Out and About

I wrote a story for Thursday, May 8’s edition of the Sentinel on the Jump Jam that’s coming to the Fun Spot in Santa Cruz this weekend. It’s a freestyle festival featuring BMX and mountain bikers griding, flipping, and jumping over obstacles. The pros in each division will split a $1,000 prize purse — not too shabby.

The mountain bike portion will be Saturday from 11 a.m .to 4 p.m. and the BMX portion will be Sunday at the same times.

One of the guys to look out for in the BMX pro division is BMX event director Jarrod Allen. Allen has agreed not to take any prize money if he wins, passing it down to the second-, third and fourth-place riders, and there’s a good chance that could happen. The Santa Cruzan knows a thing or two about ripping it up on a bike.

Here’s some video I found of him. Look closely, and you might recognize some local landmarks.

So the Wildflower Triathlon is this weekend. Somehow, I never really think of it like a normal triathlon. Why? For starters, because these people are crazy.

First off, a day competing in the Wildflower is usually preceded by a night sleeping on the hard dirt. Yeah, nothing like rolling out of the sleeping bag in the morning still grumpy at the non-competing campers who went to bed at 1 a.m. and still sore from that rock you never could find underneath your tent, then jumping into a lake and swimming a mile, followed by a 26-mile bike and a 6-mile run.

Oh, and it’s not just any bike, either. There’s a hill — Lynch Hill, perhaps named for what you’d like to do to yourself rather than climb it — that climbs roughly 350 feet in less than a mile. And, it’s at the very beginning of the ride.

And lastly, this thing takes place in a typically very hot and dusty park and not always on paved roads. People have told me stories of finishing covered in layers of dust. That’ll make for a great victory photo.

For all those reason, though, I must salute those who will compete in the sprint, Olympic and long course triathlons Saturday and Sunday. You’re braver than I am, so here’s wishing you overcast skies, damp but not muddy ground and no rocks for pillows.

Good luck out there!

Sometimes I hear about a great story too late to work up something for the paper. That’s the case with Alyssa Johnson, who ran the Boston Marathon on Monday.

Here’s an e-mail she sent my way a few days before the race.

“In 2003 while training for my third marathon (my second Boston) I started having issues running. Two years later my life was forever changed when a neurologist told us that those problems were the early symptoms of Parkinson’s disease.

“As part of the continuing process of learning to accept the diagnosis, we have started to raise awareness and funds for Parkinson’s research. In the last two years we raised $77k for Michael J. Fox Foundation, this year’s our goal is to raise $23k, bringing our grand total to $100,000 .

“The Michael J. Fox Foundation for Parkinson’s Research is dedicated to ensuring the development of a cure for Parkinson’s disease within this lifetime through an aggressively funded research agenda. Advances in Parkinson’s research are likely to significantly contribute to the understanding of other devastating neurological diseases such as Alzheimer’s, ALS and multiple sclerosis. The opportunity for therapeutic breakthroughs has never been greater, yet research remains severely underfunded.”

If I had read my copy of Runner’s World this month a little more carefully, I would have seen a blurb about Alyssa’s story. I’ve included that here.

I’m happy to say she completed the race in 5:59:34. Her husband Barry finished in 3:14:49.

Here’s what Alyssa had to say about the race:

“I whined and complained a lot — the weather was hot, there were hills — but got through it with the help some friends and my sister in just under six hours. It is tough struggling so much with my running when it once used to come so easily. You don’t realize how good things are until they change.”

Alyssa also did an interview with the Boston Fox news channel. Here’s a link to that.

With luck, she’ll keep running and I’ll have the chance to write about her sometime soon.

Hurray, it’s spring!

After last weekend, it’s finally feeling like spring has arrived, which is great because spring is my favorite season. Why? Well, there are many reasons. One is that there is no better time to combine skin and ice than in the spring.

Laugh if you will, but it’s true.

Exhibit A: Ski Season — if you can still call it that. By this time of year, it’s slush season. You have to arrive after 10 so the sun can warm up the sheets of sheer ice covering the slopes. Then, you have to be off the mountain by 2:30 p.m., or face possible stranding mid-peak when your skis or board get stuck on the quickly melting slush.

The short days can also mean a chance to break out your short shorts and bikini top. Of course, if you do this, you run the danger of exposing pretty much every inch of your bare skin to snow. Cmon, you don’t really think that Lycra’s going to offer any real protection, do you?

If this sounds like your idea of a good time, check out Squaw Valley, which is offering free access to its HIgh Camp Swimming Lagoon & Spa, located at 8,200 feet overlooking the mountain. Daily access is free with the purchase of a spring pass for $179. Also try Sierra Summit, Sugar Bowl, Heavenly or Kirkwood, which are all still open.

