Summertime!
Happy 2nd day of summer !
Can’t believe it’s been so long since any posts! WTF?!!! I guess we’ve all been super busy around Western Spirit World HQ’S. Ain’t that the truth. Late May into June has been a whirlwind of wrapping up Canyonlands season and getting everything in place for our busy summer season.
Take last week for example. Three different rigs getting ready to leave Moab for almost 3 months. Besides the obvious rig with tents, coolers stoves, groovers, etc. we need to rig for our satellite locations spread out over the west. That means getting hundreds of water bottles, Western Spirit Cycling tee shirts & of course our lovely Western Spirit coffee mugs into the trucks, vans & trailers getting set to go. Not to mention any number of our 80 plus strong fleet of rental bikes. Logistics…. that’s the name of the game these days.
To make it even a little more fun, I’m prepping to leave town for three weeks myself. I’ll be flying out of tiny Canyonlands airport this Friday for Vancouver, Canada and the 3rd edition of the BC Bike Race. My friends Deane Payne & Andreas Hestler made it possible to trade a Western Spirit Cycling trip for a free number plate in their race. I raced it in their 1st edition and had the best time so I’ve wanted to go back ever since. Turning 40 this September was just the catalyst I needed to make it happen, so now that I’m four days from leaving, it’s really sunk in. The training and miles are in the bag - too late for any more fitness at this point. Really I just need to dial in the Stumpjumper, pack the bags and make sure I’ve got enough chamois butter to get me through 35 hours of racing.
After that I’ll be roadtripping with Dre from Whistler down the coast to Ashland, OR and the start of our annual BIKE Week trip with the fine folks from Bike Magazine and some of their best friends & advertisers. That will be a super fun trip I get to help guide and it’s turned into a reunion of sorts now that we’ve done it for so many years. This years edition is on the Umpqua River Trail which just happens to be some of the sweetest track anywhere. After 11 of 12 days riding singletrack I’ll be ready for a little R&R on the beach with family, so a trip out to CT will wrap up the three weeks before coming home to Moab in late July. Whew! Kinda tired just thinking about it, but can’t wait! More to come on the race if I get a Internet connection.?