Cyclist of the Month: Max Shalitmontagne
Not a fat kid who plays StarCraft anymore
Age: 18
Occupation: student
Hometown: Seattle
Wheels: 1986 Team Fuji
Remember the kids in high school who patrolled the hallways? Well, that’s Max Shalitmontagne—except instead of the standard issue Maglite, Max patrols the streets on bike with a mini Kryptonite u-lock, wearing a black-and-white striped road jersey.
As a volunteer Cascade Ride Ref, Max rides Chilly Hilly, Flying Wheels and Group Health STP for free. The worst four offenses during events? 1) Listening to earphones, 2) passing riders without alerts, 3) not wearing helmets, and 4) walking bikes up hills in the middle of the road.
Just graduating from Garfield High School, Max is one of the youngest LCIs (an instructor certified by the League of American Bicyclists to teach BikeEd). For Cascade, Max teaches Urban Cycling Techniques (based on the League’s Traffic Skills 101) and Urban Riders—a hands-on bike safety program for teens 11-17.
Because of Max’s young age, and perhaps his ability to trackstand for an hour, students have more interest in his classes. “Students respect his abilities,” says Robin Randels, classes coordinator. She recalls Max cycling over 30 miles from West Seattle to Redmond for a 10:00 am class, after riding at a Friday Critical Mass rally until 2:00 AM.
Max is an assistant instructor, a junior mentor, for Group Health-sponsored Bicycle Camps for kids. The Cascade Bicycle Club Education Foundation coordinates the summer camp program with various King County YMCAs. Up to twelve kids attend each five-day camp, offered June through August. The bicycle camps are held at Magnuson Park and other venues.
Day One: Road Rules and casual park ride
Day Two: Learn how to ride on a track at the Marymoor Velodrome
Day Three: Mountain bike with Trips for Kids at St. Edwards State Park
Day Four: Freeride stunt course and basic bike maintenance
Day Five: Ride ten miles on the Burke-Gilman Trail
Alleycats are Max’s favorite events. Often coordinated by Emerald City Bike Bloc, or local bike messengers, alleycats are informal bike races that emphasize participation over competition. The races can be intense, but the social aspect is what draws riders.
The Westside Invitational is another popular Spring event: four days of bike activities, including a scavenger hunt, alleycat, time trial, bike polo, and Emerald City Sprints—400-meter indoor roller races on the second Tuesday of the month.
Another alleycat, the Resurrection Race, required each racer to carry a homemade duct-taped wooden cross. On the course, racers encountered a giant stuffed Easter bunny at a cemetery. Each Resurrection checkpoint presents another obstacle, like purposely deflated tires, a cracker eating challenge, and bobbing for beers. But Max enjoys challenges. That’s why he does things like the Christmas Disaster cyclocross race…on a brakeless Fixie…at NIGHT…in the S-N-OW.
Max also volunteers at The Bikery — a nonprofit, volunteer-run bike shop in the Central District. The Bikery teaches people how to fix and ride bikes. For every hour that you volunteer, you receive $10 in Bikery credits, which are often donated back to the organization. The Bikery is open Saturday through Tuesday, afternoons through evenings.
Max taught himself bike mechanics by hanging out at Aaron’s Bicycle Repair in West Seattle—as well as reading the cyclist’s bibles: Delong’s Guide to Bicycles and Bicycling, Glenn’s Complete Bicycle Manual, and, of course, anything by Sheldon Brown. He also browses YouTube for how-to videos.
Max credits cycling for his active, independent, and mobile lifestyle. “Now I can pretty much get anywhere without asking for a ride or waiting for the bus. I’m not a fat little kid who plays StarCraft anymore. I wasn’t that fat, but I was fat on the inside.”
For fun, Max enjoys Humpday Hustle at UW in Red Square. After his computer broke, Max started biking more because he no longer checked how far or how fast he was riding. Now he rides until he doesn’t want to ride anymore—as far as Olympia or Bellingham. Although his solo adventures surprise them, his parents are obviously pleased. His dad proudly shares a photo of Max riding his bike to senior prom.
