Round and Round

Tats and cheap beer - that's mountain biking

A couple of weeks ago Sam and I drove over to Riverside Park in Spokane for the Round and Round 24 Hour Mountain Bike Race.  I was joining four of my Cucina Fresca Cycling teammates in the five-man 250+ (combined ages) group.  The 250+ was the oldest age group, yet it was one of the most competitive categories, who says older means slower.

Team 179

After a mild melt-down while trying to find the park entrance Sam and I rolled into camping area as the sun set behind the ponderosa pines.  I had expected a fairly small clandestine event; nothing could have been further from the truth.  Trevor looked out over the crowd and said “this looks like a bluegrass concert without the banjo music and pot smoke.”

Dave coming in hot

We had a prime spot (quiet, good view of the course) next to the Grouphealth women, who had fielded five teams for this event.  No wonder they are the number one women’s team in the country. 

Matt Nuffort, the top age group finisher at Ironman Canada last summer, started us off with the LeMans start, and despite a major mechanical he finished the first lap in the money and we simply continued turning in hot lap after hot lap.  All of our lap times were consistently at sixty to sixty five minutes – not bad for a fifteen mile technical course.

The course was dry and fast, with a lot of gladed riding between rocky ups and technical descents.  My Santa Cruz is geared for long cross country rides with a triple in the front; this proved to be a major advantage as I was able to spool up those 29 inch tires and really lay down some speed.  I don’t know what I was doing, but I was doing it right, I felt unstoppable, I just kept picking up more and more speed.

I rode from day into night, and night came instantly – like a light switch had been turned off.  My eyes hadn’t adjusted and I found the dark half of that lap a bit disconcerting.  I was able to get a little sleep – maybe an hour – before it was time to get up, get dressed, eat, lube the chain and get to the handoff area.  At a few minutes after two in the morning Peter rolled through the transition tent and I was off into the chilly darkness.  This time my eyes were well-adjusted and my two headlamps provided just enough light for me to ride without concern.  This was my first time mountain biking in the dark and it was strangely calming.  My senses seemed overly acute and my mind super focused; my nighttime lap was only slightly slower than my daylight laps.

Pro shot of Peter making the hand-off

In the end we took third place behind two crazy strong teams.  The first and second place teams were super competitive with everyone on their squad consistently laying down sub hour laps.  This was my first time on the podium, and it felt good.

You want some wine with that third place finish

 

Fast and Furious

 

I don’t know but maybe I enjoy criterium racing more than cyclocross.  Is that possible?

Cruterium season here in Seattle is now well underway with one of our biggest events – the Ballard Crit – now in the rearview mirror.  My team held nine of the seventy five slots in the Cat 4/5 race and we rode away with a hard fought third place finish.  Not bad considering that the winner was the top American finisher in the 2013 Race Across America (RAAM).

 

True to form the Ballard Crit was fast and furious from the starting bell.  The road surface varied from potholes to broken asphalt to paving bricks and the turns were tight.  The peloton riding was awesome from my vantage; everyone was solid and predictable.  Unfortunately I flatted about fifteen minutes into the festivities.

This was my first flat in a sanctioned race and up until now I’ve had an “if I flat I’m out” attitude.  No more.  I could have easily run to the pits and got a neutral wheel.  Next time I won’t be such a gumbie and will hustle it to the pits and get back in the race.

Honu 70.3

I'm on the Big Island this week joining a friend who came to race the Honu Half Ironman.  Nothing like watching a mass swim start to convince yourself that you did the right thing quitting triathlon.  Honestly I wish that I was a little more comfortable in the water - to just to a tri or two a year - but screw it, bike racing does a good job of feeding my rat (I stole that expression from mountaineer Greg Child who described his obsession with climbing as a need to feed the rat).  Anyway I had a great time watching the race and cheering on my friend.

