Southridge Race #1

I made a very last minute decision to compete at the Southridge Winter Series XC MTB Race at Fontana, CA. Even on the drive out there I was hesitant about racing because it was super cold and windy. Am I getting soft? Nah,,,it's just that I spend so much time suffering through poor conditions during adventure races that I feel like avoiding the suffering whenever I can. But once I got there, the atmosphere, my Sho-Air teammates and the vibe of competition motivated me to race. It was fun to ride a new, unfamiliar course, and the gusting winds made it even more exciting! I'm also looking to use the XC races as tools for getting speedier and for overcoming my fear of "short" races. It was good practice for me to ride down technical sandy sections because that seems to be one of my weaknesses. Turned out pretty well as I finished 1st in the Sport Women category (and there were 5 other women racing! ;-)

And a huge congratulations to a wonderful showing for the Sho-Air team! Super Mario Correa - 1st place Expert Male 35+; Josh Smith - 1st place Expert Male 31-34; Ty Kady - 1st place Semi Pro Male; Craig Hopps - 4th place Expert Male 35+

Todd Stephenson - 1st Male Singlespeed

Brad Stephenson - 2nd Pro Male

Check out the Greenland video!!!!

Watch the 6 minute video of the Arctic Team Challenge 5 day adventure race I did in Greenland in July 2006.

Hank ~ AKA "Hanky Panky"

I went home for Thanksgiving and was able to spend some time with Hank. He used to be so happy and excited to see me that he would thrust his 80 pound body at me and I'd just about fall over. Now he was old, had arthritis and was moving slowly. I knew it would soon be time for him to leave us and only hoped that he would not suffer for too much longer. Before I left, we hung out for a while and I said goodbye. He passed away on November 30. He was a friend, a guardian, and part of our family for over 12 years.

Princesa turned Queen?

Last April I began a quest to become the "Mountain Bike Queen of Orange County." Honestly I had no idea what I was getting myself into and being consumed with adventure racing, I wasn't sure if I'd have the time or the desire to compete in all 4 races of the Warriors Society Championship Series. But I thoroughly enjoyed competing in their events so I decided to give them a try.

All 4 races were held at the Flying B Ranch on a 5.6 mile course with 1253 feet of elevation gain. In April, despite a gnarly acrobatic flight over the handlebars of my bike, I managed to pull off a 2nd place finish at the Spring XC race. But three laps around that course was nothing compared to my next challenge at the 24 Hours of OC. In the sweltering heat of June, I rode 16 laps around the brutal course and won a very hard-fought 1st place. With two more races to go, I had a narrow lead in the points race against the Warriors' own Mary Huth. Mary was a strong rider who always pushed me to ride as hard as I could. One month before the 6 Hours of OC, I joined team Sho-Air/Rock N Road and I focused on my training and set my sight on finishing the series on top. Unfortunately I had a mental collapse at the 6 Hours race in October that caused me to settle for a less than stellar result. I was still leading the series but Mary was close and there would be no room to falter at the final XC event.

For the next month, I worked on my physical and mental game and I was ready for that final race of the series. The XC format was not really my strength, but I was able to ride hard and come from behind for a very satisfactory 3rd place finish. With that, I clinched the series victory and my title of "Mountain Bike Queen of Orange County."

How does it feel to be Queen you ask? Well, whereas Elizabeth might be forced to take a limo to Buckingham, I had the pleasure of driving the Element back to my Costamesacastle. She may sport the Imperial State Crown and the Sceptre, but I can now flaunt a few open wounds, bruises, and permanent scars. And five years of riding, eight months of solid training, 34 hours of riding circles around the Flying B and countless hours of mental preparation were fully compensated by a giant posterboard check for $250! Aaaaahh, life is good as Queen!


I would like to acknowledge Mary Huth for being such a fierce and gracious competitor. She was always so strong and never gave up. She made me work hard for every single point and taught me some valuable lessons along the way.
Also many thanks to...
Chris, Sherry, Suzanne, Jason, volunteers and members of the Warriors Society for building the trails and organizing the races.
Scott of Sho-Air and Matt of Rock N Road for the team.
Coach Lynda for showing me the way.
Super Mario for advising me, encouraging me, training with me, pushing me, and expecting everything out of me.
Tim for taking care of Fiona and making her ride smoothly on her final race.
Greg, Miss Gilly, Erin, Caroline, and Curt for believing in me and supporting me.
Eron, Jonathan and Josh for motivating me and training with me.

Click HERE for the official race report.

12 Hours of Temecula ~ Team Sho-Air/Rock N' Road ~ 2nd Place Two Person Co-Ed

My Sho-Air teammate and great friend Josh Smith and I paired up for the 12 Hours of Temecula on November 11. We arrived on Friday evening and pre-rode the course. Jason, the RD, changed it up from previous races and made it a good mixture of singletrack, ridgeline rollercoasters, and technical climbs. There were a couple of steep, extremely sandy downhills where I knew I'd have to take caution but mostly it was a fast, fun course with only one dreaded climb dubbed "The Dam(n) Hill."

Josh packed up the Element well!

The race started with a 1/2 mile prologue to spread the field. Josh sprinted his way through the first lap and came through in fourth position--even against all the 4 and 5 man teams! We'd planned that he would take the first two laps and then we'd alternate, however, I had a feeling that I should be ready to ride...just in case.

Josh focusing on his start.

Thank God I was ready because as soon as he came through he signaled for me to go because he was having problems with his shifting. So I took off and rode hard. I was trying to win the $50 for the "Fastest Female Lap" but I guess I will have to work on my speed quite a bit more. Chrissy Bono, the Pro rider for the 2 person Co-Ed Spinergy team beat me by 6 minutes.

Bern smiles for the camera. (Stop posing and maybe you'll ride faster!)

