Salomon/Crested Butte
presented by Salomon USA

Ok so it is Monday and I'm finally relaxing a bit. Listening to Citizen Cope, trying to get caught up on my 'stuff'.

It's been a hard week with 2 days of intervals and lots more miles. I have one more day at the track before I officially rest for the race this weekend. I have to admit that I am looking forward to it.

Suffering, the scenery, teammates, sleep deprivation, and all the challenges that I can't even begin to foresee. I always have a bit of self doubt, have I trained enough? Do I have everything that I need? Will I be tough enough?

I hope that I come back in a week and all these answers are yes. I'll let you know.

So right now I am doing last minute things, even though it is not quite last minute, I really don't like to put things off. I am recharging all my lights right now. I have piles of all the stuff I am taking, so I can look at it for one more day and try not to forget anything. I know it is only 2-3 days but that can feel like weeks if I am not prepared.

I'll let you know how my weekend goes.

Jari

Well it's Monday morning and just finished printing off 2 long gear lists for the next 2 weeks. That's right, 2 of them. With the Moab Adventure Xstream Expedition just three days away it is time to start rounding up gear, sorting, and double checking everything to make sure it still works from the last race.

Remember the 6 p's of adventure racing, Prior Preparation Prevents Piss Poor Performance. Hopefully this strategy will pay huge dividends securing the Adventure Xstream series and the Expedition, letting us finish by Saturday.

Sunday a.m. is when the second gear list goes into effect, and the real fun begins. After a quick 5 hour drive to Boulder by the afternoon it will be time to pack and sort through used and dirty gear. Re-organizing and getting the second gear list together so that I can fly into Mexico City on Monday for the Hidalgo Adventure Race the 3-6th with Team Sole out of Big Bear, Cali.
As I write this I am just realizing how crazy this is actually going to be. Wondering to myself right now if I am going to be able to recover in 4 days from a non-stop 60 hour expedition to a three day full-tilt stage race. I guess only time and the results will tell on October 6th when it is awards time.

Sully

Only a few more days and we will once again be heading out to the desert of Utah to compete against some of the best teams in the region. The Adventure Xstream finale is a 3 day expedition style race that tends to race like a much longer event - Moab's epic terrain where you can go from desert heat to winter snow in a matter of hours is likely to thank for that. The series has been hotly contested and the expedition will no doubt be much of the same. Chances are whoever wins the Expedition will go home with the series title too!

I think of a better location to close out the season either - we are pretty much coming full circle as our season kicked off in Moab with a 12 hour race where we took the top step on the podium. The win was particularly special because Mike Kloser and Michael Tobin were there with Jay Henry and Keri Nelson (aka Nike). Sure Nike made a mistake that we were able to capitalize on but it was a big win for us none the less.

Come to think of it Moab has been really good to us! Last summer's Primal Quest turned out to be a hell of an epic and proved to be one of the team's best international finishes to date. And one of my first AR races was the the Moab Adventure Xstream 12 hour - we won by less than a minute!

It's not just the results either - I have some of my best AR memories from Moab.
We did the Expedition a few years back and there was this treking section that brought us up from the desert heat into the cool fall air in the La Sal's. It was one of those perfect autumn days that you wish would last forever. The mountains had seen some early snow and the aspen leaves were blazing yellow. The sky was blue of course and I swear it was so clear you could see all the way to California!

It's not all heavenly though- some folks who raced the last couple of years probably don't have the same gorgeous images burned into their memories. Last year the race was a bit scary due to some unbelievable rains. The conditions deteriorated to the point that the race had to be called early. The year before that early snows caused a similar scenario.

This year though, I have a pretty good feeling we're in store for another magic weekend -not to mention weather.com is reporting only a 10% chance of anything but sunshine!

Jon

Hey folks, before we get on with all our upcoming blogs I felt a brief into is in order. The team of four many of you have gotten to race against has been around since PQ 2003. Prior to this their was an version of the team that went and did the Southern Traverse in 2002, but didn't have much success. The original founder of the team is no longer racing, but roots from the sidelines with much support.

We've all come into adventure racing with a strong passion for mountain biking, and skiing which sums up why we live were we live (in the Crested Butte area)! This team is all about following our passions for the outdoors. Believe me we aren't living here for the money. The community here is all about getting in the "epic" adventure, even if its just a Tuesday. There's never a shortage of training partners, and the "playground" is made for adventure racing!

Eric Sullivan (Sully) is the youngest on the team at 26 and is originally from Kansas. He's been racing with us since 2004 (replacing the founder) and is a solid all around individual at anything he touches. When Sully's not out playing (which isn't often) he's helping Wick with his fixer-upper.

Jari Kirkland (Jari) is 31 and our lead navigator. In a sport dominated by males, she's the only female navigator I know of. Having established course records at the 24 Hours of Moab & Montezuma's Revenge biking is a passion for her. Growing up (all over the Western US as a military brat) with a strong swim background she loves Xterra triathlons when the schedule works out. When Jari is working she's an inn keeper at one of the local lodges, she also enjoys working with our sponsors to keep them informed about our latest adventures/results.

Myself, Bryan Wickenhauser (Wick) am 34 and originally from Wisconsin. Having grown up playing soccer and skiing, it was a natural move out to Colorado for me after college. My specialties are mtn. biking, trail running and the behind the scenes business end of the team. I run my own small business, so it affords me the time to set my own schedule for training & work, while managing the team's business end of things. If I'm not working in the Winter, its a safe bet I'm out skiing!

Jon Brown (JB) is 35 and originally from Rochester, NY. Having grown up XC Skiing in upstate NY, Jon came out to Western State College in Gunnison, CO and has never left the Valley. Picking up the mtn. bike shortly after enrolling in college, its become his passion (when he's not able to ski). Jon is also a small business owner publishing a local phone book, and helps out with the team's business end and website.

So there you go. We all have jobs, outside of adventure racing but make a it commitment to get out and play everyday. We live close to each other and enjoy sharing adventures with each other across the globe! I hope you'll enjoys our future updates.

Wick

PS - There was a dusting of snow up high (+12,000ft) today!

Stay tuned for race reports, team news and our take on the AR scene.