Summer Is Now

It's annoying when you're sat in the car, driving the 4 hours home after a race, and all you can think about is, "I should have been riding faster...way faster..." - but sometimes, it's also important to remember that winning (or putting in a good results to be more accurate in my case) isn't always what the weekend is about.  For the first race of the season, I'd cautiously call it a success.

I really don't mind spending my weekends inside a painting.

After a Friday night being kept awake by howling wind in 30-degree temps, an air mattress that didn't live up to it's name at 3am, and subsequently sleeping in the passenger seat of my car until 10am on Saturday, the remainder of the weekend was a cake walk.  The track was fast and fun, and I found an RV to sleep in (beer payment for said accommodation is pending on my end).  Some rowdy riding, hilarious campfire banter with friends, and beautiful weather really put the weekend in perspective when it was all said and done.
I must also be growing up, because in my race run (and riding all weekend), I made a conscious effort to ride conservatively.  Why?  Well, leaving for a month-long European adventure in a week definitely played a big part in that...it was the only reason actually.  I was happy to feel solid on the bike, and know that I was still capable of being competitive, should a more advantageous schedule come about.  With it all said and done, I had a wicked weekend with all of my bike friends, and it felt great to get back into the mix of racing!

As the departure date for my Euro trip approaches, I'm nervous but excited for the up-coming insanity.  It's going to be a wild time on a whole.  I will do what I can to provide a unique/personal update when I can, but I might also just cross post a link to the material I'll be publishing for Descent World.  Either way, stay tuned, this summer is only getting started!

Moving Up To The Big Leagues

The time has come readership, I'm going "pro".  I already race in the pro/elite category, so what I'm actually talking about is life; I'm leaving, on a jetplane, to pursue a career in photojournalism.  I got a gig with a friend, taking photos, writing colorful commentary, and recording fun interviews with the über elite on the World Cup circuit for downhill mountain biking.  This is big, because it means I'm actually getting paid to do something I'm passionate about, and it also means I won't have to do
something horrendously remedial (at least for now) to progress my slip into adulthood.
It's going to be a traveling circus lifestyle, with bizarre hours, probably some stress, but honestly, I gave it a trial run in New Zealand while in Rotorua, and it was oh-so-cool.  I like a good hustle, and if involves friends and cool people/colleagues, then what more can I ask for?  I won't be getting rich, and likely won't be contributing to my 401k anytime soon - that's not the point.  Now, now is the time to get out into the mix; live; explore; experience; do.  Too often I read the words of a later-yeared adult who has been successful, and the one thing they all seem to say is, something to the effect of, "I wish I'd traveled more and pursued my hobbies instead of [this job].  I'm happy and secure, but I'll always wonder, 'what if'..."

I actually enjoy this kind of work, tt is just a tough lifestyle.

I don't want to be that person, sitting around reminiscing about what I could have, should have, would have done.  The world I was hurled into post-grad was not the one we were coached on or promised during our formidable years, so I see no reason to join the ranks of the miserable, grinding out a mediocre hustle just in the name of financial gain.  I've done all the shit jobs already: dishwasher, manual labor, basic retail...sure they are terrible (working on a farm actually isn't so bad, and I enjoy it for the most part), but they are jobs I can do at any point in time in my life; I won't always be able to go travel and pursue something risky and perhaps insecure.
But, I believe in my abilities, my craft, my ingenuity, my integrity, my willingness to "get shit done" and hustle harder.  The idea of visualizing goals, and making them happen through determination and grit is what I'm all about.  I'm thankful that people around me believe in me enough to support me, provide me with opportunities, and generally encourage me; It is vastly more challenging to go it alone.  I am doing this for me, but I am also doing this for others, to vicariously bring people along with me through words and photos (once again, like in New Zealand).  I think storytelling is amazing, and I enjoy the idea of being a part of history, even if it is in some little obscure niche.  Sitting idle is a slow, stagnant demise.  Life is about being out in the thick of things, and that is all I am aiming to do.  From effort comes reward; I am hoping my reward is having an office that is where ever I am standing, being a part of the narrative of life as it happens.

