ASK THE MUSHER Vol 12: Jeff King

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Re: ASK THE MUSHER Vol 12: Jeff King (12/15 thru 12/21)

Postby sc-race-fan » Thu Dec 18, 2008 8:15 am

Thanks for joining us.. Your letter to the ITC was profound. I hope they will consider the ramifications of not doing it. I believe South Carolina vet/musher Sonny King (the reason I got interested in the race) provided a southern pecan pie at that trail stop. I had a hard time when you both were running and a report would say "King" and not specify whether it was "Jeff" or "Sonny". I do enjoy your equipment designs and hope that you can get a "3 wheeler/sled type to work". I think steering would be the problem as I have to press down on the handlebar and lift the front wheel to turn the stroller when rolling the triplets. Not sure how that would work in the snow with 16 dogs pulling it forward and down!! My question: How long does it take to physically recover from the race, and does aging effect the time? Thanks to Cabelas for continuing the sponsoring of your efforts and Good luck this year and thanks again for joining us.
Proud PaPa of the triplet litter; Aidan (B), Bailey (G), and Cameron (B). Cameron is on top in picture; Bailey, of course, is the bowhead!!
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Re: ASK THE MUSHER Vol 12: Jeff King (12/15 thru 12/21)

Postby Jeff King » Thu Dec 18, 2008 12:17 pm

tilstede wrote:Hi, Anne from Norway has some questions for you:

For a couple of years ago I used to go see hockey matches in Norway. In the beginning I arrived half an hour before match start - and by that got to see the teams warming up. After some months, I was able to predict which team who would win the match, only by watching them warming up. The key signs to look for where attitude and self confidence, and the way they skated that particular day.

So my questions are:
- After years of participating in Iditarod - are you able to predict who will win and by what point do you fell pretty sure? Are there indications to be found at the very first day? And - can you predict who will make it all the way to Nome - and who will for sure not?

Thanks :-)

Of course I don't get to see the Iditarod teams all "warming up", with the exception of some pre-season races. It's hard not to notice the strengths and weaknesses of top competitors teams at these times. But I believe it's just a distraction to do so. The race is too long to take a pre-race visual and evaluation and predict the winner. I have never accurately predicted the winner of the Iditarod - except the 4 years I've won!
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Re: ASK THE MUSHER Vol 12: Jeff King (12/15 thru 12/21)

Postby Jeff King » Thu Dec 18, 2008 12:19 pm

MelanieGouldFanBrian wrote:Hey Jeff MGF Brian again.
Will the pride and joy of Fergus Falls, Minnesota, our local boy makes good, our one and only hometown hero and Iditarod finisher Jeff Wells be running any dogs again for you in the near future?
Jeff came home after his 2007 finish and gave a superb slide show and talk to us here in Fergus, and told many stories about Jeff King (we won't get into those, shall we?) :o Just wondering if Jeff is still part of your managerie and if he'll be racing for your kennel again soon?
P.S. So glad you're a Melanie Gould fan too. I hope she's back to racing soon, Iditarods are tough for me without her in them!

Brian

JJ is now more into birds and chicks, than dogs. However we do expect to see him for our solstice party this weekend. He's pretty much grown wings of his own and I don't see him working with us anytime soon again - but he would be welcome back.
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Re: ASK THE MUSHER Vol 12: Jeff King (12/15 thru 12/21)

Postby Jeff King » Thu Dec 18, 2008 12:25 pm

saltybird wrote:Jeff, Loved the book- read it in two days. In your opinion, which race route is the most difficult (ignoring the weather in any given year just this once) on you and which is most challenging for the dogs? And, regarding the mail you all must carry, do you really have a chance to answer the mail you carry from schools for the Iditamail projects, or is there only time to sign it and send it on?

Looking forward to watching your sled with the GPS this coming March.

Susan

I never ignore the weather. It has everything to do with the difficulty of any given trail. However if the weather is the same, I prefer the northern route because there tends to be a better base to the trail - a result of the Iron Dog snow machine race.
The "mail" we carry are empty caches auctioned off by the Nome Kennel Club as a fund raiser for the Iditarod. I do not carry mail from schools - however the mail we do receive here at the kennel, I would love to answer everyone individually but it's unrealistic. Sorry... Also, without SASE they're very likely not to get any reply at all.
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Re: ASK THE MUSHER Vol 12: Jeff King (12/15 thru 12/21)

Postby ThisSpaceForRent » Thu Dec 18, 2008 12:31 pm

Jeff King wrote: I have never accurately predicted the winner of the Iditarod - except the 4 years I've won!


Hey Jeff,

wanna get into our Top Ten Picks contest....seriously, You could post them or you could PM me your picks and I will not reveal them till AFTER the race. I think I could guess your #1 ;) but the other 9 would be interesting for us forum dwellers to see.

tsfr
Peace,Love and SnowDogsGo...
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Re: ASK THE MUSHER Vol 12: Jeff King (12/15 thru 12/21)

Postby Jeff King » Thu Dec 18, 2008 12:32 pm

mamamia wrote:Jeff,

Here is politically difficult question.

As you may know many of us here are refugees from the old Cabelas site. Ah, those were the days! You as the face of Cabelas' support of the Iditarod... a champion with those extremely photogenic icicles. We as the peanut gallery... noisy, opinionated and totally engaged in the race. And Jon Little in the middle feeding us the stories we needed to fan our obsession. Then *poof* it all changed seemingly overnight. Can you shed any light on the question, "what the he!! happened!"? Also, has your relationship with Cabelas changed over the last couple of years?

