Denver awash in adventure but zest not the best
Although there is still no word on where the city ranks in the world of hygiene, when it comes to adventure, the suds experts at Zest Body Wash recently ranked Denver at No. 6 among the “most adventurous cities in America.”
Citing research undertaken by Bert Sperling (of “Sperling’s Best Places”), the study measured accessibility to outdoor sports, including surfing and rock climbing, as well as residents’ “consumption of media and products associated with an active/adventurous lifestyle.” Apparently Denverites are going to have to put a little more wax on their surfboards and purchase some more adventurous products (like, soap?) if they want to take the title of America’s most adventurous city away from (wait for it) … San Francisco. Rounding out the top five are Boston; San Diego; Sacramento, Calif.; and Los Angeles.
For the record, Denver is ranked more adventurous than Seattle, Portland, Ore., Philadelphia and Charlotte, N.C., along with at least 40 other cities listed in the marketing gimmick, er, study. For a list of the 50 most adventurous cities, log onto www.zestforadventure.com.
Single, unemployed guys are encouraged to try out for Zest’s man of the month 2007 calendar. Shower often and check the website for details.
ADVENTURE RACING
Nike team stays on top
Nike’s Mike Kloser and Sari Anderson joined Jay Henry and Dan Weiland’s Team Nike Beaver Creek to secure a repeat victory at the Adventure Xstream 24-hour adventure racing competition in Summit County on July 22. The win marks the team’s sixth victory in seven events so far in 2006.
The Summit County event took place just three weeks after Primal Quest 2006 in Utah, now widely regarded as the toughest adventure race on record with temperatures in the Utah desert reaching 125-plus degrees several times over the course of 10 days. Team Nike members said it was the most challenging event they had ever entered.
“I think PQ’s still in the legs a bit,” said Vail’s Kloser, who captained his Nike/PowerBlast team to victory in the Utah desert the last week in June. “Even though it’s been three weeks, I haven’t had a chance to run much. I’ve been biking a little bit, been trying to recover, but I’ve been working a lot, trying to sleep. Even my sleep quantities haven’t been great.”
The all-Eagle County squad won by 20 minutes over second-place finisher Bagel Works. The foursome’s winning time was 15 hours, 13 minutes.
Next on Nike’s schedule is the Adventure Racing World Championship in Sweden and Norway from Aug. 16-23.
Raid World Championship: After qualifying stages in Australia, the United States and France, the 34 most successful teams have earned invitations to compete in the Raid World Championship in the Saguenay-Lake Saint Jean region near Quebec from Sept. 9-16. Team Spyder, Team Nike and Team Salomon Crested Butte – all composed of Colorado athletes – are included. For updates and info, log onto www.theraid.org.
COMPILED BY SCOTT WILLOUGHBY
FROM POST STAFF AND WIRE REPORTS
