be a sight for sore eyes when we get to the TA.

Matthew Fox is our latest pick up. We met Matt over the internet as he hails from Chicago. He worked with John Howard and the PQ organization in Utah and is very excited about getting involved in Montana. Matt races in the mid west and is extremely organized. We are very happy to have him a board.

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Mike Chastaine won the Masters divsion and finished 4th overall of all solo riders. All on his single speed. He covered 209 miles with about 25,500 feet of elevation gain.

Brian Schmitz, in his first 24 hour mountain bike race finished 12th over all out of 54 solos and 6th in the single speed divsion.

Will Gilmore, also in his first 24 hour mountain bike race finished 5th in the open division and 15th overall.

Jen, Aja and DP with a friend (Chris) competed in the 4 person relay and Jon Maz did the 8 hour solo. Jon took 10th in the Masters divsion.

Great showing.

Will, Brian, Aja, Mike, Jon, Jen and DP

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As part of our preparation for PQ,  three of the 4 members of the Dirty Avocados II competed in a 5 day race in Mexico - Baja Travesia.  Susan, Brian and Mike traveled from San Felipe, across the Baja panhandle and finished in Ensenada. Although we didn’t place as well as we would have liked, the adventure was epic and we learned a lot about our team and each other.  Log in to www.Dirtyavocados.com for more information about this great race and our preparation.

Next up, Susan is racing in Costa Rica and the boys will be doing the Coolest 24 Hour mountain bike race solo.  Mike and Brian will be racing Single Speed - sick.

The Dirty Avocados are still raising money for the Make-A-Wish foundation.  It’s not too late to get your raffle ticket and a chance to win a custom made bike frame.  For more information go to www.dirtyavocados.com

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The road to Primal Quest is a long one. Hours on the bike, on your feet and in the kayak. Many weekends away from home working on skills, and technique. Learning to work as a team while improving one’s own-fitness. On top of it all we have to complete various certifications that are required by the Primal Quest organization.

The Dirty Avocados started early. On December 2, 2007 both DA teams traveled to Las Trampas Regional Wildness for navigational instruction, map reading and plotting. As a final exam we did a full on orienteering course/race. The team navigators, of course, breezed through while everyone else picked up some tips and increased their skills. It was a beautiful day and everyone learned a great deal. The DA’s took the top three spots on the Orange course with Adam Doti taking 1st, Susan Bower 2nd and Brian Schmitz 3rd.

The next week, on December 9th, the DA’s met in Marin to work on their climbing certification. Under the learned guidance of Jon Bosworth, the DA’s repelled and ascended the rock working on valuable techniques and skills to allow them to tackle the ropes section in Montana. It was another beautiful day and everyone enjoyed working together.

On January 12th and 13th the group headed to Coloma for the White Water Kayaking training. This two day course was expertly taught by Jason Gates and Gigi Mcbee. The river was cold and the air temp colder as the DA’s learned how to read the river and negotiate the various obstacles found in Class II and III water. Although chilled to the bone, everyone enjoyed the class and learned a great deal.

On February 23, 2008 it was back to the water. The swim certification only required a mile swim and 10 minutes of treading water. However, the DA’s wanted to be fully prepared so they also took a swift water safety class. They learned how to swim through rapids, swim up river, eddy to eddy and how to deal with strainers. We rode River boards and practiced rescues. We all left with a renewed appreciation of the power of the river and the skills to deal with many of the issues that we hoped never arise.

Our final certification was first aid. On March 1 Jon Masztakowski did an excellent job taking a great deal of information and breaking it down into a very practical application. We were all given the tools to help us make the important decisions that sometime arise.

Now that the DA’s have completed all of the required certifications, we can focus on preparing for PQ Montana. But first – Baja.

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Brian Schmitz of the Dirty Avocados II interview on Endurance Planet. http://enduranceplanet.com/programs/02-05-08_Avacado.m3u

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We are training very hard to get ready for the this great event. To follow our journey log into our team website - http://www.dirtyavocados.com

Will, Brian, Susan and Mike

Ripe for Racing

Thanks to all of our sponsors for their support and encouragement.

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