Death Race For Life Project Sponsored By Long Trail Brewing: Success at the Sea Otter

Project Summary

I am dedicating February through July 2010 to my passion for endurance sports and an effort to help the Lance Armstrong Foundation fight cancer. Between March and June I will undertake a bicycle racing tour of multi-day stage races in the western United States. I’ll be racing in Colorado, New Mexico, Utah, and California. I’ll spend the winter training in Colorado and New Mexico. My tour will serve as conditioning for a final test – the Death Race. On June 24 I will join 99 other selected athletes in Pittsfield, Vermont for the 2010 Death Race.

The Death Race, loosely defined as an “adventure race” is a 24-hour slog that blurs the line between challenge and absurdity. The race consists of an unknown number of tasks spread out over a mountainous course with an unspecified finish line. The route and sampling of mental and physical challenges are also unknown. Previous races have included wood chopping, swimming, running, cycling, mud crawls, memorization tasks, fire building, weight caries, waterfall climbing, and more. The race boasts a 10% finishing rate. The international field of contestants includes ex-special forces, ultra-marathoners, Iron Men, and athletes from other disciplines. You can see the New York Times video here: www.youtube.com/watch?v=8rtMFKpOYqo

My tour will benefit the Lance Armstrong Foundation by raising money through direct donations and pledged donations per mile that I ride during the tour. In this blog you can find more information about the tour, my training, my connection to the Lance Armstrong Foundation, donations, and my motivation for starting this project.

Thanks for visiting the blog and supporting my project!

Cully Cavness

Tuesday, April 20, 2010

Success at the Sea Otter

So much has happened since my last post. I've raced in five more races and had some great adventures in Colorado, Utah, and California. I'm writing now from San Francisco where I have been staying with friends from Middlebury and Denver.

The big news is my third place finish in the Category 2 mountain bike race at the Sea Otter Classic - the largest cycling event in North America. The race started in the Mazda Speedway arena. We launched onto the smooth race track, which quickly became rutted fire roads and eventually gorgeous single track. The trails climbed and descended over the hilly terrain in the Laguna Seca Recreation Area located just north of Monterey California. I got to race through forests, fields of lavender, sand washes, mud slicks, and technical climbs and descents for ninety minutes until the race ended back at the Mazda Speedway with hundreds of people watching. I ended up the proud owner of a bronze medal and a seemingly limitless supply of energy and protein powder prizes. This race result earned me an upgrade to Category 1, the highest amateur racing license category.

The Sea Otter Classic is a massive four-day biking festival held every summer in Monterey, California. Over 2,000 people attended this year. Most people camp out around the race courses, which makes for a very fun community atmosphere. In the center of the festival you can find every bike maker, sports drink producer, energy bar innovator, and clothing purveyor imaginable - probably over 100 stands offering free samples, stickers, and test rides. Heaven!

SRAM cycling components supplied an amazing after party full of shiny bikes showcasing SRAM’s new products. I got to be in a few photo shoots with some beautiful models and random backdrops like a surfing scene (in the movie above) and a cycling video on a projection.

I'll be heading back to Denver via Salt Lake City tomorrow. Books on tape have been a life saver so far, and I'm looking forward to finishing off "Outliers." I want to echo my previous accolades for Long Trail Brewery, without their support I never could have raced in the Sea Otter Classic, Tour of the Depot, or Tour de Sol. Thanks so much for the support - I've been wearing the LT jerseys with pride!

Next stop Rocky Mountain Regionals, then the Tour of the Gila in New Mexico.