25 October 2015

The 2016 Season: Summit Adventure Racing/Team Commie Bar

Team Commie Bar 2016......
Here we go......
We are fielding teams for the following races across the globe.  If you are interested in being a part of Summit Adventure Racing/Team Commie Bar send a note to me at TCOPESWORLD@GMAIL.COM.



3-6 March - Sea to Sea 72hours Across Florida
Jon Gamm captaining the team on this early season epic
Seeking 1 racer for the roster
2 April - Crooked Compass 8hr Race
Rootstock Racing near Philly.
Seeking 2-3 Racers for the roster













9 April - Big Bear 50 - 8 Hr Race
Todd Copley captaining the team on this great course near Deep Creek Lake.
Seeking 1-2 racers for the roster





2-9 April - Scott Mead of Team Commie Bar will be racing in GodZone8 day race in New Zealand
Team Complete














16-17 April - Rev3 Shenandoah Epic 24hrs
Shenandoah Mountains
Todd Copley to captain and looking to field a 3 person all male squad.  
Seeking 1-3 racers and possible co-ed team














29 April - Get Stoked Rogaine 6hr/12hr or 24hr Orienteering Race
Stokesville, VA
Seeking 3 racers for the roster













30 April - Yellow Creek Extreme 10hr Race
Penn Run, PA  
J.j Potasiewicz to captain this team.  Open to either co-ed or 3 man all male.
Seeking 1-2 Racers for the roster



1 May - GOALS Savage 6hr Adventure Race
Seeking 2-3 racers for the roster









4-8 June - Corsica Adventure 5 day Race
The Island of Corsica, France
Todd Copley to Captain and seeking international teammates.
Seeking 2-3 racers for the roster



















4-5 June - GOALS Cradle of Liberty 20hr Adventure Race
Seeking 2-3 Teammates for the Roster








10-12 June:  Nomad 48Hour Race in Colorado
Jon Gamm to Captain and seeking to field a 3 man all male.
Seeking two teammates for the roster














11 June - Laurel Highlands 50K Ultra Run
Ohiopyle, PA
J.j Potasiewicz running as a Commie Bar.
Team Complete















25 June - Garrett County Gran Fondo Ultra Cycling Event
Deep Creek Lake, MD
Todd Copley training ride for Summit AR
Team Complete








1-3 July:  Happy Mutant 72hour Race
Lynchburg VA
Seeking 3 all male teammates for the roster















14-16 July:  Cowboy Tough 3day Stage Race
Wyoming
Jon Gamm to Captain Team Commie Bar in this classic event over 3 days......  you better like paddling!!














17-23 July:  TransAlp MTB Stage Race
7 day race in the Alps
Todd Copley to wear Team Commie Bar Colors
Seeking 1 teammate for the roster



6 August - GOALS Krista 12hour Adventure Race
Seeking 3 teammates for the roster



7 August - Xterra Appalachia Off Road Triathlon
Penn Run, PA
J.j Potasiewicz in Summit AR colors
Team Complete






13 August:  Leadville 100mile MTB
Submitting for lottery.  Tentative
Team Complete














22-28 August:  Raid in France
The epitome of adventure racing....  Guillaume Calais from Team Commie Bar to lead this World Series race.
Accepting applications for this World Series Race


3 September - The Grand Traverse MTB/Run from Crested Butte to Aspen, CO
Jon Gamm to lead Commie Bar
Team Complete





10-11 September:  Scotland Coast to Coast
Todd Copley to lead the epic race across Scotland
Team Complete
10-11 September:  Deep Creek 30hour Adventure Race
30hours of running around Garrett County, MD at Deep Creek Lake...
Seeking 3 teammates for the roster
















16-18 September - 2016 NAARS Championship 30hr Race
Sierra Mountains, California
Seeking 3 teammates for the roster

7-9 October:  USARA National Championships of Adventure Racing
Deep in Georgia....
Accepting applications for entry for 3 person all male


21 October 2015

Summit Adventure Racing/Team Commie Bar 2015 Quick Recap

Hello from the epicenter of adventure sports: Deep Creek Lake, MD!!