Trail Vandalism

I wrote this a little while ago.  The matter was sort of resolved through other channels, so this email was never sent.  But, I put time and effort into this piece, and I thought it ought to see the light of day anyways.  Perhaps it will serve as an example for the future regarding diplomatic discourse about hot button issues:

Hello [name redacted],

My name is Zach.  I am a long-time trail builder and maintainer, as well as the team manager of the local race team Drummer Racing.  I was out on Drummer Hill on Sunday finishing some trail construction and maintenance.  Upon arrive to the trail head, I found that someone had taken the time to thoroughly trash the entrance and exit of two trails by dragging a fair few trees into the trail.  I was perturbed by this blatant disrespect of the tail network.  I understand that at times there are discrepancies regarding trail direction and such, but to purposely block the way of two well-made and thought-out high-traffic tracks through reclaimed logging corridors is puzzling and rather frustrating.  One track affected by this course of action replaced a trail lost in the logging, and the other is the exit of a main route up and down the hill, which has now been reconnected/rerouted to address some of the logging routes.  So, to have two well constructed trails, which neither add or subtract from the total network, to be targeted, is an issue that needs to be addressed.

Here is a flower, I hope you find it soothing.

I am not sure what about these trails caused such a stir on the end of the vandal, but throwing debris into the way of traffic is inappropriate and downright dangerous.  This seems to be a reoccurring theme out on the hill, and after several incidents last year (which were amicably resolved), I find it puzzling that this sort of action would take place again.  Whether these actions were seen in the eyes of the perpetrator as cautionary or something else, I can't say.  But, the riding community will not progress if this is how new trails are treated, it will only create greater strife among the parties that govern the land use and the land users.  NEMBA's role is to mediate and communicate, and it would seem that this is a good time to do so.  It is unfortunate that conversations like this even need to be had at this point, considering that up until the past two seasons, the Drummer Hill and Goose Pond areas have been a rather harmonious place for outdoor recreation, and it's only since a formal group/committee has been formed that we have had problems with this sort of thing.  As someone who has been using the trail network and contributing to it with sweat equity for over a decade, I am not one to brush aside or take lightly this sort of incursion on the trails and rider safety. 

I look forward to hearing back from you regarding this incident and general concern.  Thank you for your time.

Sincerely,
Zach 

Believer Of The Hype

I am notoriously cheap...there, I said it.  I try to save money whenever I can, and opulent spending or missing a discount perturb me greatly.  So, when a great deal comes my way, I know it, and I capitalize on it.  This is all especially true when it comes to sporting equipment, in this case, bits and pieces for my [race] bikes.  I've limped those bikes through a lot, and repair everything I can in lieu of replacing the issue(s).  Upon sending in the suspension from my race bike for inspection and repair after my time in New Zealand, I learned that I had in fact wrung it for it's last drop of usability.  This caused me a fair bit of distress, mainly for the implied financial contribution I was about to make to Fox Racing Shox's annual sales report.

I took a picture of a dirty tire instead of the new fork...not helpful.

After some delays, this new piece of kit arrived on Friday, looking all sorts of shiny and new in its cardboard box.  Of course I immediately got to work installing it into place and thus finished assembly of the 2015 race rig.  It looked nice bolted onto the burnt orange bike, with its gold stanchions, so I did my due diligence and dirtied it up a bit
today.  I even managed to not scuff it up when I fell flat on my face being an idiot.
Once I bothered to actually ride my bike with purpose, instead of taking up the position of a passenger astride metal, I found myself in complete disbelief; the hype is real.  This new mechanical addition to my life is not just money spent, but money WELL spent.  A timing device will need to be employed to confirm this suspicion, but believe you me when I say, it felt faster, like way way faster.  I'm pretty sure I was missing out massively before, it felt like night and day; So much so, I drove to a different trail that was faster so I could enjoy the unrelenting new found speed contained in the gold-coated tubes.
It is fair to say that we all get excited about "new" and tend to get all worked up over new purchases, but for once, I think this is warranted.  As a well-known cynic, I was of course skeptical about buying into a new era of product from this company.  But my concerns have at least been temporarily alleviated, as the performance I experience today while riding easy terrain will undoubtedly only get better once the pitch of the track gets steeper, rougher, and more aggressive.  I'm a believer of the hype, and for once, I think that's warranted.