My first two laps went smoothly. I made it down both steep, sandy sections with no mishaps. I was feeling good and making sure to fuel in between laps. Buuuuutttt, oops! I think I over fueled. After my second lap, I downed an entire bottle of Recoverite, a whole banana, a flask of Perpetuem, and 2 salty potato chips. As soon as I started riding, my tummy was NOT happy! I battled excruciating stomach cramps all the way up The Dam(n) Hill and through most of the lap. Then when I reached the first steep, sandy down, I lost control and fell hard right on my bottom. OUCH! It hurt. But I got up and kept riding. When I finally reached the transition to tag Josh, he knew something was wrong. But I just said I had a bad tummy and I'd be fine when he got back. I took some time to visit the medical guys and they were more than happy to tend to the giant gash on my left butt cheek. They asked if I had crashed over the fence into the ditch. "What fence? What ditch," I asked. "Nope, I just went down on the trail." So they asked if I was going back out to ride again. I thought: What? Is there an option? Hmmmm......Could I talk Josh into riding 8 more laps? Ha, ha! Nope, I wouldn't do such a thing. "Of course I'm going back out."

Josh powering up The Dam(n) Hill.

My fourth lap was going smoothly until I reached that darn sandy, steep section again. I was cautious and I made it down. Then I got cocky because I was almost in the clear...ALMOST in the clear. I then proceeded to run right through THE fence and into THE ditch. Luckily the RD, Jason, had set down a piece of plywood as a makeshift bridge just in case someone went over the edge. (He must have known I was racing.) So I managed to grab on to the edge of the plywood as my entire body dangled down towards the bottom of the 20 foot ravine. A nice young man stopped, picked up my bike, and helped me out of that mess and I kept on riding. I was too embarrassed to make yet another trip to the med tent so I tended to my own cuts and bruises. My 5th and final lap was slow, easy, and I decided to walk that DAM (no N) sandy, steep drop. I figured that 5 open wounds and 9 bruises (that I could see) were enough for one race.

Josh and I completed 11 laps and finished in 2nd place behind the Pro riders of Team Spinergy. We raced hard, had fun, and made a great team. We motivated each other and communicated with each other by leaving notes. We anticipated each other's needs and took care of each other throughout the race. Once again, great teamwork prevailed and made for a successful race for Team Sho-Air/Rock N' Road.

Bern's Movie Review - The Departed

Holy moly! Wow, what a freakin' crazy flick! Not at all what I expected. It's a crime drama set in South Boston. Good cops, bad cops, organized crime, mob snitches, undercovers, lies, guns, and murder. Guys, this is a MUST SEE for you! But only take your gal if she doesn't mind some blood, smokin' hot Leo DiCaprio, violence, sexy man Matt Damon, murder, and "Let's see those CKs" Mark Wahlberg. I had to shield my eyes from the violence a few times but overall ladies, Leo, Matt, and Mark were well worth it!

"Braking" in my new ride!

Thanks to Scott at Sho-Air International, Matt, Travis, Tracie, Terry, Eric, Manny, and Charles at Rock N' Road Cyclery, and Specialized for placing me on the EPIC MARATHON CARBON. I took her on her maiden voyage this morning and broke her in. I had not ever used disc brakes before and I also wasn't comfortable with the tires or the suspension yet so on the very first downhill, I crashed. But not to worry, she and I both survived and thank God I was the only one scratched! So now Fiona, Bianca, and Lilly-pie have a new (yet to be named) sister in the garage.

6 Hours of OC Race Report

Well all didn't go as planned at the 6 hours of OC. Unfortunately I had some crazy mental collapse early in the race and all went down hill from there...except the course,,,that was all up hill! It was the first time I went into a mountain bike race with a plan and for some reason I didn't stick to it. I found out that the mental strength I thrive on to motivate me through days and days of adventure racing can just as easily work against me when reversed. Coach Lynda says sometimes you need a complete failure so you can learn from it, revise your plan, and make the necessary adjustments. So here it was - a terrible performance that taught me some valuable lessons.

Somehow I still managed to make it to the podium along with most of my Sho-Air teammates including Mario, Manny, Lou, George, Terry, Scott, Jason, Josh, Fuzzy, Craig, and Eric. But the best part of the day was sharing my gigantic "Motherlode" birthday cake with my best friend Miss Gilly, my great friend Eron, my Sho-Air teammates and all the rest of the racers.

I must thank Gilly and Caroline for feeding and watering me. And thanks also to Chris, Sherry, Tim, Suzanne, Jason and all the volunteers for organizing the race. And of course thanks to my Sho-Air family for the support, encouragement, and friendship.

Friends around the world...

Thanks to God that I have been able to compete in adventure sports and meet the most wonderful people from all over the world. I will post them a few at a time. I'm lucky to have them in my life...


Benoit Turcotte; Vancouver, BC, Canada

Ben and I met while sweating our butts off in 100+ degree heat at the Nuevo Leon Outdoor Challenge (Mexico) in June 2005. He is working on his Master's Degree at the University of BC. He enjoys traveling to Mexico to train with his AR team and plans to race the Nuevo Leon Outdoor Challenge in November. This photo is from his first ever Half Iron Man Triathlon earlier this year.



Claudio Saa; La Serena, Chile

Claudio was on staff at the Patagonia Expedition Race when I was there in February 2006. He was very helpful and even gave us some much needed food when we were heading off on our 5 day trekking section. He is an adventure racer and an architect in Chile. He recently presented a big project to his advisors.





Bill McBlaine; Los Angeles, California, USA

I met Bill at Primal Quest 2003 Telluride, Colorado where he was a volunteer. He became one of Team FRED's biggest fans and has become one of my best friends! He just did his first triathlon and now I'm one of HIS biggest fans...

Bill's note:
Thank you to everyone who helped out with my fundraising and sent me support. It was a fantastic season and the race was a lot of fun. Race day was really nice, cool temps for the swim and bike and it didn’t get warm till the run. The one mile swim for this race takes place through part of a kelp bed, with the unique swim skill called the “kelp crawl” coming in handy. I had been pretty apprehensive about the swim but it went quite well and I finished faster than I had anticipated. All the training really paid off on that leg. The bike was along a beautiful road passing by the Monterey shoreline. Aside from a broken spoke (!) that kept my wheel rubbing on the brakes most of the ride, it went smoothly though a bit slower than planned. The run was a fairly flat course that I ran faster than I had hoped for. That was really a surprise since I had been off running so much due to injuries. All in all a great experience, thanks to the TnT coaches, Mentors and Staff.

