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Adventures in Commuting, part 3

Friday, June 19th, 2009

My wife and I both wish we could commute to work by bike everyday.  But because of our daycare arrangement and that pesky “You must work 8 hours a day” rule, it simply isn’t possible.

So instead we’ve worked out a complicated compromise.  I bike to work early in the morning.  She drives in later after dropping the kiddo off at daycare.  In the afternoon, I bike over to her office and get the car.  I go pick up the kiddo, and she bikes home later. So we each get to bike one way.  It works out pretty well, except for one hitch: there is no good route to get from my office to her office on a bike.  Its only about a mile, but I have to take my life into my hands and cross the worst of midtown traffic.

I am constantly looking for a new route that is safer, more scenic, or at least shorter.   This past winter I heard about a new path being built in a lesser-known park in midtown.  Could this be a missing link I needed?  Earlier this week I decided to give it a try.  I found the park easy enough, but I couldn’t find any trails.  So I started busting through the tall grass, carying my bike.

Midtown Anchorage - Anyone know where this is?

Midtown Anchorage - Anyone know where this is?

The bad news was that in a matter of minutes, I was up to calves in muck and it was getting deeper.  The good news was at least this covered up my fashion faux-pas of wearing argyle dress socks with cycling shoes.  Turn around?   Are you kidding?  I was not about to accept defeat from a tiny park in midtown.  I pushed on.

I felt bad that I was probably disturbing the wetland habitat, but I have to admit that I was loving it.  The best summer adventures usually involve some degree of bushwhacking or mud-slogging, but since I’ve been injured I’ve been missing out on all that fun.  I desperately needed up up my slog quotient.

It only took a few minutes to cross the bog and I found the trail (still a work in progress) on the other side.   I didn’t find a magical corridor through midtown, but I did find a nice little slice of the outdoors hidden in the middle of the city.  I like living in a pace where my commute from work can turn into a mud-filled adventure.  And besides, its not really summer in Alaska until you’ve bushwhacked through a mud bog.

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Posted in Anchorage, Bike | No Comments »

A Quick Hit At Portage Lake

Wednesday, May 6th, 2009

I should have known that one ski trip to Skookum Glacier wasn’t going to satiate my lust for crust this spring. Like any true addict, “just one” fix quickly leads to an overwhelming urge for another. My body may be injured, but my mind still craves copious amounts of sun and snow. No amount of bike riding was going to make the urge go away.

So yesterday I succumbed and headed to Portage Lake. With weekend temepratures hitting 70 degrees in Anchorage, I wasn’t sure the lake would still be skiable, so I had Turnagain Pass in mind as a back-up plan. When I arrived at the lake, it looked perfect. The crust was firm and smooth. There was a bustle of construction activity (lots of people and trucks) at the rock slide site, which led me to believe that there wouldn’t be any blasting anytime soon. So I geared up and headed across the lake.

Its about three miles to get back to the glacier. The first mile was great skiing. Fast and flat - perfect for my leg, which is still in the walking cast. After the first mile, though, the snow started getting punchy. At this point in the spring, the “snow” on the lake is really just a foot-thick layer of slush on top of ice. So each time I punched through, my foot dove into a soggy mess. For the next mile, I did my best to stay on top of the snow. But soon the crust was completely gone and I was trudging through slush. Bummer. At this point, making it to Portage Pass was out of the question, so I decided to trudge ahead until I could see the glacier, then turn around.


Proof that I made it. All 2.5 miles of it.

When returning to the car, I played around on the firmer crust on the north end of the lake a bit, watching the rock slide work. I finished skiing about 9:00 AM. When I got back to Anchorage, I found out that the blasting began a few hours after I left. I wish I’d been able to stay and watch! I found it amusing and slightly aggravating that the last time I was there, there were a bunch of warning signs even though the blasting wouldn’t take place for almost two weeks. Then yesterday, with the blasting only a few hours away, no signs at all!


Apres Ski

Even though the skiing wasn’t very good, it was great to be on skis again. And the trip was worth it for the drive alone - I saw a coyote, a fox, a moose and a bison along the way! (Okay, okay, the bison was at Big Game Alaska. But the others were legit.)

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Posted in Anchorage, Crust Ski, Kenai, Prince William Sound | No Comments »

The Last Temptation of Crust

Wednesday, April 22nd, 2009

Attention: Everyone who selected April 22 in their office pool for “the day that Cory finally ignores Doctor’s (and wife’s) orders and goes skiing,” please pick up your winnings at the front desk.

