Tonight, we hosted the first of three Stand-Up Paddleboard races in the Pre-Paddle Grand Prix point series. We didn’t know what kind of turn-out to expect, having just starting spreading word about the race and helping to host SUP demo nights at Padden a little over a month ago.

We were STOKED to have 17 racers out on the water!!! We all met at Cornwall Beach, and from there paddled up to Taylor Street Dock, under the catwalk, and back to Cornwall.

Despite the headwind and a hard go on the first leg, every paddler stroked it out and we had some great finishes on the Cornwall Beach.

This informal race was the first of three races in a point series, all leading up to the main event on September 5th, the Paddle Grand Prix. If you’re interested in trying Stand Up Paddling — undeniably the fastest growing watersport in the world — and think you might want to race, head to Lake Padden on any Tuesday this summer for free demos.

We also do a race at the start of the demo night, one lap around the lake (just under 2 miles) and it’s a great, warm, friendly place to see how you like it.

See you there!!!

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Bellingham is so freekin’ full of cool

And I’m not just talking about events — I’m talking about day-to-day expression sessions in, on, and around B’ham where stoked-on-life people are livin’ large. And you can step in there and take part in it, or you can get every bit as stoked sometimes just WATCHING.

That’s what we did tonight, right after we finished watching Hayden tear it up at the All-Comer’s Track Meet at Civic Field.

We walked over to the BMX Dirt Jump Park  on the other side of Puget St. and found 8-or-so riders, young and old, taking turns launching big air off the series of dirt jumps.

There was a mom-n-dad-n-son trio learning and getting progressively more aggressive on the smaller jumps. There were two female shredders throwing down every bit as hard as the guys. And there were two riders, Corey Schmidt and Brandon Strong, taking turns launching monster airs and looking as comfortable doing it as you might be playing Frisbee in the front lawn.

I shot a few telephotos from the edge of the track, then worked my way under the apex of the biggest jump and switched to a wide-angle lens.

There it is, yet another bonus of Bellingham livin’: Any Joe off the street can grab a camera, stumble across some action, and pretend you’re on assignment for National Geographic Adventure.

Whether you’re into jumping your bike, action photography, people watching, or just being outdoors in the beautiful Bellingham summer… it’s all here for you. Get out and gitcha’ some!!!

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A few weeks ago

When we got there we were a bit surprised to find no empty parking spaces anywhere near the park.

Eventually, we snuck into a spot up on the Boulevard and took the Overpass down to the park. What we found taking place in the park has pretty much doubled our already-deep love of Bellingham summers!

The Evening Concert Series

It turns out we had stumbled upon concert #1 of the highly regarded Evening Concert Series organized by Bellingham Parks and Rec.

From up on The Porch — the timberframe pavilion featured in the Structures I Love photo gallery — we were ROCKED OUT by Geoffrey Castle on his electric violin. Castle bills himself as playing “Celtic Soul” but on top of that he threw down some Hendrix and Stevie Ray Vaughn and I tell you if those boys were there, they would’ve put a fist in the air and said “Hell YEAH!!!” He was A-M-A-Z-I-N-G!

And so was the night: The setting, the crowd of many hundreds, the games for kids, the sunset, the windsurfers and sailboats gliding across the bay, the cheers, the dancing, the music, the energy!!! It was just an epic, iconic Bellingham night. A one-of-a-kind experience.

But that’s just it: It’s not a one-time thing!

It turns out it’s a regular event during Bellingham summers. We were back tonight to hear another band, The Walrus, laying down classic rock tunes with just a PACKED dance lawn in front of The Porch!

More shows are scheduled, including Picoso (Urban Latin) on July 17th, Five Alarm Funk or maybe Spaceband on July 31st, and raging Celtic Bluegrass rock by the Clumsy Lovers on August 14th.

Treat yourself this summer to ALL these FREE concerts at Boulevard Park — one of the most beautiful and amazing settings on the entire west coast — and yet right here in our own Bellingham front yard!
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Last night marked the 2nd weekly Lake Padden Tuesday Night SUP gathering

From last week, when we had 6 racers on the water, that number grew this week to 10. The pack limited the racing to one lap around the lake — about 2 miles — because the place to be with the Bellingham summer sun blazing was on and around the beach!!!

