First tracks

Thinking about breaking up with your running shoes?

Bluubird Spotlight & Call for Support

We are heartbroken to witness the devastation that wildfires have had on the Los Angeles area this month. Sean Perry, our Data Science Advisor and a member of our Bluubird family, lost his family home of 45 years to the Eaton fire this weekend. This is one in so many horrible losses that the region has seen during this disaster and I find myself feeling helpless and eager to support. We have featured Sean in our Bluubird Spotlight this week - I would love for you to learn more about him (he’s the best!) and how you might support his family and community in California.

Sean Perry

📍 Based in: Durango, Colorado

🏃‍♂️ Enjoys: Mountain biking, trail running, road cycling, downhill skiing, skate skiing, hiking, camping

General

Describe yourself in 10 words or less

I love the mountains and making dumb jokes.

What is a surprising fact about you that most people wouldn’t guess?

My entire family are classical musicians, with most doing it professionally (I'm the black sheep).

How did you get into outdoor recreation and what motivates you to stay involved?

My parents taught at the Aspen Music Festival every summer and dragged us poor kids along. We were so bored we started exploring the mountains and the rest is kind of history.

What is your favorite outdoor activity and why do you love it?

At this time I'm loving trail running and how it lets me feel very in touch with nature, and get to places I otherwise might not be able to, that a bike can't access, or a hike can't reach in a reasonable amount of time 😊 

What is your gear focus right now?

My gear focus is very much shoes for ultramarathons. I did one and my feet hurt a lot, though I remain resist to huge, cushy shoes for other reasons. I'm trying to find that sweet spot, especially as my body changes and becomes more resilient with training and my needs change.

Where (or from whom) do you typically look for gear recommendations and why?

Sometimes a shop expert. Sometimes independent research. It's really a crapshoot, to be honest. Sometimes I just roll with something and expect that it won't be perfect and I'll have to iterate.

Activities

Are you more focused on a particular activity right now? Which activity and why?

After being singularly dedicated to cross country mountain bike racing the past 6 years or so, I've made a hard pivot to focus on ultramarathon running, just for something different and because I've always very lightly dabbled in running, which slowly cultivated an imagination and curiosity.

Is there a new activity you have your eye on right now? What put it on your radar and what are you nervous / excited about?

I've been trying to get into skate skiing the past couple years. I'm progressing but have oh so far yet to go. At least it's more fun than not at this point. I still feel like an absolute, inefficient beginner, though, so it's fun to have that mindset and to feel so much progression. It's also nice that I'm not crashing 5-10x/session anymore - that was less enjoyable.

Is there an activity or destination that you think is underrated and recommend that others try? Why do you think it is underrated and what do you love about it?

I might get roasted alive for saying this, but the high country trails outside of Durango, Colorado, are as fine as I've found anywhere, and I've been a lot of places like this both inside and outside the US. In terms of quality and quantity, it has few equals.

Gear

What is one piece of gear you can't live without and why?

This is very tech bro of me, but I recently happened upon an Apple Watch Ultra and I'm surprised how much I like it. It just does all the things in one place which leads to a more seamless and streamlined experience, especially on big adventures.

Have you had a gear item surprise you in a negative or positive way?

Perhaps I'm the only person to ever say this, and perhaps I'm jinxing myself, but putting Marker Kingpin shift bindings on all my skis has been a painless game changer. Sometimes I like to go uphill, sometimes I like to skin up the resort before the lifts start spinning to get fresh tracks, or sometimes I like to do some backcountry or sidecountry touring in the midst of a downhill day. This piece of gear has not compromised on the downhill at all and opens so many doors.

Have you ever had a gear mishap that changed how you prepare for adventures?

Well, I'm a mountain biker, which sort of means a never-ending cycle of having new things go wrong that you maybe attempt to be able to solve for or decide you're willing to live with. A recent poignant example is getting a DNF (“Did Not Finish”) in the Breck Epic because my SRAM AXS derailleur battery (still calling them out by name) stopped being able to hold a charge. Now, if I'm on a wireless shifting setup, I always bring a spare, recently charged battery.

What gear item or feature do you think is underrated or deserves more attention?

Running tights are growing on me. Especially short ones in place of shorts. The gear carrying capacity is so much larger than shorts, and of course they don't bounce around. I may look dorky but I'm sold.

Inspiration

How do you typically prepare for trips / activities? Do you have any hacks or advice that you want to share?

I go crazy on the interwebs. I'm one of those people who finds planning itself satisfying, even if I decide not to actually follow the plans when I'm out there. I will always look at trail maps, sometimes watch trail videos, I will plan out caloric and hydration needs, when to replenish them, and how to restock, if necessary. I will plan out post-activity meals, most importantly, often using Google to find highly rated local establishments. The same approach often applies with pre-activity coffee and breakfast.

What trends in outdoor recreation or gear have caught your interest recently?

Ultra running has gone from niche, crazy-person sport to fairly mainstream. Over seemingly just a few years it has become generally accepted that almost anyone can run 100 miles or more if they decide to. This would have been absolutely unthinkable a decade ago. Humans are amazing.

What is your most memorable outdoor experience? Where did you go, what did you do, and who would you recommend tries it out?

My adult life has pretty much been a continuous collage of amazing outdoor adventures. To pick but one, when I was a criterium racer for USC way back when (I dare not say the year), friends and I went to the local theater in LA to see a screening of Race Across the Sky, the movie about the Leadville 100 MTB race. After the showing, they raffled off two entries to audience members. I happened to win one and, with the peer pressure of my friends and other members of the cycling community in attendance, I decided I had to accept. The next day I bought my first mountain bike, a used aluminum hardtail, and "trained" (not sufficiently, it turns out) my way up for this rough entry to mountain biking. On the day of the race, by the time I hit mile 40, it was the hardest thing I had ever done and I was ready to call it quits. Fortunately, my mom was at that aid station and literally wouldn't let me stop riding so I found a way to get it done. That opened my mind to the power of tenacity and simply not stopping when you feel like you have to. You don't.

Pay it Forward

Is there a unique or underrated outdoor gear business, brand, or product that you think deserves a shoutout? 

I'm going to go a little off script here and say the Mount Wilson Bicycling Association. They've done so much incredible work to make Altadena one of the gems of mountain biking (and other trail-based recreation as a result) in all of California, yet much of their hard work was demolished over the course of hours at the hands of the Eaton Fire. I would love to spread more awareness of this incredible group and community, especially now when outside support will be required to ever rebuild even a fraction of what was lost.

A note from Katie: how can we help?

There are so many ways to support those impacted by the wildfires - every action has an impact. Sean told me today that even kind words and thoughts of encouragement mean the world to him. For those interested in financially supporting Sean and his community:

• You can donate to support Sean and his family directly here.

• You can donate to support the Mount Wilson Bicycling Association here.

We are building a truly special community through Bluubird and I look forward to growing together. ☀️