Team Littleton Bike and Fitness / Untamed NE

Training Days AR Style

2009-03-23T11:04:00.002-04:00

This was a deleted scene from Perform...Enjoy

PERFORM Trailer

2009-03-21T12:10:00.008-04:00

It's not the best quality but the DVD is! So Email me for a copy of the feature length documentary Perform: Inside Adventure racing.

Part 2

Untamed Road Show Race #2

2009-03-16T14:36:00.005-04:00

Mild Infliction

2009-03-16T14:24:00.001-04:00

Bolton Valley, Vermont, GMARA Frigid Infliction, 10 hrs of snowshoeing and skiing with a little bit of traversing and postholing to keep it interesting. Well, we decided we could make it a little more interesting, and essentially take ourselves out of any podium contention by giving the field about a 90min advantage. That’s our story, and we’re sticking to it.

So, after a 4am briefing, we were herded half way up the ski hill to the start line for 5am. The first section was a quick snowshoe rogaine, where after CP1 you could collect the CP’s in any order, that was the first line in the directions, and to our demise the only line we read, as the second line stated that CP6 would be the same as CP1 and that you had to return to get CP6 AFTER getting 2 through 5, then continue to 7. Well, we foolishly blasted through the rogaine to find ourselves at the tyrolean traverse with a couple race officials querying as to why we didn’t go to CP6...”isn’t CP6 just the same as 1 and therefore taken care of already?” “No not exactly” was the reply, “you’ll have to go back”. Back meaning up the ENTIRE ski hill, then back a few more km’s into the bush. Enter a round of drink box!

We made good time up the hill passing many teams now headed down to the traverse, finally made it back to CP1/6, and then continued our onslaught back to the ropes, focused on minimizing our losses without concern for the pace, knowing that our only hope in salvaging this thing was going to mean burying ourselves right to the end.

Losing a few more minutes in a small clusterf*^ at the ropes, we made it across and to the start of the first ski section a full 90min back of first, and in the back third of the leaderboard. Ripping away on our skis, we began the steady crawl back towards the front of the race, and by the time we reached the posthole were in 7th with a couple teams just minutes ahead. Thanking those 7 teams for the fine trailbreaking, we caught two teams over the short walk through the bush, and then another team on the following ski leg, bringing us to the final rogaine in 4th place, and 80min back of first.

This last section required us to take both snowshoes and skis, and decide along the way which mode of travel was going to be best. For the most part we snowshoed, and then finally hit some good skiable trails (including the ski hill itself) to hammer home in, getting ourselves into 3rd, under an hour behind first.

Although it wasn’t exactly the result we were going for, our determination and inability to quit got us back to a respectable finish. Not only did we give everyone a 90min advantage, but that was 90 extra min of us hammering our lungs into oblivion, and then finishing 55min back of first, and only 22min back of second, you can do the math yourself, but our answer keeps coming up a dominating 3rd.

-HAMMER OUT

Untamed New England Road Show

2009-02-13T13:31:00.004-05:00

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

2009-02-13T13:26:00.002-05:00

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

2009-02-13T13:20:00.002-05:00

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-

The punisher in training or Hammers pre-race shirt?

2009-01-09T00:03:00.003-05:00

Feed the Warrior!

Showdown in The Land of Fire!

2009-01-08T10:01:00.003-05:00

This is the December 2008 issue of Adventure World Magazine. At first glanze you might not see the article...Oh wait, you would notice it because we are on the COVER!

Click here to view

Yacky Out

Vermont 50

2008-11-19T09:33:00.007-05:00

It's hard to believe that it's been almost 2 months since the VT50 and I haven't posted anything on it...again sorry for the delay. But like a fine wine my stories get better with age. If I don't ruin my sperm by biking every day I hope to have kids one day and those kids will hopefully have kids and if I'm still alive I'll be one of those grand dads with the most kick ass stories!

Alright, The VT 50 is a 50 mile ultra run and mountain bike. Those of you who know me will attest to the fact that my opinion of running vs. biking is such that you will not have to ask which division I entered.

They didn't allow camping on site this year so all us cheap skates were forced to sleep in our cars on the side of the road instead of the field. I found a nice little spot behind a church and was only bothered once by an officer of the law. The 6 am start is always an early one, I guess that's why I like ultra distance races instead of regular endurance races...the rule of thumb is that if a race is over 24 hours long starting at some hellish hour is about as important as shaving your legs to cut down on drag...that being said you can shave your legs for other reasons like: the smooth feeling of sliding freshly shaved legs into cool sheets after a 5 hour workout, hot aromatherapy bath and self massage with skin firming lotion. Who ever said it was about aerodynamics?

6 AM at the start line, chilly, dark and damp. I took the lead off the gun to avoid the chaos of 100 mountain bikers clumped together trying to negotiate three 90 degree turns on wet pavement. After the last of them we were on dirt and in a small group of 8 riders pushing a good road pace. The first climb came and I sat into my 80% HR and chugged. One by one people started coming off the back and before the top I was well into the wave ahead of me and off the front of my field. The second climb is a single track muddy mess with walkers everywhere. I took the wattage through the roof to stay on the bike and gain a lead over the early race bottleneck. If there's one thing I've learned in racing it's this: You can always push harder that you think and you can mentally produce more output than you can ever imagine. So, off i go into the red zone early and start feeling it in my lower back. slacking on my truck conditioning over the summer has reminded me why I have clients do 6-7 days of core training a week. At the top of the climb I gave the ol self chiropractic pop to my f^&$ed up SI joints and enjoyed the rest of the day in less agony than before.

Mile 25 was not as much of a blur as the others mainly because I, along with 15 other dip shits, missed a turn and ended up climbing an 300 vertical ft driveway before ending up on some poor saps lawn only to turn around and coast past a few other saps riding the same hill before returning to the race course and passing the same people for the second time. At this point I figured I was well in the lead of my division but with a 5 min detour and a neurotic brain at the helm I put it into overdrive and started really mashing the pedals. Chasing a fictional leader that passed me while I was off course at the very least made the blur seem interesting and the cramping calves a sign of reaching physical capacity...after thinking I'd make to the next aid station on half a bottle of water I found myself quite dehydrated and crampy as a result. A couple shot blocks helped the cramps in my legs but made new one's in my cheeks as I had nothing to wash it down with. Aid station 9 or 10ish was an inviting one, many a snack and beverage. Knowing what my body is telling me is not a new concept. Being a nutritionist and OC trial and error race nutrition freak I walked into that aid station with one purpose "fix what was wrong and get the hell out of there"All I wanted was a chair and blanket but I opted for a potato rolled in salt, a glass of water, half a banana and a swig on mountain dew...now that I think about it that sounds gross but it did the trick at that particular moment in time.

Only one other course change threw me off. Instead of that quickie field climb to height of the land and the decent to the finish line we did a single track climb through the woods then a decent to the field and another single track climb to the Adirondacks and back then a series of PUDS (pointless ups and downs) along the ski slopes before shooting out of the woods into an off camber grassy uphill turn at high speeds. After removing the grass from my shorts, teeth and ear I dodge the next lucky schmuck flying out of the woods to a grassy ass ripping and made my way to the finish. Just before the last decent there was a course marshal standing 10 feet away from a 20 foot long and 40 foot wide wooden bridge reminding me to "be careful on the bridge" that I could see from half a mile away...I laughed inside at that moment given the last 2 minutes and then smiled knowing that the pain was almost over.

I finished 29 minutes ahead of the 2nd place rider for my second win in 2 years at the VT 50.

Great course, great food, great cause.

Yacky out-

PER PRESS

2008-10-01T21:13:00.003-04:00

While doing my weekly Google of my name to find out how cool I am I found these articles... Check them out.

http://www.planetfear.com/articles/The_Worlds_Wildest_Race__1030.html

http://checkpointzero.com/adventure_racing_news/2008/07/2008-patagonia-expedition-race-race.cfm

http://www.michaelclarkphoto.com/spring_2008.pdf

http://www.miketittel.com/index.php#mi=2&pt=1&pi=10000&s=27&p=5&a=0&at=0

Great Glen Long Overdue

2008-10-01T15:02:00.003-04:00

To all my loyal readers, I again apologise for the long overdue delay in publishing yet another funny, remarkable and historic memory from the team of all teams...LBF.

It was a rainy Friday afternoon. Tents scattered about like a dusting of pepper on an omelet made of grass and mud. The team arrived one by one with sullen faces at the impending doom of a rainy weekend. There was a last minute shake up in the teams roster with Jamie Belchak succumbing to a long fight with PMS Thursday. Note: Piriformis Muscle Syndrome is no laughing matter and you all should be ashamed of yourselves for chuckling at an innocent man suffering from PMS. Dave Harkless took the bait and signed on as our 5th with one tiny stipulation..."I will arrive at 7PM Saturday." For the record that is 7 hours after the race has started.

Laps where roughly 40 minutes pedaling as hard as you can with intermittent 40-60 meter sprints through ankle to knee deep mud with underlying roots and rocks all while carrying your bicycle and trying to swallow your heart to return it to it's proper location somewhere in your chest cavity. After my first lap I checked my heart rate monitor and found that I had averaged 195 beats per minute for 43 minutes and hit a max of 203...so in the eyes of some physicians I just took 8353 beats of my heart off my overall lifetime in that one lap...

The rain had stopped Saturday morning leaving mud holes the size of Volkswagens full of a think peanut butter consistency kind of muck that caked on everything. Bikes coming off course where 3-7 pounds heavier and riders retained an additional 1-2 pounds of crud on their legs and arms and inbeded into all mucous membranes and body cavities. Often with races, riders find the smooth line and ride it over and over until a 1.5 inch wide packed out trench in laid through the mud that we all ride through as fast as possible. However, this race was a bit different. The lines never appeared and we were all forced to pedal hard, look straight and play the hand we were dealt. It was like riding a psychotic bull on acid with a midget (sorry...little person) on your back hitting you on the head with a plastic hammer yelling faster...go faster you fat ass all the while the bull is trying to buck you off and pitch you face first into a pile of mud!....At least that was my experience, I'm not sure about the other teammates but that's the way I remember it.

We all rode very well and only made Melanie ride one more lap than each of the four guys. We completed 34 laps in 24 hours finished 1st in our category and came in 3rd overall...Not the result we were going for but an darn good finish I would say.

PS If you ever want to compete in a 24 hour mountain bike race on a team...think twice...unless of course you like 24 hour interval workouts from hell! I would suggest a SOLO 24 hour race any day...it's far more civilized.

Yacky out-

24 hours of Great Glen Team

2008-07-25T18:14:00.002-04:00

Hi Everyone,

Team LBF is proud to announce the team list for this years 24 hours of Great Glen.

Team LBF Solo Racer:
Jenny Johnson

Team LBF 5 person open team:
Mel Brown, Dave Stiles, Jamie Myers, Jamie Belchak, and Ward Solar.

We as a team have raced in many solo 24 hour MTB races and as Great Glen is the best event in the area with the most of our friends that come to support us we've decided to come as a 5- person team this year and have more bodies in the campsite around helping all the solo and team racers that have helped us out in the past. It's our little way of saying thanks to all our local fans.

As a racer, when you need a hand at GG look for one of us and we'll help you out and get you going again...

Yackster Out-

Orenteering Clinic August 3rd!

2008-07-25T18:08:00.002-04:00

Wanna learn something about Adventure Racing?

Team LBF is running a small unofficial O-Course Clinic for those wanting to learn how to wander around in the woods with some degree of accuracy.

If you are interested please email me: davidnstiles@gmail.com for more information.

No experience necessary.

Yacky Out-

There No Bad Races...Only Good races and Races Where You Learn Something.

