Outside Features

STEVE LARSEN REMEMBERED
Dogs don't just live in the moment-they lick it, roll in it and breathe it in.Bend lost one of its greatest athletes last
week. Steve Larsen, who was only 39, collapsed during a running workout
at the Cascade Middle School track on Tuesday May 19th and died. Shock
waves rippled through the Bend community.
"It was sad and very
shocking," said Max King, who was leading the workout. "I had them
doing a standard track workout.  Four sets of a tempo pace 1000m,
followed by a 5K pace 800m. We had just started and we were in the
middle of the first 800m. He just went down to the track on his hands
then rolled to his back. Some people thought he had pulled a muscle at
first. It was obvious pretty much right away though that something more
was wrong. We started CPR immediately and within four to five minutes
the ambulance was there. Unfortunately in this case nothing we could
have done would have saved him. There were several nurses and multiple
people trained in CPR. We did everything we were trained to do. I'm
proud of the group of people I have out there. They were amazing."
I
first met Steve when he was 21 years old and racing for the U.S.
National Cycling Team. Two years older than Lance Armstrong, he was
definitely one of our brightest young stars. Steve raced on the
Motorola team with Lance for three years in the early 1990s, racing in
the Giro d'Italia and other major European events. He was probably the
only professional to compete in the world championships for road,
mountain bike, track, cyclocross, triathlon and off-road triathlon.

What a race! Tutu-Licious edged out the D&D Girls by 28 seconds as the fastest women's team in 2:02:20.It's Monday morning after PPP weekend and I'm trying to counteract the
lactic acid and the beer in my system with ibuprofen and Frappuccino as
I write this column. Hopefully, you'll understand if it's a bit hazy. I
love PPP (this was my 13th in a row) yet it always feels like
post-partum depression when it's all over.

PPPOST PARTUM
This
was the biggest Pole Pedal Paddle ever, with 2,925 racers, and maybe
even the best ever too, with absolutely perfect race weather. Huge
congratulations go to Molly Cogswell-Kelley, the MBSEF crew and all the
volunteers for an amazing event.
We did pretty well with our
race predictions here. Marshall Greene repeated as men's champion by a
solid three minutes, while Sarah Max repeated as women's champion by
edging out Source pick Muffy Roy by 56 seconds. At the finish line,
Sarah commented that she proved me wrong, so I want to give her credit.
PPP has a history of champions stringing together win streaks (a la
Justin Wadsworth, Ben Husaby and Suzanne King). Racers who figure out
all the fine nuances to win the race seem to be able to do it again.
Sarah is only 34 and Marshall is only 27, so both have a great shot at
becoming the winningest PPP champions ever. (The feat would require
four more victories for Sarah and five for Marshall).

PICKS

It's here, the PPP!
Storming the beach, PPP style. Even though the weather has
been prettycrappy for training, the forecast is looking good for race
day, enthusiasm seems to be running high and there will be some serious
competition for the mugs this year. I'm sure lots of wagers are being
placed, so for what it's worth, here are my picks.
In the elite
men's category, 3-time winner Marshall Greene has to be the odds on
favorite. He will be chased by the usual pack of X-C Oregon athletes,
plus Torin Koos and Lars Flora, a couple of U.S. Ski Team ringers in
town for a training camp, but Marshall is the safe bet.

Getting wild at the Wild Horse GamesThis past weekend, two passionate race directors brought innovative new
events to Central Oregon at a time when entry fees are considered a
luxury and sponsors are sparse. The auspicious debuts, however, of the
King and Queen of the Cone and the Wild Horse Games were as sweet as
Snow Cones and Mud Pie, demonstrating that Central Oregonians have not
lost our sense of adventure in tough times.

SNOW CONES
The
inaugural King and Queen of the Cone was a huge success, with 72
competitors taking on the uphill/downhill ski race at Mt. Bachelor. The
race required new thinking for some Central Oregon backcountry skiers
to embrace a competitive challenge on their "get-away from the crowds"
gear. Locals were schooled a bit by experienced out-of-towners from
Montana, Washington and Canada who sported ultracool, ultralight AT
gear. Knowing Bendites, we'll be back to win next year.
Crowns
off to Race Director Kevin Grove for his vision for a new event that is
a perfect fit for Bend and Tiaras off to his wife Molly for becoming
the first Queen.

