FROM THE FIELD: CNCPT GEARS UP FOR THE LAST BEST RIDE
FROM THE FIELD: CNCPT GEARS UP FOR THE LAST BEST RIDE
Words: Alvin Escajeda
“At least my bike is already packed.”
That was my first thought leading into the week of travel to Kalispell, Montana for the first edition of The Last Best Ride. Two days back in LA after racing SBT GRVL in Steamboat Springs, Colorado, and I was be back at the airport doing it again. The race season feels like it went from 0 to 60 in 2 seconds, or however fast those super cars go, but like nothing had ever changed at same time. I hadn't been to the airport in over a year yet here I was, back twice in 1 week. I sure missed this feeling. This time around I had a travel companion and teammate, Sean Martin, and we would meet up with my brother, Luis Escajeda, who was already in Montana.
A short flight and an even shorter cab ride and we were wheels down in Kalispell Montana. Being the biggest town in Northwest Montana, we had plenty to do and see, at least more than I imagined when I first registered for The Last Best Ride back in February.
There is generally an order of operations when touching down for an event in a new place: get to the Airbnb, build bikes, get food, explore the town. and, if you get in few days early, have some beers. This was the case the last two weekends, but we switch up the building bikes & getting food order this time around.
I questioned the Sunday race start as most races I've done have been on Saturdays, but I am slowly growing to be a fan of having some extra time to ride, explore or just hang out. With bikes built and bellies full, we decided to hit the town, or at least the 4 or 5 blocks it consisted of.
The plan was to get some groceries for the few days we were in town, until we ran into a concert in the park. No better way to check out the vibe of the town than by meeting some of the locals! You also can't beat getting 5 drink tickets for $20 so there was reason to hang out for a little while. A local band called Comatose Pose rocked out, covering all the soft and hard rock jams for families, young and old. Third Eye Blind, Journey, Metallica and others were the soundtracks of the afternoon as a light rain came down. Dinner round 2 came from a food truck serving 1LB tacos, as we made ride plans for the next day and spoke with a local about other things to check out while we were in town. A parade, a pro rodeo and the County Fair came up, all of which caught our attention. “We’re definitely going to the fair,” I said to Sean as we made our way back to the Airbnb with groceries in tow.
With our morning ride plans set, we had a full day ahead of us. Our friend Willis was also in town for the race, staying 10 miles south of us in Somers, while my brother Luis was 15 north of us in Whitefish, where the race was being held. We decided to head south to ride something that was not part of the race to get in as many new roads as possible. Going for our third coffee before the ride, we ran into the parade a woman told us about the day before. We rode down the parade route, trying to high-five people as we rolled down but it didn't really work so we made our way to Somers on a Rail to Trail that was fast and beautifully paved, meeting with Willis, who had set out a 40-mile 3K elevation route up to Blacktail Mountain, a popular Ski destination. A quick loop around Flathead Lake and a 13-mile 50% road 50% fire road climb awaited us.
Rain was sticking around on the forecast all week, and in the haze of thinking everything was packed, my kit consisted only of clothing used at SBT Gravel the previous weekend where the temperature was in the high 90’s. I thought about all the stuff I forgot to pack as we climbed into a cloud with only a windbreaker and no gloves, whoops. While the descent was not as unpleasant as I thought, it was a good indicator of what Sunday’s race might hold in store for us. We rolled by Flathead Lake on the way back, wishing it were warm enough to swim but decided a Vitamin R would be just a refreshing. We made our way back to Kalispell, looking for lunch and a shower. In the end, a solid opener ride of 60ish miles and 4k elevation two days before we took on almost double that on Sunday.
The Last Best Ride organizers hosted a Friday Social for all the racers to hangout before the race, which would be our evening plans on this gloomy Friday afternoon. Being some of the only people at the race that did not rent a car, we were lucky to catch a ride with Willis. After a few announcements from race staff, we said hello to friends new and old, and headed to dinner. A boojie Mexican restaurant with good cocktails was where we landed, and a long and loud dinner commenced. It was Friday night after all, and with an extra day to recover before the race, we extended our night from the dinner table to a bar table. Luis had been in Whitefish all week and with the town only being a few blocks, he was basically a local now, so he knew where to go.
One round turned into a few more and it was time to go, we are athletes after all and needed to rest (insert LOL emoji).
