Good bye A-house

We had a fantastic 27 months. Great people have come through and wonderful things have happened. Will be missed greatly.

King of the Mountains Century Challenge

This past Saturday we rode the Heartbreak 100, which was stage 3 of the King of the Mountains Century Challenge. Your time is added up from three of the most difficult centuries. The others are the Mulholland Challenge and Breathless Agony.
Unfortunately I don't have any ride reports written! If you check the results from Mulholland, we are top 20, only 35 minutes back from the fastest time. We were pretty stoked.
Breathless had a steep bit early and I was feeling miserable at first, then felt better and got an okay time. Jack did extremely well on this one and on Heartbreak most recently. Max and I chilled out; I was tired from the triathlon the week before and it was fucking cold. Like 42 degrees and windy at the start. WTF? Looking forward to next year.

Auburn half-iron triathlon

Second triathlon. Good fun. Got a wetsuit for this one (which is a story in itself, please ask in person so I can tell it with proper visuals). The Auburn Triathlon is billed as the world's hardest half iron. To me that means that the bike and run are a lot more interesting. And they were!

At the start I was super nervous. All these people who look like aliens, wearing wetsuits and goggles. Then I look down and see that I look just like them. The swim was in this beautiful lake, you swam out, made a left then did a long out and back and then sort of arc'd back to the start for the 1.2 mile distance. I stayed towards the back in the start and then just found a comfortable pace with a small group. I had done a ton of 'technique work' and had not swam a lot of distance. This was my gamble after my horrible swim performance in my first tri. It was aparent that it paid off: I was taking almost half of the swim strokes as those around (that means much less energy spent). When I saw the dock was close I stepped it up a bit and swam away from the group I was with. When I got out I noticed that the guy in front of me had a half sleeve as I was taking off the top of my wetsuit. The announcer said, 'Here come the first participants in the heavily tattooed division.' Funny. Swim time: 34 minutes

The bike route was through wonderful, hilly back country. I saw a kid with a USC jersey and asked him if he knew my friend Michel and he did! She had mentioned me to and gave me some props for jumping into this one. I told him how Michel is the only person I know who has done a triathlon. When I rode away he said, 'See you on the run". What is that suppose to mean? I was so stoked on the bike. They stopped traffic for you! I passed a ton of people and when I saw an 'LA Tri Club' jersey I'd yell 'Yeah LA represent!', but no one responded.
Bike time: 3 hrs 15 min

The run was a figure-8 almost all trail. I got tripped up twice! Actually hit the ground. It was so hot that they would sponge you with cold water when you passed the check points. The route was SO hilly that lots of people were walking. Only a very few passed me. Had some stomach issues, but I knew I'd struggle a bit on the run from going so hard on the bike. Not too bad though.
Run time: 2 hrs 10 min
Overall: 6 hrs 5 min


This was really really fun. The organizers did an awesome job and the feel of it is actually 'grass roots' as they claim. Thanks to my Uncle Bob who gave me a place to crash in Folsom and took us out for great food pre and post race. And to my father for the x-mas present registration fee.

Ride of Silence

Colin and I organized a Ride of Silence here in Los Angeles. It became a little too personal when Morgan got hit. A lot of people showed up because Morgan is still in the hospital.

May Day

Day without an immigrant protest. Call in sick!
crew
















bananas

LA Marathon

Wake Up and Bike Tour
Sleeping in my own bed (or a bed at all) makes getting up at 5am a little easier. Squeeze down some leftover pasta for breakfast and hang out with the people meeting here to ride to the bike tour. Throw all my running shit in my bag. Decide to wear my running shorts under my cargo pants and forgo spandex to avoid having to change later. Roll out of the house about 8 deep heading to USC.

Bike Tour
Straight to the start! We hop in and try to stay together. Imagine the streets closed to all traffic, both directions for 23 miles. Amazing, despite the thousands of bikes that literally caused a traffic jam. It opened up and we cruised through the city running into people we knew all the way back to USC. Here we pull over just before the funnel into where they try to get you to buy shit. Jack and I head up the 25 blocks to the marathon start where I’ll lock my bike.