This fall, Max attends Evergreen State College where he plans to study industrial design. He hopes to find a part-time job at a cool Local Bike Shop: a LBS with knowledgeable techs that promotes bikes for transportation. Since he cannot prevent potholes or aggressive drivers, Max hopes to use his skills to design better bikes for everyday cyclists.
For more information about Cascade’s bike classes and Ride Ref program.
Scott Marlow was marketing director for Cascade Bicycle Club from 2001-2005. The Club record-holder for the shortest commute (under six seconds), Marlow works from his home office in West Seattle.
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Cyclist of the Month: LB Kregenow
Age: 43
Occupation: federal lawyer, Western Washington District Court
Hometown: Montreal, Quebec
Degree: B.A. Dartmouth. J.D., University of Pennsylvania
Commute: 7 miles from Greenlake to downtown Seattle (5 days per week)
Wheels: Bianchi Eros, Bianchi Vigorelli
“Cycling is a much broader activity than I ever realized. It has everything I love about team sports and more.” That’s why LB Kregenow prefers crits over time trials—“Riding with people around me is more fun. Cycling can be a solo sport, but there are sub-communities, like cyclocross, within cycling that can always be discovered—and you can always take advantage of the community’s pack-mentality.”
In 2006, LB attended her first Bike To Work Breakfast, where she purchased a Cascade Bicycle Club membership to support the Club’s bike advocacy and education efforts. Her pet peeve: drivers who don’t use their turn signals.
LB describes her commute as the “perfect distance.” Her seven-mile bike ride takes only four minutes longer than riding the Metro 64 or 66, and it is great base training for the road racing season, which starts in mid-March.
“The enjoyment of cycling cannot be replicated on a trainer. I don’t get to read the newspaper as much, but cycling is healthier and more fulfilling.”
In the winter of 2005, LB started racing with Team Group Health. She started bike commuting to improve her strength and stamina. LB’s favorite event is the criterium [the most common type of bicycle race in the U.S.]. This season she’s taking a hill climbing clinic from Cycle University so that she can conquer more hill races.
Now that her sons are 16 and 11, LB enjoys racing more with her husband David, who also bike commutes regularly. Now, they often travel and race together. They particularly enjoy the Ballard Criterium, Derby Days Criterium, Methow Stage and Tour of Walla Walla Stage races.
LB also joined Team Group Health to fundraise for the ‘end-of-season’ MS150 event; last year, 50 Team members raised over $39,000 for the National Multiple Sclerosis Society. Team members also support Group Health at community events–volunteering at Bike Expo and doing helmet fittings for kids.
With 80 members, Team Group Health is one of the largest all-women’s competitive cycling teams in the Northwest. The Team’s goal is to support women racers by emphasizing development of new riders. Riders are mostly Cat 4 and Cat 3, but the team does boast one pro rider. Each fall, new riders can apply to the team at Meet The Teams event.
Compared to Philadelphia, Seattle offers many more riding opportunities. After three years, LB still finds new short and long rides. In fact, she thanks road construction for pushing her to explore new areas.
Next year, the Kregenows plan to explore some ‘small’ hills of the Giro d’Italia.
Visit WSBAracing.org for more information about the fall Meet The Teams event.
Scott Marlow was marketing director for Cascade Bicycle Club from 2001-2005. The Club record-holder for the shortest commute (under six seconds), Marlow works from his home office in West Seattle.
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Imitation — the sincerest form of flattery?
This week, PUMP (Portland United Mountain Pedalers) unveiled a new name and logo for the mountain bike advocacy organization. The new name, Northwest Trail Alliance, sounds flat and uninspiring compared to PUMP.
The new logo, however, is what’s really unoriginal. When you borrow another organization’s logo, that’s not called rebranding. Let’s call it copybranding.
Seattle’s Backcountry Bicycle Trails Club recently rebranded and chose a controversial name– Evergreen Mountain Bike Alliance. Did Kris Schamp (former marketing specialist for Bike Gallery) unconsciously, or consciously, misappropriate the logo (below) that BBTC had used for over ten years?
The recently retired BBTC logo was created by Ross Cattelan, a long-time BBTC supporter and professional graphic designer. After I developed a concept with another designer, Ross added depth to the imagery and he created a new color palette that was used across all BBTC marketing materials (until last year when BBTC evolved to Evergreen).
