Musing and Errata on the world of Adventure Racing from the Yak
presented by MPGear.com

So I watched the SPQ special on CBS. All in all I thought it was exceptional. If I had one complaint it might be that I would like to have seen more teams show up for a cameo at least.

However, this particular episode of AR on TV (it happens so infrequently I like to think of it as one long mini-series stretched out over my lifetime) was different than anything we've seen before (Eco, Balance Bar, Raid, etc.) for the obvious reason that this time around the challenge of presenting our nascent sport in a positive light was made immeasurably harder than it already is by the tragic death of Nigel Aylott.

I think Dan and crew did a masterful job of drawing people into the story of adventure racing and Primal Quest in particular leading up to the accident, and then an even better job portraying what transpired after the accident.

The short vignette featuring Dan, his staff and the captains discussing what to do was an important and revealing scene. Ian's comment that a decision about how to proceed needed to factor in the wishes of Nigel's family and the impact on the future of the sport was important for the world to see. It provided a glimpse into the mindset of adventure racers that is sometimes very hard to convey to the average man on the street.

That the race actually ended with Seagate and Nike sharing first place to take the emphasis off the competition and money was a tribute to the character of every racer everywhere. That the Primal Quest broadcast ended by showing that spirit to the world is a tribute to Nigel and the sport he loved.