Patrick Albert: Adventures in Metaphor

This video captures a brilliant moment in the history of, well, me.

When we are presented with an obstacle or challenge, as easy as it may seem to overcome, it is necessary to maintain a proper balance in order to do so.



That's a metaphor in case it was lost on you.

Land Paddling

Yesterday I did a little Land Paddling, and decided to make a short video to show everyone what it's all about.  Land Paddling is cross training for Stand Up Paddle Boarding but it is also a fun way to get around in it own right.  It is also quite the head turner.  From their expressions I could tell that some people thought it was pretty cool, others thought I was an idiot, and some couldn't wait to tell their friends or family that they saw some weirdo pushing himself with a stick while on a skateboard.  I enjoy it quite a bit I'm thinking about getting a board more suited to land paddling from Billy Lush Brand who are on the forefront of developing land paddling into a viable fitness activity.  Their boards are wider allowing a more natural SUP stance which is easier on the body allowing for equal paddling on both sides.  In a staggered stance on a regular longboard while paddling on both sides is possible most paddling is done on the front side.  This unbalanced approach led to a little strain in my right shoulder.  I'm almost healed now but that wider BLB board is sounding better all the time.

Adventure vs Adversity

Thursday I had an ambitious day of multisport planned.  I wanted to get some video of me on every non-motorized vehicle I own in order to make a really cool edit for promotional use.  I got a late start, but was still eager to get some footage.  Below is a video I made from the footage at Highland Skatepark which sadly ended up being the last footage of the day.

I had a really great time.  I may be fat and have almost no fast twitch muscle fibers but being on the board has a way of shutting everything out, and allowing me to flow.  I may not skate on anything close to a regular basis anymore but I'm still a skater.

On the way home from Highland I decided to try out some land paddling.  First though I needed to build a paddle, a decision I would soon regret.  Paddles cost between $100 and $200 so making one seemed like a great idea.  All I needed was a long dowel and two rubber ends, simple.

I guess I was in a hurry because of the late start and when I was cutting the dowel I managed to cut the tip off of my left thumb instead.  Stupid, stupid, stupid!

So off to the emergency room we went.  Because of the way I sliced it there was not much they could do, and they said to change the dressing twice a day or more.  Luckily I got to see the hand surgeon yesterday and he gave me some great news.  The best course of action that will allow me to retain the most function is to continue with dressing changes.  It will take a while to heal but as long as there are no complications I won't need surgery.  So in the grand scheme of things I am pretty lucky.

It's too early to tell how this will affect the hike in Sept.  Hopefully I will not have to use my vacation time while I am healing, and can save it for hiking instead.  If the hike gets cancelled then this year will be a wash as far as big events go.  I have some other ideas for fundraisers in development though so maybe I'll manage to raise a little money.  So far '13 as not been my lucky number.

Many people have asked to see pictures of this gruesome injury, but I won't be taking any until the healing process is well under way.  Believe me you are better off, some things once seen cannot be unseen. 

Great Ideas

Ever have a good idea for a post?  I'm talking about a game changer.  The type of post that makes people stand up and take notice.  An idea that is so ground breaking that there's no need to write it down because something this profound is impossible to forget.  Have you ever had an idea like that?  Well have you?

I have.

But I forgot what it was.

Maybe I should have written it down.  Actually there is no maybe about it, I should have written it down.  In this modern age we live in I really don't have an excuse for not writing it down.  Pens, pencils and paper are no longer exclusively the tools of the ruling elite, they are readily available for even the most lowly among us to use.

I get a lot of ideas, and from now on I will be writing them down in a book I bought specifically for that purpose.  Ideas, even the great ones can be ephemeral if they are not given a place take root and grow into something real.  Most of the ideas that will go in my book will not be spectacular but maybe one or two of them will be great.

SayYesMore!

I am proud to have been chosen as a SayYesMore ambassador.  Such a simple and elegant philosophy that anyone can embrace straight away to add life to their years.

I have something that I have been putting off for a while but in true SayYesMore style I will put it off no longer and get started.  Look for updates soon!

Graveyard Gravel Grinder

My friends and I are in total agreement that adventure is cool and mini-adventures are a great way to celebrate minor holidays and other special days.  Some of our past mini-adventures include the Epic Leap, and Columbus Day of Discovery.

Our latest adventure was conceived by Chuck.  He got the idea to find all of the old graveyards in the Weldon Spring/Bush Conservation area.  He bought the topo map of the area and plotted the coordinates.  There are many old graveyards because the whole area was once a town but in 1948 the Govt acquired the land for a munitions plant.  You can still see remnants of the old town with the occasional fire hydrant, well, power pole, etc. showing up in the middle of the woods.

We agreed to meet on Sunday March tenth, the day we spring our clocks ahead.  Not quite a holiday but a special day just the same.  It was raining when I left home but the temperature wasn't too cold so I drove to mound where Chuck and Lori were waiting.  Before long Robin, Russ, and Kate arrived.  We were all accounted for and ready for another adventure to begin.



