S2S09 Details

Ski to Sea is a relay race. There are seven legs, as if it is a monster. Here's how it went down for the Book Club Division Champs:

Cross-country skiing: Me. I got fifth place... or fifth from last. Actually, I only noticed four people behind me, but records indicate there were more. Next year, I intend to get fifth from first. You heard it here first!

Downhill snowboarding: Michelle. She is my original hiking buddy, and she is the world's most mountain-goat-like human... in climbing ability, not looks. (She is definitely hoofless.) Michelle was amazing. She sprinted up a mountain passing dozens and then flew down in time measurements so small there are not yet words for it. That's incredible, because there are lots of words for time measurements.

Running: EThomps. EThomps' knees took it for the team as she sprinted down Mount Baker ahead of all those fools whose teams Michelle had passed. She was a stud. AND SHE SAW A BEAR! As much as I need to see a wild bear, I would not trade places with EThomps because running 8 miles down a mountain is ridiculous and only mad, athletic folks like EThomps do things like that.

Road biking: Lynn. Lynn zoomed nearly 40 miles to Everson and, as far as we know, was never attacked by anything from above. This includes both birds and anvils. She was, however, attacked by the enthusiastic screams of her teammates as they/we drove by in a tizzy of support.

Canoing (is that really how you spell it?): EBot and Courthouse. These two blockheads were not blockheady on the Nooksack River! No, no, they paddled their way to v-i-c-t-o-r-y with strength, intellect, and images in their heads of men in red dresses.

Mountain biking: Jodi. Jodi was our star athlete. When she finished her racey leg, her body legs were covered with mud and success. She came in 104th overall! Out of, like, 400 people! Geeze, Jodi is fast.

Kayaking: Bethany Jean. Bethany not only rocked the kayak better than I did last year (rocking as in "did a swell job", not a "made the boat floop back and forth"), but she wore a cuter hat! OMG, Beth! Additionally, she crossed the finish leg with flair as she unintentionally did the Stanky Leg while ringing the Bell of Glory.

Managing/Driving: Ghetto Pig. Last year, G.P. saved the day by coasting down the mountain with only cubic centimeters of gasoline left in the car. This year, she planned ahead and didn't even need to coast! After the race, she was selected as MVP and next-book-chooser for the Book Club portion of our Book Club/Ski to Sea team.

Assistant to the Managering/Video taping: NicUnCool. NicUnCool had to work for Jesus Sunday morning, but she carried her weight - in this case, "weight" means "cooler" - later in the day. Plus, she and Ghetto Pig chose some excellent crafts for the Eve of Race dinner. I admit, I gave NicUnCool a hard time for mixing up her priorities the first half of race day, but she did all right. She did alllllll right.

S2S09

I haven't told you about Ski to Sea 2009! Oh my gosh! You aren't prepared for this entry! The reason I didn't internettily build up the race like I did last year, though, was because I was training hard.

Maybe that's a lie.

Prepared or not, Better Lovers Book Club participated in Ski to Sea yesterday. We won. First place. Millions of dollars in prize money and overwhelming amounts of media attention.

Maybe that's another lie!

We did get first place in the little known (as in, our team knows about it, and now you know about it) Book Club Division. Second year in a row! Two for two!

Details later, if I feel like it. Until then, a team picture:

Please notice my new spectacles.

Team Lego Star Wars

Our short-armed mountain biker brought this video my attention. Though it does not feature our team, it does accurately reflect our Ski to Sea experience.

Please enjoy.

Rounding the buoy

One of my favorite moments in the history of moments was when I rounded the buoy in my kayak. That was the instant that I realized the wild screams from the shore were my teammates. They were a rainbow of spirit. If I hadn't been painfully exhausted, I might have been embarrassed.

Ghetto Pig, our heroic driver, was waving the Better Lovers hoodie as if she were a literary gust of wind. NicUnCool, our official videographer, was recording my really, really, really fast approach to the shore. All of the teammates were hollering accurate statements like, "WE ARE GOING TO WIN! KEEP GOING! YOU ARE IN FIRST PLACE! FIIIIRRRSST PLAAAACE!"

I wanted to blow an extravagant kiss for the camera, but I knew that if I stopped paddling, I wouldn't start again. (Seriously. Kayaking those choppy three miles was the most physically exhausting thing I have ever done.) So, I wooted. "Wooooot!" is what it sounded like.

Then I plssshhhhed onto shore, wobbled out of my kayak, weaved to the bell, and rang it. Hurrah! We had finished Ski to Sea! But then someone important told me my timing chip didn't scan, so I moseyed back a few feet, rescanned it, and then returned to ring the bell again. Double hurrah! Bell of Glory! Life is so good!