A few photos:

Close to a million dollars of equipment in that transition area

Can't complain about the weather

Pro Luke Bell, second out of water, has a flat at mile 0

Local pro Bree Wee on the Queen K highway

No shortage of smiles

5 Time World champ Craig Alexander

Craig Alexander after finishing 2nd.  - later DQ'd for wearing sleeves

Invaluable

 

 

Some of the best mountain biking around.  Sometimes it's best to just get out and roll by oneself.  You get to go as fast as you want to go, and stop when you want to stop.

Live Hard

As I grow deeper into middle age my athletic focus is beginning to move away from high end performance (not that I ever had high end performance, but I sure did try for it) and move towards longevity.  When I say longevity I’m not simply referring to living to a ripe old age, but I’m more specifically interested in staying active in outdoor sports (biking, skiing, climbing, hiking, paddling) deep into old age.

Yesterday while riding the rollers in my kitchen I listened to an interview that Ben Greenfield conducted with Bruch Grierson author of What Makes Olga Run.  The book is profiles multiple world record holder Olga Kotelko who, at 95, still competes in masters track and field competitions.  Listening to Olga’s story and learning about other masters athletes such as Ed Whitlock (as well as studies conducted on modern day hunter/gather tribes) I start to wonder what makes these people tick, are they superhuman – one in a billion – or is there some common thread that links them together.

 

One common thread that I seem to be seeing is the benefits of living a hard life. Back in my childhood home of Iowa there are those old farmers who have basically worked outside all day every day since they are eight or nine years old.  They are tough and well into their seventies can outwork most modern day high school football players.  And I don’t believe that it’s simply the physical labor that delivers the benefits, it’s also enduring the cold winters and hot summers as well as a feeling of doing something satisfying.

Now I get to cycling.  Being an everyday rider is tough – at least here in Seattle where it is often cold and wet.  It takes some pretty stiff fortitude to get out there and point your nose into the wet wind day in and day out, and in my opinion this will pay off in a longer more healthy and active life.  I am trending towards the opinion that being outside in the elements is best thing that you can do for yourself with respect to living a strong, and long life.  Way better than diet and way way better than running on a treadmill in a 70 degree gym.  We’ll see if I’m right – in forty years.

Garage Band

I made a few sales and met some cool people at the Pedlar’s Fair this past Saturday, but the highlight of the day was seeing my product on folks cruising through.  I spotted three people wearing my pants.  All three stopped by and said how much they liked my product.  The positive feeling I get from people who’ve purchased my product and are out there using it and enjoying it is something that hasn’t been replicated anywhere else in my life.  In short, it’s an awesome feeling.

Starting a small business is a rollercoaster ride: one minute you’re up, the next you’re down, and I get a tremendous amount of positive energy from positive customer feedback.

Whenever I see my product out there in the world I liken the feeling I get to what I would imagine a garage band feels when they first hear one of their songs on the radio.

Going to the Show

Jason and Whitney put on yet another successful Pedaler’s Fair this past Saturday.  Manning a booth during a show is always a challenge for me as I’m not a born salesman, nor am I a natural conversationalist – once you get to know me I won’t shut up, but I tend to keep quiet around folks I don’t know.

Once again I went over the top with respect to the complexity of my booth and once again I was far and away the last guys to get packed up and out the door at show’s end.  Every time I attend a show I’m amazed by how quickly the other venders pack up and exit stage left.  I like going over the top though – I think it shows that I’m willing to put in the effort, that I’m not just there because I have to “make a showing.”

What I like most about these shows is that they give me the chance to meet folks from all walks of life who are out on the streets turning over pedals.  It’s easy to tend towards myopia, which in my case means bicycling means bicycle racing, which in fact is only a small fraction of folks who ride.  I was glad to see a lot of fabricators at the show, two of my favorites were Cyclefab, who work out of Equinox Studios in Seattle's Geogetown neighborhood, and Elephant Bikes out of Spokane.  I’m really digging their National Forest Explorer.