Brewing of the Funderstorm

September 22nd marks the official North American debut of the Funderstorm at the Storm the Ten 10 hour adventure race relay. The girls have formerly raced under many monikers, most recently as "I left my heart in Jalcomulco," a tribute team to the good times had at adventure racing camp in Jalcomulco, Mexico, as well as "SnackyPants and Toots-in-Tights: Mission Michigan," a name designed to reflect unsubstantiated potential spy connections. It was, in fact, on the way to said race in Michigan that the Funderstorm began brewing. The name came out of what was designed to be a mere slip of the tongue, but, with further reflection, appears to be universal intervention in the search for the ultimate team name. En route to Michigan, the word thunderstorm was misinterpreted as funderstorm. Like a flash of lightning or burst of thunder, the Funderstorm as you now know it was thus conceived.

Originally going to be held back for unveiling in 2008, the girls decided that there were enough 2007 races left for the Funderstorm to be unleashed. Both feel quite thankful to the Universe for sending this name their way. A team logo and uniforms are currently in the works.

Funderstorm "brewing" is SP/TT lingo for training. Training for the unleashing of the Funderstorm continued this past weekend as the girls visited Kelso conservation area to scope out the scene for Storm the 10. Paddling was first on the agenda, as it has been pinpointed as the girls, um, least good discipline. Despite questionable weather and boat rental staff who thought they were crazy, the girls practiced all they learned from Ben a few weeks back (except paddling backwards, which they think is stupid and hard). After a successful paddle session, boats were traded for bikes as the girls chased new Funderstorm sidekick Tom around the MTB trails at Kelso. Chagrined to find out there was no ski lift to carry them back up the hill once they rode down, they sucked it up and rode back up the ski hill.

Stay tuned for more brewing reports.