Richmond ASR Blog

Richmond ASR Invades Surry to get Soggy

Mon, 01 Mar 2010 12:41:00 GMT

Five teams - solos and duo - competed at the Soggy Bottom score O Rogaine meet.

Stacy Rogers
Phil Dawson
Marianne Swann & Alexa Rooney
Daniel Rodgriguez & Rob Dinterman
Kara Chaconas & Ruth

The options for the events were a three hour, six hour and twelve hour. Conditions were pretty good, the morning start saw an overcast sky with temps in the mid to upper thirties. Eventually, the sun came out and it warmed up to the mid forties which kept it cool enough to be perfect for tromping through the woods and pedalling from control to control.

Photos to come!

ANNOUNCING PRINCETON TECH AS THE NEWEST SPONSOR FOR RICHMOND ASR

Thu, 26 Nov 2009 18:26:00 GMT

Princeton Tech is well known for their quality light systems is now an official sponsor for Richmond ASR. In exchange for promoting their lighting systems, Princeton Tech will give race team members 50% on all lighting systems. Purchases will be made three times per year: November, February and June. As such – I’ll be putting together an order using our forums section so, if you’d like to make a purchase, be sure you have your log on information straight.
I’d like to thank Billy Moffett for doing all the foot work to get bring PT on board – good job, Billy!

I am very excited about this new partnership as Princeton Tec and ASR show great promise in working together to bring innovation and "gear savvy" to the world of Adventure Sports/Adventure Racing!

Please visit their website at http://princetontec.com/ and peruse their many quality lights for outdoor use.

ASR Trail Workers Make a difference

Mon, 09 Nov 2009 23:43:00 GMT

I just wanted to thank all ASR members who showed up this past Saturday, November 11. There were many other trail workers as well and good work was done.
Richmond ASR Trail Liaison, Marianne Swann, will be posting the details but I will post the names of those dedicated members who showed up to help improve THEIR OWN TRAILS!

Thanks go out to:
Billy Moffett
Alexa Rooney
Marianne Swann
Paul Leeger
Woody Elliott
Bill Swann

We still have 4 more "team days" remaining but remember, team members (and any other trail riders/runners) can come out any Saturday that trail work is planned and help out.
See you on the trails!
Swannee

Marianne & Bill's Excellent Kayak Adventure

Wed, 23 Sep 2009 01:31:00 GMT

Marianne and I just finished a great kayak trip in Maine leaving from Seal Cove on the west side of Mount Desert (pronounced "dessert") Island. Bar Harbor is located on the east side of the island which is where we based our vacation. The kayak trip led by Mark Rice-Schoon , owner of "Carpe Diem Kayaking", http://www.carpediemkayaking.com/about.htm went for 3 days/2 nights. We arrived at Mark’s place first thing Wednesday morning…a little earlier than he requested but we had a chance to look over his coral of kayaks. As I was looking, I noticed there were no rudders on these classy, fiberglass boats; I began desperately searching for a boat with a rudder. Boats without rudders are for paddlers who are skilled in paddling and using edges and strokes to control the boat – all of which both Marianne and I are pretty much hacks! But, alas – not a ruddered boat was to be found!

We paddled about 5.5 miles the first day out to Tinker Island where we set up our base camp. We ran into a bit of wind and chop that gave us good opportunity to try some new skills that Mark had been teaching us. That night, we had baked cod and veggies as the main course with smoked salmon, crackers and cheese for appetizers (of course, I had to include some good Laguvulin single malt Scotch – which topped off the night). Since it was pretty cloudy, the stars weren’t visible so we turned in to our tents and sleeping bags. It was a bit chilly – probably 43 to 45 degrees.

The next day we woke up to a calm and cold but cloudy morning. Scrambled eggs and pancakes with hot coffee made breakfast as supplied and cooked by Mark! As we left, the water was pancake flat and we made pretty good time. We ran into a little wind and chop but not bad – great conditions for more skills practicing.

We stopped for lunch on Pond Island – coffee, sandwiches and snacks. We then continued on to the north side of Swan’s Island. There we found a large group of Harbor Seals who quickly found us very intriguing. It took them a while but they eventually began to come closer to the boats for a closer look. After a while, they started swimming around, diving, resurfacing and generally playing around with us. That was the coolest part of the whole trip! We then started the long paddle back to Tinker Island where we ran into some pretty good wind and chop. This was the most challenging section yet. It was at this point that I quickly learned how to use the skeg…and this made a big difference (not as good as a rudder – but better than nothing).

We made it back to camp just before sunset – and it was spectacular…but I almost missed it because once I got out of the kayak – the cold breeze hit me and not having a dry suit, I chilled quickly. So quickly we were a bit concerned about hypothermia. So I got out of my wet clothes and into the sleeping bag for about 10 minutes and I was fine. Got into some dry, warm clothes and built a campfire and all was good. Crackers & cheese, spaghetti with marinara and some good scotch topped it off. AND – tonight was clear as a bell with millions of stars, shooting stars and the occasional orbiting satellite.

After some campfire stories from Mark about his 1200 mile paddle around Sweden and Norway, we turned in for a chilly nights sleep inside our tents and sleeping bags.

(Read about Mark's adventures at his blog at http://carpediemkayaking.wordpress.com/ )

We woke to a cold morning and the weather report called for winds of 15 to 20 knots and gusts up to 25 knots. We had to get up early, eat a quick breakfast and head out with the idea we could get back to Seal Cove before the big winds hit. We made it most of the way back but ran into the worst wind we’d had the whole time. Mare and I were struggling but Mark was cruisin’ with his usual three fingered style making it look "oh-so-easy". I tried my best to emulate his style but it was kind of like playing basketball with Michael Jordan and trying emulate what he did.

