So Phat Free has put another notch in the racing department. This race wasn't too bad with the exception that it really wasn't an adventure race. It was more like a dirty triathlon, but instead of swimming you had kayaking. No special tasks existed in the race which required the team to work together, which Lauri and I feel is the very essence of an adventure race. On the short run teams had to endure, part of the course took you aprox 20 yards into the lake to walk around two markers in the water. This put the water at about waist deep and was there to provide an energy sap for the return run. Not too bad. The kayaking sucked!!! Seats were not provided for the old Sevylars, which all the teams were required to use. With no back support both of us were forced to lean forward the entire way, which became quite cumbersome after...ohhh say...2 minutes! We did get two comments from other teams asking us where the motor was on our kayak as we flew past them. yeahh. Ehhh...we also got the Sevylar proof of use: two elbows rubbed raw. Now the mountain bike leg was the best part of the whole race. We got in and out of the TA like lighting and then lit it up to the loop. At first we were stuck behind some slower moving teams, but were able to pass them with ease. We passed those who did not let us around when they spun out on the hills. Ha, that's what you get!!!!! Then we put a lot of distance between us and them and were chasing the faster moving groups. We could not see them but knew they were there! Actually, for awhile we were riding by ourselves and it was quit relaxing. Then we came upon the faster teams and were able to pick some of them off. Just before the finish line we had to crawl under a cargo net while somebody sprayed us with a garden hose. ………….Wow! I did get an eyeful of mud, which despite the stagnant smell and sweat content was kinda like being at a spa! All in all it was a good learning tool but could have used more special tasks!