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October – Rain, Snow and Tropical Heat

Rob / 30.12.2002

Not all in one place of course, though it came close to that at Eco-Challenge in Fiji. The rains fell in Holland and the snow was in Southern Spain as this months races suffered climatic extremes.

Dams, Dykes and a Deluge
“So much rain fell during this race that the combined force of all Dutch windmills pumping water into the North Sea meant that we had to canoe up class 2 rapids instead of normally peaceful canals. We travelled faster through the water when we took off all our clothes and tied them to an oar to make a sail. There was so much water on the ground that we exchanged our skate wheels for floats …�

Team Leiden Adventure Racing were at it again – their report earlier in the year came from Sweden’s wettest ever race! This time they were getting soaked at the one-day North Face Race in Holland, but they were still as enthusiastic as ever. Read about it here.

Raid Gauloises Places the Icing on the Cake
“Despite the smell of stale sweat caused by drying clothes, no-one was willing to open the door. The mountain village of Sierra Nevada resembled an Arctic research centre, with snow and ice in abundance. “Bloody Hell� said Tim, “I’ve only brought me shorts and T-Shirt�…..�

Team Saab Salomon were at the final X-adventure Raid in Southern Spain, along with a host of top teams chasing the qualification places in the next Raid Gauloises. It would be a nail-biting weekend for some, but for the British squad was a ‘piece of cake’. Marc Laithwaite’s hilarious account explains all. Read it here.

The Hardest Eco-Challenge Ever?
Only 10 of the 81 teams who started completed this year’s Eco-Challenge and following their ups and downs through 10 days was a real roller-coaster ride for web-watchers too. Much of that was due to the lack of information available from the race site, but ‘The Two Steves’ were never lost for a colourful comment and helped SleepMonsters.com provide the most objective coverage on the race anywhere.

After keeping the start, course lengths, cut-offs and almost everything else secret Mark Burnett delivered his promise of a true expeditionary adventure. Surprisingly cold and wet weather added to the difficulties of the jungle course and for a time it looked like no-one would ever make it across the island to start the final paddling stages. They did of course, and after many lead changes it was Seagate.com of New Zealand who took the title, sweet revenge after what happened to them on home ground last year and yet another kiwi victory. They were unstoppable in 2002.

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