Saturday morning, we were greeted by rain, but not before being greeted by the unceasing barking of a Husky next door. When I say next door, I mean the house attached directly next to our room only divided by a piece of plywood. Thanks Airbnb.
Today was also the only day to pick up your race number, and instead of being inside the house with the dog barking uncontrollably, we decided to ride to get our numbers. Again, we didn't have a rental car, so we rode to do everything, including riding 17 miles to the start of the race the following day, possibly riding home after the finish. So riding to get our numbers was more than just a packet pick up - it was a good way to shake the legs out and also know how long it would take us to ride to the start in the morning. It rained just enough on our ride to Whitefish to get us wet, but not enough to make it miserable. The potential for the same weather on race day was high, so it was good to know what it would feel like. With race numbers in hand and the sun coming out, we headed back to Kalispell for a lunch spot recommended by our taxi driver.
Sykes, home to the 10-cent coffee and portions for a lumberjack (or bike racer), we sat down in our rain soaked and muddy team kit to a nice meal, promptly named Dinner #1 by Sean.
The rest of our afternoon consisted of two things: get the bikes cleaned and ready for the race, and the County Fair. Both Sean and I were riding Cervelo’s Aspero gravel bike. Coming from racing SBT’s fast and smooth course, I had on some smaller tires than recommended, so I swapped and seated some 40mm Pirelli Cinturato tires, using up five CO2s vs the usual one I used before when on the road before we hit the carwash for one last clean up before the race.
Finally, time for what we were waiting for: The Fair. I guess the race counts also but it’s The Fair! Walking distance from our Airbnb, we talked about all the wild fried food we would eat as Dinner #2.
The Pro Rodeo was also happening, but with a late start and us having an 4:30am wake up, we had to skip that part, unfortunately.
Maybe we'd talked up the fair a little too much, but we were bummed on the food options. Nothing was deep fried or wrapped in anything like the fairs I've been to before, but still it was good nonetheless. The people watching and fashion more than made up for the lack of outrageous foods. We made are way home as the rain began to fall and the sun was setting, preparing for an early bedtime and an earlier wake up, something I'm used to these by now. Plus, the fact that we’re doing it to spend all day riding bikes in a new place is always worth it.
Stay tuned for part two: the actual ride!
Words: Alvin Escajeda
“At least my bike is already packed.”
That was my first thought leading into the week of travel to Kalispell, Montana for the first edition of The Last Best Ride. Two days back in LA after racing SBT GRVL in Steamboat Springs, Colorado, and I was be back at the airport doing it again. The race season feels like it went from 0 to 60 in 2 seconds, or however fast those super cars go, but like nothing had ever changed at same time. I hadn't been to the airport in over a year yet here I was, back twice in 1 week. I sure missed this feeling. This time around I had a travel companion and teammate, Sean Martin, and we would meet up with my brother, Luis Escajeda, who was already in Montana.
A short flight and an even shorter cab ride and we were wheels down in Kalispell Montana. Being the biggest town in Northwest Montana, we had plenty to do and see, at least more than I imagined when I first registered for The Last Best Ride back in February.
There is generally an order of operations when touching down for an event in a new place: get to the Airbnb, build bikes, get food, explore the town. and, if you get in few days early, have some beers. This was the case the last two weekends, but we switch up the building bikes & getting food order this time around.
I questioned the Sunday race start as most races I've done have been on Saturdays, but I am slowly growing to be a fan of having some extra time to ride, explore or just hang out. With bikes built and bellies full, we decided to hit the town, or at least the 4 or 5 blocks it consisted of.
The plan was to get some groceries for the few days we were in town, until we ran into a concert in the park. No better way to check out the vibe of the town than by meeting some of the locals! You also can't beat getting 5 drink tickets for $20 so there was reason to hang out for a little while. A local band called Comatose Pose rocked out, covering all the soft and hard rock jams for families, young and old. Third Eye Blind, Journey, Metallica and others were the soundtracks of the afternoon as a light rain came down. Dinner round 2 came from a food truck serving 1LB tacos, as we made ride plans for the next day and spoke with a local about other things to check out while we were in town. A parade, a pro rodeo and the County Fair came up, all of which caught our attention. “We’re definitely going to the fair,” I said to Sean as we made our way back to the Airbnb with groceries in tow.
