Today at 4pm ET / 1pm PT: Interviewing The Queen of Pain About Her Record-Breaking Kokopelli Race
There is something about the Kokopelli Trail that fascinates me. With trailheads in Moab, UT and Loma, CO, it’s a huge ride — 142 miles, by my count. Huge, but not overwhelmingly enormous, like the Great Divide, where you’d need to put aside your life in order to ride it.
It’s just big enough to test your limits, and show you a beautiful view of the sky and desert along the way.
So when Rebecca Rusch — one of my cycling heroes — said she was going to make an attempt on the women’s Kokopelli Trail record, I bugged her about it, gave her tons and tons of unnecessary advice, and otherwise pestered her until she promised to let me do an interview with her about the ride.
That interview happens today. You can watch it here (see below), but you’ll be better off watching it over on my Spreecast channel (click here).
Here’s the where and when:
Date: Today, Wednesday, May 29
Time: 4pm ET / 3pm CT / 2pm MT / 1pm PT
Where: On Spreecast (Click Here), or right here at FatCyclist.com
The cool thing is, for the first time in the history of all the interviews I’ve done, I feel like I’m pretty qualified to do this interview. I’ve ridden it — or parts of it — a number of times. So while a bunch of people have written about Rebecca’s Kokopelli race (like this power analysis piece in VeloNews and this story in VeloNews and this hit piece in Outside), I hope to get her to tell the whole story, from planning to starting to where she got water to the finish line to going to the hospital afterward.
Honestly, it won’t be so much of an interview as me prodding her to tell her story in as much detail as possible.
Meanwhile, if you’d like some homework on the Kokopelli Trail, I’ve written a ridiculous amount about it.
- Gripped: Back in 2005, when this blog was very young, I wrote about what a terrible idea it was to try soloing the Kokopelli Trail.
- The 2007 Kokopelli Trail Race: Possibly my best-known and favorite epic ride story, this is the telling of the time I solo-raced the Kokopelli Trail (in the opposite direction of what Rebecca raced, for what it’s worth). This is a three-parter: Part 1, Part 2, Part 3.
- The Day I Hated Brad: What it’s like to ride the Kokopelli Trail when it’s muddy, and you’ve got a friend who won’t let you quit.
- Rocky, The Karmic Black Hole: An essay about the three times I’ve ridden the Kokopelli Trail with my brother-in-law, Rocky. (Hint: it never goes well.)
- Kokopelli 2010: Riding the Kokopelli with The Hammer, Kenny, and Heather. This is a two-parter. Part 1, Part 2.
Comment by davidh-marin,ca | 05.29.2013 | 11:21 am
I would comment now, but that might use up my quota.
Comment by Libby | 05.29.2013 | 3:26 pm
Thanks Fatty, I really enjoyed hearing about her ride. I noticed she never did say if she’d consider the Great Divide ride!
I’m glad her finger is healing and hope it regains its mobility.
Comment by roadrash | 05.29.2013 | 6:20 pm
Wow. Wrecked going 30mph. Check bike first. Then put index finger back in socket. All in 45 seconds. Cool cookie. Resilient. Lots of other superlatives.
Comment by davidh-marin,ca | 05.29.2013 | 8:33 pm
Great Interview Fatty! I’m conserving my comments for Davis(???)
I’ll spend my remaining time here giving a jaw dropping SHOUT OUT for the Noodle! It has now become apparent where she’s doing her 100MoN and CRAZY does not begin to sum it up. 5 days, 4 States, 500 miles, and 43K vertical feet (so far) I’m guessing her last stop is Fatty’s. He better have some Pie!
Follow her on Strava, and be humbled: http://app.strava.com/athletes/76777
Comment by Paul Guyot | 05.29.2013 | 9:39 pm
RR is my hero.
The only she is better at than riding is being a cool human.
I love her.
Great interview and amazing ride. Congrats QoP!
Comment by davidh-marin,ca | 05.29.2013 | 10:18 pm
On a more somber note: See AKChick’s comment from Tuesday: http://www.fatcyclist.com/2013/05/28/race-report-the-2013-100-miles-of-nowhere/
I had the pleasure of riding with her at Davis in 2012 and feel for her and her family. AKChick reminds us why we gather here and what we FIGHT for.
Be strong Sasha, our prayers our with you.
Comment by robertsonscott007 | 05.30.2013 | 12:29 am
Great interview! And your other posts on the Kokopelli trail are quite an interesting read!
Comment by Brian in VA | 05.30.2013 | 11:05 am
Great job, Fatty! Wow, what a story Rebecca has to tell in that ride. And she really is the Queen of Pain! Amazing stuff. I’ll try not to whine so much when I’m suffering on the bike this weekend.
Comment by Kelly Yamauchi | 05.30.2013 | 6:17 pm
I have to watch this Fatty! RR is a great athlete. She’s the best female athlete I’ve known in the world of cycling. I am overwhelmed with her achievements. She’s truly the Queen of Pain! :-O
Comment by Bry | 06.3.2013 | 3:16 am
That is some achievement. I was watching a triathlon in Madrid yesterday and many of the top athletes were struggling on the bike.