Checkpoint Zero/Inov-8 Team Blog
presented by Inov-8

Gambling at the Upstate Adventure Race
posted Friday, October 31, 2008 by Team Checkpoint Zero @ 11:05 AM - 0 comments

Every now and again on the race course you're forced to gamble, sometimes you win, sometimes you don't. At the Upstate Adventure Race this past weekend, we didn't. Congrats to DART-nuun on their victory, and our team mates Paul and Michele racing as Inov-8 for a well deserved second place. My apologies to Kenny Rogers.

On a cool fall evenin on a road bound for nowhere
We met up with some racers, we were all to jazzed to sleep.
So we took turns a starin at squigly lines thinking where to go
til nap time overtook us, and we began to sleep.

I said, son, I've had some time of readin this here map
And learnin where the cps are by the way trails twist and turn
So if you don't mind my guessin, I can see this ain't no snap
For a tase of your ensure I'll give you some advice

So we set out on the course, and we went as hard as we could
We were right up with the leaders, and puttin up a fight
But sixteen was hidden well, and our luck was runnin out
See, if you're gonna play the game, boy, ya gotta learn to play it right.

You got to know when to hold em, know when to fold em,
Know when to walk away and know when to run.
You always find your cps when youre out on the race course.
There'll be time enough for guessin when the racin's done.

Moab Xstream Expedition
posted by Team Checkpoint Zero @ 10:49 AM - 0 comments


After nearly 3 full days of racing, the Checkpoint Zero / Inov-8 adventure racing team of Jenn Rinderle, Hunter Orvis, Paul Cox, and Peter Jolles crossed the finish line in third place overall. This years edition of the race featured hiking and mountain biking on the Poison Spider mesa, paddling on the Colorado river, trekking in the Manti La Sal National Forest, and a lengthy section of the famous Kokopelli trail.

Having come off a somewhat disappointing finish last year, the team was fired up to make a good showing at this years Xstream Expedition. Armed with the experience from last years race, we were better prepared for what the course might throw at us, or at least that's what we thought.
Very early in the race we started to encounter what would become our biggest enemy over the entire course, Tribulus terrestris, otherwise known as the goathead. The prickly little pods laid waste to our tires and supply of bicycle tubes. We ended up with so many flats, I don't even know how many tubes we went through during the race, but suffice to say, it was the equivalent of several years worth in our usual south eastern terrain.
Aside from our troubles with natures perfect caltrops, the team held up well in the blistering sun, baking heat, lightning storms, and wind driven snow. Even with the variety of conditions thrown at us this year, it was the first time in the events history that the race had not been called off on account of weather.

Adventure racing is notoriously hard on equipment, and this race was no exception. Our equipment suffered some pretty obscene abuse, everything from filling our Inov-8 shoes with sand from dunes, to loading up our Race Pro packs with 2, even 3 bladders to try and keep ourselves hydrated during the 10-12 hour unsupported legs we had to complete. While I'm sure these weren't the conditions the designers had in mind, everything worked fantastically and kept us moving the entire time. Not one team member suffered any blisters on their feet the entire time, which is quite a feat considering how many hours we were on them.

At the end, the team was very happy to cross the finish line after 70 hours of racing, of which, only 3.5 of those was sleep. With a week and a half of recovery under our belts, we're already looking forward to our next event, the Upstate Adventure Race.

My quick take on the Moab Xstream expedition
posted Wednesday, October 01, 2008 by Team Checkpoint Zero @ 12:29 PM - 0 comments

Three days after finishing my third Moab Expedition I'm in full recovery mode, which means I'm eating everything in sight and hoping my cankles will shrink. I'm SOOO glad that weather didn't force the race directors to shorten the course this year. Our team was able to experience the race in all its gore and glory, and finished in third place.

My quick take ...

The good:
  • Views in the LaSals
  • Peter's navigation
  • Banter with my fantastic teammates Hunter, Peter and Jenn
  • Paddling on the Colorado
  • Running through the snow/ice in the LaSals
  • Views from the rappel and the rest of the first trekking section
  • Friendly and very competitive field
  • My hallucination during the last bike section that Jenn was a real estate agent trying to sell Peter a mountain cabin
The bad:
  • Goatheads (and 7+ flat tires and riding on my rim for miles). See picture at right.
  • The heat in Pritchard's Canyon
  • Carrying our bikes up Jackson's ladder

The Ugly:
  • Why didn't I just step OVER all that cow poo?
  • More flat tires
  • Well ... me

Thanks so much for all the well wishes -- and especially Peter's dad, Martin, for the great support crewing, our sponsors Inov-8, Numa Sport Optics, Nuun, and Sylvan Sport for the use of their FANTASTIC Go Trailer.

Peter no doubt will follow this with a more detailed report.

-- Paul