The Checkpoint
"Official newsletter of the Atlanta TrailBlazers Adventure Racing Club"
Volume One, Issue Three, June 2002
Editor: Jackie Williams

Upcoming ATB Events
June
Tues. 11th	JUNE CLUB MEETING: 7 p.m. at Atlanta Rocks! Intown location. 
Learn climbing skills for adventure racers, how to double-check your own 
safety, gear, and certification from climbing guide and instructor Michael 
George of GA-Adventures. 20% discount on climbing offered for members before 
and after the meeting. Contact Chris O'Connnell, oconnell1973@hotmail.com.
Sat. 15th	PRE-HI-TEC ADVENTURE RACE TRAINING: Explore the Hi-Tec Adventure 
Race course, and get tips from others who completed the race last year. 
Color maps provided for $2 for members, $5 for non-members. One map per team 
provided unless requested. Please RSVP to Chris O'Connnell, 
oconnell1973@hotmail.com.
Tues. 27th	CLINIC: CREATING YOUR OWN ADVENTURE RACING TRAINING PROGRAM: 7 
p.m. at 1 Buckhead Loop. Conducted by ATB Coach Sandy Geisel.

July
Tues. 9th	CLUB MEETING: INJURY PREVENTION AND REHABILITATION: 7 p.m. at 
Health South Sports Medicine Clinic 1150 Hammond Drive.

Don't forget the Tuesday night trainings, now at a different location each 
week. Just visit the TrailBlazer web page to find out where ATB can be 
spotted this week!

Check out www.trailblazerar.com to confirm event time and location or for 
more information.

Notable News
ATB President Mike Ciavatta Migrating to Colorado
In pursuit of higher mountains and cleaner air Atlanta TrailBlazers Club 
President Mike Ciavatta has decided to quit his 9-5 in Atlanta and make the 
bold move to pack up and head west to Boulder, Colorado.
He can still be contacted on his cell, 404.325.8072 or at 
rerunrerun@aol.com.
Mike will be shacking up (living with only) another Atlanta AR transplant, 
Deborah Doyle, who ventured to Colorado for a job with Outward Bound.

Remembering Mike...
	by Chris O'Connell
>From the moment I met Mike, he began subtly pushing me into adventure 
racing. His tactics were always simple. He would just kind of lay an 
opportunity out there, not make too big of a deal about it. Whether a 
training or race, it was always so inviting, and I would just kind of have 
to say, "well, okay."

One of the first things he did was sign me up for the Atlanta TrailBlazer 
e-mail list. As far as I was concerned, these people were crazy. Always 
e-mailing inviting others to run up this mountain, kayak some river, or some 
other form of craziness. We'd occasionally e-mail each other marveling at 
some new level of insanity that these people were reaching...

Next, Mike began working on forming a team for a few upcoming races. 
Unfortunately, it seemed time after time that we would get a third teammate 
to consider the idea, then take them into the woods, get lost, wet, frozen 
or something, and never hear from the person again.

Finally, we attended a TrailBlazer club meeting, and we sheepishly announced 
to this crowd of what seemed to be hard-core athletes that we were looking 
for a teammate so we could race.  Little did we know, about half the room 
was in the same boat, one of which became one of our regular teammates.

With our new contacts, we finally started racing. And there was Mike, still 
subtly keeping us going forward as a team. Before we started our first race, 
we were signed up for a second. He'd set up trainings, send us info on 
upcoming races, and finally, we started attending TrailBlazer meetings 
pretty regularly.

Soon, it seemed, Mike had met everyone in the AR community in Atlanta, and 
was getting a very good reputation for setting up challenging and fun 
trainings. It became so much easier for all of us to find races, training 
partners and teammates. With all this momentum, TrailBlazers started taking 
off -- and a lot of the momentum was Mike's pushing, not just me, but the 
whole AR community in Atlanta.  And as always, subtle, but just enough to 
get us all going.

Though Mike is leaving, he is still subtly pushing me.  We have two races 
coming up before he leaves that I would have NEVER signed up for in my right 
mind!  In addition, he is pushing us all to keep ATB alive in his absence.  
Under his leadership, the club has become a great resource for training and 
teammates, and it remains open and accessible to everyone in the area, 
regardless of experience or skill level.  Not only that, but we now have the 
added membership benefit of having someone to train with whenever we head to 
Colorado!


TrailBlazer Team Spotlight
Team NADS
By Christopher O'Connell

The Second High Country Outfitters Adventure Race took place last month in 
the Ocoee area in Tennessee.  Among the several Atlanta TrailBlazer teams 
that competed were several new faces, including Team NADS (North Atlanta 
Dirt Scorchers.)

