There are some days, especially those in the winter, that when I sit down at my desk and my mind doesn't go straight to the work to be done for the day. I walk into the kitchenette to get some coffee and I look outside, out into the cold damp dark morning. I watch as the working people rush into the coffee shop across the street and the computer monitors light-up in the office windows across the way. It is in these moments that my mind drifts far away from the hustle and the bustle of the city, my mind drifts off towards a snowy mountain pass somewhere. A road with tall, majestic fir trees lining the way; branches laden with snow and slumping towards the ground. Past the road, there is a deep dark snowy woods. A woods that is slowly filling with a soft morning light; going from a muddled navy to a light hazy lavender. There in the woods is untouched powder. It softy blankets the base of the trees, just waiting... waiting for someone to track through it. White, perfect, crisp, silent, still...
These are my day dreams in the winter.
I am not one to dream for Caribbean Cruise vacations filled with snorkeling and sandy beaches. My drinks do not come in coconuts with little umbrellas. My screen saver is not palm trees and crystal blue water. It is the snow, it is the trees, it is the mountains, and it is the cold. And these things I would gladly pass up any tropical vacation for. These are my day dreams, not only in the winter... but in the summer too.
Over the past few weeks a few storms have rolled into the mountains and dumped a fair amount of snow on the slopes of Mt. Hood. This has provided an ample base to begin the snowboarding/ski season and so this past weekend, I partook for the first time this winter. I've been keeping myself busy racing bikes all spring, summer, and fall long... but each time I put on my racing spandex and pull out my bike, I am secretly wishing for the time when I can put it away for a while. I am waiting till it gets cold, till it gets wet, and the seasons change. I've had my snowboarding bag, filled with my base layers, my wool socks, my snowboarding pants and my red parka, packed for the past three months, just waiting. I got my board waxed and edged last month.... just waiting.
I love pretty much everything about a trip to the mountain.
I love meeting my friends in the morning; coffee, breakfast burrito, and snowboard in hand... just waiting for the adventure that the day will bestow upon us. I love the approach, the drive up to the mountain. I love seeing how far away the snow starts. I love passing the Mt. Hood Wilderness sign and seeing cars pull over on the side of the road to put their chains on. I love the trees that line the way, branches heavy with snow. Little cabins nestled in the woods, warm glows coming from inside. I love telling my friends to be quiet for Silent Rock (respect it ya'll). I love the view that comes right after we pass it. I love seeing that first glimpse of the mountain. I love getting our parking spot and then getting out into the cold air in an eager attempt to layer up as quick as you can before the chill from the air gets to you. I love that first chair ride up, hearing the snow... listening for what it sounds like under the skis and boards of those below. I love trying to spot the powder stashes off to the side. And I love love love if it's a powdery day. If the snow is soft and light. I love if I can make it to my favorite little tree sections before they get all run through.
(I heart Jack's Woods)
I love the trees. I am sure that one day they will be the end of me, but I love nothing more on the mountain than a deep steep section of trees. I love plotting my way through them. Connecting the dots, using the trees as markers, swishing left, swooping right, narrowly making it through some trees that are only wide enough for a board, ducking under a fallen tree or a low branch. I love seeing a waterfall of powder under me... the snow becomes fluid, just like me, it cascades below till I catch up with it. More than doing tree runs themselves though, I love the trees because it is here that the mountain seems the quietest. Away from the lift lines, away from the park punks, away from the hill bombing toddlers, here in the woods it is still. Here in the woods I have the greatest connection to nature. I feel a part of the world around me. I honestly wish I could have a tree-run that would last for hours, endlessly boarding down without ever having to stand in a lift line to do it all over again.
But alas... at some point an end of the day has to come and with it, a sobering ride home from the mountain. That's the part I hate the most; leaving, driving, being tired from the exposure and the exhilaration. I wish at the end of each snowboarding day there was a few pints of a nice stout or porter, some pizza, cajun tots and then I'd magically be whisked away to a hot tub, a fireplace and a warm bed... wanting nothing but waiting for the alarm to go off and then do it all over again the next day.
Unlike many, I never listen to music while riding on the mountain - but if I did... it would be this song on repeat. There is just something about it that takes me to a snowy woods... enjoy and happy daydreams yourself.
"SSara Tingey and Jenn Velolevo both got a podium spot in the womens SS cross race yesterday. I saw them both on the course and they were rockin' it! Congrats to both of you and nice work in some tough conditions. Levo did a cool slide out on the tough off-camber section at the top of the course. I didn't see a single person ride that section, although it didn't keep me from trying all day (stoopid!)"
