11 June 08  Catching our breath, seeking sponsors, prepping for Cradle of Liberty and looking at Terra Traverse . 

The season is going great and the team has filled out with some incredible racers.  Everyone is busy trying to balance work committments, races, training and our families.  Additionally, the lawn needs to get mowed once and awhile!  The Cradle of Liberty 24 hour is right around the corner on the last weekend of the month.  This is another race with a great reputation, and is both a USARA qualifier and a points race for Checkpoint Tracker.  Christy, Bryce and myself will be the team to race. 

We are still looking for more sponsors, support, and financial backing.  Our team has lofty goals and aspirations; we also have the people to achieve those goals and provide a lot of exposure for interested businesses.  Perhaps Terra Traverse as our first international race??? 

31 May  Meet our newest sponsor - All About Images

They are a professional photo and HD video company located in the Chicago, IL area.  The last weekend in May, they drove out to PA and covered our two teams' progress during the Lionheart race.  Check out their site, I think they got pictures of nearly every racer there as well.  Great high resolution images - start putting together that race scrap book! 

31 May to 1 June 08  American Adventure Sports Lionheart 24 hour, USARA Nationals Qualifier - We Qualified!!!  3rd Place Coed Elite and 10th Place Coed Elite!

We put together two teams for this race.  One was myself, Bryce and Christy.  The other team was comprised of Mike, Brian and Andi.  A special thanks to Doug and his crew from American Adventure Sports for putting together a unique, challenging, and extremely fun event.  Additionally thanks to Nature Cure for the partial sponsorship that helps us attend these races and to Logistics2020 for all the help.  Yet again, Land Rover Alexandria provided 2 LR3's for us.  Rolling in style! 

This was an incredible race, linear to rogaine, and definitely a race where planning and flexibility were key.  Each team created a writeup - see Bryce's and Andi's on our Race Review page for all the details. 

25-26 May 08  Odyssesy Wild Wonderful 24 hour, 6th place!!!

Suze's camp ended on the 24th, and she stayed to race.  Ronnie, Bryce and Dave drove out (again special thanks to Land Rover, Alexandria VA for providing the LR3 to safely get our team and gear there and back!) and the race was on.  They did incredibly well, especially considering the caliber of teams they were racing against.  6th place overall and in Coed elite.  For the details, see Bryce's writeup at Race Review.  Also, a special thanks to Harry at EMS for the last minute hook up with the shirts.

This week kicked off with Andi and Suze going to camp - specifically:

"Odyssey Adventure Racing Academy (OARA) is the longest running adventure racing school in America and is respected as "the most inclusive" place to learn adventure racing in the country. Students of all experience levels participate in 4-day or 6-day courses that, in addition to covering the above disciplines, focus on physical training, race strategy, team dynamics and outdoor survival skills. Activities are held in scenic locations throughout the New River Gorge area. Classroom training takes place at the Camp Washington Carver Historic Site, the largest chestnut-log structure in the country. Instructors are accomplished adventure racers and experts in the various disciplines. The 6-day course culminates with an exciting and challenging 24 hour race."  

Suze is staying for the race.  So, Bryce and Ronnie recruited Dave Ashley to go up with them and race with Suze at the Wild Wonderful 24 hour in New River Gorge, WV.  What an great way to spend Memorial Day weekend!  Wish them luck and stay tuned for the results...

14 May 08  The big weekend is over, results for two of the races are in - and one is still pending - I think...

We did the three races in three states simultaneously.  The races and dates were: April 24-27, 2008 Odyssey Endorphin Fix 3 Day; April 26, American Adventure Sports/Nature Cure Yough Extreme 12 hour; and also on the 26th EX2 Adventures, Greenhorn.  Wow, what a weekend.  We had special help from a few of our sponsors.  Old Town Canoe and Kayak pushed hard to get us two very nice Royalex Penobscot 17's for the race.  Look for a write up on the near future on probably the fastest plastic/Royalex canoe out there.  EMS Arlington, VA saved the day with the portage wheels they let us use.  Without those wheels we would still be dragging two canoes!  Land Rover of Alexandria provided a LR3 support vehicle for each race - roomy, stylin' and dependable.  Of course Logistics2020 is behind the scenes helping make all this possible.  

18 April 08  We are busy prepping for 3 races, in 3 states - at the same time!  

We are going to be busy.  Teamhalfwaythere.com will field 3 teams in 3 seperate races on the last weekend in April. 

     Race 1.  Big Bryce, Little Bryce, Christy and myself will be racing  the Odyssey Endorphin Fix 3 Day; 29,000 ft of elevation change, ropes, rafting, biking, riverboarding, paddling, and trekking.  An epic event and double points for the Checkpoint Tracker Series. 3 days and 200 miles...Follow the race live at http://www.checkpointtracker.com/index.cfm?fuseaction=app.showDashboard&eventID=135

     Race 2.  On Saturday the 26th Mike, Andi and Brian will be fiercely competing at the American Adventure Sports/Nature Cure Yough Extreme 12 hour, a USARA Nationals Qualifier.  We are a sponsored team for this event and really look forward to competing.

     Race 3.  Simultaneously, Lance and two of his friends will race in the coed class at EX2's Greenhorn Sprint AR in Rocky Gap MD. 

     So, we are busy - very, very busy!!!  Wish us luck! 

A special thanks to Land Rover, Alexandria for providing vehicles to support our race efforts. 

For more details on these and other upcoming races, go to our Calendar.

17 April 08  Welcome to Old Town Canoe and Kayak and Land Rover Alexandria.

Old Town Canoe and Kayak, will be assisting us this season.  Just in time - I bought one of their boats and can't wait to race it! 