2008-07-23T18:28:00.005-04:00

The current position of Team LBF is far better then the previous 72 hours which consisted of not one, not two but three I.V.s and six different kinds of medicine that have had varying effects on the lower GI Tract. It all started 3 days ago after a 16 hour bus ride to the land where a distinction between hole in the ground and toilet is nonexistent. We traveled through the night to Kurtun, Turkey and after a lot of motion sickness and throwing up into bags, the Hammer was nailed to his bed in the hostel. The next morning we took one of what turned out to be many trips to the local clinic AKA Hospital. Down the 6 switchbacks and 800 vertical feet to the town center, past the raw sewage, round the building made of mud to a place resembling a scene from MASH (Glass IV bottles included). 36 hours after Hammers first IV I began throwing up everything in my stomach and then some. The Doctor said i should be fine and I should just rest but after hacking up a whole load of green vomit and proceeding to turn white (hard to believe more white than normal) he thought it would be a good idea to treat me.

We had our minds set on racing all the way up until 8 hours before the start when we couldn't go more than 45 minutes between bathroom breaks (the breaks were from napping in bed) and the fact that after being so exausted from figuring out which route to take I nearly passed out on the way up a flight of stairs. We took an inventory of our bodies at 9 am and realized that we and consumed a gross volume of 3 liters of liquid and 250 calories (Net after vomiting 1 liter and 14 calories) and we were weak enough to call the hump from the room to the can a grunt.

So long story short we are currently sitting in the Istanbul airport waiting for the Air France counter to open at 3 am to change our flight and make a shameless retreat back to North America where we can live in peace and train to return to Kurtun next year and drop the Hammer!

Don't take no for an answer

2008-07-20T02:54:00.002-04:00

We've spent the last two days wondering around Istanbul like a couple of morons with Salomon back packs waiting to be jumped. Eating a healthy diet of bread, meat, olives and the occasional cucumber or tomato. I've actually been able to see a change in the texture and consistency of my skin...of course that could be the attributed to the weather. It's been a balmy 103 degrees with 137% humidity...unless your are near the water (within 12 feet...we are 2 blocks away) there it's a manageable 98 degrees with 101% humidity. The locals found a former NYC resident a little harder to barder with than the typical US tourist as i repeatedly walked out of a store with money in hand telling them I wouldn't pay half of what they asked. Moments later the merchant emerged from the store with items already packaged in hand waiting for the price I had set. The beauty of one particular transaction was when I just stood their and stared at Jason for a whole 3 minutes mumbling under our breath "just wait him out man..." the price was reduced...and reduced again...then again...a pair of yellow Velcro chucks went from 65 lira to 32 in a matter of minutes...

We met two of the other international teams at breakfast this morning and found out the Spanish team from PER has only one person...apparently the Race Director said "come to Turkey anyway well will find some thing for you". We're being kicked out of our room at 12 and have to wait around till 4 when the bus comes to take us and our gear to Kurtun. It's supposed to be a 12 hour ride and about 1,000 Km to the race area that's up against the border of Georgia...that's right folks I just checked the maps we are racing 100 KM from Georgia, 200 KM from Armenia and 300 KM from Iran, Iraq and Syria! I didn't really understand the geography of the region until I just took a look at the map and realized that we could drive to Bagdad in about 10 hours...Yikes?

So, we are off to the market for some bread, cheese, a pizza for the road and an AK-47 if the price is right.

This will be the last update before the race starts. So, wish us luck, fast and healthy feet and a seat for the ride home (rather than a coffin).

Yacky Out

Istan....Holy Crap!

2008-07-18T15:17:00.002-04:00

After 24 hours of traveling (the last hour and a half being a 150 lira cab ride) Jason and I are settled in at the Hotel Zirve in Kadikoy (+90-216-4145142) Give us a call if you like room 108...

This place is a maze of tiny roads on hillsides that rise straight out of the Med. It reminds me of scenes from a James Bond flick or the Borne Movies. The place is amazing! Tons of vendors selling cheap and trendy clothes, shoes and jewelry. We are going to go for a run tomorrow along the beach and take some more pictures.

Sunday they are picking us up for the long drive to Kurtun!

More to follow,

Yacky Out

Kurtun Adventure Race or Turkish Disaster or Thanksgiving

2008-07-16T21:30:00.003-04:00

Tomorrow I will be leaving for the only city on the planet located in both Asia and Europe...That's right folks I'm heading to Istanbul formally Constantinople...Strategically located between the Golden Horn and the Sea of Marmara at the point where Europe meets Asia, Byzantine Constantinople had been the capital of a Christian empire successor to ancient Greece and Rome. Throughout the Middle Ages Constantinople was Europe's largest and wealthiest city, known as the Queen of Cities...

However, the travel alerts for The Queen of Cities is well...read for yourself...
From the US Citizens National Travel Advisory Committee..."Americans should exercise caution...keep a low profile, and remain vigilant with regard to their personal security. Terrorists do not distinguish between official and civilian targets. As security is increased at official U.S. facilities, terrorists will seek softer targets. These may include facilities where Americans...live, congregate, shop, or visit-- especially hotels, clubs, restaurants...outdoor recreation events, resorts, and beaches. U.S. citizens should remain in a heightened state of personal security awareness..."

Now if that wasn't enough to put your spandex in a bunch then how about this from the Race Director... "Last 5 days Utku and I was at the course. And local securities warning us about the increased risk of bears and wolfs attack. As a result the race will be stop every night. "

This looks to be turning into a stage race which is good for the Team of Dave "go too fast" Stiles and Jason "The Hammer" Lane...All the racers we know have said the same thing about Jason and I Racing on a Duo team..."if you guys make it through the first 6 hours without blowing up (bad choice of words) you'll be so far ahead of the field that no one will be able to touch you..."

I'm just happy to be able to take these kind of trips and race with such great people.

Update on the return and check out the website http://arkurtun-turkey.touaregturk.net/index.php?option=com_content&task=view&id=25&Itemid=48

Yacky Out

Perform: Inside Adventure Racing

2008-07-04T09:54:00.003-04:00

To everyone with us physically and in spirit last night I want to personally thank you all for supporting the team! Last nights movie was a huge success and went better than I could have hoped. Thank you all for your donations, laughter, warm smiles and generous applause! As a first time film maker I was chewing my nails throughout the movie waiting for laughs that came right on cue and tense moments to bring you inside our story. Thank you for being such a wonderful crowd and for all your wonderful comments. The movie will release on DVD in the next four weeks and will be available online and at the bike shop. We welcome comments and questions from one and all.

Thanks again for a wonderful evening!

Dave Stiles AKA Yacky

Untamed BOG!

2008-06-30T14:50:00.006-04:00

To all my loyal readers and fanatics following Team LBF in the world of AR and generally epic adventures,

I am sorry for the delay in my Untamed report. To get right to the point we had a very good Untamed NE a couple weeks ago. It was a good race and some great untamed competition. Team Summit Achievement was the Untamed NE winner and Running Free, one of the top Canadian teams, took an untamed 2nd while a very untamed Team LBF took an untamed 3rd.

For 59 untamed hours and 34 untamed minutes we biked, trekked and paddled through some of the most untamed wilderness New England has to offer. I also want to express my gratitude to Grant and the hole Untamed Adventure Team for bringing such a great event to our untamed region most widely known as The North Country. It was great to have such an untamed event up here to compete in and it's about freaking untamed time that someone came along who is untamed enough to bring us Untamed NE (http://www.untamedne.com/). I'm sure that Untamed Virginia in September will be very very...dare I say...Unforgettable?

Race HQ, Start and Finish was at the Franconia Inn on Easton Rd. We made a quick loop on a couple ski trails and through a huge mud puddle in the first 3 minutes (Thanks Grant!). Then off to The Rocks Estate for "Conservation" AKA: Stacking Wood, AKA: doing Chucky D's job for him! Next it was to Remich Park in Littleton and an O-Course that lead us over Parker Mountain. The trail system was so confusing in that section that we almost didn't make it out!...who am I kidding? I put the map away until we got to Waterford, VT...We had a 15 minute lead going into the paddle and were in 3rd by 2 minutes when we got off the water. One reason was the three person teams had one boat with 3 paddles, exactly 1/3 more horse power than our boats, the other reason is we suck at paddling. To our defense it's mainly because we never paddle for training just try and survive the paddle sections in our races...probably should get on the water more.

The Victory Bog section...yes I said Bog...was a quick very hilly bike ride away. We arrived at the VB Section around 8:30 PM and headed into the swamp and mucked about for 5 hours. It was a flash from the past but in Patagonia the bogs were moss with beaver dams that we walked around and over. Grant, I guess, decided that Patagonia was too easy so he sent us straight through the beaver ponds!

An absolutely frozen Team LBF rode into TA 6 at 3:30 AM in Lancaster. We drank these self heating cups of coffee Jamie found at the store and packed up for another 20 hours of racing. We rode to the Mountain View Grand with a quick jog to the top of Prospect mountain (Blah) where we saw the Wicked Pissah gang grunting up on our way down. After the MVG we had a near "CheckPoint 18" (see: http://teamlittletonbikeandfitness.blogspot.com/2007/06/nears-vt-12-hour-ar-huh.html) In my state of weakened condition at the last TA I "thought" I put some maps in the bin instead of my pack...so we had a moment of terror and improvisation brain storming on how we could finish the race without the maps I didn't realize I actually had in my pack. We ran with that for about 20 minutes till Jenny told me "Why don't you just empty your bag and see cuz I don't really want to ride back to Lancaster." That settled we started to race again.

We blew through the first O-Course in a crappy time but nevertheless had fun. The next bike section was nothing short of HELL! Cherry Mountain Rd from Rt 2 in Randolph to Bretton Woods (Stop: Eat Pizza and Cake), Mt Washington Base road to Jefferson Notch Road, over Jefferson Puke road to valley road to where we started! The only good part of that was the Pizza and cross eyed paranoid delusions I had while riding up Jefferson Notch Road!

The second O-Course we nailed and cleaned in a very respectable time. the best part of that was climbing the mt to CP1 and seeing a billboard...I know what you're thinking, hallucination right? That's what Jamie said until he saw the billboard too! Then it got even better. Sam Brown's head popped out from behind the billboard! This was a secret CP that was fully stocked with our teammates husband, baked beans, coke, sandwiches and hugs! The best uplift we could have had. Secretly before the secret CP I wasn't sure we would make it through that big O-Course before the cut off, but Dave Lamb gave me a little pep talk and the energy level was great after that. Remember we had not slept in 40 hours. The nav went super smooth on the next section and we hit every CP right on the first time and very quick...

The long paddle was after our 45 Min nap in a field and was a total blur. All I remember is finding a box of donuts and egg sandwiches under a bridge and eating 4 and 2 of each respectfully! From Lancaster to Moore Dam was about 3 1/2 hours and the weather could not have been nicer.

We rode from Perkins to the back side of the Rocks Estate for more of Charles' unfinished work and then down into Franconia and up three mile hill to Artist Bluff for our ropes section and a silly kayak around Echo. Now, I know that it was done for exposure purpose but, I am an athlete and I train really hard to do what I do. In this case "what I do" was stay up for 3 days and race over 150 miles on foot, bikes and paddling. So, I did feel like a bit of a chump when a guy sitting on the beach at Echo lake said "Hey are you in that Adventure Racing thing? looks like it's pretty tough, do you all have to paddle all the way around the lake (in a sarcastic tone)?" Little did he know I actually was seeing two of him from the lack of sleep and that limp I had was closely related to the 30 miles of trekking I did the night before.

We ended the race with a trek up to Greenleaf hut then down to Lafayette Place, back up Cannon and down three mile hill on foot to a merry finish of the full pro course in 3rd place 26 minutes before the midnight cut off. We were one of 3 teams to get all the Check Points and that means we ROCK!

They had 23 pizzas waiting for us when we got there and I started eating until someone said I had had enough (9 pieces or 1.145 pizzas later). Jamie had a beer and nursed it till Rob almost hit the moose. Jenny fell asleep waiting for Sam who was on top of Kinsman With Dave H and Hailey. Mel tried her hardest to convince me she was ok to drive home after being awake for 66 hours but was glad Darlene was on the left side of the car when she saw the three little pig's chasing a wolf down main street Franconia.

