Now I HAVE to do this race!

Okay, take all the things I like about racing bikes--

racing day after day; challenging, beautiful and brutal terrain; teamwork-- more specifically, team time trialling; the grind; burning a bottomless hole in your stomach; making your poo turn to mush; oh, and zebras.

and voila, the Absa Cape Epic off-road stage race!



So I check out this year's results, right? Three hundred eleven men's teams and..

ELEVEN women's teams??!!! Zero American women teams. Okay, to be fair-- there were 58 "mixed" (co-ed) teams. But still, 311 vs. ELEVEN??!!! Geez, now I HAVE to do this race!!

Here's the team time trial prologue!!:

Hey, Valaas-- this would be good summer training, right? And you haven't been to South Africa yet! (I don't think..)

M-- I KNOW this race appeals to you! And it's only a week, so you can still get a job!

Take a seat! : a tandem tour

Check this out!

While completing any long distance bicycle tour is worthy of raising a glass to, it is becoming harder and harder to be unique. Yes, everyone's tour, no matter how small or grand, will be unique to that person! But I mean unique in the sense of being different and more interesting than previous endeavors in order to grab headlines. People have ridden up, down, across, around the U.S., both Americas, the snows of Alaska and even politically unstable regions of Africa. To be clear, no, mom, I have no interest in riding through the Congo! 

Anyhow, that leaves us to the question: if you want to be unique, what's left to do? Well, check out THIS GUY, Dominic Gill, who rode from Alaska to the southern tip of South America, on a tandem. Oh, and the passengers on his tandem are random people he met along the way. HOW AWESOME IS THAT??! His effort is raising money for Hope and Homes for Children and now at the conclusion of his journey, he is editing footage together for a terrific documentary, Dommy No Mates. You can see a trailer of the documentary on the Take a Seat homepage; just wait for it to load.

The Great Divide Bike Race

The Great Divide Bike Race intrigues me. I might prefer to tour it rather than race it, but nevertheless, this race has a hook that draws you in.

The starting line. When the clock strikes noon,

the race director says, "Okay, beat it," and you're off.

*Photo from the GDR race blog.

The Great Divide is a self-supported, solo competition following the Great Divide Mountain Bike Route. Traversing, parts of Canada, Montana, Idaho, Wyoming, Colorado, and New Mexico, the route demands over 200,000 feet of climbing along it's length. Competitors carry all equipment necessary to negotiate the backcountry, restocking on food and other supplies from the small towns along the route.

The intent of the GD is to establish a common date and set of rules so that those wishing to challenge the route or record may compete directly with other athletes under equal circumstances.

The GD follows Adventure Cycling Association's Great Divide Mountain Bike Route. The GD provides a common set of rules, daily updates, and a call in number. That is all.

Your travel arrangements and most importantly your safety is up to you. Approach the GD as if you are doing an independent adventure and have your own emergency plan in place.

--Greatdividerace.com

The Great Divide Mountain Bike Race is an intriguing beast. Outside magazine's article on the event is titled, "The World's Toughest Bike Race is Not in France." Sure, I could be convinced that racing 16 hours a day to cover 2,700 miles up over 200,000 feet of elevation gain, pedaling against a clock that doesn't stop when you go to bed on the cold, rocky ground while your stomach battles greasy diner food and you wonder if that's a grizzly in the bushes is the "world's toughest bike race." However, it is not just the toughness of this race that I find so intriguing. At the end of the race rules you will find this notice:

The original intent of this race was to ride the GDMBR as fast as possible in the simplest/purest style possible. As time has gone on people have begun looking for loopholes within the rules that'll save them time on the course. This is human nature and all of us do it in different ways in our everyday lives. With respect to the GDR, we ask that you please consider the long term ramifications of finding and using loopholes--the race will only get 'easier' and (conversely) require more rules/regulations as time goes on. This goes against all of the principles that the race was founded on. People: please don't bring The Race down to your level--elevate yourself to the level of The Race. If you find yourself looking for loopholes, consider taking another year to prepare before racing. Most likely you'll go faster and enjoy it more as a result.

"Elevate yourself to the level of The Race." Capital T, Capital R: The Race. Respect The Race. While the race (lower case) may have been invented by mere humans, The Race (capitalized) has taken on a life of its own, and demands respect of its own volition. It seems that The Race demands it not be disrespected by petty rule-stretchers, rather than the race director asking. One would rather get a wag of a finger from a race director (Is there technically a "race director"? There is no entry fee.), than to be the one that spits in the face of the "simplest/purest" Race.