Additionally, Land Rover Alexandria is providing us with support vehicles for all three of our races the last weekend in April.  With one of the most solid performing vehicles on the planet, what better way to get to the races! 

We are pleased to announce that our teammate, Barry Nobles, is the winner of the 2008 SunTrust National Marathon's "Red Bull Negative-Split Challenge." Check out the results to consider the strategy involved in this endeavor: http://www.nationalmarathon.com/results_08.asp

Barry's spoils? A year's supply of Red Bull! He now routinely carries a Sharpie so when you see him, feel free to ask him for an autographed 'Bull.   In related news, since we all love the way Red Bull invigorates our minds and bodies, Barry will soon offer Red Bull an invitation to sponsor us! Stay tuned...

6 April 08  2nd Place two person Co-ed!! Hampton Roads Adventures (HRA) SPAR race. 

On the 5th of April, my wife and I competed in the SPAR, HRA's season opener race.  This year they offered both a beginner and an advanced course.  This was my wife's first race, so we did the beginner course.  Our intent was to have fun and enjoy ourselves.  We ended up 2nd in the co-ed division!  As always, Pam and Mike put together an incredible event.  Thanks for letting us compete.  The best news - my wife will be joining us for more!

14 March 08  A special welcome to Logistics 2020 and Notube.com as our newest sponsors!

LOGISTICS 2020 is a Service-Disabled Veteran-Owned Small Business (SDVOSB) that provides the working knowledge, expertise, resources, and the high quality performance expected to support client requirements.  They do an incredible amount of support related activities with the US government and military.  A special thanks to them for their support this race season!  See them on our sponsor page and visit them at their website: www.logistics2020.com

NoTube.com is known for Tubeless Systems, Tubeless Rims, Tire Sealant, Rotors, and more.  We look forward to trying their products and taking advantage of weight savings and flat/puncture resistance.   Check them out on our sponsors page and on the web at www.NoTube.com.

8 - 9 March 08 Checkpoint Zero 30 hour, Hiawassee GA.  11th Place in the Coed elite class!!!  Read all about it at our Race Review page. 

19 Feb 08  Lots of new updates...

Congrats to Bryce on the Florida Swamp Stomp, Checkpoint Zero race!  6th Place in the Coed Elite class, and overall!!!

Our very own Bryce just returned from the Florida Swamp Stomp.  He competed this weekend on the Halfwaythere.com team.  It was a gruelling race and they did a phenomenal job!  Read all the inspirational details on the Race Review page.

2 Feb Diet

The AR training event - "Diet" went really well.  Especially considering that the slopes of Old Rag were covered in ice!  Mike is going to put together a full write up, in the meantime suffice to say it took us almost the entire 12 hours to complete the 12 hour course.  Based on the feedback received after we finished, we were the first team to complete all of the 12 hour course.  Great kickoff for the upcoming season.

Bandersnatch - wow

Vassago knocked it out of the park with this bike.  I got the bike put together, rode it about 50 meters in my driveway, and was off to Conte's Bike in Arlington, VA for a fitting.  About an hour later - we were done.  The next day, I spent almost 8 hours on the Bandersnatch.  Check out the write up in the review section - incredible!

3 Feb 08  New wheels, Headset, Bandersnatch buildup 

Final Bandersnatch buildup

Everything came together, and my newest ride is complete.  The pics sum it up: Vassago Bandersnatch frame, WB Magic 80 forks, Probuilt wheels, WTB Nanoraptor tires, XT and Sram X9 stuff, Candy pedals. 

Headset

It's a Chris King and it's blue.  It arrived on Feb 31st as the final piece of the puzzle.  Now it is time to put it all together!

Wheels

The wheels arrived from Probuiltwheels.com in the evening of the 30th.  They are even better looking than I anticipated.  Thanks to WTB for the hubs on short notice, and to Rick at Probuilt for his personal involvement in getting these together.  Check out these works of art.

Tn 719 rims, DT spokes, WTB Laser Disc Lite hubs...

30 Jan 08  Newly Designed Website is up.  Let us know what you think.

The previous version of the webpage was getting very cluttered.  So this is the new and improved version.  As a bonus, the imported images are much cleaner. 

My new wheels from Probuilt should arrive today and the headset tomorrow.  As soon as they come, I'll get some pics up.  

29 Jan 08  Wheels are coming and time on the trainer...

The wheels are shipped and should be here around Thursday evening.  The Chris King headset did not arrive at Probuiltwheels.com today, so the wheels went out alone.  I still have to get everything together in time to have the bike rolling for my Friday appointment at Contes Bike in Arlington for a 2d fitting.  Grrr..... 

Putting in time on the trainer nearly everyday.  Definitely a different workout - sit and spin, and spin and spin.  Really looking forward to getting a ride in on some singletrack tonight!  It sure is a great tool to identify all the issues that will arrive during long seated rides, while getting used to maintaining a steady cadence.  The focus is on establishing a pace/cadence that I can maintain in the upcoming 36 hour Pisgah event.  Keep the heartrate low!  

28 Jan 08  Nature Cure and American Adventure Sports  are our newest Sponsors!

We are proud to announce our newest sponsors: the combined efforts of American Adventure Sports and Nature Cure.  Check them both out at www.americanadventuresports.com and www.beecaps.com.  We will be racing in all three of American Adventure Sports AR races: The Yough Extreme 12 hour, 26 April at Ohiopyle, PA; the Lionheart 24 hour, 31 May - 1 June at Ohiopyle, PA; and the Blackbeard on 13 Sept at Nags Head Outer Banks, NC.