La Conner Race

February 23, 2002

Despite all the rain leading up to last Saturday, and all the rain on the drive up to La Conner, the entire 6 nautical mile race was actually rain-free.

The temperature was in the 40's, the sky was mostly overcast, and all the potential pedal boat competitors who had said earlier in the week that they would try to attend didn't, for one reason or another.

Where are all those local Wave Bike owners I keep hearing about?

This year I made a slight pest of myself taking lots of photos. Unlike last year, when Ron McDonald and I positioned ourselves half a mile from the start at a picturesque spot along the course for photos, this year I just took pictures as I pedaled in the race.

A short time into the race I started peeling off my layers of clothing. Soon I was down to a long sleeved wicking T-shirt, bike shorts and shoes, while around me the other racers were still wearing their wet suits, paddle mittens, hats and jackets. The cockpit of an Escapade can certainly protect you from the elements!

The waves were few, the wind was almost nonexistent, but there was a bit of tidal current in the channel at the start as well as in the Sound, especially near the turn around buoy. The elements were quite accommodating for even the surf skis.

Even though I felt I was not pushing as hard as last year, my final time (1:32:05) was a new course record for pedal boats. This is true even after removing the 5 minute penalty for starting 5 minutes early last year for the photo shoot, and with some stopping to pick up a few dropped racer numbers, turning around to get a better shot of the eagle statue, etc.

Lunch was held after the race at the Shelter Bay Yacht Club. It consisted of several different types of soup, fresh bread, hot cocoa, tea and coffee. A very tasty ending to a fine event.

All the photos can be seen here.

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