Legally, Northwest Trail Alliance is not in danger of trademark violation. Its new design deviates significantly enough from the BBTC logo that it is probably not “confusingly similar.”
When determining infringement, the Court considers the following elements:
- Strength of the mark
- Proximity of the goods
- Similarity of the marks
- Evidence of actual confusion
- Marketing channels used
- Type of goods and the degree of care likely to be exercised by the purchaser
- Defendant’s intent in selecting the mark
- Likelihood of expansion of the product lines
A little market research and common courtesy can help ward off trademark suits.
Cyclist of the Month: Dan Matte
Age: 42
Occupation: senior vice president of marketing and business development, F5
Hometown: Montreal, Quebec
Degree: Bachelor of Commerce, Queen’s University. M.B.A, University of British Columbia
Commute: 35 miles round trip from Issaquah to Seattle, 2 days per week
Wheels: 2004 Specialized Roubaix Comp
121 employees of technology company F5 formed 13 teams to participate in the 2008 Group Health Commute Challenge. Together, they logged 22,500 miles. This year, 25% of Seattle F5 employees, including six of eight executives, are biking to work as part of the Commute Challenge.
Dan Matte attributes the high participation to F5’s comfortable and supportive work environment.
For example, last year, F5 hired Chris Cameron, former commute director of Cascade Bicycle Club, to teach employees about bike safety and commuting. This year, the company is coordinating brown bag lunches, including a Bike Commuting clinic and a Bike Maintenance clinic—as well as Bagel Fridays.
F5 bike commuters are also treated to lockers, showers, and secure (attended) covered bike parking. Even towel service. An internal cycling email alias is also popular; dozens of cyclists connect with experienced peers who answer questions about gear, routes, and training.
Commuters, including cyclists, who choose options other than single occupant vehicles, can receive monthly transportation stipends valued from $1,200 to $3,600 per year. Employees may also opt to use a pre-tax spending account to fund alternative transportation options like train, bus, and ferry fares. And, if an employee needs emergency transportation home when using alternative transportation, F5 will pay for it—part of F5’s Home Free program.
If that weren’t enough, every F5 Commute Challenge participant receives a free F5 cycling jersey.
Dan’s fair weather commuting started in 1990, when he started mountain biking around Vancouver, British Columbia. He still frequents his favorite off-road destination, Kamloops, and enjoys racing in the notorious 34-mile Cheakamus Challenge. But Dan confesses he is now a roadie. His rap sheet includes Flying Wheels, RSVP, Spawning Cycle, STP, and Tour de Blast. And he is on the 2009 wait list for his first RAMROD.
A Garmin 305 GPS tracks Dan’s two-day commute and recreational road riding. It tallies 3,000-5,000 miles per year. Not bad for an executive with a heavy travel schedule.
Dan often joins Bellevue’s Lakemont Cycling Club for early morning 30-mile rides around Samammish. On the weekends, he joins the Club for another 50-70 mile ride.
His wife, Dawn, rides for the Lakemont Ladies, who attracted over 200 female cyclists to last year’s Cycle The Wave—the inaugural fundraiser for the Eastside Domestic Violence Program.
Dan enjoys passing along his passion for cycling, and both of his boys, nine and twelve, are already addicted to downhill mountain biking. He looks forward to taking the family on a bike tour of Vietnam or Africa.
F5 Networks earned a Commuter Challenge Diamond Award from King County in 2002 for its leadership in encouraging employees to walk or bicycle to work.
For more information about the Lakemont Cycling Club, visit: LakemontCyclingClub.com
For more information about Lakemont Ladies, visit: LakemonLadiesCyclingClub.com
Scott Marlow was marketing director for Cascade Bicycle Club from 2001-2005. The Club record-holder for the shortest commute (under six seconds), Marlow works from his home office in West Seattle.
Nominate a cyclist of the month!
Bike To Work: Drive Less. Live More.
I just launched a new skin for this year’s Bike Month, working with M.J. Kelly, marketing communication manager for Cascade Bicycle Club. Sign your team up today for the Group Health Commute Challenge.