It was a great day for an adventure.  We didn't find the last graveyard on our list but there are more and we will find them next time.

Here are a couple links to ROCK Racing's video and SuperKate's post:

• ROCK Racing Great Graveyard Gravel Grind
• SuperKate Not gonna melt

Who Is?: Robin Rongey

Who Is Robin Rongey?

When Patrick asked me to write a post about “who I am”, I kept thinking, I really don’t

know what I can say. I mean, I could tell the truth and say that I am this super smart,

ultra fit, amazingly hot mom, “oh wait, I’m channeling Reese Witherspoon again, so

that’s not right. Well I could tell you what I have been called in the past, the little round

ball of muscle, and the … oh wait, I can’t put the other names in print, so maybe that’s

not who I am either.

After putting some more thought to it, I think to tell you who I am, I need to tell you

where I come from. So let’s see if I can sum up my life’s journey in just a few short

paragraphs.

I was born in March of 1964, one month pre-mature, my name was going to be April,

but when I was born in March, my mom decided on Robin because it made her think of

springtime. I was early arriving in the world and have been early at everything since,

like talking, walking, tying my shoes, everything I do, I want to do fast and be the first

one done, it doesn’t matter what it is, work tasks, workouts, races, I was even the

fastest person at picking berries in the summer, no one could keep up with me. I think

there is a pattern here; maybe that is where my competitiveness comes from.

I grew up in the projects, we were poor, but of course I didn’t know it at the time

because poor is relative. We may have been financially poor, but we had a close family

and always had fun, we just did stuff that didn’t cost anything. So many people living

around us were poor in my eyes and I always felt so sorry for them, little did I know, I

was as poor as they were.

I am the only girl in a family of 5 kids. I am the second in line, but I ruled the house like I

was the oldest. I was always told I was really mean and bossy.

I spent my summers heading outside at daylight and not coming in until dark. We

played kickball, hide n seek, kick the can, football, baseball, soccer, we even setup

a ring with our shoes that we ran around acting like we were in the roller derby and

knocking people out of the ring. Most often I was the only girl allowed to play any of

the neighborhood sports. I think that is because all the boys were afraid of me, at least

that’s what my brothers tell me.

When I was 9 my dad died and at 12 we moved from the projects to the country. I went

from having hundreds of kids to play with, in a quarter mile radius to having 10 kids to

play with, in a 5 mile radius. This is when I started picking up endurance activities, riding

my bike, skateboarding, even running, I would run laps around my block and it was 2

miles long.

Two weeks into my freshman year of high school I was in a bad car accident, I spent a

few months in a hospital and then spent months on crutches. My mom was told that I

would most likely have brain damage, so now when I do stupid things I blame it on the

brain damage. It took a year to recover, so it was my sophomore year before I could

play any sports. I ran track and cross country the rest of high school, then I ran track in

college on a scholarship. I was just an above average runner, but heck back then they

just wanted to find girls that would run, that’s why I had a scholarship. I was actually the

first girl to ever run cross country for SIU-E.

After college I got married and had 3 kids, I continued to run, but not really competitive.

When my kids started getting self sufficient I started training hard again and decided to

try some new things, like triathlons, mountain biking and road biking. I loved it all! Then

in 1996, I took a job with Boeing and met my friend and now teammate Chuck Vohsen.

You all know Chuck as a Badass Adventure racer, but back in the day, he was just

some overweight jeep driving, martial arts practicing engineer. That was when I could

beat him both on foot and on wheels, but now, I’m just lucky he lets me follow him

around and share his adventure racing glory.

That leads me up to the current day and the fact that I am so lucky that I have a strong

mother who raised 5 kids on a yearly income that is less than I make in a month, having

4 brothers who even though they called me mean and bossy, they put the smackdown

on anyone else who said it, having friends like Chuck who would fight a bear for me or

give me his last sip of water if I was out, having 3 healthy kids that fight like cats and

dogs and are always planning the next way to pull the wool over their dad and my eyes,

but at the end of the day always give me hugs and “I love you’s”. I guess what I’m trying

to say is that all the events in my life have made me who I am today.

I still sometimes wonder who I am, but if I have to say who I think I am in one big run-on

sentence, this is what it would say.

I’m a girl who works hard at everything I do, I’m very organized, to the point of

annoyance to my family, I love being outside and I love adventure of any kind, I never

give up because I know with persistence I can accomplish anything, I may not be great

at it, but I can do it, and most of all, I’m a real cool mom, well my kids may not say that,

but I like to think I am.

Who Is?: Chuck Vohsen

When Patrick asked me to do a Who-is, it sounded easy enough, so I agreed and started writing.
Chuck Vohsen is ….some guy ….just like everyone else.