Exhibit 2: Athletes get active — Yep, now that the weather’s nice and the sun stays out later, people are starting to ease back into their training routines. With that transition come aches and pains, and that means … you guessed it, the sweet combination of ice and skin. Don’t forget to mix the two to keep from throwing a kink into your summer plans.

If you’re looking for an event to train for, check out Thursday’s Outside page, which shows events up to a month in advance. To plan a little further out, there’s the Sentinel’s Breaking Away section, also published Thursdays, and of course www.active.com or www.theschedule.com.

Those should give you more than enough events to train for. If it’s all a little overwhelming, you can always go to …

Exhibit C: The Margarita. Mmmmm, the feel of those ice cubes to the skin on the lips can be so refreshing.

If you’re like me, you’d like to participate in the Sea Otter Classic, but you’re not so sure you’re in competition shape, mentally or physically.

Well, here’s a solution: Recreational Rides. This is your chance to be pampered, and say you rode your bike in the Sea Otter Classic.

There’s a mountain bike version and a road riding version, and both offer a long course and a short course.

The recreational mountain bike rides — officially called Mountain Bike’s Off-Road Tour — will be held at 9:30 a.m. Saturday, April 19 on the trails of Fort Ord. A 10-miler and a 20-miler will be offered, and both will include rest stops, on-trail assistance (don’t worry about getting a flat), a goodie bag, a raffle, a four-day pass to the Sea Otter Classic and an end-of-the-ride barbecue. Proceeds will benefit the International Mountain Biking Association of California, which helps maintain the trails around Fort Ord and Laguna Seca.

The cost of the mountain biking ride is $80. You can register for it here.

The recreational road rides will be held Sunday, April 20 at 7 a.m. The 15-mile option goes throug the roads of Fort Ord and offers the benefit of being short. However, the 100-mile option tours the Carmel and Salinas areas and makes a stop at the Zabala Vinyard for a tasting. Tough choice, expecially since both provide a SAG wagon, on-route support, a raffle, a four-day pass to the Sea Otter Classic and a barbecue.

The road ride also costs $80 (for either distance), but it goes to benefit the Davis Phinney Foundation, an organization dedicated to improving the lives of people who have Parkinson’s disease. Sign up for it here.

Both tours are likely to leave you with tired legs, a high endorphin level and possibly the feeling your ride not only helped you, but the community. Or, at the least, you could wind up with some good swag.

Sign up quickly, though, as these rides tend to sell out (believe me, I looked into it at the last minute last year, with no luck). The last day to register online is April 13. After that, you have to go to the event at Laguna Seca to beg for a spot.

It’s not quite your 15 minutes of fame. It’s more like 10 minutes of non-anonymity.

The makers of a documetary titled “Running America” are looking for runners young and old, able bodied and otherwise to run one mile with elite adventure runners and general madmen Charlie Engle and Marshall Ulrich as they try to set a record by running from San Francisco to New York - a trek of 3,200 miles - in 45 days. The run also raises money for the charity H2O Africa.

Five “celebrity” runners per mile will be picked to flank Engle and Ulrich. Runners must audition for the spot. This can be done at www.runningamerica08.com or here.

The race is schedule to go June 15 to July 15. Day 1’s route from San Francisco to near Fairfield offers the closest opportunities for a Santa Cruzan. The Day 2 route goes from near Fairfield to just west of Ione.

If that seems like a long way to drive for a 1-mile run, don’t worry. Producers say you can keep on going, you’ll just have to drop back out of the Camera’s eye. But yes, you’ll also have to deal with having just five minutes of fame to spare for the rest of your life.

Tyler Fox of Aptos rides the monster wave at Ghost Tree on Dec. 4 that earned him a Billabong XXL Biggest Wave nomination. Photo by Mike Jones/azhiaziam.com.

According to Billabong XXL director Bill Sharp, the rides submitted to the Billabong XXL awards get gnarlier each year. He said almost all of this year’s nominees for the Biggest Wave award are bigger than 70 feet.

If you want to check out the action yourself, here is the link. The only bummer is that there isn’t any media for the Best Performance nominees, like Santa Cruz’s own Jamilah Star.

The Sea Otter Classic bike festival is growing near - it’s scheduled for April 17-20 at Laguna Seca Raceway in Monterey.
Every year hundreds of people camp at the track and take in the entire weekend of bike expos, racing and raffles. If you’d like to do this, you need to act fast. According to the event’s Web site, the campground is filling up fast, with a couple of areas already full.

Camping there costs $60-95 a night. Here’s the link.

Here is a press release a parent sent me about the NorCal High School Mountain Bike Racing League. Several kids from Harbor High and Kirby compete in the league, which has banned caffeine as a performance-enhancing substance.