Racers fuel the fire with their tales of struggle and success. Virtual spectators fan the flame by gobbling up each story morsel that drops onto the racing blog. Once only kindling, the fire now burns brightly, eating up new tales each year until they are cinders of legend.

Of course, I am not actually intimately involved in this race. What do I know? I haven't been close enough to feel the rhythm of The Race's heart. All I know is what I've read online and seen in photos and skimmed in comments on posts. What's interesting though, is that even from my computer screen-- I can feel the heat.

• The Original Great Divide Race site
  
• The GDR race blog
  
• The Tour Divide "spin off" 
  
• The Outside Magazine article
  
• More on bike packing on MTB
  
• Adventure Cycling's Great Divide MTB Route
  

Mountain Bike Orienteering

Okay, imagine this:


..ON A BIKE!! Wouldn't that be SICK??! (a.k.a. "awesome")

Oh wait.. it's been done!!



In Europe, of course. 

As cyclocross continues to gain popularity in the U.S., it seems a sport like this MIGHT have a chance!

International Orienteering Federation

Trail Cyclist Association

Bicycling Walla Walla in the Winter

On Thursday, the hills glowed like amber instead of shivering blue.

Today, I wore short-fingered gloves on a 3 hour ride.

And just a few days ago, my friend Jim heard a sparrow's mating call.

I used to loathe the coming of winter in Walla Walla. The snow, the ice, the cold-- it meant riding indoors, watching whatever half-entertaining movie the library had to check out. Now, with my Surly, my studs, and my cyclocross bike-- winter in Walla Walla has become something else entirely. It's a time for silent roads and frosted grass. So here is the first FOND farewell of the belly of winter in Walla Walla.

Oh, yes-- there is more cold and chill to come. And don't get me wrong-- boy am I ready for bare legs any day now. But nevertheless. I close a chapter.

MUSIC: Coldplay, "Life in Technicolor" on Viva La Vida

*A larger, better resolution version is viewable on Facebook.

HEY! COOL!!

Currently on the Adventure Cycling homepage it says:

JILL HOMER
An Adventure Called Bicycling blog recently reviewed Jill Homer’s book Ghost Trails chronicling her grueling and transformative experience in the 2008 Iditarod Trail Invitational. For a very compelling but quick version, check out Homer’s incredible online journal detailing her journey.

Hah! I'm glad that Jill's book is getting more coverage-- but it's extra cool that Adventure Cycling even bothered to mention my blog as their means of finding it!

For me, this is like getting passing name mention in Velonews (which, incidentally, I have had just a few). Though instead of being a page away from George Hincapie, I get to be a paragraph away from Willie Weir. 

Adventure Cycling, by the way:

• Makes amazing touring maps for cyclists.
• Publishes an Extra Cool magazine. (Actually, it's called "Adventure Cyclist," but I think it is Extra Cool.)
• Leads Crazy Amazing tours.
• Does a proud amount of outreach.
• AND, they answer your e-mails! There are PEOPLE to answer your questions! And they're FRIENDLY! (I am really picky about bike shop/etc. service, which is why this is so thrilling to me.)

A while ago now, I actually made it my mission to work for Adventure Cycling. Really.

Step one: ride across the country. :)

My Mountain List; bicycling Walla Walla

I've always been curious about the Walla Walla Valley.

I've always loved poring over a map, plotting rides and adventures.

I love leaving the house with a new road to ride circling in my head.

But I've been taken to a new level of curiosity.

Now that I have my cyclocross bike, my stud-able Surly, and mountain bike shoes; I am no longer bound to the pavement. I am free to surf the gravel roads, skidding and crunching up impossible grades and burning my brakes down the other side. Now I peruse the Umatilla National Forest website, clicking through fire lookout cabins available to rent. I contentedly click around Google Maps with the 'Terrain' view turned on. I eat king size Snickers bars for lunch. I like hunger and I like knowing each curve and crease of the land, not just each asphalt line.

And I have a LIST:

• Government Mtn.
  
• Saddle Mtn.
  
• Pikes Peak
  
• Klicker Mtn.
  
• Lincton Mtn.
  
• Blalock Mtn.
  
• Basket Mtn.
  
• Jasper Mtn.
  

