Saturday night saw the 25th annual Rad Challenge. The race, as always, began at the big bend in Laguna Canyon and ended, nearby, at the bottom of Telonics. After the mass start, the riders sprinted along Laguna Canyon Road and then rode and hike-a-biked up Stairsteps. At the ridgeline, they headed west and climbed all the way to Alta Laguna. The race concluded with a hair-raising plunge down Telonics - 1000 feet of elevation loss in less than one mile.The rider's challenge: to be able to finesse a line down the tricky sections of Telonics after using all their energy during the gut-busting climb to Alta Laguna. Forty-two riders started and finished the race, with the majority of the riders finishing under thirty minutes. Except for the start image, all these photos were taken from Telonics, standing near the big drop known as Volkswagen Rock. The recently groomed trail is in great shape. Riders, exhausted as they were, definitely were able to charge down the trail.
After the event, there was a nice community event, with food, awards, photos from past events and a bit of Tequila. It was great to see the old photos. Do the math, the event began in 1983, predating the term Mountain Bike. The early bikes were a mishmash of converted BMX and beefed up cruiser bikes - no one even considered suspension back in those days, they were just hoping to stop.