And that was all I had.
I had to come up with something better or this would be the shortest post ever. I read the previous
awesome who-is posts to get some ideas. They were great, but there was nothing there I could blog-
jack and call my own. So it was time to do some real thinking. A couple of days later when I was out on
a run, I was finally hit with my ‘Ahhaa’ writing idea. (Does that happen to everyone? ALL my ideas come
during runs and bikes.)
Nobody wants to read how I am like everyone else. Lets face it, as much as we like to pretend otherwise
there are more similarities between people on this planet than differences. We all eat, sleep, fart, work,
drink, and live and die.
So what makes me unique? My ‘Ahhaa’moment said experiences and memories are what define us. So
here’s my list of random memories that happen to be floating around my head today in no particular
order of importance. Maybe some of you have shared in them with me:

Seeing my first kid being born by C-section
Second kid being pulled out with giant pliers
Elbowing wife on altar after getting married
O’Fallon Gold Ale
Crashing Chevy Monza into a telephone pole
Buying my first ‘real’ moutain bike
Group snow run at Lewis and Clark
Finishing my first bike century
Trekking through flooded cave at Lightning Strikes AR
Paddling the last leg of 2011 Berryman 36hr AR
Finishing my first adventure race – Castlewood 8hr
Running through ankle deep rainwater in Berryman marathon
Hanging from my climbing harness over a canyon in Moab
Standing on top of my first 14’er in the cold sunlight with youngest kid
Stinging nettle and thorns at Thunder Rolls AR
Wife falling out of boat at Lake Taneycomo in December
Youngest kid catching monster brown trout at Taneycomo
Oldest kid driving my old jeep in the snow
Building my first set of bike wheels
Paddling across Kentucky Lake in the most amazing fog
Coyotes howling at midnight in LBL
Running along river during Colorado Relay
Pelicans on the Mississippi below Winfield dam
Saying: ’I will never do that again’ after 50K trail run
Thinking about doing 50K trail run again
Discovering I have two birthdays
Whitewater rafting the Nantahala River
“Chuck Vohsen, you are an Ironman”
Swimming laps in that little f’n pool training for IM
Riverboarding on the Colorado river
Sliding down dirt hill and in creek at the CAC
Kids behind house in underwear carrying a rabbit in fishing net
Grandpa Vohsen saying, “Don’t get old Chuck!”
Riding lost valley first time without putting a foot down
Navigating Moab canyons in the dark with crappy headlamps
Pulling kids in little wagon down trail to fishing spot
Rattlesnake at Berryman Duathlon
Hanging out with oldest kid in garage removing transmission from his car …. again
Foggy graveyard after dark in mountains
Jeeping Breakneck trail in Colorado
Every Berryman Epic mtn bike race
Bacon Donuts
Man, I seriously could go on all day! I’ve got some great memories. But I’m stopping with this and
hopefully that list gives an idea of who I am.
++++++++++
I’ve had a two week break since I made this list. Looking back over the random memories a second time
made me notice a few obvious exceptions.
All the years I’ve spent in school - not one
25 years at my current job – not one
All the TV or movies I’ve ever seen – not one
I think the exceptions speak even louder than the list about what is important to me. FAMILY, FRIENDS,
and DOIN COOL STUFF.

Who Is?: Lukas Lamb

I am Lukas Lamb, and I am nobody. Well, that’s not entirely true. I’d like to think that I’m someone
special to my wife, my four children, and my close friends. It’s just that I’m nobody compared to most
people.

I’m not that bright (it took me 13 years and 3 different schools to graduate college), and I’m not
even that athletic (although I used to be a mediocre high school wrestler if that counts). And I don’t
really have any unique talents, skills, or abilities. But if there’s one thing I have in abundance, which
I’ve always had in abundance, it’s an unadulterated willingness – a willingness to try new things, a
willingness to test myself, and, perhaps above all, a willingness to fail.

Most people are familiar with the phrase “decision through indecision” - by not making a decision, you
are essentially making a decision. To put it another way, Henry Ford said, “Indecision is often worse
than wrong action.” For me, the same thing applies to adventure. By not trying something at which I
might fail, I’ve essentially already failed. I think never attempting something difficult is far worse than
actually failing. And that’s why I do the things I do even though I have failed pathetically at many of
them.

When a friend asked me to do my first adventure race over ten years ago, I could have (and in hindsight
maybe should have) said no, but I didn’t hesitate to try it. Although I was woefully ill-prepared, I
was willing to jump in over my head. That race ended in complete disaster. Since then, though, my
teammates and I have finished the 36-hour race twice.

When another friend asked me to be part of a duo and do half of the Dirty Kanza 200 with him, I agreed
to do so fully aware of the high probability of failure. And I did fail when I only finished 60-ish miles out
of 100. But the following year both of us went back and completed the full 200 miles of gravel with the
rest of our teammates.

I’ve DNF’d several other races, I’ve come in last place many times, and I’ve even been DQ’d from a race
before. Failures? Sure. But without those “failures,” I never would have experienced any successes
either. Without those “low points,” the high points would never be so high.

So I’ll just keep failing. And then I’ll fail some more. Maybe next time it will be a 5-day expedition
adventure race. Or perhaps it will be a 50- or 100-mile ultramarathon. Whatever it is, I’ll be willing to
give it a shot. I’ll just keep failing until I succeed.

