Freakin Awesome Triathlon

Subject: "I call a FAT this Sunday."

And so, it began.

I sent out the email on a Friday afternoon to a few friends, all of whom are notorious for having extremely rubber arms.


"Goal: summit Becher at 10:30am.
Full FAT: Kayak from Cumby campground to Comox Dam/Rod and Gun.  Mt Bike up to Forbidden lodge via B21.  Trek/Run to summit of Becher.  Return same.  Cold drinks at the lake afterward!!
Start time is up to you with the goal of reaching the top of Becher at 10:30 for a group summit...
Option to short course it by completing one or two the legs only.
Who's in?  Meeting at the White Whale tomorrow at 5pm for a pre FAT chat!?"

Soon there was a flurry of messages containing random questions about logistics- 
"Are we going to strap our bikes to our kayaks?"  Ummm...maybe?  
"I don't have a kayak."  You can swim.  
"Are you bringing Radlers?"  Oh yes. 


Our Saturday night deck meeting at the White Whale resulted in a few more twisted arms and by about 10:00 that night, we had confirmed a crew of 4 animals taking on the full FAT and another 5 wiser-thans or weaker-than's skipping the water stages and going for a FAB (freakin awesome biathlon) short course.

Friends that sweat together, stick together.  FAT crew on the summit of Becher.

Kayaks and bikes had been loaded, shuttles were arranged, water bottles filled, locks and straps and all sorts of bins and bags of random crap had been divied up into the correct vehicles.  I must say, we are a pretty rockin logistical team.  

I have been scheming up this little adventure for close to a year now.  Last summer, I happened upon a short film, The Picnic, that got my wheels turning and they just wouldn't stop.  The Picnic is a great tale of a few buddies living in Wyoming, who decide to create their own adventure: The Grand Teton Triathlon.  Nicknamed, The Picnic, this was not your average triathlon.  Check out the film to find out what it was all about...so good.

And so...

John and I loaded and ready to get this FAT started!

Sunday morning came early and we were rockin and rollin down at Comox Lake as the sun reached the sky.  

Perfect morning for an adventure.

The Full Fatty's put paddles into the water around 8am and began the journey.  Sunshine, blue sky, calm waters, good friends...it was going to be a good day.  The lake crossing took less than 15 minutes and we were on the opposite shore, switching locks from bikes to kayaks and switching outfits from PFD's to helmets.  We met up with the rest of the FAB (freakin awesome biathlon) crew and starting pushing circles with our legs up Comox Logging Road.


Our first bike leg took us up Branch 21, a logging road that gets steeper and rougher the higher you climb.  About 60 minutes after leaving the Lake, we connected to Forbidden Plateau road and arrived at the old burnt out ski lodge.  Another leg down, we stashed our bike gear and transitioned to sneakers for the 3rd leg- a mountain adventure to the summit of Becher.

Reaching the summit of Becher we met up with some canine and human friends!

We enjoyed a steady trek complete with photo ops and stories amongst friends and before we knew it we had arrived at the summit of sweet Mount Becher!   Hi 5s, killer views and a quick lunch at the top.  There is something so special about sharing a summit with friends.  I am sure that humans are wired to reach the top of things and when we accomplish this as a pack, it can't be beat.  We had a timely meeting with the ELM Members day hike and some more friends close to the summit and it turned out to be quite a fun crowd at the top.  

Headed back down!  Gen and Crystal enjoy the fun decent off Becher.

Time to run down!  We took off at cruising pace - no brakes, no gas - and enjoyed the rolling descent of Becher on a beautiful sunshiney day.  Awesome.  

Back to the bikes for some rippin singletrack!  Our 2nd bike leg was a choice of flowy downhill trails including  new trail from the old Lodge (name?), then Cabin Fever, Slither, Transmission, Catnip, Carousel and back to the boats on Comox Lake.  

Our FAB team drove our bikes home, and the rest of the Full Fatty's loaded up the boats for one final leg.  Except for Chris, who decided to take it up a notch and SWIM back.  Hahah.  We escorted him and our 15 minute paddle turned into a 60 minute safety boat mission but everyone returned safe and sound.
 

The final leg...cold drinks at the lake!  Yay team FAT!

I think we were out for about 5 hours and 45 minutes of good times, good memories and playing in the dirt with good friends.  Can't wait until the next adventure FATty's!

You can view half of the route from my Motion X tracking here ...