Lacey bike shop owners to do multi-sport event as soloists
BELLINGHAM, Wash., July 18, 2013—Derik and Michelle Archibald, owners of Joy Ride Bikes in Lacey, Wash., each plan to race in the Olympia Traverse solo. The Olympia Traverse, which takes place Saturday, July 27th, is a multi-sport adventure relay for solo, tandem, relay and company teams celebrating the life cycle of wild salmon, a staple and symbol of the Pacific Northwest.
This year is the fourth annual Olympia Traverse, which starts in the Capitol Forest and winds its way into downtown Olympia for a strong finish at Port Plaza. The course includes a 7.4-mile mountain bike, 22-mile road bike, 3.5-mile paddle, 4.5-mile run and a .5-mile trek.
Derik and Michelle have owned Joy Ride Bikes, an Olympia Traverse sponsor, for almost seven years and are looking forward to the challenge of performing the multi-sport event as soloists. Joy Ride Bikes was asked to sponsor the inaugural event and Derik and Michelle were excited to be involved with the Traverse in Olympia.
“I think it is great having an event like the Olympia Traverse take place and I want to support it,” Derik said, “It is always fun racing on home turf.”
The couple formed a relay team the first year. Michelle mountain biked, Derik road biked, their business partner, Luke, paddled, and their neighbor, Erik, ran. Their team won the relay, and it was the first and only time Derik and Michelle raced the event.
Derik has been mixing up his workouts for this year’s event with running, rowing, mountain biking and road biking, and is looking forward to trying something totally new. He says he has had such a singular focus on cycling for so many years that this multi-sport race will be a challenge.
Michelle says the challenge is her reason for racing the Olympia Traverse solo this year. She has been focusing on Road Cycle Racing for the last five years, and wanted to branch out and race other sports. Along with the challenge, she is also looking forward to the after-race event—the beer garden.
The couple is excited for the race and even though they are performing it as soloists, they are looking forward to taking on the challenge together.
Todd Elsworth is one of the many “Mossy-haired lunatics roaming the dripping peninsulas”, described in “I’m Here for the Weather” by Tom Robbins. As executive director, he works to fulfill our mission to teach the health benefits of nature, promote outdoor recreation, and steward the places where we play.