UPDATE Feb.1: I have scratched Jasper Mtn. from the list so that I can focus on a smaller area.

View Larger Map

I must summit these mountains by the end of May. Now, climbing these "mountains" are not huge feats, per se. They top out around 3500'. But they will take me up and down this valley. And they will show me the crease of the land. Bring me to vistas. And for each one I summit, I will eat a giant, king size almond Snickers bar.

Now, MY list may involve sweat, gears and carbon fiber. But YOUR list doesn't have to. Explore the place that you live. Your list could involve the coffee shop you've always meant to try, the park you wanted to relax in, or any number of urban or rural things. Because truth is, identifying goals and making them concrete is the first step to a real plan of action. Otherwise our wishes only remain wishes. And that's not nearly as fun.

Government Mountain Ride

The land had a sexy wetness to it,

having just stepped out of the shower.

Post-Car Adventuring, for the JOY of it

Post Car Adventuring provides "ideas and information for car-free trips to (mostly natural) areas commonly thought be to inaccessible without a personal vehicle." Visit their blog or buy their newly released book on adventuring in the San Franciso area.



From the authors:

The goal is not ideological environmental asceticism and/or anti-car militancy, but pleasure while engaged in environmentally and socially-responsible practices– in-line with what the environmental philosopher Kate Soper has called a ‘hedonistic environmentalism’ where human happiness and comfort is not ground under a radical-Jainist wheel of self-abnegation in the interest of decreasing personal carbon footprints.

--Post Car Press

Thank you!! I don't know if I could have said it better. Through my self-reflections and reporting on this blog, I've come to articulate to myself that the kind of bike commuter, environmentalist, friend and person that I want to be (but haven't always been) isn't self-flagellating. Interestingly enough, it's not only an inward paradigm shift, but a fight against an environmentalist stereotype that is inaccessible and elitist. It's incredibly annoying to borrow a suburban for whatever reason, only to have car-driving folk crow, "Ooooh! You drove an S.U.Veeeeee," in victory, as if the entire reason I ride my bike all the time is just to spite them. How about this:

Maybe I LIKE riding my bike.

Maybe I find it enriching.

And maybe I can eat more cookies.

a REAL snow ride

On my internet wanderings, I came across Jill's blog, Up in Alaska. Jill is a journalist and makes riding a bike in impossible conditions, possible. Perhaps her most intriguing accomplishment has been completing the 350 mile Iditarod Invitational in 2008-- and then writing an honest and intimate story on her blog and in her book afterwards.

If you're grouching, grumping or puzzling about riding in winter conditions where you are-- I recommend a visit to Jill's blog for a snowy perspective.

*Photo from a recent post by  Jill.

A Snow Ride

Walla Walla's winter coat.

19degrees, ice, snow-- great day for a ride!

A few days ago I tried and failed to go for a ride. First I took out the cyclocross bike and tried busting through the piles of snow on the sidewalk. Nope. The tire tread was too small and it quickly turned into a snowball donut. Then I tried the Surly/Xtracycle, recently hooved with studded tires. Again I tackled the same mountainous sidewalk. Nope. TODAY I noticed that the area of cleared road was much wider. I donned my long johns top and bottom, Carhartts, 2 pairs of wool socks, full leather boots, a wool sweater, a down jacket, a wool hat, wool scarf, Planet Bike fleece-lined waterproof gloves, a helmet and glasses and tried again.

Success!

While I was a bit disappointed last time in how the studs performed in "lumpy snow conditions" (they didn't seem to offer improved performance over my regular touring tires), they absolutely rocked on hard packed snow and ice. I felt gloriously confident in my traction. I think real snow riding will have to require a real snow bike, like Surly's Pugsley, which accepts tires up to 4 inches wide for riding in sand and snow. Mine are only about 2 inches.

My toes quickly got cold, so the ride was short. Next time I'll have to toss some heat packets in there.

This (above) is what most of the road looked like: thick ice and dry snow.

Adventure in Ashland

Well, I'm back and Ashland was quite the adventure- more than I had expected, anyhow. To prevent an overly long blog post, though- I will highlight.

I arrive at the Portland Greyhound station with two bags and a bike box. I leave the Portland Greyhound station with two bags and a bike box on top of a bicycle. (I even had an audience.)

