What gear?

I decided to gather up most of the gear I would be using for the Pole Pedal Paddle for a family portrait and this was the result. The notable relatives that were not able to make it were Mr. Fullfacehelmet (mandatory for the downhill), Colonel Kayak, and Professor Paddle, all of which I will pick up tomorrow. Presumably, at some point on Saturday morning, one of these items will murder the other and it will be up to the rest to figure out what happened... Dr. Goggle, on the nordic track, with the bike pump.

Ok, moving along...

This year's event poses a bit more logistics due to wintry weather (high of 36 with snow flurries)compared to the past few years, so here's what I've come up with:

I'll be starting the downhill wearing three long-sleeve layers on top: a light wool shirt, my long sleeve team bike jersey, then a medium-weight wool jersey. I will have a team wind vest over the top of all that to keep the wind off my core at 40mph. I will also start the race wearing my bike shorts with leg warmers underneath my windproof tights. The goal here is to remain warm enough at the top of the downhill, but yet not have a gazillion clothes to remove for the nordic leg which requires much less clothing.

When I finish the downhill, the helmet will come off along with the vest, the outer wool jersey, and the windproof tights. I'll change into a pair of running shoes, run the 1/4 mile to the nordic track, change back into ski boots, then hop onto the skinny skis for a 10-12k skate. Then comes the bike. Clothing, hopefully will remain the same for the 19 mile bike south through Jackson to the boat launch. I should be able to post relatively competitive times up until this point. And then... the boat. Approx 8 miles south on the Snake River will take the fastest boaters between 50-55 minutes. It will most likely take me well over an hour. Ho-Hum... just floating along with priority #1 being DON'T FLIP INTO THE 33 DEGREE RIVER SMART GUY!

The whole thing should take about 2 1/2 hours.




Sunday is the last day of the season at Jackson Hole Mtn Resort so I will be partaking of the festivities of "Gaper Day" as evidenced above. There's nothin like ridin down the mountain in a bunny suit.

Stay tuned for a full weekend report in a few days.


Have a great weekend! See you next week!