Lance Armstrong Enters Leadville 100 Mountain Bike Race

The mountain biking world has been put on notice–Lance Armstrong has entered and is training for the Leadville 100.   The seven-time Tour de France champion has signed up to compete in one of the world’s highest and toughest mountain bike races.  Lance’s entry in to the realm of Mountain Bike racing could be cause for concern to the other 1,000 entrants.

Lance Armstrong hasn’t raced professionally since his last Tour de France win in 2005.  He abruptly retired after taking home his 7th Tour de France victory.  In recent years, Lance Armstrong has been concentrating on running his LiveStrong foundation for cancer research and has ventured a time or two to the New York City marathon.

Hearing that Lance is actually training for this event, makes one think that he is going in to win-something he knows a lot about.  I can’t speak for everyone, but I know I will be glad to see him competing again-

Win or not, just having Lance Armstrong enter the event will bring much attention to the mountain biking world.

Lance will be competing against mountain biking Hall of Fame inductee Dave Weins, who has won the Leadville 100  5 times and now holds the race speed record.  You might remember Weins for sucessfully beating out 2006 Tour de France winner Floyd Landis, who raced in the 2007 Leadville 100 after being banned from the Tour de France for doping in 2006.

Maybe seeing a fellow Tour de France champion go down in flames, sparked the interest in Armstrong.  It shoul;d be noted that Lance did enter last years event, but due to conflicting schedules was unable to make the race.  It is not known if Floyd Landis will be returning to the Leadville 100 this year, or not.  He placed second in last years race, but that would add a bit more competition for Lance, as well.

An Adventurist Editorial: The Stephen Fossett Debates

We should have all seen this one coming from a mile away–

Going into days 5 and 6 for the ongoing search of legendary adventurer Steven Fossett, people are starting to take their focus off of the search and more onto the debates surrounding these types of events when they occur–

First it began with how great of an adventurer Steven Fossett is.  Over the past few days this focus has slowly moved to the motives of a “Risk-Taker” and if Stephen Fossett’s family should be charged for the search currently taking place.

Both of these items are highly debatable and both of them generally always surround a high profile search, especially if the person involved was also a part of anything that has a certain risk-factor to it or has been the focus of media attention in the past.

Personally, I began taking notice of these debates around December of last year when three climbers became lost on Mt. Hood.  The ensuing search, that garnered massive media coverage, soon became a debate for a cause. 

It may be the cause of the general media’s focus to always provide something new to a highly viewed (and rated) story.  Running out of new leads, they hop back on the bus and get everyone involved in raging debates that once again spark interest to previous stories of the same general nature.

Two questions always emerge:  Should the families of the person being searched for have to pay for this service?  And secondly–the risk involved.  How could they do this to their families and loved ones?  What is it about risk that triggers these people to always endanger their lives? Read more

The Adventurist Forums Take Off!! Adventurist Polls Launched!

I posted yesterday that I have started my own Adventurist “Community” so to speak.  It is open and it is Progressing.

The first member of The Adventurist Forums happened to be my good buddy Kraig from over at The Adventure Blog.  He also gets the designation of making the first post in the community to get things kicked off proper and well.

So what is so exciting about The Adventurist Forums?  Now we all have a place to share our thoughts and views!  All of the following topics have their own areas:

• Climbing
• Mountain Biking
• Hiking
• Camping
• Kayaking
• Training
• Adventure Racing
• Expedition Notes
• Extreme Sports
• Mt. Hood
• Mt. Everest
• The Environment
• General Sports
• Random News

As you can see, there is quite a bit there to go through.  Feel free to post what you like in the areas that suit your interest.  Have a question?  Post it, someone will have an answer!

Here are some of the good things being said about The Adventurist Forums so far:

Awesome! Nice move adding the forums Jason. Hopefully they’ll become quite a place for all kinds of discussion.

And Another:

for the record, this is probably one of the coolest forums I’ve ever been on, looks wise at least.

The rest will come in time, I have no doubt!

I have recently introduced The Advenurist Polls as well.  The first Poll is up.  Stop over and check it out.  I will be using the results of these Polls on The Adventurist.  I will be posting a new one weekly.  Should be fun to see what everyone out there is thinking.  Now stop on over, sign up, and take part in hopefully what will become the best Adventure Forum out there–The Adventurist Forums.

