Jennifer Figge, a 56-year-old endurance athlete from Aspen, Colorado, plans to swim 2,100 miles across the Atlantic Ocean from the Cape Verde Islands off the coast of Africa to Barbados, between Puerto Rico and Venezuela. She will swim behind a sailboat in a giant shark cage for 6-8 hours per day, hoping to finish in 60 days. She swim will begin December 1st. 

More on 10kswimmer.com.

• 212F Water Boils
• 95F Hot Bath/Shower
• 80F Swimming Pool
• 63F San Francisco Bay Water Temperature (Summer)
• 47F San Francisco Bay Water Temperature (Winter)
• 32F Water Freezes

When folks ask me why I swim in cold water without a wetsuit I answer like this.

5 Reasons Not to Wear a Wetsuit

1. Because we can’t… Swim competitions and Official channel crossings forbid wetsuits because they add buoyancy and give an unfair advantage compared to swimmers who swam prior to the existance of wetsuit technology.
2. Because we don’t want to… Wetsuits are constricting and uncomfortable to wear.
3. Wetsuits are a drag to put on a take off.
4. Sauna feels better the colder we get.
5. When you gotta go, you gotta go, but not in a wetsuit.

  

  

A shout-out to my high school friend Michelle Macy who posted a similar post on her blog.

  

  

5 Reasons To Train in the San Fransisco Bay

1. The Bay is clean and has less chemicals than the pool.
2. Swimming allows me the feel the strength of my body.
3. Time with the people at the Dolphin Club makes me a better person.
4. Being among the ocean creatures puts me in touch with nature.
5. The colder the water the better the sauna feels at the end.

5 Reasons to Train

1. Test of my body and mind.
2. Feeling of tangible accomplishment.
3. Body feels better when I do.
4. Quality time with friends before and after.
5. Puts hardship and ego in proper perspective.

In 1998 I caused a nearly fatal motorcycle accident. I broke the largest bone in my body in two places and bled half to death. My hemoglobin count was 7; contrast this to a normal hemoglobin count of 14. The orthopedist who saved my life did not expect me to walk again. He and I are glad that I exceeded his diagnostic expectations.

After two months of being confined to a wheelchair I began to walk with a cane. After four months with a cane I began to walk on my own. Two years later I took my first running stride. And I’ve been skipping since, thankful to be breathing the air and to have my leg. Since 1998 my legs have stood me shakily upright as my sister married, climbed me aloft to the top of the tallest mountain in the world, and propelled me 10 degrees across Europe with Adam.

Each morning I thank the Fates as I rise out of bed to stand on my two legs. We should be thankful. If you need motivation to understand just how much more challenging life can be, watch this video. Watching these patients toil and overcome reminded me of my hardship to the tenth power.

[UPDATE] For you wordpress geeks, to get this working you will need this to automatically create the tags from your content and this to build the tag cloud.

Last night I swam in black glass, as my friend Laurin calls it. We jumped into the San Francisco Bay ocean water after dark. It was so darn peaceful as the light of the Ghirardelli Chocholate Factory shone across the black glassy water. These are the nights that can make any workday worth living. It was a wonderful cold water training swim. My buddy Dave joined us for the apres-swim sauna then we all went back to a French place and talked about adventures past and adventures future. These are the days worth remembering.

Adam has been training these days too in Denver, where the temperatures have dropped down at night to the 40s, so I suspect most of his training has been on the Wilier cycles (shameless plug, sorry, but we love these guys).

Hope everyone’s training is going awesome. Take care.

Gianmarco Cilli, who operates Wilier US, was calmly pleased to tell us that the “Cento Uno” (101) will be the bike of Alessandro Ballan in 2009. This is a new frame from Wilier that represents the leading thinking in bicycle innovation today. We were impressed with what we saw.

According to Harry Ault of Wilier, “the frame has become quite a spectacle at this year’s Interbike.” We can see why, the curved top tube carries through to a continuous curve around the seatstays and the beefy chainstays. This is elegant and carries the stresses better. The 101 uses “46Ton” carbon, the world’s strongest, most resilient fiber.

The frame integrates several elements to create stiff parsimony and reduce weight.