-Joe Santos
Sometimes, it's best to leave the detailed race reports to more simpler formats. If that was the case here, I think Joe summed up Saturday's State Championship races pretty well. But, me being me and this being my blog, I'm going to elaborate just a little bit more.
Going into Saturday's race, I was mainly just stoked that there WAS a Women's SS Category, for the first time ever. Granted, I thought that we'd probably just have at least five women show up on the start line but to my surprise we had one of the largest women's fields of the day! (SS: 15, Beginner: 15, Cat B: 10, Cat A: 12, Master A: 19, Master B:5, 45+:10). And, it was a pretty strong group of women who showed up. Everyone from folks like Sarah T and Anna Christiansen (who race A's), a lot of the B's (who I normally place behind), and some fasters masters ladies. Prior to the race, it was fun standing on the line with everyone who is basically, your cross bike racing peer, meaning, we are all riding the same basic bike. It's a great equalizer, you know that when you're not looking forward to that big hill... that no one else is either. It's gonna be tough for you, it's gonna be tough for everyone. Speaking of hills by the way, this subject got everyone talking about what gearing they were running. While we all had single speeds, we were not all running the same single speed. Looking around and chit-chatting, I realized that I was running way too big of a gear for the "dreaded hill" at Salem HS. Whereas most of my competitors were gearing the mid-to-late 30's, my gearing was up in the 40's. This, I realized, was most likely not going to be too favorable for the race. But, instead of worrying about the fact that I'm going to have to run my bike up the hill, I just accepted it was not my ideal course and that i'd be running with the bike any time the elevation started gaining and my legs started pushing. In that case, I'd just have to make up for it by kicking the shit out of any flat spots where I could sprint and gain ground. I mean, I might as well make my big gear work for me while everyone else is spinning eh? So, that's what I did.
Once the race was underway, everyone shot straight out of the gates and in no time flat, a few people went down and got stuck in the mud. Anna C. seemed to have hit turbo and was out of sight in no time, a bit ahead of me was Sarah T but I still had about three other racers in between us that I figured were going to give me a run for my money. Bit by bit, someone would wipe out on the slippery off-camber. Being an opportunist, I made it past some folks by mostly riding this section with one foot clipped out - that way I could brace myself intentionally and just kick it through most of the time, catching myself when I needed to all the while keeping momentum up. Every time there was a little bit (or a big bit) of a hill, I just did what I said I would do and got off and ran it, conserving energy rather than expending it trying to ride. Luckily the hill wasn't that steep, it was just long and littered with momentum draining bark dust wood chips. As long as you could keep a good pace and stay moving at a quick rate, I figured you could do pretty well.
By the end of the first lap, I was only going back and forth with two other riders, MK from Ironclad and Angela from Hammer. A few times I passed Angela on the flats, but then she'd catch back up to me on the hill. By the mid part of lap two though, I caught back up to her after she passed me on a hill and she was just spinning and spinning and spinning on the flats and gaining no ground. This is where I was glad to be running a big gear as I just flew past. MK at this point was the only rider ahead of me. She was going strong but got caught up a few times in the mucky off-camber where I was able to pass her. For the rest of the race my main motivation was not to catch up with Sarah, who I'd occasionally catch a glimpse of ahead of me, but it was to keep those two other girls off my back. (I've found that not only beer, but paranoia as well is a great motivator). The rest of the race was spent hammering it in sections that I could, looking behind me, bombing down sections where I could, looking behind me, running into tree branches that covered the best lines, (looking behind me) and running up hills. It wasn't till about the third lap when I realized that I was in a medal spot and that there was only one other person ahead of Sarah, which was Anna. Cool I thought, I just have to not freak the frick out and finish strong. I managed to ride the rest of the course pretty clean aside from a big wipe out in the mud section right before the finish. It was one of those where you fall down and you fall through your bike... meaning, you and your bike have to be untangled in order to keep going. It was at this point that I had visions of having to run the bike to the finish and having one of the other girls creeping up behind me turning into a neck and neck bike vs foot race... but no, the bike kept moving and so did I.
At the finish line I happily saw Sarah and Anna there waiting. I got a little confused at first since there were some other racers standing there too, people that normally place ahead of me or at least near to, so I wasn't to sure how I placed at first, but I soon learned that they had been cut from the race a lap before me, so no... I did indeed come in third. Woop woop! As well, there was a nice chunk of time between me and 4th so even if I had had to run it in the end, I still probably would have placed third. Overall, I was stoked to medal in the first ever wmns ss category and happy to do it with my BTV teammate Sarah (who she being a superior mountain biker, I never thought I'd see the day where I was standing on the same podium.) Hopefully, with our strong field and good showing on Saturday, OBRA can make Women's SS a legitimate open wmns category at more cross races next year. Sadly though, I hope it wouldn't take away from the competitive nature of the other women's categories; for example I was a little disappointed in turnout in the Women's B field with only 10 racers. Hopefully, everyone can have their cake and eat it too.
