Heather Szabo & Mary Monroe
Sponsor/Team: Tokyo Joe's
Hometown: Lafayette and Durango, CO
Blogger Bios: Wait a sec...they're friggin' endless! I put them at the bottom of the page. Here's Mary's. And Heather's.
Blog Article #1, May 1st, 2009
BLOG ARTICLE #1, May 1st, 2009
Ing-Ing
By Mary Monroe
When asked to blog this time I realized that my mind is in a place of balance. Working, Mothering, Wifing, (cleaning, cooking), Loving, Training….Ing-ing. With that, I recently wrote a piece for the local newspaper and thought it would also work as a blog. Plus, if I have one less assignment, I could do more Ing-Ing…But it really does work for the blog because when we’re all out there on the trails, we’re partially raising money for the future of Breck trails by supporting the Greenspeed Project. We’re the stewards of the land so our kids can ride there and we’ll have trails for more Ing-ing…racing, training, hiking, running…
“Share the Trails” is not a new idea. In the book on global leadership, “All I Really Needed to Know I learned in Kindergarten” author Robert Fulghum ranks Sharing first as a basic skill for life.
I have a kindergartner living in my house, and the things I remind her of are the same things we can continue to think about as adults. For instance: remember when you were a kid and you got to go on an adventure (now you call it a hike) with your friends? You’d explore, enjoy and feel invigorated. You wouldn’t get mad if you saw someone else on the trail, you’d say “HI!”
Trail conflicts can occur within and between user groups, as a result of factors not related to trail user activities at all. Conflict might be related to activity style, focus of trip, expectations, attitudes toward and perceptions of the environment, level of tolerance for others, and different norms held by different users. Taking a cue from kindergartners everywhere, let’s all embrace a spirit of Sharing when we’re on the trail! Here’s my version of “All I Really Needed to Know about Trails I learned in Kindergarten”:
Share everything.
When you’re on a trail and you encounter another trail user, say “HI!” When you’re on the trail and you see another person, respect their safety. When appropriate (yield rules of the trail) move over and wave them through.
Play fair.
If you see a horse, stop about 100 feet away and announce yourself. If you’re on a mountain bike and are going downhill, yield to the uphill rider. They’re working harder than you are. If you see a hiker, slow down. Do your utmost to let your fellow trail users know you're coming -- a friendly greeting or bell ring are good methods. Anticipate other trail users as you approach blind corners. Bicyclists should yield to all other trail users, unless the trail is clearly signed for bike-only travel. Strive to make each pass a safe and courteous one.
Put things back where you found them.
The trail you’re on is public. Respect that and stay on the trail. Leave No Trace. Be sensitive to the dirt beneath you. Wet and muddy trails are more vulnerable to damage than dry ones. When the trail is soft, consider other options. This also means staying on existing trails and not creating new ones. Don't cut switchbacks.
Clean up your own mess.
If you see trash or create trash, please pick it up and carry it out, even if it’s not yours. Be sure to pack out as much, if not more, as you pack in.
Know your equipment, your ability and the area in which you are riding – and prepare accordingly. Strive to be self-sufficient: keep your equipment in good repair and carry necessary supplies for changes in weather or other conditions. Always wear a helmet and appropriate safety gear.
Live a balanced life.
Learn some and think some and draw and paint and sing and dance and play and work every day some. Try a new trail, hike where you normally mountain bike. If you haven’t given back by joining your local group or volunteering, now is the time to help out.
So, put all these lessons to good use. And remember: when you go out in the world, watch out for traffic, hold hands and stick together.
And My Ing-ing
By Heather Szabo
Ing-ing. I like that! Mary, can I borrow that? So much of every day is spent ing-ing. Child care-ing. Laundry-ing. Cook-ing. Clean-ing. Train-ing, or try-ing to. A couple more: ride-ing, friend-ing and eat-ing and drink-ing. Fresh off a four-day trip to Moab with 11 girl friends those are some great ing-ings.
At the Szabo house, we have one kid turning 3 the end of the month and the other turns 2 in August. Sharing and conflict resolution are two things that we are really working on; whether it’s the shark flashlight, a book or a bike.
A couple of my favorite reminders on the trail are:
** A smile goes a long way. When encountering a hiker, an equestrian or another biker, say hello and give a smile. Say hi to the horse or the dog with hiker – they like it too.