Ok, here is another...

Currently there are only 69 mushers signed up for the "09 Iditarod. Certainly the curent economic climate has a lot to do with that as does the increased entry fees. How do you feel about the increase in the fees to the current level? About the effect this is bound to have on the "shoestring" kennel?


I believe Cabela's and the Iditarod believed that they were competing in coverage of the race. And in an effort to streamline said coverage, they agreed to sponsor a writer (Jon Little) for the Iditarod website updates. Cabela's certainly has experienced tremendous growth in the last couple of years and continue to be a staunch supporter of the race as well as our prime sponsor.

As a past member of the ITC Board of Directors, I am well aware that it costs more than $4000 per team to put on the event. I suspect 4k is actually about 30% of what it costs per team in the event. It's a big hit for the mushers all right - but it's still excellent value considering the services provided by the race organization.
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Re: ASK THE MUSHER Vol 12: Jeff King (12/15 thru 12/21)

Postby Jeff King » Thu Dec 18, 2008 12:36 pm

Di* wrote:It is a true pleasure to be asking you questions Jeff, I can't believe I have the chance to talk to a 4--time champion! :o :D You are very generous to be sharing your time with us-You ROCK!!! :)
I've always been in awe of all the innovations you come up with from heated handlebars to the sit down sled. You have given so much back to the sport and the art of dog mushing/care.

I'm curious about your thinking process, how does it happen? Are you constantly pondering how to improve things as you log all those hours on the runners or do the ideas just come to you by divine inspiration, out of the blue? ;) :D

Also thanks for sharing your letter to the ITC, do you feel like they are open to change on the dog policy you presented? It seems like your ideas of a team being done if they lose a dog would go a long way toward raising dog care to the next level & really weighing what they ask their dogs to do.

Your book was top notch, with the greatest cover(inside) art ever! Please give Joe a high five from us fans for getting you to do it! :D

I also had the pleasure of meeting Jeff Wells, he gave an awesome presentation for my son's school, he has a real gift for public speaking and really inspired the kids to work hard for their dreams! (I tried to get a little dirt on you but don't worry he only had good things to say! :lol:)

Finally, are you gonna blast Lance with the Rocky Theme song again? That was so fun to hear about last year....let the games begin ;) Was fun to hear music blasting from your sled on the Discovery Show too! Do your dogs respond to the tunes, maybe run faster when you turn them on?

OK I'm done now :lol: , thanks for your reply Jeff!


I believe my ideas are hatched while riding the back of a dogsled. You sit back there as long as I do - there's lots of time to think. I really enjoy specifically targeting the physics involved in the dogs, their gear, and sled.
There's no question the dogs are influenced by audio stimulation - as am I. There are so many hi-tech audio systems now available, it really is fun as well as effective for influencing morale, appetite, speed, etc. Let's face it - that Pavlov guy knew what he was doing.
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Re: ASK THE MUSHER Vol 12: Jeff King (12/15 thru 12/21)

Postby Jeff King » Thu Dec 18, 2008 12:40 pm

sc-race-fan wrote:Thanks for joining us.. Your letter to the ITC was profound. I hope they will consider the ramifications of not doing it. I believe South Carolina vet/musher Sonny King (the reason I got interested in the race) provided a southern pecan pie at that trail stop. I had a hard time when you both were running and a report would say "King" and not specify whether it was "Jeff" or "Sonny". I do enjoy your equipment designs and hope that you can get a "3 wheeler/sled type to work". I think steering would be the problem as I have to press down on the handlebar and lift the front wheel to turn the stroller when rolling the triplets. Not sure how that would work in the snow with 16 dogs pulling it forward and down!! My question: How long does it take to physically recover from the race, and does aging effect the time? Thanks to Cabelas for continuing the sponsoring of your efforts and Good luck this year and thanks again for joining us.


Sonny King is one of my best Iditarod friends. I do miss him. Don't knock down my ideas without giving me a chance! I have some concerns with my three wheeler ideas, but I do believe that it's worth a try. Success is Mandatory. :)
I generally feel pretty normal after 10 days at the food trough. And a few good nights sleep. But the answer to your question on recovery dramatically varies from year to year, again depending on the weather. As for the effects of aging - I have no idea. I'm only 53...
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Re: ASK THE MUSHER Vol 12: Jeff King (12/15 thru 12/21)

Postby Jeff King » Thu Dec 18, 2008 12:42 pm

Check out our website at huskyhomestead.com for our updated blog. Happy Trails, Jeff
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Re: ASK THE MUSHER Vol 12: Jeff King (12/15 thru 12/21)

Postby mithious » Thu Dec 18, 2008 2:41 pm

So many great questions from our Iditabuddies, I can't think of a single thing to ask you :shock: :shock: :shock:

Simply just want to say THANK YOU....for signing your book last year for me at the book sale and for having your picture taken with me....I sure do appreciate it..also...for your autograph too :D :D :D

The book was awesome :D :D :D and I cherish the pic's :D :D :D

Thanks again Jeff...You ROCK :D :D :D Good luck this season and a very Meryy Christmas to all of you :D :D :D
Nay, be a Columbus to whole new continents and worlds within you, opening new channels, not of trade, but of thought.
Henry D Thoreau
Happiness depends more on the internal frame of a person's mind than on the externals in the world.
George Washington
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