Friday, Zac and I drive down to Eugene to start our bicycle trek. Hwy 58 isn't anything like we'd hoped it would be and we stop to discuss alternatives only to discover there weren't any. It's a stressful day on an 8 inch shoulder when the trucks barrel by, but we find a Free Camp spot that was the perfect tonic. Packed sand for beneath the tent, a fire pit for warmth and a chilly bit of river for jumping in.

Saturday, a non-coherent man at the gas station suggested that there's a "hill" up ahead. As Zac and I pump up the first bump in the road, we laugh and wonder if this was the ominous "hill." We later climbed 3,000 feet that day. Good thing there was a lake at the summit.

Our ride on Day Two- click to see elevation.

Sunday we attempted a gravel road "shortcut." After less than 2 miles, we turned around.

Another lake at the top of a climb.

RJ: Zac, we're going downhill, right? I think I need to check my tire pressure.

Zac: No, we're going uphill.

RJ: Oh.

Later..

RJ: Zac, we're going downhill now, right?

Zac: No, we're going uphill! See? Coast.

RJ tries coasting..

RJ: Pffhh!

Zac: No, seriously! Here- stop. Give me your bag.

Too bad RJ and Zac never checked RJ's tire pressure (it was flat the next morning). To get into Ashland we lost about 2000' of elevation in 9 miles. I got some funny shimmies on the U-turns (hmm, wonder what that could be..), so I didn't trust my bike the whole way down. I also stopped twice to cool off my rims and eat trail mix (which once resulted in Zac sprinting back up the hill when he didn't see me behind him- man he can book it even with panniers!)

Once we hit Ashland, we chose food over lodging- since after my "are we going downhill?" performance on the climb, food was clearly the priority. We were fortunate to hit a pizza place whose pies were more gourmet than the vinyl booths gave away. Whole wheat crust, spicy Italian sausage, spinach and feta were well tastier what we would have been willing to eat. And that's not just the hunger talking.

Tummies full, Zac and I made phone calls hoping to find a homestay rather than a hotel (or the campground another 6 miles away- I hardly had any pedal strokes left in me). Several voicemails later, our opportunities seemed just out of reach. Nearly defeated, by a seguway in conversation with other pizza eaters, I traded my current bike mechanic knowledge for lawn space. The residents were friendly and welcoming and it would even be just minutes from school the next morning. Beautiful.

The next evening Zac and I are hanging out outside a restaurant, once again making phone calls, hoping for that Whitman parent to pull through. Then, out of the blue, a handsome 20/30-something year old man asked us, "have you guys found a place to stay tonight?" (We are situated near our loaded bikes and Zac is wearing spandex.) "Well, uh- why, we haven't- no." "Well, I've got a condo right down the street and I can toss some clean sheets on the bed and you'd be welcome to stay." We're dumbfounded by generosity.

We step foot into James' clean-and-pretty-as-Pottery-Barn condo in downtown Ashland, "just don't steal my knives or my guitar," he jokes. Later, as we make conversation, we start to figure out that there's only one bed in this cozy-sized condo and Zac asks, "where are you going to sleep tonight, James?" He points to the rug in front of the fireplace, "that's my favorite spot right there!" We resist, but he insists. Later, he asks how long we'll be in Ashland (a week), "that's perfect! I'm leaving tomorrow to visit my grandma for a week and I'll just make you a copy of the key!" Again, dumbfounded.  Wow.

James is inspired by his faith. He listens carefully to God and acts on impulse whenever he feels that it's the thing to do. He gave his car away on such an impulse. The same impulse not only housed us for the week, but taught us a lesson of kindness we won't forget.

He made us poached eggs on english muffins spread with hummus in the morning.

And when I had to catch a 3am bus to get back to Walla Walla, James hung out with me from 1 to 3am so I wouldn't be waiting alone on the drunken streets of Medford.

Thanks, James. You made Ashland more than memorable.

Busing, Touring and Wrenching!

Tomorrow I'm getting on a bus to Portland, OR where I'll meet my friend Zac.

Initially we said, "let's ride down the coast in 3 days! Whoppee!!" but, uh- we don't want to overdo the mileage. So we're probably going to take a bus/shuttle or two to kill some miles and lighten the load on our legs. So we'll figure that out. But what does have to happen: I need to make it to Ashland, OR by Sunday evening (or at least Medford!) because I'm taking a sweet week-long bike mechanics class at the United Bicycle Institute! This will give me a lot more confidence for teaching classes at The Bikery. I am QUITE excited.

However, I still have this trip to figure out!! Know anyone that lives anywhere along the Oregon Coast? Know anyone in Medford or Ashland?