I am a failure. I am nobody. I am Lukas Lamb. Who are you?

Old Goals and New

2012 was the first year that I set some goals to try and achieve.  I will spare you the suspense I only achieved one of the three.  My thoughts on only being successful in one goal are a mixed bag that I will explain in full.  The first goal, while technically being a failure, was sort of a success.  The second goal I totally dropped the ball on.  Whoops!  My bad.  The third goal was very much a success, and I am proud of my efforts.

Goal #1:  Get 12 bag nights

I got ten.  Several times I could have gone out and picked up the other two but I always opted to stay home and spend time with Beth.  So while this is technically a failure to meet the goal, I failed on acceptable terms.  It is also worth noting that ten bag nights is way more than I normally get in  a typical year.  Some of the nights I spent outdoors were terrible, and others were enjoyable.

Campsite on Two Branch

Here is a list, in no particular order of where I spent my bag nights this year:

3 nights spent out on the Katy Trail.  During these 3 nights everything was conspiring against a good nights sleep.

1 night camping at Carlyle lake.  The day of our arrival the lake was too choppy to have any fun paddling, the next day it was smooth as glass.

1 night camping on Two Branch island.  My nephew and I paddled down the Cuivre to the Mississippi.  Horrible stretch of river after we left.

3 nights during the Kayak100+ (MR340).  I have never been so exhausted in my life.  Paddled 340miles in 76hours.  Very little sleep.

1 night on a random boat ramp on the Missouri river.  100miles from Jefferson city to St Charles, we decided to take a nap.  Bad idea.

1 night camping on Two Branch again.  I enjoy paddling out to the river islands.  Last time we were racing the dark this time a storm.  We lost.

During Kayak100+ I was trying not to look exhausted.

ROCK Racing teammates Chuck and Robin (among others) met me at the finish of Kayak100+

 

    Goal #2 Increase level of fitness

I think subconsciously I made this goal as vague as possible so that I could claim success in the end.  Even with a vague goal I have to admit to failure.  It wasn’t all failure though.  Leading up to Kayak100+ I was doing great.  Then the wheels fell off and I now at my heaviest weight (can’t weight to eat?) and feel like crap.  Epic fail y’all.  Being heavy is not the only area of failure in this goal.  I am also not any stronger, but that is probably because of all the workouts I missed.  As far as running goes I am doing okay, not great just ok.  I have a plan to correct all of this though because 2013 will be one of the most physically demanding of my life.

Goal #3 Build on the foundation of the 100+Project

I would call this one a success!  While the 100+Project is not widely known around the world, I have been working hard to spread the word and draw attention to the efforts put forth.  In 2012 I had a couple mentions in the media, completed Cycle100+ and Kayak100+, and also held a very successful 12hour run/fundraiser.

Cycle100+ was 240miles on the Katy Trail.  Gary Wilson and I rode the entire length in 4days.  What a great ride it was.

Kayak100+ was a 340mile paddle from Kansas city to St Charles along the Missouri river.  Cycle100+ was a joyride compared to this.

Page of the Health in the St Louis Post Dispatch section (below the fold) 

Blurb in a local Sunday magazine.

The 12hour fun run, was a just a great day all around.  This was something that I was doing as a training event for Run100+ and decided to invite people to join my friend Cheri and me for as much as they wanted.  I suggested a $5 donation.  We started at 6am and I don’t think there was one lap that we had to run alone.  In total 30people showed up and many donated a lot more than the suggested $5.  We raised a lot of money for a good cause.  My only regret is not keeping track of everyone’s miles.  I wasn’t expecting that many people to show up and it was difficult enough keeping track of my own miles.  Maybe I can reconstruct them.

Cheri (far left) and I with some of  the people that came out for the 12hour run.

Summary

I think in the goal department I broke even.  I’m not happy about #2 but can only blame myself.  I couldn’t be happier about #3 although I have some things that I need to work on in the future to make it even more enjoyable for everyone following along.  As previously stated I’m ok with how #1 turned out.  I didn’t get 12 bag nights but I did get 10 and that is pretty good for me.

Goals for 2013

I like these goals so I will keep them for 2013 but with a few modifications.

1. Get 20 bag nights.  I will have 8nights associated with Hike100+ so 12 would be to low a number.  Increasing to 20 cancels out the hike nights and leaves me with 12nights to get on my own.
2. Increase fitness.  This will be measured a success by meeting two of three minor goals.  Weight 170, pass the Army PT test according to the standards when I was still serving (pushups, situps, 2mile run), and break a running PR.  Within these there is certainly criteria by which success can be measured.
3. Build on the success of the 100+Project.  There are big things in store for 2013.  Run100+ and Hike100+ will be two of the most demanding challenges of my life.  They both have such a slim margin of error, one tiny mistake could mean failure at both.  I am thinking about adding another 100+ mile journey but as of yet haven’t decided what.  More fundraisers apart from the big events might be a good idea.  I would also like to get the 100+Project on TV in 2013.  That a lot, but I assure you it is all one goal.

