High on the southwest shoulder of Mount Tamalpais, the birthplace of mountain biking, you hear few sounds: ruffled breezes, scuttling lizards, keening red tailed hawks. But then comes a faint crunch of knobby tires on serpentine dirt, followed by labored breathing and the creak of granny gears.
Grinding around a corner on Old Railroad Grade is Team Robertson Stephens One, the 3rd place team in this year's Presidio Challenge. It is nearly seven hours into the race, and the investment bankers are a curious mix of stoicism, intensity, and buckets of sweat. After 3,500 feet of climbing, they are more than ready to get off their bikes and head to the climb site looming above them.
On the summit, at a rocky outcropping laced with a web of climbing ropes and hardware, the lead teams, Team Schwab One and Robertson Stevens Team Three, are busy cinching their climbing harnesses and throwing down calories. Their arrival helps define the boundaries of corporate athletes and the expected outcome of the race. Somewhere between weekend warrior and elite athlete, these two teams boast members who have raced the Raid Gauloises, competed in Ironman Canada, skied in the Olympics, run the Quadruple Dipsea and served as a Navy SEAL. There is even a nationally-ranked badminton player here, and he's not as deeply out of his element as you would expect.
None are professional athletes, and just like the rest of us, all are slaves to their jobs. But watching Team Schwab One, after a small navigation error on Angel Island, make up more than 15 minutes and overtake the field on the 25-mile mountain bike leg is to realize that you wouldn't want to try a pleasant Sunday ride with any of them.
The three lead teams have opened a significant gap on the rest of the field. Coming out of the water in a surprising 1st place was Team Keen.com, followed by Team Robertson Stephens Two, Robertson Stephens Three, Team Schwab One, Team Robertson Stephens One, Team Dreyers, and the last of the clearly fit Robertson Stevens Teams. Strung closely together across the San Francisco Bay was the remainder of the field, in order: WebMethods, Business 2.0, Schwab Two, Deloitte One, Jamba Performance, CBS Marketwatch, Jamba Power, Deloitte Two, Spencer Stuart, TrailBlazer.com and, lagging way behind and squelching those dark-horse whisperings, Personify.
In an unexpected development, the media covering the event have suffered an array of injuries to rival the Eco-Challenge. Although details are sketchy at this point, it has been reported that a cameraman shooting the Challenge for the Outdoor Life Network had a mishap at the climb site and sprained his shoulder and back.
At nearly the same time, back on the bike course, an independent cameraman working for OLN wiped out on a mountain bike while shooting footage of a team. He may have suffered a shoulder injury, but details are unavailable. The competitors seem to be holding up well, although Team Keen.com dropped from the lead of the race after Helen Nigg crashed her mountain bike. Reports indicate a shoulder injury that required medical attention.
The teams will race throughout the rest of the night, interspersing two trekking legs with another climbing challenge. By the time dawn breaks, they will mount their bikes once more and press toward a much-welcome finish.
Go to morning race report.