Killer Race and we are pumped to have such a good event near home!

Yacky Out-

Team LBF Picked as Race Favorite...Crap!

2008-06-11T17:24:00.002-04:00

Filed by Untamed Adventure Staff at 5/26/2008 1:47:00 PM
We solicited feedback from a variety of adventure racing "insiders" and can share a bit of their insight into the Untamed New England race roster. We asked them which were teams to watch, how things stack up, and this is what they said . . .On Littleton Bike and Fitness (Littleton, NH):This team is the concensus favorite to top the Untamed New England podium. First off, they're a fast team with Jenny "What is lactic acid?" Johnson leading the charge. They'd be a competitor for the victory in almost any race, but the fact that this event takes place in their backyard (Littleton is just minutes from the host hotel) stacks the deck in their favour. They might even set their maps aside for stretches of the course, who knows...Quote: "Everybody that has a teammate that has beaten Danelle Ballengee in a solo Ultra Endurance race please raise your hand."___________________________On Team ABC / Capital Bikes (Annapolis, MD):This team figured prominently in most expert picks, which slots them in at the #2 position for our purposes. One teammate, Tamela Lynch, is local to the Franconia region, and familiarity with a region is always a big plus. The concensus is that the more paddling in the race, the better for this team (team captain Bill Vickers owns a paddle shop in Maryland and they excel at that aspect of racing). One unknown for this race is how recovered Team ABC is from injuries sustained earlier this year, but our panel thinks a healthy team is certainly one to watch.Quote: "If there's a ton of paddling Bill Vickers and ABC/Capital Bikes are a good choice."___________________________On Team Running Free (Quebec, CA):The most experienced Canadian team in the race, Running Free is also favored to earn a podium spot (we're tucking them into third position). With success in prior years at Raid the North (one of Canada's highest profile events), and a long list of other race achievements, don't be surprised to see this team shine in this rugged course. Some have even suggested them as a dark horse to win the race.Quote: "Every time I race in Canada I'm truly amazed at how much higher their average fitness level seems."___________________________Truthfully, as one reviews the Premiere Division (3 and 4 person coed) nearly every team looks competitive; Berlin Bike (CT) earns podium finishes on a regular basis and NYARA (NY) has a wealth of experience to rely on. Team A-List (VA/MD), while racing their first event over 30 hours, have a lot of race wins over the years and could be a dark horse to upset some of the more established teams despite this being their first truly multi-day race. Calleva (MD) is another strong team from the mid-Atlantic and a popular dark horse pick amongst our panel. Team Summit Achievement (ME), GMARA (VT), BreatheMag.ca (Ontario, CA) and Gung Ho (PA) have strong rosters and could excel on race day. UltraBambi (NH), despite their youth, won 2nd place at Untamed Virginia 2007 and shouldn't be taken lightly. A late registrant to the race, Aquan / Racing With Giants from California, wasn't included in the roster we circulated to our insiders so we don't have any formal predictions regarding them. I suspect, to make a trip from the West Coast to a race like this, you've got to be race-ready and this team could surprise everyone as we rarely see West Coast teams on the Atlantic side of the country.In fact, the one main take away from our conversations with the "insiders" is that this is the strongest field for any event we've ever organized. I'm sure it's self-selecting; a 60-hour event is bound to attract the higher caliber teams and scare away the rest. We think it's going to be a lot of fun to see how it all plays out.While we focussed on the 3 and 4 person coed teams (the premiere division for this race), there are some very strong teams in the "Open" division where teams of 2-people and single-gender teams are permitted. Team Wicked Pissah / Fitness Together (MA) stands out as one of these teams to watch; they've got lots of big race experience and know what the New England mountains can dish out. Wishful Thinking Fools (VA), in the 2-person category, will also be strong and we understand they've been making annual trips to the White Mountains of New Hamsphire for some time now . . . so this race will be, strangely, not so foreign territory for these two Virginians.Honorable mention has to go to the brendacohenjewelry.com team (PA); we know from experience that they're the team most likely to stash some home brewed beer in their gear bins. Them, along with Ride Too Fast (VA), could win the "most smiles" award bestowed by race checkpoint staff. We'll have to see how that contest shapes up!Finally, lest we lose sight that this is about fun and experiencing the outdoors and testing personal limits -- more than it is about who crosses finish lines first -- we'll close with a quote from one particular insider known as Dr. Evil to many in the New York orbit:
"Regarding the NYARA male team, I just don't want to hear any stories about a team puppy pile in the woods in order to stay warm while sleeping."Here's to a fun race everyone!

Pats Peak 24 Hour MTB

2008-06-08T11:00:00.004-04:00

Words cannot describe the feel of riding a bike for 24 hours. It's a mental game as much as physical. Last weekend at Pats Peak Jamie and I, defending champions, were 95% ready to go and race hard, we brought our new bikes and were prepared to hurt.

After returning from Patagonia we both have been training well and getting in plenty of hours on the bike. We've even commented to ourselves during weekly 7+ hour workouts that it feels like nothing to be out riding for 6 or 7 hours with little to no breaks.

Long story short, after Jamie's TWO high speed crashes, my Technicolor yawn and 20 laps of seeing the same trail over and over again we both said "Wow, this is really boring" We decided that for the sake of the Untamed Adventure race 10 days from then we should and would use Pats Peak as a training race and hit the sack. However, Greg Jancaitis our good friend and competitor blasted the race course and put in 32 laps for 1st place and a totally horrific 46 min pace! Greg is Racing for MS this year in a bunch of 24 hour MTB races and he makes about $5 a lap for charity...Check out his website and donate to a great cause! http://main.nationalmssociety.org/site/TR/Bike/MEMBikeEvents?px=4369451&pg=personal&fr_id=9042&s_tafId=73206

Lets take a moment and tell two little stories...

Flying down a a muddy S-turn, that was something like a greasy washboard with ferns all around, Jamie found the (nearly) perfect line. As he edged around the final turn he brushed a tall fern with him handle bar...what he didn't realize was there was a 4ft stake with a course marker hidden behind the fern (I know great placement, as if you couldn't tell which way to go the with yellow caution tape lining the trail around you and the 4 ft wide swath of mud cut through the center of the "death" valley of ferns) his bar clipped the stake and spun the bike to the left. Wilson went from cyclist to missile to sack of potatoes...make that very muddy sack of potatoes in all of about 1/8 of a second. He rose with the "puppy dogs tail got caught in the car door" look and was a little bewildered. I showed him the stake and laughed a bit while I checked his bike and he checked his wrist (see post "spills chills and Canadian thrills" section Wilson vs gravity for more information). Jamie's response was simple "What the Bleep is the Bleeping thing doing there? Take that the Bleep out of the ground and throw it in the woods."

PS The second crash was even cooler to watch...high speed body part yard sale on a wide open grassy slope going about 40Km an hour...HA

Last story...

At about 6 pm 10 laps into the race I started feeling "funny" (Funny: noun (1) blurred vision (2) stomach cramps (3) hallucinations (4) vertigo (5) you know...funny). I told Wilson that I was a little messed up and that I was starting to hurt way more that I should for this time in the race. Two laps later, I was on the verge of puking and we rode by a guy that knew us. He said "wow you guys are the ones that won this last year!...I want to be just like you, heck I want to ride half as many laps as you do" As this nice man was saying all these kind words I was responding with "Thanks...(Dry Heave)...oh your too kind...(Dry Heave...Dry Heave)...no really you don't mean that...(Dry Heave)...I..." The man then got off his bike and started walking the hill we were climbing. I started throwing up everywhere. I tried like the dickens to time my pedal strokes so that I wouldn't puke in my shoe but there was just to much puke and not enough space between strokes. So, once again I managed dirty a shoe with bodily fluid normally reserved for the shimmering waters of the porcelain thrown (see post Tuckerman Inferno)...The best part of that whole thing was hearing this guy behind me saying "he's puking...holy crap he's puking and still riding...riding away from me and puking"...Ah Summertime!

Yacky Out-

Tidbits

2008-05-15T13:11:00.003-04:00

Hi everyone,

Getting ramped up for two smaller events...Pats Peak 24 hour MTB Race and The Untamed Adventure NE (60 hour Adventure Race).

We have quite a website for that race, GPS tracking, Live updates and a team page on the site...

The race starts June 12th at Noon. http://www.untamedne.com/live/Race/

Check us out!

We are also proud to announce we've added some new sponsors to our list...stay tuned for some news on who else has caught the Team LBF Wave of craziness...

Last, I'd like to let everyone know that Team LBF clothing and race wear will be hitting the market soon!...stay tuned for details.

Hype it up!

Yacky Out

Road ID

2008-04-25T22:18:00.002-04:00

This was a sample email for me to forward to people...I've added a little yacky flair for good measure...If you read all the black then read all the red you'll get the difference

Hey Everyone, Sup Dawgs

I just ordered one of the best products ever. Yo yo you gotta check this out It's called a Road ID - perhaps you've heard of it. You know those silly things that dumb athletes wear around their wrist for when they crash and lie bloody on the side of the road? If you haven't, go to their website and check it out. Well it's called Road ID because we don't normally carry a DL in case we run a red light. Road ID is a great product that could save your life someday. But for the times we do want the authorities to know our identity like after a downhill inline staking endeavour (see last year blog "spills chills and Canadian thrills") this thing is good.
When I ordered, they gave me a coupon that I could pass along to my friends. It's kinda lame cuz they only give you enough of a discount to get 1/4 on a gallon of gas. Here's the coupon number:
Coupon Number: ThanksDavid366785
The coupon is good for $1 off any Road ID order placed by 05/25/2008. To order, simply go to RoadID.com or click the link below: Go to this link to get your buck off
http://www.RoadID.com/?CID=ThanksDavid366785
If you prefer, you can call them at 800-345-6335. And if you're hankering to get put on hold and listen to some muzak give them a call
You can thank me later, I'll stop bugging you now,
David Stiles Yacky
Oh by the way, their website is awesome, the customer service is outstanding, and the owners are very smart and good looking. Oh by the way, this company is ok but have you been to my gym lately? it's freakin cool, we are doing lots of good thing for people and as always the manager is really smart and absolutely stunning!

Friends of Tuckerman and Pain, AKA The Inferno

2008-04-20T09:05:00.004-04:00

Our first local race of the seasons for Team LBF; the Inferno was a great kick off for us and we had a great time...

The Inferno has been going on for years now and is truly a noble event with a noble cause. Friends of Tuckerman Ravine puts on this event to help raise money for the ravine and all the logistics of keeping it available for everyone and preserve the natural beauty of slopes of Mt Washington. That plus so much more, everyone should go to their website and check out what they are all about. http://www.friendsoftuckerman.org/

So lets get to it...the Inferno is a 5 discipline multi sport race starting with a 8.3 mile run with 750 vertical feet of climbing in the first 3 Miles, then it's a quick splash into 38 degree water with a 6.5 mile white water kayak on the Saco River in Bartlett, followed by a 2,000+ vertical feet road bike time trial to Pinkham Notch, Grab your skis and pack for a trek of 2.7 miles and another 2,000 vertical feet to the base of Tuckerman bowl, another half mile straight up to the top of the head wall for the final GS run down the ravine and through the finish...