Although my event is over, my fundraising continues. I still have a bit to go to complete my fundraising. Team in Training fielded a team of over 200 racers in the Pacific Grove Triathlon and together we raised OVER 1.2 MILLION dollars. I’m proud to be part of this team and I encourage you to continue to donate to this great cause. Last February I learned that a friend’s co-worker was diagnosed with Leukemia. He immediately began treatments and ultimately had a stem cell transplant. As of a few weeks ago he is in remission, back with his family, back at work and back doing the things that he loves. He benefited from the research conducted by the Leukemia and Lymphoma Society and the patient services that the Society provides. Please consider making a donation to extend the work of this worthwhile and needed organization.

You may donate online by heading to ;

http://www.active.com/donate/tntgla/tntglaBMcBlai

You may also send a check made out to LLS, mail it to me at
Bill McBlaine
3521 Lomita Blvd, #100
Torrance, CA 90505
All donations are 100% tax deductible. You will automatically receive a receipt.
I’m now planning my next triathlon….see you at the races.

Bill McBlaine

Bern's Movie Review: The Illusionist

The trick was on me,,,literally! I was bamboozled by The Illusionist! For some reason I thought I was going to see the movie The Prestige with Christian Bale and Hugh Jackman--which has not even been released yet! So when it turned out to be this movie, I was very dissapointed. Don't get me wrong, Ed Norton is one of my favorite actors, but this flick didn't do him justice. I guess I was looking for more drama, magic, action, twists, and turns! Instead I got too much gushy, mushy love story. Anyhow, now's a great time for a "Guest Review" from the one, the only, mountain biker & Galaga extraordinaire Super Mario!

Review by Mario Correa

Eisenheim (Edward Norton) is a magician in early 1900's Vienna, who falls in love with a woman well above his social standing. When she becomes engaged to a Crown Prince, Eisenheim uses his powers to win her back and undermine the stability of the royal house of Vienna.

The love story/murder mistery with a bit of the supernatural leaves the ending open to two interpretations, depending on a person's view of the supernatural. The scientific world in which the royal officials believe does not allow for such magical things to be real. And Eisenheim sets up the entire "magic" production as an elaborate ruse for him to win back his woman.

On the otherhand, being open to the idea of the supernatural could lead to a different interpretation. It could be that Eisenheim's love did die but he could still communicate with her. End of story. However, in order to get the ever inquisitive inspector "off his back" and not pester him with questions, Eisenheim HAD to give him a simple mechanical, rational explanation of how the orange trick worked. Having a rational answer for that, then everything else is rational (the unexplained was just a good slight of hand) and no more inspector to deal with ever.

In one case it's a happy ending, unlike Romeo and Juliet, but in the other it's a tragedy as all the illusionist has are conjered up images of his lost love. I liked the intertwining of illusion and the supernatural and I like that the ending was essentially left up to the viewer. The Eisenhiem character reminded me of another occultish type figure: Rasputin

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Grigori_Rasputin

Too bad it was only 24 hours...

Congratulations to SUPER MARIO!!! He was the overall solo winner with 21 laps at the 24 Hours of Adrenalin at Hurkey Creek! That's incredible!

Quote of the year: "Too bad it was only 24 hours. I could have kept riding!" Super Mario after riding almost 200 miles in 24 hours!

24 Hours of DMS

I decided not to race this one but I still had my own version of the 24 Hours of Adrenalin! I DMS'd the members of Team Sho-Air through the night!

Bern DMSing at 1:30am.

Thanks to Terry for keeping me company. He's also a Sho-Air rider but this time he was the 24 hour bike mechanic!

My DMS and Terry's mechanics must have worked! The Sho-Air teams were great! The 4 man team won 1st place with 29 laps and the 5 man team won 4th place!

Ich moeschte schokolade

I was invited to be a journalist at The Raid World Championships of adventure racing in Quebec, Canada from September 9-15, 2006. You can find my race reports on checkpointzero.com.

It was quite interesting seeing a race from a journalist's point of view as opposed to a racer's. But I must admit that for now, I would prefer racing. I have a greater appreciation for what the journalists do during a race. It's definitely not all fun, games and a free trip. It is work. And I appreciate them for promoting the sport I love.

I was so lucky to have met some wonderful people to share the experience with. We spent an entire 7 days together in a van, on the course, in hotels; waiting, writing, eating, practicing German, waiting, eating, laughing, writing...it was great!

The family... Sascha Jurek: German writing for www.funsporting.de ; Bernice: American racer/journalist writing for checkpointzero.com; Susan McKenzie: Canadian writing for sleepmonsters.com and reporting for Canadian radio; Arnd Hemmersbach German photographer

Although it was work, we did have some time for fun...


I took my very first helicopter ride on the first day of the race. They flew us over the racers while they were kayaking down river. It was absolutely incredible!

Sascha Jurek and Bern ready to take flight.

The organization also sent us whale watching! We saw a bunch of fin whales, humpbacks, and belugas. The tour operator said we were lucky to have such a great day with lots of whales.

Watching the finish of The Raid and listening to Isaac Wilson of Team GoLite give an interview reminded me why I love adventure racing...but don't ask me to explain!

Bern on the ferry leaving the Saguenay region of Quebec, Canada.

Bernice Joins Team Sho-Air

I'm fortunate enough to be the latest addition to the mountain bike Team Sho-Air. My inaugural race as a Sho-Air rider will be the 6 Hours of Orange County on October 21. This will be the third of the 4 race series where I'm currently the overall points leader. Looks like I'm going to have to spend more time on the bike!

