Now I can’t even remember the last time I did a double day. But today was the day. I met my buddy Erik at 7 and we rode the roadies from El Segundo to Torrance along the Strand. Maybe my trail ride last night came back to haunt me or I am out of shape. Whatever it might be - Erik put the hurt on. On the way back we paced each other into 3 separate 2 minute sprints that averaged 23 mph. Now I am not a Cat 5 rider so that was painful, but awesome. After a busy day moving paper I met my wife on the Chip Trail in Manhattan at business close and we put in a four miler. She two wanted to add intervals into the workout and I found myself barely holding on. Awesome.
I received this email from the owner of EVOMO Clothing as he is doing his part to support the Mark Arthur Reynolds Fund raiser after Marks unfortunate crash at the 2008 Sea Otter Classic.
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Bryan
EVOMO
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FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
Mark Arthur Reynolds Memorial Fund and Race Event
Los Angeles, CA — A fund raiser is being held in conjunction with the
CCCX Downhill Race Series starting this Saturday, May 3rd in honor of
Mark A. Reynolds who died on Saturday, April 19, 2008.
Mark’s death was a result of the crash he had while competing in the
Downhill race during the Sea Otter Classic in Monterey, CA. Mark, who
was just 48 years old, was the owner of Wicked Racin and innovator of
the Dualrailluer Guide for which is in the process of being patented
as the first dual chain ring guide. Mark was an avid mountain biker
who raced competitively and he also enjoyed the action sports scene
including snowboarding, wake boarding and even piloting airplanes. He
was also a friend to many as well as a mentor to those looking to
improve their skills.
After hearing the news on Saturday, members of the Evomo Mountain Bike
Team stepped forward to contact fellow industry companies in order to
organize a memorial fund raiser in Mark’s name. “I feel it’s the right
thing to do and I really feel for the family who had to hear such
terrible news”, said Tom Judy, Evomo Downhill Team Member. Everyone on
the Evomo team instantly said they would be happy to make a collective
Team donation to help. Within a few days, Fox Racing was ready to ship
out some product donations and Keith DeFiebre, CCCX race organizer,
offered his event location as a place to hold the fund raiser. “It was
pretty awesome to get such instant support”, said Tom Judy.
Mark’s family hopes to contribute to a freeride or jump park that will
be named after Mark so that people of all levels can enjoy the sport
of mountain biking and can feel encouraged and supported, just as Mark
made all of us feel.
Fox Racing Shox, Evomo, X-Fusion, Pactimo, Stan’s No Tubes, Cool
Cycling Club, Calabazas Cyclery, Trailhead Cyclery, and Auburn Bike
Works have already stepped up to donate cash or product for the fund
raising raffle that will be held at the CCCX DH Race Series finale on
Sunday, June 22. Memorial T-shirts and raffle tickets will be for sale
at this weekends event in which all proceeds will go to the fund in
honor of Mark. “By having a huge raffle at our series finale in June
we are able to maximize the cash we can raise by selling tickets at
the next 5 races”, said Keith DeFiebre, CCCX Race organizer.
This weekend’s event will be held at Toro Park in California, located
between Salinas and Monterey off of Hwy 68 just minutes from Laguna
Seca Raceway. Registration for racing opens at 8am.
Donation information, please visit www.wickedracin.com where you can
make a cash donation in his Mark’s name via PayPal.
I work out alone so I have been digging into the podcast library on iTunes. This week I found The Competitors Radio Show. Radio hosts Bob Babbitt and Paul Huddle chat with athletes and we get to listen in. Greg LeMond has been in the press a bunch. As you may know Trek is sueing to end their relationship with his cycling company. I have been checking the bike insiders views on this and they are taking LeMond to the mat. Seems like he might be jealous of Lance’s success and wants to bring him down. Crazy? Maybe? More than likely not. Over the course of two days I have listened to Lemond’s interview, one with Betsy Andreu (who seems a bit crazy or passionate) and two with David Walsh (author of From Lance to Landis: Inside the American Doping Controversy at the Tour de France). Now I know Lance is quite the American hero but you should listen to some of the Competitors Radio Show podcasts on cycling and doping.
So I ran in the Boston Marathon last week. Wow. There were over 20,000 runners. This, in itself, is quite amazing. It’s not like most other marathons I’ve run where it’s a bit crowded at first but after a few miles the pack thins out and you have a bit of breathing room and after 10 or 15 miles the pack is very thin and it may even seem like you are running with just a few others. No, in Boston, I think that I could have touched 4 other runners at any point in what for me was a 3 hour and 16 minute event.
