Author: paschmann

Influential Brands

paschmann

The clothing you wear, the decal on your car, the backpack you wear to school. All of them are a way for people to express their interests, hobbies, desires or passions … and I was/am no different 🙂 Brand affiliation has been a way for me to identify myself in public subtly.

There are a couple brands I have had loyalty to for years. Being in a seaside surf town, majority of folks wore Billabong, Quicksilver and Island Style, again I was no different. All awesome brands which resonated with surfers and beach goers due to the availability and popularity. There were surf shops on multiple corners which made it a logical choice, but it also matched my lifestyle and associations. However, in my teenage years there were two brands which I wore daily, repetitively and even if dirty … Fox Racing and Oakley. read more

Travel and Race: Leadville, CO

paschmann

This race has been on my bucket list since 2001 and I started racing MTB endurance events. After a long technical story on how I got an entry – thanks Jon, and a deferred year from 2025 to 2026, I eventually lined up on the start line in 2026.

Our trip started in Tuesday flying from Charlotte to Denver, then a 1.5 hour drive to Copper where we were staying until Sunday. After dropping our luggage at the house, and building our bikes we immediately drove another 35 mins up to Leadville to get in a short shakeout ride after the long day of travel. I quickly realized why this place is so special. Beautiful scenery, miles of trails and dirt roads and quirky people. read more

Race: 2026 – ORAMM

paschmann

A memorable edition of ORAMM in Old Fort, NC. Some torrential down pours the week before, morning of, and during the race made this one of the toughest ORAMM’s in the 5 years I have done the race. I also did not make the best choice in tires, while prepping for Leadville … the Aspen ST on the rear was basically a slick in the snotty, slick mud which made descending and climbing pretty tricky. In the end, made it back in one piece without any crashes (surprisingly) and had a tough, but great day!

Memorable Rides: Wilson Creek

paschmann

70 odd miles in Wilson creek in absolute deluge of rain …. without eye protection. Mistakes were made … I ended up stopping at the general store for any type of glasses, but nothing, Ole Betsy’s came through with some Minecraft kids glasses, but they were so clutch. he next 2 odd hours in the pouring rain was a joy after.

Travel: British Virgin Islands

paschmann

Another year of last minute travel booking – this time somewhat justified by me switching jobs. We had the difficult decision of Islands (Caribbean), Hawaii, West Coast or Europe. Italy was on the short list for the longest time, but due to some scheduling, the crowd anticipation, and the associated expense, we decided to do something closer to home and an adventure/island vacation was on the cards. Some ideation using Claude, we decided to conservatively dip our toes into doing a catamaran vacation exploring islands. Just 2 nights on a boat and 3 nights on land was the plan. I know I get seasick and due to that, I was very nervous that it was going to be a living hell on a boat for 6 days. We booked a casual charter to explore the British Virgin Islands, and then a subsequent 3 nights on a quiet area on the north east side of Tortola .called Long Bay. read more