Monday of this week was the first day of excellent crust ski weather we’ve had so far this spring. Blinding sunshine, frozen snowpack. But I was a good patient and stayed home (well, at work actually).

Tuesday was also an epic crust day and I probably would have given in, except that my son was sick. I figured that if my wife had to stay home with vomiting toddler, I should probably go to work and contribute to the collective family good, rather than go play in the sun. I’m very sympathetic like that.

But when Wednesday morning dawned with clear skies and cold temperatures, well, I think we can all agree that no mortal man can be expected to resist that temptation three days in a row.

One reason I hadn’t been skiing (or doing anything mildly active) prior to today was that my ankle has continued to be swollen. Not good for healing. No matter how I try to baby it, the swelling doesn’t go down. But then yesterday, I had my first real physical therapy session. The therapist really stressed the ankle a lot more than I ever had in the past six weeks. At first, the tendon felt extremely tight and weak, but the more I worked it, the better it felt. And then, when I woke up this morning and saw that the ankle was less swollen than ever since the injury, a lightbulb went off in my head. Maybe a little bit of activity is exactly what I need to reduce the swelling, to get the blood flowing and flush out the ankle. That was all the excuse I needed to grab my skis.

So this morning I drove down to Portage Lake. I picked Portage because its a short, flat, easy ski with spectacular scenery. I could get my crust ski fix without pushing my Achilles too much. But when I got there, there were signs saying “DANGER! Blasting in area - Stay off ice.” The lake looked fine and it didn’t look like they were blasting today, so I thought about going anyway. But I was by myself with no one else around, and on a gimp leg, so I decided to play it safe. I drove down the road to the Placer River valley and headed towards Skookum Glacier instead.

The crust was near-perfect: rock hard with no volcanic ash. My technique was a little sloppy, and I fatigued quickly (did I really lose that much fitness in six weeks? Ouch.), but the ski was spectacular.

I knew I needed to be extra careful of my tendon while skiing. So it was fortunate that I had a pair of Salomon’s latest top-secret prototype boots to protect me. Currently I think there are only three pairs in existence. Mathias Fredriksson has a pair, Andy Gerlach had a pair, I have a pair. Check out my photos.
 

Skookum Glacier

 

The whole trip made me so happy. Early morning drive down Turnagain Arm, cruising on top of the firm snow while the crystals sparkled in the sun, feeling my blood pumping again, soaking up the sunshine, and even stopping for a snack at the Tesoro on the way home. It was great to be back in the spring routine again, if only for a day.

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Posted in Anchorage, Crust Ski, Kenai, Ski | 1 Comment »

Beach Lake Freestyle Flyer

Sunday, December 14th, 2008

Today I did the Freestyle Flyer race at Chugiak, which is part of the Anchorage Cup series.  

Recently I was struck by the realization that, while I get really excited for all sorts of local races (running, biking, orienteering, etc.) , I have come to dread the local ski races.  This is particularly odd considering that cross country skiing is, by far, my favorite sport.  

But it is also the sport in which I am most heavily invested.  For a good part of my adult life, my self-worth was directly tied to my ski race results.  And while I try to tell myself that is no longer the case, it is a hard habit to break.

When I do a cyclocross race, I can have fun no matter where I finish because I’m not trying to live up to some previous level of success.  Same thing with orienteering.  I know I’m not the best, but I do it because it is a challenge and it is fun.  Skiing is different because I do expect to be the best.  And I am not.  Not even close anymore.  So it becomes a recipe for frustration every time I put on a bib.

So recently I’ve been trying to reset my mindset.  Just like the old SNL skit: Low-ered Ex-pec-TA-tions.  I’ve been trying to tell myself that my results have slipped far enough that I no longer have anything to lose.  Instead of worrying about getting beaten by my buddies, I can be freed by the fact that they usually beat me. They should be worried that I might beat them!  I am no longer the professional ski racer.  I am a dad and a desk jockey who is just trying to stay in shape.

With that frame of mind, I had a great time today. I skied in the second pack, just out of sight of the leaders for most of the race.  The pace was a bit on the easy side, so I led the pack for a lot of the race.  I just didn’t have the speed to break away.  I finished 7th and managed to beat a few guys I haven’t beaten in years.  For the first time this century, I think my results might actually be on an upswing!  And most importantly, it gave me renewed confidence for my upcoming showdown with Rob.  He didn’t race, so we still have yet to go head-to-head.  But after my result today and a good interval session I had on Thursday, I feel pretty good about my chances.

