TGIF - Video Edition

Its Friday!  Lets celebrate with some vidified time wasters, shall we?  Up first is a little clip from my big bro Abe Towery.  He's a rock star skate park builder who has some pretty good street cred.  You may know him as well from his "big in Belgium" speed metal band, Word Salad with their lone hit CD, Death March 2000.  Either way, the guy's a badass and he's been working with Vans shoes for sometime.  In the first vid, he can be seen with the blond hair, pushing the box closest to the camera.  He also built the house/pool float in the commercial.

Vans Men's Allred Mid Skate Sneaker (Google Affiliate Ad)

The second vid comes from Oracle Racing and the re-launch of the damaged AC72 and their new wing.

Gotta love Fridays!

TGIF!

I'm headed to warmer climes, but here's a few videos to kick off the weekend!

Windpaddle Scout Sail - Red (Google Affiliate Ad)

The line from Evydam'an on Vimeo.

Beautiful Sports

Tongue and horns ready to climb

 I spent my Sunday in the Church of the Great Outdoors with an old high school buddy, Dave.  We took in an awesome day at Powder Mountain resort, one the best (and last) real places to just ski.  Its a low key joint with a rustic couple of lodges, very few lifts, but access to about 7,000 acres of skiing.  Not to mention a lift ticket is only $65, a true bargain in today's reality if $100 lift tickets.

Among the unique amenities at Pow Mow is all natural snow and a $15 add on ticket for a ride on the snowcat.  The cat ride takes you to lighting ridge and its steep chutes and gets you access to the 25 minute hike up to James Peak.  From James Peak you can ski a good 3000 uninterrupted feet of quality, mostly untouched snow.  Its well worth the hike and the $15.

After a few warm up runs and waiting for the snow to soften in the sun a bit, we made our way to the cat and started our morning adventure.  My friend, who now lives near sea level, was a bit nervous about the hike.  It looks steep from afar, and in reality, it is.  Some people skin to the top but there's usually a well stepped boot pack as well.

Brand new Bontrager RL Road Cycling shoes, size 43, $140 (self sponsored ad)

We started the boot pack and Dave started to really feel the altitude.  Dave's in great shape, he's a cyclist and triathlete and an expert snowboarder, but 9,500 feet is a lot of elevation.  But he kept on, kept telling himself "the next tree".  We had caught up to one skier skinning up and he told us the summit wasn't worth climbing to because the snow off the top was in poor shape.  We were darn close to the summit though and with all the effort we had put in, especially Dave, we weren't going to stop our climb and bug out early.  we figured if the snow sucked from the top, we could always traverse over to the next face where the snow was better.

Dave on the summit

Once we got to the top, we quickly realized just how worthwhile the climb really was.  From James Peak you can see 3 Utah borders, the Uintah Mountains, the Cottonwoods, the Wellsvilles and the expanse of the Great Salt Lake.  On this day though, we could only see the top of Antelope island poking up out of the smog.  But we were high above it all, in the warmth of the inversion with bluebird skies above.  At that point, it didn't matter what the snow was like, it was the climb, the view and the company that made James Peak great.

There are many reasons why I do the sports I do, but one of the biggest ones, is just simply being out there.  The rewards of a long hike up a peak; the thrill of a big downhill line; the joy of sailing along under your own power in the middle of the ocean; the whine of your freshly home tuned turbo charged engine; and the sheer thrill of riding your bike in the open air.

With so much focus this last week on Lance Armstrong and his confession, I had to remind myself of why I do what I do.  I was a cycling fan long before who I knew who Lance was.  I had my first pair of spandex even before Lance's World Championship win.  Yes, I was a huge Lance fan once he started winning the Tour, but he was never my reason for riding.  Lance did great things to grow the popularity of cycling, but you know what the fastest growing sport in the world is?  MMA!  A world that has nothing to do with cycling.  Cycling was awesome before LA and it is awesome after.  I really think the non-cyclist fans of LA will look past his cheating and bullying and move on.  For the cyclist, I believe the love of the sport transcends one super star or multiple doping scandals.  While I love bike racing and putting on my kit filled with generous sponsors and col designs, what I love most, is simply being out there.  Its why I put on races, so others can experience that joy.  Just finishing the 157 mile Tour de Park City or the grueling Powder Mountain Hillclimb is a feat unto itself.  Add racing others in that journey and you have a beautiful thing.

