The Everyday Athlete

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• Christmas in 1981: Showdown on the Sledding Hill

  Merry Christmas Eve to all! I hope everyone is enjoying a safe and warm celebration, wherever you’ve ended up this holiday season. We’ve decided to stay in town and wait out the storm instead of braving the winter roadways to get to my parent’s... Posted Dec 24 2008, 02:57 PM by The Everyday Athlete Filed under: adventure, stories

• Portland Deep Freeze 2008: WTF

  Seriously. This is a little crazy, no? I woke up to over a foot of accumulation, with flakes still coming down. Riding the mountain bike on the side streets, even with studded tires, is hard. Regardless, I’m headed out one more time in an attempt... Posted Dec 22 2008, 02:51 PM by The Everyday Athlete Filed under: cycling, bikes, adventure, storm, snow, studded_tires

• World Domination From a Hot-Pink Banana Seat: Christmas in 1985

  My last column for 2008 will run in tomorrow’s Oregonian, but if you don’t get the paper you can check it out online. In it, I begin my quest for world domination, inspired by a bike-accessory I received for Christmas. (It was the motorcylce... Posted Dec 20 2008, 05:32 PM by The Everyday Athlete Filed under: cycling, bikes, adventure, stories, everyday_cyclist, glimmers

• Boot Camp Diary Archives: Day Three - Molly on the Mountain

  I’m a bit behind posting boot camp diary entries publicly, but I’ve been keeping them tucked away for a winter day and I’m pretty sure that tonight qualifies… brrrr. Molly finished her ascent to applause and cheering. She was the... Posted Dec 16 2008, 11:14 PM by The Everyday Athlete Filed under: fitness, motivation, adventure, boot_camp

• Snow Bikes: Helmet Cam Footage from the Dusting

  Yesterday my cycling coach said, “Come to this here group spinning thing - it’s nasty outside.” I looked out my window, saw a fresh dusting of the good stuff, and sent a text back to him: “I’m riding outside! This is awesome... Posted Dec 15 2008, 07:39 PM by The Everyday Athlete Filed under: cycling, bikes, adventure

• What is all this white crap? A cold weather cycling guide to the rescue.

  It’s snowing! No, really! Big, white flakes that are sticking. East coasters will mock us for being excited and Portlanders will forget how to drive, but dagnabbit, I’m stoked. And, I swear I didn’t plan the weather, but I have a cold... Posted Dec 14 2008, 10:40 AM by The Everyday Athlete Filed under: cycling, bikes, adventure, announcement, everyday_cyclist

• Saltzman at Night: I did not anticipate the teeth.

  I can see the dog’s teeth. What strikes me is not that the teeth have the potential to puncture skin, but that I can actually see them. It is pitch black, the cold winter trees of Forest Park blocking out the moonlight. Moments earlier I’d... Posted Dec 04 2008, 06:04 PM by The Everyday Athlete Filed under: cycling, cyclocross, training, adventure, stories

• The Curse of Villebois

  I should have known better. We’re racing bikes through what is left of a former insane asylum. A few rotting concrete walls and several deadly spikes of rebar growing out of the ground here and there are the only remnants of the building that was Dammasch... Posted Oct 15 2008, 10:22 AM by The Everyday Athlete Filed under: cross_crusade, racing, cycling, cyclocross, adventure, stories

• Bring it to me Angry, Baby - Cross Warmup Music

  Quote from a friend last week, “I am getting so fucking annoyed that everyone who races ‘cross can’t bring themselves to talk about anything besides fucking ‘cross!” Don’t worry. I cut him off. He’s off the friend... Posted Oct 09 2008, 07:59 PM by The Everyday Athlete Filed under: cycling, cyclocross, adventure

• Death to Chihuahuas: Cyclocross Animal Sacrifice Part Two

  I had to kill a bird to get the ‘cross gods to bless me with a remount. Since then my front wheel is a magnet for suicidal vermin. Squirrels dodging underneath my mud tires, looking for an easy way to end the pain of losing the backyard battle to... Posted Oct 09 2008, 03:19 PM by The Everyday Athlete Filed under: cycling, cyclocross, adventure, stories

• Bike Fighting: Lady is the Boss

  I’ve wanted a BMX bike for three years. Every year, I ask for one for my birthday. Last year I got a Dutch cruiser instead. This year, I spent all the allotted birthday money throwing a big-assed party. I’ve got a secret crush on BMX culture... Posted Oct 08 2008, 02:57 PM by The Everyday Athlete Filed under: bikes, adventure

• Sunshine Roller, Sunday Macchiato

  Highway 30 on a long Sunday.  Sal is breaking legs in the Master B category out at Sauvie Island and I’m late.  Too late to see him finish but just in time to hear the grand retelling. The after-race part is always better anyway. My kit... Posted Sep 08 2008, 10:12 AM by The Everyday Athlete Filed under: cycling, life, adventure, stumptown

• Blinding White Joy.

  Summer morning.  Chilly track. "Natalie!  My hands are numb!" "Mine too!" Mittens in August? Heading into the third turn of the second 800 meter interval the sun powers over the top of the building to our east.  Blinding... Posted Aug 27 2008, 06:00 PM by The Everyday Athlete Filed under: fitness, life, adventure

• A Little Baggage Doesn’t Hurt Anyone: On Packing my Suitcase of Courage

  I’m about to bite off a little more than I can chew and, you know what?  I plan to survive. Moreover - I plan to take it by storm. Tomorrow I’ll do the biggest climbing day that I’ve attempted to date.  My "normal"... Posted Jul 18 2008, 06:31 PM by The Everyday Athlete Filed under: cycling, motivation, adventure, randonneuring

• From the “What Was I Thinking” Files: 126 Miles into the Wind

  At mile 34.7 Natalie Ramsland takes a monster pull on the front of our four-man group.  There are 91 miles left to ride.We are somewhere near Silverton, battling a never-ending series of rollers that threaten to end my will to live. There is no draft... Posted Jun 15 2008, 12:25 PM by The Everyday Athlete Filed under: cycling, bikes, adventure, randonneuring