PS: special thanks to Margi who can either predict the future or at least fill my head with self-full filling prophecies. Thanks for helping me believe in myself. :)
(photo by Sara F)
As well, on this note... it's with bittersweet satisfaction that I hang up my BTV kit for the 2010 bike racing season. It's been a good season for me and I've had many enjoyable races and fun times and beers with my Bridgetown teammates. However, when I return to the road in 2011 I've decided to switch teams and race with Ironclad instead. It's nothing personal as I love Bridgetown and it's been a great two years riding with and getting to know them. Most of all, I thank Bridgetown for taking a chance on a kid who came to team rides wearing tennis shoes and had cage pedals. :)
Overall, it's been a great season and a great year. In 2010, I entered in 40 races including road races, time trials, crits, track races and a cross. Which in aside from cross races (where there are 60 some plus riders), I placed in the top ten in all events with a few top five finishes (and a lot of 4th places) as well as one or two podiums. The highlights of the season were probably:
3rd place - Cherry Blossom Cycling Class Stage Race Criterium, Cat 4
1st place - OBRA State Championships, Match Sprints, Cat 4
2nd place - OBRA State Championships, 500mm TT, Cat 4
3rd place - OBRA State Championships, Wmns SS XC
Looking back on that, I am a very very very happy camper and I am really really looking forward to racing with the Ironclad crew net year. However, at the same time I am also really really happy for bike racing to be over for a bit. I am ready for the snow to start falling. I am ready to say good bye to dirt and asphalt for a while and hello to powder and pine trees. Everyone needs some time to refresh and rejuvenate and for that, I go to the mountains. See ya on the road come spring time!
(Speaking of snow, here's a photo of the podium for the Wmns SS on Saturday... who here looks like they just came out of the half-pipe?)
Howdy everyone, I just wanted to take a break from the lack of blogging (i've been busy at work!) to show everyone some photos from my trip up to Mt. Baker, Washington a few weekends ago for a few days of boarding, beer, boots, buddies, baked goods and cabins. (ps... through the formatting of my blog, it cuts off 1/3 of any of my horizontal pics, so click on them for the full view)
On our way there, we took a slight detour through downtown Seattle where sure enough, we got stuck in traffic right next to the Oscar Meyer Wienermobile!!!
(art outside of the Evo Store. Fittingly made with snowboards, skis, and crutches)
While in Seattle, we drove to Fremont to pay our friends at EVO a visit. For those of you not in the know, Evo is a fun little company out of Seattle that offers amazing deals on snowboarding, ski, wakeboarding, and skateboarding equipment. Their main presence is on the web, but they do have a brick and mortar location. Sam has spent some quality time with Evo recently as she has ordered at least five various pairs of snowboard boots, each failing to fit. So... we thought instead of paying for S&H over and over and over again, it'd make so much more sense to just try the boots on in the store. Needless to say, that's exactly what we did. Needless to say, it took about three hours. So, while Sam fiddled with boots, Julie, Amy and I aimlessly fingered through merch, sat in big comfy chairs, read snowboarding magazines (ie: looked at photos), and talked boarding with some highly energetic and informative sales staff. Waiting for Sam to find the perfect pair of boots could have been a very painful process... but thankfully it was pretty enjoyable. And to make it better, the Evo folks sent us on our way through Seattle rush hour with a goodie bag full of Red Bull, Clif Bars and stickers.
The cool thing about driving up north of Seattle towards the Canadian boarder is that the surrounding mountains are so much more dramatic. We have mountains down in Oregon, but they are older and smaller, more worn down over time. Up here though, each peak is snowcapped and rugged... it lends itself to the imagination and day dreams of climbing each one of them.
Our lodging for the weekend was in this cute little cabin in Glacier, WA. Roughly a thirty minute drive from Mt. Baker and about 45 minutes from Bellingham. The cabin was perfect. Not too cutesy, but yet not to rustic that we had to go pee in an outhouse either. It had a full sized tiny kitchen, a wood burning stove which heated the whole place, hot shower, and was really built with huge logs that formed all the main load bearing walls. There was no paneling, no ceiling, no art, minimal light sources, and no TV. We made some tasty meals in here and some of Julie's infamous cookies. As well, the people who run the cabins are really nice and they even lent us some missing ingredients we needed for our baked goods. If one were to take a walk down the unnamed road nearby, they'd be privy to a beautiful sweeping vista of Mt. Baker in the distance with a gurgling river running nearby. It was a great place to watch the sunset on the mountain. I think that I'll defiantly be stopping by this place again.