This is just a quick recap of Summit Adventure Racing and Team Commie Bar for 2015.  We had an amazing year in 2015 as we took on our 1st expedition race and an Adventure Racing World Series Race: Raid in France. The prep for that race (and all the logistics were incredible). Wanted to extend an amazing thanks and congratulations to Guillaume Calais, Jon Gamm and Kim Owens for their accomplishment and also for their team support and friendship. It truly was an amazing experience.

If you haven't read the race report head to Raid in France Race Report or you can also see the video promo at Team Commie Bar at Raid in France Video

Some quick 2015 Highlights

18 April- Rev 3 Shenandoah Epic 24 hour -
Kim and Todd racing 2 person.  That was a practice race for Raid in France. Kim and Todd took 2nd place in 2 person coed.




 25 April - JJ Potasiewicz and Heidi Snyder represented the Commie Killers at the Yellow Creek Extreme 10 hour race and took 1st place in 2 person coed



22 May - Equinox Traverse 48hour - Todd/Jon/Kim and Scott Mead as another Raid in France practice race. This was our first foray into 4 person coed racing.

 6-7 June - High Sierra All Out 24hr Race - Jon and Scott wore Summit Colors in this race out west. They were forced to abandon because of the cut off times in a race that wasn't very well organized.


25 July - Todd completes MountainMan Trail Ultra 50K in the Alps of Switzerland.  MountainMan is ranked as on of the top 20 endurance events in the world.

1 August - Krista 12hour race - Dan/Bait, Chris Farrell and New commie bar teammate Pete Bond raced to a 2nd place finish in 3 person male. This qualified the team for USARA Nationals.



 16-20 Sept - Raid in FRance - Todd/Jon/Guillaume and Kim finish epic 4 night/4 day race in the pre alps of France. Read the race report.



18-19 September - NAARS Championship - Dan/Bait Schaefer races solo!!


 What a YEAR!!!!

11 October 2015

End of Season Deals on Extra Gear from Team Commie Bar. Most stuff BRAND NEW AND AT GREAT PRICES

clearing out the gear bins. I have the following for sale or best offers. 1. Two COMPLETE sets of Bright Eyes 1200 lumen bike bar or helmet lights. These things are BRIGHT!! They are also brand new and never used. $100 bucks for both sets or $50 bucks for one set. 2. One set of CycleBeam Graphene 700 bar or helmet lights. 700 lumen with external batteries. Brand new never used - $50. 3. Giro Savant bike helmet/used twice for $40. 4. Specialized Propero bike helmet - used for $20 bucks. 5. Camelbak Ultra 10 running ultra light backpack. 10 litres for long trail runs. Brand new/Never Used. Was a promo pack. Retails for $150 new. $125 or best offer 6. Petzl Shunt climbing device – brand new. $75 7. Petzl Figure 8 belay device - $15 8. Numerous spare tubes – Mostly 27.5inch x 1.75/2.5. 5 bucks each 9. Nitecore Intelli Lithium battery charger. Two sets. Brand new. $10 bucks each. All for pick up in Deep Creek, MD or I’ll consider mailing them for supplementary postage.

Send email to TCOPESWORLD@gmail.com for inquiries/bids.










01 October 2015

Team Commie Bar at the NAARS U.S. Championships

Race Report by Dan "Bait" Schaefer

18-19 September - North American Adventure Racing Championship, Raystown, PA bait
Being a member of Team Commie Bar has proven to be a real source of pride for me. When I showed up at the North American Adventure Racing Championship as a solo racer, the other racers (who are really, really good) asked me questions like, “Are you racing solo because your teammates (TCOPE and company) are racing in Europe?” I felt like I was the real deal. Imagine how I felt to be part of a team that was racing on two continents at the same time! Another racer whom I really like and respect told me that racing a 30 hour championship as a solo racer was “bold”. I appreciated her word choice and held onto that theme as the race progressed. Adventure racing in complicated. There are lots of pre-race e-mails and instructions. This race was no different—we had to drop our bikes at a bike shop in a town 30 miles from the start line on Thursday night by 6pm. From there the bikes would be transported to an unknown location that we would later find. After dropping our bikes off, we drove an hour to the race HQ and received our maps and passports/rules of travel. The two main maps were 1:24,000 USGS topos with UTM grid overlays. Each map covered 500km². In addition to the big maps, over the course of the race we would receive 5 additional maps. The checkpoints were pre-plotted (I was really thankful for that) but not all the points were on each map. For such a big race the rules were really simple: there were only 20 mandatory checkpoints (leaving 49 optional points), and you weren’t allowed to use any motorized transport or GPS. We rented a cabin near race HQ and Jill and I worked on route planning all night and got to bed around midnight. I was a little nervous to be doing this race alone, and that night I prayed and said. God, I’m putting all my trust in You.

