Located at an elevation of 4500 ft (1500 meters) Dalat, Vietnam, provides a much needed respite from the searing heat seen elsewhere in the country. It’s a land of rolling hills covered in towering pines, while hidden valleys reveal fields of artichokes and small rice-growing operations. It’s also one of the few spots in Vietnam (that we knew of) that offered the mountain bike geek an opportunity to enjoy some aerobic exercise, fresh air and a unique, locals perspective of the “vegetable capitol” of Vietnam.

Below are a couple mountain bike photos from our 3-hr tour with Phat Tire Ventures. We had two very friendly English-speaking guides accompany us, both of whom were quite impressed with our (or should I say Jeannine’s) ability to ride all the terrain.

Our guide, with water and food (lots of bananas) mountain Biking in Dalat, Vietnam

Phat Tire Ventures offers other mountain bike rides in and around Dalat, as well as in Hoi An, a town we visited later (photos coming soon) on the central coast of Vietnam.

Pine-covered hills felt almost like eastern Washington, not Vietnam

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I’m not sure I could survive without my bike. From short rides along the shore of West Seattle, to epic month-long bike tours in Chile, I love to ride. Here are some photos I took along the way.

Fine Art Photography Prints are available, as are digital downloads. Contact me for further details. Click HERE for print pricing

View photos at SmugMug

Watch a slideshow of these and additional mountain bike & cycling tours photos HERE

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I live for being outdoors. Whether it be riding to downtown Seattle or cycling over the North Cascades Highway, paddling in Puget Sound or sea kayaking alongside orca whales in Johnstone Strait, BC, I long for that next adventure. The reality is though, many of these trips would be far less enjoyable without the outdoor gear we have available; and I love gear, really I do. I wouldn’t consider myself a gear-head per se, nor do I rush out to buy the latest and greatest stuff. But I do flip through magazines with a keen interest on advancements in backcountry skiing gear and super light mountain bike wheels (neither of which I can really afford but that’s besides the point.)

As someone who works for a SEO Seattle Internet marketing company it’s not only the gear itself that’s cool, but how companies go about marketing their products that intrigues me as well. Take for instance Crank Brothers, a bike company that started out developing the now very popular Egg Beater clipless pedals but has since moved into wheels, cranks and other bike components. I’ve owned many pairs of the Egg Beater pedals due to their relatively low cost and low weight. Unfortunately I’ve had more and more problems with them recently as the spindles fall apart. Matter of fact I recently sent back three pairs, all of which broke while riding. Thankfully Crank Brothers is really good about warrantying their stuff, so I anticipated receiving at most some new pedals. Instead I received this in the mail -

So no, Crank Brothers didn’t replace my pedals. Instead they received a bit of a spa treatment. So although I wouldn’t necessarily recommend these pedals anymore, I find this piece of advertising quite effective, and entertaining. Kudos to the Crank Bros (who basically rebuilt my pedals, which are now working perfectly again.)

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I love fall. It’s my favorite time of the year. Cool mornings followed by warm days. Shades of yellow and red, earthy tones permeate the landscape as leaves foretell a brisk season ahead. If I can’t have fall though, let it be spring.

It felt like just yesterday that a friend and I were stuffing the car full of unused bike gear, tired of the ice-encrusted roads and unpredictable weather patterns in Whitefish, Montana. We had some spare time, a couple days at least, and it made complete sense to spend this time driving the 14 hours south for some Moab mountain biking. Why you ask?  Although it has lost some of its original allure, mountain biking in Moab still rocks (no pun intended), especially in the early spring when the crowds have yet to swarm the area. It was a bit of a risk to be sure. April is still early, even in Utah, where snow can fall and morning temps easily hover in the 30s – 40s. But who cares. The sun shines in Utah more than in Montana; plus I had a new Giant Anthem mountain bike to play with.

So we rode for four days. It was spectacular. We encountered small patches of snow on north-facing aspects of the Porcupine Trail but otherwise the Moab trails were in perfect shape. Below are some mountain bike photos from the trip.

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Nothing beats spring training in Utah.

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…a ‘good’ ride has to be at least 5 hours in length!

So yes, I’m pretty much recovered from the BC Bike Race. Matter of fact, I’m beginning to get a bit antsy and looking forward to hopping back on my mountain bike. Having to use my time wisely though, I’ve decided to embark on a little cycling adventure rather than hitting up the trails.

Tomorrow I’ll leave a friend’s cabin on Cle Elum Lake for the John Wayne Trail (known also as Iron Horse State Park) which I’ll follow for 80+ miles over Snoqualmie Pass back to Seattle (total trip distance probably a hair under 100 miles to West Seattle). The rail trail, part of the old Chicago, Milwaukee, St. Paul and Pacific Railroads, was known as Milwaukee Road. John Wayne proclaimed that it “symbolizes for many the positive spirit of the West.” I like that. The rail was active as early as 1908 and was the last built of the transcontinental railroads.

Stay tuned for a detailed report and photographs from the trail.