Anchorage Cup Beach Lake Freestyle Flyer Results

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Eskimo Summer

Monday, November 3rd, 2008

The other day I was talking to a friend back East and he told me how they just had a beautiful Indian Summer.  Sunny October days, temperatures in the sixties.  I replied that we too were having beautiful sunny days, but our temperatures were in the twenties.  I guess we should call it Eskimo Summer.

I used to hate this time of year.  An Autumn of cool, rainy weather would always raise the hope of a early ski season.  But inevitably a high-pressure system would move in, the sky would clear, and the temperature would drop.  And it would stay like that.  Everything is cold and frozen, but no snow.  Very frustrating for someone who lives to ski.  

Recently, though, my interests have diversified, and I’m less of a ski-at-all-costs kind of guy.   I’ve embraced biking and running on the frozen trails.  I got studded tires for my mountain bike and it opened up a lot of new options.    I even found myself hoping that we wouldn’t get snow after the lakes began to freeze up, so that we could enjoy some ice skating.  I went skating at Potter Marsh both days last weekend and it was fantastic.  

I love the maze of ice created by the cattail vegetation.  You can skate for hours and never get bored.  And when the skiing jones kick in, I can always drive up to Hatcher Pass for beautiful skiing, which I did on Sunday morning.   (There is skiing nearby at Glen Alps, but it wasn’t very good the last time I went, and with all the other recreation options, I haven’t been back yet.)

As I was ice skating yesterday, I was thinking about all the ice skating trips I would like to do.  Nancy Lakes, Swan Lakes, Jim Creek.  Don’t get me wrong, as soon as it snows, I will be on my skis and loving it.  But yesterday, I was in no rush.  I could go for another week or two of snow-free lakes and trails.  

So, naturally, it snowed today.  Just enough to hamper the ice skating but not enough to ski.  Oh well, plenty of other options during our beautiful Eskimo Summer.

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Just another daily commute in Anchorage

Wednesday, October 29th, 2008

Today I was biking home from work on the bike path next to the Chuck Albrecht fields (near the police station).  I was surprised and disappointed to see another huge swath of trees chopped down in preparation for a new road.  All the trees on the north side of the bike path are gone.

Just as I was looking at the clear-cut and bemoaning the loss of more woodlands, out of the corner of my eye I saw a creature next to the ballfield fence on the south side of the path.   I only caught a glimpse of it before trees blocked my view.  At first I thought it was a dog.  But it was being very still, just sitting there watching me bike by.  And very quiet.  Very un-dog-like.  And there wasn’t any dog owner within sight.  I turned around and went back to get a better look.  Could it be…

Sure enough it was.  A wolf.  And there was another.  And another.   Three wolves sitting there watching my every move.  I suppose I should have been a bit nervous, like seeing a bear up close.  But I wasn’t.  I was thinking about how one second I had been lamenting the loss of more ‘wild lands’ in the city, and the next second I was looking at the animal that symbolizes wild Alaska.  All within several hundred yards of the Police Station, a hospital, and a Quiznos.  

In the time it took me to get out my cell phone camera, the closest wolf had ducked back into the woods.  So I didn’t get him in my picture.  But if you zoom in (click on it) you can see one blurry wolf next to the fence, and the rough outline of another halfway around the far side of the fence in the background.  Damn, I wish I’d had a real camera.

The encounter was a nice little reward for ridding my bike to work in dark 8 degree weather this morning.

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We’re Going To Party Like It’s 1999

Sunday, October 26th, 2008

Flash back ten years…

It’s January 1999. US Cross Country Ski Championships in Rumford, Maine. Tryout races for the World Championships, to be held a month later in Ramsau, Austria. I was an up-and-coming racer, 24 years old, and I finished 4th, 6th, 6th, and 10th in those tryout races. Four strong races that I thought might get me on the Worlds team. However…

There was a junior skier from Alaska who was storming up the ranks at that time. Rob Whitney was only nineteen years old, but he had been beating up on senior skiers for a couple of seasons already. In Rumford, he finished 5th, 6th, and 7th. That included a memorable pursuit race where I edged Rob in the classic race by 6 seconds, but he destroyed me in the pursuit. This earned the promising junior a ticket to Austria, alongside four established members of the US Ski Team. They only took five men on the team, and I was left at home.