Bern's Movie Review: Invincible

For the first time ever (and probably never again), this life long Dallas Cowboys fan was actually rooting for the Philadelphia Eagles! Ssshhhh, don't tell my family!

Although this film was sacked just short of the goal line in comparison to Rocky or Rudy, it was still a great story. Vince Papale, played by Mark Wahlberg was the underdog who used the negativity of others as motivation to attempt playing football in the NFL.

It's a real guy's movie. No deep thought necessary...it's just football, beer drinking, rooting for the underdog, more beer, and more football. Gals, Marky Mark has come a long way since the Funky Bunch...and who could ever forget the Calvin Klein underwear ad??? And he's still got it! So if you are a sports fan, grab your man and take him to the show. He'll thank you for it. But if the pigskin doesn't interest you at all...send your man with his buddies while you check out Little Miss Sunshine.

Bern's Movie Review: Little Miss Sunshine

Little Miss Sunshine is an endearing movie of a typical American family and their struggle to stay positive and reach their goals. The film was very well done and they certainly chose the perfect actors. I truly enjoyed every character but I think Alan Arkin stole the show with his role as "Grandpa." I must also mention that, although I immensely enjoy Steve Carell's humor, it was good to see him play a serious role.

The film really captured all my emotions but most importantly one scene made me laugh so hard that I cried. I hadn't laughed that hard during a movie since the "hair gel" incident on Something About Mary.

I think all ladies will enjoy the film. As for you men, well...hmmm. It depends. Are you a family man? Do you have at least two ounces of sensitivity? Can you appreciate a film for its message of faith and hope? Do you openly admit to your woman that you have a sensitive side even if you do your best to hide it on the mountain bike trail or at the bar? If so, then you'll enjoy this movie. But for those guys who watch a flick for the fast cars, hot chicks, pirates, or frat house binge drinking parties--leave your date in her seat, tell her you are going to get her more popcorn, then sneek into Beerfest next door!

Arctic Team Challenge, East Greenland July 2006

The 6th edition of the Arctic Team Challenge in East Greenland provided eight teams from six different countries the opportunity to compete through the rocky mountains, iceberg-filled fjords, and massive glaciers of an unspoiled territory. Team Eastgreenland.com was comprised of four very experienced, talented, and lovely gentlemen from England. They are well known in the European adventure community and were at the ATC to claim their 3rd consecutive win. The four Danish men of Team Pharmanord sported strong physiques that have helped them finish 2nd and 3rd place in the last two ATC races. This year they returned in an attempt to steal the title from the British gentlemen. A super nice and happy group of Icelandic men formed Team Intersport Iceland. They too had previously raced the ATC but were unable to finish last year due to an illness. This year they were back to complete the race as a fully ranked team and improve their times. The very spirited and boisterous French men were new to the ATC this year. They were all great athletes with a spice for life that only the French could exhibit. Those men were in Greenland to race hard, race fast, and to cheer and chant for all the teams, the food, the drinks, and the mosquitoes. The local Tasiilaq team was 3rd in last year’s ATC and was keen on improving on its placing. They were the local sports heroes who were very nice and welcoming to all of us foreigners. The all female team, aptly named The Arctic Ladies, was comprised of very strong mountaineers and a professional adventure racer. Two of the ladies had previously competed in the ATC and they stacked their team with some talented new faces that would allow them to compete with the men and finish strong. The ladies met while crossing the Greenland Ice Cap--talk about some tough women! The four Danish men and one woman of Team Pihl were a true inspiration. They were a corporate team whose company sent them to the event for a “team building” experience. They were chosen out of many applicants from their company and were put together in the last couple of months to take on the challenge of the ATC. I have nothing but respect for the members of Team Pihl for their courage to take on such a challenge, having never done an adventure race and having only met each other upon arrival of the race.

And then there was us, the Americans. Team Feed the Machine (FTM) who once again joined forces to experience a new adventure. In the 6 years of the Arctic Team Challenge there had never been an American team to complete the course fully ranked, so there was a heavy burden on our shoulders. We had first raced together only 9 months ago in October of 2005 for 5 ½ days at the Ecomotion in Brazil. Although it was our first experience together, Christian, Jayson, Jon, and I enjoyed the race and each other’s company so much that we decided to stick together as a team for future races. Four months later, we traveled to Patagonia and endured the brutally long but epic 11 ½ days in the wilds of Southern Chile. It was a very mentally challenging adventure of survival. We were forced to reach deep into ourselves and encourage each other through the pain, the hunger, and the mental and physical fatigue. And once again, our teamwork prevailed as we fought through the difficult times and finished the race as a complete unit. After considering taking a break from racing, I was asked to join a sponsored team for the “world’s most prestigious” race, the Primal Quest. But I wasn’t very excited to do it. That’s when I got wind of the ATC and I was very intrigued and forwarded the website to my FTM teammates. They immediately became enthralled and they were ready to commit. FTM forfeited its PQ entry and signed up for the ATC. Unfortunately Jon was unable to join us for the trip to Greenland but we were happy to recruit Neal Radford (a Kiwi who lives in Atlanta).


Left to Right: Comedian & Heavy Pack Operator Neal Radford; Media & Public Relations Bernice Pierson AKA Princesa B-LO, Bartender & Director of Entertainment Jayson Brown, and Captain-Maps and Uniform Design Christian Burke. Kong Oskar’s Havn (King Oscar’s Bay) in the background. The highest peak above Jay’s head is Polheim’s Mtn.--the peak we climbed on day 1.

Upon arrival to the international airport in Iceland, the teams made their way to the domestic airport to catch the flight to Greenland. Neal and I met up with Jayson and Christian and immediately began our team bonding. We also started making friends and getting the inside scoop on the race while we waited to board the plane. The Icelandic guys told us that their teammate fell into a crevasse last year. “Okay then. Maybe we should practice our rescue skills a little more,” I said as we nervously eyed and smiled at each other. On the plane, I sat with Morgan of the British team and we had a nice chat. A little later I fell asleep and when I awoke, I looked out the window and saw the pack ice in the ocean below. It was an extraordinary sight! As we descended, we were all filled with excitement and amazement at the beauty of the royal blue ocean with the bright white sculptures of ice.