I'm over Lance Armstrong.  He has his own bed to lay in now and his own problems to sort out.  I hope he does right by making amends to all the people he's hurt directly and indirectly, but I'm over it.  Its time to look forward to the next training ride, the new racing season, the next sail across the Pacific and the next epic powder day.  There is so much beauty in these great sports that to let the professional athletes dictate how we feel or participate would be wrong.  For those who love the stick and ball sports, are you going to give up your Thursday night pick up games because Kobe's an unfaithful husband, or give up your next golf outing because Tiger's a DB?  No.  And I will not give up riding my bike and helping others do the same because some of our heroes have falling.

So, here's to your next big thing, here's to your next epic and your next mountain to climb!

Fiber Friday

No, most of us do not have enough fiber in our diets, but thats a topic for Tuesdays.  Today's fiber is a set of videos giving us a look at how carbon fiber boats, bikes and an F1 car's monocoque chassis are made.

Stainless Steel Black Carbon Fiber Band Ring (Google Affiliate Ad)

Once upon a time, I was a Mechanical Engineering major.  I love all the technical aspects of my sports, but turns out I'm terrible at advance math and couldn't pass calc II.  As my GPA moved closer to zero, I became a business student.  But my love for the technical stuff hasn't waned.

Carbon is really a super fiber.  Light, stiff and very resistant to fatigue.  Its why we use it in so many applications where weight is an issue.

For next week I'm working on some thoughts about Lance Armstrong's interview.  So far, I've been impressed with Big O's line of questions and after tonight's final segment I'll be sure to have something to say.

In the meantime, enjoy video Friday!

Movie Friday

Today's internet time wasters are varied.  If you've got some time this weekend, check out the awesome 1 hr Isle of Man TT documentary.  For shorter bits, there's some quick Porsche porn with Champion Motorsports' Turbo S RSR, a $400k, one off project inspired by the race version 997 RSR.  Next, check out what it takes to set a sailing record from New York to San Francisco in the middle of winter as Giovani Soldini takes the Maserati sponsored race boat around the horn this week.  Finally, scope out what Sailing World Magazine thinks is the Boat of the Year.  They announced their winners last month.  I warn you, the Sailing World vid is terrible in terms of production, but it does highlight the latest and greatest in performance sailboats.

Enjoy!






PUMA Volvo Ocean Race Graphic Sailing Hat (Google Affiliate Ad)


PUMA PUMA Ocean Race Challenger Sailing Spray Top (Google Affiliate Ad)

Late Friday!

Hey folks.  Today's video segment give you plenty to distract you with.  First, check out the video section of the Rolex Sydney-Hobart yacht race.  Wild Oats XI took her 6th line honors victory and bested her own course record set in 2005.

Next up we've an awesome trailer for the year old premiere of a Patagonia film and to honor some of the awesome freshies we saw this week, a short segment from GoPro.  I'll be posting some of my own GoPro video, as soon as I figure out how to use the thing!

Wild Wednesday

Its been a snowy couple of days here in Utah and for once, we got more up here near Ogden than the SLC area mountains got.  There's about 8 inches outside my house at 4500 feet and 20 inches reported in the mountains.  We had snow Christmas Eve which made for postcard snowy pictures on Christmas Day.  I would post some, but I have yet to figure out how to download photos from my new phone.  Evidently smart phones are smarter than me!

I've been able to take advantage of the new snow with some short morning tours in Little Cottonwood Canyon outside of SLC and get used to my new equipment.

My day out was Saturday.  It had been a few days since a storm so I didn't expect much, I just really wanted to get out.  I also had a 3 hr bike ride planned for later that morning, so Saturday's tour was really just to get into the snow.  The skin up Gizzly Gulch was tame.  There's a groomed catrack to the top of an area called Michigan City.  So there was no trail to break, just a nice, mellow skin.  Because of time, we had to start our descent but with the windblown conditions the snow was super hard and very tough to get a decent turn in.  It was more work going down than going up.  Hero snow it was not, but again, I was just glad to be out there.

