Pedaling across Europe

Published 9:00 pm Monday, August 13, 2001

Mukilteo man puts together team of professional hopefuls

By Andrew Wineke

Herald Writer

Some people take up bicycling for a hobby. Chris MacDonald thought he would start his own cycling team.

The 28-year-old Mukilteo native has been pursuing his master’s degree in human physiology at the University of Copenhagen in Denmark, and training and teaching classes at a local health center on the side.

A former Olympic hopeful in rowing during his days at Western Washington University in Bellingham, MacDonald won the two-man Danish rowing championships with a friend in 1999.

Still finding himself with some free time, a year ago MacDonald started recruiting some of the members of his spinning classes at the health center to start a women’s cycling team.

"I’ve kept my eye on these people who train two hours a day on these spinning bikes," MacDonald said. "I asked them if they weren’t interested in putting that energy out on the road."

Two women who joined MacDonald’s team were triathletes he was training who decided to try cycling full-time. One of the women came from the Danish national ice hockey team. Another rode horses. None had ever considered competitive cycling before.

"Many of them had never sat on a racing bike in their lives, but they had a whole lot of raw strength and mean character," MacDonald said.

After a year of training, the team entered its first race a month ago. The race was a 320-kilometer course — that’s just less than 200 miles — that circled a large chunk of Denmark. It wasn’t a professional race, more akin to the annual Seattle To Portland race that is open to competitive and recreational cyclists, but MacDonald’s team made an impressive debut.

The five riders he entered finished first-through-fifth overall. The nearest male rider was 45 minutes behind them, MacDonald said.

"They rode through the line together," he said. "They’ve really learned how to work as a team."

With one race under their belts, the next challenge was the Copenhagen to Berlin race, an annual 450-kilometer race held at the end of August.

"I always think you’re a little nervous when you get to a race, but I also trust all of us can do it," said Christina Peick, the team captain.

"It’s the first time we are going to meet one of the Danish pro teams," said Annette Berg, who at 31 is the oldest member of the team. "We have to believe that we can (win). We’ve got the best training that we can have. We have to believe that we can do it."

In order to get the team (called GRACE Cycling for "Gracefully Reaching After Complete Excellence") ready, MacDonald wanted to do some mountain training. He had enough sponsorship money to go somewhere. He considered France or Germany, but settled on a spot he knew better: Washington.

Two weeks ago, MacDonald and seven members of his team arrived at his parent’s house in Mukilteo and went to work training. From the get-go, Western Washington was a different experience than the flat Danish countryside.

"They were shocked riding out of Sea-Tac," MacDonald said. "The first small hill they saw there, that was pretty intense. When they rode up the Mukilteo Speedway, they definitely knew this was a whole ‘nother ball game.

"The strength is there, but it’s another thing to come around a corner and think, ‘It’s got to be the end,’ and there’s another mile."

MacDonald rides every mile with his team, so his father, Cal, has followed the group in a support car as the team went from the hills of Mukilteo to Stevens Pass to Hurricane Ridge to Mount Rainier and Mount St. Helens, riding about 100 miles a day.

"Until I saw how they rode, I couldn’t picture them doing 200 miles," Cal MacDonald said. "My poor old car. I’ve got an ‘88 Crown Victoria that’s getting pretty tired chasing after these kids."

While the rides have taken the team through some of the Northwest’s most beautiful scenery, the riders haven’t had much time to appreciate it.

"On top, we get a break," Berg said. "Stops are the worst thing: You just want to keep on going when you’re in it."

In between days spent climbing mountains, the team has circled the Olympic Terrace neighborhood until the residents were dizzy.

"There’s a loop that they do 20 times at their max heart rate," said Val MacDonald, Chris’ mom. "I’m sure there are people over there in Olympic Terrace that are wondering what the heck they’re doing on their streets."

MacDonald’s team completes its training and flies back to Copenhagen today. After the Copenhagen to Berlin race, the next goal is the world championships next year and then the Olympics after that.

"There’s no question that I’ve got a group of three or four that will be on the pro level very quickly," MacDonald said. If some of his team does reach that level, he plans to hand them over to professional cycling coaches.

"To me, the exciting steps are taking individuals from, ‘I don’t think I can do that,’ to ‘I’m ready to be world champions,’ " he said. "It’s not something that I sat down one evening and said, ‘I want to be a cycling coach.’

"It’s been a learning experience for me as well. It’s definitely a transition from the water."

You can call Herald Writer Andrew Wineke at 425-339-3465 or send e-mail to wineke@heraldnet.com.