View from the airplane upon arrival to Kulusuk, East Greenland

From the airport harbor, we were transported by speed boats to the village of Tasiilaq on Ammassalik Island. We sped past the icebergs feeling like we were in an IMAX movie! As we neared Tasiilaq, Carsten of Pharmanord pointed out Polheim’s Mountain and said we would summit that peak for sure. Now every once in a while, when I arrive to a foreign location for a race, I become relaxed and excited to see new things and meet new people. But then there’s always that gut check that reminds me why I’m there. Seeing Polheim’s was a direct blow to the kidney. It was an intimidating sight: tall, narrow, and very exposed, especially the final ridge to the peak -- a reminder that I was not in “LA LA” land anymore.

The weather was beautiful in Greenland. Four out of the 5 days of racing were sunny and about 55-60 degrees. The sun does not completely set in this region during the summer months so during the four “daylight” midnight hours, the temperature would only drop to about 45 degrees.

The pre-race activities took place as normal. Each team settled into our own classroom at the local school and we had an opening dinner where the staff and teams were introduced. We ate a lovely meal that our own ATC chef prepared and we had a private concert by a popular Icelandic singer named Hera. I took that opportunity to hand out the pins I had brought for each athlete. The pins were adorned with the US flag alongside the flag of the country from which each athlete had come.

The first day of the race, we suited up in some super fancy and “fast” red, white, and black FTM uniforms. At least we looked like we knew what we were doing! As we inflated our canoes at the historic museum that overlooked the harbor, the Frenchies were already chanting, cheering and getting everyone fired up. The veteran racers were kind enough to warn us Yanks of the deafening cannon that would signal the commencement of the race. And so we plugged our ears, the cannon fired, and we began running down to the harbor, with our canoe in hand. About 200 curious Tasiilaq locals were keen to get a glimpse of an overeager team hastily jump into their canoe, overshoot, and fall overboard into the icy waters (the Tasiilaq version of watching NASCAR for the crashes). But we did not oblige them as all the teams made it safely into the boats and began navigating around the icebergs across Kong Oskars Havn (Danish for King Oscar’s Bay) towards the beach below Polheim’s Mountain. Upon reaching the beach, we quickly transitioned out of our wetsuits and began the trek, ahead of the Arctic Ladies and Intersport Iceland. However, while we were busy navigating, they quickly passed us on their familiar route up to Polheim’s. At the mountain perch of CP3 the race clock was suspended so that the teams would slowly and cautiously make their way up the narrow and steep ridgeline to the peak. With the help of a ladder and some safety ropes all the teams reached the summit and were able to take their time enjoying the view. There are no words to describe the feeling of sitting 3500 feet high on a precarious peak towering above icebergs with a view of the Greenland Ice Cap to the north and the pack ice of the great blue Arctic Ocean to the south. You can see for miles and cleaner air is not to be found! I actually shed a few tears of joy. (Well, okay maybe 1.112% of the tears were from fear, but we won’t tell my guys.)

We retreated back to the perch and shared a Viking beer that Jayson had toted up the mountain unbeknownst to us. We toasted to our decision to participate in this race and we relished every last drop of the Icelandic libation.


Jay carefully climbing to the summit of Polheim’s Mountain on Day 1

We trekked back down the steep and rocky mountain to the canoe and were informed that the icebergs had shifted and we were to take an alternate route back to Tasiilaq. At the start of the canoe, each team was issued a safety boat which would stay near in case of an emergency. But for about 20 minutes, our safety boat was forced to leave our side to drive around the collection of icebergs through which we carefully navigated our canoe. Trying not to think about the potential danger of being without our boat, I focused on the surrealism of the situation. Was I really not in “LA LA” land anymore? Besides the fact that if someone were to fall out of the canoe he would literally have only 2 minutes before the icy waters would inhibit his ability to self rescue, it felt like a ride through a maze of icebergs at Disneyland! We even reached out to touch the bergs, being careful not tip the canoe. We exited the maze, regained our safety boat and made it safely to the finish line after almost 8 hours of travel. We went back to our school for a shower, change of clothes, and a delicious meal from our chef. We mingled with the teams, shared race stores, and began preparations for the next day’s events.

The second day of the competition started with a very hilly 5 mile mountain bike loop which we had to ride 5 times. The course was great fun! Many of the veteran ATC racers dreaded the mountain bike sections but we loved them. Unfortunately, the mountain bike legs were not long enough to give us a sufficient lead over the extraordinary mountain trekking teams.


Bernice enjoying the ride through the Valley of the Flowers.

Following the bike portion each team split up into two pairs. Christian (X) and I made our way to B1, while Neal and Jay went to B2. After traversing the mountainside, X and I started climbing up some steep boulders and scree when we saw Anna and Pitsi of the Arctic Ladies trotting up the ridge. We reached B1 just after them and traveled with them back down the mountain. Anna decided it would be a good idea to glissade down a steep snow field so she sat on her bum, used her ice axe as a brake, and took off. Pitsi followed, then X went down, while I stood there hesitating. I had just enough time to shout out to X, “Hey do you really think we should…?” before I slipped, fell on my butt, and slid down the mountain. As I feared for my life at a high rate of speed, I thought of ways I could kill X for taking that route. But we all reached the bottom safely and quickly so I let him live. As we neared the peak where we were to meet Neal and Jay, we had to dodge loose rocks while watching Anna and Pitsi solve the boulder problem on their way to the summit. We followed them up and after a little more precarious ledge shuffling, we finally reached B3. Before we began descending, Jay and Neal were very attentive to my nervousness and helped me regain my composure after those frightening moments. We continued to our first glacier trekking section and were able to follow the tracks of the other teams. This was a relatively small glacier that was very benign and it only took a couple of hours to cross it. Leaving the glacier, we made it to the road and ran to the finish line. After 13 hours, we returned to the school where I knocked on our neighbors’ door to let them know we had arrived. Our next door neighbors, the Frenchmen, were ecstatic to see us. Pierre was so happy that he ran out of his room, through the hallway, and into our room wearing nothing but his “banana hammock” thong undies and his sleeping eye covers on his forehead. My guys really appreciated the gesture and invited him back anytime!

