what a week (and it's only tuesday!), and some gear porn

I've been gearing up for the Gold Rush 24 Hour Challenge this weekend (last year's report is here) and it's gotten a little hectic.

First my teammate Oliver crashed his bike and badly bruised his heel, so he's out since he can't run. Mari, Jonathan, and I talked it over and decided that we'd just race as a 3-person team; we'll be a little bit slower on the kayak section (a double and a single are slower than 2 doubles) but faster on everything else (less gear, fewer people to get through transitions, fewer people on the rappels) so while it's a bummer that Oliver's out, it's deal-withable.

Then I got an email today from Ali who is/was crewing (driving the car with all the crap we need in it from transition area to transition area and helping us through them) telling me that there had been a death in her family and she wouldn't be able to crew.

The race isn't doable without a crew, so I'm emailing like a madman trying to find someone to take her place.

Why do I like this sport again? Oh yeah, I'm a masochist.

On a totally unrelated note, I lost my beloved Marmot fleece a while back and have been trying to replace it.

Marmot was bought by K2 a while back (after I bought the fleece), and now none of their stuff fits me. The best way I can describe it is that the cut and sizing has been "Americanized"; sizes are bigger and much larger in the waist/torso. One of the the things I loved about the Marmot was that it was tailored pretty closely to my body, and now all the new ones are bulky in the waist, which I freakin' hate (and it makes layering harder).

Anyway, when Brynn and I were in Seattle we went to REI and I tried on a metric assload of jackets, all of which had the same problem: too bulky in the waist.

On my way out I grabbed a softshell I hadn't seen earlier to try on, and of course it fit like a glove.

It also cost more than I'd ever spent for a piece of clothing, so I left it.

About a week later I still hadn't found a jacket I liked, and I got a coupon from REI.

Done.

I am now the happy owner of an Arc'teryx Gamma SV jacket, and I absolutely love it. It fits, it's the right weight, and I wear it every day.

I'm still a little uncomfortable with how much I spent on it (which really isn't that much in the big scheme of things, it's less than I spend on a 24-hour race, and it'll last longer) but I REALLY like it.