What was more amazing than this dense pack of 20,000 runners (and more thrilling) was the simple and glorious fact that the course was almost swallowed by hundreds of thousands of spectators, fans, and volunteers. Running 20 miles in a training run is hard. It’s hard because it might feel a bit lonely, a bit long, and a bit anticlimactic. Compared to the 20 mile training run, 26.2 miles at Boston is a breeze. Instead of doing it alone, it’s as if you are on a team with hundreds of thousands of other people. There are hoards of people passing out water and Gatorade and Gu. There are small children, lined up a various spots, who are bouncing up and down hoping that you will give them a high five on your way by. There are the families who have brought buckets of bananas and orange slices who will jog alongside you for a few yards to offer some encouraging words and a handful of fruit. There are the thousands after thousands of people who are screaming your name or your number with exuberance and delight. There are vast groups of college students who have painted their faces or their stomachs with things like, “You can do it”, “Run, Forrest, Run”, and “Pick up the Pace.” All of you have the same purpose – to get you 26.2 miles as fast as possible.
There’s a great picture here, I think. All of these people working together for a common goal, invested in the success of another (even a stranger.) If I could bring the Boston experience to everyday life, I’d like to be the guy handing out the proverbial Gu to my neighbors and coworkers and friends. I’d like to be that kid who’s cheering at the top of his lungs and hoping for a high 5. I’d like people feel so supported and loved that even the most difficult challenges feel a bit easier.
Got word through Twitter today OutForARide.com is officially out of beta. This site is so visually cool! Some of their big post beta features launches are events, groups, text posts and activity feeds. Sounds like a lot of stuff to lose hours of my life on!
Altrec.com is also running a special promotion with Outside All Day. For every purchase you make in the month of May from Altrec.com you will be entered to win a brand new Osprey Exposure 50 Backpack. Now, I know the odds, basically if you place a order, you HUGE odds of winning, probably 1 in 2 chance!
I may order this tonight. I found it in the newest issue of Outside Magazine (subscribed through Amazon). The book is about Russell Brice and his 2006 season of leading climbers on Mt. Everest. Apparently, this is the year that Russell advised one of his client teams to continuing summiting and not attempt the rescue of a climber. I’m curious to hear his side of the story.
What defines you? Is it your past? How you look? I doubt it. It’s the course we chart from dawn to dusk that makes us who we are. Seventeen years ago, Sean O’Neill – artist athlete and big brother to pro climber Timmy O’Neill – lost the use of his legs after jumping from a bridge into the Mississippi River. After the accident, Timmy dreamed about helping his older brother climb El Capitan. In 2005, the brothers decided it was time to act.
Reporter and podcaster James Mills brings us a story about two brothers, one very big cliff face and a 17-year-old dream. Sometimes climbs don’t end with summits. They can extend on into our lives.
My friends Craig and Mo Tuner of Z.I.P. Fitness Bootcamp are going to be providing us with some ongoing fitness and nutrition tips. I hope their helpful.
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Functional training is defined as “activity that trains movement”. Each day people carry out an expansive range of movements, such as walking, jogging, running, sprinting, jumping, lifting, pushing, pulling, bending, twisting, turning, standing, starting, stopping, climbing and lunging. Functional training strives to adapt or develop exercises which allow individuals to perform these activities more easily and without injuries.
It seems as if people are always looking for new and exciting ways to exercise. It’s sad that many people today are still stuck in the same rut of going to the gym & moving from machine to machine without even the slightest clue of what they are working. Unfortunately these machines are not designed to fit each person & they can put you into improper position. There has always been a debate over machines vs. free weights. I think that machines have their specific purpose & are not necessarily “bad”, however they are not functional.
Human function is three dimensional. We operate within three planes of motion, or in all three dimensions simultaneously. If you sit down to use a leg extension machine you are isolating the muscles of the quadriceps. Now let me ask you this. How many times in a real life situation are you going to sit down in a fixed position with weight and extend your leg? You aren’t. Yet day after day I see people sit down on this machine to “focus” on the quad, or to get that teardrop look on the front of the thigh. This is an example of a non-functional exercise. You can train that same quadriceps group by doing more functional exercises like squats or lunges. The advantage to these exercises is that now you are imitating movements of everyday life, in addition to training more muscles at the same time.
Z.I.P. Fitness was established in 2003 and is based on a fervent desire to transform people’s lives. There are many things that make Z.I.P. Fitness distinct. Zeal, Intensity & Perseverance are the roots of this company. We have an ardent passion for health & fitness; we strive to increase your desire to improve your lifestyle. We offer clients a series of exercises that are diverse, unique & will leave you exhausted yet eager to return. Our purpose is to assist you in attaining your goals. Training is designed for function not isolation. All of our fitness training is done outside at a park. We are co-ed and limit our classes to no more than 20 people.