I woke up on Day 3 of the competition with severe nausea and I didn’t understand why I felt that way. I had slept, I had eaten, and I was hydrated, so I didn’t consider those to be the problem. The race so far was not any longer or more physically demanding than some other things I had done. So I ended up diagnosing myself with anxiety. Anxiety is a common emotion along with fear and happiness, and it has a very important function in relation to survival. Emotionally, anxiety causes a sense of dread or panic and can physically cause nausea. Due to the technical aspects of the course, I had dealt with some very extreme moments of fright (as well as euphoria) in the last couple of days and my body was merely reacting to the sensory overload. (Can you tell I’ve studied the physical reaction to the brain?) Anyway, that is how I decided to define my temporary illness. So after some breakfast, a few more dry heaves, and some tears while hiding in the WC (restroom for all you Americans), I went on with the process of preparing for a long Day 3.

The third stage began with an out and back mountain bike relay. Jayson and X rode first while Neal and I waited at the start line. I was still trying to recover from my terrible morning but once I sat on my bike, all was good again. Neal was prepared to tow me, but that was not necessary. I was in my comfort zone and I felt like a 12 year old kid again! Now if only I could have done the rest of the course on my bike, I would have been stoked!


Bern happy to be on the bike. Photo by Erwin.

Once again we finished the mountain bike ahead of the Arctic Ladies, but with their super bionic trekking powers they quickly caught us and we traveled together for most of the day. It was fun hanging out with another team, especially the Ladies. I may not show it all the time but I do have a limit on the amount of “testosterone humor” I can handle. Therefore, some lovely conversation with some incredible ladies was a welcome change. And I know my guys really enjoyed their unusual status as the minority on the trail.

The trek was long, extremely steep and covered with lots of loose rocks but always came complete with astounding scenery. One particularly precarious section was marked so that we would take the safest route, and we had to be cautious not to kick rocks on the racers below. At the bottom, we skirted the coast and passed an icy, snow patch when Pia called out, “ice bear.” As my mental status was somewhat cloudy I thought, “Ice bear? Ice cold beer?...yum. An iceberg that resembled a bear? POLAR BEAR? (Uh, oh! Return of the anxiety driven dry heaves…no, wait!) “Uh Anna, what did she say?” Anna pointed out the giant polar bear track in the snow. Not sure how to feel about that I replied, “Oh okay, just a polar bear track. Cool. Guys, take a picture.” I believe that is where I picked up the pace and stayed near the local girls all the way up to the glacier.


Jayson pointing to the ice bear print in the snow.

We all reached CP 5 together but the Ladies continued immediately. We took some time to refuel, re-hydrate, and mentally prepare for the massive “frozen reservoir” ahead. Seeing the 20 square mile Mittivakkat Glacier in front of us was breathtaking and frightening. Crevasse zones are ever present on the entire glacier surface and the race instructions read, “The glacier trekking is beautiful but there are lots of crevasses and some of them are BIG so be careful!” We outfitted ourselves with our helmets, crampons, ice axes, and rope, and proceeded to the peak at 3050 feet. Unfortunately, my anxiety returned and with that, the dry heaves. But I did not want to stop moving. I took a few steps, dry heaved, and the guys stopped. I pleaded with them to just ignore me and keep moving. We kept walking, I dry heaved more, and they stopped to see if I was okay. “Guys, really, just keep moving. It’s not going to help me to stop and think about it. I can move and heave at the same time. I’ll be fine.” I said half smiling. We reached the peak and of course it was a magnificent view. We chatted with the CP folks, snapped a few photos, and started back down the glacier. Down, down, down the glacier we traveled to its end at 525 feet above the sea.


FTM glacier trekking.

Locations above 60 degrees latitude and south of the Arctic Circle experience midnight twilight. The sun is just below the horizon so daytime activities, such as reading, are still possible without resorting to artificial light. Experiencing the midnight sun on a glacier with the fog rolling in was eerily daunting. For hours we traveled on the glacier, paying close attention to every single step; always mindful of the danger of falling into a crevasse; always prepared to rescue if the need arose. The sounds of the living glacier below us were unnerving: the crackling of the ice, the rivers running underneath our feet, the slush, and then the groan of my teammate when his foot broke through the ice into the freezing water.

Ablation is the erosive process by which the glacier is reduced. Towards the very bottom of the glacier is the ablation area and it was very apparent that we were there. We were jumping crevasses every few feet. After about 5 hours on the glacier we reached its outlet at the lake icefall. Being that the glacier ended right in front of us and dropped about 500 feet into the lake, we decided we had to travel further south to reach the rocky valley that would lead us to the ocean and to the base camp. As we skirted the edge of the glacier, I turned back to see the massive drop into the lake and it was incredibly surreal. I felt like a tiny piece of matter on this enormous monster created by mother-nature.

We were about a quarter mile from the camp when we heard Jesper and Jesper (the media guys) cheering for us. But of course this 18 hour day wouldn’t be complete without one final test (as if I hadn’t been tested enough already). We had to cross a waist high freezing river. “It’s good for the legs,” Neal said. I mumbled under my breath, “Yes, yes, I know, cold water, good for the joints, good for the legs, good to reduce swelling, this is a good thing, this a mother %#@ing!, @$%&#%, #^@%ing good thing!” We crossed the finish line at 3am, greeted Anders and Hans Christian, and asked them if we should just go ahead and start the expedition section right then.

