November 2007 - Posts - The G-Rant : Grant's Rants on Adventure Racing

Etzel Ain't Easy

The number of sunny days Zurich enjoys in November are few and far between; I think we've just had 4 or 5 days without clouds, fog, and general grayness. That's why earlier this week, when I woke to see the sun shining, I knew it was "the day" for me; in looking over my topo maps of Switzerland, the climb up the Etzel Pass (or Etzel Kulm for you German speakers) looked to be a great bike ride and -- a huge bonus -- I could do it from our apartment without having to take a train or bus anywhere.

Just an aside: I love being able to train right out my back door. Time spent sitting in a car or traveling to get to your training spot is lost training time, in my estimation; when living in VA, I hated the long drives to the "real" hills close to Charlottesville. There were a few times where my time spent in the car eclipsed my time spent training! My experience in Zurich hasn't been like that, since we live minutes from some great hiking trails and the lake is about a 10 minute portage from our home.

Returning to my original thought . . . Etzel Pass wasn't just minutes from our apartment, but it was within about a 90 minute bike ride and so with the sun shining and the crisp November air to keep me cool, I hopped on the bike and started the ride. This is the view I had before me as I biked around the mostly flat terrain around Lake Zurich:

Slowly but surely, the town of Rapperswil came into view; this would signal the start of the climbing for my ride:

Finally I could clearly see the castle Rapperswil is famous for, and knew that my warm-up was just about over.

Just spectacular scenery. I wish I could share some photos of my climb up Etzel Pass and to St Meinrad chapel and the guest house at the top, but all my energies were on keeping my bike moving the 2,000 feet of elevation change from the base to the top. The climb was paved, but steep . . . sort of like Sherando (for you Virginia riders!) without the nasty boulders. It probably took me 45 minutes or maybe even an hour. I did stop for a few pictures while on the top, however:

First the chapel:

Then some of the view from on top, this one to the South into the heart of the Alps:

This one is back North, from where I had come:

And, just as a cherry on top, the view as I returned home through Rapperswil -- such a picturesque place!

I've heard rumours of singletrack from Etzel all the way down, but I didn't have time this week to explore that . . . it leaves something on the table for me later this year!

Posted Nov 29 2007, 07:49 AM by gkillian with 3 comment(s)

Pre-Thanksgiving Cheer

Let me share some pre-Thanksgiving cheer . . . starting with a picture from yesterday's memorable snow trek up Pilatus (this region is the heart of the Untamed Revolution in April of 2008 -- so you have a chance to build your own memories on Pilatus if you come over for it!)

The view is generally East over Lake Lucerne, and you can't see it in the photo but I'm standing in about 2 feet of snow. The trail I took, considered "challenging" according to summer hiking guides, had no foot prints on it at all and it was 3-4 hours of post-holing and crisp mountain air. Really fun, but also really slow going and I didn't even get close to making the summit of Pilatus due to my late start and the tough snowy conditions; maybe next time . . . or maybe not until Spring!

In other developments, I finally posted specifics about the bike pack carrier I'm planning on using in Patagonia.

We've also got a new Untamed shirt in just in time for Christmas. Fleece hats are not far behind, and even some race jerseys too, so if you're not saving your $ for Untamed New England or Switzerland you should have at it!

Posted Nov 21 2007, 10:51 AM by gkillian with 2 comment(s)

Snow Day

I woke up yesterday morning to see some fluffy white flakes tumbling from the clouds: it was my first true snow day in Zurich!

Now, with most of my snow-specific gear either a) old and discarded, or b) stored at my family's home in Colorado, or c) locked in a storage locker in Virginia, or d) stored at Jill's parents house in New England, I didn't have many options.

Go ski? No skis over here yet.

Go snowshoe? No snowshoes over here yet.

We stripped down our gear to a minimum when we made the move across the Atlantic, and all I really have is a kayak I could paddle or a bike I could ride . . . or I could head out on my feet, but my legs were still a bit sore from the track work out earlier in the week. I opted to bike instead of paddle, mostly because of visibility concerns on the water and the frequent ferry schedule on the Zurichsee; plus, that water is darn cold this time of year! So, I headed out on my trusty Gary Fisher and took a ride around the lake on my bike.