We scrambled back to town and to the meeting point for the group ride with the Plan 7 group in Midvale.  With a 2 hour warm up in the mountains I was a little fried for a 3 hour ride, but it worked out well.  Especially for my weight loss goals!  I burned abour 2600 calories in that 5 hours of exercise.

With a big storm rolling in for Christmas Eve however, I was anxious to get out in better conditions.  So yesterday I set out in the falling snow for another a.m. tour in the same area.  I didn't have a partner however, but I thought I would just hook up with someone else in the parking lot.  Sure enough, a dude named Tom from Rhode Island was there solo as well.  So we headed out for a few turns.

The snow snow was falling quickly but visibility was still good.  We headed up to a peak called Patsy Marley, named for a mining era madame from the area.  Well, this madame was dishing up some nice turns yesterday where we landed fresh tracks on Patsy's north side.  The east face of Patsy's in where the rowdier terrain lies, but we didn't have time to head that direction and neither of us was very familiar with the area.  But we got in some great powder turns.

In total it was a 2.5 hour tour burning more than 1200 calories in the process.

I discovered that I love touring, even short mornings like the last two.  Being away from the resort is refreshing and much cheaper!  I love our local resorts, but I just can't afford $70+ lift tickets.  We'll save resort days for family days and super awesome conditions.  I also find the uphill just as enjoyable as the down, if not more sometimes.  Its a great workout for one, but it also makes the down that more more rewarding.  I love searching out new terrain and lines that I've never seen before.  I have my favorite shots at resorts, but the backcountry allows for so much more variety.  While avy danger is always present (even in resorts) , there are correct ways to be safe.  Simply taking an avy awareness course is beneficial and being properly equiped with a shovel, becon and probe, and knowing how to use the equipment, can make for a lifetime of awesome adventures in the backcountry.

In other adventurous news, the 2012 Rolex Sydney-to-Hobart yacht race is about to wrap up with line honours fav Wild Oats XI on track for a 6th line honors victory.  The race for handicap winners is also alive with the smaller boats making a run for glory.

Wet Wednesday

Over the year, I've had the chance to check off a few items on my bucket list...race a sailboat to Hawaii, climb Mt. Whitney, participate in the America's Cup and finish LOTOJA.  There's still a few more left however, one of which is race in the famed bluewater classic, the Rolex Sydney-Hobart yacht race.  This is the race that in 1998, Oracle CEO Larry Ellison vowed to never compete in again.  6 people lost their lives that year in a wicked storm.  The events were told in Rob Mundle's book, Fatal Storm.

But those tragic events haven't slowed down the most adventurous sailors in the world.  A perennial favorite for first to finish honors in Bob Oatley's  Wild Oats XI, a 100 foot super maxi that just went under the knife for some speed enhancing surgery.  For those who like the nuances of technology and speed, the following video shows just how serious these guys are about winning.  A tech marvel in its own right when launched 7 years ago, WOXI has added a forward cannard and winglets tat he back of the 20 ton lead keel bulb.  The cannard is for lower wetted surface in light air and the winglets minimize turbulence at the end of the keel just like the winglets at the end of jetliner's wings do.  Eeking out just a few 10ths of a knot can mean the difference between champ and chump so it will be fun to follow WOXI and see how they do.  The video also highlights the fact that even the best skippers in the world have trouble making it into the slip sometimes!

The race happens on Oz's Boxing Day, December 26th.

TGIF

Today's video is just photos really, but I loved it, so I'm posting it.

The bowman on any performance sailboat has one of the most important and difficult jobs on the boat.  The bowman (or woman) must be strong, light, agile, smart and be able to think quickly.  When the bowman is in action, their is little time to think things through, it must come naturally.  I've worked the bow before and while there's a ton of action, its easy to mess things up big time.

There's another below with some explanation from dudes who do this stuff pro.

Here's to the weekend!

101 Posts on the wall...

Today's blog post is post number 101.  I started the blog in 2010 as a training diary for LOTOJA.  I've expanded a bit and hope you've enjoyed what you've seen and read.  I've been putting up training tips, fun videos, updates from sports I love and reviewed a few products.  I've also had to memorialize a few good people.  I like writing and I like sharing, so I'll keep posting.  Its therapeutic for me.

