The SIC Gorge Paddle Challenge Race Wrap Up - Part 2 of 2

Part 2 of 2.

After a great two days of paddling and the success of our Grom athletes the previous day, we got ourselves up and out the door after breakfast for the day's pre-race meeting for all competitors.  Another beautiful Hood River day was in store for the Sunday event.

Trace is still dry after warming up.

Alex and Trace would race at the same time today racing a course that would take them around a zig zag course of buoy markers and at the same time battle the ever increasing wind that was already building stronger and earlier than it had the previous two days.  We mulled around with some other SUP parents while Alex and Trace got some warm up turns in before the race hoping they wouldn't fall into the water this early in the day.

Alex after some warm up strokes.

The race would start and finish at the same beach at the town's Waterfront Park where the downwind race finished the previous day so there would not be any transporting boards and driving around this day. All the Groms(ages 12-14) and Super Groms(ages 9-11) would start at the same time but the older group would do a second lap through the course.

All the kids lined up with mostly parents and friends in attendance and they were off.  Trace and Alex were quick to get up to speed and were at the front of the pack with a local boy named Bodie, who  had won the Grom downwind the previous day.  We met Bodie at the Pacific Paddle Games last year and is a paddler to watch for now and in the future as he quickly left the pack behind with Alex and Trace chasing.

Fighting a brutally stiff wind and having smaller, less experienced kids literally blown off the course, Alex and Trace managed the race with skill looking every bit the young, trained SUP athletes that they are.  Make no mistake, it was not easy but from the beach they looked to have things under control.

Alex finished first in her division since there were no other girls in her age group.  She was disappointed in that she was the only one.  We tried to get her to do the Women's Open race but that ran right after this race for another chance to compete but she was a bit tired.  Next year we will have more experience with this and know that if her division is lacking paddlers she will sign up for a more competitive division.  This really wasn't an issue in the Pacific Paddle Games or The Carolina Cup so we learned something.

Trace finished third in his race having some problems being a lighter competitor in the windy conditions but he was pretty happy about how things went.  After the kids were done we were able to watch the many Open and Pro races that would continue into the early afternoon followed by the awards.

Trace with some SUP friends he has met along the way.  Bodie from Hood River on left and Rob from New York on right.

One of the things I really like about traveling for these events for the kids are the connections they have made along the way.  Even though we have traveled from the west coast to the east coast USA we see several of the same youth paddlers and parents at events and have made an effort to introduce ourselves.  After all, we are all going to be on the beach together so we might as well get to know each other a bit.  One of Alex and Trace's favorite young paddlers is Jade Howson.  She is only 17 and one of the best women paddlers on the planet and always makes time to say hi to our kids and pump them up before races.  I love seeing the older JR Pro paddlers(15-17 year olds) too encouraging the up and coming Grom paddlers.  Many of them were at the finish line providing hi fives to the younger kids.

Trace receiving some pre-race encouragement from Jade Howson or maybe he is trying to get her phone #.

With no timing drama this race at the medal awards, the day concluded late Sunday afternoon and we decided to hit yet another brewery for dinner and celebrate the weekend's efforts.

When we first started planning the trip Ashley made sure we had an extra day to look around.  We thought we might head into Portland to tour and stay the night near the airport but we decided to stay in Hood River the extra day and head up and see Mt. Hood.  Ski race training was still happening at this time of year and it would be super fun to take a chairlift up to see the view and put the kids on snow again.

Mt. Hood's is a volcano and it's last major eruption was in the 1790s.   Snow skiing is available 12 months a year so it was odd to see people clomping around in ski boots in August outside the the famous Timberline Lodge.  Ski teams use the year round snow field to train in the offseason and we saw lots of youth coming down off the mountain in their race gear.  As the ski race kids went by our SUP kids I couldn't help wonder if Trace or Alex would have pursued competitive skiing the same way they have paddling.  We will never know.

Timberline Lodge

Riding the chairlift was great!  Trace rode with me and he was not really sure about the whole thing.  The height, the wind, if the safety bar was really safe, how to get off, what happens if it stops/breaks, do the cables fall off the wheels etc.  I really do not think he could grasp the idea that I lived on chairlifts every day, all day, all winter for a long time before he came along.  It was fun being back on a lift, especially when my feet were not frozen.

We arrived at the top of the lift and got off the high speed quad with no issues and walked over to where some grooming equipment and snow machines were parked on a thick patch of snow.  Ashley and I marched onto the white patch of slushy snow and it was the first time I had been on snow in 8 years.  The kids followed but it was like watching a baby deer take it's first steps on ice.  The kids don't really comprehend icy or slippery as much as they would have growing up with winter.

Alex was not all that interested in the snow and was more interested in making sure that she had some good video about the whole experience but Trace had other plans.  He wanted to climb up and slide down the mountain like he was skiing.  I think he would have been a good skier if given the chance.

The trip to Mt. Hood was a great extra day tourist activity and it rounded off our trip nicely.  We headed back to town and had some fantastic sushi at a place next to the hotel.  Trace could easily live at the hotel, ride his SUP on the river and eat sushi for weeks if he had the choice.  Early to bed for us since we had an hour drive to get back to the airport in Portland and check in at 3:45 am for our flight back to Puerto Vallarta.  Ashley dropped us off to check the baggage and she returned the rental but we met up with her on the other side of security and she headed back to Atlanta.

So that wraps up our trip to Hood River for the SIC Gorge Paddle Challenge.  It was a great 5 day trip for all of us.  We really like having an excuse for the kids to race and see new places at the same time and Hood River fit the bill.  Good event, good weather, good food, good beer, relatively easy to get to and good scenery.  Will we return?  We would all like too and Ashley has already suggested a longer visit.  A bit longer visit since many of the athletes arrive a week early to train on the river before the competition begins.  It would be fun to see the kids train for several days and cross paths with the SUP racing crowd that shows up early just to paddle the World Class "downwind" conditions.  The past year they have been making lots of connections, friendships and slowly getting more "cred" amongst competitors and suppliers and we'd like to see that continue since we like the families and competitors we have met too.

The kids have now completed the "Trifecta" of big races in the USA.  The Pacific Paddle Games, The Carolina Cup and now the The Gorge Paddle Challenge.  They are the three biggest races in the country and the kids have brought home medals in all three.  It might be a little while before we can travel to another race.  The kid's Team ramps up again next week so they will be busy with that.  Other activities start as well like basketball, horse jumping and of course school.  We(I) won't suggest thinking about the next race for a little while at least...probably  We are super proud of our paddlers and hope they continue to prepare and keep learning what it takes to be good at what they like to do.  Maybe next year we will bring some of our team along too.

A video from Total SUP of the weekend.  No shots of the kids but fun to watch.