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I don’t know what the total mileage was nor how many vertical feet we managed to pedal, but I do know that over 29 hours of riding in a single week is a lot. My legs are exhausted and I really don’t miss my mountain bike at this very moment. But I know that in a couple days I’ll be aching not for the beginning of yet another stage, but instead the anticipation of 4+ hours of epic mountain biking with hundreds of passionate riders.

BC Bike Race was my first mountain bike stage race. Although I’ve done numerous multi-day bike tours I really didn’t know what to expect, especially given the number of world-class endurance and cross country racers who had signed up (and who of course we would try and stay up with). Due to an ongoing illness for the two months leading up to the race though, my expectations for doing really well in this group had fallen rather substantially from back in February, when a bunch of us on Benaroya thought this would be a lot of fun (and most of it was!). In the weeks leading up to the race I would email my partner, Logan, (who at this point in the season was just flying on his mountain bike), warning him that he was going to have to be really patient with me, especially during those first few days until I hoped to “just” race into shape (um…yeah).

Logan was indeed patient, very patient, as day after day I would claw my way through the first hour or so of racing until my legs recovered and we battled our way through packs of riders from as far away as Australia, Costa Rica (the winners of La Ruta finished 5th), Austria, Switzerland, Brazil…(over 27 countries represented) . Day 1 was hard. Day 2 was simply brutal – 125 km of dusty logging road in 90+ temps. I cracked hard at about 80 km when I flatted, afterward finding just enough energy to ride through the finish. All the while Logan would encourage me to just keep pedaling, hang in there, we’re almost done. I would hear that a lot over the next week…

Lesson one in mountain bike stage racing: a good partner is a must. You don’t necessarily have to be on the same level but you should have the same expectations. Encourage each other. Everyone is going to have a bad day.

After the first couple stages things began to work themselves out. We would pass (or be passed) by the same group of riders over and over. Although the starts were just a notch or two below any pro Norba race, being able to ride at a (hard) steady pace and not worry about the team sprinting pass you at hour three was crucial to finishing well. We were fortunate to find ourselves riding alongside Wendy Simms and her husband Norm during stage 3. While teams would muscle by only to crack minutes later, these two would just pedal along, picking off teams one by one. Logan and I would see a lot of Wendy and Norm for the remainder of the race and I was honored to be able to ride with someone with as much talent as Wendy. She simply rocked.

Lesson two: although these are endurance events, if you want to “race”, practice your starts, or at least get a handful of races in prior to the big one. I know it sounds silly, but it’s very easy to go hard from the gun and crack. With 4+ hours of racing, that’s a long way to go when you’re toast.

Lesson three: eat, drink and be merry. I didn’t have a single Cliff bar during the entire race, nor any solid food except part of a Balance Bar when I was lagging in stage 1. Otherwise it was all about Cliff shots (every 20-30 minutes), Sharkies (basically gummy bears) and liquids, starting with some concoction of HEED and Perpetuem, followed by untold bottles of Ultima (which was provided at the feed stations.) The key here being easily digestible foods that provided enough energy (read sugar) to get you to the buffet line later that evening. Overall this worked great, until the 5th day when my stomach began to throw fits (too much sugar?) By the time our last dinner rolled around after stage 6, I found it hard to eat…despite the obvious need (and desire) for copious amounts of food.

In only two years time, BC Bike Race already has the reputation as THE mountain bike stage race with the best (and most) singletrack. Although the first couple of stages (minus day 2) tease you with some great riding, it wasn’t until Day 5, leaving the coastal town of Sechelt, that riders were rewarded with some epic riding. Chris Beck from Subaru/Gary Fischer and Nat Ross’s teammate, summed up the day well. “It¢s tough trying to describe today¢s stage. Imagine your favorite downhill, now do it for 45 minutes straight. Almost no pedaling, a sporadic touch of the brakes here and there. It was pure bliss. Mountain bike heaven.”

Day 6 was a variation of the Test of Metal course, day 7 a web of Whistler singletrack. Those last three days made up for that horrendous day 2, hands down.

Overall the race organizers did a pretty amazing job of making sure everything went smoothly. Between keeping 400+ ravenous riders fed, managing untold numbers of volunteers, transportation & ferries, setting up and breaking down tent city…all in all a very professional job.

Logan and I finished 9th overall (other BRI teammates Russ and Toby 6th), a position we surely could have improved on had I not been such a slacker. Would I do it again? I have not a single regret, although if someone approached me about a week-long bike tour in Patagonia at the same time, I’d have to think about it

Hope to have some mountain bike photographs from the race up soon, but if you need visual pleasure now, visit www.mackieimages.com

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I don’t know what the total mileage was nor how many vertical feet we managed to
pedal, but I do know that over 29 hours of riding in a single week is a lot. My
legs are exhausted and I really don’t miss my mountain bike at this very moment.
But I know that in a couple days I’ll be aching not for the beginning of yet
another stage, but instead the anticipation of 4+ hours of epic mountain biking
with hundreds of passionate riders.