With our morning ride plans set, we had a full day ahead of us. Our friend Willis was also in town for the race, staying 10 miles south of us in Somers, while my brother Luis was 15 north of us in Whitefish, where the race was being held. We decided to head south to ride something that was not part of the race to get in as many new roads as possible. Going for our third coffee before the ride, we ran into the parade a woman told us about the day before. We rode down the parade route, trying to high-five people as we rolled down but it didn't really work so we made our way to Somers on a Rail to Trail that was fast and beautifully paved, meeting with Willis, who had set out a 40-mile 3K elevation route up to Blacktail Mountain, a popular Ski destination. A quick loop around Flathead Lake and a 13-mile 50% road 50% fire road climb awaited us.
Rain was sticking around on the forecast all week, and in the haze of thinking everything was packed, my kit consisted only of clothing used at SBT Gravel the previous weekend where the temperature was in the high 90’s. I thought about all the stuff I forgot to pack as we climbed into a cloud with only a windbreaker and no gloves, whoops. While the descent was not as unpleasant as I thought, it was a good indicator of what Sunday’s race might hold in store for us. We rolled by Flathead Lake on the way back, wishing it were warm enough to swim but decided a Vitamin R would be just a refreshing. We made our way back to Kalispell, looking for lunch and a shower. In the end, a solid opener ride of 60ish miles and 4k elevation two days before we took on almost double that on Sunday.
The Last Best Ride organizers hosted a Friday Social for all the racers to hangout before the race, which would be our evening plans on this gloomy Friday afternoon. Being some of the only people at the race that did not rent a car, we were lucky to catch a ride with Willis. After a few announcements from race staff, we said hello to friends new and old, and headed to dinner. A boojie Mexican restaurant with good cocktails was where we landed, and a long and loud dinner commenced. It was Friday night after all, and with an extra day to recover before the race, we extended our night from the dinner table to a bar table. Luis had been in Whitefish all week and with the town only being a few blocks, he was basically a local now, so he knew where to go.
One round turned into a few more and it was time to go, we are athletes after all and needed to rest (insert LOL emoji).
Saturday morning, we were greeted by rain, but not before being greeted by the unceasing barking of a Husky next door. When I say next door, I mean the house attached directly next to our room only divided by a piece of plywood. Thanks Airbnb.
Today was also the only day to pick up your race number, and instead of being inside the house with the dog barking uncontrollably, we decided to ride to get our numbers. Again, we didn't have a rental car, so we rode to do everything, including riding 17 miles to the start of the race the following day, possibly riding home after the finish. So riding to get our numbers was more than just a packet pick up - it was a good way to shake the legs out and also know how long it would take us to ride to the start in the morning. It rained just enough on our ride to Whitefish to get us wet, but not enough to make it miserable. The potential for the same weather on race day was high, so it was good to know what it would feel like. With race numbers in hand and the sun coming out, we headed back to Kalispell for a lunch spot recommended by our taxi driver.
Sykes, home to the 10-cent coffee and portions for a lumberjack (or bike racer), we sat down in our rain soaked and muddy team kit to a nice meal, promptly named Dinner #1 by Sean.
The rest of our afternoon consisted of two things: get the bikes cleaned and ready for the race, and the County Fair. Both Sean and I were riding Cervelo’s Aspero gravel bike. Coming from racing SBT’s fast and smooth course, I had on some smaller tires than recommended, so I swapped and seated some 40mm Pirelli Cinturato tires, using up five CO2s vs the usual one I used before when on the road before we hit the carwash for one last clean up before the race.
Finally, time for what we were waiting for: The Fair. I guess the race counts also but it’s The Fair! Walking distance from our Airbnb, we talked about all the wild fried food we would eat as Dinner #2.
The Pro Rodeo was also happening, but with a late start and us having an 4:30am wake up, we had to skip that part, unfortunately.
Maybe we'd talked up the fair a little too much, but we were bummed on the food options. Nothing was deep fried or wrapped in anything like the fairs I've been to before, but still it was good nonetheless. The people watching and fashion more than made up for the lack of outrageous foods. We made are way home as the rain began to fall and the sun was setting, preparing for an early bedtime and an earlier wake up, something I'm used to these by now. Plus, the fact that we’re doing it to spend all day riding bikes in a new place is always worth it.
Stay tuned for part two: the actual ride!