We started the race at 7:01 am from the Story Land Parking lot after pre-staging boats near Thorne pond. Most of the participants are on teams of 5 called TuckerTeams but for the few hearty soles that like a slightly slower pace and more bang for their buck there is the Tuckerman and Tuckerwoman division (24 athletes in these two divisions 20 men and 4 women). These are Solo competitors that complete all five events by themselves (yeah thats us). So, off the start Team LBF stayed together for the first half of the run until Jenny decided to make me feel like a little girl and run away from me to the Kayak TA...The run was a little warm up climb on rt 16 then went straight up and subsequently straight down in the next 4 miles to give our legs the shock they need to cramp so severely that you become delusional. We came into the boats fast and left fast. Jenny and I pre paddled the course last week which helped make good decisions and quick work of the 6.5 miles of fun to the bike TA. We pulled out at the same time in a massive confusion of paddles and gear flying every where. At this point I was sitting in 6 or 7th place of the TM division and Jenny was comfortably leading the TW division. We both scattered to the familiar voices of our support crews and donned our cycling gear. It's important to note that if you ever decide to run as hard as you can for an hour then get in a kayak and sit for 45 minutes your legs may not be entirely happy with you when you get up...Either way, after beating my right calf/brick with a closed fist a few times I was on the bike for my speedy discipline. For me I needed to put in a stellar bike ride to make up the time I lost while wheezing through the run. I pushed hard over the first climb and launched into a state of tremendous blurred vision and poor judgement leading to the combination of three interesting yet familiar situations: Nearly crashing my bike while going 30 mph, sever cramping in my legs, and a shoe full of urine...if your not a biker the third part my be hard to understand but I won't go into details. I backed off a bit to allow for the massive amounts of electrolytes and sugars I was taking it to have some effect (you make already know this but if you start cramping it's most likely due to over exertion and inadequate fluid to electrolyte intake...generally speaking if you get your HR down a bit and take in a gel and some sports drink you can manage the cramping and keep it to a minimum). So, up the next climb I went. I came into the Hike TA at the same time my DAD/Support person was arriving with my pack and skis...now in 2nd place I grabbed my pack (that felt like it was 500 lbs) and asked for my running shoes. The response that followed was a blank stare and "what shoes? They're in the pack right?" The support trailer was a mile away at Wildcat and comfortable sitting in the back were my soft well broken in, perfectly molded to my feet through miles and miles of trekking in South America running shoes....Crap...Pilots have these really cool flow charts for emergencies so they know exactly what to do in the case of a catastrophe...my catastrophe flow chart read like this: No shoes---ask someone for extras----still no shoes?----ask again louder (note: first attempt was loud but nevertheless increase volume and tone by 93.7%)---proceed to Sam Brown (Jenny's Hubby) for his shoes that are 3.5 sizes too big----remove Sam Brown's shoes when hit in the head by racers girlfriend throwing her boyfriends back up shoes at you---continue race---scold support crew after finish---return borrowed shoes post race...Don't forget earlier urine in the shoe issue and remember that socks don't get changed in these quick races but what they don't know can't hurt them. Back to the race...The hike to the ravine was a train of weekend hikers heading up to get in some great runs on a beautiful Saturday. Now these people were so amazing while hiking up. I rarely had to say anything to anyone about clearing a lane for me to get through...there was a constant lookout for racers and people would yell up ahead of us to help clear the way...all I had to do was wheeze. It was one of the greatest things you can experience. People just staring at you while you pass cheering and clapping, words of encouragement and just the best energy emitting from these folk who 90% of them are wheezing just as hard with their cases of beer on their backs...it was great. I was passed about 30 minutes in to the hike by a Calvin Klein model on steroids and another aerobic giant who was actually running (it was more of a trot but dam impressive)...I really didn't know where I was in the standings at this point...somewhere closer to the top some one said I was in fourth which got my spirits up a bit. I could still see the CK guy and he was losing a bit of the pinash he had when he passed me. I took the opportunity to pass him and push the pace when he stopped to get some water from his pack. As we started getting into the steeper climbing my stumpy tree trunks for legs were doing a great job at staying strong and pushing a quick and relentless speed rarely seen on this planet...this is the stuff that I think about racing...kind of stupid but it works...So, I managed to hold of CK One step behind me. We came out into the bowl where 2,000 people were standing around gawking at half a dozen sledders seeing how close they can come to killing them selves. I look up the slope and see that we were heading for the skiers right slope and all the way to the top of the head wall. I made it my mission to get my ass up that mountain in one piece and not fall and slide past CK on my back and lose my podium spot...With this in mind I was dumb founded that the Sherpa that ran past me an hour before had just gotten to the top and was not even in to his snowboard boots yet. I asked the officials if the time stopped up top his reply was surprising "no, when you're ready just go and your time is your time" I had a chance to pull up another spot into 2nd! So, I put on my tele boots in record time... not even laced, just buckled down and thrown on...I asked for a few people to slide aside and let me "catch that guy" who was at the 3rd gate down the mountain. I never thought I would be is a GS race for a spot at the end of a 4.5 hour event. Not to mention that after blowing my legs into ultra fatigue (near failure) I was now racing down a 60 degree ski slope that many a people have died on...this all entered my mind after the fact...by gate five I was on his ass and as I shot by him he caught his toe edge and slide down past me back into second place...I made up the distance and pulled off a successful pass while he was flipping over to get back on his feet. We were neck and neck until the bottom 1/3 of the course when I took the lead to come across the finish line 16 seconds ahead...I never saw that coming!

Jenny was on the head wall as I was in the dual on the way down and cheering me on the whole way...she came down about 12 minutes later as the first Tuckerwoman ahead of Kat Fiske (Another Littleton area local) in second. Jenny was the first TW to break the five our mark at 4 Hours and 43 Minutes...She was the 5th Tucker Person to finish. Time and time again Jenny proves to be an amazing athlete that gives most elite male athletes a run for their money.

We finished up the day with a ski out of the bowl down the Sherburn Ski Trail and attended the fantastic awards banquet at Wildcat. They serve a full meal with amazing prizes and a great program. This is a race that everyone should come to at least once even if you're just there to watch...

On a final note:
I think I've said this before on this blog but races are really about who is willing to hurt the most. Chris Jensen of NHPR asked me during an interview this spring "why do you race?" I couldn't give him an answer at the time but I think I just found it...Everyone can push themselves to their limit but it's the perception of that limit where most stop. To push beyond your limit, beyond what you think you can do, beyond what you know about yourself and into an unknown world of physicality that is no longer about the philological limits of your genetic make up, it is about your will and the desire you have to compete and go the distance mentally; that is to race and that is why I do it.

YACKY OUT-

Summer Season

2008-04-12T22:45:00.004-04:00

Ok...so all you think running an AR team is a little ball of joy...well i'll tell you this it's a lot of work...we are finishing up our summer sponsorship...riding 10-15 hours a week and living the life of a pro athlete and full time worker at the same time. Wow this spring has put us into our place but man it is all worth it...get out and ride...run...paddle. Live this life to the fullest...

More soon from Team LBF
Yacky

National Public Radio

2008-03-14T22:57:00.000-04:00

Team LBF is now a Nationally recognized...something. Tonight a story By Chris Jensen of New Hampshire Public Radio aired in the 5:50 time slot of NPR's All Things Considered, a nation wide radio show. We are thrilled to have been able to work with Chris and get such a positive response to what we love.

There will be another broadcast on Monday March 17th at 7:40 am Don't miss our 7 Minutes of fame.

But if you do please go to:http://www.nhpr.org/node/15572 for a transcript and an MP3 download.

YAcky OUt

Warm Smiles, Hugs and Beds

2008-02-26T20:27:00.000-05:00

To all our devoted readers and supporters,

We arrived at Littleton Bike and Fitness this afternoon to a mass of friends, family and a reporter from NHPR who have all been part of our adventure in some way or another and wanted to be the first few to say welcome home. We exchanged hugs and stories for an hour then parted ways until a later date with a more organised method and recap of the previous week.

Now that I lay in a warm bed so firmiliar yet so strange ready for the 12 hour transition from Adventure Racer to Gym Manager...6 Am will come quick and I will surly sleep fast.

Thank you all for your support and know that we are home safe and sound and ready for the next adventure...

Yacky out

Last days

2008-02-24T19:55:00.000-05:00

First of all I want to express my deep graditude and thanks to everyone who has helped us with this journey. Those of you who post comments should know that it brings us great joy to make a connection with you and to know that we are being watched and looked out for.

The past few days have been filled with sleep, cleaning gear, sorting gear, lots of coffee, food and many a things that cannot be expressed in words.

Words cannot describe...

The sight of Jason and Jamie´s feet
The taste of a mocha latte at our favorite local cafe after 10 days in the bog
The smell coming from 6 gears bins full of wet shoes and trekking gear
The smell of an adventure racers lower GI tract thats "working out the kinks" after a lot of drink box
How it feels to walk in sandals
The amout of coffee Jenny can drink when given the chance
What eating 12 chocolate pastries and still being hungry feels like
How you feel when you get your first shower after 10 days without
The texture of one´s feet after 8 days of trench foot
The elation felt after selling you bike for more than you paid for it and reilizing that you now do not have to bring it home
36 hours of sleep in 3 days

Words cannot describe much here...we are all feeling really great. Well rested, well on the road to recovery and ready to come home.

Never have I finished a Race and had so much time before leaving...it feels great to be pressure free but we are all ready to come home and return to as normal of lives that we have.

Thanks again for your support and stay tuned for a photo site and video to be posted with details of all our crazy moments here in The Patagonia.

Yacky flyin safe...

A little word from the team

2008-02-22T22:21:00.000-05:00

Hey everyone,

Hope all is well in the land of non-confusion...we just got back to Punta Arenas after our epic and man are we in lala land...I got a quick sum up before bed just to give you all a teaser.

130km biking
339km treking...make that 12km on trail the other 326 BUSHWACKING!
0 Km Kayaking
110 km on a schooner
57 km on chilean navy vessel 1
378 km on chilean navy vessel 2

Rounding us out at 469 KM of racing before they stopped the last teams standing and said [this is it you are finished].

Everyone is safe, I took 8 hours of video, we took over 400 pictures, have 10 toenails about to fall off, lots of chilean people think we are the coolest, tons of great stories, and a healthy reminder that the simple things in life we take for granted are very prescious. So, where ever you are take one minute, close your eyes and think of three luxuries you have that many people dont...then take a deep breath and try not to forget them.

We made it! 4th Place overall

Yacky Tired

Last pre race update

2008-02-11T07:44:00.000-05:00

Hey All

We are just about to recieve our maps and instruction books. Jamie and Jenny are doing the last of the shopping and then we are all meeting back at the HQ for our final gear packing and course plotting. We are all getting into pre-race mode. Jason´s sleepy, jenny´s sick Yacky´s yackin and Jamie´s talking crazy talk.

We´ll be heading out to Teirra Del Fuego in the AM and starting on the bikes (yeehaw) at 12:15 after the ferry ride over to the island.

From now on you´ll be getting race updates from the race organizers and we´ll be hammerin!

Wish us luck and think of the team as we will need all the positive affermations we can get.

We´re on!

2008-02-10T17:52:00.000-05:00

Hello all,

Well, we werer 5 minutes from getting on a plane to Santiago to find our luggage and it came out of the belt in Punta Arenas...wow that was close...we are now in the midst to a gear explotion.

Stay tuned for one more pre race update and then sit back and watch the magic

Yacky Pumped

VSF

2008-02-09T22:16:00.000-05:00

Ok gang,

We have been in Punta Arenas for two days now, Eating lots of food, walking around getting in some sights, picking up some last minute gear and driving back and forth to the airport trying to find our baggage. So far we are missing Jason´s bike and Everything else that Jamie Jenny and I put on the plane. this constitutes about $30,000 worth of racing gear thats completely MIA. Now the folks at the airport keep saying ´´sure sure, it will come on the next flight´and the race organizers keep saying ´sure sure we´ll take you to the airport and get your stuff just wait a minute´3 hours later we go and yet again no luggage. it wasn´t bad the first night. ók it´s noraml to have stuff gone for a day thats why we come down a couple days early´ but we have a gear check and kayak test tomorrow at 9:30 am and we still have nothing.

Tonight after the offical opening ceremony Jenny and Jamie squeezed into a small truck with a driver and race organizer to head into the airport for a little temper tantrum...

