2015 Spring Update

All smiles after winning the Grande Marathon at the Garda Bike Festival (Riva, Italy). 

It's been an exciting and busy start to the 2015 race season!  A time of travel, preparation and commitments that has kept Mary and I focussed on the next project almost to the point of not having the time to look back on all the things that have been taking place.  Training, getting the logistics dialed for our two person race program and following through on our projects takes up most all of our time.  Glad that both Mary and I managed to shoot some photos and take a few notes so that we can remember some of the fine details to share the experience with you all.  

Our travel adventures this year began in January when we flew from our home in New England down to Chile to attend what has become our traditional season opener and favorite stage race - The Trans Andes Challenge.  We made the most of our trip to the southern hemisphere by staying for an extra couple of weeks to escape the frigid winter on the northeast coast (USA) and get in some serious hours on the bike with the luxury of great training weather.  It is always hard to leave the quiet of Chile and our wonderful friends down there, but it was time to migrate north to prepare for the race season.

Our next stop was northern California where we handle the majority of the logistics of setting up our race program for the season.  Planning our calendar, making travel arrangements, building up our race bikes, and etc were compacted into a small window of time alongside catching up with west coast friends and family we have not seen for a year.

The Tamarancho Trails of Mary's home town, Fairfax (Marin County) are amazing!  

Building up bikes at our sweet host accommodations! 

Next up was a solid month of air travel that brought us to Taiwan to attend the the Taipei Bike show as athlete representatives for our title sponsor KENDA Tires and shortly after to race for USA at the Pan American Continental Championships in Bogota, Columbia…  Although these two trips were worlds, neither were to be missed as they were both important events on our calendar.  

Having a blast signing autographs at the Taipei Bike Show.  (and wearing her  original 2008 Olympic jersey!)

Enjoying the exciting early morning training rides in Taipei with the Kenda Krew (and sprinting with the mopeds!) 

We are always glad to be traveling with our bikes no matter the destination and have the daily excuse of the training ride to make sure we took time to see something of these incredible places, as can only be done on the bike.  Along with the work at hand these trips were each filled with positive and exciting experiences. 

Racing her first XC of the year at Pan AMs in Cota, Colombia.  Excellent track, but elevation at nearly 9000 ft!! (gasp!)  

Mary and I returned from Columbia for another all too brief stop thru to visit some of our favorite California Bay Area trails and people.  At this point we were pretty much living out of our van, storage unit, our favorite bike shop - NorCal Bike Sport - and in between staying with friends and family.  The moving around was a challenge, but it really didn't seem to matter as we were there to visit, train and appreciate as much as possible the goodness if one of our favorite places on the planet.  

Van Life - Staging a ride from Annadel (Santa Rosa, CA)

Mike surfing a quiet NorCAL river mouth break

All too soon we were packing ourselves some mighty duffels in preparation for the next phase of full time mobile living in Europe.  

In mid April we transitioned from an already summery northern CA into the bright early spring of southern Germany.  Upon our arrival we built up the bikes and packed our gear into a sweet little RV from our long time preferred rental company (http://www.rv-rental-germany.com) and headed directly to the races.  Mary and I immediately felt an overall sense of well being as soon as we moved into our little camping car.  

Home Sweet Home for a while...

 Mary's first enduro... here we are at the prologue of round #1 at the Specialized SRAM Enduro in Treuchtlingen, Germany

RV living is perhaps not the "end all" ideal living situation for everyone, but for us it has allowed an affordable and comfortable way to live and race bikes for extended race trips in Europe.  To have the chance to prepare our own food, keep our things in one spot, be free to come and go with little hassle, really helps us keep on a good track.  We are incredibly stoked to be back here again throughout the majority of the 2015 season where we will partake in an exciting calendar of events.

Mary collecting "Baerlauch" - an onion flavored delicacy of the spring forest

Mary and I are really happy to continue as Kenda Tire ambassadors for the 2015 and 2016 seasons.  Kenda has been and integral part of our success for the past 13 years and it is an honor to continue working alongside this great company!  From experience, we know that the most important part of riding or racing a bike is the tire contact patch.  Kenda's diverse tire offerings  has allowed us to progress alongside the evolution of the sport.  With some new developments on tap Kenda Tires continues to step forward with improving the already great premium tire line!

There are many new and interesting developments happening in the world of mountain biking and Mary and I are excited to have the opportunity to be involved at this expansion time.  The technology of the bikes can now legitimately make every ride a bit more fast, safe and fun! 

Our desires to stay up to date with the latest evolution of cutting technology in off road bikes has led us to a powerful new partnership with INTENSE Cycles.  Intense's bikes immediately expanded our horizons and gave us access to a whole new dimension of riding opportunities.  The bikes have changed our perception of what is possible and have given us the platform to fulfill our desires for bike adventures both in and out of the competitive scene.

Mike off to race a very slick and epic round #2 of the Specialized SRAM Enduro at the Garda Bike Festival (Italy)

Mary racing the marathon in Lago di Garda, Italy

With our new alliances as well as solid support from our core group of partners, Mary and I are aiming to broaden our horizons to contest a wider range of off road events.  Europe is brimming with racing, bike events and festivals.  This year we are including some Enduro racing alongside our staples of the Olympic Cross Country, Marathons and Off Road Stage Races.      

  

The past 6 weeks have been a pretty good introduction of how our summer schedule will go:  Full timing from the comfort of the RV while participating in some great MTB bike events throughout Europe.   So far contesting a variety of different mtb disciplines in several countries we have found  each event was all about bikes... but the flavor, vibes and equipment were all very different!  The common thread was that each group was passionate about their involvement.   Whether it's full suspension or lightweight hard tails, baggie shorts and seat dropper posts or the latest gram shaving carbon components - people are into their bikes, accessories, training and nutrition and the feeling that they get out of them.   Just about every discipline seems to have grown in popularity even as new ones are popping up and getting more people involved.  It is amazing to see how the sport has grown to accommodate the desired styles of fun on two wheels - with options for everyone!  

The Oetztal MTB Festival (Haiming, Austria) is a great event which has grown to record numbers - the community  involvement is also inspiring!

Mary all kitted up (minus the baggies - it was too hot!) for the Coup de France Enduro in Blausasc, France. 

Mary and I are both enjoying getting involved in the enduro racing…  In short there is a lot to learn - but we are really excited to have the opportunity to try! 

Hope you are finding time to get out and stay healthy… And take the time to check out something new - even if it is outside your comfort zone.  Feeling like a a beginner once again is always a great way to inspire improvement!  

Saludos,

M and M

Team Kenda - Intense

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