Me, racing at Rumford in 1999

Back to the present…

I now spend my days working a desk job in Anchorage. I’m married and raising an 18 month old son, and juggling a few side projects. I exercise whenever I can, which in a good week is about 6 hours. My priorities have shifted, and I am happy with the changes, but I still long for the fitness I had when I could devote 20 hours a week to training.

Rob Whitney is now a firefighter here in Anchorage. He’s got a house, and is well on his way to being married. Like me, he still exercises sporadically and does adventures when he gets the chance, but he has also lost the exceptional fitness he once had. Rob’s put some extra pounds on his tall frame since his racing days ended.

Several weeks ago, Rob casually mentioned that he was thinking of getting serious about training for a few months. The idea was to see if he could lose some weight and jump into a race at the US Cross Country Ski Championships at Kincaid Park in January. I immediately told him I’d do it too. It would be good for both of us to have something to train for.

I always enjoy slightly hair-brained schemes. After all, I’m the same guy who tried out for the Olympic bobsled team simply because they had open trials. Rob and I have no business racing against the best skiers in the country these days. But that is exactly why it would be fun. Plus, I’m always looking for extra motivation to train. There is nothing like the fear of being totally embarrassed to get me out the door.

We tried to recruit others to join our quest, but for some reason there aren’t too many out-of-shape skiers who want to race against guys like Kris Freeman and Andy Newell. So it quickly became an internal competition. The trash-talking commenced almost immediately, and the “we’re both in this together” vibe disintigrated into a mano e mano vibe. Rob versus Cory. Cory versus Rob. The intensity went to new heights on Monday when I went to the APU weight room on my lunch hour, hoping to sneak in a little closet training. Imagine my surprise when I discovered Rob was already there, doing the same thing! Uh oh. He’s already shed some pounds. I quickly regretted my recent two week hiatus. Time to get to work.

So this thing is definitely ON. Here’s the tale of the tape:

2008 Tour of Anchorage 50K Results
(the only ski race we’ve done head-to-head recently):
Cory: 2:23:15.2
Rob: 2:30:31.7

Potential weekly training between now and January:
Cory: 8 hours a week, tops
Rob: potentially a lot more than 8 hours a week (key word: potentially)

Current weight vs Racing weight:
Cory: Racing: 173; Current: 174 (but much softer)
Rob: Racing: 180; Current: Umm, quite a bit more than 180. This could be his ace in the hole. Lots of potential.

On paper, this looks like a tremendous match-up. I’ve got the early advantage, but Rob has the potential to close the gap. Will Rob regain his 1999 form and utterly destroy me? Can I hold him off? Will either of us beat the J2 skiers? Will we both get laughed off the trail before we even finish the race? Stay tuned. This is going to be fun.

Programming Note:

We initially chose the 10K classic race at US Nationals on January 5 to be our showdown. However, we recently realized that we’d need join USSA and pay a high race entry fee, just for the privilege of embarrasing ourselves on the nation’s biggest nordic stage. I’m sure we can find a way to embarrass ourselves without paying over $200 to do it. The showdown date is currently pending.

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Posted in Anchorage, Ski | 1 Comment »

Last Tuesday Night Race

Friday, October 24th, 2008

Official Result: 30:17  (24th place)

Actual Elapsed Time: 27:55 

Since when do they start these races right at 6:30?

Race Results

Full Season Results

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How To Make Cyclocross Even Better

Sunday, October 5th, 2008

Our cyclocross series wrapped up on Saturday, Oct 4 with a great race at Goose Lake. This course was the best one of the season. It combined pavement, trail, and even sand to make what I considered a true cyclocross challenge. This race was worth double points, so everyone showed up. I finished 13th, and also finished 13th for the season, though I only did four of the six races.

Results | Photos | Photos below by Peter Lekisch

I really enjoyed the cyclocross races, but I can’t help but think that the current cyclocross format is handcuffing the sport. In an article earlier this year, I discussed the similarities between cyclocross and cross country ski racing. In my opinion, cyclocross also suffers from an unfortunate similarity: the over-use of multi-lap courses.

