Left Coast Low Down
Adventure Racing in the land of fruits and nuts

I subscribe to a bunch of syndicated news feeds, and this one caught my eye. General Motors buying Specialized Bikes? Big damn news, right?

Well, before I could even hit the link, SportsOneSource - a media company that published Sporting Goods Business, among other properties -- caught the hoax and published a clarification.

Kudos to the clever prankster for a well-crafted news release, and for bringing attention to the dramatic need to re-think our nation's commute habits. Kudos, to, to SportsOneSource, who made the correction with a certain calmness and sangfroid that reflects well on their credibility.

Though maybe the name of the VP quoted from GM should have tipped them off? (Hint: it's an anagram).

Hoax of the Day: General Motors Acquires Specialized Bicycle Components SportsOneSource Media Posted: 3/31/2008
In the grand tradition of April Fools, the big prank in the sporting goods market was a story claiming General Motors has acquired Specialized Bicycle Components, based in Morgan Hill, CA. SportsOneSource, too, was momentarily fooled.
For those interested, the full 'story' read:

General Motors has acquired Specialized Bicycle Components, based in Morgan Hill, CA. The acquisition is expected to be completed in the third quarter of 2008 pending regulatory approval in the US, Canada and Europe. Terms of the all-share acquisition from Specialized founder and president Mike Sinyard and Merida of Taiwan were not disclosed.

"In light of global concerns about climate change, GM has been at the forefront in developing new transportation choices that limit our impact on the environment. GM's engineering and marketing and distribution expertise combined with Specialized's branding among cycling enthusiasts make this a winning combination for GM investors and consumers," said GM's vice president, Environment, Energy and Safety Policy, Flora Lopi.

Sinyard is contracted to stay on through until the end of March 2009. Robert Kruse, currently executive director of Vehicle Integration, Safety, Regional Chief Engineers and Performance Division for GM's North America engineering staff will work alongside Sinyard. No other management changes have been announced. Kruse is a keen road cyclist, having three times ridden RAGBRAI, a newspaper-sponsored annual bike ride across Iowa.
The deal, according to the San Jose Business Journal, does not include GM acquiring any of the 19 Specialized Concept Stores, a retail formula launched in 2006. All the concept stores are independently owned.

Sinyard said, "All of us here at Specialized are thrilled to be a part of GM. While Specialized remains committed to independent bicycle dealers, our products will also now be available across the nation in GM dealerships. Specialized will never be available through mass merchants. The acquisition by GM will enhance the service to the specialty retail channel, increase investments in dedicated merchandising programs, introduce sales efforts in mainstream outlets, support advocacy and the activity of cycling, invest and expand in Europe and, most important, bolster an already strong research and development budget."

GM Chairman and CEO Rick Wagoner said, "We're starting our second century at a time of fundamental change in the way we address our transportation needs. In addition to our leadership role in developing the next generation of more sustainable technologies in hybrid and alternative fuel engines, we'll leverage the unique synergies of the bicycle community to introduce some of our ideas for addressing critical issues concerning energy, the environment and globalization."

Specialized Bicycles, founded by Sinyard in Morgan Hill, CA, in 1974, designs and manufactures a complete line of high-performance bicycles and components, including the first production mountain bike, which now resides in the Smithsonian Institute, and its Body Geometry line of medically proven cycling accessories. Specialized is a company of devout cyclists whose goal is to create cutting edge, functional and technically advanced products that provide a performance benefit for the enthusiast cyclist.

In June 2001, Merida, the second-largest bicycle manufacturer in the world based in Taiwan, acquired a minority share of Specialized. Sinyard owned the majority stake.

Now, here's an interesting tidbit from two of my favorite journalists of all time: Adam Chase and Elinor Fish. They are, respectively, the trail editor of Running Times and the managing editor of Trail Running. They are bad-ass writers and even better runners.

They've sent me an invitation to a retreat high in the Colorado Rockies to do a lot of two things I love most in the world: trail running and writing. And for an astoundingly low cost. I don't know if I will make it (and really, I'm not nearly their equal in either regard). But for anyone else out there, definitely check it out.

Active at Altitude, Trail Runner and Running Times magazines host Trail Running & Writing Retreat

Run trails and unleash your inner creative writer in Rocky Mountain National Park, June 20-22, 2008

MARCH 11, 2008, ESTES PARK, COLORADOâ??Elinor Fish and Adam Chase, editors at two top U.S. running publications, Trail Runner and Running Times, are leading a unique retreat for trail runners including guided trail runs, training theory and writing about running seminars at Active at Altitude, a residential sports-training centre near Estes Park, Colorado, June 20 â?? 22, 2008. Situated at 8000 feet above sea level, Active at Altitude is a bed-and-breakfast style accommodation conveniently located just 35 minutes from Boulder or a 90-minute drive from Denver International Airport.

The retreat is for runners who can already run for at least an hour at eight- to 10-minutes-per-mile pace, want to boost their fitness and learn training principles in a fun and social atmosphere. Retreat packages start at $300 and include group trail runs, seminars, morning yoga classes, a cooking class, meals and accommodation. Elinor and Adam will conduct three seminars covering training plans, goal setting, running form, injury prevention, buying shoes and other gear, nutrition/fuelling, intervals, hill training and race strategy.