It's about a 70 km road ride and I snapped a few pictures along the route, hoping for a unique picture to catch my eye. Nothing particularly unique, but here is a sampling. This is the Uetliberg, Zurich's own mini Alp, shrouded in fog.

This is the view across the lake from the West side of the water -- known as the "shadowy side" of the Zurichsee.

True enough, this is a photo of the "sunny side." Somewhere in there is our apartment.

It was about a 3 hour ride, but because I stuck to the lake edge I hardly had any traffic to contend with. It was just me, the snow falling but not really accumulating, and the 4-5 foot bike lane for most of the way. I also got to try out the new pack carrier I've rigged up (it carries by backpack on the back of the bike), and it worked like a charm! 70 km through wind and snow, and the pack didn't wobble or get into my rear wheel or anything. I'll post some details on that later, once I've taken a few photos, and then probably stick it over on the
Untamed Adventure blog I've been neglecting.

Posted Nov 16 2007, 04:35 AM by gkillian with 1 comment(s)

Orienteering resources for your "off" season

Florida's Ron Eaglin has posted a map from the USARA Nationals race a few weeks ago, the map is available via this link. I love going over orienteering maps and visualizing routes; Ron's is great because you can see his notes in the margin and the hand-drawn details really makes you want to get out and try the course yourself!

For some more "real maps" with a course and everything else on it, the web helps us out (along with the World of Orienteering website). For example, one of the top US orienteers, Sandra Zurcher, (both parents are Swiss, but she's American even though she lives in Switzerland officially now -- it's a bit complicated I guess) updates a weblog just with her O-maps at www.samamaps.blogspot.com. Found it through World of O a few months back; check them out.

One last thing about orienteering, and it might help you snag a few of your hard-core running buddies into doing some orienteering events. This links to a story on orienteering as interval training and a method to crosstrain and improve your running speed. Of course, for adventure racers, orienteering is great map and compass work too, but I had never considered it for more pure runners but it makes sense. Forward the story to your running friends and see if this captures their interest:

"Sprint orienteering is a terrific way to work on agility, plyometrics, hills, and speed in a tight compact package without having to worry about repeats.”

Orienteering is like a pyramid scheme, you know, bring as many others into the fold and you'll be better for it down the road! Find o-events near you at www.us.orienteering.org, including links to the two mid-Atlantic groups I can highly recommend to anyone:

• James River OC (JROC) - 1409 Shortleaf Lane, Chesapeake VA 23320 (sc_callahan at hotmail.com)
• Quantico OC (QOC) - 8910 Yellow Daisy Place, Lorton VA 22079. 24-hr hotline: 301-765-0841 (sidneysachs at juno.com)

Posted Nov 13 2007, 02:27 PM by gkillian with 1 comment(s)

Calling out the counter-culture

In catching up on my emails from last week, Sara from Hampton Roads sent me this link about a real-world PacMan game they've got going up in NYC, PacManhattan: http://www.pacmanhattan.com/about.php

Now, I can think of a variety of other places that might lend itself to something like this, and some GPS tracking technology that might make this even more entertaining. For some reason, I really think Colonial Williamsburg (CW) would be outstanding for these kind of shenanigans. I always like to toss in a bit of "Historic-Orienteering" when a race course included this part of Virginia:

While CW may not be as symmetrical as the Manhattan streets, CW does have an appeal all its own. The typical CW tourist might get a chuckle from this, and the CW powers-that-be would certainly frown on it which makes it even more appealing -- you see, Colonial Williamsburg has a bit of a draconian reputation when it comes to the local community! I loved the Tidewater Traverse 2006 where some muddy teams opted to run with their PFDs and paddles through parts of CW . . . that's an enduring memory for me.

Morgan and I used to always joke about holding our own Idiotarod, where teams of 5 people race shopping carts around town -- but each person has to be connected to the cart like sled dogs for the real Iditarod. Anything goes in an Idiotarod, like sabotaging your opponents and modifying your carts; I recall hearing one story of a team that worked with their friends to set up fake checkpoints and completely send other teams in the wrong directions.

