Discussion: Expedition Oregon 2019

Pre-race promo article including the course overview at the bottom. Teams will start with 20 miles of Snowshoe Mountaineering.
https://www.bendracing.com/single-post/2019/04/10/...

Who’s going? JayXC will be there on Team Untamed New England so I guess we have to cheer for *him* again. ;)

Looking at the team list, here are the APers I recognize:
Alex Provost
Rachel Furman
Jeff Woods
Mindy Fernando (not as active)

I think Michael Garrison is on AP? Is Dave Lamb?

Many to cheer for and several very strong teams! Should be a great watch.

Alex "jackson5"
Rachel "rocky33"
Jeff "Sony"
Mindy "Shrek Feet"
Mike "Garrison"
Dave "DML"

Excited to follow this one. Hopefully the tracking is more consistent this time.

Lots of people to cheer for!

The quality of the real-time tracking will depend on whether they’ve decided to use Yellowbrick trackers or similar. Last year Mark Harris told them they were going into areas where the cell network-based trackers would not be able to transmit regularly but they chose them anyway and that’s what we saw. The Adventure Enablers tracking system can be linked to any tracker but the lowest cost option is their fleet of small cell network-based trackers.

Lots of non-AP regulars in the US racing circuit, too! Mark Lattanzi, Rodney Villella, Amy Bartoletti, JD...

It sounds like Randy is trying to get on the ground, so hopefully that will help with coverage, too, when the dot watching is inconsistent.

Just saw the actual team list, rather than the teams that were noted in yesterday's press release -- lots more folks from the US AR scene! Matt Hayes in on AP, I think. Some of the Journey crew may be as well.

Team list: https://www.bendracing.com/eo-2019-team-list

jpopilsky used to log here c. 2015 Good to see he's still at it!

Canadian Chad Spence is racing with Quest AR. He used to log here as wokitoki.

Another Canadian, James Galipeau, used to log here as Relentless. He’s racing with Mountain Race Company.

And yet another Canadian, Kevin Poirier, still logs on AP as kpoire. He’s with Perpetual Motion.

I guess we’re cheering for everyone! :)

Allegedly, the tracking link will be here after the maps are released.
http://live.enabledtracking.com/xpdor19/?fbclid=Iw...

And here are the pre-race communications. https://www.bendracing.com/forum/expedition-oregon...

Randy is going to give his personal tracker to a team on the first trek if it will be a leg where cell network tracking doesn’t work.
https://spotwalla.com/tripViewer.php?id=1d7fb5cbe3...

If anyone is curious, here is the logistics planner that was handed out last night: https://drive.google.com/drive/folders/1BMUtWZ2cdg...

Maps are released and the tracking site is open.
http://live.enabledtracking.com/xpdor19/?fbclid=Iw...

Course Notes
https://cdn.fbsbx.com/v/t59.2708-21/56576025_21647...

While you're waiting for the race to start, you can get a feel for the local ecology by playing the Odell Lake video game that some of us may remember from the '80s.

https://archive.org/details/a2_Odell_Lake_v1.2_198...

Climbing competency? For me, that's new. I wonder what is asked...and if they will have all languages? Guessing so. For me in Paraguay, speaking Spanish got to be a real stretch further into the race.

Interesting course, can't wait for this to play out. Good idea having a cognitive pass/fail test prior to climb section, with safety in mind.

Just saw the 4" tire requirement - interesting.

When does this thing start? I'm not finding any time specifics.

Guessing the fat tire req was April Fools? Got me.

8:00 AM Pacific start time.

....anyone having issues with live tracking?

Looks like 4 trackers have updated so far.

It is a good idea, hope it can be equally enforced.

On a sad note from FB page, there has been the first injury of the race.

"Spotted by our media staff: Chris from Mountain Race Company / MainNerve slipped down a little slope on his bum, got up, and mournfully said, "Oh no... I squished my burrito.'"

The pain of losing a burrito so early in the race must be hard to take.

The loss of a burrito at *any* time is hard to take....

The good news in there is an all you can eat taco truck at the finish line.

Looks like the spotted Kiwis are skipping the climbs and being selective with the CPs on this leg. Looks like they skipped 2,3, and 5 so far, just got 6.

Quest is first team to finish stage 1. Weather is being nice so travel was faster then estimated times. The TA will be packed shortly.

A lot of the teams have not had a tracker update for 2+ hours. Not great for dot-watching. Presumably the tracking in the latter part of the course should be better in the environs around Bend and Redmond.

Naturokompaniet Pioneers have passed Quest on the lake paddle and have ~15 minutes lead heading down the river. Trackers are working well now that teams are closer to cell towers.

In other news, it was in the high 30's when I rolled into town around midnight. Likely colder higher up in the hills and on the water. Hope teams planned well and have warm clothes.

Good morning, east coast USA. Lot of good dots to be watched at EO.

A lot of trouble for lead teams in the night finding CPs. Naturokompaniet Pioneers five hours later then expected into TA. Means I might not have to go packrafting until tomorrow.

definitely some action on the trek leg, 3rd stage, overnight.

