Like coming back to family, Team SOLE has returned to Ellsworth Bikes. It’s been just over a few years since we’d been on the finest handcrafted bikes in the world, well the time has come again.
The team will be on the new Carbon 29er Enlightenment. Pics and bike reviews will post soon.
Here we go. It’s jumping right back into the fire.
The fire of Multisport Adventure Racing.
Karen wins SOLO Elite Women’s (ties with Barbara Bomfim), Paul takes 7th overall, and Jordan joins celebrity relay team and places an impressive 3rd place.
One of South America’s most important multisport races, Brazil Multisport is a one day, solo, marked course event taking place in Brasilia, the spectacular capital of Brazil.
What an incredible format- Run, Kayak, Road Ride, and Trail Run event approximately the size of a Half Ironman.
It was awesome seeing all our good friend that we’ve made through racing and coaching and all kinds of adventures.
Go fast, take chances.
From the BIG BEAR GRIZZLY
You’ve just climbed the highest peak in the world. What do you do for an encore?
Ride a mountain bike for 12 hours straight.
Going against better judgment and despite zero mountain bike training for the past seven months, Big Bear’s Paul Romero and Karen Lundgren of Team SOLE Adventure Racing, competed in the 12 Hours of Temecula mountain bike challenge at Vail Lake on June 12.
On the morning of the race, Lundgren decided to go for it in the women’s pro solo division. She whipped out 10 laps of consistency, and took home the top prize for completing the most laps in a woman’s solo or team effort. “Part of the reason I went so fast was my front brake failed just one hour into the 12-hour race, allowing for less braking,” Lundgren said.
Romero teamed up with single-speed champion and new Big Bear resident Allan Laframboise to win the two-person open division under the banner of Don’s 29er. The team fought off several foes throughout the day, completing 14 laps of the 10-mile singletrack course.
Team SOLE returned just a week ago from a Chinese expedition to climb Mt. Everest with Romero’s son, Jordan.
“Having spent two months in the Himalayas climbing actually is a very low intensity event, and frankly we lost a lot of power and strength,” Lundgren said.
“The good thing about spending that time in extreme altitude is our blood, heart and lungs are in great condition, this is what we capitalized on,” Romero said.
Team SOLE is preparing to compete in the Brazilian Multisport Championship taking place in the capital city, Brasilia. This event is a one-day, marked, solo event.
In the ultimate adventure, Team SOLE (Karen, Paul and Jordan) climbed the North route of Mt. Everest and on Saturday May 22, 2010 we found ourselves on the Summit of the World. It was the adventure of a lifetime and every single bit of experience gained through adventure racing came into play during the climb. We are pretty sure that adventure racing may be the single best method of training for Mt. Everest.
For details and pictures visit Jordan’s website which followed the team all the way to the summit and back, www.jordanromero.com
Did you know?
Jordan became the youngest person in the World to stand on the Summit of the World’s highest mountain.
We became the first family to stand on the Summit of Mt. Everest together.
Karen became the 8th American woman to climb the North Route and reach the summit.
P Testing at Bootleg (pic-Bitton)
K and J Launch 7 Summits Youth Challenge
It’s been a another year of global adventures, in pursuit of great times and gracing the podiums of the hardest races we can get to.
SUP'n Mead
K rippin RimNordic
Karen in Sweden
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P and K Tearing up Brazil
P at Silverman
K on the podium, as always
Team SOLE is lining up a giant 2010.
We’ll plunge into the Ultra Distance and Multi day International Mountain Bike challenges, starting with the TransAndes Challenge, across Patagonia. We’re done several expedition races in this region and look forward to going back.
Next up will be full on prep for Everest.
It will be onto many more cycling and adventure races, in preparation for the Adventure Racing World Championships in Spain. It’s our time to make our best run at the top of the podium of the ‘biggie’. Then, of course, back to Brazil and a few other adventures along the way. Very exciting this year is the 1st annual Desert Winds Expedition race, set for the southern Nevada region, in September. All international adventure teams need to come out and check it out.
97 hours of pain relieved by Cerveja
It was not too pretty, but we clawed out way onto the podium once again. 3rd place at Ecomotion Brazil
A rather sizable early mistake on a big trekking section put us behind the 8 ball.
Team LONTRA and Adventure Camp (having the other 50% of SOLE) were moving at screaming pace. We spent much of the race just off the heals of the leaders, and running with the Spanish and other Brazilian teams.
Mikael Lindnord and Lico were incredible teammates, and it was a blast. Seeing this interior of Brazil by bike and feet and kayak was fascinating. Our support team: General Barabara Bonfim (the BEST ever), Jordan Romero, Carlinhos, and Cesar. These guys delt with horrible roads, broken bikes, support car problems, sleep deprivation and more dust than you can imagine.
We’ve all finished sunburned, many wounds of different sorts, but we’re all still standing.