I absolutely hate this trend in skiing. It makes the races boring and repetitive for the racers. Its called cross-country skiing, not gerbil-loop skiing. Let’s cross some country. I long for the days when I could do a 15K or 30K race without having to count laps on my fingers and toes. And the tiny loops necessary for these courses degrade our trail systems. Instead of long, winding, scenic trails through the woods that everyone can use, ski racing now demands extremely short loops which are of little use to non-racers. Case in point: the “new and improved” Kincaid Park. Whoops, sorry for the rant, let me reel it back in here…

I understand that there are many good reasons for using short loops for cyclocross. Its a lot easier on the organizers, it impacts less land, and it is easier for the spectators to see the racers (though it can be impossible to figure out how they are doing - just ask my wife).

But why pigeon-hole cyclocross into this format?  In many ways, cyclocross is the purest form of cycling. The bikes are pared-down. No suspension, no disc brakes. The objective is to cover all kinds of terrain in order to get from point A to point B. So why add in all the contrived stuff like a one hour time limit, multiple loops and man-made barriers?

While skiing has moved to this rat-in-a-cage environment (I’m going to see how many rodent analogies I can squeeze in here), fortunately there are still some ski races that don’t conform to the new standards. Likewise, we need some cyclocross races that break the mold. Let’s have a good old-fashioned bike race from point A to point B over lots of different terrain.

Think about the races we could have near Anchorage:

1) Start at Hilltop, go down the Seward Highway to Indian, up and over Powerline Pass and back to Hillside. Or the same route in the other direction.

2) Start at Kincaid and make your way to Glen Alps or the Dome, using the Coastal Trail, Chester Creek trail, and various dirt trails in between.

3) Start at Moose Run golf course, go up Arctic Valley road, and up the ski area to the ridge, along the ridge and drop down to the South Fork of Eagle River trailhead and back to Moose Run on the road.

4) Start at the Hatcher Pass Lodge, go up and over Hatcher Pass, then climb up Craigie Creek Rd. Then drag your bike up and over a couple of passes to get to the Fern Mine area off Archangel Rd. Ouch. Then back to the Lodge on the road. Is it even reasonable to hoof it up and over while carrying a bike? Probably not, but it would definitely be interesting to try.

Each of these routes offers plenty of the elements that define cyclocross (pavement, trail, bike carrying) and it would be a hell of a lot more interesting that going in circles. I know all of these examples would have issues that could prevent a race from happening, but the point is that there are other options out there.

In no way do I mean to criticize the organizers of our great Arctic Cross series. They do an outstanding job, and it is important to have a series that conforms with international standards. But this is Alaska, where we have the potential to do things bigger and better. Maybe we need to branch out and make this its own sport with a catchy name (Cyclocross Extreme!!) and sign Red Bull up as a sponsor. So who’s in? And more importantly, who wants to organize it? After all, I want to DO these races, not organize them. ;-)

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Posted in Anchorage, Bike | 1 Comment »

Confirmation Dust

Tuesday, September 30th, 2008

Its funny that just last week I made this statement about my results in local fun races:

I could have a great race and finish 15th, and I could just as easily have a bad race and finish 4th, if no one shows up.

Well, in this week’s Tuesday Night Race, none of the fast guys showed up.  And I finished 4th.  It wasn’t a bad race by any means, but maybe it was a self-fulfilling prophesy.  For most of the race, I was in the top three, but faded to fourth with a half-mile to go.  I guess I should have written that I could win if no one showed up!  Nonetheless, it was fun to run with the leaders and entertain thoughts of victory.  Even if those dreams were shattered when the top two guys picked up the pace with two miles to go.  TNR Results

After two weeks of finishing the same place in both TNR and cyclocross, I knew I had my work cut out for me going into Saturday’s cyclocross race.  If I was going to keep the streak alive, I had a long way to go to reach fourth place.  The course was rooty, muddy and very challenging on skinny tires.  The course had very little running, so it felt like an ordinary mountain bike race, exept I was on the wrong bike.  So I was not surprised when the eventual winner blew past me on a hardtail mountain bike.  But it was still fun.  I managed to get a good workout and finish 10th.  ArcticCross results

And finally the highlight of the week was a spectacular weekend.  The kind of crystal clear weekend we’ve been waiting for all summer.   I didn’t get away for any adventures, but I did manage to kick-off the weekend with a spectacular run around the Williwaw Lakes - Ballfield loop from Glen Alps with Rob and Chrissy.  The evening light lit up the fall colors and contrasted well with the confirmation dust on the peaks. 

Normally, the first snow on the mountains is called termination dust because it signals the termination of summer.  But this year I’ve dubbed it “confirmation dust,” because it confirmed that the summer of ‘08 is never going to happen.

Anyway, a few photos from our run, courtesy of Chrissy…

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