By Stephen RegenoldIt took months of training and nearly a full week of human-powered effort (six days, three hours, and 31 minutes, to be exact) to traverse the entirety of Tierra del Fuego in Chiles Patagonia region. But from a ferry depot on the Strait of Magellan to a port on Isla Navarino, a sub-Antarctic island close to Cape Horn, mountain replica Corum watch bikes, trekking gear, kayaks, ropes, and a zipline over a river afforded passage on the crazy journey that was the 2010 Wenger Patagonian Expedition Race.Like all the racers that finished, the members of Team GearJunkie.com--which included myself and three companions, all racing together the entire time--traveled a total of 344 miles.
We carried sleeping bags, tents, survival gear, and food. Resupply drops every couple of days kept our loads hovering below 25 pounds for most of the race.Gear ranging from shell jackets to ultra-light tents was a crucial element for every team. There was a mandatory gear list provided by the race directors, including headlamps, first aid, gloves, a replica Piaget watches whistle, and a couple dozen other crucial items. Each team came with its own customized kit, a meticulous collection of equipment to support, protect, warm, feed, and speed movement on a race course dubbed the toughest and wildest on Earth.I tested most of my gear for months before heading south to Chile.But on the course, where it rained and snowed--and where wind whipped up to 80miles per hour one day--some of the gear reached its breaking point.
Tour de France director Christian Prudhomme unveiled the route for next years Tour in Paris today. The 2,237mile race will start in the dutch city of Rotterdam and wind through Belgium before taking a clockwise loop around Paris. The route includes six mountain stages, with three of those ending in summit finishes, plus four medium mountain stages. replica Bell & Ross watches Aside from the 5.6mile opening Prologue in Rotterdam, the race will have just one individual time trial—a 37mile stage on the Tours penultimate day—and no team time trial. So its a route that favors climbers like Alberto Contador and has fewer opportunities for TT specialists and strong TT teams like Lance Armstrong and his new Radio Shack squad. You can already see the story lines unfolding.