Marathon Start
25,000 people run the marathon. The start time was 830am. I thought it would take a decent amount of time to get them through, but when I was there at 845am or so it was only a trickle a people heading down Figueroa! Jack takes my bag, I lock my bike and strip off my clothes (well, except my running stuff) and take off. The hectic morning was probably helpful; was distracted enough to not get super nervous about the endeavor ahead. But, two things came up: probably did not eat enough beforehand and I had to pee when I started running. That sucks. Really sucks.


First Ten Miles
‘There’ll be restrooms soon. Soon. There’s got to be.’ First group of them had at least 75 people in line. Same with the second group around the second mile. Am considering peeing myself. Is my time that important? No, but the mental consequences of standing around for ten minutes are detrimental. Pushing on I hold back. Around USC I see some dudes that took to the trees to solve the urination problem. I look around for cops (cause if anyone got a ticket during a marathon it’d be me) and see none. I hit the trees nervously and pee for an ungodly amount of time. Running again I feel ten pounds lighter like the Ice Cube song. Around mile seven or eight the hunger comes on. Damn! I have two gel packs and consume one. It helps slightly, but not much. On a positive note my legs are loosening up and I try to ignore the hunger. At mile ten I see volunteers handing out Clif shots and I eat three straight away.

Miles Ten to Twenty
Calories = Energy. This was immediately apparent. Turn left on Venice Blvd and I’m feeling great, but still pacing conservatively. Mentally I am pleasantly surprised that I am doing well. Hit the halfway point (2 hrs 5 min) and see Alex! He is on his bike and rides along asking me how I am doing. Sometime after I answered my cell phone because Heather, who is running the marathon as well and helped me with my bib ‘situation’, called to see where I was. We never met up, but did see each other later at Food Not Bombs. The Angelinos along the route were fantastic, giving out fruit and cheering on runners. The best bit was through Leimart Park and up Crenshaw Blvd.

Twenty to Twenty-Six (point 2)
Jack agreed to meet me around mile 20 because I thought some Sustained Energy would be good to drink. It was! He had met up with Alex as well and the two of them rode along. Since I started so late I am passing tons of people and it gives the impression that I am running faster than I am. Having two friends bike along was super fun, like I had my own escort. Since they both qualify as real athletes, they were pushing me along and my pace quickened. Then, anticlimactically, downtown was in view, I was feeling well, and they had to peel off. My right foot was aching, as it did on my 3-hour training run, but I ignored it. Pushed on through and went as fast as I could for the last 1.2 miles. Crossed the line, looked at my cell phone to confirm my time, and hobbled to a stop.





Finish
The finish area sucked. No food. Was funneled all the way around to 2nd street through the market to buy things before I could head south to where my bike was. Foot pain started to kick in (I’d end up limping for two weeks and seeing a doctor, but no injury). Met up with Jack, Alex and Molly, who had made, in perfect teacher fashion, a fantastic sign. We sat around downtown eating and drinking before riding back to the A-house for some proper food. Great day. Time: 4.04

Portland

Went to Portland to see Vmaas, Lisa and Ryan Jacob Smith. Spent a lot of time at Food Fight the vegan grocery store. I did a talk on vegan nutrition though Vmaas and Chad spent most of the time pointing out how many donuts I ate every day. Listen guys, I was training for the marathon and needed the extra calories.

Collared shirt makes me an expert


'Hey look, it's Fidel Castro'. No one at the Microcosm film fest thought my joke was funny. Vmaas thought it was funny enough to make this picture. Thanks man.

Death Valley double

Second year in a row! I don't have a proper write-up for this, but here we go with some details:
Five of us piled 5 deep into Molly's car after I read some Dr. Seuss in her class for a national reading day. My vocab word was 'deforestation'.
Got to Furnace Creek and checked into our room. Room, what? Megan, Molly and Jen volunteered so we got a free room. Jack and I slept in here and Morgan, John UCLA and another UCLA friend of theirs camped.