In addition, the two writing seminars will provide aspiring writers with tips and tools for composing entertaining (and potentially sellable) stories for a personal blog, website or magazine. The retreat is an enriching weekend all about healthy food, beautiful trails, fresh air and camaraderie in a beautiful and relaxing environment. On Saturday evening, Celeste Magnuson will lead a Living Foods Lifestyle class about cooking fresh, health-boosting and satisfying raw-food meals. Massages by On the River Massageâ??s Jacqui Chiplin will also be available at an additional cost. To view a full retreat itinerary and to reserve a space now, visit www.activeataltitude.com.

ABOUT US Elinor Fish is Managing Editor of Trail Runner (www.trailrunnermag.com), has been a competitive trail runner for 17 years and has led running clinics and retreats in Canada and the US for 10 years.

Adam Chase of Boulder, Colorado, is the Trail Editor at Running Times (www.runningtimes.com), author of The Ultimate Guide to Trail Running and President of the American Trail Running Association.

LIMITED TO ONLY 12 PARTICIPANTS!Rates are $300 plus tax per person sharing a bunk room; $350 plus tax per person for a double room.For further information email Terry Chiplin at activeataltitude@gmail.com or call 970-586-4432 www.activeataltitude.com

This was a year of firsts for the BAAR Brawl, the infamous 24-hour "training event" that originated in 2004 as an excuse to gather the disparate members of the Bay Area Adventure Racers for an early season workout and that has now mutated into something wholly wonderful.

It was the first year I didnâ??t design the course. It was the first time Iâ??ve pounded beers during a race. It was the first Brawl that had a finishing rate of over four percent and it was the first 24-hour race for two of my teammates. Significantly, it was the first time the event resembled anything like a real adventure race instead of a Keystone Cops episode.

All credit goes to the course designer and overall organizational genius who shall go by the name of Zen Blanc. Under his leadership, a brutal but attainable course was set; Sea Trek not only offered great boats at a great rate, but delivered them to "Buckâ??s Landing," the most sublime S/F/TA center known to man.

Huge credit also goes to a veritable fleet of volunteers: Jon, Karen, Jane, Bob â?? Iâ??m missing a few here, but you made a brutal race run like clockwork. Where else can you pull up at a boat landing and find David Kelly reaching down to haul your kayak out of the water and handing you a hot mug of coffee?

The turn-out was almost disturbingly large and a testament to the efforts of current racers reaching out to their peers and dragging them into the sport of masochists. Roughly 65 athletes â?? the second-largest in Brawl history â?? toed the line at Buckâ??s to listen to Zenâ??s pre-race speech. At 7:30, the first of the boats went in the water for a quick jaunt northwest to McInnis Park, where a CP lay at the top of the miniature golf course.

The golf option, which promised time bonuses to those taking up the putter, was an area of hot contention between me and Zen. I am ridiculously old school, and ridiculed the putt-putt inclusion. Zen thought the racers would find it to be fun. The bottom line -- I owe Zen some money.

My boat-mate was Doug Giles, my best friend from high school. Built like the rugby player he once was, Doug is as strong as an ox, but given that his paddling training consisted of hours sawing away at the Brooklyn YMCA rowing machine, we had low expectations for this segment. Doug managed to not whine at all during the paddle, a significant achievement given what we were about to go through.

In our other boat was my regular teammate Austin Murphy and another newcomer to AR, Ian Fein - a journalist friend to both Austin and me. 26 years old, stronger than a fart in a coffin and possessing natural navigation skills, Ian is going to be an amazing racer. So there we were: two washed up racers who are old enough to have gone through the Presidio Adventure Racing Academy and two newcomers who had a total of 24 hours of racing combined.

But our team cohesion was strong, our expectations reasonable, and our beer cold. After leaving the slough system of San Pablo Bay, we streaked south past Buckâ??s, nailed the CPs at China Camp and McNears and (Zen, feel free to deduct half of our kayak time bonus) split up to get CPK5 and CPK5B. Austin and Ian sailed on to Richmond while Doug and I rode the tide down to the Marin Islands. We turned around after chatting a bit with Gavin Keith and his teammate and hugged the shore back to McNearâ??s, where we could watch our two stronger paddlers batter themselves silly ferrying towards us.

They were barely worked, but our real effort lay ahead: a tide of at least 2mph was working against us, and the miles crept past at an achingly slow rate. By the time we pulled out of the water, we were noodled, but bolstered by Rick Baraff, who pulled me aside and said, "Dude, that was the worst thing that Iâ??ve ever done in the BAAR Brawl."

If you know the epic, ugly, brutal nature of the Brawl, and Rickâ??s misfortunes in it, youâ??ll see why I was proud. For the record, Rick had the fastest time of the day despite how horrible he felt on the water.