The Adventurist Unleashes The Wrath of The Adventurist Forums!

The Adventurist has taken another step in evolution.  No, I’m not going bald! 

What I have done is created a place for all of us Adventure Lovers to come together and discuss what matters most.

You like kayaking?  Mountain Biking? Climbing? Going on a great Adventure of your own?  Now we have that community.  I am very proud to introduce The Adventurist Forums!

I have wanted to do something like this for close to a year now.  I became interested in what the Forums can do, and what can take place and be discussed through my good friend Alan Arnette’s great site.

His forums have essentially let him get in touch with his readers and offer them a more personal glimpse into mountain climbing.

I am now offering up the same–but we will be exploring the whole world of Adventure–From Sports (climbing, mountain biking, kayaking, adventure racing) to Training to Mt.’s Hood and Everest and beyond.

I have also placed in topics of interest for all of us..The world of Sports?  General News?  I’ve got it all..We all know that Adventure Lovers are very much multi-faceted, and it is claimed..smarter than most.  (Ok, I made that one up!)

Anyways, I am hoping that this will become a great new feature here at The Adventurist in the days, weeks, and years ahead.

Stop by, Check it out, and post your thoughts on what’s on your mind.  It is that easy.  Hopefully we’ll be having some great discussions..and perhaps even the possibility of “Poles” in the future. (Not the North or South silly, but voting polls!)

So swing on over to The Adventurist Forums and check it out.  I am just wondering who the first post will be from–could be a historic landmark in the world of The Adventurist.

Also, if you don’t see a topic on there that you would like to see, I am very open to suggestions.  This will be our community–built by all of us.  Contact me through the Submit & Contact page found at the top of your screen.

I will be adding a permanent link to the site in a bit.  That way you can just “click it” from The Adventurist.

And..as if this weren’t exciting enough…I may just have another BIG announcement tomorrow..so stop back by and check in tomorrow as well.  Now get over to The Adventurist Forums and have some fun.

Adventure-X: Defining Adventure and Extreme Sports

I have put my new Adventure-X column up in the Outdoor Recreation area of Topix.  This weeks column takes a look at Adventure and Extreme Sports and what characterizes each. 

Many of you will already know that I am the current Editor of three seperate areas on Topix.  I currently Edit the Outdoor Recreation, Extreme Sports, and Mountain Climbing areas for their site.  This is a great news source.  Go check them out–actually have a little fun while your over their and type in your zip code in the search–find out what is going on in your neck of the woods–

Want a little teaser to this weeks Adventure-X column?  Read on.

Adventure-X:  Defining Adventure and Extreme Sports

Extreme Sports have been around since the mid-eighties. Not the sports themselves, but rather the term “Extreme Sports.” This term usually brings up an automatic picture of someone hitting the vert or grinding out a line on their deck. Not to long ago, though, things looked a bit different.

When Extreme Sports first gathered it’s famous name (attributed to an article in Outside Magazine) the sports involved looked a bit different than they do now. The ”Extreme Sports” angle was predomminantly geared towards adults–where now it is definately defined by the younger generation.

Extreme Sports essentially took off and focused on high-risk activities: Skydiving, scuba diving, hang gliding, rock climbing, storm chasing, and a new invention–bungee jumping. All of these activities were defined by their inherit risk factor as well as being non-team sports and taking place in the outdoors.

If you would like to read the rest of this column, Click HERE to go on over to Topix.  If you would like to read about Adventure-X and past columns then click HERE.  At the Top of this screen, you may notice a heading titled “Adventure-X”.  I will be posting the newest columns here each week.  This should prove to be a nice way to archive this special column for Topix.  Thank-you once again for your continued support.  I have been hearing some really good things about this and hope it will only get better.

Cheers-

Jason A. Hendricks, Editor

Bringing the Outdoors In: Indoor Adventure Centers Gaining Popularity

                      

Always trying to find a way to cash in on the next big thing, some savy entrepreneurs have decided to take those things we all love doing in the Outdoors, and bring them all together in one complex.

The US National Whitewater Center in Mecklenburgh County, North Carolina (about 90 minutes from Winston-Salem) opened last August to much fanfare. 