In AM we met up for start and Chris Kostman informed everyone that the 17 miles to Badwater was mostly gravel b/c of construction. What the fuck? First I got a flat. Then the UCLA snapped off his derailleur hanger on a $10,000 Colnago! Holy shit. It got hot (surprise!) and our crew was struggling a bit. The course is a 150-mile out and back and then a 50-mile out and back from the start. Last year a bunch of riders quit here. Jack showed some signs he is not invincible and had a rough time on the last 50, but pulled it off. 508 winner Kenny Fast Truck Gecko Souza rode the course in like 10 hours. Geez.
Start

Hiking on Sunday

Tour De Drugs

For the Amgen Tour De Drugs race the South Bay crew (Alec, Bryan, Max, Jenny) organized a vegan BBQ and brought out the fun bikes: swing bike, drunk bike, tall bikes, bull horn bike, etc. A bunch of use rode down from LA proper and had a fantastic time. The race was boring so we entertained everyone by setting up the bikes next to the course and letting everyone have a go. Alec made caps and even pill bottles with candy in them. Thanks guys!

Swing bike!

Bike Winter Art Show

For the bike winter art show I put up some photos of my trip to Belize. Unfortunately I do not have any of them in digital form, but I wanted to post my 'Artist Statement'.

California to Belize by Bicycle.
'Belize was my introduction to Central America. After spending two months there in 2001 I decided that next time I'd ride the approximate 3000 miles from California to get there. Justin Cummings, a long time friend from BMX, and I were free of girlfriends and jobs in the summer of 2002 and decided to make it happen.

Deserts, rain forests, small villages, huge cities, mountains, flat sections, rain, heat; this route has it all. Fully self-contained, we were under ten dollars a day and made everyday activities, like eating and sleeping, an adventure. Quit your job and ride south.

Thanks Justin!

(you can read the reports from this trip in the 2002 archive section )

Bike Winter Ride to India Sweets and Spices

When LA had Bike Summer in 2005 I organized a series of rides to vegetarian restaurants. We had a great turnout and it was super fun. Since Bike Winter is so short we limited it to one ride. Thanks to everyone who did the ENTIRE route through Griffith Park.

Razor on my hat and my own spork


Did Morgan know there was a skull on the tv?


Thanks again Lisa Auerbach for photos

Feel My Legs, I'm a Racer results

Congratulations to Jack 'Mego' Lindquist for winning Feel My Legs. It was a tough, cold, rainy day and the competition was fierce. Thanks to all the volunteers and especially Luz and her kitchen crew that cooked up a great pancake breakfast.

First and only dry hill


Stephen Krchmer and broken chain on hill two


Jack's technique was to go hard early and hope no one caught him


Feel My Lingerie


Thanks to Lisa Auerbach and Megan Dean for the photos

Feel My Legs, I'm a Racer

The flyer is done for the Feel My Legs, I'm a Racer event. Click on the image below to see the higher quality version where you can read the text.

New Year's Eve 2005

I guess my life is different than 10 years ago. My high school girlfriend would probably disagree.
This is at a party in downtown LA on a borrowed bike.

6th/Valencia pre-Budge to island

Yum.

Joshua Ploeg dinner

Our friend Joshua is a traveling vegan chef and makes the best food I have ever had, anywhere, anytime. Super gourmet creations from all over the world with attention to detail and culture. Norwegian soup? Icelandic appetizers? He is on it and we love having him come down to LA and spend time with us.

A-house bike parking


Joshua


Vegan girl lawyer club, nuff said


consume

Morgan at Furnace Creek 508

Morgan 'Goat' Beeby finished the Furnace Creek 508, a non-stop bicycle race through Death Valley, in 41 hours, only 7 months after his first double century (also in Death Valley). Morgan you rule!

Rider and crew morning of start (Satan not pictured)


All riders get pre-race mug shots


Devil horns


Finish in 29 Palms, Sunday night


Max, Megan, Morgan, Myself and Chris Kostman (race organizer)

Morgan is racing Furnace Creek 508!