We were relieved to hear that we weren’t the only ones late for the party. The race organizers regretted the fact that every team had taken longer than expected to complete the 3rd stage. The base camp night was meant to be a time for the teams to relax, enjoy Hera’s music, and eat barbequed seal and whale. But the course provided some extra challenges that made everyone take a bit longer and so it was decided that the expedition stage would start later in the morning and that it would be somewhat reduced in length.

After changing, eating, and preparing our sleeping arrangements, I got in my sleeping bag and shivered. I covered up with an emergency bivy to get more warmth, and after about an hour I finally stopped shivering. But the aches and pains from having stopped were giving me such agony that I had to get up and take some medicine. I couldn’t find my “magic pills” so I had to settle for an 800mg Ibuprofen. Back in my sleeping bag, I listened to Neal, Jay, Ben, Morgan, Andrew, and Jim snoring while I tossed and turned. Funny how when I started adventure racing I thought my biggest problem would be falling asleep on the course. I never thought I’d have so much trouble winding down quickly enough to get some sleep when I had the window of opportunity. But there I was, counting sheep, counting crevasses, and counting snores. After about 1 ½ hours of actual sleep I was back up and preparing for the 2 day expedition stage of the race.


Base camp. Photo by Erwin.

On Tuesday at noon we began the expedition stage traveling with the Arctic Ladies and the Frenchies. One of the guys from the French team had a broken foot but they persevered together and continued the race. Traveling in groups during races is unique. You instantly become the best of friends with strangers who are from different parts of the world. You help each other physically and mentally, you share food, share life stories, and share experiences that can rarely be duplicated in the “real world.” After several hours of trekking and canoeing together, the teams had different issues to handle and we all split up.

At the transition from canoeing to trekking, Neal played team medic and tended to Jay’s trashed feet while I “cooked” Alpine Aire food and gathered our trail snacks. Then we left the ocean and immediately began climbing up the steep cliffs toward the next glacier. Early that evening we reached the glacier and began outfitting ourselves when Neal realized that he didn’t have his crampons. In the confusion of the gear bags, food bags, eating lunch, and fixing feet, we had made a critical mistake. But Jay was happy to give up his own crampons to Neal because they had been gnawing at his feet. So we decided to put Jay in the 3rd position on the rope so that X and I could test the slickness of the glacier before Jay stepped on it. Luckily most of our path on this relatively short glacier crossing was not too terribly icy and Jay had little trouble staying upright. Back on the rocks and heading up to another glacier, we arrived at the next patch of ice late at night. But no headlamps were necessary as the midnight sun still shone brightly enough to reflect illumination from the pristine white glacier. We searched for the tracks of the teams who had passed before us, but there were none to be found. Up until then we had always followed the footprints on the glaciers so that our chance of falling in a crevasse was minimized. However, this time we decided to move forward and make our own tracks. X bravely went first. Neal, Jay, and I braced ourselves on the rocks as X made his first steps on to the ice. I was up next, then Jay, then Neal. Soon we were on our way across, completely attentive to each other and to the glacier, ready to jump on our ice axes just in case. Once again the eerie feeling of being a tiny spec of matter on this massive, living ice dinosaur was enhanced by the midnight sun, the fog, and the sprinkling rain. At some point on this glacier we went from Tuesday PM to Wednesday AM. We reached the CP and judging by the map, we couldn’t tell if the shorter but steeper route down was safe. So we made the decision to head back down the same way we had come. Towards the bottom of the glacier we encountered an unstable snow bridge. X passed without incident. I carefully made my way over it. Then, as Jay stepped, the ice broke and swallowed his leg. We braced ourselves, ready for a fall, but Jay was able to rescue himself. We all moved forward and waited for Neal to maneuver himself around the crevasse, but it broke open and swallowed him up to his chest. I held my breath as Neal forced his way up and out of the hole and we moved on. Finally done with making our own tracks, we reached solid ground and took a long walk through a valley of rocks and rivers. We passed a couple of incredibly intimidating glaciers and spectacular waterfalls. Any time my feet started hurting, I would just walk through an icy stream to keep them numb then admire the beauty all around me.

We reached the transition to the canoe at Sammileq and opted to rest for a couple of hours. We had heard that last year someone fell asleep while paddling and fell out of the canoe into the frigid water. In the past 50 hours I had about 1.5 hours of sleep so I was looking forward to a little shut eye. But as usual, as soon as I stopped moving, the aches and pains flared up and I was forced to take some pain medicine to get an hour’s nap.


Canoeing around icebergs. Photo by Erwin.

Back on course and moving steadily in our canoe, we started singing songs. There’s nothing like a little Jimmy Buffet, Aretha Franklin, and Def Leppard while canoeing amongst impressive icebergs with views of majestic glaciers. Next was another gorgeous trek to the final glacier of the event and we could sense the finish line getting closer.

Beholding the endless expanse of Greenland’s environment, we treasured every last moment of glacier travel. Once we were off the ice, it was downhill all the way to the final canoe. On our way down I thought I was hallucinating when I saw a man come running towards us. It was “The Erwinator,” the race photographer, who met us with coffee and sandwiches. We took some time to stop, have a snack and take some photos before descending to the canoes.

We ran, scrambled, and slid down snow patches on our butts like kids playing on a winter day. Okay, maybe we shuffled, hobbled, and slipped our way down but we made it to the canoes and paddled to Tasiilaq.

Just before midnight on Wednesday, we pulled our canoe out of the water and ran up hill a ¼ mile to the finish line. The other teams, race staff, and some locals gathered around cheering for us and the cannon fired signifying the end of the Arctic Team Challenge. We were the final team to complete the course in a race where, for the first time in 6 years, every team finished fully ranked. And we were proud to be the very first ever American team to do so.

The Arctic Team Challenge was one of the best race experiences I have had. The course was very technical and required not only physical fitness, but skill, and mental and emotional stability. Racing hard all day, returning to lovely meals, and resting comfortably at night was the perfect format. The people involved made it all that much nicer. We were surrounded by incredible athletes from all over Europe and a brilliant, organized, and wonderful staff. And Greenland’s magical rugged peaks, massive glaciers and delicately sculptured icebergs provided the perfect setting.