I was up at 0400 and took a nice hot shower, ate my cheerios and greek yogurt like I do every morning, and headed to the start area. Another distinguishing trait of adventure racing is that races are unsupported. Usually you leave a gear bin at a central transition area and retrieve food, water and gear as you progress through the stages of the race. This race did not have a central TA so we were allowed to pack a gear bin and transport it in our canoe. At 0500 I loaded a ton of gear into a really big gear bin and boarded a tour bus for an 1 ½ hour bus ride to where we would start the race. Because the course was so large, the race directors decided to add two hours to the clock to give us enough time to make it back the finish line. Once we were off the bus, we all received the first bonus map of the Stone Creek Recreation Area and it was time to go.

This first section was a foot orienteering course in. A word about the terrain—this area is a very rugged part of the state and is part of the Appalachians. Lots of wilderness and lots of rugged, rocky mountains. My strategy at the start was to grab a couple points in the into get a good lead on the pack. I skipped 3 of the 5 points but blew my lead when I missed a CP—I lost an hour looking for a point that I should have never even bothered looking for in the first place. I was able to make up some time and ran about 7k to the bike drop. From there we rode hill logging and back country roads for 16k to a manned CP where we had to drop our bikes. It was getting really hot and the biking was harder than I anticipated. This next section was a mandatory foot orienteering course. I received another map and hit the trail. I nailed the first 3 points with ease and at the 4th point I was met by a race volunteer who told me to drop my pack and get my headlamp. I looked at her quizzically and she pointed to a big door in a cliff and said “you’re going into that cave!” Awesome!! I entered the cave and it was so cool and dark it felt great.

There were lights and it’s one of those tourist trap places but it was fun. I had to find a container of rubber salamanders and bring one to the volunteer. I checked out with her and made her take my picture on her phone. Not sure why but I think I was a little euphoric. So imagine my delight when the next CP was an even bigger cavern where I had to retrieve another rubber salamander and also a rubber worm and a rubber minnow! I was in heaven although the cave maps they gave us might as well have been in Chinese. I had to ask directions from a lady who worked at the cave because I was so disoriented in there. Anyway I made it out of the cave and was met by one of the race directors. He asked me what I thought of the cave surprise and I told him it was awesome. It was almost as good as having an ice cream cone aid station.

I hit the last couple CP’s on that course and went back to my bike. Jill was there and shared an apple cider slushy with me (the CP was at an apple orchard). From there it was a 20k bike to the canoe launch. That ride was great, mostly downhill through town. At the canoe launch the race staff loaded me into a sweet 15’ single person canoe. I took the front wheel off my bike and strapped the bike in the aft half of the boat while my giant gear bin was in the front. I was all loaded up and Jill was there to give me a smooch before I hit the lake. The race staff/directors were incredibly nice and really helped me out—being a solo is tough—you’re doing the work that 3 people usually do so the transitions are a lot slower than normal, so I appreciated all they did to help me keep moving. As I was pulling away from shore, the camera crew launched their drone and they followed me for a bit. They’re lucky I didn’t have my good shotgun with me! The paddling section was beautiful the lake we were on is the largest lake in PA and was created when the Army Corps of Engineers flooded a mountain valley. The water is clean and clear and the shoreline is very rugged. There were CP’s on several islands along the way. The best CP was on a cliff on an island. I couldn’t stand up at the shoreline because the water was 30 feet deep at the shore and I had to shimmy out of the boat onto a rock ledge and get the CP. After a couple hours of paddling I hit the TA and put my bike back together.

