The Trailblazing Gets Tough in Utah

Seth Hayse figured he could handle the rock-strewn downhill trail in Moab, Utah. In fact, he had worked his mountain bike down the trail without a problem earlier in the day.

The difference this time was he was riding at night and fatigue was starting to set in during the 24 Hours of Moab early this month.

“At night you have no idea of what’s coming ahead,” Hayse said. “You think you do and then you don’t.”

Hayse, of Rancho Santa Margarita, soon found himself going over the handlebars. “When you go over the bars in a rocky section, you typically try to roll into a somersault as you land, but in a really rocky area you risk ending up becoming a paraplegic.

“So I threw both arms out and took a pretty good shot on my chin.”

Hayse got back on his bike, completed the 15-mile loop and handed off to one of his three teammates, all riding in their first 24-hour endurance relay.

The Boogie Knights--Hayse, Bob Campbell of Mission Viejo, Pat Bush of Big Bear Lake and Frank Gonzales of Houston--finished in the middle of the pack in the 116-team men’s sport division, completing 15 laps.

It was a tough competition, Hayse said--hot during the day and often so dusty at night that “it was just like driving your car in the fog with your brights on.”

The riders had about 3 1/2 hours between shifts on the bike, time spent resting and trying to convince their bodies they needed food and drink.

“What you hated to hear was, ‘Hey, Pat’s almost done, you need to get down there. It’s your turn,’ ” Hayse said. “While you are doing it, it seems somewhat miserable, but it was a great time. The human mind has the ability to blot out some of the bad things as time goes by.”

AGELESS CHAMPIONS

The Orange County-based Southern California Angels won their fifth national slo-pitch softball championship since 1989 last week in Phoenix.

The Angels, an all-star collection of players from Anaheim’s Wednesday night senior league, won the 80-and-older super senior division by defeating Hawaii, 7-5. Harold Kromer, an 83-year-old pitcher from Mission Viejo, was 4-0 in the series. The Angels went 6-1 in the tournament. The team, managed by Art McConnell of San Juan Capistrano, also won national titles in 1989, ‘90, ’93 and ’94.