• The rear triangle is now more fully integrated. Chainstays and seatstays are unified as a single (monocoque) unit. They are asymmetrical, with the drive side chainstay lowered to prevent chain slap. Instead of conventional joining of the chain and seatstays at a sharp angle, the angle has been “softened” to dampen and dissipate road surface impacts and vibrations. The drive side chainstay also has a textured alloy sleeve for protection.
• Taking the integration one step further, the 101 includes a new integrated bottom bracket shell. Bearings are now installed directly into the frame. This design does away with the need for externally-mounted bearing cups and integrates seamlessly with the most popular cranksets.

The Cento Uno is sold as a frame, fork and headset package for $4300. Six sizes from XS to XXL are available and the bike will come in 5 color schemes. 2 years of crash replacement are included with the frame.

Like I said, we were impressed.

The Wilier Cento Uno "101"

• Wilier - Cento Uno
• Bellwether - Brilliant new line for 2009
• Cervelo - P4
• Gu - Roctane!
• Giro - New 2009 Helmets
• LAS - New 2009 Helmets
• Colagno - CX-1 Frame
• Garmin - 705 (officially launches in January)
• Wilier - Cento Crono Tri Bike (officially launched June ‘08)
• Cytomax - Functional Beverages such as MuscleMilk
• Zipp - 404’s/808’s/1080’s redesigned for 2009 (even FASTER!

Interbike was a great success this year. For those of you who aren’t aware of the event, Interbike is the largest bicycle trade event in North America. It is one of the most important events of the year for retailers, manufacturers, and and other industry folks. Over 1,000 brands are represented and 85% of all business within the cycling industry happens over these three days.

We were there for a couple of reasons. Our first objective was to personally thank all of those who took a risk and supported us last year. We’ve built great relationships with each of our sponsors, and it was great to see them for the first time since returning from Europe.

Special thanks to:

• Wilier - Gianmarco
• Bellwether/Profile Design - Barry
• Gu - Holly
• Cadence - Matt/Mike
• Suunto - Martin

Our second objective was to foster new relationships for the future. We met some great people this year, and we’re really excited about the future. Stay tuned for new sponsor news.

There is lots of advice out there on how to build a logo. One of the best blog posts I’ve read on the subject is on David Airey’s blog. 

To help kick off this logo I decided to have some fun with the images below. Thought it might make you all chuckle. If you want to do this to your own images I recommend checking out Dumpr.

The concept that we call “10 Degrees of Latitude” is one year old today. Hard to believe that one year ago Adam and I brainstormed this idea. The untold story about 10DL is that it was actually Adam’s wife (Amy Hazlett) who came up with the actual name. Adam came up with the idea to do the channel, I wrapped the bike ride around it, and Amy coined the 10 Degrees Latitude idea. My hat is off to Amy, and it’s also off for everyone that has helped us along the way. There are almost too many names to mention…

A rambunctious and awesome shout-out to a few special people:

• Maria from Best Western
• Matt from Cadence Cycling & Multisport
• Darren from Front of the Pack
• Kin-Joe at Vetta
• Barry at Bellwether and Profile Design 
• Greg at ZIPP
• Gianmarco at Wilier
• Martin at Suunto
• Holly at Gu Nutrition
• Rick at Barracuda
• LAS Helmets
• SRAM Components
• Karen at Bodyglide 

Another monstrous shout-out to the crew of 10DL Europe. Without whom we would have done nothing:

• Flora/Laura
• Amy/Joshua/Andrew
• Bob/Michelle
• Tricia/Eva

Looking forward to another great year of 10DL! (our brand is so popular now that it now has an acronym!)

Gu Nutrition, makers of Roctane Ultra Endurance Energy Gel, did a funny little write-up on us today. They sent Adam and I a list of provocative questions and asked us to respond. I hope you have as much fun reading it as we had writing it.

Here’s an excerpt.

- - -

What’s the most creative way you’ve ever carried your GU?
Neal: In my Speedo.
Adam: In my Speedo.

Funny racing/training story?
Adam: While training for Ironman Florida, I was on a long run in the backwoods of Virginia, miles from home, and miles from civilization. When nature called, I found the nearest tree. Long-story short…poison-ivy everywhere (yes everywhere). Two weeks before race day!

