JPFreek - Index

JPFreek - magazine - Index

Raid Gauloises Vietnam
than compensates for the added weight. At the very least, outfit one member of the team
with a powerful light. Niterider is the sport’s most popular brand.
The strongest biker (or bikers) on your team should outfit their bike with tow lines. Some
teams prefer to tape a caribiner on the head unit of the bike, with a retractable dog leash
attached under the bike seat (remove the metal latch at the end and knot the end of the leash
to wrap around the caribiner). My team generally opts for surgical tubing with loops tied at
both ends of the caribiner, in part because this system converts more easily to running sections
than towing a teammate with a dog leash (though the visual does offer some comic relief).
As with running and paddling, you need to have food easily accessible for the bike sections.
We use a combination of Camelbaks for hydration, and handy little “Bento Boxes” mounted on
our cross tubes for knick-knacks, electrolyte tabs, and other items likely to be needed for quick
access.
The aforementioned is merely an introduction to things to expect on the run, bike and paddle
sections in an adventure race. It omits the intangibles such as team chemistry, the worst of
which will trump the best preparation and the most expensive gear in any race, and the best of
which will do much to create a lasting memory regardless of your position at the finish.
Brad Pennington is a national level ICF K1 kayak marathoner, finished 4th (solo) in
the world’s longest kayak race, the 460-mile Yukon River Quest, and he is the 2007
Texas Kayak Athlete (solo) of the Year. He has also competed in the Eco-Challenge,
Raid Gauloises/World Championship, and nine editions of the Raid World Cup, the
global qualifying circuit for the Raid Gauloises. His first hand accounts of some of
these races have been published in magazines around the world, including Forbes,
Forbes Global, and Outside.com.
Raid World Championship 2005 - France