In search of cool content however, I'm becoming a Youtube addict!  When I was growing up, seeing coverage of sailing and cycling was non-existent.  Modern media has given us tremendous access to some great footage.  I found the following on the Volvo Ocean Race's Youtube channel.  It highlights the weekend's troubles and challenges for the fleet in the infamous Southern Ocean as they head from New Zealand to Brazil.  Rounding Cape Horn is on every sailor's bucket list and I can say its on mine as well.  This is when sailors and boats are pushed to their limits.  Huge winds, icebergs and fire hose conditions on the bow.  This 3 minute clip will get your heart racing.!

Winter returns

So the vernal equinox is upon us tomorrow yet there's 3 inches of snow pasted against my fence outside and a bitter wind howling through the trees.  Spring is a time of change and unpredictability so a late snow storm in Utah is nothing world-ending.  It does make for challenging riding conditions, however.

Saturday's RMR crit was held in 40 mph winds.  The winds forced us to race on the somewhat protected 1/8 mile oval rather the dragstrip and pit areas.  I get dizzy racing around that oval but its usually fast and over with before you know it.  Eventually 4 broke away and each had teammates in the peloton.  I was one of only a few willing to work to get them back so I burnt some matches.  There were 2 spots on the course with wicked winds so when it came time for the bunch sprint, I mistimed the sprint and ended up midpack.

I rode with some friends and sponsors, Jody Harris and Denis Porter, out to the raceway from Bountiful.   Its a 20 mile ride.  Into the wind on the way out it took a good hour and a half.  After racing, we made it back in less than an hour with the tailwind.  30 mph and 80 watts at times!

I was satisfied with the day.  I seemed to have more gas in the tank than last week but I still feel rusty.  Crit racing takes some balls and I'm having to build them up a bit to be competitive.  I'm looking forward to the crit at Tour del Sol.  Racing like this also motivates me to make sure my workouts are that much better, that I'm really giving my time on the bike all that I have.  The threshold intervals waiting for me today are going to get it!  So what if I'm in the pain cave!

My weekend wasn't all riding though.  A cyclist has to rest, so it was great weekend to enjoy some live streaming action on the interweb.  There was some great pro cycling, sailing and autoracing happening...

Mercury sponsored teams took the San Dimas Stage Race and Old Pueblo Crit in Tucson.

The 60th running of 12 hrs of Seabring saw Audi continue its decade long dominance in endurance racing.  But the most exciting class was the street car looking GT class, with only 6 seconds separating the winning BMW and second place Corvette!

And finally, the Kiwis are showing their mettle in the final stages of the Volvo Ocean Race.

Happy Friday!

Multiple reels of crashes today.  They happen, in cycling and sailing! Today we've got Olympic class sailing in Miami and a classic from the Dana Point Gran Prix in 2010. Of course, throwing your glasses at your competitors after the crash is optional.

Here's to keeping the rubber side down!

TGIF

I try to find the best stuff for Friday's videos. A couple minutes of the best action from bikes to boats. We're mostly about cycling here but I've found its hard to find good road bike action, its mostly crit crashes and Tour higlights. There's a ton of MTB work and ski porn out there as well. The sailing porn is also getting better.

Its an Olympic year, so I'll justify a little more diverse features. Today's vid comes from some English sailing medal hopefuls in the exciting 49er class. Sailing can be boring to watch but the fast, planing skiffs that are the 49er make it much less so and prove that sailing isn't just for the blue blazer crowd. Enjoy!

Weekend roundup

Over the weekend, most of the sports watching public lamented one more week until the Super Bowl. But for geeks like me who prefer sports without sticks and balls, it was one heckava weekend with a smorgasbord of awesomeness! Levi took control of the Tour de San Luis from Contador. Lindsey Vonn took 2 of 3. Shaun White 5 peated his X Games Gold with a perfect score. And there's so much more! Check it...

Tour de San Luis - Velonews

24 Hrs of Daytona - Speed News

X Games - ESPN

World Cup Skiing - Yahoo Sports

Leg 3 of Volvo Ocean Race - VOR

Key West Race Week

Before my life was consumed by bicycles, it was consumed with salt water, sails and regatta crew parties. Every year at this time my mind wanders to far off tropical places, namely, Key West, Florida. In 1999, just as I was beginning my dream of sail boat racing full time, I had the awesome chance to race a J/80 named French Kiss in Key West Race Week. I actually just found out that the boat owner who took me there, Bruce French, passed away 6 years ago. His and his wife's generosity that week made me feel like a rockstar. I'm bummed we lost contact over the years. We traveled around the Southwest winning some silverware with that boat and had a blast. That's a photo of our spinnaker on the right.