Five hours of paddling and a leisurely transition put us on the bikes at 1:42 on a gorgeous spring-like afternoon. We headed immediately over to my neck of the woods, Fairfax, and climbed Oak Manor Road to get the bonus labyrinth. Just a few hundred yards from that CP, we realized why few teams took our route: egress is not possible from that angle. After a surreptitious fence scramble, we nabbed the CP and I called my wife to give her our location while Doug snapped a few pictures. After a couple more CPs, we crossed under Brownâ??s Bridge above my house, and there were my wife and kids â?? making for a joyous interlude before we started the serious biking.

We traced a counter-clockwise route, taking Broken Dam and Goldman to the western edge of Tamarancho. Weâ??d already lost Austin to some fund-raiser that absolutely needed the presence of a Sports Illustrated staffer, so it was just the three of us grooving on perhaps the coolest CP in Brawl history save for the Sitting Bull monument on Tam: Pamâ??s Blue Ridge. We ran down some awful trail from there, bolted into Fairfax and fetched up at a 7-11, where I ate two chicken taquitos, to the horror of my teammates.

We, like many others, had some trouble finding the remote bridge CP, but Ian worked together with Aaron Sorenson and his newbie teammate Michael Popov - a Russian whoâ??s as strong as Ivan Drago and twice as nice. He also holds the rather astonishing distinction of holding the John Muir Trail unsupported speed record of FOUR DAYS, FIVE HOURS. We didnâ??t deserve to be in the same zip code as these guys, but with dusk falling, we all advanced into San Rafael and strategized our attack on the China Camp loop.

We (well, Ian, who had the whole of China Camp absolutely wired), decided to hit CPB2 first. Ascending some ridiculous fire road, we ran into a scrum of other racers and as night fell we entered into that blurry reality that only twelve hours of racing provides. I remember some savvy navigation, passing Brian Schmitz and Mark Manning roughly twelve times each, and finally spinning along the Shoreline Trail past my bedtime, reveling in the mild breeze and hooting owls. We pushed the bikes. A lot.

Doug had battled not one, not two, but three grand mal cramps of his quads, the last achingly close to the flood lights of Buckâ??s. We limped in, slammed our passports and ten bucks on the bar, and were repaid with three of the tastiest beers weâ??ve ever had.

Thanks, Zen. But the real challenge awaited: getting around a trekking course, at night, that Zen opined would take "Seven hours â?? eight if you fart around."

We took San Pedro Road at 11:30 pm to yet another 7-11 that was not only marked on the map, but alluded to by Zen while we pumped him for information between gulps of Sierra Nevada Pale Ale.

Someone â?? his name rhymes with Piles â?? had the brilliant idea to pick up a sixer of Budweiser. Thatâ??s 24 additional ounces of pack weight each, but they would come in handy later.

Sure enough, near the 7-11 we found a sweet trail bearing roughly in the direction (126 degrees) that we wanted to go to hit CPT2. We found it ridiculously easily, which was nice, because we were about to suffer.

I figured that the best way to CPT3 was to go straight up what Ian and Doug called, "Gordonâ??s Hell," a four-points-of-contact scramble of 550 vertical feet. I thought it was fun, and got cursed for my merriment. But sure enough, after attaining the ridge, we were just 30 yards from the CP.We took the wrong trail to CPT4, and paid a half-hour and 350 feet of useless vert for our troubles, but that was our only nav bobble of the race. The rest of the CPs clicked by, nearly all of them involving scrambling down some rotten trail and back up, quads aquiver. The fog had rolled in by then, making travel difficult, especially since we were also swaddled with penumbras of mist boiling off our own bodies.

After a final discursion to nab CPT1, we cracked open Budweiser v.2, and staggered down some unmarked trail in the general direction of Buckâ??s. We drained the last of the Bud on San Pedro Road, rolled into Buckâ??s at 6:13 am, kicked Zen awake and demanded yet more beer.

We had finished the BAAR Brawl in spectacular fashion, half-soused, fully stoked and newly-blooded. This raggedy-ass and beer-laden team took only seven hours and change to crush the trek loop, including our half-hour detour. Needless to say, I love my teammates, and I love the Brawl. There really isnâ??t anything like it, and thanks to all who made it happen.

Rich Brazeau, who not only pioneered the Explore California series but also served as CEO of a little race you may have heard of, popped me this email last night:

http://www.norcal-ar.com/

The first race is slated for March 15, 2008... with more being added soon. We're planning 5 events for 2008, with each race getting progressively harder (of course). More details on the other venues will be announced soon. One interesting aspect that we're incorporating into the races is the ability to finish each race at a fixed time. We're first introducing the concept at the 3/15/2008 race (Pacheco State Park) and are keeping it under wraps until that point. The net result should definitely yield a growth of interest in the sport. If you have a moment, take a look at the site and let me know what you think! I'd love to get your feedback. Finally, make sure you sign up for our Tips & Tricks newsletter (http://www.norcal-ar.com/newsletter.htm) and pass the word that I'm out of RD "retirement" and the region has an adventure racing series once again! Thanks!

No, thank you, Rich. This is incredibly good news for the California AR community.

Labels: adventure racing, Big Kahuna, Felt, triathon