That is how my year went.  Hopefully 2013 will be much better and more successful, and I hope yours is the same!

Who is? Dave Zaple

Hello! That's me, DZ. I'm big fan of bright shorts. I was the team medic/photographer on Dave Cornthwaite's most recent expedition Swim 1000.

The final farewell photo as I left the team to head back to the UK to start working on these:

I'm a paramedic, scout leader, photographer and general adventure nut...

I haven't always been those things though. I was lucky enough to be part of the inaugural Prime Ministers Global Fellowship where I spent 6 weeks in China. It changed my life. I worked in an engineering office for a year but I wasn't that good at it. So I saved my money, worked 3 jobs to then travel the world. Then I really got the bug, the travel bug (and a significant stomach bug in India but we won't talk about that). I went to university to train as a paramedic and now I'm here, writing about myself for the wonderful Patrick Albert.

I have the best job in the world and some big plans to see it all from a bicycle. Myself and Em Bell are are planning to cycle around the world. Nearly Naked. For MCAC and Coppafeel!

I'm super new to all this technical website making stuff but stay tuned on www.davezaple.com for updates on everything. Providing I can work out how to update it!

The Wife of an Adventurer

The Life Wife of an Adventurer

Often times storytellers start off by declaring that their most recent grand adventure was profoundly enhanced as the result of unplanned or unexpected happenings along the way. This too is the case in my tale. Once upon a time in a not so far away land (O'Fallon, IL) a typical tale of boy meets girl unfolds. Little did I know then that twenty plus years later boy and girl would still be as goofy and happy together as ever, having shared our own zany family adventures along the way.

It was not until recent years that my husband's passion for real life adventures flourished into what it has become today, which I'm sure is only a fraction of what it will be in years to come. I suppose the old adage "opposites attract" is true since on most things we are complete opposites. He is fearless and I worry enough for both of us. He is always dreaming up, or perhaps more appropriately scheming up, some new crazy endeavor to pursue while I quietly sit back, usually roll my eyes and wonder "what is he getting me into now". He loves being outdoors while I hate dirt and bugs and will break out if anyone around me just speaks the words poison ivy. Given that last difference, my involvement in his real life adventures is somewhat limited but I've found other ways to support and encourage him on his quests. I have been his pit crew and chief resupply officer on many an adventure. However in the end I'm typically left feeling like the biggest wimp in the world as I usually show more signs of wear and tear than he does even though he is the one who has been physically challenging himself.
My husband and I have been engaged in an open ended discussion the last couple years...I allege that he did not fully disclose his true identity to me before we married so that I could make an informative decision as to whether or not that was the life for me, while on the other hand he asserts that I knew what I was getting into. In my eyes I had met Peter Parker, a smart, loveable, relatively normal, somewhat nerdy guy. Little did I know there was much more underneath the surface. And while he is no Spiderman (...yet, no telling what will happen in the future from all the spiders he comes in contact with on the trails) he definitely has an alter-ego and will always be a Super Hero to me.

Who Is?: Em Bell – the oddball adventurer

I am short. Slightly odd. I have eyes that change colour. I have hobbit sized feet. I can fall asleep anywhere. I have an impressive appetite. I love penguins. I am gullible. I have been likened to a troll. I am allergic to desks. I am Em Bell. And I am about to become a full time adventurer.
After quitting my job in headhunting back in 2009, I searched the world for my "dream job". I represented the UK on a game show, became a stand-in contestant on Ant and Dec's game show, moved to Cape Town to present a music festival, organised Bat Mitzvahs, cleaned my friends houses, worked on a McFy documentary and then landed a job writing full-time for a magazine.
Life was good. I had a super pad. I had a cracking job. But my head started wandering again. And after Dave Cornthwaite came to load magazines for his next book, he offered me the spot as the blogger on his upcoming adventure - to swim 1000 miles down the Missouri River with a support team stand-up paddle boarding alongside him.
I was in.

Obviously.
On it, there was a 15 minute moment with Vanessa Knight. We were paddling like nutters to reach an Indian reserve where the rest of the team were waiting; and I suddenly realised, that I wanted to become a full time adventurer. I would be able to write about adventure. I would be able to film adventure. I would be able to do adventure. Every day. The female version of Bear Grylls if you will.
So I am now living on a mattress next to my parents bed. With a train covered sheet and duvet. Working round the clock to save every penny. And planning, planning planning.
Next summer I am set to rollerblade 2000 miles around Italy. Then I'm off to Australia in November 2013 with Vanessa Knight (who you have already met) to become the first people to stand-up paddle board source to sea of the Murray River. Then I am set to cycle round the world with Dave Zaple. Lots of plans. Lots of adventures. All for CoppaFeel breast cancer charity. So watch this troll shaped space...
www.embell.co.uk

Who Is?: Super Kate

I actually tried to write a post like this a few years ago and failed miserably. Back then pretty much everything about me was defined in terms of others…my roles in life and the things I did. Jeff’s wife, Daniel/Nathan/Jacob’s mother, my students’ teacher. If you asked me what I did outside of those roles, I’d tell you, “Um….I read a lot.” I didn’t have my own “thing”. We watched a lot of sports and movies. We camped. While I liked to do all of those things, I was just fitting myself into what my husband enjoyed. I can’t blame him; when he’d ask me what I wanted to do I didn’t know. I wasn’t so much an individual as a mirror.