HIGH SCHOOL MOUNTAIN BIKE LEAGUE GETS SUED OVER CAFFEINE BAN

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE: Tuesday, April 1, 2008
Contact: Matt Fritzinger fritz@norcalmtb.og (510) 653-2453
www.norcalmtb.org

HIGH SCHOOL MOUNTAIN BIKE LEAGUE GETS SUED OVER CAFFEINE BAN
Only two months after releasing their 2008 rule book, which includes a ban on caffeine for their young athletes, the NorCal High School Mountain Bike Racing League is being sued for enforcing the controversial rule.

Kyle Wright, of Americano High School, received the penalty after the head coach of the El Cerrito High School team made the startling discovery. “His bike was leaning against mine, and I needed to move it. I grabbed Kyle’s bike along the top tube, and it burned my hand. It was a warm day, but his bike was boiling hot!” Coach Jeremiah Holland reported the abnormally hot bike to the League Director, Matt Fritzinger.

Fritzinger reported, “Coach Holland called me over to the pit zone on the radio, showed me the welt on his hand and pointed to the Gary Fisher Hi-Fi. I was explaining what an awesome bike the Hi-Fi is – I own one, myself – when I noticed some unusual wiring, and a valve on the seat tube. Coffee came pouring out onto the ground when I twisted the lever. It smelled delicious.”

What Fritzinger discovered was that Kyle’s bike had a fully integrated coffee-making device. It was powered by a generator in the hub, stored hot water in the tubes of the frame, and filtered the coffee in what looked like a rear suspension unit. Fritzinger soon found a cup and confirmed his suspicion. “I was amazed by the sophistication of it: the smooth texture and balance, somewhat darker than traditional Italian espresso blends, and we discovered his portable pump was converted to a milk steamer.”

After a thorough investigation it was discovered Kyle was selling coffee drinks, including lattes and machiados on the back side of the course. “He was out there making a mockery of our new rule, so we doubled the penalty to ten minutes. Kyle was already in last place, but we needed to make our message loud and clear.”

The discovery of Kyle’s espresso machine on wheels was quite a jolt to the director, as the caffeine rule was having a noticeable impact. “At the season opener we did our first pocket checks. We discovered only one rider with caffeinated energy gel,’ said Fritzinger. The rider seemed genuinely surprised that his “plain flavor” gel had caffeine. “It was a learning experience for the rider, and the League,” reported Fritzinger. The League issued a warning to the offending rider. “Our best indicators are wrappers dropped on the course. We watched the amount of caffeinated products plummet from 20% to 0% by the second race,” Fritzinger asserted.

As the League approaches the fourth race, officials’ eyes are peeled for more than just caffeinated energy gels. Meanwhile, Kyle has hired Morris Sumy to help with his appeal. ‘We all know it’s fun to mountain bike race, even when you take last place, but the League has overstepped its own rules. The NorCal League does not own fun.’ stated Sumy.

Gotcha - Happy April Fool’s Day!

A crowd gathers to watch surfers like Tyler Fox of Aptos take on giant Ghost Tree waves on Dec. 4.

Surfers Tyler Fox of Aptos and Jamilah Star of Santa Cruz were atop some of the most monstrous waves ridden last year, earning them nominations for the 2008 Billabong XXL Global Big Wave Awards.
Star is one of three women nominated for the Girls Best Performance Award on March 21. The $5,000 award celebrates the woman with the best overall big wave season. Star won the XXL’s first women’s award in 2005 and was a nominee in 2006.
Fox, meanwhile, is up for the most prestigious XXL award — the Biggest Wave.
Fox towed into a monster at Ghost Tree on Dec. 4 and someone caught it on tape (you can watch it here!), making him eligible to win $15,000 and a personal watercraft.
The raging 70-foot-plus waves that day at the break off of Pebble Beach proved deadly, taking the life of longtime surfer Peter Davi of Monterey. They also produced several XXL award nominees.
Brad Gerlach of Los Angeles also earned a Biggest Wave nomination for one he caught there on Dec. 4. Also, Carlos Burle of Brazil earned a Ride of the Year nomination for his Ghost Tree wave that day, as well as one for the Monster Tube award.
The Maverick’s Surf Contest didn’t produce any nominees — unless you count 2008 Mav’s winner Greg Long’s Best Overall Performance nomination — but the break near Half Moon Bay did make a showing. Ben Andrews of San Francisco earned a Monster Paddle nomination for the wave he rode there Feb 9.
Last year, Ken “Skindog” Collins of Santa Cruz won the Ride of the Year award and the Monster Tube award for his 50-foot tube ride in Puerto Escondido, Mexico in June 2006.
The winners of the 2008 XXL contest will be announced April 11. A live Webcast of the awards show can be watched at 7 p.m. at www.billabongxxl.com.