Jamie just walked in... we are screwed! No one knows anything about our gear. There was an urgent message sent out to the airports they may be at but they aren´t even sure we´ll get anything back at all! You know what that means if we try hard we´ll get $100 per bag from the airline in insurance...

Yacky Quite

We Made IT

2008-02-08T20:19:00.000-05:00

35 hours of traveling and we are here! It´s chilly in Chile and raining...Our gear is lost and hopefully it will arrive tomorrow. All is well updates soon!

Dave and The Team

Last night

2008-02-06T23:06:00.000-05:00

Sleepless nights tear at my soul
Waiting planes rumble and roll
I think of things long forgot
I hope and pray it wasn't a lot
Upon my slumber I dream a dream
Of midrace coffee with sugar and cream

Tonight we sleep before our Quest
We'll finish on top as we're the Best

Wish us all good luck, may our feet stay blister free and our additudes full of glee

Yacky Out

The Pastry Diet

2008-02-06T15:05:00.000-05:00

As a Nutritionist I hear about all sorts of gimmicks like “The Grapefruit Diet”, “Organic” and “Weight Watchers”. I’m here to tell you all that this really works!

The Goal: increase your Body Fat by 3% in two weeks before an event so you don’t die in the woods from malnutrition

The Plan:
2 weeks prior to your event begin a calculated regime of 3 pastries a day after the 3rd day increase to 6 pastries. Day 7 is your half way point…if you’re half way to your goal increase to 8 pastries a day. However, if you’re not half way there increase to 12 Pastries a day for 5 days and then 16 on days 13 and 14 to make sure you have adequate build up of LDLs prior to departure.

It’s just that simple.

I've been 13 days and I’m already up 2.7 %

Almost to my goal of 4.8% Body Fat!

So, get out to your local bakery and indulge!

Leaving Tomorrow...going a little mad!

T Minus 4 Days and Counting

2008-02-03T17:18:00.000-05:00

Alrighty then...Does anyone really know what the "T Minus 10, 9 , 8" thing means anyway? I don't. One thing I do know is that we've done something everyday to get ready for our trip and the list never seems to get shorter. We finally got all our food squared away, so thats one less thing.

Jamie and I have been out for a couple spins on the new Cannondale 29ers and everytime we are overcome by the realization that we are going to be riding mid season miles on pre season legs in less than a week. "Is it flat in patagonia?"

We've kept up on our gym workouts for the past few months, focusing on lots of multi-joint movments and circuit training. We are physiclly stronger and bigger in the upperbody than ever, Jamie's up 5 lbs and I'm up 8...all in upperbody mass and core strength. This has been an intentional attempt at not sucking so much on the paddles...Hopefully this will work cuz even though there's only 10% paddling in this race we're talking about 50+ miles of intense ocean kayaking.

I am looking forward to getting away from work and kicking the crap out of myself but there's something inside me that's freakin out about the pain and suffering that we are going to go through. Adventure Racing is about enduring more discomfort than anyone should ever have to. We continue to sign up from races regardless of this fact because...well i guess I don't really know why...I guess I summed it all up in our application to Patagonia. When asked "What makes you think your team should be admitted into this race?" My responce was simple...

"We're racers, we race...It's what we do."

-Yacky Out

SNOW...WTF?

2008-01-26T19:28:00.000-05:00

So I was just informed by one of our wonderful sponsors that their might in fact be snow at PER as well...http://www.patagoniaexpeditionrace.com/galeria/pper2006w-vicuna_2234wa.jpg...I'm not sure about you but vacations...Adventure Races...are supost to be in NON-Freezing climates...I'm thinking did I miss a day at school somewhere? Since when is it winter in the southern and northern hemispheres at the same freakin time? I mean I know we are going to the 50th Meridian but for crying out loud...next time I think we'll apply for the Tabago Traverse!

Don't forget to vote in the Poll...Not that poll...My poll....you know the one to the right---->

Yacky's Gonna Hurl!

2008-01-21T17:18:00.000-05:00

Ok...so as if the life of a cracked out athlete isn't hard enough. Try getting this on for size...

In August at the top of Cannon Mountain we decided to submit an entry form to gain access to a really cheap race in South America..."OK!" Said the Gang "but lets make sure we get everything squared away early so we are not rushing around in the beginning of January like mad people"..."OH definitely" I said...

For the record it's January 21st and Every night Jamie and I are rushing about like mad people remembering this, or thinking of that...extra batteries...more food...bikes that won't get stolen...a compass that actually works in zone 4 (that's a place that no compass should work because it's 10,000 miles from the north pole)...TP! Holy Crap we almost forgot the TP!

Packing seems pretty straight forward eh? Lets try an analogy... Have you ever taken your family camping for a weekend and as you pack, more and more things just start finding their way into the RV? Unbennounced to you when it's all said and done you've put nearly the entire house into the rig and are ready to go out for an "adventure" amongst the wild squirrels and chipmunks of the KOA in Jefferson County...well next time this happens try taking this packing technique and fitting the contents of that RV into two "allowed" bags your checking (airplane). By "allowed" I mean 2 less than 100 lbs ($100 upcharge per bag) and within the 82" limit (H+W+D, another $100) and a bike box (again under 100lbs and yet another $100 up Charge) then carry it all to an angry teller and try to get her or him to give you a deal cuz you're a "poor adventurer"....then you'll have an idea of what packing for an international race is like!

Back to the point, Yacky is gonna hurl!

Some of you may know that I took over as manager of The Gym at Four Seasons...Needless to say having a real job totally throws off a training schedule and having to train someone to do my 60 hours worth of work into 20 is not the hardest task because I generally goof off for 26-38 of them...but nevertheless it's a lot to think about....I'm rambling!

Ok...Check out the two polls I've set up on the Blog!

Yack

The Race at the End of the World

2008-01-08T11:06:00.000-05:00

To all my loyal readers. As a childlike racer of the summer of 2007 I race like a child I train like a child and work like a child but as I become a man I put away childish things! Like eating doughnuts, training all the time, not working very much and drinking a lot of beer...

Whatever poppycock I've just put before you has little to no consequences to anything other than...well nothing.

However, something that might interest you is Team LBFs next Adventure Race. Feb 7th 2008 Jamie (Chisel) Jenny (CatsPaw), Jason (Hammer) and I (Jigsaw) will be heading to Boston with hundreds of pounds of gear to embark on our greatest journey to date.

Take a look:

http://www.patagoniaexpeditionrace.com/in/08per2008.htm

24...or 17 hours of Great Glen...Yacky and his Brain.

2007-08-17T22:34:00.000-04:00

Hi One and All...or one and only. Not sure how many people read this. Maybe I am talking to myself. This brings me to the topic on hand. 24 hours of Great Glen is a Littleton Landshark attack. The Landsharks had 20 teams entered this year and 7 solo riders. Team LBF was part of that group by default. All being former Landsharks we still run with that school of fish...we don't eat our young however. The weekend started wonderful, it was down right hot and sunny. we had a perfect camp set up on course, tons of food, too many support personnel and good rested legs. Jamie and I headed over to the campsite around 2:30 on Friday afternoon with a camper full of gear, food, bikes, Gofast and Jamsie. We pulled into the designated Landshark area and backed her into a prime spot Dave Harkless set aside for us. We popped the Specialized tent and I went to business with gear unloading. A quick trip to North Conway for a last minute anniversary gift for Jamie's understanding and darling wife Carol put me in a friends kitchen making 4 lbs of pasta around 7pm. We were eating at 8 as the suns rays finally sank completely behind the mountain of our founding father himself. We hung out for a few with the gang by the fire and tried not to burn off too much energy laughing. For some, GG is a party with a splash of mountain biking, teams competing for the fun of a balls to the wall lap followed by several hours of relaxing and drinking a few pints with other racers waiting to go on course. For me and the other solo riders a 24 hour race is the most demanding thing you will ever do and requires 100% focus for too many hours of pain and suffering but if you take is too seriously you short circuit in the middle of the night and fall backwards like a potted palm into the depths of a mental and physical breakdown. Its a fine line really and being the 3rd 24 hour race of the season one would think we were getting prety good at it...not yet.

Jamie and I started strong and pushed the pace with some really good lap times (A little over a sustainable speed but fast enough to drop all but one of the solo riders). We rode hard for about 3 hours when I noticed Jamie salting much earlier than usual.

Salting tr.v. When a rider sweats so much that a fine white powder seeps through and collects on the outer of his or her spandex. First appearing on the lower back and armpits then traveling over the entire back and legs. Sometimes seen on the face. Said rider may also be referred to as "snowy", "sweaty", "salty dog", "sodium boy" or "dusty"

I knew something was up when at about 5PM he started walking a hill that on a normal day he would have rode until about midnight. We knew he was losing the battle of Wilson Vs. Electrolytes when his legs started cramping a bit and needed massages to keep him going. Fear not I say...we may be losing the battle but we will fight till the end of the war. We tried everything from electrolyte pills to salt water but nothing could get in what was going out. The final blow was delivered around 8:15PM when Jamie stood up on the pedals, lock up solid, and tipped over like previously mentioned potted palm. Laying there in a ball of twitching muscles riders past with a look of fear cast deep into their faces and uttered the words "are you alright man?" Jamie was responding in winced monosyllables but I came over just in time to send them on their way and start kicking my teammate’s legs trying to loosen the rock hard muscles of legs Magee. What we found out later was the narcotic he was given for pain control (broken wrist) had a little side effect of dehydration. Not knowing this he drank like normal but needed twice as much to keep him going thus needing twice as much electrolytes also. That lap was tough, we stopped a few times and got in some stretching for tender legs and pushed through till the end where Jamie was to take a break, get a massage and ultimately sit out till the final lap. I was listening to my Ipod and Moby's Porcelain was playing as the verses sung "so this is goodbye" with a faint piano in the background I left my partner at the pits and headed out into the dark along and on the hunt. I chased the little puke that was 38 minutes ahead of me for 3 hours without letting up at all. I mashed the pedals over every hill, through every single-track and down every carriage road. At midnight I stopped totally spent, ready to get some good news. Something along the lines of "Dave you made up 30 of those minutes and he's looking tired...go get him" but I got into pit grabbed some food and heard "you lost 3 minutes to him and he's looking really strong"...we have just lost cabin pressure! I looked at Jamsie with a blank stare and promptly curled up in my sleeping bag and went to sleep under the stars with no intentions or desire to get on my bike ever again.

I was awakened at 7 am by Jamie and Joe Homer telling me I had only dropped to 4th and that 3rd place was 5 minute ahead. Totally baffled by the fact that I slept for almost a third of the race and was still in podium contention I donned my shoes and placed an egg sandwich order before jumping on my S-Works and headed out like a new rider in the same clothes. The good thing with being 25 is you recover from thing very quickly and with the exception of my grundle all was well in the Dave factory and biking was fun and fast. I put out three sub 50 minute laps before getting information that I was two laps down on 2nd place and 2 laps up on 4th with 3 hours left in the race. IE mathematically impossible to move up or down without a major issue like dismemberment. So I caught up to Mel who was the first place female and in second place overall solo. She was feeling the pressure of being on the bike for so long and beating so many men (not really but I tell myself that so it don't start crying). We rode a lap together at a nice pace and chatted about bunnies, actin and myosin and what the grundles were feeling like for a bit. As we came into the pit Greg was heading out, Jamie's legs felt better so he jumped in his gear and came out for the last lap with Team LBF. Greg waited for us after the first hill and we all finished the race together as a band of broken bodies that each had put a not so few miles in the saddle over the past 24 hours (17 for me if you count my little nap).

Have you ever looked back upon a decision made in haste and thought "I am such a moron!"

Have you ever been winning a race only to throw it away leaving you sleepless many nights and hungry for the next pain fest (24 hour race) to redeem what little scrap of hope you hold for yourself as a human and an athlete? Huh Huh...Have you?