Thanks for all the race news. I have important family priorities this week but it's interesting to see your updates. Sounds like the dots are fun to watch for this one.

UNE...hasn't seemed to be clicking in this one. What in the world happened on the packraft? Did they miss CP10 altogether? It looks like it?

Looks like a really interesting course to me!

Alpine meadows are currently ponds, so I assume the shoreline mapped and reality are vastly different.

@broots, Mark Lattanzi posted on facebook about CP10 - based on elapsed time of their track, he thinks they went for it by foot. Not sure if they left the pack with the tracker in the boats or if it just didn't ping during that stretch (~70 minutes).

Interesting. Their bread crumbs are still VERY interesting...I looked at a few other teams' trackers from that segment to see if others had anything similar...the answer: No...

Based on my experiences a month ago in India on the final bike leg, something tells me I know how they were feeling considering all the extra exploring it looks like they did.

At least it's beautiful (though did they do that bit in the dark?)...

I thought this was a good write up if you all haven’t seen it yet: https://www.bendracing.com/single-post/EO2019-Day1...

Hmmm...
UNE has been reclassified in the sport division...Wonder if it's a missed CP, or perhaps a lost teammate? Guessing the former. i'd think they would be UNF if they lost someone. But if they missed a CP and sport teams didn't, I'd think they would be behind some of the sport teams with all CPs...I have no clue what the sport teams have done.

Also possible that the RDs think they missed a CP when perhaps they didn't. So maybe they'll be let back in...

Facebook update for Bend:

UPDATE TO RULINGS:

CP 16, 17, and 22 are now PRO points. Teams looking for the shortest route to TA04 can take FS 41/Conklin to trails. Conklin is still off-limits where it turns paved NE of CP22.

All teams are required to sign the document ackknowledging this change, but this will only impact the slower teams that are struggling to make the dark zone cutoff.

UNE- I'm thinking based on the nature of their track they did not get it, just a guess, imo. It was night time. they looked to be searching the area East of the cp, well over a kilometer plus away and seemingly searching still, they headed towards cp 11. It could have been trickier at night to see the shoreline, ect.... Mark's theory is plausible as well. Serious bummer if they didn't get the punch, for sure. seems they are just getting to the O-loop, maybe we'll get an update.

Just got clarification from EO Bend on UNE, they missed CP 10.

UNE- although they missed 10, they are doing the next best thing to move on, keep the hammer down. Never know what might happen later on.

Pulling for #7 Perpetual Motion to make it... fingers crossed

Do we have any sense of what happens in terms of rankings if, say, all the full-course teams miss a CP later on? Will ranking be based just on total number of pro points at that point? How far the team got on the full course? I don’t know if they published that info or not.

They posted full course notes on Facebook, but I can't seem to find them anymore. I think they mentioned that all short course teams are ranked by total number of CPs, not which CP is missed. Anyone know where that is?

Course Notes were further up in this discussion too (but easy to forget!)
https://cdn.fbsbx.com/v/t59.2708-21/56576025_21647...

The French from Alpha Dental are running a good race. They have some serious experience on that team and seem to be settling in. AR Live's analysis is right, though. Once again we have a race shaking out where the dark zone will be massively important as it will bring the leaders all together. I don't fully agree with him though in that unlike PQ or some other recent races when teams clearly paced themselves, I think the lead teams were racing hard for at least a while. They may have shifted that strategy at some point as they realized they wouldn't make the dark zone, conserving some energy, but I had the sense that some at least thought they might make the cutoff. That said, I haven't been super plugged in, so maybe I'm making stuff up;)

And really, who knows!

something wacky will surely happen tomorrow anyway...

I'm a bit confused as to what teams are meant to do after CP22. There are two points on the map, MWP B and MWP C, and I don't really get what they are.

And Perpetual Motion is still in it! Go Kevin! Great Job guys! And UNE is, of course keeping the hammer down and moving along! From my last viewing, looks like NYARA went to sport, and wonder if it was self selected or a redirect by the RD. I don't recall a cutoff for the Wake up O. There is some congregating around MWP D, which I don't know what that is either.

Looks like the top 5 teams are either in or near(ish) the pre-rafting DZ as a fair amount of teams behind have moved to the Sport category. Looks like Perpetual Motion will soon join those ranks.

Top 5: (as of 6:44 AM EST)
Full/Pro
2 Quest AR 29 TA04
12 Alpha-Dental 29 TA04
3 Bones 28 CP24
9 Naturkompaniet Pioneers 28 CP24
1 Bend Racing Canada 28 CP24

Boo, the URL for the Course Notes has expired. If anyone else has them, please post.

Don't ask why, but I found a downloaded copy of the course notes on my work computer this morning...

https://drive.google.com/file/d/1l0GOmgv7HW5wh09Mx...

Hero!

Did we ever figure out what MWP B and MWP C means? It seems like all teams are going through MWP B.

Even though the race director route line goes through MWP C.

