Pushing the limits of what is possible with downhill mountain biking. Just about everything is labelled as extreme these days, you could probably even go to the grocery store and get extreme cottage cheese, but I think these guys qualify as extreme downhillers. Epically steep drop at the end of the video, watch the bike continue falling off the cliff.

Something out of a science-fiction novel, Jean-Yves Blondeau,  now known as “Rollerman,”  invented the 31 wheel roller suit as his graduate project at a design school in Paris.  In something akin to a ”human rollerblade,”  the wheels are positioned along the major joints of the body allowing the  user to “roll” on thier back, side, all fours, etc.  capable of reaching speeds over 60 mph. 

You can visit his website to learn more, but you´ll be better off just searching for “rollerman” on YouTube.

Bungee – surfing or skating or snowboarding or skimboarding, etc.  Trying my best not to make fun of this. Not going to consider it a sport, but will recognize it as a good way to add a bit of adrenaline to your local swimming hole or skate park.  Just hook the bungee to a rock or tree on the creekside, stretch it, and as their advertising says, “rip it”.

By Jacqueline Windh

Defending TCC champion, Costa Rican Javier Montero ran pretty much a perfect race this year. He’d won the first four stages, and even though Italian Leonardo Soresi had won the fifth stage, Leonardo had been quite a bit slower in the early stages and posed no threat for the overall win.

American Dave James, who finished second last year without little apparent effort, took his training more seriously this year and was clearly here looking for a win. Dave also ran a pretty much perfect race – but coming into the final 23 km stage, Javier still had an approximately 50 minute lead over Dave. Scott Jurek, probably the most accomplished and awarded runner of the field, had been finishing in the top 5 each stage, but Scott was definitely focussing on his upcoming summer race season and not pushing for the win here.

Competition was much hotter in the women’s category. Costa Rican Ligia Madrigal had won most of the previous women’s stages, but American Jaclyn Greenhill had been pushing hard and was only 13 minutes behind Ligia in cumulative time.

Other than the inital 4 km river section and waterfall crossing, the whole route was very runnable. Although Javier’s overall victory was all but certain, Leonardo and Javier were both going for the stage win. Leonardo won the stage in 2:43:25, with Javier sprinting in only 20 seconds behind him, both of them a good 7 minutes ahead of Canadian woman Doone Watson who took third – an impressive effort by Doone, and first time in this race that a woman has placed in the top three overall.

Click the Sleepmonsters Race Report Logo to read the rest of the story.

By Cory Wallace

Last night there was a storm warning for Sunday so the riders had a meeting and decided they would rather do the full 160 km today rather then do two 80 km days and risk the weather which was coming. Riding out into the fog at 8am a paceline of 5 riders (Lupillo, Simon, Art, Ramon and myself) formed at the front for the first 50 km before the feedzone split the pack as Art continued on thanks to his camelback and Ramon dropped off.

Leaving the feedzone the pace was slow and pretty soon we found out Art had taken a 7 minute lead. I was getting nervous so I picked up the pace and soon a sick Simon was off the back which left Lupillo and myself. Lupillo was suffering and wasnt willing to help chase down Art so I set the pace for the next 2 hrs, finally catching Art about 20 km from the finish. 10 km from the finish I attacked, dropping Art but I couldnt loose my shadow Lupillo. For the last 9 km Lupillo and I would ride togethar along the stunning ocean side boulevard in Vera Cruz with Art just 10 seconds back and chasing hard but we made sure to ride a little bit harder as we didnt want to test his legs out in the sprint.

Coming around a corner 400 m from the finish the sprint was on. Lupillo got a slight edge, I reeled him back in and came around his right side just before the finish line as we crossed together before slamming on the breaks and skidding into the fence behind the finish line dangerously out of control. Were still not sure who took the win as the organizers are looking at the photos of the finish. If I had to guess I would have to say Lupillo may of taken it by the thickness of a tortilla. For the next 3 hrs we would relax with drinks on hand as the rest of the riders rolled across the finish line of what may be the toughest mtn bike course in the world.
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By Kathi Merchant
March 4, 11:23 AM

Fingerlake, Checkpoint 3 mile 130:

Many racers have made it into the Fingerlake Checkpoint(mile 130). 29 racers so far.

