The last two months have been filled with countless flights to everywhere for both film-making and cycling. As much as I love both, the truth is they don't always mix well. My journeys to Park City and South Dakota proved to me that you just never know what to expect when you've been traveling for weeks without a bike. The Park City Point to Point was an incredibly challenging and humbling day. I knew from the very first short climb that my time up front with the leaders was going to expire quickly - and expire it did. I cracked big time. Let me tell you, friends - when you have even a slightly bad day in a race that boasts 14,000 feet of climbing in 78 miles you will lose time. I didn't have a slightly bad day - I had a pretty disastrous day. My text message here to my friend, Kelly, the night before the race may have been the first clue into my ill-fated day! (And Kelly's maiden name is actually 'Keim' - sorry Kel)
Even with a disastrous day happening, it's hard to have a bad day on the bike for me. The PCPP is put on by some of the best promoters in the sport and the course is just amazing. I can live with that lackluster result given the fact I was treated to such great riding.
After my 'insult to injury' interval immediately following the race (I had to ride 5 more miles to the hotel where my car was) I was rushing to Salt Lake to catch a flight to South Dakota. I was pleased to open up a copy of Hemispheres magazine on my United flight and see, in all its glory, Rachel Sturtz's feature on the Bolshoi Theatre in Moscow, Russia. What was even cooler than that was seeing several other passengers flipping through their copies and stopping on that feature.
The Dakota Five-O is another great race put on by a great promoter, Perry Jewett. I was amazed at the fact I held on for 4th after the shellacking I received the day before. My whole family was out in full force handing up water bottles and cheering LOUDLY! The Five-O has sort of become a new tradition for my family to get together and have a small reunion and it's a weekend I look forward to every year.
A week later I found myself on the back of a motorcycle shooting footage of the Half-Ironman World Championships in Las Vegas. Paul and I are currently producing the 5th and final episode of 'Driven' for Trek.
One of the best parts about shooting with a group of athletes is that you get to know them really well and while your aiming a camera in their face all day while they suffer, I think it's a welcome face behind the camera that they appreciate.
Before the start, in the wee hours of the morning, I was grabbing some footage of Australian, Joe Gambles, as he prepped his bike and warmed up for the swim. I noticed from a distance he was hacking and coughing as he was putting his swim cap on. I knew something wasn't right, but I hoped the best for him as I knew he was on target for the worlds.
During the race he tore himself inside out and managed a respectable 5th place. Afterward I overheard him tell one of the sponsors that he woke up with a cold, but if he mentioned anything before the event he would have given himself an out. This is great information for someone like me, who feels like there are more than a couple 'outs' lingering in preparation for the national championships. The truth is, there aren't any outs. I've signed up for everything on my schedule and part of the challenge is doing the best I can.
Two weeks to go for the Solo 24 Hour Nationals. These two weeks are going to be packed full with some very exciting work happening. Stand by for some big news on the film front. (well, I hope it will be big news...)
