The SECRET WEAPON...

I am unleashing my secret weapon this weekend at the Desert Rage Vail Lake adventure race .

Tessa Roorda, Brazilian-adventure racer extraordinaire, and I will compete as a mixed duo as Team DART-nuun in this weekend's 6-10 hour Desert Rage Adventure Race near Temecula. We will use this race as a nice hit-out before the Baja Travesia which is now just 4 weeks away. We at DART-nuun are borrowing Tessa from her usual Brazilian team, Mitsubishi Quasar-Lontra.

Tessa is in Los Angeles from Brazil for a few months working with UCLA biologists. When not analyzing rare species, Tessa delights in embarassing Cyril and me on long rides, runs, and paddles. Her other hobbies include winning, domination, and taunting men who think they can keep up with her downright nasty pace.

Get this: Tessa, from Brazil I remind you, entered a Snowshoe race 2 weeks ago. She dominated the field for the win, beating all but a few of the men. Witnesses say she was smiling the whole time and did not appear to be breathing very hard.

I am in big, big trouble.