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

The parent company of Adventure Sports Magazine has quietly launched an online store aimed presumably at their constituents...the readers of ASM and/or ASX.

The store is parked at www.bodyinmotionsports.com.

As of this blogging the store is very lightly stocked with a total of just 44 products ranging from subscriptions to their magazines to all-terrain in-line skates...no really...all-terrain...it says so right on the site.

I know how much you all love in-line skating...now you can take your favorite discipline down the side of a mountain...WOO HOO :-)

Avid AR 'shooter' Mike Bitton has just posted yet another spectacular gallery of gorgeous pics from the recent Trioba 24-Hour in Ellensburg, WA.

This event saw DART edged for first though they did reel in enough points to take the series...again...for the 3rd time in a row.

Congratulations to Mergeo.com for winning the race and DART for dominating the series...as usual :-)

Be sure to keep your eye on our coverage of the Salomon Pro Adventure Race live from Russia. Lisa's on-site and things are already off to an interesting start.

See her pre-race article for details on a team from the Russian army racing in combat fatigues...WITH THEIR RIFLES?

Lisa called it...military folks tend to tend to get their asses handed to them by civilian racers...and I'm with her...they'll drop by the midpoint.

Raceday has done it. They've FINALLY brought back the ropes!!!

I spoke to race director Tony Berwald earlier today about his scouting trip with Jono Senk from Hairy Scary Evolutions. They're handling safety and certifications for the upcoming Smoky Mountains Adventure Race.

They inspected the locale yesterday, set a rope and descended the route to verify that it was viable. To quote Tony in his own words..."I was scared to death going off it".

So this ain't your run of the mill 80' rappel straight down a smooth rock face. Be prepared for overhangs and some technical drops...on the order of 300'.

Figures that the one Raceday event I can't make it to (wedding in Canada)...Tony adds the best of all possible photo ops. What's a Yak got to do to catch a break...

The Nantahala Outdoor Center has reluctantly cancelled the upcoming 12-Hour Adventure Race scheduled for October 8th. Unfortunately, with so many teams opting for the longer Smoky Mountains Adventure Race being held the same weekend by Raceday, there weren't enough takers to make the event possible.

Look for this event to return in 2006.

Just got the official results (PDF) from race management. We already knew who the top finishers were and now we know how the bottom half of the field came in.

Of note...3 of the top 10 finishers were US teams (Nike Balance Bar 3rd, Mont Blanc International 5th, GoLite/Timberland 8th)...that's more teams in the top 10 than any other country.

There's a new trailer showing on the homepage and the News section now includes links to articles about the race on other sites. Also, check out the Q&A with PQ Manager of Competitor Relations, Chris Rumohr.

Just got the best and only endorsement I'll ever need. This one comes from Judy Rusch...mother and #1 fan of our favorite female racer.

After complimenting us on the quality of our Raid coverage and gushing about Lisa's mad skills, Judy went on to say:


Folks, the only way to top that would be for Jesus to return and walk across water to tell each of you personally to check us out. If we're good enough for Rebecca's adoring mom we must be doing something right :-)

Thank you Judy, for the compliments. It is very nice to hear from our fans and I'm overjoyed to be able to count you among them.

Folks I'm thrilled to report that since the beginning of our coverage of the Raid World Championship, checkpointzero.com has received more unique visitors from more countries around the world and served up more page views than at any point in our 4 year history.

This spike in traffic is due entirely to the exceptional reporting by Lisa de Speville and your voracious appetite for news about the race.

Thanks to all of you for choosing to visit our little corner of the web. Please keep in mind that it is only through the support of our sponsors that this kind of reporting is even possible. Take a minute to click on the ads you see while traversing the site to let them know that they've made a smart decision by investing in what we do.

Lisa and I have been exchanging emails for the duration and it turns out that she's actually gotten less sleep than virtually all of the teams competing.

She's a hardcore athlete and she's got mad skills. I knew that...I just didn't realize she was as crazy and motivated as the top racers in the world. I should have guessed.

I'd like to thank her personally for turning in such a remarkable performance in order to provide all of us with such an amazing view into the race while it happens.

Great job Lisa. Thank you and WAKE UP...the race isn't over yet...you can sleep when you're dead :-)

During a press briefing ahead of the ongoing Raid World Championships, Alain Gaimard let slip the venue for next years race. The Raid is finally coming to North America...Quebec vicinity to be precise.

This is big news for races in the Western Hemisphere and is sure to be a highlight of the 2006 season.

I'm taking bets that more Americans tune in to follow the race than next year's Stanley Cup :-)

ASM has posted an article about the impact Katrina has had on Louisiana Adventure Racing. In short, Dave Poleto, the owner, lost everything. Information about where to send donations to help Dave get his family and business back to normal is included at the bottom of the article. Troy Farrar and the USARA has stepped up to handle the logistics.

Our intrepid reporter, Lisa de Speville, has left home in Johannesburg, South Africa on her way to Geneva Switzerland to provide us with live coverage of the 2005 Raid World Championship.

Lisa will filing reports and posting photos from the course. I will be in regular contact with race management to keep you up to date on official news.

Following the Raid, Lisa will be reporting on the Salomon Pro Adventure Race in Russia. Be sure to stay tuned for that second dose of in-depth, on-site reporting.