- - -

On September 26 Adam and Neal will be at the Interbike Trade Show in Las Vegas. With over 1,000 of the top brands and nearly 23,000 attendees from over 60 countries, Interbike is the largest bicycle trade show in the world. We’ll be there to deepen relationships with existing sponsors and establish new relationships with innovative companies that are interested in getting involved in our adventure race.

Exciting announcement: We’ve had a wave of interest from old friends and new friends that read about our adventure in the press. Some people are interested to learn more and some people have already committed fully to joining us in 2009! We couldn’t be happier, and are excited to have so many people wanting to join us.

10 Degrees Latitude is an event to traverse 10 Degrees of Latitude on every continent. In 2008 we traversed Europe. In 2009 we will traverse the North American continent. This adventure race will be heavy on the biking, with swimming or kayaking mixed in depending on the preference of the participants.

Click here to join us in 2009.

Ride stats today

• 129 miles
• Fins to South Paris; completing 10 Degrees Latitude
• Our most gorgeous bike day yet, a suitable end to an amazing journey
• 0 sheep, 5 buguettes, 2 barets
• 2 huge smiles and cigars at the end

Our journey took us 14 days of biking and 1 day of swimming across the English Channel. This works out to be 1000 miles on bike and 25 miles in the water. It was gorgeous, stunning territory, and the good thing about traveling as we did was that we really got to enjoy the countryside, see the people and smell the smells (most were good).

We have so many people to thank. Our support crew made our adventure possible. Our bike crew (Flora and Bob), our swim crew (Tricia, Amy, Flora, Laura, Dave, Teresa, and the entire Ocean Breeze crew) and our home crew (Michelle, Andrew, Ava and Joshua) were awesome. Our Cadence Cycling coach Mike Kuehn was super supportive. Our sponsors are all amazing people. Everyone treated us so well through the entire journey.

Here are some parting pictures from our final days in Paris. We took our final pictures at the Arc de Triomphe. A fitting end to a stunning journey.

• 80 miles
• Ingelmunster, Belgium to Fin, France
• Gorgeous countryside, 15 mph headwind
• 4 baguettes in rear pockets, 3 weddings, 7 barets

Holy smokes was it blowing out there today, but we pushed through. The French countryside was gorgeous, which made it easier. We started in Belgium and crossed the border into France during our ride. Belgium was industrial. France was filled with agrarian villages … and WEDDINGS.

Just by chance, we got to be a part of three French wedding motorcades. The cars were decorated and driving the same speed as we were biking. Everyone was happy and honking. We said “Bonjour” with our best frenchy accents. It was awesome.

Here are some pictures from the day. Time for us to rest up now, tomorrow is a 130 mile day.

This blog post is dedicated to our friends at Zipp Speed Weaponry, especially our friend Greg Kopecky, Sponsorship Coordinator. Our bicycles have a 808 rear wheel, and 404 front wheel. This configuration is becoming the sine qua non for triathletes worldwide. The aerodynamic dimples in the carbon rim are the same as golf balls and race cars.

A shout-out to Best Western Hotel Les Beaux Arts in downtown Compiegne, France. Special thanks to managers Talvay and Ouidade for making us feel so at home. The rooms were the biggest we’ve had yet and the location was right along our route and on the river. Best Western Hotel Les Beaux Arts. +33 3 44922626. 33 Cours Guynemer, Compiègne, France.

[UPDATE] We took the ferry to France. It took around 2 hours. During the whole trip I just gazed out the window. I could not believe how wide and rough the channel looked. It still doesn’t seem real to either of us that we swam that huge distance just two days ago.

A shout-out to Best Western Hotel Du Parc and Celine Delaplace who did so much to make us feel at home. This hotel has gorgeous grounds, a sunny outdoor pool, and a top-notch restaurant. We recommend the ostrich, it’s delic.

Some stats about our swim:

• Dover, UK to Calais, France
• 14 hours 23 minutes
• 21 miles
• Water temp 60F
• In terms of nutrition… We each fed once every 30 minutes in the water on GU Roctane and GU20 using the Gu-Bot bottle. The bottle held 2 GU packets in a separate chamber from the warmed GU hydration. We ate 2 packets and 12 ounces of warm water during each feeding.
  