There were kids, kids, and more little kids who wanted to SUP with mom and dad, and plenty of moms and dads who had the attitude of “Game ON!!!”

At any given time you’d see a flotilla of boards on the water, more lining the shore with paddlers waiting to swap or compare designs or talk about stability or turning or whatever. There were kids riding on boards sitting, standing, kneeling, with and without mom and dad on-board with them, depending on their age and comfort level.

The socializing was world class, the weather was every bit as good, the water’s warming up, and the scene is growing. Do yourself a big favor and cancel next week’s Tuesday night plans and come down to the Padden swim area. Whether or not you want to try racing, the post-race Fun Fest is where it’s at!!!

Today marks the start of one of the best

We took Hayden to this multi-sport track-and-field fun-fest last year when he wasn’t quite a year and a half old, and he had a RIOT!!! (The photo shows him racing in the 6-inch hurdle dash!)

There are literally hundreds of kids and their folks taking part in the races and competitions, including:

• Over a dozen different running races, including relays, hurdles, a mile and a once-a-month 5K
• Shot Put
• Mini Javelin
• Discus
• High Jump
• Long Jump
• Triple Jump
• Pole Vault and more!!!

Volunteers keep everything VERY well organized and steadily moving forward, and are right there at the finish line handing out ribbons to the top 3 finishers in each age group and gender.

This year, we signed up for a full season pass so we can take Hayden again and again. You can download the registration form PDF here, and bring it with you to Civic Field tonight or any monday night, starting at 5:30.

It runs from today, June 14th, through August 30th. Whatever you have to do to be there and check it out, I can’t recommend it highly enough! See you on the field!

Oh, and here’s the City of Bellingham’s official page for the event.

Bellingham Kiteboarding the sport

Bellingham Kiteboarding the business, started and organically grown by entrepreneurs-and-school-teachers Andy and Marlys Holmes, has just moved from their garage to a bonafide waterfront retail space in Squalicum Harbor .

And today marks the new location’s GRAND OPENING!!!

But wait…

Bellingham Kiteboarding has also recently spread its wings to include SUP (Stand Up Paddling) in its quiver of way-of-life on-water disciplines, and has emerged from the waves with a new name and identity: Bellingham Kite Paddle Surf!!!

Andy and Marlys are personal friends of mine and are two of the most passionate, dedicated and authentic ambassadors of ANYTHING I’ve ever met. The kiting and SUP’ing communities are stoked to have them leading the charge to bring lessons, gear, gatherings, races, demo days, live music… and anything else that makes being involved in these zenful outdoor activities, all to the heart of the Pacific Northwest.

But dont’ take my word for it. Go down to their Grand Opening today and meet them face to face, take a SUP board out for a spin from their waterfront store, grab a free smoothie or BBQ sandwich, groove to some music, and become part of the scene.

You’ll be grinning from ear to ear, guaranteed!

Ski to Sea 2010 has come and gone,

As a 7-time competitor in the Ski to Sea, and having taken part in well over 100 other races and events over the years, I can honestly say that Ski to Sea is a world class quality event.

Like anything popular, though, it has its share of critics. I know a fair number of locals who go to great lengths to be out of town when the race happens. It’s just too crowded for some, and that’s totally understandable.

There are also very vocal critics of the sponsors like Boss Construction and Barron Heating who bring in out-of-town Olympic athletes (or Olympic-like, anyway) who could be considered “ringers.” Get enough of those guys and gals together, and they’re just about setting the course on fire as they work their way down the mountain.

The question and/or complaint that’s popping up in newspapers and comment sections is whether this importing of superstars degrades the event and somehow strips away  the local spirit. Here’s a direct cut-and-paste from the Bellingham Herald’s race coverage comment section in Monday’s paper:

Innocence? Mercenaries? If this guy had his way, all athletes would need to be Whatcom County residents and only so-so athletes at best, I suppose. Perhaps the racers could all hold hands as they skip along the race course singing Kumbaya as they go!?