The center, as it’s title would suggest, is based around the world’s largest indoor whitewater rafting river.  The river measures 4,000 linear feet and tops 10 other artificial whitewater rivers in the world, as the biggest. 

The center is not all about whitewater rafting though.  The National Whitewater Center also boasts over 11 miles of mountain biking trails, an outdoor climbing wall and spire, rope courses, and flat-water kayaking on the local Catawba River.  There is definately something there for everyone.

These types of Outdoor Recreation centers are slowly gaining ground, especially around the larger cities where people don’t have the chance to get out to far-away places.  Their origins probably come from Japan and China, who have led the Indoor/Outdoor revolution with their ingenuity to bring the world’s beaches indoors during the 1990’s.

The National Whitewater Center sounds like a blast.  It hosts over 60 certified river guides giving whitewater tours on two different course.  The rapids on the courses range from Class II and III Rapids to a more difficult Class IV run that involves a daring 7 foot plunge.  Each trip takes approximately 90 minutes and involves two trips around the easier course before sending you on your way into the Class IV’s.

Don’t worry if you have never been involved with something of this magnitude.  World class guides and training staff will be working with you throughout your adventure excursion into the whitewater.  Before each journey into the rapids, you are required to listen to a guide for 20 minutes as he explains what you will encounter and how to handle each situation.

The cost of going to an Adventure center shouldn’t hinder to many people for having loads of fun, if you find yourself in the area.  A 90 minute “trip” will set you back $35 through the week and $39 on weekends, but also includes the safety and learning experience, as well as a personal floatation device, a paddle, and helmet.  Wetsuits can be rented at the center as well for a small fee.  The $35 price will give you a seat in a six-person raft that will be fully guided with personal following your trip as well for safety reasons.  If there are six of you, you can rent your own boat for $234 for the 90 minute ride.

For an adreneline pumping account of a recent trip to The National Whitewater Center, please check out THIS article from Lisa O’Donnell from the Winston-Salem Journal.  This article will also let you know a bit more about what is involved on such a trip.

If you are in the area, The National Whitewater Center can be reached at 704-391-3900.  You can also visit their very nice website featuring photos and video of everything that The National Whitewater Center has to offer.  I sure wish we had one of these centers near me, they would have to drag me away..

This Week in Adventure Sports Weekly–08/22/07

The new issue of Adventure Sports Weekly has been released.  One thing I truly do like about this new magazine is that it is so varied…there is something there for everyone.

This week, Adventure Sports Weekly takes us to the XTERRA Mountain Championships Off-road Triathalon–one of the biggest events of it’s kind in the world.  There were roughly 600 participants at this years event, which is also a qualifier for the World Championships held in Hawaii–this is a pretty good read and involves a first-person account of the event from one of it’s participants..Jeff Harrison.

Next we get an inside look at the youngest PRO Skater in the world, Nyjah Houston.  At 11 years old, he already is riding on the Pro Circuit and has all the usual sponsors to foot the bill.  Many of you will probably recognize Nyjah from the recent X Games–his waist-length dreads are hard to miss.  Greg Baerg from Lat34 fame is credited with the article–and actually had a chance to speak with the young Nyjah about his future and his present..quite entertaining and I am sure we will be hearing much, much more out of this youngster in the years to come.

Next up comes Adventure Sports Weekly’s Climbing Editor Patrick Welsh.  His weekly column dealing with his personal climbing experience–He is a climbing expert working with Black Diamond, has become an Adventure Sports Weekly staple and highly entertaining at that.

This week’s column, “Hanging by a Thread“, takes a look at the unpredictable nature of climbing…His title says it all.  Scary, but many of us know where he is coming from.

Probably the most entertaining piece in this weeks issue happens to cover a sport that gets little coverage in the press…haha…The Roller Derby!

Some of us who grew up in the late 80’s and early 90’s may remember the Roller Derby being on TV weekly.  That was the hayday..but this sport has started a new growth spurt in recent times.

This article comes to us from Jen Phillon, a member of the Death Dealers Roller Derby team and gives an account of a recent night at the Derby and the amazing comeback that ensued.  Great Piece that brought back alot of fun memmories.