"There's no such thing as a failure that keeps on trying" My cousin's lead singer John Popper

Top Notch Triathlon

2007-08-05T10:20:00.000-04:00

For the second year in a row a team consisting of Jamie Myers, Dave Stiles and Charles Dona won the team division of the Top Notch Triathlon, this year under the umbrella of Team Littleton Bike and Fitness. However, like last year we were beaten by a non-human super athlete named Kris Freeman, an international level Nordic skier on the US Ski Team! I guess it puts us in our place as endurance athletes not sprinters! We didn't beat our record from last year but considering the Franconia ridge run, three mountain bike rides, two road rides and a trek up Mt Washington earlier in the week we did ok. Jamie warmed up on his trainer while Charles and I did yoga before the start in downtown Franconia with streets lined with about fifteen 20 ft tall GoFast flags flying high (www.gofastsports.com). Gofast is one of the event sponsors, it's a natural version of redbull that tastes better and doesn't give you the jitters for some reason or another. So we were pretty happy to walk away with a case as a prize! The race meeting was short and sweet Jenny Johnson and Sam Brown were getting married later that day and warming up with the race. Charles and I took off to where the bikers went into the woods to give Jamie his split time on the first wave. He went by at mach 2 and I sprinted along next to him screaming his position and time. We drove up to Echo Lake and I jumped out with my wet suit to take position while Charles went to do his warm up. A few minutes later in a cloud of dust Jamie flew into the TA with the two PRO Dudes and a few people from the first wave already in the water. I took the timing chip and sprinted to the lake, A couple dolphin dives later I was dragging my carcass a half mile across. I don't remember anything but seeing the sky and the bottom of the bottom a few time and third buoy and looking for the shore only to see ANOTHER FREAKIN BOUY! Last year I thought there was three also. I after crying underwater I regained my form and hauled as fast as I could to the exit, ran across the timing pad and sprinted up the hill with Jamie running along side cheering me on! I kept going around the corner to the hand off screaming "Charles...gasp...You...gasp...Have to...Take...The Chip...off me!" I couldn't figure out which of the two Charles I saw was the right one but as I got closer the eyes uncrossed and he became one. He pulled the timing chip off and I collapsed in the grass gasping for air. I guess I should have swam more than 15 minutes between last years race and this years ;-) We got on the tram and headed to the finish with about 20 other people. We saw Kris in the lead again and another guy about two minutes behind. We waited for them right at the flags and cheered Kris across the line. For those of you who think pro athletes don't feel pain I urge you to watch a race like this. As He cross the line after an hour and five minutes for blowing himself up this super skier was grey and wheezing for any oxygen his lungs could find...Not exactly a "Walk In The Park". Charles came over the hill 4 minutes later and secured our team victory at 1 hour 9 minutes and change. After he dry heaved in the bushes for a minute we all hugged after a job well done.

The Top Notch Triathlon had over 250 solo racers this year and not just tri junkies it is a real family event that saw solo racers from 9 to 80 years in age. It is followed by lunch and awards with a big raffle for however are left. So next year make the trip to this event in the North Country it's always the first weekend in August.

Yacky

24 Hours Of Kill..Your Body...ington!

2007-08-05T08:45:00.000-04:00

The Granny Gear Productions team puts on a stellar race. They do a bunch a year and the 24 hours of Killington was great! There was a trials team FJ Cruisers to test drive free shwag and tons of cool people. We arrived at the solo camp area (right on course) at about 9 am Saturday morning with the shop trailer and about 10 riders worth of gear. We were right on course and in the action and thus, very happy. After about 40 minutes of setting up the tent running power cords the bike rack and stand, food table, light chargers and...lots of stuff a guy whose tent was up on the hill behind us showed up and was not exactly happy that we "totally parked in front" of him. He said we should have used some common sense and not blocked him in (he wasn't blocked in). Under my breath I was saying "well dude, you should use some common sense and not set up on a hill above the prime spot to set up the Littleton Bike shop trailer" but being the humble Northern NH person I now am I said nothing but "sorry". He then asked "well, can you move?" Carol and Jamie both fielded that question to me seeing how I parked the rig and the New Yorker in me killed the Humble Northern NH boy and told the common sense wizard to find another place to put his tent..."don't care were you stick you tent buddy but we're not moving!" In my defense I am only a jerk when such actions are necessary retaliations to some bone head trying to toss his weight because he thinks it's cool.

OK, enough of that...the race was straight up brutal. It is a horrible combination of Conyers and Pats Peak that makes to wanna cry. The short course we rode was a mere 9 Miles with 1,350 ft of climbing that started 50 ft out of the pits. So if you want to know what eating a bunch of food and then putting your HR into your throat feels like you could dine and dash at a doughnut shop with it's regulars...or come race at 24 hours of Killington.

We started with a grunt up a few ski trails that had a little plateau then another grunt followed by a few short single track sections. The next grunt was the big one and from when you started climbing you didn't stop for more than about 100 meters which I used to stretch out my aching back. All in all, the climb was about 20 minutes long and a combination of grass, rocks and stone dust. Once at the top of this beast you turned sharply into the woods and tore through this steep, winding, rooted, muddy single track that was similar to the highway to hell at Pats Peak. We got about half way down it the first time and Jamie looked at me like a puppy dog who just hand its tail slammed in the car door. My only reply was "here we go again!" After the plunge into the depths we had a few more turns through the single track and into a nasty muddy trail that tossed you all over the place before getting to a 50 meter head wall of mud. Another traverse across the mountain and we were at our last climb, this one was short and shallow, it's only purpose was to bring you to another winding trail through the woods (it also was another good place to cut a couple minutes off your time! Which I think happened a few times looking at some of the lap time discrepancies). Then it was across the flats and back into the woods. 10 more minutes of single track, a ride across a foot bridge and we were done with lap one around 1:10 PM.

We stayed consistent with our laps throughout the afternoon bringing in times around 1:10 to 1:20. The top three guys would hammer for as long as they could and they bonk for a few minutes then get back on and hammer for and few more laps then rest. It seemed crazy and by 7 pm their times were beginning to fade after each rest. We moved up to 3rd around 8 PM and stayed there until the end of our 7th lap at 9:30 PM when the stress fracture in Jamie's right wrist forced us to stop. It was a hard decision to make but weighing all the options and the circumstances it was the best. We curled up and went to bed only to wake up feeling like losers. We got a good hard ride in and by pulling out of a race for the first time in the history of Team LBF made us hungry to ride at Great Glen.

Major Call for Help!

2007-07-24T23:04:00.000-04:00

To all you race fans...if reading my blogs is fun how about coming and joining us on a race? This weekend Team LBF is in a major pickle and needs a driver for the support truck and trailer. If you can be in Lisbon, NH Thursday, go to Canada (no outstanding warants) and return on Sunday night you are our Guy or Gal. Please Call or Email me ASAP if you can come.

Yacky
AKA Dave Stiles
Cell 603-728-8642

Littleton’s Legs of Steel Dominate Pats Peak 24

2007-07-17T01:22:00.000-04:00

Team LBF was easy to pick out through the crowd in our red skin suits at The Pats Peak Mountain Bike Festival http://www.patspeak.com/summer/bike.php. Jamie and I were standing with a couple Littleton Landsharks, Greg Jancaitis (24 hour) and Marty St. George (6 hour) lined up for the lemans start. In 2 minutes we would be trotting across the lawn heading for our bikes only to jump on and mash on the pedals for 24 hours. Jamie was very firm in his demands that I not pull an “EFTA” and take off at mach 2 only to leave him chasing me down and pulling on the reigns. So off we went at a snails pace with a bunch of other yahoos hell bent on hurting themselves. The firsts lap was a little crowded, there were a bunch of 6 and 12 hour racers chugging along in the midst of the 24 riders. So we marched along to the beat of Legs and his opening pace. This was our first time on course so every corner was like a little surprise of dirt, root or rock that jumped out as if to say “surprise”. A lap consisted of a little pitch to warm up the legs out of the pit, then a stroll around a snowmaking pond followed into a ditch and some single-track, traverse across the mountain back by the start to more single-track and up the first major climb on a grassy ski slope. A not so quick teeth chattering descent down to the base of the downhill course left fillings loose and quads burning, then it was back up the slope for another highway to hell, this one was a bit longer and had a long single-track climb through the woods just after you blew your legs on a steep ski slope called "Dead Mans Drop" or something cheeky like that. After the legs were toast the upper body was due for a good pounding and that was just what they set us up for us on the run down the mountain. It was about 10 minutes of wrist breaking, shoulder traumatizing, quad cooking, deep fried forearms kind of fun. To tell you the truth after we got to the bottom of this combination of Old Webs (Kingdom Trails) and The Flume (Mt Lafayette) we said “oh crap…we have to ride that 27 more times!” Who knew we would be so accurate in our predictions? After the descent we had a little leg loosening climb to the base area by a house with 8 people drinking beer and telling us to “hit the sweet jumps we made for you”, then it was down a chute and into the timing tent. Jamie and I had received bike numbers 1 and 2 which was funny the first 20 times we came in and said to the score keepers “ one, two buckle my shoe or, two, one...Blast Off!” But we got a lot of smiles and cheers as we would pass through the tent, pitched our selves back on the bikes with food and new water then disappear only as “1 and 2 those fast red guys from Littleton”. We rode hard throughout the afternoon and did a couple laps with Marty and Greg here and there but come 7 pm we welcomed the fading light and heat. Night brings out a whole other element of racing; from managing light systems and riding in the dark to puking up everything you eat and falling asleep only to wake up while on a collision course with a tree. It’s a side of racing that one can’t see from the cozy support tent because if one did, support crews would tell us to sleep not “get back out there and tear it up slackers”. 4 AM was the worst time for me; my heart rate wouldn’t rise above 110 regardless of effort (150-170 is normal for an endurance event) and I was ridding like a wet noodle. We had a solid lead on the field but only a lap up on Greg who was proving to be the snake to my mongoose or the mongoose to my snake…whatever…anyway I was bonking and the sleep monsters were running me down. I begged for a 15 minute nap at TA after lap 19ish but settled for 10 in an emergency bivy that I’ve slept in in three countries for a total of 28 mins over the past year. Those ten minutes were like a decade and just enough to reset my head and get me mashing again. We jumped on the bikes and out the door, we were in the early light with almost 75% of the race over, it was the best time of the race. We started putting time on our competition and felt great as long as we weren’t climbing or descending which was the whole course except for the 200 meters around the snowmaking pond but man oh man…those 200 meters were awesome! People started waking up an hour or so later and were pounding out laps after their little snoozes but as long as we didn't stop we were just too far ahead to catch. Greg was one lap back on us and just out of reach to the next competitor but he was coming on strong so Greg had to ride all morning to keep his lead thus, we had to ride all morning to keep our lead (talk about the trickle up effect). All in all the morning was what a bipolar cocktail party would be like, some people crying and puking while some laughing and riding :-o At the end of it all, we put in 28 Laps totaling about 190 KM of biking and at 850 vertical ft per lap a total of 23,800 feet of climbing (and likewise 23,800 vertical feet of horrid descending). Team LBF and Maine Landshark Gerg came into the finish just as the skies opened up, the lightning struck and the race was called off early at 11:36 am exactly 28 Laps, 23 hours and 36 minutes, 153,234 pedal rotations, 17,000 Calories and 3 up chuckings after starting and thinking “this is gonna hurt” well...it did.