A Good Day Aboard a Bicycle

Last Sunday I left the house at 9:30am on my bicycle and returned around 5pm. Even including getting lost, running out of water and bloodying up my knee- it was a good day aboard a bicycle. This, to me, is what summer is all about. Getting gloriously lost.

Leaving Walla Walla behind, my skinny tires leave squiggles in the gray gravel. (yes, I rode my roadie- 23m!)


Long rides tap into both my athletic and artistic self. I test my endurance while being captured by lines and curvatures.


I am also captured by veggie sandwiches, cowboy cookies and chocolate milk.


I left Dayton by gravel of course. I pretty much went looking for the gravel when I mapped out my very tentative route. Gravel gravel gravel. I love the slippery slide of gravel.


Sunflowers. When you run out of water, it's good to have sunflowers to cheer you up. (Don't worry, I found a garden hose.)


This looks like it goes home, doesn't it? It took me to Prescott. Close enough. I got home eventually.






And it ain't an adventure unless you come home dirty and bloody, right?

Well, I didn't really MEAN to bloody up. But alas, it happens. Oops.




It's summer.

First Tour Test

Last Friday I loaded up my Surly and pedaled out to Waitsburg (20 miles north of Walla Walla) in my sneakers. Other than having a good time, my intent was to see how the Surly & Xtracycle combination performed while loaded over longer distances and hillier terrain. While I'm sure I've more than maxxed out my Surly/Xtracycle with ambitious grocery loads- I've only towed those around small and flat Walla Walla. I was pleased to find that I could still stand and rock the bike uphill, and since I enjoy climbing, that scored a lot of points. (Though I did not have a very heavy load on.) It was speedy enough to move along without growing impatient (especially since my other ride is approx. 17 lbs). It was also, unsurprisingly, a solid and stable all around and just plain enjoyable. However, I may still decide to tour without the Xtracycle to simplify things- less weight, less complex mechanical maintenance, etc. So that's the review- but if you want to know what I was really thinking about: dinner! Clint and Patty Froke were so kind to BBQ up some delicious grub for me, let me set up camp in their back yard and have a turn at milking one of the goats in the morning. They were wonderful hosts. I had a grand time. 

Recent Adventures

Rode out to Harris Park, hiked a bit, rode back.

Rode out to Bennington Lake, hiked a bit, rode back.

Rode up to Tollgate, ate a lunch that was too greasy, rode back.

Blues & Brews (AND BIKES??) in Joseph, OR

Hmm..


HMMM...

Be sure to note the elevation map if you check it out.. 10,000'

Bicycle Touring Pro

"Hello everyone! My name is Darren Alff and welcome to BicycleTouringPro.com. This is a brand new website that I've created to help connect bicycle tourists from around the world. I am an experienced bicycle tourist who has ridden across the United States six separate times and I just returned from a tour of Germany, Poland, and the Czech Republic..."

Talk about credentials! This is perhaps the best website or just straight up resource on bicycle touring that I have seen. It's comprehensive, well-written & includes pictures & video. Here's a video on how to pack handlebar bags, one in a series of how-to videos:



Find more helpful bicycle touring information at bicycletouringpro.com!

"Bicycle Camping for the Time Challenged"

Rivendell is an awesome bike shop in California that subscribes to a wool/not spandex, platforms/not clipless, steel/not carbon sort of philosophy. You can read some entertaining ramblings on this philosophy at their website, www.rivbike.com. I also recommend perusing some of the beautiful frames they design.

Anyway- the folks at Rivendell also like to promote bicycle camping, and more specifically, S24O's. An S24O (Es-Two-Four-Oh) is a Sub-24 hour-Overnight. That means loading up your bike with whatever you need for the night: food, sleeping bag, a book and taking off Friday evening & returning Saturday morning. You don't need to go far. Is there a state park within a day's ride? Or maybe there's a secluded hilltop just out of town. You also don't need to bring much. If you forget something (say, dinner)- it's not such a terrible thing because you'll be home in the morning and you'll have a good story anyhow. And you don't need much time to do it. Leave with enough light to get to your destination and return home in the morning. The "I have to work" excuse just won't work.

To read the article from Adventure Cycling, "Bicycle Camping for the Time Challenged," written by the Rivendell founder, click here.

To read an article from the Rivendell website on what to pack for a S24O, click here.

Go camping!