BC Bike Race was my first mountain
bike stage race. Although I’ve done numerous multi-day bike tours I really
didn’t know what to expect, especially given the number of world-class endurance
and cross country racers who had signed up (and who of course we would try and
stay up with). Due to an ongoing illness for the two months leading up to the
race though, my expectations for doing really well in this group had fallen
rather substantially from back in February, when a bunch of us on Benaroya
thought this would be a lot of fun (and most of it was!). In the weeks leading up to
the race I would email my partner, Logan, (who at this point in the season was
just flying on his mountain bike), warning him that he was going to have to be
really patient with me, especially during those first few days until I hoped to “just” race into shape (um…yeah).

Logan was indeed patient, very patient, as day after day I would claw my
way through the first hour or so of racing until my legs recovered and we
battled our way through packs of riders from as far away as Australia, Costa
Rica (the winners of La Ruta finished 5th), Austria, Switzerland, Brazil…(over
27 countries represented). Day 1 was hard. Day 2 was simply brutal – 125 km of
dusty logging road in 90+ temps. I cracked hard at about 80 km when I flatted,
afterward finding just enough energy to ride through the finish. All the while
Logan would encourage me to just keep pedaling, hang in there, we’re almost
done. I would hear that a lot over the next week…

Lesson one in
mountain bike stage racing: a good partner is a must. You don’t necessarily have
to be on the same level but you should have the same expectations. Encourage
each other. Everyone is going to have a bad day.

After the first couple
stages things began to work themselves out. We would pass (or be passed) by the
same group of riders over and over. Although the starts were just a notch or two
below any pro Norba race, being able to ride at a (hard) steady pace and not
worry about the team sprinting pass you at hour three was crucial to finishing
well. We were fortunate to find ourselves riding alongside Wendy Simms and her
husband Norm during stage 3. While teams would muscle by only to crack minutes
later, these two would just pedal along, picking off teams one by one. Logan and
I would see a lot of Wendy and Norm for the remainder of the race and I was
honored to be able to ride with someone with as much talent as Wendy. She simply
rocked.

Lesson two: although these are endurance events, if you want to
“race”, practice your starts, or at least get a handful of races in prior to the
big one. I know it sounds silly, but it’s very easy to go hard from the gun and
crack. With 4+ hours of racing, that’s a long way to go when you’re toast.

Lesson three: eat, drink and be merry. I didn’t have a single Cliff bar
during the entire race, nor any solid food except part of a Balance Bar when I
was lagging in stage 1. Otherwise it was all about Cliff shots (every 20-30
minutes), Sharkies (basically gummy bears) and liquids, starting with some
concoction of HEED and Perpetuem, followed by untold bottles of Ultima (which
was provided at the feed stations.) The key here being easily digestible foods
that provided enough energy (read sugar) to get you to the buffet line later
that evening. Overall this worked great, until the 5th day when my stomach began
to throw fits (too much sugar?) By the time our last dinner rolled around after
stage 6, I found it hard  to
eat…despite the obvious need (and desire) for copious amounts of food.

In only two years time, BC Bike Race already has the reputation as THE
mountain bike stage race with the best (and most) singletrack. Although the
first couple of stages (minus day 2) tease you with some great riding, it wasn’t
until Day 5, leaving the coastal town of Sechelt, that riders were rewarded with
some epic riding. Chris Beck from Subaru/Gary Fischer and Nat Ross’s teammate,
summed up the day well. “It?s tough trying to describe today?s stage. Imagine
your favorite downhill, now do it for 45 minutes straight. Almost no pedaling, a
sporadic touch of the brakes here and there. It was pure bliss. Mountain bike
heaven.”

Day 6 was a variation of the Test of Metal course, day 7 a web
of Whistler singletrack. Those last three days made up for that horrendous day
2, hands down.

Overall the race organizers did a pretty amazing job of
making sure everything went smoothly. Between keeping 400+ ravenous riders fed,
managing untold numbers of volunteers, transportation & ferries, setting up
and breaking down tent city…all in all a very professional job. 

Logan
and I finished 9th overall (other BRI teammates Russ and Toby 6th), a position
we surely could have improved on had I not been such a slacker. Would I do it
again? I have not a single regret, although if someone approached me about a
week-long bike tour in Patagonia at the same time, I’d have to think about it

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29 hours over 7 days. Thousands of vertical feet climbed, one flat tire, one broken chain. Oh, and one bruised ego. And so it ends, after months of training and anticipation my first 7-day mountain bike stage race, the BC Bike Race, is officially over.

More details coming soon…but basically Logan and I finished 9th out of 200 teams (100 in our category) and the truth of the matter is we (or I) could have done better had I had better training prior to the race. Regardless, I’m pretty content to have finish not too far behind some of the best endurance mountain bikers in the world.

Next I hope to attached a camera to my helmet and capture some photographs and video of this, an other, races.

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BC Bike Race begins this Saturday. Stage 1 kicks off from north of Victoria. I rode for about 5 hours down near Mt Rainier on Saturday just to make sure the body isn't shocked by this much time in the saddle. The trails were in beautiful shape, with snow up around 5,000 ft. In all, I clawed my way up about 6400 ft of vertical.

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