Details coming ASAP
Some sites to check out:
Sleepmonsters and Webventure (in Portuguese)
In it’s 6th year running, Ecomotion has established itself as the
pure expedition race surrounded with flair, color and prestige,
something only the likes of EcoChallenge ever did match. Ecomotion
travels around Brazil, where there are enough locales to run unique
expedition races for 100 years, and never cross the same region
twice. Brazil is it’s own world.
Last year’s dynamic 4-some Team SOLE would not run together, on
account of sponsorship coordination issues. Instead the duo of Ian
and Nora of NZ would run with Team Adventure Camp and Paul Romero and
Karen Lundgren and on a last minute offer, we create the Oskalunga
International consisting of Mikael Lindnord of Sweden and the famous
fast man, Lico, from Brasilia, the founder of Team Oskalunga (a name
refering to the mysterious tribe of slave refugees deep in the heart
of Brazil).
A small handful of internationals would join the line up from the
likes of Russia, Argentina, Spain, Chile and Uruguay.
Minas Gerais is a state north or Rio de Janiero, and it’s known for
hardened people, rough savannah terrain. It was diamonds and gold
that drew the settlers to this unfriendly terrain, away from the
beautiful beaches and lush jungles that we imagine of Brazil.
Diamantina is the race headquarters and an amazing strange sight in
the middle of nowhere. Built on a steep mountainside, it’s streets
and buildings are of old world Portuguese style, and cobblestone
streets from centuries past demanding only the best footing just to
get around town.
The vibe is bursting at the seams with college students, live music
and dancing everywhere, and that hypnotic trance that comes with
capoiera (the local fighting dance). It reeks of Ecomotion.
About the race- Imagine a region that was 100% mountains, and the
road builders knew only to build roads straight up. Climate- bone dry
with oppressive heat. Rivers run steep and fast. Toss in 50 trucks
and a few hundred adventure racers. You have Ecomotion 2009.
The race would be 85% leg, and most notably 6 bike sections that
consist of non stop giant climbs, requiring only the best climbing
abilities followed by an equal number of technical, single track
downhills, that have never seen bikes before. River paddling through
some treacherous white water AT NIGHT, something only found at
Ecomotion.
Per standard protocol in this day and age, the field blasts out as if
from a canon. The field of top teams in Brazil have stepped things
up. Selva, Competition, Lontra, Cosa Nostra, Adventure Camp,
Oskalunga International and a few others run like the hair is on
fire. The race would be, well fought in the front by the
aforementioned teams and Lontra leading most of the race.
14 race sections would test the support teams to the maximum with
trecharous roads and dust. The heat and scorching sun had every set
of lips blistered, and any exposed skin bright red. A looming and
controversial dark zone toward the end of the race would be big
decision maker as the lead team missed it by only 11 minutes. All
the the top teams would gather again for a restart on the last
morning of the race. Race times would be frozen, so while it looked
like a restart, Lontra would ride it’s way into Diamantina with a
lead not to be touched by Adventure Camp (2nd place), Oskalunga
International (3rd place) nor the others.
Lontra earning itself a race entry fee into the World Championships
taking place in Spain in October ‘10, and an entry to the Explore
Sweden MONSTER of ‘10. Ecomotion is a qualifier for the Adventure
Racing World Championships. www.ecomotion.com.br
Technical Briefing is complete. We have maps, plans, two trucks, 1 ton of food/supplies, 4 GREAT assistants, and one weather forecast calling for rain. Sweet.
Carlinhos drove all the way from Rio
Lico and Barbara- 2 days from Brasilia
Mikael- 1 day from Europe
Cesar-from very south of Brazil…Porte Allegre
P and K and J-….from Big Bear California.
It’s a giant effort to assemble a team like this. So much has to go right JUST to arrive at a place like this.
FAST/fit squad.
Racing under: Team Oskalunga Interntional
www.ecomotion.com.br
Challenge #1. Transport from Airport
Don’t worry, we will be running the torch and colors of Team SOLE, and with all the might we can muster.
We are told, this will be the toughest 90 hours of our life. Wet, steep and brutal.
Stay tuned.
Walking town
Paul on lead lap of the 12 hours
Manu, our guest athlete we’ve been coaching for 5 weeks WINS pro women.
Karen and Paul line up with Paul/Tyler of Intense for an attempt to repeat our ‘08 win of the 4 person relay. Luck did not go our way, and a mechanical failer and other issues dropped us to 4th place.
Karen nails fastest lap of ALL women.
Unofficially Paul ‘thinks’ he get’s fastest lap. by personal/wrist top watch timing I clocked a sub 43 minute, but it was awarded to the amazing Eric Bereman (sp?) of Steven Kinney Designs team, with a 43 and change. That dude is fast as heck.
Jason, Heather and all the folks at So Cal Endurance do an amazing job. This event was huge, was run damn smooth and we highly recommend it. Congrats Jason and Heather.