The full list of nominees, in alphabetical order, includes:

Five Billabong XXL Ride Of The Year Award Nominees(Surfer prize $50,000 - Video prize $5,000)

* Michael Brennan (Tasmania, Australia) at Shipstern Bluff, Tasmania on January 14, 2008. (Video by Kendall O’Brien)
*Carlos Burle (Rio de Janeiro, Brazil) at Ghost Tree, California on December 4, 2007. (Video by Greg Browning)
*Shane Dorian (Kona, Hawaii, USA) at Teahupoo, Tahiti on November 1, 2007. (Video by Gustavo Camarao)
*Manoa Drollet (Tahiti, French Polynesia) at Teahupoo, Tahiti on November 1, 2007. (Video by Gustavo Camarao)
*Ian Walsh (Paia, Hawaii, USA) at Teahupoo, Tahiti on November 1, 2007. (Video by Gustavo Camarao)

Five Billabong XXL Biggest Wave Award Nominees(Surfer prize $15,000 and a Honda Aquatrax watercraft with HSA sled -Photo/video prize $4,000)
*Grant Baker (Durban, South Africa) at Cortes Bank off California on January 5, 2008. (Photos by Robert Brown)
*Tyler Fox (Santa Cruz, California, USA) at Ghost Tree, California on December 4, 2007. (Photos by Mike Jones, Bart Keagy, Wayne Kelly and Dave Nelson. Video by Bruno Lemos and Graham Nash.)
*Brad Gerlach (Los Angeles, California, USA) at Ghost Tree, California on December 4, 2007. (Photos by Mike Jones, Bart Keagy, Wayne Kelly, Jason Murray and Sebastian Rojas. Video by Greg Browning)
*Vincent Lartizen (Hossegor, France) at Belharra Reef, France on January 4, 2008. (Photos by Greg Rabejac)
*Mike Parsons (San Clemente, California, USA) at Cortes Bank off California on January 5, 2008. (Photos by Robert Brown)

Five Monster Paddle Award Nominees(Surfer prize $15,000 - Photo/video prize $4,000)
*Ben Andrews (San Francisco, California, USA) at Maverick’s, California on February 9, 2008. (Photos by Jack English, Don Montgomery and Frank Quirarte. Video by Noel Robinson)
*Mark Healey (Sunset Beach, Hawaii, USA) at Todos Santos, Mexico on December 5, 2007. (Photos by A.J. Neste. Video by Alejandro Berger)
*Greg Long (San Clemente, California, USA) at Todos Santos, Mexico on December 5, 2007 (Photos by Jeff Flindt, Edwin Morales and Jason Murray)
*Jamie Mitchell (Gold Coast, Australia) at Todos Santos, Mexico on December 5, 2007. (Photos by Jeff Flindt, Rich McMullin and Fred Pompermayer. Video by Alejandro Berger)
*Rodrigo Resende (Rio de Janeiro, Brazil) at Todos Santos, Mexico on December 5, 2007. (Photo by A.J. Neste.Video by Alejandro Berger)

Five Monster Tube Photo Award Nominees(Surfer prize $5,000 - Photography prize $2,000)
*Mike Brennan (Tasmania, Australia) at Shipstern Bluff, Tasmania on January 14, 2008. (Photos by Andrew Chisholm and Hilton Dawe)
*Carlos Burle (Rio de Janeiro, Brazil) at Ghost Tree, California on December 4, 2007. (Photos by Mike Jones, Jason Murray and Sebastian Rojas)
*Manoa Drollet (Tahiti, French Polynesia) at Teahupoo, Tahiti on November 1, 2007. (Photos by Jeff Flindt, Tony Harrington, Tim McKenna, Tim Jones and Fred Pompermayer)
*Raimana Van Bastolaer (Tahiti, French Polynesia) at Teahupoo, Tahiti on November 1, 2007. (Photos by Tim McKenna and Dave Nelson)
*Ian Walsh (Paia, Hawaii, USA) at Teahupoo, Tahiti on November 1, 2007. (Photos by Sean Collins, Tony Harrington, Tim McKenna, Dave Nelson and Fred Pompermayer)

Three Surfline Best Overall Performance Award Nominees (Surfer prize $5,000)
*Greg Long (San Clemente, California, USA)
*Garrett McNamara (Sunset Beach, Hawaii, USA)
*Jamie Sterling (Sunset Beach, Hawaii, USA)

Three Billabong Girls Best Performance Award Nominees(Surfer prize $5,000)
*Maya Gabeira (Rio de Janeiro, Brazil)
*Jamilah Star (Santa Cruz, California, USA)
*Jenny Useldinger (Oahu, Hawaii, USA)