Tim and Tom from Pennsylvania are leading the foot race and arrived in Puntilla (mile 170) this morning. They are veterans of this race and have done this race several times.They both walked 1100 miles to Nome in 2001 on the southern route in just under 27 days. Tim walked to Nome in 2004 and 2008 on the northern route.

I heard through the trail gripevine that Marco Costa and Roberto Gazzoli had spent the night with Mike and Ingrid at Fin Bear Lake. They have been on the trail for several years now offering their hospitality to weary racers between Fingerlake and Puntilla.They go out to their remote cabin every year to cheer on the racer and they are just great people and big fans of this race!
Steve Evans, a racers from the UK just called me that he was scratching at Shell Lake Lodge and to let his friend Howard Cook ( from the UK as well) know that he was out of the race. He said that he has not been feeling good since he started the race. Most racers have been stopping at Shell Lake Lodge which is about half way between Skwentna and Fingerlake and Zoe has been feeding them hamburgers to get them up them trail.
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          Usually, you have to sacrifice weight and space for a synthetic bag, but the Sierra Designs Lazer +30 Deg bag packs down remarkably small and is uncommonly lightweight. This makes for a great combination for extended backpacking trips when there is a possibility that your bag might get wet. And still, you get the beauty of a synthetic bag: it´s soaking wet and you´re still able to find some warmth and get to sleep.

Some of it´s features:

Insulated with Primaloft Eco, which is basically recycled platic and soda bottles.
Partial flex, creates a more comfortable and efficient design.
Removable mattress guides to secure your mattress directly underneath you and making the zipper more snag-free.
The Lazer uses a half-zipper which apparently saves weight, a feature that might appeal more to ultralight backpackers, but I´ve come to appreciate the ability to fully unzip my bag on warmer nights. I have noticed the half zipper popping up on lots of sleeping bags these days.
Foot box zipper allows for you to let in a bit of extra ventilation, which helps make up for the half zipper.
Top and Bottom draft tubes help with insulation and work great

Sierra Designs also has great warranty service and has made some notable innovations to sleeping bags over the years, making them a top manufacturer of quality outdoor gear.

Summary: The Lazer +30 deg bag is great summer camping, traveling, or tropical destinations when you are expecting warmer nights. Being a synthetic bag, it is a good choice if you are rafing/kayaking, or in situations where your bag might get wet. Also great for tentless camping when the morning condensation will be heavy.

Rafting in Tena, dragging their bikes across cow pastures through high valley, connecting roads that don´t exist on any maps, climbing 20,000 foot peaks, and competing in HuairaSinchi, Riding the Spine has been at it in high gear as they pedal their way through South America. Check out the Riding the Spine Website for more information about their bike journey that began in Alaska.

Overall, the ExOfficio Baja Long Sleeve Shirt has held up well to an adventurous lifestyle. During a kayak trip in the San Blas Islands, I began to appreciate many of its features:

Quick drying: could jump in the ocean after a long day on the kayak and it´d be dry within 15 minutes.

Sun Protection and Ventilation: Under the tropical sun, the best thing you can do sometimes, is cover up, but sometimes the heat makes that impossible. Fortunately, the shirt has climate control: generous hidden mesh vents on the sides and back you can Velcro open or closed, combined with deep pleats on the back that offer extra room for airflow.

Wicking Fabric: Especially nice in humid tropical conditions. Helps keep moisture off your skin and still doesn´t saturate the fabric.

Anti-Insect Shield: We were unable to test whether this feature actually repelled the insects, we were swarmed by insects at just about all points during the kayak trip, but being able to cover up comfortably in the warm evenings did help protect us from mosquitoes.

