Climate Ride 2009

There’s a cool event happening next month – the Brita Climate Ride. Created by two passionate, seasoned bicyclers and world travelers, Climate Ride raises money for climate, energy and bicycle-related projects and organizations. This mass bike ride from NYC to DC spans 5 days and strives to inspire and empower citizens to work toward a new energy future.

Along the way, riders will camp out at designated spots and listen to top experts in the field of climate change. Denmark’s Ambassador to the US, NEMO’s own ambassador Alison Gannett, Dr. James Hanson, head of the NASA Goddard Institute for Space Studies, and Josh Dorfman, The Lazy Environmentalist, are among those speaking. When the group hits DC, riders are scheduled to meet with their senators and representatives for a one-on-one conversation about global warming concerns and solutions.


We at NEMO love the bicycle and love the idea of teaming up with such a passionate group. Plus, one of this year’s recipient organizations is Portsmouth, NH’s own Clean Air – Cool Planet. And not only will NEMO ambassador, Alison Gannett, be speaking during the ride, she’ll also be riding self-supported, carrying her Gogo.

BONUS: NEMO’s offering industry pro form (40% discount) to all registered riders, so think about it!

~Kate

Visit from Hurricane Bill

If you’ve been living in a cave recently, you might have missed some of the best surf to hit the East Coast in a couple years. Despite unbelievable crowds (both watching and in the water), there was fun to be had by all. We were out last Thursday picking up trash at our monthly cleanup (thanks Marta!), and it was looking calm before the storm. Starting Friday and continuing to even this morning, there have been great conditions. Bill snapped this shot Saturday morning in the fog after a monster session.


Check out the 500+ Hurricane Bill surfing pictures that have been downloaded to Magic Seaweed in the past few days.

-Connie

Trip Report from Explorer Post 58

This past July the Explorer Post traveled with eight students, ages 16-19, and three advisors, to a remote area of the Canadian Purcell Range. We camped on the edge of the Conrad Icefield and stayed there for one week. The team climbed seven mountains, including Mt. Conrad, 10,750’ (named for Conrad Kain), Mt. Mallow, Mt. Osprey and Snafflehound Spire. We brought our Moki™ and a couple of Morpho AR’s™, as you can see from the photos. The tents worked really well, thank you for the kind donation!


Explorer Post 58 is based in Portland, Oregon. The Post is the most active youth mountaineering organization in the country. We climb about 20 mountains each year and sponsor trips to Canada, Alaska and New Zealand. We also participate in approximately 20 other non-mountaineering trips each year.

~Pete Green, Post Advisor

America's National Parks

Even though the last of this year's free national park weekends just passed, some of the best weeks (no crowds, no heat, no mosquitos) are still ahead of us.

Lately, I've been wading through some of the reader photos submitted to Boston Globe's national parks photo contest , and wondering how Grand Prismatic Spring in Yellowstone is so photogenic in every photo. amateur or not. All photos for the contest must be submitted by September 11, 2009. The grand prize winner will receive a signed copy of the new Ken Burns film, National Parks: America's Best Idea.



If you've got more time on your hands, here's a longer cut of it.

-Connie

2010 Sneak Peek: Meta 1P

As requested, here's a sneak peek at Meta 1P, one of our new ultralight trekking pole tents for 2010. Minimum weight for this tent is around 1.8 lbs, and the 2 person version comes in at 2.9 lbs.


Interest for these kinds of tents has been growing strong -- especially as more people (myself included) realize how much trekking poles can save your knees and hips when hiking. The bonus is that since you're already carrying trekking poles, these tents pack amazingly small.

-Connie

Primal Quest 2009

Primal Quest 2009 started on Friday in the Badlands of South Dakota. Throughout this infamous race, 32 teams will be challenged to cover 600 miles via trail running, mountain biking, caving, swimming, kayaking and ropes courses. Teams will rely on their orienteering skills to get them from check point to check point within the 10-day timeframe. You can follow their progress here.


NEMO has been a long-time supporter of adventure racing, designing ultralight tents for the competitors (Hypno PQ, Nano Elite) and sponsoring the 2006 Primal Quest, held in Utah. Team Nike, the most winning team in Adventure Racing, long-time friend and gear testers for NEMO, withdrew before this year's race started due to a mountain bike accident that team leader Mike Kloser was involved in a few weeks back. I spoke to Mike recently and he said "...I am back on the bike and feeling much better. Still got a ways to get back to top form, but am now shooting for the race in China in Sept."

PQ organizers do a fantastic job of keeping interested followers up-to-date with Tweets, SPOT tracking and video coverage. While the future of Adventure Racing is unknown, one thing is for certain - this race pushes competitors to depths very few of us have experienced.

Photo courtesy Team Nike

~Kate

Skate legend Andy Kessler

Take a couple minute and read this moving tribute about legendary East Coast skateboarder Andy Kessler.