Untamed New England Road Show

Buy it, use it, break it, fix it, 
Trash it, change it, melt - upgrade it, 
Charge it, pawn it, zoom it, press it, 
Snap it, work it, quick - erase it, 
Write it, cut it, paste it, save it, 
Load it, check it, quick - rewrite it, 
Plug it, play it, burn it, rip it, 
Drag and drop it, zip - unzip it, 
Lock it, fill it, call it, find it, 
View it, code it, jam - unlock it, 
Surf it, scroll it, pose it, click it, 
Cross it, crack it, twitch - update it, 
Name it, read it, tune it, print it, 
Scan it, send it, fax - rename it, 
Touch it, bring it, pay it, watch it, 
Turn it, leave it, stop - format it. 

Technologic!

Odyssey One Day Extreme-BAH

The Debute of TEAM UNTAMED NE 

At first I thought one day and extreme to be a contradiction in terms but as the weather report started barking temps as low and -10 degrees I cursed myself for cursing the name of what is considered in my book a sprint race.

Hammer flew in on Wednesday night, Jen-A met us at my work Thursday night at 8PM and We picked up Jeff an hour and 48 minutes later in Conn. A few laughs and hours later I found myself snuggling next to Hammer in a sleazy motel somewhere in PA for a few short hours before rising with the sun and hitting the road yet again. Five coffee breaks later we found ourselves in another sleazy motel with maps out with Jeff and  I plotting like hell was about to freeze over…Come to think of it, it was!

By 5 AM it was -15 degrees and we were out the door driving to the start. The 2.5 mile drive down the winding dirt road to the “Jesus Loves You” boyscout camp over 4 ply wood bridges had come to be our little play time with loud music and near collisions with thousands of these little deer that apparently live in the southern states. By 6 AM it was up to a balmy -9 as the gun went off and Hammer hammered off the line to a quick lead. The two miles to CP 1 was fast and sweaty, Trying to get our core temps above 86 degrees was the name of the game and the subsequent sweat was a nasty little byproduct. At CP 3 minutes were needed to scrap enough ice off our eyes to regain vision and up the trail we went. The first trek was about 6 miles of what I like to call VAPUDS (Virginia Pointless Ups and Downs) the VAPUDS are a little harsher than a normal NEPUDS which aren’t quite as steep. The heavy breathing was a sign of the EXTREME cold and we paid little attention to it because we are only positively affected by extreme things.

The first bike was a bit warmer than the run but we didn’t know than until Jeff fell in a stream from heat exhaustion and Hammer started yelling at his fleece because it was smothering him to death like his last girlfriend in the third grade. I was in early stage dehydration from the water loss but kept my double vision to myself because it was more fun to see two Jen-As than just one. We rode out to the lake then we would not paddle or skate on and turned around for another bike section over the mountains. Leading the race with us was Checkpoint Zero and we switched leads a few times while riding up a semi-frozen river valley like a snowboarder on a half pipe crossing the half frozen river ever 150 Meters. It was hammers turn to fall in and as a Canadian he’s good at spreading his weight out on the ice while sliding on his belly across ¼ inch sheet with running water below. I reminded myself that toe nails are not meant to be fully attached and muddy ruts turn into frozen death grooves that drive a rider into the frozen ground while riding/crashing down a hill. Jeff’s big body lost the power to weight ratio contest and it was only after he poured a drink box down his shirt that he found his energy legs which he used to kick mothernature with and get to the next TA.

Six poops on the next trek (2 for Jiles, 1 for Jen-A and 3 for Hammer) meant that three of us had started to thaw out all the way. We made quick work of a bushwhack and four mountain top CPs to make it back to the bike and took to the roads. The next bike section was into the night and mostly on paved roads. It was nice to be out of the woods for a moment and get some of the snot to freeze to our cheeks and cut out the wind burn. The last 10 miles was hike-a-bike and both Hammer and I started to experience some interesting physiological symptoms know and respiratory distress. At one point Hammer noted 47 breaths per minute while in a resting state…a side note to this is that if you are in a hospital and have a respiratory rate of over 30 per minute they will stick a tube down your throat and breath for you. Apparently, we are really extreme!

We arrived back at Race HQ for a transition to the Rogaine section with 10 CPs scattered over a more than little and less that huge area. As we left the HQ and started up the hill breathing all together started to become a bit of a problem, our short little gasps where due to Hammers self diagnosed case of Acute COPD…A laughing/coughing fit came quickly after I thought it was funny we had Acute Chronic Obstructed Pulmonary Disease. Six hours later Jen-A was pulling me up and hill to survive. Eight hours later Hammer was telling himself that he might need a lung transplant. Ten hours later I was still being towed by Jen-A, counting 50 steps between breaks and throwing up on the towline while Hammer was hugging trees to keep from falling over and Jeff was signing song from Sesame Street to avoid dying from boredom…Awwww…BAAARing…YipYipYipYip….Awwwwww…BAAARing.

Finally, 12 hours later we were finished in second overall (not sure how that happened) and sleeping for 3 minutes before packing up Lilo for the 12 hour drive home. If we hurried we would be home before the sun came up Monday morning!

Team LBF To Race as TEAM UNTAMED NEW ENGLAND

In a joint venture with Grant Killan of Untamed Adventure TEAM LBF will be flying the colors this year as TEAM UNTAMED NEW ENGLANG on a 4 month road show that will bring them all over the US spreading the word about the UNTAMED NEW ENGLAND ADVENTURE RACE  http://www.untamedne.com/ which is now part of the ADVENTURE RACING WORLD SERIES  http://www.arworldseries.com/ARWorldSeries/

Stay tuned for updates and besure to keep track of us on http://www.untamedne.com/ 

Yacky Out-