When passing through Glacier on your way to Baker, you can stop and get a coffee and scone at the Wake N' Bakery. Not only is their name amusing, but their pastries looked delicious and they had a pretty wicked cool back fence made from old ski's.
Saturday morning we all woke early and got the the mountain, primed for a good parking spot and an excellent day on the mountain. The conditions were perfect for springtime, high at about 50 degrees, beautiful blue skies and soft snow. Sadly, some patches were icy due to half of the runs being in shade, but really... providing it was early March... we really couldn't have asked for anything more (though fresh dumps of powder would have been nice).
The coolest thing about Mt. Baker has got to be their backcountry terrain. In order to access backcountry from the ski resort, you have to pass a dude at ski patrol who's job it is to stop you and make sure you have all the necessary backcountry gear (shovel, probe, beacon, friends, etc). Seeing how none of us have invested in backcountry beacons... we could not gain access, but a girl can dream and also plan her next trip to Baker.
(I want to play here....)
I love Sam's reflective goggles...
Sam of the Mountains....
Sadly, the only disappointing thing about our trip to Mt. Baker was the ass-hole quotient of the people on the slopes. I don't like making broad sweeping generalizations about a certain age-group or demographic, but there were a fair amount of male snowboarders between the ages of 16-25 that did not do wonders for representation the male species. I could go into a massive diatribe about that, but.... this post is about pretty pictures, not ass-holes.
The Olympics are such a spectacular, lights action drama, crying, more crying, and fashion.... that much like the Oscars or the Grammy's, I wish I could give away awards. So, having said that now that the Olympic flame has moved on to other venues and other dreams... these are the rewards I would dish out:
BEST DRAMA THAT NEVER HAPPENED:
Oh... for it to be 1994 again!
We as American's love action and we also love drama. That's generally what makes the Olympics so compelling for us to watch night after night for two weeks every two years. And, nothing drives those TV ratings better than real life inter-team drama, much like the Days of Our Lives or an episode of the Real World, we foam at the mouth for rivalry. In 1994 we were treated to perhaps not only some of the best figure skating, but also the best drama as Nancy Kerrigan and Tonya Harding took to the ice with tire irons and menacing glares. In 06, we were treated to the rivalry of speed skaters Chad Hendrick and Shani Davis. While both of them continued to compete in this years' Olympics... their feud seemed rather lukewarm. America, sensing that that wasn't the drama they were looking for really tried to play out some inter team drama between women's skier's Lindsay Vonn and Julia Mancuso, but.... happily, both women didn't really play into it. When interviewed, they always spoke well of each other and admitted they had different tactics and training programs, but the same goal, winning gold and wished the best for their teammate. When Lindsay Vonn crashed in the giant slalom, sadly, it effected Julia's run which was started before Lindsay's was over and both women failed to be effective in that race. However, they were both able to go home with gold medals and records in their events.
BEST DRAMA THAT DID ACTUALLY, SADLY HAPPEN:
The Canadian figure skater Joannie Rochette, who's mother passed away from a massive heart attack, days prior to her skate in the short program. Rochette then went on to win a silver medal. There has been tons written about this already, so if you want a more mushy and heartfelt poignant post about it... I'll direct you to here.
BEST OUTFITS:
Sorry, gonna have to go with the US Snowboarding team on this one. I loved this outfit for the simple fact that it made the snowboarders kinda look like the cool slackers that everyone projects them to be. It makes them look like they just rolled out of bed and put on a fleece and ripped up pair of jeans and took to the pipe (albeit kinda preppy slackers from the late nineties who shopped at Abercrombie). However, the cool thing about the kit is that much how some snowboarders are misunderstood... many misunderstood the simplicity of this kit. Dude, those aren't jeans... that's gore-tex made to look like jeans.... totally gnar! So, kudos to Burton to making the snowboarders look like the rock stars they are.
RUNNERS-UP:
US bobsled. I love the classic Under Armor navy blue uni-suits with the Captain America arms.
I also love the Arial skier from Belarus and his simple, almost Johnny Cash inspired, black outfit.
Sorry Canada, I love my neighbors up north... but really, what was up with the short track uniforms? It pretty much looked like an umpa-lumpa who was riding a bike over a dirty road. I mean, there aren't too many photos of athletes from the rear for me to post, but if you saw them - you know what i'm talking about.
RUNNERS UP:
And, while many teams used the Adidas designed uniform, I'm going to say once again that the Canadians did it worse than everyone else. What's funny is that the uniform looks great from the front and even has a nice tribal sublimation on the sleeves, but from the rear? Dear god... why? I'm guessing that the spiderman stripes used on the bobsled uniforms make you go faster or some other type of newfound technology, but... with the contrasting color it just didn't look good. I like what Germany did with their version of this uniform, but Canada gets an epic fail. Once again, I could really find photos of athlete's backsides to post... but if you saw them you know what i'm talking about.
And, sorry Canada once again.... but is that saran-wrap on your legs?
WORST OUTFITS FROM A TEAM THAT'S NOT CANADIAN:
These outfits from the Russian Ice Dancers. It's not like they're offensiveor anything.
Actually, if you look at any best and worst dressed list from the Olympics, most of the train wrecks go on during figure skating. Which... brings up the question of they don't they just wear color unisuits and a number like everyone else? It's an interesting debate.
RUNNER UPS:
Romania
Mexico
And whatever country claims this:
ATHLETE WHO DOES THE MOST GOOD AND PROBABLY EATS THE MOST PANCAKES:
On a night when everyone else seemed to be playing it safe, US Snowboarder Gretchen Bleiler put the most out their on the line in the half pipe. Being one of the only women to "flip" as opposed to just "twist" on the pipe... she pretty much landed the hard stuff but couldn't cleanly finish the run. As a result, she didn't go home with a medal, but I think she should be proud for being more kick-ass than the other ladies in my humble opinion.
ATHLETE WHO HAS THE RIGHT TO GO POSTAL ONE DAY:
Sven Kramer, the speed skater from the Netherlands who not only was on track to win a gold medal, but to also set an olympic record was disqualified for jumping lanes as his coach wrongly instructed him to do.
PERSON WHO SHOULD BE QUICKLY ADMITTED TO WITNESS PROTECTION:
Gerard Kemkers, coach of Sven Kramer (see above). Those Dutch love their speed skating, a lot.
PEOPLE WHO SHOULD GET A LIFE ALREADY:
The International Olympic Committee.
Really, what is the big deal about either of these two things?
They won a friggin medal, let them party.
EPIC FAIL:
NBC and their broadcast of the olympics. I know that they save things for prime-time ratings, but it was frustrating for once, to live in the same time zone as the Olympics and to have people who live on the other side of the world know what happened before I did. I learned very quickly (IE: the first three days of the Olympics) that I just can't be online from 4-11pm PT if I don't want to see any Olympic updates on people's facebook feeds.
Also, fail to NBC for their mic placement. I didn't need to hear Kelly Clark singing to herself before she dropped in on the half-pipe, nor did I need to hear Shaun White and his entourage bump fists and say "duuude, kill it" repeatedly, or the emotional interchange between Lindsay Vonn and her husband after she won gold. Somethings are better left to the imagination and to the private sector.
RUNNER-UP:
Epic Fail to some Canadian broadcasters making fun of Johnny Weir. Listen, I know he's an easy target... but if anything, make fun of the feathers and the fur... but not the man. And, kudos to Weir for such a well-spoken comeback .
PERSON WHO WOULD MOST LIKE TO BE RUSSIAN:
Johnny Weir
PERSON WHO SHOULD LAY OFF THE BRONZER:
Evan Lysacek
RUNNER UP: Bob Costas
PERSON WHO IF IN WERE EVAN LYSACEK, I WOULD NOT LIKE TO SEE IN A DARK ALLEY:
PERSON WHO, EVEN THOUGH YOU WON A MEDAL, SHOULD NOT WEAR A TIRARA IN PUBLIC:
Julia Mancuso
SPORT THAT IS MOST LIKELY TO SEE A SURGE IN PARTICIPATION FOLLOWING OLYMPICS:
Curling. I feel that much like cornhole, darts and shuffleboard, people like it cause because it appears as if you could drink a beer while playing.
COUNTRY WHO APPARENTLY IS THE BEST AT HOCKEY:
Canada
RUNNER UP:
USA
BEST DOWNHILL SKIING MJ INSPIRED DANCE VIDEO:
Norway.
BEST COMMERCIAL DURING THE OLYMPICS
Old Spice
BEST WIPE OUT:
Pretty much, Day 6 was filled with spills of all sorts... esp those in the Women's Super G. Watch em here...
MOMENT OF SILENCE:
Nodar Kumaritashvili, the 21 year old from Georgia who died on the opening day during his training for the luge event.
TEAM THAT IS THE BESTEST IN THE WHOLE WIDE WORLD AT THINGS INVOLVING SPORTS AND WINTER:
USA, we won the most medals, that makes us the best right?
RUNNER UP:
All those people from the smaller countries who traveled from afar to represent their homeland in the winter games. Those people who hardly spend a percentage of the money that our country (or Canada, or Germany, etc) does on training or facilities, coaching, uniforms, equipment, etc. For those athletes, it's not about winning or losing, or gold or sliver, endorsements or commercials... it's about being an olympian. Those people will go home champions, regardless of their placing.