There are moments in life when we are tested physically, mentally, or emotionally but this event tested me to the extreme on all levels at once. And when I thought I couldn’t handle it anymore, I looked myself in the eyes and reminded myself that I had chosen this path. I had chosen this race and I had chosen to experience it with these three incredible men. Christian, Jayson, and Neal were my heroes. They were my incentives to participate in this race and they were my motivation to persevere through the hard times. They were the reasons I crossed the finish line of this extremely demanding and beautiful race.


People ask what I get for doing this. Here it is: a medal, a certificate, and priceless memories.

Bern's Movie Review: Talladega Nights

August 2006

Talladega Nights: The Ballad of Ricky Bobby

Let the guy choose the flick and I end up watching Talladaga Nights with Will Ferrell. Oh well, sometimes a lady has to compromise. The first 10 minutes were pretty funny and I thought, "Hey, I could get into this." But then it just got too dumb. I guess there were enough funny moments to keep me mildly entertained through the entire movie, but overall the best part of my theater experience was the video arcade after the show! Ladies I'd recommend you wait for one of those days when you have nothing to do and you just want to sit on the couch and watch some brainless humor for free on HBO. Gentlemen, it's brainless humor, there are fast cars, and Will Ferrell becomes a big NASCAR star with lots of money and a "trophy wife." I bet you'll like it. Just make sure you invite an "easily entertained" woman, promise her all the popcorn she wants, and take her to play Galaga and Ms. Pacman afterwards!

Mountain Bike Action Article

See the photos and read all about the 24 Hours of Orange County Mountain Bike Race.

Click Here

My First 24 Hour Solo Mountain Bike Race

Mention that you are doing the 24 hours of OC and most people would think you are going to sit on your couch and watch back-to-back-to-back episodes of The OC for 24 hours. Can you imagine that? Sitting on your couch watching TV for all those hours with no sleep? How about walking your dog around a park for 24 hours non-stop? What about sitting at your computer surfing the net for 1,440 sleepless minutes? It's hard to imagine doing any one thing for one entire day and night.

So why did I do a solo 24 hour mountain bike race? Well, I know it's cliché, but I did it just to see if I could. I'm relatively new to the endurance mountain bike scene, but I've heard of many of these races in which a competitor rides around a set course of about 5-10 miles and the one who completes the most laps in 24 hours wins. The competitor can rest and sleep whenever she wants, but the time does not stop.

Being that it was my first 24 hour race, I was not sure what to expect. About a week and half out, I really had no plan. I was not so much concerned with my physical ability to complete the race since I've completed many 24 hour adventure races consisting of mountain biking, kayaking, and trekking. I was not even worried about staying awake the entire time. My true fear was my mental strength. Could I keep myself motivated to continue riding the same brutal course lap after lap, so many times?

That's when "Super" Mario Correa came in handy. Mario is an incredible mountain biker and a highly achieved endurance rider, as well as my friend. So when I called him frantically asking how I should be preparing for this race, he quickly began coaching me. He gave me guidelines for my physical and mental preparation for the week before the race and a nutritional guide and support crew info for during the race. He also scheduled himself to be there to assist me. Without the advice and mental support from Mario, I would have gone in to the race blind.

The most important thing I learned about preparing for a 24 hour mountain bike race is that I must always have a plan; a pre-race and a race day plan. Execution is key, so I must be sure that my support crew keeps me as close to that plan as possible. And of course, I must plan for success!

The Rock-n-Road, Sho-Air, Specialized 24 Hours of OC is organized by the Warriors Society and is held at the Flying B Ranch. The course may very well be the toughest 24 hour race course in all of California. It is 5.6 miles long with 1253 feet of elevation gain. The very technical singletrack up and down is exposed with very little shade from the sun in the canyons.

The weather cleared nicely in SoCal for all the beach lovers, but for those of us riding our bikes through the canyons, the clear skies and scorching sun brought brutally hot temperatures into the mix. The race started at noon on Saturday and for the first six hours, racers suffered through the heat.

My goal for this race was to ride my best and finish as well as I could no matter what the other girls did. I mean, don't get me wrong, I was well aware that my biggest competition, Mary Huth, would be racing and that she was a talented and strong rider. But my goal was to do my best whether it meant first place or last place. I even told my crew not to tell me how my competition was doing. But as the race progressed and I grew tired, I sought that info so that I could calculate my break times accordingly and still remain competitive.

Competing solo in a 24 hour mountain bike race is very different from my usual four person team adventure races. In a 24 hour adventure race, I am always moving with my teammates. I can depend on the guys to physically and mentally pull me through my difficult times on the course. I can always look forward to a new discipline. When my back and bottom start hurting on the bike, I know that soon I will change to trekking or kayaking. And usually I can look forward to moving faster so that our team can finish the race in less than 24 hours.

On the other hand, in a 24 hour mountain bike race I must keep myself motivated. I can not reach for a tow from one of the guys when I get too tired to climb a hill. I can not chat with my teammates about the meaning of life to keep my mind off the pain. I can not look forward to moving from the bike to the kayak. And I know that no matter how fast I ride, I will still have to go for 24 hours.

For my first 24 hour mountain bike race, I planned for success and success is what I achieved. I was the first place solo female finisher with 16 laps which translates into 89.6 miles with 20,048 feet of elevation gain. I'm always amazed at what my mind and body can do and I satisfied my question about my mental ability to complete the race.

But none of this could have been possible without the other folks involved. Mary Huth and Shannon Simm were out there giving it their all and with incredible endurance and strength, they also made the podium. Chris, Sherry, Suzanne, Jason, Tim and all of the Warriors Society built an incredible course. Rock-n-Road, Sho-Air and Specialized sponsored the event. Dr. Shane from Core Chiropractic worked on my body with the DMS. And Mario, Gilly, Erin, Greg, Curt, Christie, and my riding buddy Eron supported me through it all.