So we leave for Santa Clarita tonight for car/bike inspection and the race starts tomorrow at 630am.
Crew:
Megan
Max
Matt

Racer:
Morgan


Route:


Elevation:


Webcast to follow time splits through the weekend!

Philadelphia half marathon

After all the years of talking smack on running I go ahead and run a half marathon. At least it was as unconventional as expected. I had put a little time into running in prep for my first triathlon, but not much as far as distance. My twice a year running partner on the east coast told me about the Philly half and that I should run it with him. ‘No, no, I couldn’t do that distance. Too far. I am not ready.” He laughed and told me to shut up and run it. It seems most people are more overconfident about my abilities than myself.
A week and a half before the race I decide I want to give it a go. Ride over to Fairmount Park (staying in Philly at this time) on the new extended bike/jog path. I do eight miles on Tuesday and nine miles on Thursday. For the second run I managed to talk Brad, a good friend of mine who had done the Broad St. Ten Miler, to run with me. He decides to run the half as well! So at this point the race is in less than ten days and between us we have run three times for a total of twenty-six miles in the three weeks leading up to it. At least I was in good company.
Friday night. We buy some running gear at the expo where you pick up your number (ed note: Suckers!). Then I am off to West Philly for a giant feast of vegan pizza, meatballs and whole-wheat pasta with Brad and some of his friends from his office. Great time chillin and eating with people almost as unprepared as I am. Afterwards I roll over to a party but only stay for an hour or so in order to be in bed by 1am.
Wake up and fumble around for my ‘gear’. New running shorts are SHORT. Yikes. Put on a cycling cap in order to represent and not be mistaken for a runner. The night before everyone was talking about putting ‘Bodyglide’ on sensitive areas to avoid chaffing. I use KY cause that’s all I can find. Eat some soy yogurt and I am out the house riding over to the start on part of the course. Meet up with the crew and we find our appropriate corral (When you sign up you give an estimated finish time and they corral you based on this). I never find Farnz, the kid who got me to do this, cause he is in a corral closer to the front and we never catch him. Actually, for most of the race we remain on the other side of the passing. It is three of us running together and we take it slow for the first 5 miles through the city.
Public urination is a funny thing. In most places (outside the US) it is acceptable when alternatives do not exist. It was funny to see guys who probably drive BMW SUV’s sneak off to the bushes to take a piss (when otherwise they probably scoff at it). Having to pee did not come up for us cause the sports drink they were giving out was not vegan! What the hell is that about? Putting whey in a Gatorade-like drink. Bullshit! I drink water at every stop though, utilizing the speed walk method in order to actually get the water into my mouth.
By mile seven or eight we had picked up the pace and are now running each mile slightly faster than the previous. We get some Clif shots around mile nine and talk about picking up the pace further at mile ten. Is this a good idea? We hit ten and Brad’s friend steps on it. I keep up. She slows slightly but I am stoked on the new pace and keep it up. Mile eleven hits and I am still going strong. I slow for water and when I speed up the effects of the faster pace are evident in my breathing. The weather (low 90’s) becomes more of a factor when I exit the shade around mile twelve. I am passing people like crazy and imagine them all thinking, ‘That kid is going to blow up. What a dumb-ass!’ The gradient increases and mile thirteen is around the corner or it should be……this is the longest mile of the whole race…..I hit thirteen and people are lined along the course for the last tenth of a mile cheering us on. I really wasn’t sure if I could hold the pace I was at till I saw the end. What was I thinking? I cross the line and have to keep moving. My legs are slightly unhappy. I drink a quart of water immediately and collect my medal.
Meeting up with the others we make our way to the food. Philly soft pretzels! Easily I consumed 10,000 calories of these in a month in Philly and gladly consume a couple hundred more (calories, not pretzels). We sit in the grass and talk about our runs. Good times.

Naylor's Beach Olympic triathlon

August 28th, 2005

Olympic Distance= 1.5K (0.93 miles) Swim, 40K (24.8 M) Bike, 10K (6.2 M) Run

Doing a triathlon has been on my mind for many years. The stigma associated with ‘athletic’ events and my general disinterest in competition has always kept me away. Also, working out training (a pool to swim in regularly) and having a decent bike for the ride has only recently been possible.