During the rest of my travels, I´ve appreciated the durability of the design (shoulder patches for reinforcement) and wrinkle-free fabric that allows me to pull it out of my dry bag and not look like the vagabond I am. Velcro tabs allow me to roll up the sleeves securely and a zippered security pocket on the chest keep things like my passport/cards safe when I´m crossing borders.

Downside: The chest pockets are oversized in my opinion, and couldn´t imagine ever filling them. After a dozen or so washings the fabric doesn´t seem to be very wrinkle free (that doesn´t really bother me, though) and the cost would be a bit steep for some.

Summary: A good example of technical apparel, a feature rich travel shirt, highly recommended for people wanting a versatile shirt for short vacations up to extended expeditions.

From 5-8th June this year the golden beachside town of Forster on the NSW North Coast, 3hrs North of Sydney, will play host to over 500 competitors, support crew, family and friends for the Mountain Designs GeoQuest 48hr adventure race. With the perfect winter climate, Forster and the region will witness the annual pilgrimage of the sport to Australia’s premier adventure race. Race HQ will be based at the central Forster Beach Caravan Park. Not only is a great HQ for an adventure race, but it is also the perfect location to bring family and friends for the Queens Birthday Long Weekend. See the website for more details.

For competitors, the Mountain Designs GeoQuest 2009 is looking to be one of the best GeoQuest events ever to be staged. An incredible new location taking in Forster and Barrington Tops sees some modifications being made to the original format to allow teams to visit some truly spectacular areas. Barrington Tops is an unspoilt wilderness including subtropical rainforest, ancient beech forests and subalpine woodlands. The Forster region boasts a glittering mosaic of inland waterways based around the impressive Wallis, Smiths and Myall Lakes networks – known as the Great Lakes. These lakes are surrounded by an undulating network of forests just waiting to be explored by adventure racers.

2009 will see the addition of Grade 1 white water kayaking using inflatable kayaks provided by Geocentric. This is the first time white water kayaking will be included in the Mountain Designs GeoQuest and will provide teams a massive “fun factor” in this exhausting event. Add to this a roping section on some exposed cliffs, some great mountain biking, trekking, a rafting mystery discipline and you have the premier adventure race of the year!

Mountain Designs GeoQuest involves 48+hrs of non-stop endurance racing in the major disciplines of trekking, mountain biking and kayaking. Mixed, Male or Female teams of four must navigate their way through an arduous 200+km course that is only revealed to them the evening before the race. The Mountain Designs GeoQuest is held annually on the Queens Birthday long weekend in June. The race is moved each year to a different location with exciting new challenges for the teams.

The Geo-Half adventure race is run at the same time as the Mountain Designs GeoQuest. It covers only half the distance but teams have the full 48hrs to complete it. The legs will be challenging, but with the additional time available to complete the half course, teams have a greater chance to reach the finish line.

Early bird entries are a significant saving and are NOW OPEN until 8 March.

From Press Release

After an award winning debut edition last Summer, the Untamed New England Adventure Race joins with premiere races from around the planet in the Adventure Racing World Series (AR World Series). The Untamed New England Adventure Race returns to New Hampshire in July 2009, this time as the only American race in the prestigious global Series. Podium finishers at Untamed New England will battle for over $10,000 in prizes and qualify for the World Championship race being held in Portugal in December 2009.

“We’re excited by the opportunities this opens for our race, for the New England region, for the American and Canadian teams who deserve a World Championship Qualifier on their own home turf, and for the environmental causes we promote;” observed Untamed New England Director Grant Killian.

9 races around the globe host races as part of the AR World Series. In all of the races, teams compete non-stop for days of biking, trekking, paddling, orienteering, and other challenges. With this announcement, New England adds its name to this list of adventure destinations and participants in Untamed New England will explore the wilderness terrain of Vermont, New Hampshire, and Maine.

AWM has completed its first year and we are excited to be heading into year 2 with even more great things in store.  Check us out at www.adventureworldmagazine.com