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closeBrian Hughes understands the shape runners are in when passing the chip to bikers, so he decided to put together a care package to hand back.
Hughes, representing Sustainable Connections Locavores, had in his hand what looked like a rock, but it was actually a bottle of ibuprofen and Epsom salts wrapped in a note that started with "Hopefully you won't need it, but it couldn't hurt."
"This is my teammate's first time, and I think she is in the dark about what this is going to do to her legs," Hughes said. "I thought this was the least I could do before taking off."
Hughes has done the road bike a few times, and he prefers it to the grimacing he sees when the runners cross the finish line.
"It's amazing to be able to ride down this road with no cars with this kind of scenery," Hughes said. "You forget that you're actually racing."
FEELING A DRAFT
One of bike-racing's unique features is the drafting technique in which competitors cooperate to help each other improve their times.
"You want to beat them, but at the same time you want to conserve energy," said Chad Clarke, 44, racing for the Surfriders team. "I got with a really good group. We worked as a group from, pretty much, Maple Falls."
The group started with about 10 cyclists, but the twisting 38-mile course winnowed them down to about six at the finish line.
A winded Karsten Hagen, 39, said he was by himself for virtually the entire length of the race.
"It was lonely," Hagen said. "It was pretty windy today, too."
Hagen, of Hood River, Ore., has competed here nine or 10 times before, but this was his first time on the road bike for his team, Callen Construction Co./Elite Equipment. "It's a great event," Hagen said. "It's pretty unique. I've got seven other guys depending on me. It's not a feeling you normally get in most bike races."
FRIENDLY COMPETITION
As road bike racers wind their way 38 miles down through the foothills to Everson, the competitors often form spontaneous groups of two or more who egg each other on and exchange handshakes and high-fives at the finish line, before reliving the race as though they were old friends.
Robin Robertson, 46, of Bellingham, raced for the Fairhaven Fitness Ferocious Females team. She found herself in a two-person race with another biker.
"It was fabulous," Robertson said. "I rode with Mr. Fasty-Pants there. He helped me out."
Mr. Fasty-Pants, normally known as 51-year-old Kenny White of Auburn, was enjoying his first time back to a sport he quit 20 years ago when parental responsibilities changed his lifestyle. On Sunday, he raced for the all+ctrl+elite team.
"I love the sport, and my kids are grown up," White said. "Years of coaching soccer and all those kinds of things, I put the bike on the back burner."
ENJOYING THE WEATHER
The road biking leg tends to have the longest wait-around time for all the legs, but you couldn’t find many complaining about this year's down time.
At a stage usually known for its drizzling rain, the weather was downright pleasant early on, warming as it got closer to race time. Because the cyclists have to drive up the mountain around the same time as the skiers and snowboarders, there are at least a couple of hours of free time.
Some used the time for last-minute tuning on the bikes, but for the most part it looked like a day at a popular park: Many participants were lying on the grass, reading, listening to music and even getting some knitting done.
"This is the best weather I've seen in a long time," said Whatcom County resident Andy Murray, who has been participating in Ski to Sea nearly every year since 1984. Murray was on the Pit-Huahuas team. "It is definitely a welcome change from last year."
STORIES IMPROVE WITH AGE
Ski to Sea is a competitive event, but for some the competition comes after the race is over and the muscles start tightening.
Barbara Culp of Inspired Again and Chris McCall of Wired Again were comparing notes, seeing how their teams stacked up. The two teams are a mix of family members and friends, evenly split up.
Neither Culp nor McCall were particularly worried about which team would win; the real competition comes later at the family/friends barbecue.
"It's a fine tradition where everyone gets a chance to embellish and exaggerate their stories," said McCall. "That's the part I really enjoy."
For Culp, who has completed other legs in previous years, this was her first time cxompeting in the road biking leg.
"I was a little intimidated because the other members of the team are much younger than me, but this group is great at pulling for each other," said Culp, who would only say she was "close to 60."
GOOD DAY SUNSHINE
The sunny weather was bad for the canoe leg, but the road bikers relished the rare favorable conditions for their 38-mile pedal to Everson. James Stangeland, 28, of Seattle, said last year was among the worst.
"Last year it was dripping rain and I was freezing," said Stangeland, racing for Boomer’s Drive-In. "I'm so happy the weather's better than last year."
Robin Secrest, the first woman biker into Everson as a member of the Boundary Bay Brewery team, agreed.
"We lucked out," Secrest said. "It's hard to start out when you're cold. … It was a blast from start to finish."
Scott Stoneback, 33, of San Francisco, has raced the road bike leg for seven or eight years and customarily brings a tent to keep out of the weather while waiting for the team's runner to arrive. This year, it was too hot to be inside the tent, said Stangeland, racing for a team dubbed "Last one with a ring and a kid carries the canoe."
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