Surfing Santa CruzThe Mamas and the Papas pop into my head about this time every year:
"All the leaves are brown
And the sky is gray
I've been for a walk
On a winter's day.
I'd be safe and warm
If I was in L.A.
California dreamin'
On such a winter's day."
When Winter is clinging onto Central Oregon like gummy klister, I like to kick start spring with a sojourn south. So, last week, I piled my road bike, mountain bike, surfboard and dog into my van and roadtripped down to Santa Cruz for some surfing and then continued on to Palo Alto for some riding. Nothing was going to stop me from getting much-needed saltwater therapy and a Vitamin D infusion - not even the tire schrapnel on I-5 that ripped off my bumper grill and took out the air conditioning on the 92-degree day that began our journey.
SURFIN' SANTA CRUZ
Santa Cruz is a 10-hour drive from Bend and a surfing epicenter. Birthplace of O'Neil Wetsuits, board shops line the city streets and the Surfing Museum sits atop a pink and yellow iceplant-blanketed bluff overlooking reknowned Steamer Lane, a world-class point break. (Sadly, the city has shut down the the museum for economic reasons, and a local group is trying to raise $30,000 to keep it alive.) Once you're a surfer, places like this feel like home. For me, even more so, because the ashes of my dear, dear friend Dave Stevenson ride the waves at Steamer's.

April Shower bring May Flowers-as well as mountain bike races and Pole Pedal Paddle.

WINDOW OF OPPORTUNITY
Mountain
Biking season has arrived! The WebCyclery Cascade ChainBreaker Mountain
Bike Race, the traditional opener in Central Oregon, is coming May 10.
Yes, that's Mother's Day- last year, Barry Wicks brought his mom to the
race.
Beating the Sandtrap: Mountain Biking Millican OHV Trails in SpringThe race will use the same course as last year-the
Cascade Timberlands property just west of Shevlin Park, which is a
great mix of singletrack, doubletrack, short climbs, dry creekbed
crossings, a gravel road or two and a few man-made obstacles.
Categories will include:
Pro = FAST!
Cat 1 = Experienced riders with lots of mojo
Cat 2 = Riders looking for adventure and working on speed to move up to Cat 1
Cat 3 = New to the sport and out for a good time
Singlespeed = One gear, simplicity and some pain
Tandem = Two riders, one really big bike
Don't
miss this big event-over 200 cyclists compete and over $1,000 in cash
and prizes will be awarded. For more information, visit
www.webcyclery.com.

Whew, taxes are filed-time to play! Forget about 1040s and Schedule Es
and feel the love for Central Oregon and all it has to offer.

HOORAY FOR
THE BUBBLEHEADS
Corduroy Carpet to Moon MountainKudos
to the Sisters Sno Go-Fers Snowmobile Club. Last Friday night they
groomed the #6, #7 and #8 roads linking Dutchman Flat to the Three
Creeks Sno-Park. Skier Larry Katz circulated an e-mail around the
nordic community earlier in the week and by Saturday morning I had
scored a ride to Dutchman and a pickup at Three Creeks from a friend.
Another group of skiers we passed coming the other way had orchestrated
a key exchange, somewhere around Moon Mountain, I suppose. By getting
an early start, we were all treated to 18 miles of idyllic white
corduroy winding through spectacular Cascades backcountry. With the
Nordic center closing Sunday and Meissner grooming coming to an end, it
was a wonderful grand finale to skate season. The diehards still have
the PPP course and crust cruising, but I'm happy to finish on a high
note and get out some other toys.
In regards to the snowmobilers,
Katz said, "Several of us have met them on the trail and they are good
people and are happy to share the trail with us." I want to echo that
sentiment. I'm all about human-powered recreation. More than anything
else, I ski at Wanoga with my dog all winter and 99.9% of my encounters
with snowmobilers have been positive. We step off to the side of the
trail and wave and they slow down and signal how many in their group.
I'm grateful for the friendly permission from the Moon Country
Snowmobile Club to share their groomed trails. Yeah bubbleheads!

Dodging gates and taxes.The stock market is in the tank. Your 401K is now a 201K. A friend of
mine bought a Westside Bend house for $99,000 about 5 years ago and
sold it a year later for $175,000. That person resold it at the peak of
the bubble, for $275,000. Last week, I saw a "For Sale" sign in the
front yard–they're asking $99,000.

Given the current state of the
economy, it is no wonder that frugality is the new cool. A recent
Business Week article dubbed this the "New Age of Frugality." After an
era of gluttony, it's good to go back to the basics. But for outdoor
addicts like me, gear is an actual necessity that ranks highly on
Maslow's Hierarchy of Needs, probably right after food.
And, hey,
my bike can provide transportation and self-actualization all at the
same time, without polluting the environment. But why pony up $5,500
for that new carbon-fiber Orbea when you can find a screaming deal on a
slightly used titanium Litespeed listed by an ex-developer, realtor,
mortgage broker or restaurant owner on Craig's List. There's E-Bay,
too, and the used gear shops. Personally, I miss Second Season Sports
which provided me with a steady monthly income for years, which, of
course, I spent on more gear, so it was probably a breakeven
relationship at best. Repeat Performance and Gear Peddler have never
quite filled the gap for me, though I'm sure they do bang-up business
on extra large downhill boots for PPP at this time of year.
Interestingly, swap meets are popping up like daffodils this spring.
But be forewarned. Our cash-strapped government actually wants to tax
your gear!