Overall, I think this may be the strongest issue I have read to date.  Covers a lot of different things.  As I have mentioned earlier, I am in the process of writing some material myself for Adventure Sports Weekly..so we can all look forward to that in the future…Go check it out and tell me what you think.

The Next Big Thing: The Adventurist Teams Up With Adventure Sports Weekly

The old saying goes –when opportunity knocks, you had better answer the door.  Well, in a sense I have answered the door.  A couple of days ago Editor Wina Sturgeon from Adventure Sports Weekly contacted myself and was interested in discussing what I do here at The Adventurist.

After a lengthy discussion about our sites, our future goals, and what we are both looking to achieve, it became real evident that we have more than a little in common.

Adventure Sports Weekly is destined to not only be the first of it’s type on the Internet, but also a leader in the Adventure Sports industry.  Adventure Sports Weekly, the Brainchild of Editor Wina Sturgeon, who many of you might know through her extensive Olympic coverage for Sports Illustrated,  will be the first Online Magazine devoted solely to the Outdoor sporting world. 

I have been very open and straight-forward with all of you, my readers, about trying to put together the best site on the internet dealing with Adventure.  Keeping that in mind, we have decided in a sense to team-up.

Over the course of the next few days and weeks ahead The Adventurist and Adventure Sports Weekly will be sharing some content.  Their dedication to the sanctioned sports side of the outdoor world, IE..Mountain Bike Racing, BMX, Skateboarding, Climbing ect..will actually be bringing something to the table that I have desperately been wanting to add.  Adventure Sports Weekly offers top notch sporting news live from the field, allowing for exclusive coverage and content that just isn’t found anywhere else on the Internet.

I will also be working with Adventure Sports Weekly offering new articles, and maybe even a weekly column I have in the works in the world of Adventure.

This is a very exciting opportunity for myself personally.  I have dedicated myself to the Adventure world and writing.  With Adventure Sports Weekly I now have the opportunity to not only garner a bigger readership, but to also bring about a new direction….a bigger direction that hopefully will help build upon what I have already been able to do.

The adventure sporting field is getting ready to explode.  I have done this now for almost a year, and just about daily there are new sites emerging.  More coverage is being given in the media to these athletes that have pretty much remained under the table.  Just a couple of years ago, you would have never had the opportunity to see JEEP: King of the Mountain on a nationally televised program.  It is building.  It is growing.  More people are noticing and the money is slowly starting to come into these fantastic outdoors sports.

I am happy to say that I am very comfortable in knowing that I have aligned myself up with perhaps the leader in news coverage for these types of events.  Hopefully this relationship will flourish and all of us involved can bring even more exposure to the great athletes and sporting events throughout the years to come.

So what exactly does Adventure Sports Weekly bring to the table?

• It is ran by one of the top Sports Journalists in the world.  Editor Wina Sturgeon has written for Sports Illustrated and The New York Times, to only name two.  She has nearly 40 years of experience at being at the top of the game.  She knows how to do things, and do them right.
• Experience.  Being a leader in the sports writing industry, Wina Sturgeon brings her vast knowledge to a growing field.  She automatically brings  her credibility and dedication to an area that has been lacking in national coverage.
• National Coverage.  Simply put.
• Adventure Sports Weekly is currently the only publication of its kind on the Internet.  It is new with a very big potential in the future to not only lead the way, but to be THE way.
• Future.  Adventure Sports Weekly is currently developing a system to bring top-notch video coverage of these sporting events as they happen–this will make it not only the leader in the Adventure Sports industry, but will also raise the bar on what the internet can bring to you, the viewers.
• Credibility.  I have been straight-forward in telling all of you my eventual goals of writing in this industry full-time.  This gives me a great opportunity to work with some of the best people in the industry and hopefully build on what I have already been able to accomplish.  It is a fantastic opportunity and one that I never would have been able to do without all of the continued support and guidance from you, my readers.  So THANK-YOU very much!
• Oh yeah– and Lastly, Adventure Sports Weekly is FREE.  Can’t get much better than that.  All the great news coverage and articles are completely free to you the reader.  Eventually this will also include the great video coverage that is currently in developement.