**I taught a mountain bike skills class the other day. It rained all night previous. Worried? Only a little. We utilized paved bike paths and gravel parking lots. After a morning of sunshine, the trails were in great shape and we were able to put those skills we learned on the pavement to use on the trail. Just because you can’t ride on dirt, doesn’t mean you can’t have fun on your mountain bike.
**Bring a snack for yourself and an extra for your friend. If you flat your tire, remember to take that old tube with you (even in a race!).
**When in doubt, pull over. Better to both be waving the other person to go then to chance a collision. Just like in the song by the B52’s: “C-O-M-M-U-N-I-C-A-T-E”.
Trails breed camaraderie. Grab a friend and get out there. Talk about the birds or your garden or a great meal you had. Contact your local trail group and see what you can do to help – it might be helping at the office opening mail! Getting ‘out there’ is really why we’re all here, ing-ing…
BLOG APPLICATION (filled out by Heather)
Where are you from?
I grew up in a small town in northern Michigan (the mitten part), Cadillac. Contrary to general belief, not named after the car, even though it’s a town in Michigan.
What kind of bike do you ride
Umm, depends on the day and time! The stable includes a Gary Fisher RaceDay, Paragon 29er hardtail, cross bike and road bike. Also, a custom painted singlespeed. It was an old Ritchey P-20 hardtail. My husband had horizontal drops put on it and custom painted. Gave it to me on my very first Mother’s Day. I loved it instantly and cried.
What do you love about it?
I love all the experiences I’ve had (good and bad) and the friends I’ve made through many, many bike rides and races.
Solo or team competitor? Why?
Team!! Misery loves company.
Who’s your teammate (if applicable)?
Mary Monroe. Minutes after I sent her the first email the Breck Epic was taking place, she wrote back and said, “we should do this!” I’m not sure she was totally serious about it at the time. But my first thought was, “heck yeah!”
Done any ultra-endurance stuff before?
Do 24 hour races count? Then yes. A couple.
Favorite food?
Tough call. Either a homemade taco salad (I make a killer taco salad) or smothered chicken burrito. Ideally, followed by ice cream.
Movie?
Best in Show. Shawshank Redemtion. Napoleon Dynomite. Superbad.
Book?
Too many to name just one. I’m currently reading The Power of Kindness and feel it is one I could suggest to just about anyone. But I also really enjoyed all the Harry Potter books.
Best experience on a bike?
The SuperCup cyclo-cross race in Boulder, October of 1999. I was in “the zone”. Best finish ever at a major race. I felt no pain, the legs moved without effort.
Tell us about your LBS (Local Bike Shop):
Desert Cyclery in St George is owned by Kong Davis who is a person that loves bikes from every angle.
Tell us about your favorite ride EVER:
The front range was nailed by a HUGE spring snowstorm, three to eight feet of snow. Avalanches that closed I-70. But the spring trip to Moab had been planned for months and we were going. The highway was only opened at 6:00am the morning we were to leave. We loaded up the cars and headed out. Bathroom stop and pick up more people in Silverthorne and then continue on down the road. We stopped in Fruita to ride Lion’s and Mary’s loop. The sky was deep blue with a few wispy clouds and it was nearly 70 degrees. What a difference from the snowy mess we left on the front range. Cruising down the trail feeling the warm sun on pasty white legs and arms and hearing the group chatter and laugh, seeing the smiles on everyone’s faces. It was just such a feeling of “aahhhh”.
Describe a sponsor or company you admire and why you admire them:
Larry Leith, owner of Tokyo Joe’s. Larry is consistently, amazingly generous and is also genuinely happy when racers on the team do well.
Who will play you in the Breck Epic movie and why?
Cameron Diaz because she is the only actress who seems like she might be able to ride a mountain bike. And she also seems like she’d have good potty humor.
Tell us about your history as a cyclist or in the industry:
In the spring of 1992, my first mountain bike found its way into my life. A scholarship running career had just come to an end and I was in need of a new competitive outlet. I heard about an off-road duathlon and thought that sounded great! I did it and won. The next day was just a mountain bike race. I went back and standing at the start line looking at women wearing jerseys and bike shoes, I thought, “what am I doing here?” The gun went off and at the top of the first hill, I was in the lead and later crossed the line with no one in sight. The promoter suggested for my next race, I enter the sport class. Ok…
Two years later, I moved to Colorado with dreams of racing as a professional. Before that happened, I landed a job at VeloNews working the front desk. WOAH. Shortly after, I earned a pro license. From there, I went on to work at IMBA as the membership coordinator. This is how I met Mary Monroe. Mary is an incredible inspiration in so many ways! We’ve been on many ride and ski adventures and races together. Mary is quick with a smile and a laugh, usually at the time when you would least expect it.
