Mountain bicycling is one of my favorite things

I've been back in Beautiful, Bountiful, Breath-taking, Bellingham, Washington for almost a full two weeks now. It feels good to be back here. It is a place that I love. Not as much the city, but the hills and trails that surround it. I've been on the mountain bike exclusively, taking my camera (almost) every time, planning to get photos of the rad trails that I get to rip. I'm happy to report, the following two photos are literally the only photos that I've taken the time to snap. It's just been so hard to actually premeditate anything when you're stuck in that all-consuming body/mind experience of rallying your bike around in the woods.

Skim the good stuff off the top

My last full day in Oregon ended with a mid-winter's skim board sesh with my brother Johnny, and brother-from-another-mother, Thomas. Nothing like ice cold water, waves, beautiful scenery, good company, and running around lots in your underwear to light the fire of life and ring in the finish of year Two Thousand and Ten.

I have a debt to even up...

I've got a debt to even up. One of these years, I'll get back on track. But as it sits right now, I'm down one summer and up one winter... A few years back Deanna and I went to New Zealand. It is a stunningly beautiful country and the people there are equally friendly. It was an amazing trip, and I wouldn't take it back for anything, but I can't tell you how hard it was for me to give up an entire summer, go back to winter just as it's starting to really get into summer weather in the Pacific Northwest. I love the heat. Summer is my favorite season, long days, hot weather. Energy everywhere.

2008 was a wetter, cooler spring then normal in Bellingham, then I left for winter in the Southern Hemisphere. Now, I know people who do this every year, follow the snow to the hemisphere where it's currently the cash crop. I'll be the first to tell you, I'm not and never will be one of those people. I like snow sports, they are fun, but I don't love them. The sports that I love, don't (usually) involve snow.

So I'm down a summer, my body and mind and soul are down on all that expected sunshine and energy that comes with it. En Zed was nice, exciting, new, strange, incredible. But it really made me realize, how badass this land is that I grew up (and continue to grow) in.

Some photos of our trip to En-Zed. It's summer there right now... (click photos, they get big)

We hiked the Abel Tasman track. A stunning hut system on the North tip of the South Island.

Waterfall on the West coast of the South Island.
The Alps of New Zealand.

This is 'merrca. you dunt liik it, you can git out.

A pool table and beer. The only thing that could have made it better would have been, a couple fingers of scotch, a cigar, tweed suits, some really cool hats, and definitly some badass jazz music in the background. Actually, I would have taken a pipe, but I bet Allen would have chewed the crap out of a cigar. Oh, and switch Allen's glasses for a monocle. Best out of seven. Winner does nothing (aside from talk a bunch of shit until the next round), loser has to harvest the rest of the lavender from the garbage bag of dry stalks that my mom got from a friend. The bar is set. The stage is set.

Welcome to the danger zone.

Highway to the danger zone.

Just found this GF beer in Corvallis. Never seen it before, but I know St. Peter's well. I loved their Porter and Amber back in the day, and this stuff did not disappoint at all.

The games were on fire. Allen started off pretty hot and I was in the hole from the beginning.

I ended up being stripes 5 out of 7 games.

Allen working his 8-ball magic. Final tally, Patrick 3, Allen 4. At least I'll be smelling nice for the next few days.

Talent is Overrated

Karate used to be a huge part of my life. Sometimes I miss it a lot. It's a beautiful thing, and it takes zero "gear". Cycling is decidedly a gear heavy sport. Karate, Yoga, qi gong, taiji, ki aikido, all are amazing arts to practice, and they require nothing but time.

Karate, the art itself is incredible. But it was these guys (and a couple other guys and gals) who kept me coming back. It was karate that taught me that any super-computer-nerd-engineer with zero coordination, and I mean ZERO, can become incredibly adept athletically. Being relatively coordinated at sports naturally, I've always thought the best were just 'born with it'. Not true. The best work the hardest for it. I watched floppy frogs turn into super badass karate practitioners. This summer this belief was reaffirmed, I read a book called, "Talent is Overrated". It talks about everyone, business people, chess masters, athletes, etc. All the best, Warren Buffet for investing, multiple chess grandmasters, athletes, they all worked with a dogged determination. But it was not just hard work, but a brutal honesty in their assessment of progress along the way, and developing very specific goals to bring about small improvement.

From Left to Right. Teppei, Jacob, Patrick, Andy, Jason, and Tim. Circa 2000.

Five on the 15th

These photos are from the Mackenzie River Trail in Oregon. For those who have never graced her sweet curves, yeah, you're really not missing anything. Don't bother checking it out. It's a long drive, in the middle of nowhere, I mean, what if something happened and you didn't get cell phone service and you couldn't make a twit on twitter about it right at that time. That would suck. It's really not a great trail anyway, so much hype...

Of the many times I've ridden this trail, the excitement is always the same. hot, cold, sunny, cloudy, raining... That wind in your perma-grinning face of almost 30 miles of whooping, shred-tastic festival single track of what the fuck it is to love mountain biking.

These are from a trip I did with good friends from Bellingham, Matt and Kevin. September, 2006. We rallied the waz out of that trail. (don't miss out, be sure to click on the images to make them bigger.)



Thanks to Matti for this sweet picture of myself - out of mind and body.


Kevin had a few flats on this ride, silly latex tubes...


Matti, cruisin true Oregon forestry. Kevin is fixing another flat, just outside the Right of the picture.


Kevin, trying not to take the big drink.


Matti and his stumpjumper - countless moments of blissful riding.

To see more photos from this ride, click here.

USGP Stanley Cup Photo Albums

Here are photos from the US Grand Prix of Cyclocross, Stanley Cup, Portland, Oregon. December 4th and 5th. On Saturday I made it out in time for the Elite Men's race, and on Sunday, I made both the Elite Men and Women's races.


Saturday, Elite Men

Sunday, Elite Women and Elite Men