There are multiple bike paths under the highway. Teams have to cross at at one of them. No crossing over the highway.

Got it, thanks!

Teams keep taking out a a bridge a mile or so up river of the first portage. So far only Quest and MRC didn't waste time walking around on a road with houses and private property signs everywhere.

Someone who has studied the rules and such:
Assuming an accurate tracker, why does it look like Quest is currently skipping a CP on the O course?

They may go back for it or they may be looking to make it more interesting considering their strong position in first...but it sure looks like they are skipping a CP...or they've forgotten it...or they have a very interesting route choice in mind...

Maybe there is a good explanation...or maybe we are about to watch the wheels come off...exciting!

At first I wondered whether it might be a section where you can skip a CP, but the way it's designed, there'd be no good reason for that. And it looks like they're continuing to head north, toward the TA and away from the missing point. Weird...

Maybe the CP was removed...

Been a while since I was on here so good to see this thread active. :)

Regarding the Orienteering section. It sounds like they can get them in any order and based on the scoring they can actually miss one. The O points are cumulative and each worth 1/3 and there were 16 on the course so the max number of points is 5 so they can miss one. They didn’t miss any on the first O course so Quest was okay to skip one here.

Awesome to see fellow Canadian and teammate Chad doing so well with his Quest team. Still lots of race left but that lead is more comfortable now than it's been almost all race. Lots of tough competition right behind them though so it will be a great finish.

Double_Downon11, where did you see this info on the O sections? I scanned the course notes and didn't see that...interesting. Would explain it, though it seems a bit odd still to me...both sections were basically loops. So very, very little strategy in regards to deciding what to drop. And in reality (assuming they had maps for both sections), I don't know why you wouldn't have dropped the northern most point of the first loop...it was a much longer out and back than the one here...and no one seemed to skip that point, which raises my eyebrows...I'm not saying you're wrong, but curious and feeling like I'm missing something. Perhaps it was an oversight, but if the goal was to create some sort of strategic decision or blow teams up, it doesn't seem to have worked.

I'll be interested in what AD does. They are closing in on those southern most points and I think we would expect them to also skip that one point with such rules?

Quest is biking...so they must have done something right...

check that...now I see the reference. I was looking for a subject heading on O-courses...

OK, so here is the wording:

"Teams on the “Full” course must get all the CPs (mandatory and PRO) in order (except O-points and PRO where noted)...

...Mandatory points and PRO points carry the same weight (but mandatory points cannot be skipped). O-points count for 1/3 of a regular point. These are rounded down. So if a team collects 6 O-points throughout the course, this is worth 2 PRO points. 13 O-points is worth 4 PRO points. No partial points will be counted."

...

I do find this to still be odd, and PERHAPS open to some interpretation. Double Down, I do ultimately agree with your reading, and I imagine people asked to clarify, but still...

In the first part, it suggests all points are, in fact, mandatory including Mandatory and Pro points. Taken literally, ALL points are mandatory. In the second part it suggests in the opening line that perhaps "Pro" points CAN be skipped...I see this as conflicting information. (and I don't know offhand what the difference is. Assuming O points are considered pro points?)

And I stand by my belief that it is odd: if you want to add a layer of strategy to it, clusters of points where different teams would elect to drop different points would be more effective. Why set it up like this where there seems to be virtually no choice? Still a bit puzzled...But maybe I just need sleep myself...

And why didn't people seem to drop the outlier in loop 1? I'm assuming they didn't get the O maps until they were at the loops. Maybe everyone decided to risk getting the outlier in loop one hoping the outlier in loop 2 would be harder?

The teams got both maps at the first course. Basically it was 3 OPs for 1 Pro point. No fractions. So that made one a drop OP

Quest had 8 Optionals going into the last O-loop of 8 more optionals. They would get to their highest possible multiple of 3 OPs (15 total) by getting 7 of those 8, so they picked one to skip over. Looking back, yes Broots, there would have been a more strategic OP to drop in loop 1 but like you said you never know what may lie ahead. Agreed - the tight 2nd O loop didn't lend itself to much strategic skipping of one OP.

The reason teams likely didn't skip any CPs on the 1st O course was because by the time they got there they knew they were not going to make the darkzone. Most assumed they would bike fast and get sleep, so they decided to get all O points there and skip one later in the race. It turned out only Quest flew through the bike and got a good nights sleep.

Quest is heading home into the finish line. Music is playing, burritos warming, and is on ice.

congrats to Quest, they raced well and convincingly; vindication for them, I'm sure!

wow, what a finish for Bones and the Swedes. The two teams must have been on fumes for the last hour, 110%.

RE: the tight finish btwn Bones and NPioneers.
"Their placement decisions were decided at CP40, because legally we were not allowed to race through town, so since Bones arrived at CP40 first, exactly 10 minutes ahead of Naturkompaniet Pioneers, Bones receives 4th place."

Congrats to all the top teams. Sounds like it was an awesome race course with some great performances.

Congrats Quest! Way to go wokitoki (as fast as always)!