BikeThrow.com

After competing in bicycle races across the upper Midwest, many athletes get on the internet to feed their narcissistic desires of seeing photographs of themselves racing. One site in particular, has become the primary destination for these racers, SkinnySki.com. The always elusive proprietor of SkinnySki, Bruce Adelsman, agreed to sit down with us for an interview (and a picture) to tell us all about his site, the motives, his favorite photos of the 2007 season—out of the 17,000 that have been taken, and the namesake sport of the site—Cross Country Skiing.

We hope that you enjoy our first interview at BikeThrow.com and we hope that you will continue to visit SkinnySki and support the site. In the meantime brush up the pearly whites as SkinnySki.com photogs will be out at the State Cross Championships this Saturday in Crystal, Minnesota.

SR: Obviously besides the money, why do you take some many pictures of marginal sports such as XC Skiing, XC Running and Bicycle Racing?

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 Bruce: That answer has evolved over time… We started posting web pages on cross-country skiing info back in 1995. It was initially a way to list ski races and report about trail conditions. As the Internet
grew, we kept expanding the coverage, listing race results and eventually reporting on races with photos and video (in 2001 we were using video almost exclusively). As the digital camera technology got better and our web traffic continued to grow, we kept upgrading our equipment. Once I got the digital SLR, the whole photo thing really got out of hand. Now its not unusual for us to shoot 1500 photos at an event.

Anyway, around 2003 we started selling some advertising and soliciting memberships to help recoup some of our time and money. And as a way to help drive more web traffic, especially in the “off-season” (not winter), we began taking photos of other silent sports that skiers participate in. And while we don’t do a great job at it promoting it, we do offer photos for sale as well.

Ultimately, you’re right, the money is not big, so as it was in the beginning - much of it is still driven by our interest in the sports and enjoyment in the whole Internet thing.

SR: Who is the “we” in your answer? I tend to see you out there most of the time. By “we” do you mean, an incredibly understanding better-half that lets you go out and play with fancy technology almost every weekend of the year?

Bruce: We: Yes, my wife Margaret is a supporter and sometimes contributor. Actually, Margaret is probably to blame for the whole mess. She was a top collegiate Nordic skier and got me started on ski racing. We spent most winter weekends in the early 90s traveling across the midwest to compete in races. We have two kids (12 and 9), so we aren’t competing as much anymore. Margaret helps out with the coverage from time to time, and manages some of the web content (especially trail reports). The kids come to some events, but so far haven’t shown a lot of interest in competing.

SR: Wow. That is the greatest passage of the buck ever. I am in complete awe.

Every week in the summer bicyclists across the state head over your site to inflate their egos. Thousands of photos and hundreds of races have documented the racing scene here. What are you 3 favorite photos
of all time? Please provide the links to them so we can further share them with our readers.

Bruce: Top three photos? Oh man, that’s really hard. Annually, I shoot about 75,000 photos, so picking top 3 is next to impossible. I’ve attached a small sampling of my favorites from this year, but I could have easily picked another 100 or so.

My favorite videos:
http://www.skinnyski.com/racing/results/2000%2D2001/movies/noram-f1.mpg
http://www.skinnyski.com/racing/results/2000%2D2001/movies/birkie6a.mpg
http://www.skinnyski.com/racing/results/2000%2D2001/movies/kb2.mpg

My favorite photos:

SR: 75,000 photos and you couldn’t choose just 3? Gosh. You thought this was going to be an easy interview didn’t you? Well, we here at bikethrow.com are not Stone Phillips. We want answers. While all of the photos you have given us are all fantastic, I am a little shocked that I am not in any of them. Perhaps, I should have asked what your 3 favorite photos are of me. Than we could have gotten the real dirt.

Anyways, I really enjoy the photo of the roller-skiers. They make bike racers look cool.

Do you ever wish that you were the one participating and other people taking your photo? Do you ever get to participate anymore?

Bruce: Oh yeah, Mr. Colbert, I forgot this one…

Skiers: January 1989, Greg Lemond raced in the New Years Day ski race at Phalen Golf course in St. Paul. Seven months later, the man won the Tour de France. Coincidence? I don’t think so.

Yes, I wish I participated a bit more. Kind of hard to do both sides of the camera though. I never seem to squeeze in enough training these days. I still usually race in the Minnesota Finlandia, and hey, I did the Twin Cities Marathon in 2006 (probably my first and last marathon). I’ve never been a particularly gifted athlete, never won any bike races, haven’t cracked a sub-20 minute 5K, and best ski race was probably top 20 in the Mora Vasaloppet 35K.