At the time, KWRW was the pinnacle of regattas, attracting over 300 boats from around the world. Race categories were full of hot rod Melges 24 one-designs on up to the big money grand prix 50 and 60 footers. For, me it was a lesson in large fleet racing and opened my eyes to what potential I had as a sailor. It was the first big regatta experience I could put on my sailing resume and I still have vivid memories of that fun filled week.

I don't think we did very well in our division, but we showed some promise. Mid week saw some big winds and major wipeouts and our learning curve was steep but I was surrounded by pro and ameture sailors alike who were there to race hard and party hard. It is Key West after all!

This year's event is happening right now and you can check out all the action here: http://www.premiere-racing.com/. The photo galleries are awesome and the pictures tend to be what you'll see in most sailing calendars for 2013. While entries for the event have shrunk over the past few years, the quality of racing has continued to produce great on the water drama. Maybe one of these days I'll make it back to the event and re-live some of those early sailing career moments and the great times that the late Bruce French gave me the opportunity to enjoy.

Happy Friday!

A couple minutes of what its like to sail on a 100 foot racing yacht. Here's Lahana during last week's Rolex Sydney to Hobart race. Enjoy!

Ocean race finishes separated by minutes

For the sailors among us, the past 24 hours have seen some of the most exciting ocean racing of recent memory.

First off, the line honours winners of the Rolex Sydney Hobart race finished in the wee hours of the American morning. I was up late and was riveted by the match race taking place between 2 100 foot yachts battling for the prestigious "first to finish" prize. It was perennial favorite Wild Oats XI vs. Investec Loyale. WOXI has finished first 5 times yet in the shifty breezes heading into the finish, it was Investec beating WOXI! They took their lead all the way to Hobart taking a surprising first ever line honours win for the yacht formerly known as Maximus.

The boats saw 40 knot breezes on the nose as they entered the infamous Bass Straight and now the excitement builds for the overall winners to be crowned as the smaller boats make the finish. There's some killer photos here: http://www.regattanews.com/gallery.aspx?eid=190&clid=0&ctid=3&year=2011

The second exciting finish went to Telefonica on leg 2.5 of the Volvo Ocean Race. The boats entered a "stealth zone" to hide from pirates along the east African coastline. Then they entered a secret safe haven port and boarded a ship bound for the Persian Gulf. 80% of the points of the leg were awarded and it was Camper who literally came in minutes later taking 2nd. It was American entry Puma taking third. Fascinating stuff!

Boat of the Year Winners Announced

Every year Sailing World magazine editors and a panel of experts put the best new sailboat designs to the test and pick a winner in seemingly always changing categories. While its great to see the winners I often wonder about all those categories. They seem to be making some of these up to appease manufacturers. For example, a few years back the J Boats J/46 won "Best Offshore Racer". Were there even any other offshore racers in the competition? I think its just a fun way to say "this is one of the coolest boats of the field". Regardless, it makes for some anticipation for boat lovers and arm chair critics like me.

Check out the 2012 winners here: http://www.sailingworld.com/sailboats/boat-of-the-year/announcing-sws-2012-boty-winners

I like their choice of the VX One as Overall Winner. The boat is an evolution of the popular Viper 640. Boats of this size and shape are tons of fun. Easy to sail fast, easy to trailer, but very pricey. Ultimate 20's, Vipers and Melges 20's all sailaway for upwards of $35k. But awesome boats, all of them. I can't to see how the new J/70 stacks up on this crowded piece of the market.

Pirates!

Professional sports are very interesting. From the money and personalities of the stick and ball sports to the obscure professional bowlers and squash players, making a buck in sports can take a variety of forms. I'm a big fan of "in between" pro sports like yacht racing and cycling. I say "in between" because they're not quite mainstream (at least in the States) but not totally foreign to the average sports fan. Lets face it, pro athletes are entertainers and yacht racing has come a long way in that department.

