WeGo Team Link Field Tests –
Adventure Racing

An excerpt from Eric Bone's inventor's notebook illustrates the versatility of the WeGo Team Link during adventure racing. In this example, use of the WeGo Team Link imparts a clear performance benefit over racing unlinked.

Adventure race team MerGeo.com uses WeGo Team Link during a training run on Cougar Mountain in Spring 2006

Test Description: Winter Wuhoo! adventure race, 17 January 2004 I towed Markus for about 5.5 miles (ski) Markus towed Georgia up a hill (about 3/4 mile) I towed Markus for about 4 miles (ski) Georgia towed Markus for about 2 miles (ski)

Test Results:

1. Markus was struggling to keep up, whereas I was keeping up pretty easily, so we paused to hook up the towing system. Once I was towing Markus, by skiing with a moderate level of exertion, we were able to gradually catch up.
2. Georgia was beginning to feel fatigued when beginning to hike up a long hill, so I suggeted that Markus, our strongest runner, tow Georgia. Once in tow, we were able to maintain our previous pace. Georgia was able to keep up easily for the remaining hiking sections, which continued to be through snow and mostly flat or downhill.
3. Markus again struggled on the second ski section, so we harnessed together almost immediately, and I towed him for about 4 miles, over which we both got progressively more tired and were eventually unable to keep up. The towing system allowed us to match Mike and Georgia's speed, but at the cost of exhausting the tower (me).
4. After I became too exhausted, Georgia towed Markus for about 2 miles. She had enough skiing strength to tow Markus. Mike, Markus, and Georgia gradually built up about a 50 meter lead on me until we came together at the final transition area.

Conclusions:

Towing system allowed the team to maintain a higher speed by assisting a member who is slower at an activity.

Two people were both towers and towees. In one case, a pair of people took on both roles with each other (Georgia and Markus). We conclude that the usefulness of this system is not limited to a "stronger" and a "weaker" person, but that in different circumstances or activities, an individual might take on either role, even within one team.

Test result (4) confirmed what I had assumed but not yet directly observed: that the team link allows the tower to exercise to exhaustion by imparting towing force to the towee.

WeGo Team Link is patent pending