Raid the North Extreme
The Bar Scene
Chris Koch / 24.06.2007
They let Sleepmonsters.ca in on a bit of their strategy. With an approximately 3-day push on Queen Charlotte's they have two options. "We are either going to push straight through or sleep a bit on the 2nd night." said Ryan. "We'll take some chances in this race" he added.
Team Dart-nuun is a club out of Seattle that can draw from a deep pool of racers. They have had three teams racing at the same time before in different divisions. This setup is quite beneficial to maintaining a brand image that has a consistant presence and is attractive to sponsors. A good track record in races also helps.
They did take a moment to send a "hello" back home to their supportive significant others.
Later that day, many of the teams and volunteers gathered at Breakers Pub - a local supporter of Raid the North Extreme. As a pub, it was a great chance for old friends to catch up with one another.
Dave Zietsma is back in the picture, racing with his fiance Nuala and two good friends, and longtime racers Steve Topham and Mike Popik on Team Playground Bullies. Before even talking, Mike wanted me to send a hello back to his family who he misses very much. Jacob just graduated from daycare and Mike was sorry he missed it, but his two young boys had given him a pickle to carry with him during the race.
We're not quite sure what that means.
After a few beer, Team Playground Bullies and Team SSS, longtime friends in the sport, shared funny war stories of past. Talking about the most "messed up" they've been in races, biggest mistakes, forgetting maps, and the falling in lakes stories that only can be laughed at because this is a team sport.
Tomorrow, teams will shake off the beer for a brief ride to the ferry terminal and the trip to Queen Charlotte's.
The real race will start up on Monday morning.
SleepMonsters
