Pumpin' handcars tougher than pumpin' iron

Vinnie Lucido was ready to go; he was certain that he and Rebecca Batizy were going wipe out the handcar competition.

"Whoever we go against is in for it," he said confidently, just before competition in the Nevada Passage Handcar Races began in Virginia City Wednesday morning. "They're in for a good licking."

Lucido, 25, of Reno, and Batizy, 30, of Boulder, Colo., were competing in the second annual "Nevada Passage Adventure Competition," a syndicated reality show which provides physical, outdoor games for teams made up of professionals from a variety of vocations.

The competition features six events in six days, all of which will be televised in more than 100 markets. The shows will air from August to February.

Wednesday's event was handcar races on the V&T tracks on F Street.

Being chosen as a site for a Nevada Passage competition was a boon for Virginia City, said Susan Sutton, executive director of the Virginia City Convention and Tourism Authority.

"It's like someone gave us a $100,000 commercial for free," she said. "Using Virginia City as a background is like a commercial for our town."

Sutton came along armed - well, the Comstock Living Legends were armed. They were a group of docents who dress in period costumes and stage gunfights and other skits. Wednesday they shot it out over a damsel in distress who the bad guys had tied to the train tracks.

Sutton said the docents' costumes provided the historical perspective, while putting on a fun show.

Marketing Director Trey Garman said the show, which last year attracted 2.2 million viewers in 130 airings, will give a different view of Nevada.

"Everyone who gets to travel across the state of Nevada has their breath taken away," he said. "It exposes the adventure opportunity and the beautiful outback of Nevada. Most people just think of the 24-hour lifestyle."

During the practice runs on the handcars, the crews found out what railroaders already know, you can't stop the equipment on a dime.

The handcar races were something none of the participants had ever done before, and all said were harder than they looked.

"Talk about an aerobic workout," said Linda Lindsay, 41, of Petaluma, Calif.

"It was a good workout for sure," her partner, Nate Simonson, 28, said. "You get about halfway done and think, 'I got to go back, too.' I didn't throw up, so that was good."

The Nevada Passage competition started Monday with a recumbent bicycle race at Battle Mountain, followed by a rodeo in Winnemucca.

Today the teams will mountain bike in Austin, and compete in an autocross at Pahrump. Then it's on to a jet ski slalom and obstacle competition in Laughlin.

The event is produced by TEAM Unlimited, a Honolulu-based company which also produces the Lake Tahoe Xterra triathlon in Incline Village each year.

Garman said they don't have any trouble finding competitors; they start with Xterra participants.

"More people want to do it than we have positions for," Garman said. "First, you have to find people who can get the time off work, because they all have jobs."

Lucido and Batizy ended up seventh overall in the handcar competition.

Batizy was surprised at how tough the workout was. "You could lose 10 pounds in one hour," she said.

His bravado gone, Lucindo had one wish. "I hope we lost so we don't have to do this one again."

• Contact reporter Karen Woodmansee at kwoodmansee@nevadaappeal.com or 882-2111, ext. 351.

Final Results

1. Accountants - Linda Lindsay, 41, of Petaluma, Calif. and Nate Simonson, 28, of Reno.

2. Developers - Gina DeTolve, 37, of Valencia, Calif. and Ken Robins, 43, of Cutchogue, N.Y.

3. Sheriffs - Ana Maria Gill, 38, of Long Beach, Calif., and Brian Atkinson, 29, of Reno.

4. Medics - Elizabeth Kollen, 25, of Minneapolis and Richard Costello, 39, of Warmister, Pa.

5. Teachers - Laura Home, 32, of Santa Cruz, Calif., and Roger Villmow, 42, of Colorado Springs, Colo.

6. Firefighters - Erin Price, 29, of Greensboro, N.C., and David Blondfield, no age given, of Reno.

7. Financiers - Rebecca Batizy, 30, of Boulder, Colo., and Vinnie Lucido, 25, of Reno.

8. Trainers - Lynn Henderson, 46, of Reno, and Jay Hachadoorian, 33, of New York.

9. Journalists - Stefani Jackenthal, 39, of New York and Jef Mallet, of Lansing, Mich.

10. Entrepreneurs - Stephanie Weisel, 43, of Paia, Hawaii, and Casey Fannin, 45, of Birmingham, Ala.