A few weeks ago, I ventured out to my first mountain bike race of the season. Full confession, though, I didn’t go out to race. Instead, I was there to take photos of the event and race. It was an XC race, the first of the season, and I packed along by 140mm travel trail bike. But the only riding I did was to venture deeper into the racecourse to get better photos.
I was already looking forward to the race, but I was most excited about was spending my first night sleeping inside Nacho the MTB Van. I bought Nacho last fall from the university I teach at. It was an 11-passenger van used for years for field trips and transporting athletes to games and events all over the Pacific Northwest. Since it’s a 1995 van, it was time for the school to part ways with it. My dream is to turn the van Nacho into a MTB / coffee / camper van.
I haven’t had much opportunity to do any upgrades yet, other than removing the bench seats, buying a roof rack, adding a retractable awning, and a few miscellaneous things here and there. But one thing that hadn’t happened yet was going camping and sleeping inside of Nacho. The race would be my first opportunity for this.
I don’t have a bed in it yet, but I have a hammock I can string up. After a 3-hour road trip on a Friday night, I arrived at a gravel parking lot that would be my spot for the night. Since it was already bedtime, I wiggled into my mummy sleeping bag and then hoisted myself into the hammock. It wasn’t the best night of sleep, but it definitely wasn’t the worst. The van isn’t insulated, nor is there any heat source, so it got a bit cold inside. But as soon as morning came and the sun peaked over the nearby hills, it was time to wake up and make coffee.
I decided to bring a couple of different brew methods for the trip. I decided to use the cuppamoka by Wacaco–a pourover system that brews the coffee into an insulated coffee mug. Although shivering, I was able to brew a cup successfully. I also used my portable camp stove to warm up my hands. As soon as I tasted my first sip, all of my troubles were over. Coffee in the morning … in a van … before the race. Life was good.
Of course, Nacho is not a sleek Sprinter van that was well represented in the same gravel parking lot. But for $200? I’m pretty content.
The race came and went. It was an impressive spectacle to behold. XC racing is different from spending most of my time on trail or enduro bikes. While it’s still the Pacific Northwest, this was more like high desert scrublands. On the trail, there was rarely a tree in sight. A fun break from the damp trails and climate I’m used to between Portland and the coast.
While the race was a lot of fun to watch and take photos of, the best part was milling around before the race talking to racers. Most people were sipping on coffee (or at least in my mind, they were) as they fine-tuned their bikes for the race. From pumping tires to adjusting suspension to lubing chains, the privateers put the final touches on their bikes before the big day.
I wasn’t there serving or representing Loam Coffee, but again, I couldn’t help but notice how important coffee is personally and to most everyone else before racing. How important is coffee to you before you race?
