Team MountainZone.com Gets Started
Well I decided to start a new team this year. After doing SPQ last year, I am completely hooked on expedition racing, but I still enjoy the shorter races as well. The SPQ PDXAR.com team has disbanded thanks to people moving, work and other issues, so now it is up to me to build a new team. I guess I will need teammates for both the shorter and longer races. But the question was where to start? A name is always a good place. Why not steal another .com name? MountainZone.com? That sounds cool, plus I know the managing editor, which helps.
I was also out of a female teamate. My teammate, Natasha, from last year went and got pregnant on me. So I was back on the never ending quest to find female racers. Thanks to the power of the internet and the help of Shane forwarding on an email I have lined up Trea Schocken. She's one of many triathlete who keeps migrating over to AR. Lee Halford is another ex-triathlete. Following a course on cement must not be that exciting. Or maybe it's just me.
Then there is Don Funk. He is a super experience expedition guy, plus he has a real nice RV to sleep in during longer races so he gets two plus marks. Now he just needs to rehab his knee a little and he'll be ready to go for the longer races.
As for me, I am just someone who got addicted to AR after finally doing a balance bar race after watching the Eco Challenge for years. Last year I finally got to do an expedition race when SPQ ended up in my backyard. Now I am a full addict and show no signs of recovery. At least my wife enjoys being the support crew.
So what have we been doing so far this year you ask? Well it is spring, so it time to race. We've been enjoying snow, darkness and rain...
Ahh the fun of spring in the northwest. In the three races we have competed in so far there has been a nice mix of rain, sleet, snow, wind, rain, darkness, and did I say rain. By far the worse weather was at the Terra Events Mountain race. It was suppose to be a winter race, then because of the overly mild winter we were having it became a mountain race. But then Mt Hood and Mother Nature decided that it should once again be called a winter race. Snow, sleet, wind, rain, waves of water, and a nice chill in the air were all part of the race day activites. Not the best of times, but we finished 4th or middle of the pack, depends on how you want to look at it. (Race report)
Next came the BEAST race in Issaquah. Could have sworn it was an early summer evening as we raced through sunset and into the evening. I slacked off and did not write a report up for this race. Let's just say it was fun, but we had some misfourtunes during the race; read about bike issues below. Then back to rain, wind and mud for the Trioba sprint in Saint Edwards park. At least the rain and wind caused the pain in the Sevloars/ inflatable boating (I just can't call it kayaking) section to be shorter.
Overall we have preformed ok in the races, but we could have done better in each. We have had one broken bike, one bike crash (not related to the broken bike), four frozen hands and two shaking bodies (same race, same time), and a few navigations issues. I have simply blown the navigations on a few CPs, while one CP in Trioba we pretty much stood on top of it and could not find it. Stupid hill and bushes. Whatever happened to navigating across flat open fields of short manicured grass? Maybe it has gone the same way as all biking sections being nice smooth downhill single track? I'll have to look into that.
Well that is it for now. Coming up on the schedule: BEAST race #2, 100 road bike race, and thinking about a 24hour MTB. Need to find a willing 2nd, or I will be forced to get an unwilling second.
I was also out of a female teamate. My teammate, Natasha, from last year went and got pregnant on me. So I was back on the never ending quest to find female racers. Thanks to the power of the internet and the help of Shane forwarding on an email I have lined up Trea Schocken. She's one of many triathlete who keeps migrating over to AR. Lee Halford is another ex-triathlete. Following a course on cement must not be that exciting. Or maybe it's just me.
Then there is Don Funk. He is a super experience expedition guy, plus he has a real nice RV to sleep in during longer races so he gets two plus marks. Now he just needs to rehab his knee a little and he'll be ready to go for the longer races.
As for me, I am just someone who got addicted to AR after finally doing a balance bar race after watching the Eco Challenge for years. Last year I finally got to do an expedition race when SPQ ended up in my backyard. Now I am a full addict and show no signs of recovery. At least my wife enjoys being the support crew.
So what have we been doing so far this year you ask? Well it is spring, so it time to race. We've been enjoying snow, darkness and rain...
Ahh the fun of spring in the northwest. In the three races we have competed in so far there has been a nice mix of rain, sleet, snow, wind, rain, darkness, and did I say rain. By far the worse weather was at the Terra Events Mountain race. It was suppose to be a winter race, then because of the overly mild winter we were having it became a mountain race. But then Mt Hood and Mother Nature decided that it should once again be called a winter race. Snow, sleet, wind, rain, waves of water, and a nice chill in the air were all part of the race day activites. Not the best of times, but we finished 4th or middle of the pack, depends on how you want to look at it. (Race report)
Next came the BEAST race in Issaquah. Could have sworn it was an early summer evening as we raced through sunset and into the evening. I slacked off and did not write a report up for this race. Let's just say it was fun, but we had some misfourtunes during the race; read about bike issues below. Then back to rain, wind and mud for the Trioba sprint in Saint Edwards park. At least the rain and wind caused the pain in the Sevloars/ inflatable boating (I just can't call it kayaking) section to be shorter.
Overall we have preformed ok in the races, but we could have done better in each. We have had one broken bike, one bike crash (not related to the broken bike), four frozen hands and two shaking bodies (same race, same time), and a few navigations issues. I have simply blown the navigations on a few CPs, while one CP in Trioba we pretty much stood on top of it and could not find it. Stupid hill and bushes. Whatever happened to navigating across flat open fields of short manicured grass? Maybe it has gone the same way as all biking sections being nice smooth downhill single track? I'll have to look into that.
Well that is it for now. Coming up on the schedule: BEAST race #2, 100 road bike race, and thinking about a 24hour MTB. Need to find a willing 2nd, or I will be forced to get an unwilling second.
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