Anyway, there must be some Hampton Roads counter-culture out there willing to take up the "Pac CW" or "CW Idiotarod" cause. Switzerland makes it out of my league, and truthfully I have enough planning/organizing in my life right now. I'd best stick to "classic" adventure racing. But I'd love to donate a prize or two for something like this just as long as nobody mentions my name when the CW Gestapo tries to clamp down on things!

Maybe Pac-Richmond would work better . . . see how symmetrical the street grid is on this Richmond map? What do you say, Richmond ASR?

Posted Nov 12 2007, 04:17 AM by gkillian with 3 comment(s)

Help Shape AR Novice Expectations

It's become apparent that our Untamed New England Adventure Race website needed some content just describing how the race will work -- this is after several phone inquiries, emails, and even some posts on the message board from those totally new to the sport looking for answers to general questions. This is great, and probably means our marketing $ with Metrosports Boston is paying off in terms of capturing interest from beyond the established adventure racing scene. And let's face it, adventure racing is a very very small community and reaching out to bring in new participants is critical to the future of the sport.

With that being said, I posted a "What To Expect" area to the Untamed New England website. I think it addresses many of the questions we've received, but still leaves room for further explanation. Here's where you can help. I think it'd be valuable to include some commentary on this section from experienced participants in our events, so if you feel like sharing send your commentary (outlined like the original "What To Expect" page) and any pictures to the email address on our Contact Us page and if we use it, we can cite you and your team or however you'd like. I envision having a link next to each of our outline points with a "Commentary from a past participant" and then we'd display your comments and/or photos.

You can help do your part introducing the sport to the many new faces that are coming in the front door of the Untamed New England site! As a thank you, I could send you a soon to be available Untamed Adventure fleece hat or one of our hot new "Lactic Acid T-Shirts" pictured below . . .
The Untamed Adventure Lactic Acid T-Shirt

The Untamed Adventure Lactic Acid T-Shirt

Posted Nov 11 2007, 10:31 AM by gkillian with no comments

Elect An Adventure Racer (and congrats to Virginia's Dave Burden)

Everyone's favorite kayak shop operator, Dave Burden of SouthEast Expeditions, was elected to public office on Virginia's Eastern Shore earlier this week. The Shore Talk online voice of the Eastern Shore had this to say on Dave's election:

After watching Dave “Jailhouse” Burden endure an ugly, mean-spirited campaign, opponents and supporters alike fully expect him to kick back and light a big spleef. (Remember, Dave, there’s a statewide burn ban) . . . Prediction: With his background in marine science, Burden will ride into Eastville under the banner of watershed protection and will spearhead the county’s input to DEQ’s proposed Aquaculture Enhancement Zones

You can read the full piece on Shore Talk here.

Congrats to Dave (I just got off the phone with him and he sounds really psyched); among other things, it bodes well for the future of adventure on Virginia's Eastern Shore. Dave has been around adventure racing for many years; he got started by crewing for a team at the Southern Traverse in New Zealand and it got into his blood. More recently, he was instrumental in our building the Storm the Eastern Shore race with HRAdventure (they had the successful third running of it earlier this Fall) and has always been supportive of the sport.

I've seen elected officials running 10Ks, marathons, or century bike rides so why not adventure races? I think a little teamwork and perseverance could only help those in political office. Besides, my work for the decriminalization of adventure racing (and, generally, the ability for us to use public green spaces) continues very slowly as I work with only a few jurisdictions at a time with Untamed Adventure as we plan and permit each course. I think Dave's solution, infiltrating the power and decision structure, is much more efficient. Way to go buddy!

Posted Nov 08 2007, 02:22 PM by gkillian with no comments

Unplugged

My parents have been visiting so I left the laptop at home for the week while we showed them some sights. I have a ton to catch up on (email, work, etc and if I owe you a phone call or email bare with me for the next couple days) but I feel like sharing just some of the pictures since there are some great ones. I also posted a Quicktime Movie of the view from Gornergrat glacier (10+ MB); it gives a sense for the panorama from up on top of the Alps.

It's easy to get up in the morning to run when this is the view down the trail:

While climbing the Matterhorn wasn't on our list, we did ride the 3 enormous gondolas to the Kleine Matterhorn summit where the skiers get their turns in every day of the year: