SPONSOR/TEAM:COMotion Sports
HOMETOWN:
Nevergreen, CO
Where are you from?
One of those rare, indigenous, natives of CO
What kind of bike do you ride?
Yeti ASR-SLc, SS Niner
What do you love about it?
Yeti - Made just down the hill. Perfect bike!
Solo or team competitor? Why?
Team - I've always wanted to do a team event like this. Suffering with a good friend sounds like fun apparently.
Who's your teammate (if applicable)?
Don't know yet. It depends on how much this thing costs! I'm sure it will be someone faster than me.
Done any ultra-endurance stuff before?
VT125 Last year, 24 HOM (team) '06,'07, Beaver Creek.
Really, I'm just another XC monkey who hit the plateau and decided to try something different to excuse my recent poor performances in shorter events.
Favorite food?
Green Chile – Kills colds and adds propulsion.
Movie?
Fight Club
Book?
Under the Banner of Heaven - Incredible read...that guy has a gift.
Worst experience on a bike?
It's a tossup between crashing 200yds from the finish line at WP and then riding 10 milesback to my car with torn ligaments, or having to spend 3 hours on a road ride in Denver with an unstable individual with the amazing ability to piss off every motorist within 100yds by flipping them the bird and yelling obscenities at their vehicles.
Best experience on a bike?
Riding from Woodland Park to Rampart Reservoir, circling the lake and then bombing down to Manitou on my shiny new Diamondback Viper. I was riding with my best freind who just stole his brothers Haro with pegs. Age 11? It was foggy, drizzling, and cold, I had a can of Dr. Pepper for "nutrition", and a sweatshirt for "technical cycling wear" I still can't believe we duped my folks into letting we little kiddos do that. It certainly foreshadowed the poor planning and forced Epics to come when I started riding a bike again at age 27.
Tell us about your LBS (Local Bike Shop):
My most "L" BS is Bicycle Outfitters in Nevergreen. Tony provides a constant source of peer pressure to drink frosty beverage prior to all rides, flak for being a wee-bit anal over my bike builds, great service with the "oh-god-not-Matt-again-attitude, and (seriously) thebest shop around. My less "L" BS is an amazing shop and a team sponsor as well. They provide all the same as the above shop, except no flak over anal bike builds.
Tell us about your favorite ‘local’ ride:
Always noncommittal and unable to make a decision, I have 2 options.
- MTB - Tour D'Evergreen - Matt's garage to Falcon, Parmalee, Lair ‘O Bear, 3-Sisters, Evergreen Mountain, Bergen Peak, Elk Meadows, Hiwan, Home.
- Road - Matt's garage to Squaw Pass, Mount Evans, Idaho Springs, home.
Tell us about your favorite ride EVER:
See above comment relating to decisions.
Describe a sponsor or company you admire and why you admire them:
Shimano. I know that goes against the trend of SRAM being hip and cool, but they have continue to make bombproof products and have been incredibly successful despite a lack of flash. They also are able to admit when they make a mistake, and change to what people want before losing their customer base.
Who will play you in the Breck Epic movie and why?
Edward Norton. No-one would believe a stocky dude like myself would race I bike. I need a skinny guy who can intimidate others with his trademark bleeding-gum smile and is carved like a block of wood. If he refuses the minimal pay, the drunk, homeless guy sleeping behind our office will be the alternate
What do you hope to get out of this experience? Expectations/goals/etc.
I really want to open up my eyes to what is possible again. VT125 certainly showed me what I am capable of, and I think this is another step in that direction. I was planning on trying to get to one of those other not-nearly-as-cool-as-the-Breck-Epic Epics, so this will give me the opportunity to do it my favorite high-altitude playground. I have always loved suffering with my buddies in the mountains and this should provide endless opportunities for this (or at least 6 days worth).
Tell us about your history as a cyclist or in the industry:
My bike was my sole source of transportation until age 15. After years of pedaling all over the darn place, I hung up the two wheels until my late 20's. My wife persuaded me to start riding HER bike around for exercise when my rock climbing habit was waning due to the birth of my first kiddo. After riding a tiny, 10 year old bike for a month, I was hooked once again, bought my own bike that fit, and started the adventure again. 4 years, 13 bikes, 60+ races, and 1 blog later, here I am begging for an entry fee...
Feel free to blatantly self-promote here. A quote you like, a direct appeal to the voters, some hateful vitriolic slander for your political opponents (see: Rush Limbaugh, Bill O’Reilly, Ann Coulter…) This is your space. Decorate it however you’d like.
I started the whole blog as an experiment. It's turned into a really fun activity for my self actualization and reflection. I'm trying to show the folks that read this thing (as well as myself), that you can be mairried, have 2 kiddos, a full time job, and still go out and be fairlycompetitive on a bike and have the time of your life doing it. I know this is a popular theme now, but in the age of people getting more lethargic, depressed over the state of things, and willing to buy adventures I beleive this is important. Also, I like to refer to myself as a "sexy, athletic, genius" I think that sums it up pretty good, no? I'm quite humble as well.
Links to your work:
Main Page
Race Report
Spring Training '08
Posts
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