Final Podium
1st Place (Tied) 28 Laps Jamie Myers and Dave Stiles (Team LBF)
3rd Place 27 Laps Greg Jancaitis (Maine Landshark)

Ride On -Yacky

NO "HORROR" AT HARDING HILL ROAD FOR LBF

2007-07-09T14:43:00.000-04:00

So they tagged the race "THE HORROR AT HARDING HILL ROAD" but for Team LBF it was anything but. The experts took off in the mass start across a field and into the woods around 10:05 am, while the sport class gathered at the favored end of the line for the mad dash into the woods. Jamie and I were sitting on the line full of race jitters for a full 15 minutes while Mel was on her way around the first of four laps. We had disscussed that seeing how this was a tune up race and we were doing it for fitness that we would "take it easy the first lap and let the race come to us" which I managed to throw out the window 10 ft off the line as I out sprinted the field and led the pack into the woods. Jamie's exact words cannot be repeated on a public blog but in the process of trying to run me down he rode a few people off the trail that tried to squeeze him out the back door. He caught me in a minute or so screaming "what about the game plan?" I replied with "ok lets just go easy and let people catch us" And thats just what we did, if by easy you mean an average heart rate of 191 then yes we went easy. Half way around the first lap my 1st place led was tranfered to Jamie as my saddle bag opened and emptied it's contents across the trail. I had to stop and let him pass while I unwound my spare tube from my brake disc. At that point I thought I heard someone coming up behind me so after throwing whatever was left in my bag off into the woods I jumped back on and told Jamie to drop the hammer. The noise from behind faded into the distance and we saw no other riders until the middle of the second lap when we passed some of the expert riders then lapped a few sport riders. Jamie tried to break his other wrist a few times on slick roots and a few rocks but wasen't able to and I went cross eyed a few times following legs magee up a few pitches. The third lap was a little more chill, we knew we had a led and rode tempo to maintain it. We came over the last hill one two and crosed the line together an hour and eightteen minutes after my little deveation from "The Plan". The next sport rider came in 7 minutes later mumbling something along the lines of I was trying to stay with those red guys by that wasen't happening.

Mel was 2 minutes into her fourth lap when Jamie and I finished. She was in the lead by half a lap and was going strong. She came into the finish and was greated by about fifteen Littleton riders shouting her name. All smiles she says "did anyone else come in before me?" "no Mel they didn't" I said. She didn't believe any of us until she got the official results and the "queen on harding hill" award for the fastest woman in the race.

Over all every Team LBF member finished 1st in their division and looked darn good doing so.

Dave

Spills, Chills and Canadian Thrills- Quest for a Cure 2007

2007-06-26T12:44:00.000-04:00

It started out like any adventure race, show up the day before a little frazzled from a long drive, meet up with team mates, pack enough carbohydrates into your stomach to feed a small under developed country and get a little sleep before the start. But, this would be no walk in the park, after 32 hours of nail biting, leg pounding, gut wrenching action packed racing Team LBF had declared war on their bodies, minds and Canada’s #2 Pro Team Salmon River Sports only to come up 50 minutes shy of their ultimate goal; winning an entry to Primal Quest 2008.

The mass inline skate start was down a gentle grade and turned into a mass decline shred to get out in front. Apparently Canadian races, regardless of duration, all start with a hammer fest to get in the lead. So we bolted off the line with two relatively new skaters and their stone cold faces eager to get the first of three skates over without a crash. Third place into the Rafts and we were paddling down the Ottawa River to the first of half a dozen rapids. We had had a 5 minute lesson what to do in case you swim and I don’t know about my partners in crime but I was going to stay in that raft regardless of whatever unforeseen circumstances arise while paddling through 3+ foot walls of water. We moved through the rafting section with ease and arrived at the pull out first with 5 other teams. Our nimble feet and sharp Nav put up out front again on the 7 KM run to the nearest paved road where we donned our skates for round two of “Wilson vs. Gravity”.

Team SRS with their carbon clad race skates were quickly out of site as we stumbled our way to the water and TA2. 800 meters before arriving at the waters edge we started descending down a steep hill, I was oblivious to the fact that my team mates were not super comfortable on skates when the angle of the dangle increased and took off down the hill with three backpacks and a big old smile on my face. I get to the bottom and peel of the road into a parking lot to bleed off some speed and take a deep breath after a nice little rush. Meanwhile back at the ranch, Jason was squaring off his wheels while slowing Laura down and Jamie was squaring off with his arch rival, Gravity. I didn’t witness the impacts but I hear they rivaled his best diggers to date. One was a quick edge catch and smash onto the pavement leaving a little (4 inch diameter) souvenir on his right thigh. He lost that battle but was determined to fight another day, so he picked himself up and before he was able to dust himself off the fight was on again as he build up speed and was “above my comfort zone” he said. He flew by Jason and Laura waiving the white flag of defeat he veered to the right and hit the grass screaming
”legs don’t fail me now!”, three big strides later they did and legs Magee was airborne. I was sitting at the bottom of the hill thinking ‘maybe I should have stayed with them.’ when I saw everyone jogging down the hill with all their limbs attached, a good sign.

We arrived at a dock where we got in a boat and were transported across a 300 meter wide river and told to get out 60 meters from shore. We all jumped in with a scream and swam our way to the bank. It was 60 degree water and 55 degree air so getting out was a shock to say the least we dragged our dripping bodies to the TA and got ready for a 50 KM bike and our first lead of the race. Five minutes into the bike we were warm and pacing down the PBJ rail trail at a brisk 26 KMH. We passed the fist on three teams ahead of us then. The rate of closure was about 16 KMH and the team out front got a little confused with our instructions of “on your right”. A quick swerve of the group and we went by in a cloud of dust. Like people say “you are sponsored by a bike shop”.

We arrived at TA 3 in first place only to find out that a road we took was off course even though…how about we just leave it at that. After a long discussion with the race director on the radio we were giving the option of riding that section of the course over or taking a time penalty that a jury would decide on. We promptly grabbed our canoes and maintained our lead going into a long paddle. We jumped into our boats and stated up the river with our new Mitchell Leader Paddles, now these paddles are the BMW of canoe paddles, smooth fast and light. We kept our lead despite being caught and waging a battle on the river with Team SRS for almost 90 minutes. We would draft, they would shake us, they would draft, and we would shake them. We finally solidified our lead on the last of three portages through the woods when they took off up the wrong trail as we found the put in and started hammering away as the dawn approached. But after a CP was plotted in the wrong spot we were caught once again and passed just before coming into TA 4.

There wasn’t a huge concern at the Team LBF camp as the next 50 KM were on two wheels and mostly fast roads. We were pretty the next battle would hurt like hell but we would at the very least tire them out while riding and at best drop them like a sprinter on Alp De Huez. As we were packing the RD came up to us and assessed our penalty for the previous bike leg. “2 hours! Are you insane? That’s a little harsh don’t you think?” Our hopes of going to Primal Quest were slipping away with every minute of the conversation. Upon hearing that a race official was at the intersection we were supposed to turn on and said nothing to us they agreed to cut the penalty down to 1.5 hours. Better than 2 hours was the way I looked at it. The kicker of it was we had to serve it right then and there. We were stuck in TA for 90minute from the time we checked in, which actually was really nice, we were at the Race HQ were our cars were along with a camp stove, sleeping bags, showers and bathrooms. So it was a mandatory rest for us and the 3 place team was still an hour away. We watched Team SRS leave the TA as mashed potatoes were being cooked and showers were being taken. A quick nap, splinting of Jamie’s then thought to be broken wrist and drying of some clothes filled the remainder of our penalty and we were in the starting blocks at 8:04 am rested and ready to take off.

We cut their 90 minute lead to 40 coming into the next TA where we jumped in our canoes and hammered down the river. It was about 11 am when the sleep monsters started catching us and the four portages and Laura barking orders to eat and dumb water on us were the only things keeping us awake. It was five hours later that we pulled turned the corner and saw the zip line across the river and our carrots sliding across it. We were now only 20 minutes behind but really tired after pushing so hard for so long.

We got to the dock were we would ascend the cliff to the TA and were about to step out of the canoes when a race official said “Not here. Park your canoes over there and swim with all your gear to the dock” Jamie’s response was the typical “HUH?” while I was thinking ‘what the heck is up with these guys and making us swim?’ Laura the grittiest of us all was half way to the dock at this point was telling us to hurry up and get in the water. The ascent was about 100 feet and as Jamie’s wrist was really messed up I offered to take his pack along with my soaking wet carcass, pack and dry bag. I was now hauling 60 lbs of extra gear hanging below me and really feeling it. It was five minute after getting to the top that I realized, in my delirium; I had detached the map from the canoe then reattached the map to the canoe instead of my pack. So I scrambled down the wall, got it and scrambled back up just in time to nearly puke up the Ensure I had drank and plot the orienteering section of the course.

We were at the zip line shivering for ten minutes waiting as each of us took turns flying across the river and skipping across the water like stones before dragging our selves the rest of the way across. This was by far the hardest sections of the race. Pulling yourself the last ten feet up to the embankment caused the most severe pain and fatigue in your forearms that I have ever felt. So hard it was Laura had come to Jason’s rescue when he reached what I would classify as “total muscle failure” 5 feet from shore.

We shivered on our clothes and headed up the 80 meter rock scramble and through the woods to find a series of roads that would take us to our 4 Orienteering CP’s. A slight error in Navigation put us at the wrong end of our trek and caused us to double back once before returning to the river and the rappel. We past Team SRS on their way out after they got the last CP and really gave them a scare. Unknown to them we were getting the CP’s in the opposite order and after seeing us they took off at full race pace.

We got to the rappel 70 meters above the river and in the thickest cloud of mosquito’s I have ever been seen in my life. It was so bad that Jamie threatened to jump off the cliff before he got hooked up to the rope. Luckily the RD was again being tricky and had us rappelling straight into the water and swimming across the river and to our boats. There were a number of teams coming in to the ropes in their canoes looking at us with astonishment and saying things like “what” “huh” “why” “are you”. It was getting to be dusk at this point, the temps were dropping and the realization of a midnight swim was a little much for some of the teams.

We shivered clothes from my dry bag back on and took off down the river with no chance of catching SRS as they were far better skaters and an hour ahead of us again. We paddled hard and pushed our way to the final stage and one more inline skate to the finish back and Race HQ 7 KM away. We took our time and made it there in one piece at 10 past midnight to finish 2^nd in 32 hours and 40 minutes. We were all pretty spent after a long hard race that more resembled a battle. Team SRS was at the finish with cocoa, a few extra slices of pizza and a firm handshake for a team that gave them a good run for their money.

We changed and hit an all night pizza place to refuel and clean them out of the best recovery drink of earth (chocolate milk) before crawling under a table in a hanger and passing out till morning. All I could think of while falling into bed was there are some poor souls bobbing across that freaking river right now, man oh man am I happy to be warm and dry.

Quest for a Cure Live GPS Tracking!

2007-06-20T19:40:00.000-04:00

Hello to all,

Just to let you know come Friday at 4pm while Jamie, Laura, Jason and I make our way throught the Canadian wilderness you can sit at your desk or couch and watch us wander around and hopefully go the right way in the 2007 Landrover Quest For a Cure. Just go to www.questforacure.ca, click on the GPS Tracking link and keep an eye on Team Littleton Bike.

Enjoy the show!

And to all who donated to the Ottawa Cancer Research Fund thank you for your support!

Dave

NEARS VT 12 hour AR: "HUH?"