So, it's no surprise that I am a massive fan of the Olympics, especially the Winter Olympics. Nothing gives me more joy than watching athletes dress from head to toe in tight tight spandex and throw/hurl/huck/propel themselves off of steep slopes/chutes/ice sheets as fast and as recklessly as humanly possible. True, the Summer Olympics and the athletes may be more scantily clad, tan and aesthetically appealing themselves, but it takes a special person to be a Winter Olympian. More often than not, these are the kids who never turned down a dare. Weather it was doing a back flip off a jump or wearing a sequined flamboyant feathered outfit... these are the people that when faced with obstacles that most sane people run away from (like copious amounts of ice and snow... or sequins), winter athletes embrace. While most people travel south to warmer sunnier climates for the winter, these athletes head north, up high towards the cold, the hard and the fast.
The interesting thing about the Winter Olympics, as opposed to the Summer Olympics, is that it's compelling in a very exclusive way... meaning not that everyone can do it. Ideally, all fit and able bodied people can watch the Summer Olympics at home and then inspired by the events on TV, rush outside to play soccer, baseball, softball, basketball, run, swim, bike, play tennis, etc... as I did; however, for most people, this is not an option for the Winter Olympics. It its pretty much a fact that in order to be a Winter Olympic athlete you have to have access to proper terrain, cold enough winters, ice rinks, and gear to participate. Which sadly also means copious amounts of money, a sugar daddy, or communist country that told you it was your job (that is unless you are the Jamaican Bobsled Team... and that's another story). As a result of this adversity, the majority of citizens of the world cannot participate in said Winter Olympic events and thereby, do not really understand the nature and rules of sports themselves.
In the Summer Olympics, seemingly everyone is a critic. Every Joe Six Pack can watch an event and say to themselves... "Man, I could have done that better than that dude. I mean, like back in high school when I used to high jump, before I got that job. If I had only practiced a little harder, been more dedicated, I could have been there." In the Winter Olympics, there is far less personal guilt involved as majority of people watching, can only regret not living in a place conducive to those sports. This regret is nothing that should really keep us up at night since most of us at a young age, had no say in where we grew up. You either lived in one of those places where they did those sports and your parents allowed you to participate... or you lived in Southern Ohio and didn't have a chance to start with.
In the Winter Olympics, the majority of the population has to rely on the TV announcers to be the critics and the experts. We need them to explain the rules and protocol for biathlon, ski jump and curling. While quite often they'll bring in expert analysts (also known as former Olympians who need a job and are kinda still familiar to the general public from their short stint on a Wheaties Box), it's up to the full time announcers to carry the weight of the broadcast. Some of the TV announcers themselves, are also kinda unfamiliar with the games and thusly, have to fill in the silence between drama and action with words. As a result, they are more prone to say dumb-assed things when trying to avoid not knowing what they are really talking about.
Take for example... while watching figure skating the other evening, one announcer actually said: "you know, the Canadian couple thought they had a pretty good shot of winning till they fell." Or in the nordic combined as the athletes were entering in their final lap on the course and an all out sprint ensued... one announcer said "so-and-so would have a pretty good chance of catching up with the lead pack if only he wasn't so tired."
My beef with the outdoor apparel and gear industry:
stop making women's things pink.
....and while you're at it, stop making them soft, flowy, flowery, paisley, rounded, anything really that you think makes stuff "appeal to women". Cause really, honestly, I am a woman and I am a woman who spends a fair amount of my money on gear for athletic pursuits and I hate pink. In fact, I and my friends will run away from anything geared and marketed towards women that are "catered" to us as such. I do not expect you to "cater" to the tastes of women by making things pink with flowers no more than I expect you to cater to men by making things black that have skulls and cross bones. All that stuff, is bullshit.
In some aspects, I applaud you for the good marketing sense to know that yes... some people will buy into that. Some girl somewhere dreams of being a ballerina, living in a Barbie Dream House, and wants a bike. A pink bike. A pink bike with white wheels and a basket on the front. Just like some boy out there thinks that having a bike with big burly wheels with dragons or ninja's and tattoo like tribal designs will make him more manly and less likely to be beat up at school. I applaud you for knowing that you can make money off of it. But really, I'm sick of it.