Ironically, both Mare and I were figuring that once we got into the cove, the water would be calm due to the protected nature of the cove. Unfortunately, the wind was blowing directly into the cove creating 3 to 4 foot swells and cross currents; the conditions were the worst we had seen. Still – exciting but by this time both Mare and I were pretty tired with arms and shoulders almost completely fatigued. Damn – it felt good to get to the take out and stop paddling and DAMN – that beer tasted good!

Thanks to Mark of Carpe Diem Kayaking; if you’re planning a trip to Maine – you really should consider an adventure led by someone who knows the area, waters, tide and winds!

Congratulations to 2 ASR Teams at Untamed New England

Mon, 13 Jul 2009 11:37:00 GMT

Congratulations to the two ASR teams of Eric Cone, Phil Dawson, Suzanna Greever (Raceit.com/Odyssey/ASR) and Rob Dinterman, Sally McMahon, Melissa Rice, Daniel Rodreguez-Agudo (East Coast Bikes/Richmond ASR). The weather seemed to cooperate but the course was very tough...just what you would expect from Grant Killian of Untamed Adventures. To see the final results, just go to http://www.untamedne.com/default.aspx
Good job, everyone; I'm looking forward to getting into some adventure racing this fall and hope to race with some of you!
Swannee

Richmond ASR Athletes Help Make XTERRA A Success

Mon, 11 Jan 2010 17:33:00 GMT

Marianne Swann
Tim Dunkum
Daniel Rodriguez
Ann Rodriguez
Andy Nelson (over & out)
Deb Kahrs
Amy Coleman
Dreama Davis
Bill Swann
Bill Bashton

All of the above ASR team members contributed to the success of XTERRA MIDATLANTIC CUP Race, the XTERRA Sport Race, the 10k Scramble and the XDURO race. The work was hard, rewarding and engaging. Most of the volunteers were up well before the competitors, making sure that the race experience was going to meet all expectations and proceed from start to finish as in all years leading back to 1998.
Richmond ASR members came to clean the trails as well as work the race.

THANKS TO ALL RICHMOND ASR MEMBERS WHO GAVE UP THEIR TIME TO STAND AND WORK IN THE JUNE HEAT OF RICHMOND TO MAKE SURE THAT THE XTERRA ATHLETES HAD THE BEST EXPERIENCE POSSIBLE AND TO ASSURE THAT XTERRA MID-ATLANTIC CUP RACE RETURNS TO RICHMOND IN 2010.

I would also like to add that MANY comments were heard both by myself and a number of other local trail users and workers as to the high quality of the trails in the James River Park. Many people should be thanked for coming out and working the trails to keep them in top shape and to add new trails - but the biggest thanks should go out to two of the trail workers that have the vision and detemination to make it happen - NATHAN BURRELL and JIMMY MACMILLAN. Thank to them - and you - we have some truly "WORLD-CLASS" trails here in the middle of the city of Richmond.

Here's to looking forward 2010 XTERRA Mid-Atlantic Cup Race.

SWANNEE GETTING PSYCHED FOR 2010 XTERRA Mid-Athlantic Cup

Recreational Tree Climbing?

Wed, 15 Apr 2009 02:06:00 GMT

RIVERSIDE OUTFITTERS and Richmond ASR joined up to introduce the adventure world (at least in the east) to the sport of recreational tree climbing. A number of experienced climbers took their turn at clipping in ascending the rope, walking a limb to reach the control (a small horn to honk) then rapel back down to the relative safety of the ground.
All participants agreed that with the physical demands and the "fear-factor", a fixed ropes course on trees such as the "recreational tree climbing" rigs that RO set up, definitely has a place in adventure racing. The participants from northern Virginia agreed that a clinic in that area would be well recieved and so, we will be looking at developing and planning a NOVA adventure in the trees.

Thanks to all who participated and especially to Matt Perry from Riverside Outfitters for sharing his passion of climbing trees with us AR types.

Camp Hilbert Race Report

Wed, 15 Apr 2009 02:10:00 GMT

This weekend I had the pleasure of racing the first of the three Camp Hilbert races. The fields were packed full of talent and I was ready to race... or so I thought. I decided to race enduro since the list included the usual top riders. Also, I was trying to guage my fitness from the 5 hours + 1 lap for future 12, 13 and 24 hour races to come this season. The race started off well, I had a plan to follow, I swear! I tried to draft off Jason Mahokey, a rider that closely identifies with my riding style. We started in the back of the race and began to pick off riders right and left. We came to a group of 3 riders and Jason got the pass, but I couldn't squeeze around in time! We quickly lost sight of the main pack and that's when things started going wrong. On lap 3 I was on the verge of bonking, big time! By lap 4, I took a break and ate my PBJ/Perpetium lunch. Lap 5 was worse, but I need to give some thanks to my fellow teamate Paul Leeger for getting me through the lap. Thanks man! You have no idea what it meant! I rode through the bonk and came out stronger with a lower heart rate. I finished the day with 7 laps. Again, I was upset with my performance, but I know that much tougher races are just around the corner! So that was my Saturday. On Sunday, I felt strong and put in another 60 miles of single track and fire road at Pocahontas State Park! Things are looking up!

Next race: Leesburg Bakers Dozen - Solo

Camp Hilbert Results:

Dreama Davis 2nd place beginner women
Francine Rapp 3rd place enduro
Billy Moffett 18th place enduro