We subscribed to National Geographic Adventure and Outside magazines. I read them cover to cover, dreaming of a life of adventure that seemed as out of reach as a date with Brad Pitt. Back then, I saw life mostly in terms of what I couldn’t do. I was afraid to try new things. Without someone to lead the way I hung back, bored but comfortable with the familiar. And then, at 35, I fell in love. Yes, I was already married, but it’s ok because I fell in love with bicycling.

Thanks to a lousy sense of direction I accidentally rode my new bike 15 miles, a distance that seemed astonishing to me at the time. That ride – to another town! – was the first time I ever understood the sense of accomplishment that comes with the journey. 15 miles turned into 30, then 60 and later 100. Later came the decision to train for a 5K with my sister-in-law. I didn’t even like running; it took almost a year before I’d call myself a runner, but I did love the challenge. Running friendships led me to adventure racing and a whole host of new things: orienteering, mountain biking, paddling, bushwhacking, racing through the night.

Somewhere in all of this, I made a shift that has truly changed me life. Instead of saying “I can’t”, I started wondering, “Can I?” And for me, the process of answering that question matters infinitely more than the actual answer.

Can I run a marathon? Yes.
Can I race for 24 hours straight? Yes.
Can I rappel for the first time ever at night? Yes.
Can I ascend a 100-foot rock wall? Eventually.
Can I ride my bike 200 miles in a day? Not yet.

I don’t like to fail, but I’m no longer so afraid of failure that I refuse to try things that call to me. My circumstances haven’t changed, but my world is much bigger. I’m still a wife and a mother and a teacher and a reader…and a runner and mountain biker and adventure racer. I like a good challenge, can often be found jumping in over my head, and can probably be talked into joining your hairbrained scheme. I’m living the same basic life, but now it’s filled with adventure and adventurous people, and when I say “I can’t”, it’s most often to tell you “I can’t wait!”

I’m Kate. Who are you?
You can read more about Super Kate on her blog by clicking here.

Who Is?: Ness Knight

I have just woken up to the rustling noises of some fat geese waddling through the leaves right by my tent, gabbling on at one another (rather disconcerting when you are still half asleep and have no idea what is going on, mind) whilst making their way to a bubbling creek just a few meters away. The morning sun is glistening through a multitude of condensation droplets all around my tent, making me feel like I'm surrounded by a thousand little suns. This is why I am an adventurer. This is why I do what I do. It is quite likely that those stuck in the traffic and fumes on a highway just 200 meters away have absolutely no idea that this idyllic little haven even exists. It reminds me of some lyrics from a Cat Empire song I listened to yesterday which really struck a chord, "Do you ever look around and find what is here to be found?".

I'm Ness. At the moment you will find me cycling 2000 miles across the USA. Everything I need to get me across this distance fits on my bicycle.
Many have asked me why I decided to be an adventurer. There are 3 reasons, 1.) I get to challenge myself physically and mentally through endurance expeditions, pushing my limits and finding the depths of what I am capable of. 2.) I want to make sure that in 50 years time I can look back and say that I truly lived, having gathered thousands of brilliant experiences to show for my achievements, and not just a house full of stuff. 3.) We live on a phenomenal planet. My expeditions allow me to see the world from a very unique perspective. As I cycle these 2000+ miles I am taking in every single brilliant aspect, meter by meter, mile upon mile.
Next year sees me SUPing the length of the Murray River in Australia source to sea with the brilliant Em Bell. A Thames River source to sea swim is on the cards and plans are in the pipeline for a Pacific Ocean row.
I'm Ness, a dorky geek who found her passion in adventure and is living every single minute to the full. Who are you?

Find out more about Ness on her website NessKnight.com

Who Is?: Dave Cornthwaite

I am Dave Cornthwaite, and this is the strangest thing I've ever been asked to do. How can I sum up who I am in just a few words? I'm not sure it's possible but I'll try, because that's what I do.
Although my life, my personality, my lifestyle, my ambitions and my temperament (which wavers) intertwines completely with my work I hope I'll not be defined by the things I have done, so I won't mention them here. I am not an adventurer nor an author, a motivational speaker or a world traveller. I am simple. I travel light as often as I can, although I will always carry too much. Where once I talked and didn't do, now I do things and then I talk about them, but usually only when asked to.
I find myself funnier than others think I am, although sometimes people laugh at my jokes out of sympathy. My worst habit is tickling my nose hair with my tongue. Yes, I can reach my nose with my tongue. I'm still trying to work out the meaning of life, but have got as far as understanding that my interpretation will belong to nobody else. I struggle with the value of what I do because my life is unconventional, but shards of light appear when I see folks embarking on adventures for which they claim a meeting with me was the catalyst. If that's all I can offer it's enough.
I dislike doing something I don't enjoy just for money - happiness is more important. I become impatient when people believe in something enough to preach or vote for it based purely on inherited expectation. We live in a time where sitting on the fence is unnecessary, we have no excuse to base our opinions just because we read or heard somebody else's.
If I had to sum myself up in three words, they would be Say Yes More. I am Dave Cornthwaite, who are you?
To find out more about Dave go to DaveCornthwaite.com.