Photos of me? Actually, no, I don’t really look for my own mug on the photos. If it isn’t obvious by now, I’m a fairly quiet guy (politically correct term for introvert).

SR: Well I think it is pretty cool that you still get to participate some, I think it is even cooler that you donate so much of your time to help inflate my ego and that of other racers. Doing all of this documenting of events has to be quite expensive. While I am sure you have super fancy cameras that cost more than my prized autograph of Tim Pawlenty, how many miles do you put on your car a year doing this? Than take into account that the IRS reimburses $.40 per mile…I want that number.

Bruce: We track mileage fairly well. Last year, we logged just over 11,000 miles. So yes, it is one of our biggest expenses (and deductions). The mileage has been growing by about 1000 each season.

SR: Enough of the softballs, now onto the hard stuff. What is your favorite race to shoot, and why?

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Bruce: I’m not sure I have any favorite. Its more what happens at the event, and the weather, that play the bigger role. Orono was cool just because we haven’t had a really muddy race like that in Minnesota in a long time. The 2001 Birkie was epic because it was a major snowstorm at the start. The Gluek road race had a big thunderstorm in the middle of the event. I like a lot of the mountain bike events, mainly because the scenery usually works well with the photos. Chequamegon is great because of the sheer volume of bikers, and I usually end up biking around from point to point. Cycling time trials are easier than road races because you usually have plenty of time to snap off multiple photos of the same rider. Skiing: The City of Lakes Loppet ski race is a unique event, having the skiers race point-to-point, from Theodore Wirth right up to the backyard of the Uptown Library. The Vasaloppet and the Birkie are epic events with the skiers finishing right on the streets in the small downtowns.

SR: Is skiing a dying sport? seems to me there has been quite the lack of snow the last few years. some would suggest global warming, others refuse to admit it’s existence. I know you aren’t a scientist, but
will there be snow this year?

Bruce: We got to get you guys on skis sometime

The inconsistency of snow is certainly one of the challenges to skiing. Actually, the last 10-15 have been fairly snowy, historically speaking, but it seems like the season has been moving back — first real snow in January, but then it stays well into March. And in recent years, the winter temperatures have definitely been more moderate (although try to tell that to anyone who raced the City of Lakes Loppet last February in well BELOW ZERO temperatures).

Given the problems with consistent snowfalls many folks would be surprised to hear, skiing is moving into a new growth period. Much of this driven by new man-made snow facilities for cross-country skiing. Elm Creek in NW suburbs and Theodore Wirth both generate snow for Nordic skiing, and Trollhaugen just across our eastern border, has a dedicated area for cross-country skiing. And more snowmaking operations are planned, including St. Cloud this winter and Hyland in Bloomington within a few seasons. (Even wilder, in Finland they have the skiing equivalent of the hockey arena — ski tunnels, where you can ski indoors year round!)

And what I find impressive is the number of high school skiers that turn out every Fall, regardless of how bad the previous season snowfall was. A number of metro area schools have Nordic ski teams that number into the 100s!

Snow this year? Absolutely, I’m optimistic. We seem to be in a wetter pattern and we just need the temperatures to start cooling down. I’d love to see a nice snowstorm for the Minnesota State CX Championship!

Anyway, you guys should strap on some skinny skis this winter and try it out. It requires good balance, coordination, power, and endurance to really fly on skis. Or come out to Uptown in February to see the City of Lakes Loppet sprints on the Mall.

SR: I cross-country skied for about two weeks back in Junior High. I went with the neighborhood kid and I haven’t seen him since. All I remember was my arms flailing and going all unbalanced before falling face first into a pile of snow. Haven’t been the same since, maybe this is the year I get out there. The sport really interests me and I must admit your photos make it look “cool.” I hope there is a ton of snow this year so I can try it out. In closing, is there anything else you want to add? (hint: now would be a good time to solicit memberships to skinnyski.com)…

Bruce: Skinnyski.com memberships are a vital way to help us continue the mission of providing the latest information on skiing and other silent sports in the upper Midwest. Please show your support and help us to continue offering this service by becoming a Skinnyski member …

Purchase your membership online:
http://www.skinnyski.com/users/accountsubscr.asp
Or by mail:
http://www.skinnyski.com/users/forms/membership.pdf

Thanks guys.