Cyclist of the Month: Stu Hennesey
Age: 55
Occupation: owner, Alki Bike & Board
Hometown: Seattle
Commute: 5-10 miles from West’s Seattle’s Highland Park to Admiral Junction
Wheels: 1993 custom Wynn road bike
Stu Hennesey could talk for hours about alternative transportation and sustainability. But Stu’s ten-second elevator pitch could be: less oil dependency, cleaner air, and healthier people—through bicycling.
Stu started racing CAT 3 (with the local Schwinn Rainbow Cycling Team) in 1976. It was around 1985 when Stu, a former Cascade ride leader, founded Alki Wednesday Night Ride Series. He was so passionate about riding that he ditched his car for eight years.
When he started raising kids, he had to drive more, but he also rode more: getting his sons, Patrick and Julian, into BMX racing at the ages of eight and five, respectively.
Gabi, Stu’s wife, can thank cycling for their marriage. The couple met during Stu’s eight and a half month self-guided tour from Seattle to Belize. Stu rode along the Pacific Coast to Baja–via the notorious 50-mile Rosarito to Ensenada route–to Mexico City and then to the Yucatan Peninsula, before continuing on to Belize. Neither of them predicted that they would later tour Germany, England and Ireland together as husband and wife. The family hopes to do a self-guided tour of Morocco someday.
In 1987, Stu purchased Alki Bike from Frenchman Jean Pierre Ossau, renaming the business Alki Bicycle Company. In 2000, after the shop moved from Alki to Admiral Junction, the shop transitioned to Alki Bike & Board, to reflect the shop’s growing snowboard sales [about 20% of sales overall]. The shop employs eight full-time workers.
Stu witnessed two industry trends: from mountain bikes to race bikes. He hopes that transportation and cargo bikes will be the next wave. “Commuter mileage is rough on bikes. There just aren’t many choices that can withstand the punishment. My most frequent repair is wheel building and replacements; rim brakes wear through lightweight racing rims, and minimal-spoke designs are not strong enough for daily commuting,” reports Stu.
To avoid costly repairs, Stu recommends periodic maintenance, particularly cleaning and lubricating, between tune-ups. At SeattleFreeSchool.org, up to four cyclists can sign up to attend Stu’s free one-hour bicycle maintenance clinics, where attendees work hands-on with their own bikes.
Stu’s custom Wynn is set-up old school, complete with a Shimano generator front hub to power his front headlamp and a Planet Bike Superflash rear LED light, his favorite accessory.
Stu donates to the Evergreen Mountain Bike Association, as well as local auctions for schools, Bicycle Alliance of Washington and Bike Works. However, Stu really prefers to spend his time teaching beginner cyclists about how bikes are the most affordable, usable tools at their disposal.
In his multi-faceted role as volunteer coordinator for Sustainable West Seattle, Stu focuses on two of his passions: alternative transportation and edible gardening.
A BOB trailer assists Stu with his hauls from McClendon’s hardware store and PCC. “I enjoy studying permaculture and I’m a scavenger gardener—so I’ll scavenge dirt, materials, heritage seeds, …” During one ride, Stu even scrounged sprouting red and russet potatoes for his homegrown potato tower.
Racers and bike enthusiasts have plenty of resources. So Stu is working with Spokespeople to start a West Seattle group to help beginner cyclists learn how to ride in traffic. He also coordinates events, like Streets for People and Car Free Days, with Cascade’s new bicycle ambassadors.
“I really appreciate Cascade’s direction towards riding for transportation, and I enjoy seeing the Education Foundation programs in schools. It’s not just a glamour sport.”
“We’re lucky to have the ability to ride where we want to go. Let’s smile at each other and create a cooperative, not a competitive, community.”
You can talk with Stu about sustainable transportation at the second annual Sustainable West Seattle Festival on Sunday, May 3. Visit www.SustainableWestSeattle.org/Festival for more information.
Scott Marlow was marketing director for Cascade Bicycle Club from 2001-2005. The Club record-holder for the shortest commute (under six seconds), Marlow works from his home office in West Seattle. Nominate a cyclist of the month!