2007-06-12T23:03:00.000-04:00

June 9th 2007 Team LBF packed up the rig and headed to West Dover for a nice short race. We arrived at the Lodge at Mt Snow around 9pm just after they packed up registration. So with a little begging and pleading we got signed up and ready to go. Jamie arrived with our support crew, the incredibly patient Carol Myers and son Craig, around 11:30pm just as Mel and I were packing up the last of the gear for our 6 am start. That night I met up with a few friends from the AR community and got a low down on what normally takes place with this race director. We were awakened at 4am by 15 alarms that were set in case we slept in. Starting the day with 3 cups of coffee, two pancakes and one big pile of eggs was the best way to welcome the sun and a day of slogging up hills. We received our maps and UTMs 15 minutes prior to start and after plotting our paddle CPs. We trotted down to the launch and picked out a boat. We, being not so fast paddlers pulled the boat up on shore in 6th or 7th place. After looking around we realized that the support cars would not be at this TA like we thought. Not a huge deal other than the fact that, because of the rain our gear was in a dry bag and we had no backpacks! So after a moment of slight discontent we packed the dry bag with only the mandatory gear we needed, plotted the CPs on the nine mile trek, grabbed a water bladder and set out of the TA as the 12th or 13th team carrying everything in our arms. Now if you haven't tried running with a 6 lbs dry bag and/or a 70 oz water bladder in your hand take Jamie's word for it, "Wilson, this is not too much fun". However, we blew through the trek like the big bad wolf and the first little pigs straw house. It was beautiful, I'm talking rhapsodic! We hit ever nav point dead on and made huge gains with a few cunning bush whacks. The only issue we had was Jamie at full speed rolled his ankle and nearly ate dirt in a ditch. That was followed with a labored and Jamie specific high pitched voice "oh Mr. navigator...I think I broke my ankle" If you haven't heard this voice ask him to demonstrate it is one on the most hilarious things on the planet. So, in true team spirit Jamie bit his lip and pushed through the run without even a whimper. We got into TA 2 back in 6th place only to watch the teams in the distance stay in the distance. 4 miles later with a few sore arms and hungry belly's we pulled up on shore and carried the boat over head to the TA where all our gear was laid out ready for the ransacking. When adventure racers come into a TA they support crew has everything out and opened up so we can just grab whatever we want, it often is a little crazy and things get tossed a bit but after a nine mile trek with little to no food and two paddles that were an all out effort to stay with our competition TEAM LBF resembled Tasmanian devils, we rummaged through gear and food bins eating and drinking everything in sight dug out new sock, backpacks and towels for wet feet. We had received our new maps and 15 minutes later the course was plotted. As we checked out the volunteers at the TA said the next team was only 3 minutes ahead of us and with "Mt Goat" Mel Brown, Dave "Nummer" Stiles and Jamie "The Mule" Myers rearing to go on our Cannondale and Specialized hard tails we were fairly confident in our response to them being "Not for long!" We headed out on our favorite discipline at a blistering pace hammering up the Vermont dirt hills. There was only 23 miles to bike a a huge deficient to make up so we planned on ridding as hard as we could for the fun on if and to see how many teams we could catch. The course was mostly paved and birt road with a few double track trail sections. The thing I remember the most was the climbs there are these three distinct 3-5km climbs that were just brutal especially because I have the worst power to weight ratio of the three and chasing Mel and Jamie up hill is like being a dog on linoleum, lots of action but no movement, they are always just out of reach I just can't get a claw in the rug and catch them. One thing is fur sure we hauled through the bike in record time. so we picked up a couple spots and finished in 4th place. Sat down in the finish area and took off our packs. Jamie and Mel started Hoovering Oreo cookies and oranges while I was writing down the TA questions on our passport. For those of you who don't know when an adventure race happens in a rural area checkpoints that are or roads or somewhere in the open people have a tendency to steal the pretty flags we use for Check Points so the race directors in this race wrote numbers on the back of street signs and asked us to answers a few question at the CP instead of punching the passport. So back to the finish...I'm transferring the answers over when I get to CP 18 and I realize...there is no CP 18 on my answer sheet but...OH NO! The next conversation went something like this: Dave "hey guys. can you hand me my map?" Jamie "why?" Mel (blank stare) Dave "we're going back out to get CP 18" Jame "HUH?" Mel (blank stare) Dave "we're leaving now!" Jamie "HUH?" Mel (blank stare) Dave "lets go its only 3 Miles. Come on guys" that 6 miles was a blur. We time trialed out and back at 90% thinking another team was right behind us and going to zip across the finish while we were playing dumbo the adventure racers. We got back to the finish without seeing anyone on course but the road biker were passed. So I apologised to the gang a couple times and we all decided that "Check Point 18" was now a new verb and could be used so if necessary. ie "are we going to CP 18 this one?"

Over all the race was a lot of fun, we raced hard and did very well. Mel had a great first AR and we are looking forward to competing again with these race organisers at the NEARS final at Gunstock in September.

Thanks again to our sponsors for helping us compete at the level we do.

Team LBF

New Addition to Team LBF

2007-06-12T12:27:00.000-04:00

June 5th 2007 Melanie Brown, one of the regions fastest Mt. Bikers, has been added to the Team LBF roster. Mel is well know in the Littleton area as a super biker who in last season, her first at Mt. Bike Racing, won the womens solo division of 24 hours of Great Glen and shattered the female record at the Top Notch Triathlon. Mel is an astounding athlete and a welcome addition to Team Littlton Bike and Fitness.

Roller Blades, Potholes, Cabs and Cramps

2007-06-06T01:16:00.000-04:00

So I did my first Inline Stake workouts today. In the Quest for a Cure we will be on skates for some undisclosed amout on time and with a previous coaches ingrained rule "train like a pro race like a pro" I decided to grab some blades and hit the pavement for a little 14 mile glide. Well at the moment I'm living in NYC and skating to class is a great 7 mile run and bike so, why not skate it also? 10 minutes into it my legs, back and ankles were so cramped I could barley move and my freshly shaved legs were being rubbed raw from the low sock high boot combination. I made if over the 59th st bridge and into Manhattan where the cabs own the road. I only grabbed ahold once and it was to make a soon to be red light where a pothole the size of a small car nearly ate me for breakfast. I nearly hit 4 people that pulled the typical NYC walk into the street 10 feet to hail a cab and had a few close calls with quick moves by busses and cabs that happend to have me in a "New York Blind Spot" which is the area around a car, behind the front bumper that drivers don't care what's in it before making some amazingly stupid swerve, weeve or sudden stop. By the time I got to class I was pretty pumped on a adrenalin rush and very sweaty for an intense workout. My form got better on the ride home and I started really going to town and riding like I was racing. However, after getting to work this evening I found out that I was really tired. My Calfs were smoked and knees felt like they had been hit with a ballpeen hammer repeatedly for 3 hours. But I'm feeling stronger on the skates and after tomorrows recovery bike ride to class, work and around the park, Thursday will be filled with skating in Central Park.

-Crack on
Yacky

Florida Coast to Coast

2007-06-03T22:02:00.000-04:00

Sun, Sand, and Swamps
Team Littleton Bike Shop
2007 Florida Coast to Coast Adventure Race

On May 24th a truck set out of Littleton NH bound for Jacksonville Florida and the starting line of a 280 mile adventure race that would end four days later in a small town south of Tallahassee. The truck was loaded to the brim with bikes, packs, food, tents, a kayak, two support crew members and a couple athletes that were rearing to go. The week prior to their departure was full of packing of, organizing and re-organizing gear, eating loads of pasta and strangely enough winning the first event of their season, the Kancamagus Team Time Trial. After twenty four hours of driving south Team Littleton Bike Shop arrived at race HQ, checked in and began race preparation. At an adventure race teams of two to four racers receive instructions and correlating maps of an area. The athletes are given UTM coordinates and have to plot on the map their Check Points or “CPs” and Transition Areas or “TAs”, they are told what discipline will be use on each leg and given a start time. That night I was handed the smaller of two map packages containing nine 9x17 inch topo maps and six pages of instructions. With the help of one support crew, two pizzas and three hours, I had the first half of the course all planned out. The final packing was done and my teammate Jamie was fast asleep. I got to bed just before midnight to catch a quick four and a half hours of sleep before heading out on the first big race for this newly founded team.
“Thirty seconds everyone” the race director shouts. I look at Jamie and give him the “Let play ball” look and the whistle blows, 200 spandex clad warriors take of out of the parking lot and head down the road. We start off on foot for an easy 25km (roughly a half marathon) before jumping on our new Specialized bikes. We quickly build a lead after CP 3 and hold it through TA 1, TA 2 and half the paddle when we scared a couple Manatees in shallow water who, in trying to get away from our Kayak, nearly gave Jamie a heart attack and filled our boat with 100 gallons of water. TA 4 we had been passed by two teams who had the unfortunate luck of being the “carrot” for two fast bikers that had 50 miles to reel in a measly 30 min lead. A bit to eat and a clean pair of shorts after our sea cow encounter was it before heading out to tear the legs off a few well trained paddlers that had gotten the best of us.
Back in the lead we are now working with Team Tools from Canada to find some well hidden CPs in the middle of nowhere. Because four riders are faster than two we made a packed to stay with each other till CP 6 and we would go our separate ways but at TA 5 (CP 11) we rolled in again in first place and all still together. Having lost ground after a mis-marked road through us off course we decided to prolong our parting and take a few short long cuts on the road to regain our lead. Most of the mountain biking was to be done on dirt roads but here in Fl there is no dirt, it is all sand, 4 inch deep bloody sand that makes training ride up the Mt. Washington auto road seem like an easy spin.
Twenty hours into a race is not a time to dilly dally and do something silly like sleep but after the days of traveling and hours in the hot sun and sand we all fell asleep for a little over an hour. I was in the bed of the truck eating mashed potatoes and sifting through 23 new maps and 6 more pages of instructions when the sleep monsters caught me and pulled me into a deep state of unconsciousness. Meg, our lead support crew, attempted to wake me a few times verbally before resorting to violate shaking and yelling. It was light now and we needed to get a move on. After plotting the next four sections we headed out on a swamp trek with our new found friends right beside us. Jason and Laura worked well with us and going into a bushwhacking section two eyes are better than one and eight are better than four so we stuck together. Also, we were four of the fastest athletes there and knew we could benefit from racing together.
The swamp section was good until we spent 7 hours in the thick bush looking for SP3 (Swamp Point). After a few hours we were on the phone with the race director and asking for more water on the course and going in for our last attempt. At this point most teams were skipping SP3 and heading to TA 6 without it. We, however, were dead set on getting this point which if obtained would automatically make us overall winners because the other teams passed it. But at 8:45 pm we cashed in our chips and left the bush like broken gamblers that just lost their fortune at the craps tables. We were still the leading Duo teams and high up in the standings but the lead team was far off in front and we had little to no chance of getting the overall victory that we were hoping for.
The next few sections were completed with another addition to our group, Team XS, and the six of us began to be known as a combination of our official team names “Wilson’s XS Tools”. From that point on we extended our lead on all the other duo teams and caught a bunch of other racers that had moved passed us while trying to find Swamp Thing 3 the day before. We ran, biked and paddled another 110 miles before pulling into the finish at Sea Hags marina on the gulf coast all three boats tied together. Over the past 48 hours non of us had slept and we all came really close as people do in Adventure Racing, we crossed the line together with mixed emotions of how we managed the race and how the race was managed but the one thing we all knew is we were all fast tough racers that united in the true spirit of Adventure Racing.
We ended in a three way tie for first and took home first in our division with a time bonus from early in the race and left the race site with new friends to race with next month and few prizes and a %50 off entry for next years race. Be sure the watch the leader board at next years C2C because Team Littleton Bike Shop will be there and gunning for an overall victory.
Many thanks are extended to our title sponsor Littleton Bike Shop for our clothing and equipment and our support crew Meg Skidmore and the young James Myers, you kept us moving fast, clean and well fed.

First Race for Team Littleton Bike Shop!

2007-05-20T21:25:00.000-04:00

This just in! Team Wilson consisting of Jamie Myers and Dave Stiles has received new title sponsorship for the summer of 2007.

May 19th Team Littleton Bike Shop made their debut at the annual Kancamagus Hill Climb. Team LBS took part in a new catagory this year, the team time trial. A cold soggy morning of fog and drizzle over shadowed the 21 mile hill climb from Conway, NH to the top of the Kancamangus notch. The team made quick work of the course and the competition by finishing the race in first place in 1 hour and 10 minutes, two minutes ahead of the next closest team. An all out effort that paid off in the first win of the season.

Stay tuned for more updates from Team Littleton Bike Shop.

-Yacky