• Seas were pretty rough at times
• Our pilot on channel day was David Whyte. Seriously folks, he’s the best in the business and has piloted over 350 successful channel swims. 350!!! His support was phenomenal. His thoughts we only on the swimmers — and his hand-picked crew helped our crew huge. His boat is one of the largest in the fleet. I remember late during the swim when he turned around and shouted encouragement to me in the water at the top of his lungs, flinging his arms in celebration. He was wonderful. It’s a pity he’s retiring this year — but we hear he’s trained an awesome successor in Chris Osmond.

Check out these videos and photographs:

A shout-out to Skyline Goggles, especially our friend Rick Runckel, President. Neal used the Predator goggles (pictured) during his crossing. These goggles are built for open water swimming — they have a huge viewing angle and don’t hurt eye sockets during swims, whether those swims are 1 hour or 14 hours.

]]>

14 hours 23 minutes

We made it! Everyone helped! It was awesome!

It was a gorgeous day for a swim from England to France. The middle map pretty well tells the story of our relay swim across the English Channel. We started the morning off strong on Shakespeare Beach and finished the day cold and weary just as the sun was dipping below the ocean horizon. Aches, pains, cold, and sea sickness took their toll, but they all disappeared as I walked up on the shores of France. Stay tuned for a longer trip log with more color. For now we are working through all these wonderfully supportive emails from loved ones and sponsors. Thanks for your warm vibes, we felt them in the cold channel!

A shout-out to Suunto, especially our friend Martin Schamboeck, Sports Marketing Manager. Adam swam with a T6 and Neal swam with a Core. Whether we’re defending presidents (as Adam has) or climbing Everest (as Neal has), Suunto is on our wrists. They also have this really cool software that we used during our bike rides to chart heart rate, speed and distance.

The below picture is a view near our sandy starting point in Dover. The videos are taken from the hilltop shoreline of Dover, looking out across the channel toward Calais, France.

In this blog post we wanted to give a SHOUT-OUT to all the folks out there who are reading us:

• Katie/Holly/Greg/Matt/Marie & all our sponsors who make our adventures possible
• AlexF/Mark/AmyF/Amber/DavidH/Karah & all our athlete friends
• Jim/Betty/Karen/Jessie/Isaac/Tom/Chris and the rest of my wonderful family
• Mark/Tina, Chad/Kylie, Tim/Megan & so many of Adam’s/Amy’s close friends and family
• Lindy/Ben/Jac/Dan/Anthony/Carla/Jonathan & all our bullish Wharton Friends
• Paul/Chad/Steve/Bruce/Barney/Richard and the highly valued Powerset gang (now MSFT)
• Joe/Mike/Maggie/Wendy/Tracy & everyone else in Edina, Minnesota
• Camile, Isaac/Nicole and so many other of my friends from Chaska, Minnesota
• Brandon/LateralLine
• And of course Zoe (with the two dots) who is busily greening our world so 10 Degrees Latitude can continue for centuries more.

Thanks for your support and warm vibes. Stay tuned.

• 2 hours
• 10 dudes in drysuits diving for shipwrecks in the harbor

Well, we did yet another training swim. Got the call from our pilot (Dave Whyte) last night that we weren’t going to be relaying the channel, so we decided to acclimatize swim again. Since we couldn’t go we did 2 hours today. Adam in one shot and me split between morning/evening (just for kicks).

In other news, Adam’s son Joshua almost walked for the first time today, which would have been amazing. How cool would it be if he took his first steps on the same day that we swam the channel!

Hopefully day after tomorrow is our day. Tomorrow I will post my exploration video of Dover’s anti-French fortifications — cool stuff.

Before, during and after the swim we met lots of fellow channel swimmers. We finally put a name to a face with Mark Robson.  We also met some new folks from New Jersey and California — folks I’m sure we’ll be seeing more of during our upcoming North America swims. Some of the folks we met have blogs:

• Mark Robson (congrats on your 6 hr swim today mate!)
  
• Karah Nazor (always nice to see a fellow San Franciscan, good luck tomorrow!)
  

We are close to GO-TIME here in Dover. Tomorrow there is a chance we’ll swim. Our pilot (Dave Whyte) will call us tonight at 7PM to let us know. So, keep us in your thoughts tonight, hopefully we’ll swim the channel tomorrow.

Here are some pictures that we grafted from other folk’s blogs. Enjoy. Hope you’re all well.