Holy shit this was hard! After a short side trip to Maryland and DC we were checking in at the start near Warsaw, Virginia on Saturday afternoon for the Naylor’s Beach Triathlon. A nice kid from DC introduces himself to me cause he said I look like a (punk) rocker. Ha! After the bike and helmet check I did a short swim in the river before we headed off to find a hotel (thanks to a last minute donation/sponsorship we could afford to!) and eat Chinese food.

Up at 5am and nervous. So much to think about between all 3 events and the transitions, etc. We get there and I put my bike and running stuff in the transition area and get my swim cap and goggles ready for the swim. The crowd has a lot of the type-A dudes with shaved eye-brows whom I am generally averse to, but overall it is not that big of a deal. I’m swimming in bike shorts, which seems to be the norm. At the pre-race meeting, held at the entrance to the river, they point out the swim course. My stomach turns at the realization of just how far a mile in open water is. Seriously, staying afloat that long may be problematic. Bam! And we are off. I stay in the back so that I don’t get in any of the real competitors’ way. Immediately I have trouble with the navigation. Whenever I try to get into a groove of swimming I vear slightly off course. This happened numerous times. I look up and no one is around and I’ve swum partly out of the way. You can’t see shit in the middle of the river! Well, I can see all the different colored swim caps from the other waves (I was in the first wave) as they pass me! At one point I am starting to get achy and the exit beach seems ungodly far away.

Out of the water in 53 minutes and I can’t even run to the transition area where my bike is. Have to sit down to put my bike shoes on. Slightly delirious after swimming for almost twice my previous longest swim (time wise; I did this distance in a pool in 30 min). Heart rate is 178 (highest I've recorded is 194?!) when I start on the bike! Can’t even stand to pedal up hill cause upper body is so weak.
Eventually I recover from the swim and start to pass people. As I start to feel strong on the bike the realization of the upcoming run hits me and I chill out a bit. The course is beautiful with lots of trees and low traffic so 25 miles go by extremely fast. Ave speed: 19.9 MPH with no drafting.

Off of the bike and I am feeling more confident. Upper body still aches, but legs feel okay. Take the first 2 miles of the run slow (maybe 10 min miles? I don’t have a watch). I ran my first 10k in May and have only run a handful of times since then. Get some much needed fluids at the aid stations. On the bike part I had two water bottles, both with Sustained Energy (liquid food stuff that supplies about 500 calories), but I might not of drank enough. Pick up the pace a little and am being passed less often. Around mile 4 I catch up with a woman who had talked to me briefly when she passed me earlier. We run together for a while and she is super friendly. She had completed an iron-distance tri (2.4 mile swim, 110 mile bike, 26.2 mile run) earlier this year and was super supportive when I told her this was my first tri. I pick up the pace, mainly cause I just want to get done. Probably running 8-min miles and am passing some people. Main limitation at this point is mental. Legs are hanging on and breathing is heavy. Feels like I have a gallon of river water in my lungs. Around mile 5.2 I pass the transition area before the final out and back.

I am not super delirious at this point or even super ecstatic, mostly I am thinking, ‘That swim was so damn hard!’ Cross the finish line to the announcer letting everyone know I came all the way from LA. I finish the 10k with a time of 56 minutes and an elapsed time of 3 hours and 10 min. Despite the swim, I am only 5 minutes over my goal time. Overall, this was a great experience and lots of fun. Maybe it was because I was in the back of the field, but so many people were very supportive. Even cheering me on when I passed them on the bike! The combination of events is very appealing to me and I am considering doing another Olympic distance tri next month. The main limitations are the costs (registration is usually around $80, plus getting there, sleeping, etc) and having regular access to a pool before the event. So that’s my story. Thanks to all of you who gave support leading up to this, gave me tips on what to expect, and convinced me that I wouldn’t drown. For any of you obsessed with numbers you can see my time splits and rank here. Or click here for a picture of me you can put on a coffee mug.