While for the longest time I used to think that when companies made gear for women, they pretty much shrunk it and colored it pink (aka: shrink it and pink it!). And, for most companies this was and still is the case. But, some companies have evolved since then and have matched the technology they give "men's gear" to "women's gear"... but ideally, there should not be a difference in what is considered mens or womens when it comes to coloring (or cost for that matter too). I do recognize that a woman's fit and sizing is different than a man's. I like how some companies... due to the recent trend in men's clothing being massive and huge... are making things more slim and trim for women, but overall... stop it with the pink and the fuisha and the flowers. And the bling? WTF is this shiny thing doing on my sunglasses?
Basically, I want the cut and fit of my items to be catered to my body and the special needs of women. However, the colors and the style and design? Just go with strong, bold, and basic colors. Don't follow the "trends". I want this coat that I payed dearly for to look just as good and as timely and classic in five years as it did the day I bought it. Give women's gear the same respect you'd give men's gear. Size it appropriately, but treat it with a sense of style that crosses "supposed" gender boundaries.
Take for example, snowboard designs.
Recently REI had a contest sponsored by Arbor. Formerly, I had pretty much liked Arbor boards as the superficial design of them wasn't really gender specific. They tended to incorporate a basic wood grain aesthetic that appealed to women as much as men. I was curious with the contest though, if the majority of the entries would reflect the current horrendous trends in snowboard designs, or if we would be witness to stuff that was really new, exciting, and perhaps....gender neutral? As well, based upon the entries.... would Arbor chose something that dared to be different or would they cater to the unoriginal trends, thereby repeating the cycle?
Granted, the hummingbird work in ca-junction with the wood grain is pretty cool... but the hot pink magenta bottom decking? WTF?
The designer said:
"This board was conceived for the main purpose of speaking to Arbor snowboard's female demographic. The bottom design was inspired by elements in nature like the clouds, wind and snow. In order to reference Arbors discipline in sustainable design I utilized natural root-like swirls emanating from the logo and a cloud-like textures in the background. The top of the board was meant to embody a similar type of beauty in nature but to contrast it by illustrating it in a much more grungy, industrialized urban expression."
I'd like to point out several key words here: clouds, swirls, beauty, grungy, industrialized urban expression? (WTF is that?... I'm sure the meatpacking district has art shows every month to express their grungy-ness in their proper urban environment!) Mainly, my main beef is that the designer wanted to speak to Arbor Snowboard's female demographic... and he did so by making it PINK! It's not that I'm bitter that I didn't win the contest or anything... I knew that after I saw what boards were getting votes (tattoos, scrolls, butterflies, skulls, dragons, flames, eye-roll eye-roll, etc) that the general public who prefers those cliched designs that are repeatedly shoved down their throat, were getting exactly what the industry thinks they want, the board that I designed for the contest doesn't fit those permitters. And honestly... that's fine with me.
This is why, when my snowboard was stolen from me in November, I was most upset (not at losing my board... the first board I had seen after months of looking that I had really liked) but upset at having to navigate the snowboard design world, yet once again, in vein attempts at looking for something that spoke to me and my picky design leanings as much as the last one had. This is also why, I got the same board from the same designer that I had prior (as seen below). It was easier that way.
Another example is bikes.
Ugh... once again last year I was faced with the daunting task of finding a new bike... and if you thought choosing a snowboard was hard, I use a bike waaaay more than a snowboard so basically how it looked and how it spoke to me was ten times more challenging than finding a snowboard I like. Once again, much like with a snowboard, I'd enter a bike shop looking at women specific frames hoping I'd find something that I liked... but more often than not I was disappointed. I feel like bike companies have come a long way in introducing more women specific frames... but, when it comes to the stylization of them, it feels like they are one step ahead of putting a basket on the front. Take for example Obrea, a popular company that makes top of the line racing bikes and recently introduced a "women's line" of bikes. To their credit, they did offer one or two "race bikes" in a basic white and black... but the majority of their other bikes (esp ones that bike stores stocked) came in splashes of pink and light blue. How cute? Really....?
This one, the Onix Dama T105apparently "brings women-specific fit to a new high on an entry-level monocoque carbon frame, and distinctive style and performance to the female cycling market." Wow, did you hear that? A female cycling market? Well, when did they ask us? Did I miss a meeting or a survey or something? And... if you read further in the description, you'll notice the bike even has a butterfly themed saddle! Wow, that even makes it more adorable. Obrea goes on to mention that "through the European design and functional through the women-specific Dama geometry, this bike brings advanced technology and all-around performance to the more sophisticated female rider who may be new to the sport." Which tells me that they think anyone who may be new to the sport of bike racing, will be less aggressive and thereby will be attracted to the light blue coloring of this bike than a red or black one. And... it has a butterfly saddle!