Team NADS is a quartet of triathletes and mountain bike racers who have been 
training and competing together over the past 6 years.  Having tackled such 
events as the Leadville 100 and Vail 100 mountain bike races, as well as 
numerous GAP races, the team is now starting to compete in adventure races.

NADS members Jay Scott and Al Grubb recruited Bill Pflueger and Anne 
Kilpatrick for the High Country Outfitters Adventure Race.  Despite this 
being only the second race for Jay & Al, and the first race for Bill & Anne, 
the team finished 1st in the 4-person Co-ed division, and second overall, 
with a time of 10 hours and 44 minutes.  The team was a mere seven minutes 
behind the winners, another ATB team, Team TerraForce, and two hours ahead 
of the third place team.

In addition to continuing to compete in mountain bike races and an upcoming 
off road ironman, Team NADS is planning to continue to adventure race.  The 
team competed in the Florida Coast 2 Coast Eco Adventure Race last weekend, 
and is planning to compete in the Mega Dose 3-4 day race in October.

What keeps Team NADS going?  Team member Jay Scott believes "What you make 
of your 'todays' will determine how you live your 'tomorrows.'"

Atlanta TrailBlazers congratulates Team NADS on their awesome finish in the 
Second High Country Outfitters Adventure Race, and wishes them the best of 
luck in the future.


Swap Shop
If you have some adventure racing gear to sell, swap or want, Jackie 
Williams, jswilliams21@hotmail.com, and we'll post it here. Send us the 
item, price, description, photo (if possible), and contact information.

For Sale: Draft Master Bike Rack
Draft Master bike rack for sale for 2" receiver hitch. Fits four bikes. 
$100.00. Contact Becky Rentz at brentz3@hotmail.com or 404.325.8072.

For Sale: Thule Roof Rack with Fairing
Thule Roof Rack, fits two bikes and most vehicles. A short car adaptor for 
hatchbacks is also available. Excellent condition. Asking $200. Contact 
William Key at uacatz@mac.com.

Werner Paddles
2 Paddles - Werner Point Paddles, a quality beginner/entry level paddle for 
whitewater or boats with a smaller girth. Fiberglass shafts and composite 
blades. One is 202 cm with a right hand control grip, the other is 204 cm 
with no grip. Yellow shaft and white blades. Excellent condition. $100 new, 
asking $49 each. Contact robbstanek@hotmail.com, or 770.745.5752.


Training Tips/Gear Review
Five Rules of Fluid Consumption
By Matt Fitzgerald
(Article taken from July 2002 Trail Runner)
If you're like most endurance athletes, you've been bombarded with so much 
information about fluid consumption you're not sure what to think. Forget 
everything you've heard an adhere to these five simple rules.
1. Try to replace two-thirds of fluid losses during workouts. Trying to 
replace more than two-thirds of fluid losses can lead to bloating and 
gastro-intestinal distress. Replacing less will result in dehydration.
2. To figure out your rate of fluid loss, weigh yourself in the nude on a 
scale with pounds and ounces (16 oz.=one pound) immediately before and after 
a typical workout. Add in the volume of fluid you consumed during the 
workout and subtract the amount you urinated. Divide by the number of hours 
you worked out. This is your rate of fluid loss in ounces per hour.
3. Use a sports drink... containing electrolytes (e.g. sodium), 1.75 to 2 
grams of carbohydrate per ounce, and 1 gram of protein for every 4 grams of 
carbohydrate. Studies have shown that this is the optimum sports drink 
formulation.
4. Drink 4 to 8 ounces every 15 minutes. Drinking smaller amounts more 
frequently will actually result in a slower rate of gastric emptying.
5. Increase your rate of fluid consumption in warmer temperatures and at 
higher intensity levels.


Side Notes
If you would like to contribute articles on gear, training, or just have 
something "interesting" that happened to you or a team during a race, let 
Jackie Williams know by e-mailing the article to jswilliams21@hotmail.com, 
by the 20th of each month and she will include your article in the next 
month's newsletter.
If you're new to the sport and not sure about racing, volunteer. It's the 
best way to learn about a race from the inside out. On that note, ATB is 
putting out a call for volunteers. We are losing one Executive Board member 
and need people to volunteer to help organize ATB events. Please contact 
Chris O'Connell, oconnell1973@hotmail.com, if you are interested in 
participating.


www.trailblazerar.com