I just got finished watching the SPQ broadcast on CBS a few minutes ago. Seeing the broadcast brought back a lot of memories. I will always remember my time at SPQ with both fond memories and sadness. I was a few checkpoints away from Iilabot Peak (about 17 miles) when the accident happened. I heard the choppers in the sky but I didn’t know what happened until almost 24 hours later as I walked from my CP to a location near what was TA4 where I was picked up by SPQ staff. My initial reaction was complete shock. “How could this have happened? Are you sure?” Those and many more thoughts ran through my mind as I processed what I just heard. I sat in silence for a few moments. “I can’t believe Nigel is dead” was all I could think for what seemed like hours. Because I was out on the course when the Nigel celebration BBQ and rose ceremony was held, I felt disconnected with the race for the next few days. I just couldn’t imagine what team AROC and Montrail went through. After all, it was just a few days before the race that I was sharing a hot tub with AROC. They were joking around like they were on a vacation, not about to start a 5 day adventure race where they were among the favorites. At the 2003 SPQ they were as nice a pro team as could be. They laughed and joked more than most teams and they came in second place! As I watched the broadcast all those emotions from September 2004 came back to me. I saw Nigel again, racing and leading the race as he was then. I’m glad I sat by myself and watched it because I let a few tears slide down my face. As a guy you never want anyone to see you cry. I cried for Nigel tonight. I’m sure he was watching from above and smiling along while watching AROC kicking butt in the race. As the broadcast finished, I could see him get up and hop on his mountain bike and ride off into some sweet singletrack. Rest in Peace Nigel.

It’s been a while since I wrote in the blog. I’ve been working on the new site but I’ll spill the beans I guess. I’m hoping to put on my own adventure race in June 2005 with white water rafting as one of the disciplines. I’m still working on the permit with the Forest Service but I hope to have everything announced in about a month. We’ll see how it goes…

SPQ: Tune in to you local CBS station to watch the Subaru Primal Quest Adventure Race on Sunday, January 23rd from 4-6PM. If I’m lucky you might see me!

NGAR: Go figure, the first year I didn’t race and the weather is perfect. I volunteered for CP1 because I’m still injured from NGAR 2004. It was super cold Saturday morning and when the teams came through I could hardly write thier information down. I could write numbers, but letters were hard! As usual the race was though and not many finished. I think only one team finished the entire course actually.

NFL: Go Falcons!