The America's Cup and the Volvo Ocean Race are arguably the pinnacle of the pro sailing world. The two races contain no shortage of drama and excitement both on and off the water. Leg 1 of the VOR was quite dramatic and Legs 2 and 3 will be no less. The primary reason? Pirates!

With the race taking competitors up the East African coastline, Somali pirates are a real issue. I commend the race organizers for taking the race to new places and laughing in the face of danger. While I don't advocate sailing through dangerous waters without any planning, I do think its cool the race will go through those areas regardless.

Just today, VOR organizers announced a plan, that up till now was secret, to protect racers in the most dangerous parts of the Indian Ocean. http://www.volvooceanrace.com/en/news/4311_Anti-piracy-plan-revealed.html

They will actually stop the fleet in a secret safe harbor, transport the boats on a heavily armed ship and restart the race in safe waters. I like it. This adds a whole new level of intrigue to the event as the boats will actually go silent to the public for a time.

So far, this event has had a bit of everything: blowout in-port races; broken masts; almost sinkings and Puma's week long stint on a remote island waiting to be rescued.

While football, basketball and baseball attract all the TV rights and millionaire athletes, I invite you to check out the unique human drama being played out on the remote oceans of the world. Anyone who loves sports, action and adventure will not be disappointed.

Volvo Ocean Race - Leg 1

If you've read back over some of my first posts from 2010, you'd see that in a former life I was a sailmaker in San Diego spending most of my life on boats. I was in San Diego for 6 years and spent a good chunk of that at North Sails, West Marine and working on boats with my good friend Joe Grieser who now heads up Ballard Sails in Seattle. (http://www.ballardsails.com/)

I still consider the years I spent making sails as some of the most memorable of my life. I got to sail and race on so many different boats I lost count. I raced on small boats like Lasers and 420's with SDSU Sailing Team and Capri 14's on Tuesday nights on Mission Bay. I raced on mid sized boats like J/105's, J/80's, Etchells and a Beneteau 36.7. I spent a lot of time on big boats as well like a J/125, J/160, Santa Cruz 52, a gaggle of Farr's, Perry 65 and an R/P 50. I even crewed on a charter IACC America's Cup yacht for a year.

I also had the chance to make sails for some of the most famous boats out there. I made sails for the late Roy Disney's record breaking Pyewacket and maxi yacht Sagamore. I even got to service the sails for Jim Clark's 156 foot sloop Hyperion.

During that time I also had the distinct privilege to build sails for the 2000 America's Cup and 2001 Volvo Ocean Race. The sails I worked on for the Volvo Ocean Race were on that year's winner Illbruck. Because of this history, I still have a special interest in these two races that I believe are at the pinnacle of yacht racing.

I blogged about my trip to the America's Cup World Series in San Diego a few weeks ago. But the current edition of the Volvo Ocean Race is also going on.

The VOR sends professional crews on a 9 leg, round the world epic in 70 foot purpose built boats. They are the absolute state of the art for ocean racers and sail through some of the most dangerous oceans in the world. They battle weather, waves, fatigue and even pirates! Its a true test of technology and human performance and its easy to be captivated by these modern seafarers.

Leg one from Alicante, Spain to Cape Town, South Africa just ended. There is an awesome 60 minute recap here: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WqOsqvKARww

With only 6 teams entered I thought that this year's race would be a snoozer. But so far it has been anything but! Only 5 hours into the race Team Abu Dhabi lost their rig. Then Team Sanya was impaled and lost a good chunk of carbon on the hull. Both teams had to withdraw from the leg. Race leader and only American entry, Puma, then lost their rig in a remote part of the south Atlantic. When all was said and done, it was the Spanish entry Telefonica taking first blood and scoring the win for the first open ocean leg. The scramble is now on for the teams with damage to get their rides in order for the next leg. Spare masts need to be tuned and Sanya's hull will have a 4 meter section of carbon completely replaced.

After an in-port race in Cape Town, the boats head up the east African coast to Abu Dhabi. Its here that pirates may actually be an issue as they pass the Somali coast an venture into the Arabian Sea. It will be interesting to see if the teams who suffered damage race a bit gun shy or if they'll go full bore into the leg trying to regain precious points lost due to retiring early in leg 1.