Although Tokyo Joe’s has sponsored some individual riders previously, we officially started the team in 2002. I’ve been the manager since then. We’ve been fortunate to have some great talent come through and represent our team.
I’ve held a pro license since 1997, but took the last three seasons off due to having some kids. I’m really looking forward to the Breck Epic as a major event to get back on the trail to being a professional bike racer again!
Feel free to blatantly self-promote here. A quote you like, a direct appeal to the voters, some hateful vitriolic slander for your political opponents. This is your space, decorate it however you like:
A bike-related story: My last trip to InterBike was 2005. I was working for Catalyst, under the Trek umbrella to give retailer support. It’s about an hour or so into the very first morning and the initial wave of hysteria had passed. I was standing by our booth - people watching. My boss was standing against a wall on the opposite side of the aisle, also people watching. I looked down the aisle and I see this man walking toward us. He was thin, older and well dressed, obviously European. As he was getting closer we made and held eye contact. It took a couple seconds to register, but as it did my eyes got as big as bike wheels…”that looks like Eddy Merckx!” and it was. While holding eye contact, Mr. Merckx gave me a slight smile and small head nod. I smiled back. He continued walking. After he passed, I looked at my boss – he witnessed everything and verified that yes, it really did happen. If I never do anything in the bike industry again, my career is a success – I received a smile and head nod from The Man.
MARY'S BIO:
While growing up in Wisconsin, Mary had an array of outdoor experiences including many summers spent in the “Northwood’s” enjoying trails, fishing and family. Mary went to college at the University of Wisconsin majoring in Journalism/Mass Communication and went on to intern at the local NBC and ABC affiliates. While enjoying a trail she learned it would be closed and called Trek Bicycles, headquartered in Waterloo, Wisconsin to see what they would do about this. Mary was hired on the spot and created the public relations and then the sports marketing departments. Highlights of her role including handling the public relations for the merger and acquisition of Gary Fisher bicycles, Bontrager and Lemond bikes; signing athletes who became Olympic medalists, creating the famed Trek/Volkswagen partnership where consumers purchased a Trek branded Volkswagen car and the Trek VW mountain bike race team sponsorship-the longest running partnership in mountain bike racing and negotiating with and signing Lance Armstrong to ride for Trek on US Postal.
Mary went on to live in London for a Tour de France magazine where she organized an art show at the National Gallery of Art in Dublin. She returned to the States to consult for start-up companies and non-profits and then went on to become Chief Marketing Officer of USA Cycling on the US Olympic campus. Afterward she continued her consulting business working for such non-profits as etown, the nationally recognized radio program; created a literacy program for migrant farm workers for the IZZE Beverage company and developed a strategic and marketing plan for the Women’s Wilderness Institute.
Mary has served on several boards of directors, including ten years as the vice president of the International Mountain Bicycling Association.
In December 2005 Mary was hired as the Executive Director of Trails 2000, a non profit that builds, maintains the trails and advocates for trail connectivity on trail, bikepath and road.
Mary excels at creating community and finding long-term business partnership opportunities. She sees her role with Trails 2000 as an important vehicle by which the community is connected through the trail and enjoying the natural surroundings.
Mary is married to Durango native Travis Brown and they have a 5-year-old daughter.
Full-time Mom.
Part-time: dog walker (contact me if you're in Boulder County!), Tokyo Joe's team manager, swim instructor (Lakeshore Athletic Club), bike instructor (riding skills and bike maintenance). I have a great number of jobs and great places to do them!
I try to ride my bike whenever and wherever possible - to work and especially to play. Right now, trying to instill riding bikes is fun to my kids. They both love to ride in the trailer, "go faster Mommy!" We ride to the park to play and to the grocery store. There's only been a couple times when I've purchased a little more than I should have with the trailer and had to pile stuff on them for the ride home. They thought is was great fun and the apples only had a couple bites out of them.
Biking has been a huge part of my life since my early 20s. Fresh off a collegiate scholarship for running, I needed something to fill my competitive outlet - my then boyfriend and now husband - suggested mountain biking. I don't think either one of us could have predicted where cycling would take us in life, literally and figuratively. I've been fortunate to see some amazing places due to bike racing and my various careers in the bike industry. I'm looking forward to what is to come.