Review: Guerrilla Tags

Recently I responded to a poll in a LinkedIn group I belong to about how often I carry a form of ID while out riding, running, etc.  The truth was not very often.  When I do carry something it is usually my driver’s license with Beth’s phone # written on the back.  The guy who added the poll was the owner of a new company called Guerrilla Tags.  He asked if I would be interested in trying one out to see how I liked it.
I went to the website and made my selections.  G-Tags come in two varieties, the wrist band and the dog tag style that you wear around your neck.  I wore dog tags for eight years so I new that style wasn’t for me.  I selected the wrist band and added the information I wanted on it and hit submit.  This seems like a good time to say that Kyle, the owner sent me a code that made the G-Tag free of charge.  A week or so later my G-Tag arrived in the mail.

I was eager to try it out and while I was getting ready to go for a run I showed it to Beth who said, “It’s pretty cool but the information is wrong.”  At first I was upset but then remembered when I ordered it thinking I should double check the information for accuracy but being in a hurry I didn’t.  I went back and checked the receipt and sure enough the mistake was mine.  Kyle and the  Guerrilla Tags team engraved exactly what I told them I wanted.  Shame on me for not being more careful.  Let this be a warning to anyone ordering a G-tag!  Luckily the mistake was minor and fixable.
The Guerrilla Tag is a leather bracelet that has two snaps for fastening and an engraved tag with your information.  Being a vegetarian I had to think long and hard about using a leather strap, but ultimately came to the conclusion that if I was so concerned about it I wouldn’t have leather work shoes and a leather belt (also for work).  They offer different types of leather, brown was the most durable according to the website so it was an easy choice.  The amount and type of information you can have put on your tag is fully customizable.  I chose to keep things simple with a couple emergency contacts and that I suffer from asthma.  I only have attacks when I am around cats but I figured if I were found unconscious on the trail that information might be medically relevant.
                                                                                                          
The size of the wrist band was perfect for my wrist (your wrist size may vary) and the leather was soft and pliable making it comfortable to wear.  Out on the run I didn’t notice it at all which is good.  The G-Tag seems very durable and made to last.  My only concern is that the leather might get nasty constantly being exposed to sweat.  I will have to wait until it gets warm again to find out though. 
G-Tags are a good alternative to other items that serve a similar purpose.  Whether you choose a G-Tag for this purpose or another product comes down to personal preference.  I like my G-Tag, and I will continue to wear it, and if it wears out or the information changes I would likely buy a new one.
Here is a link to a video of a G-Tag being made!
          

Who Is?: Patrick Albert

In the introductory post of the Who Is? feature I will be placing myself under the microscope for a little inward reflection to determine Who Is?: Patrick Albert.  First though an explanation of this new feature seems in order.
I find people interesting.  The idiosyncrasies that make us different are what makes us interesting as individuals.  If we were all the same everything would be boring, and there would be no need to dig any deeper than the surface because what we would find underneath would just be more of the same.  Thankfully, we are all different and it is a worthwhile endeavour to see what is below the surface, sometimes we might be shocked by what we find or even horrified but in the end it was worth a look because we  also run the risk of being pleasantly surprised or overwhelmed by compassion and that is a risk worth taking.
Who Is? is an attempt to get at a little something below the surface by simply asking the question, Who Is?: "insert your name here".
I will pass this question around and all I ask is that it be answered in a meaningful way.  That is my only guidance.  It can be answered in any manner, words, video, photograph, painting, etc.(all of the work should be your own though).

Without further adieu:



I am a person full of ideas, and half finished projects.  The Avett Brothers song Incomplete and Insecure starts out with this line, "I haven't finished a thing since I started my life, I don't feel much like starting now".  This lyric hit me like a lightning bolt the first time I heard it.  It made me think about many things in my life.  Just a simple turn of phrase and yet so powerful.
I don't know why I am this way, but I'm sure years of therapy could yield an answer.  It's not like I have never finished anything but there are many ships yet to sail into their bottles because of me.  Having come to this realization has really helped cut down on the projects though.  The other day I heard someone described as a "thinker, not a tinkerer"  and although they weren't talking about me they easily could have been.
Perhaps the string of unfinished business in my wake is what draws me to adventure.  When you announce an adventure to the world it is a declaration of self, a bold statement that I WILL______!  You can fill in your own blank.  Skate100+, the first of the 100+Projects started with a pit in my stomach.  This was the first time I ever announced anything to the world.  The first time it ever really mattered if I finished or not.  The truth was I wasn’t sure if I could ride a skateboard 100+ miles.  I couldn't back out though.   I made the announcement and the world, or at least my small corner of it was watching!   I was prepared to do whatever it took.  I skateboarded 107miles that day and felt a great sense of accomplishment.
I am still a person with unfinished projects and unrealized ideas but I realize that some projects just don’t fit and some ideas are never meant to be realized.  Just like things, ideas can clutter your life, and I have made a good start at getting rid of that clutter.  But just like the raft, the musical, the comic strip, the canoe, and the silicone impregnated nylon, all I have so far is a good start, only time will tell if I finish.

