Sports - Ski to Sea - Ski to Sea trainer

POSTED: Friday, May. 22, 2009

Mountain bike: Runningshoes.com racer gets sneak peek at new course

One of the biggest changes to this year's Ski to Sea Race is the new course for the mountain bike leg, and Jim Clevenger of the Runningshoes.com team has been getting a sneak preview.

Clevenger is one of several people who volunteered to test-ride the course and do maintenance work on it, he said. The leg begins and ends in the same places, but is longer, on rougher terrain and more off-road than last year's version.

Clevenger said he's been riding portions of it to get it ready for race day. His prognosis? It's going to be painful but fun.

"It's going to really suck the life out of your legs," Clevenger said. "It won't take a hard-core mountain biker to get through this course. You're going to have to work to get through it. I think it's going to be a lot of fun."

Clevenger said the leg will combine slow stretches, such as when it leads riders through clumpy grass fields, with faster portions when it hooks up with more established trails.

He said the stretch he likes the least comes near the end, when the course goes over abandoned railroad tracks. He said the course should be able to avoid alterations if it rains before the race and the trails get muddy.

"Mountain biking involves some mud sometimes," Clevenger said.

Clevenger, 47, said he's been participating in Ski to Sea for 17 years, and said this is his third year competing in the mountain bike leg.

He said he enjoys competing with other top teams such as Beaver's Tree Service and Banditos Burritos.

While members of his team are friends with members of those teams and often train together, he said winning trumps friendship come race day.

"We each want to beat each other," Clevenger said. "That's what the race is all about - friendly rivalries."

He said he's done other legs in the past, but he replaced himself with faster teammates. At his age, he said he's exclusively focusing on excelling on the mountain bike portion of the race.

"I've found a leg where I can do pretty well," Clevenger said. "This is pretty much my last stop. If I can't pull my weight here I'll have to get off."

Clevenger concedes that there will be better technical riders on the course, but he hopes to gain an edge by being better focused. And, he admits, the sneak preview of the course can't hurt, either.

"I really focus on my race," Clevenger said. "It's my 'A' race. I have to admit I'm obsessed with Ski to Sea. It's the Bellingham Olympics."

RUNNINGSHOES.COM

Division: Whatcom County Open

Cross-country ski: Steve George

Downhill: Charlie Heggem

Run: Charlie Sunderlage

Road bike: Phil Elsasser

Canoe: Michael Lee and Peter Scherrer

Mountain bike: Jim Clevenger

Kayak: Peter Marcus