The bike I ended up getting (as seen below) attracted me not because of pastel colors and saddles with butterflies and script writing, but because I was attracted to the strong basic colors and helvetica type face. Granted, if anyone is known for their pastel colors on bikes it's Bianchi, but for them... almost all of their bikes are their famed color of pastel celeste blue (which means even the men's bikes - aside from mine that is, which is rather ironic when you think about it). I applaud Bianchi for their reverse sociology in color themes as I applaud any man who rides one and is not afraid to appear less masculine.
Also, things I've been in the market for was a new snowboard coat and outerware.
I knew I wanted a red coat and I had a basic style in mind. Mainly, as opposed to most popular snowboarding coats these days, I didn't want anything too big and baggy. I wanted it to be a pretty slim and flattering fit. I didn't want tons of pockets and nor did I want any "bling". This task took about a year and was harder than expected. While several companies had red coats, many of these coats were filled with faux fur trim, gold buttons or unnecessarily huge pockets. The coats I found that were rather plain when it came to "flair" were all men's coats and even a mens small was way too huge to ever be effective on the mountain. Thankfully, that's where companies like Orage excel. Not only does Orage, a Canadian company, offer a wide variety of coats for men and women, they also come in a variety of attractive and fresh (and also basic) colors, and they offer a variety of cuts based upon your chosen style of riding and fit. I decided on purchasing one of their coats that came in perfect color of red and had also the perfect slim and minimalist fit without all of that crap companies like to throw on.
At Orage, you can shop for coats based upon the fit...
Another company I applaud for their slim fitting and functional outerwear is Nau. Based out of Portland, not only is Nau clothing environmentally friendly, but they have a pretty consistent basic color palette across their clothes for each season. The women's colors are all pretty basic and range from a clean cream to a gunmetal grey and back to a subdued purple. Strong, basic, simple, and classy. Year after year and season after season.
classic...
It'll be interesting to see what the cycling company known for "the finest in cycling clothing and accessories in the world"Rapha, plans to unleash for their upcoming women's line of clothing. Currently, Rapha is nothing but expensive class and sophisticated style going on with their lines of "gentlemen's" apparel such as jerseys, coats, and shorts in basic and colors and styles (including tweeds!). I've long awaited to see if they would indeed join in with the ladies apparel industry and how they plan on doing so? Will they size down their classic stowaway coats to women's sizes and cuts and offer them in the same color schemes and fabrics as the mens? Or, will they introduce new items in new flashy colors to try and appeal to the "female cycling market" that according to other companies... likes the color pink.
I'd like to see this in a women's please....
As you may have noticed, I can talk or write about this topic at great length. In fact, I recently had the opportunity to discuss my feelings on sportswear - specifically women's sportswear - with some designers at Mountain Hardware. While it was fun to sit back, drink beer eat pizza and talk coats and gloves with a panel of women and designers, it became apparent that women do look for different things in their sportswear. However, hands down person after person said that if they spend a lot of money on an item and expect to wear it year after year and season after season... they want to go with a more tried and true color and style that they will not get tired of. And... for all of us... pastels, swirls, butterflies do not fit that label. Sitting there in the Mountain Hardware sample room, surrounded by coats for their upcoming fall 2010 collection... I looked at the wall of women's coats and became extremely disappointed in the colors they chose for their new lines. My eyes glazed over at the bright teal, fuschia, and magenta, with overly ornate detailed decorative stitching. Instead, my eyes shifted at the men's line which had bright and solid blues, action oranges and reds, vivid greens... things that drew my attention in and warranted closer inspection. Granted, to Mountain Hardware's credit, in each line they do offer most coats and apparel in a basic black for those of us who tend to cringe at teal. But really, how many black coats do I need in my closet?
Basically outdoor industry, stop making women's things pink or putting text in script just cause you think we like things soft and girly (as well, don't make things in pink and try to tell us it's for "Breast Cancer Awareness" to try and sell more things). Give us the same time and consideration you'd give the men and the same strong, active and bold colors. I'm not asking for things to be separate and equal, I'm just asking for things to be equal. As well, don't downgrade our athletic ventures, goals, capabilities, or worry about "scaring" us or being too aggressive. Be more fluid in your design sensibilities and cross more boundaries than gender stereotyping. And... while it may seem easier than faulting on a color choice, we do get a little tried of black.
I enjoy grocery shopping. In fact, my favorite things are free food samples and when a song I love comes over the grocery store radio. I think that everyone needs a theme song and that everyone should be given free rolls of toilet paper when they get their taxes back. I like sweeping my floor but I hate doing the dishes. I love phrases of speech like "painfully shy", "disarmingly beautiful" and the word "threadbare". I'm a great gatherer of firewood, maker of bonfires and jumper of rope. Basically, I see every day as a "Choose Your Own Adventure" story and try to steer clear from any theme park or packaged experience in life.