I am Patrick Albert.  Who are you?

Cinco de Paddle-O: Preparing for the MR340

One in the morning there I was somewhere along the Missouri river between Jefferson City and St Charles, at some random boat ramp with my nephew Michael trying to get a little rest before continuing on our way.  Sleeping on concrete is always a bad idea because even though it seems warm at first, soon enough it will suck all of the warmth from your body along with your will to go on.  I swore I would never do it again after Berryman yet there I was.  As I lay there trying to get some rest going through the seemingly endless cycle of sleep, chill, wake I pondered the events that led me to this random boat ramp.

It all started with a Riverfront Times article in 2008 that ran with the title: “Up Show-Me Creek: Blisters, hellish heat, a boatload of vomit and lots of painkillers. It's all part of the Missouri River 340 race.”  It seems like so long ago that I read that article that painted such a horrible picture of the race that runs 340miles from Kansas City to St Charles, Mo. At the time I happened upon the article I may have been in a kayak once or twice.  Beth had once suggested when I was in a fit of boredom that we go paddling in Grafton, IL.  I was down on the idea but since it was a better alternative than wallowing in the Sunday doldrums before returning  to work on Monday I reluctantly agreed.  We convinced Michael and his wife to join us and we all drove up to Grafton.

Once we got to the drop off point and out on the water though everything changed.  I was in heaven and as we paddled back down the river I had already made up my mind that owning a kayak would be way cheaper than renting one.  I had no real idea what the cost of a kayak was but I knew I loved being out on the water and if I didn’t buy one I would be wasting my money on rental fees every chance I could. Things didn’t quite work out that way though.  We rented kayaks a total of one more time, and that was it.  Kayaks were more expensive than I originally guessed, and finding the money was difficult.  It seemed like it would never happen.

When I saw the article about the MR340 I knew I had to do it, regardless of how awful it sounded.  It was a grand adventure one that I wanted to be a part of.  I showed my nephew the article and said we had to do it.  He agreed, and there it sat.  2009 passed and no MR340, 2010 was the same.  Now I had been busy doing other things in the time between, and the MR340 was constantly being put on hold.  In the interim however the word “adventure” was becoming a greater part of my life.  I competed in some adventure races and met some people who like me had outgrown the weekend 5k circuit and were looking for a real challenge, something with which they could test their mettle.  I even met some MR340 finishers.  I decided that 2011 was going to be the year!  If participation in the race was put off any longer it was certain to never happen for us.  I called my nephew and told him that we were really going to do it this time.  To my surprise he said that he had arrived at the same conclusion.  It seemed like nothing could stop us!  

I found a kayak on Craigslist, then a week later Michael bought a super crappy one from Costco.  We paddled together for a while and he eventually realized that he needed to upgrade to a better boat. My adventure racing friend Chuck decided that he was in too and arranged quite a few training runs for us.  Everything was on track.  We all had boats, and were training as much as we could. Then the flood came.  The message from Race Director Scott Mansker was like a punch to the gut.  The 2011 MR340 was cancelled because of unsafe river conditions caused by flooding.  Scott handled the cancellation like a true  professional, going above and beyond everyone’s expectations.  We were given vouchers for guaranteed  entry into the 2012 race.  So now it looks like 2012 will be the year, and it looks like nothing can stop us.  The flood did claim one casualty though.  Chuck will not be with us in 2012 since he has decided to train for an iron man triathlon instead.  Despite losing Chuck, a great training partner, Michael and I have carried on, continuing to train and move forward toward the goal of finishing the MR340.

That is what led me to this random boat ramp at one in the morning.  The concrete is so cold, I can’t sleep, and for a brief second I consider sleeping in my kayak but my behind is pretty sore from 16hours of paddling and I don’t think sitting in the boat would be a much better alternative than the concrete as far as sleep aids go.  

We have come a long way, not just today but in the years that led up to this, however the one thing we learned from our Cinco de Paddle-O adventure is that we still have a long way to go.

Something I've been working on

While I am out on the river paddling my kayak in the MR340 I thought I would take the opportunity to show everyone what I have been up to in my somewhat limited spare time.



The raft was supposed to be floated with four inner tubes underneath but while I had the tubes sitting in the yard two of them burst for reasons unknown.  Since I can't trust the tubes out on the river (yes this is being built for a Missouri river adventure) I will be using plastic barrels instead.