Z.I.P. Fitness was co- founded by me, Mo Turner. I have been a certified fitness trainer through the American Council on Exercise and the National Academy of Sports Medicine since 2000. In the beginning I worked as a trainer at 24 Hour Fitness for 2 ½ years and got tired of being inside and doing the same boring stuff. My friend and I decided to start our own business and move things outdoors. While she went on to pursue other interests my husband Craig & I built Z.I.P. Fitness into what it is today. I have worked with many different types of clients over the past 8 years; athletes, a professional stunt woman, and men and women from all facets of life. The exciting thing for me is to see the positive changes in people. To see people pushing themselves to new levels they never thought possible and knowing that I had a part in that is priceless. Transforming people’s lives on a daily basis is what we do.
If you love to be outside and are looking for something outside the box of traditional training check out www.zipfitnessbootcamp.com.
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Beth Gerdes wrote a very nice follow-up post on her blog about the Solona Beach shark attack of Dave Martin on Friday. It provides some insider details from the day.
Shark kills triathlete training at Calif. beach
By MSNBC News Services
Posted April 25, 2008
SOLANA BEACH, Calif. - A shark thought to be a great white on Friday attacked and killed a 66-year-old swimmer who was training in the ocean off San Diego County with a group of triathletes, authorities said.
I just wanted to inform every one that Rock N’ Road Cyclery is having it’s first annual Parking Lot Sale at their Anaheim Hills Store on April 25th to April 27th. There will be some great deals on 2007 bikes and gear. Check out their website www.rocknroadcyclery.net for more details. All 2007 and 2008 winter clothing will be 50-60% off normal prices. In addition to the sale discount, all team members who print and bring in this email will receive an additional 10% off any sale clothing! The store will be open normal hours so stop by and see what great deals there are to be found!
Anaheim Hills Rock N Road:
714-998-2453
5701 Santa Ana Canyon Road, Suites F & G, Anaheim Hills
I can’t let the cat out of the bag yet but Outside All Day has something cool in the works with Altrec.com. I’m a huge fan of the outdoor industry and I shop online all the time (ask my wife). Altrec.com is next level with their commitment to serving the everyday outdoor enthusiast which just happens to be me. I’ve been in love with their brand for year’s and I so happy we can now have some fun together.
We should have the final details wrapped in the next few days and I look forward to posting on the blog.
If you have followed the blog for any period you know I love Patagonia clothing. Altrec.com has tons of it!
Andy B outsideallday.com
Friday night my wife had plans with her girlfriends so I planned a trail ride. It has been years since I set out after dark so I plugged my heavy duty bike light into the charger in the morning and worked on assignments for my day job until the sun went down. By 8 PM I was at the trail head and ready to rock. I turned on my bike light which is more like a spot light and headed up into the hills of PV. I am sure I freaked out a few homeowners as I passed their house. I flew passed a high school house party that had spread onto the trail and gave some fans of the herbalife a surprise. The moon was full and just perfect for mood lighting. After hammering up a wide chip trail and then down singletrack I was done - the light was out of charge. I headed back to the car and drove home with a huge smile. I hope my wife plans another girls night soon.
If I don’t get a swim/bike/run in the morning it simply ain’t going to happen. Early morning lazy has creped in this week not allowing me to get out of bed for morning swims and rides (can’t run, bad foot). With work, family and stuff that pops up the realization for me is I have to exercise in the butt crack of dawn hour.
To my credit, I rode early on Tuesday and probably tomorrow but I missed all swim practices this week and couldn’t make several after work rides. When I return from CO I’m back on a regular schedule, I need to be back on a regular schedule. I really wish I was going to be racing Wildflower however my heel feels as tender as ever.
At the Sea Otter this past weekend a lot of companies unveiled mid season releases of new product or they released the prototypes of some 2009 product. As one could imagine for a bike geek like myself, it was heaven, especially when my favorite bike, the 2008 Pivot Mach 4, turned into a 29″ wheeled monster. 29er wheels ride amazing and I had a chance to ride it around this weekend.
My initial thoughts:
Like the Mach 4 this bike has the stiffest rear end of any full suspension in its class. It climbs amazing and better than its 26″ brother, the Mach 4. The Geometry feels amazingly good for 29″ bike, which I know Cocalis (the owner/designer of Pivot Cycles and one of the nicest guys I have met) spent hours on perfecting because 29″ bikes tend to have wacky geometries and can ride weird… I am in love with the 429!
Here are some current shred sled photos from the Sea Otter this weekend:
And the new bike (Watch the whole video):
The Pivot 429 will be ready by June and available at your nearest dealer.
-DSheek
I wish it was June already!
If you’re looking for a fun entry level triathlon the San Luis Obispo Triathlon is a great one to start with. Julie and I have done it twice and will be up there again this summer. It was the first tri that either of us had ever done. San Luis Obisop is also one our favorite cities on the planet.
Registration opens and Saturday, April 26th and will probably be sold out by the evening. Hop on it that day if your interested.