Who's down for next year?

Straight from the B'ham Herald

WELL-READ RACERS

Reading is sexy. That's the message the "Better Lovers" team was trying to spread as they prepared for Ski to Sea Sunday morning.

Downhill snowboarder Lindsay Budzier, 23, said her reading group, comprised of Western Washington University alumnae, joined together for their first attempt at Ski to Sea.

Budzier said she’d only been snowboarding for about three years, but confidently clutched her board, which featured a tattooed mermaid. "(The downhill leg) is mostly hiking, which will be good for me since I'm not a stellar snowboarder," she said.

As her teammates assured her that this would be the first of many Ski to Sea races to come, Budzier laughed. "We'll decide that after we get done," she said.

Ski to Sea! Ski to Sea! Yeah! Ski to Sea!

Better Lovers Ski to Sea team came in first in the Book Club Division! We are so good at racing and life!

But for real, this weekend was amazing. The only downside was that the canoe leg ended up being cancelled. (You know how the swollen Nooksack can be.) Though we didn't come in first or second or four-hundred and thirteenth, we were victorious in the areas of spirit, hilarity, and colorful t-shirts with ironed-on literary terms.

Here is the first of the half a million butter scones... I mean, half a million pictures... to follow:

From the left: Canoeist #1, Canoeist #2, Mountain bicyclist, Kayaker (me), Stop sign, Cross-country skier, Runner, Road bicyclist, Snowboarder

Ski to Sea - in the moment

Our cross-country skier should be done. Our downhill snowboarder is probably hiking up her second hill and will be soaring down momentarily. Our runner is poised to begin her 8, downhill miles, and our road biker is probably hanging out on a lawn chair thinking about Ludacris. She still has some time to kill.

Our canoeists have arrived at their canoeing spot (my enormous car fit a boat on top, bike in the back seat, and three racers on the bench seat) and heard the good news - the event is on! A fast-flowing Nooksack River won't stop us from racing, oh no. Our mountain biker has been dropped off at her location, and has lots and lots and lots of time to think about how we might be the only book club ever to double as a Ski to Sea team.

I am in my shorts and a sports bra, wondering where I can find some sunblock in this hizzouse. Soon, I will call my ride and say, "Ride! Let's go to Zuanich Park where I can prepare and lock up my kayak! And don't pronounce it 'Zuan-ick', because my roommates will make fun of you!" And then I will get ready to paddle, ring the bell of glory, and woot, woot, woot.

Method Paddling: What's My Motivation?

Ski to Sea is on Sunday. I am our team's kayaker. If I start slowing down, I'll think of my teammates waiting on shore, and I'll feel inspired to work harder. If that doesn't work, I will pretend I'm in this situation:

(Yes, this picture is real. That kayaker is actually a shark biologist and was intentionally paddling around in those creature-infested waters. The whole stalked-by-shark thing, however, was unplanned. HOW FREAKY IS THAT?!?)

The competition.

Here are some of my favorite Ski to Sea team names:

-Team Lint Brush
-The Truth about Potatoes*
-Bellingham Public Library Dewey Decimators
-Happy Birthday Yacoba Brauginsky to Sea
-OOO-UM-GOW-AH!
-Hyper Primbly's Eye Buggers
-I am McLovin

I will try to hunt down a Dewey Decimator and chat with them about book club. "Why are the books we want never available?" I'll ask. "I don't know. Let's focus on the race," s/he'll respond. Then we'll kayak. I'll sing something about book club to the tune of "Down By The Bay."

Crash course to a smooth, smooth ride.

The Better Lovers are a rowdy bunch. On the left, you can catch a glimpse of our usual book club activities (though the photo does not include every member).

Thanks to the brilliance of E-Bot (khakis) and Corncake (not pictured), the Better Lovers are expanding our interest. On May 25th, 8 of us will be participating in the world famous Ski to Sea Race.

I'm not kidding!

Ski to Sea begins on Mount Baker and ends in Bellingham Bay. It sounds like Kris (red shirt) will be kicking off the race with the cross-country skiing leg (note clever "kicking off" and "leg" pun), and I (denim jumpsuit) will be finishing it up on the kayak. Downhill skiing, running, road biking, canoeing, and mountain biking have yet to be officially claimed.

If you have a kayak, canoe, wet suit, or, you know, muscles to donate to the cause, your support would be greatly appreciated.

Ok. Exercise time.