Having never met the author of this comment, I can say with 100% confidence that he or she knows as much about sports and racing as I know about 12th century Catholic church hymnals.

The highest compliment you can pay a true athlete is to bring your best, your A-team and your A-game, then throw down with all your heart, all your resources, all your tricks… and if I beat you then, I know I’ve beaten you and your best, at your very best!!!

That’s what I love about Ski to Sea. I know I’m going head to head with some of the best athletes in the world, from ANYWHERE. It gets me up and out of the house before dawn when it’s cold and raining in February, and I know I need to get my miles in if I’m going to be a contender.

This year, the training paid off for my team, Beaver’s Tree Service, and Heather’s team, Kulshan Cycles. We brought home the heavy hardware, including fastest man and woman on the Bay — our first time ever to pull that off!!!

I hope Ski to Sea continues to grow in size, caliber of athletes it attracts, quality of execution, financial benefit to the community, memories for all participants and spectators, and every other regard. I hope “Ski to Sea” is replicated all over the world, because for one day it brings out the best in people, and it inspires others to dream.

Thanks for another great year, Ski to Sea! You are loved!!!

To every team and every racer out there: Best of luck! May you have the fastest year ever!

To all volunteers: You’re the lifeblood of the race, and none of it could happen without you.

To Pete Coy, Mel Monkelis, and the entire race committee: You guys ROCK! You’re the collective visionary that keeps making Ski to Sea better and better!

To Heather and her team of lightning fast ladies, Kulshan Cycles: Crush it!!! 4 years in a row on the top of the podium if you pull it off. Heather, 4 years of Top Gun for you if you THROW DOWN 110%!!!

To Team RE/MAX Racing: The top of the podium awaits for the second year in a row if you can leave it all out there. Bring home the heavy hardware!!!

To my team, Beaver’s Tree Service: Come on, Boys! We’ve got a 3 foot tall trophy and year-long bragging rights. We have GOT to return the title to Beavers, where it belongs. Whatever little bit of extra throw-down you can find inside you, bring it out today. Let’s bring it home!

See you at Marine Park!!!

Ahhh… the Saturday before Ski to Sea.

As you’ve probably read, the race committee, headed by director Pete Coy, led a successful coup to break away from the Bellingham Chamber of Commerce who has owned the event since 1973. The reasoning was simple: Ski to Sea could be made better, and for that to happen it had to get fully in the hands of an enthusiastic, visionary owner who has a “We can do that!” attitude.

One of the changes that had to occur for this to work was that the race entry fees had to go up $100 per team. That’s a 25% increase over last year! A lot of people feared that it might send the number of entries down because of the recession and tightened spending.

What really happened, though, was the exact opposite! Numbers are UP!!! This year there are somewhere in the neighborhood of 465 teams entered, more than 30 above last year’s previous record.

People want to RACE!!! And Ski to Sea has become SUCH a world class event that it attracts everything from once-a-year, off-the-couch hobby racers to full blown Olympians!

It makes me wonder if someday the very act of securing an entry will become a race, as happened to the Eco Challenge. In the last few year’s of that race’s life, (it ended after the Fiji event in ‘02), despite the $10,000 entry fee, teams had to be online and ready to click “Enter” the second it went live. Within minutes it was sold out.

For now, though, we’re still a “world class race with a small town feel” and I, for one, am going to enjoy it while it lasts. Get out there and have an awesome race, or cheer on the racers for their efforts. See you on Sunday!

WHAT a super-exciting week this is,

If you’re racing, now is the time to go over your gear one last time. Your training time is behind you now, and the taper begins. It’s such a hard thing for an athlete to do: get more rest, eat just as much as when you’re in full training mode, and visualize a stellar performance on race day.

If you’re looking for that little bit of extra speed you can add by race day, check out the article Heather and I pieced together two winters ago, with plenty of help from an army of local athlete contributors. Written for Adventures NW Magazine, it’s the 100 Tips to a Faster Ski to Sea article. Guaranteed if you take 10 minutes and read through it, you’ll pick  up something you can use to have your fastest race ever.

More to come this week on the Ski to Sea!!! See you on race day!