This section was a bike orienteering course on the famed Allegrippis mountain bike trails—these are the best mountain bike trails in PA—and I was totally stoked to ride them. I nailed a bunch of bike points and rode all three levels of trails (easy, moderate, difficult) and had a great ride. I finished up the ride at dusk and got back on the canoe for more paddling. I pulled into the next TA around 2130 and Jill was waiting there. We visited a minute and I headed out onto another section of the Allegrippis but this time on foot. I opted not to ride because I wanted to play it safe since I was alone and was worried that the trails would be too technical to ride at night. I later regretted this because the trails were easy and I could have gotten more points, but I did well and nailed everything so it all worked out. Back at the TA I took a minute to plan the rest of my night and eat a cold microwaveable soup. I consistently pack way too much food—I ate less than half of what I packed—and I am getting more into eating real food instead of gels and bars. I was regimented in taking on salt stick capsule per hour and had no cramping throughout the entire race (it was 87 degrees on sat). The next sections of the race would be difficult. I had to paddle across the lake and drop off my bike. Then I had to paddle another 12k and start a foot section. Along the way I picked up a couple boat points and around 0230 I hit the wall.

I was paddling through the fog and started dreaming. I realized that it would be better to take a nap than try to fight this for the next 12 hours, so I pulled over and took a 30 minute nap in the boat. I felt a lot better and on my way to the next TA I saw 4 shooting stars. At the TA I pulled my boat out of the water, put on dry clothes and was met by race volunteers. It was like 0400 and they were handing out walking tacos. Best race meal ever (google them if you don’t know what they are). This race staff was so dedicated, they actually added the contents to the taco for us (because there was nowhere to wash our hands). They really took good care of us and then sent us on our way. This next foot section was the most remote section of the race. I spooked a turkey vulture out of it’s roost and startled a porcupine. While bushwhacking through a blueberry and scrub oak patch I almost stepped in a ten pound pile of bear crap (acorns and blueberries are a bear’s favorite snack so I was happy to have a bear bell with my. Also sang a couple hymns for good measure). I worked my way to the spot where I dropped off my bike just as the sun was coming up. There’s something miraculous about racing all night and then watching the sun come up. It’s like getting a recharge from the sun. It’s hard to describe but it’s my favorite part of a long race. I feel totally rejuvenated and refreshed. And it’s easy to navigate again! I grabbed my bike at the TA and had to push it up a rocky fire road and then I hit the trail along the lake. This trail is on the opposite side of the really good trail and I must say, it was awful. Every rock was loose and there were tons of down trees. It took forever but I was able to hit a couple more CP’s along the way. I made my way back toward the canoe but had to do another foot orienteering course fist. This was a 5k course in a really beautiful gorge that had cool rock features. Everything was easy to find and it only took 45 minutes. I got on my canoe at 1130. I was 30 minutes ahead of schedule and had 3 ½ hours to paddle the final 12k.

Everything was going well until I entered the main body of the lake. It’s an unlimited horsepower lake on a beautiful Saturday and every A-hole with a speed boat was out. I really think some of them intentionally tried to swamp me. Little did they know that I fear no wave and am actually a pretty good big water paddler. It might have been the fact that I’d been awake and racing for 36 hours but I dared them to swamp me. I yelled at them over the roar of their small block Chevy inboards to come get me. I even had a fisherman try to tangle me in his trolling spread. 2 ½ hours of white knuckled shit talking paddling later I passed under a bridge and saw the finish line. I don’t think it was a runner’s high but I was pretty euphoric again and Jill was waiting on the shoreline for me. I carried all my gear to the finish line and all the elite teams were there, clapping and cheering me on (a lot of them gave me words of encouragement throughout the night). I set my stuff down and the organizer of the whole race series ran over and gave me my finisher’s award and took my picture. He’s a super cool guy and buddies with TCOPE.

After that I took a cat bath in the bathroom nearby and hung out in the race director’s cabin with all the volunteers drinking beer until the awards ceremony and post race dinner. I felt like a rockstar coming in second place in the solo division and got some cool swag from the gear table. But better than that I connected with some super cool people at the race and dinner. This race was a real moment for me. I was humbled by the respect the elite racers gave me—most said they could never do a solo race. My wife was awesome and kept me going when I would see her at TA’s. And I did put my trust in the Lord—there were two bear sightings by other teams in the that blueberry area. It was an amazing experience and I can’t wait to do another race like this in the future. This is something I never would have done if it weren’t for you guys and the KTC family. I mean that. -Bait