I am hoping to recieve your continued support and that you will enjoy what the future has in store.  The Adventurist will still be covering everything it normally does…with a bonus of adding new content from time to time from some very special events.  Also, if you enjoy my writing, keep your eyes peeled to Adventure Sports Weekly, as I will be bringing some further exciting articles their way in the very near future.  Let’s all show Adventure Sports Weekly our support in what they are trying to achieve and welcome them in to The Adventurist family.

Jeep: King of the Mountain, Stage 1 Results

Just call it dommination.  Two riders each looking to score their unprecedented third Mountain Biking World Professional Championship title, showed everyone once again why they have been domminating this illustrious series.

Set against the backdrop of The Canyons Resort and a Nationally televised audience (CBS) Jill Kintner and Michal Prokop both decided that today was a good day for racing.  They both brought the speed and brought the moves that has seemingly left them domminating a series that includes the best riders in the world.

Both riders blasted through the ranks and polished off their respective final challengers and each took the win.  Only two more stages are between both of them and their third Mountain Biking World Professional Championship.

All contenders in the Jeep:  King of the Mountain Series are vying for that coveted title, as well as $100,000 and a brand new 2008 Jeep Liberty.

Probably the biggest surprise in this whole event was how Cody Warren snuck by the top ranked Mountain Biker in the World–Brian Lopes after Lopes had an unfortunate meeting with the dirt.  Lopes’s wipeout seemingly paved the way for Warren to reach the semi-final round.

In the finals, it actually looked like Michal Prokop was going to lose through the first stage.  (The racers do two runs, then the times are added together)  On the first run, Jared Graves busted off the line and ran a very quick and smooth first heat..taking Prokop at the gate by a couple of seconds.  In the final heat to decide the men’s division though, Prokop was able to gain control–and some speed, as he not only won the heat, but made up the time he had lost in the previous run, to become the winner.

Here are the current Jeep:  King of the Mountain Standings after one race:

Men’s Standings

1.  Michal Prokop – Czech Republic

2.  Jared Graves – Australia

3.  Eric Carter – Temecula, Calif.

4.  Cody Warren – Alpine, Calif.

5.  Rich Houseman – Temecula, Calif.

6.  Brian Lopes – Laguna Beach, Calif.

7.  Wade Bootes – Australia

8.  Chris Van Dine – Park City, Utah

Women’s Standings

1.  Jill Kintner – Seattle, Wash.

2.  Melissa Buhl – Chandler, Ariz.

3.  Anneke Beerten – Denmark

4.  Tara Llanes – Los Alamitos, Calif.

5.  Fionn Griffiths – UK

6.  Leana Gerrard – Bellingham, Wash.

7.  Gale Dahlager – Park City, Utah

8.  Joanna Petterson – Kauai, Hawaii

This first event was recorded for CBS and will be played on television on Saturday, August 18th.

The second leg of this event, which will also be recorded for CBS will take place at the Madonna Inn in San Luis Obispo, CA on August 18th.  Look for this race to air the following Saturday on CBS.

Should be a very interesting middle point to the series.  This will probably let us know who has it and who doesn’t.  If Jill Kintner and Michal Prokop can domminate this second race as well, we might all be looking at history in the making.

For more on the Jeep:  King of the Mountain World Professional Championships, swing on over to the JeepSports site for all of the latest news and coverage.

Cyclists Help at Minneapolis Bridge Collapse

With the tragedy that unfolded lastnight in Minneapolis, Minnesota–thousands upon thousands of people have been left stranded from their homes and places of business, as one of the few bridges to actually go into Minneapolis collapsed.

A few momments after the collapse, as rescue workers were being triggered to the scene–some people on bicycles had already arrived…some being emergency personel themselves.

Minneapolis has long harbored an outstanding program for the inner-city bicyclist.  One addition this city has made was the addition of a cycling bridge that spans the Misissippi River…Just a few short feet away from where the Bridge collapsed lastnight.

Within a few minutes, Bicyclists were seen jumping into the river to try to help.  Others were trying to find ways to reach the lower reaches of the bridge collapse on bike, as no vehicles could actually make it down the steep embankments.

BikingBis has been covering the cyclists involvement in this tragedy, and there are some really interesting stories coming out of this.  Head on over there and catch up on the latest.

All these guys (and gals) should be thanked for stepping up and helping out in this tragic incident.  Our thoughts and Prayers are with all the families involved in this very scary incident.

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