Editorial
Boxed Out
Let’s talk about Taylor Swift.
After all, this is a mountain bike website, right? If PR has taught me anything it’s that you may as well try to imbue Taylor everywhere these days, so why not our beloved mountain biking? Taylor has this part of her live concert where she has dozens of versions of her past self trapped in life-sized glass boxes. It’s most definitely intended to be a metaphor for breaking through and evolving as a person. Here’s an astonishingly poor-quality video of this as an example.
When I sat down to figure out what to write for my first (in a long time) piece for NSMB I had just expelled a fresh little bit of word vomit on my Instagram account about this strange position in which I’ve now found myself. For the first time in over a decade, I’m not working for or associated with a mountain bike company and it has left me with a lot of feelings.
Queue Ron Burgundy screaming about being in a glass cage of emotions!
Perhaps Taylor was on to something, though. As we go through life, we live all of these different versions of ourselves. There are the obvious ones like “Ultra Awkward High School Lacy Has Only Two Braces on Her Front Teeth” or “UW Coxswain Lacy.” I can place myself in Barbie’s boxes, though mine would probably be black instead of hot pink. I digress.
When working for a bike brand company, you inevitably find yourself having to hold up high standards of riding, especially if you’re a public-facing figure. I was in marketing and brand so I hosted media camps, showed off the latest bikes, and acted as a steward for the companies I worked for. “Being great at mountain biking” was never written in the job description, but let’s be honest, it’s important.
Pressure does funny things to a person, and for me, it wasn’t always a bad thing. I pushed myself to get stronger, faster, and more technical in my riding. After all, if I was going to host a media camp and it was (realistically) all men coming to test out the hot new bike and I was leading a ride, I didn’t want to be off the back. I didn’t want it for me, the companies I was working for, and most importantly I didn’t want it for other women in the bike industry.
The bike industry is a strange place for women. It can be wonderful and welcoming if you’re one of the lucky people who land at a company that actively supports your contribution to the sport and appreciates that you will think differently. But people fear what they don’t understand, and it still feels like mountain biking in general—not just the industry, or people who work in it—still doesn’t quite understand women and our motivations and needs. I don’t think I really realized this until I stepped away from working for a bike company.
For the first time ever, I feel like maybe it’s not for me.
I actually kind of love that and I hope other women (and men and everyone!) understand that they don’t need to fit in the industry’s box. I’m not the kind of person who will wear the things that are actively marketed to me (sorry fellow marketers) or that are on trend. I’m only semi-aware of who’s doing what in the World Cups or enduros these days. I don’t really know who rides for what teams, or who put out the latest sickest edit ever. I just... don’t really care. It seems like so many people want to get past the noise and just want to ride their friggin’ bikes.
It feels great to support other people and not have people judging me for lack of brand loyalty. I’m smashing my little glass box of “Bike Company Lacy” as we speak and man, I love breaking stuff the way Taylor loves breaking hearts. Yah. That much.
What I do care about is this newfound feeling of freedom. I can ride whatever bike I want wherever I want and with whomever I want. I don’t have to care if I’m fast or slow or “good” at any type of riding. I don’t have to feel guilty about not caring about e-bikes (Surprise! I don’t!) and I can publicly support my friends at other brands that are doing really cool shit. Owen at Forbidden! Your bikes look awesome and you guys are crushing it! Transition has the most badass setup around with their Outpost shop/beer room/eatery and I absolutely love ending my rides there. It feels great to support other people and not have people judging me for lack of brand loyalty. I’m smashing my little glass box of “Bike Company Lacy” as we speak and man, I love breaking stuff the way Taylor loves breaking hearts. Yah. That much.
So, as I start to assume my newfound “Just Plain Mountain Biker Lacy” persona I’m going to try to not put myself into a box. I’ll continue to evolve. I’ll try all the bikes (Tell me what I should try!), and I’ll bring the beer on my ride if I feel like it. I’ll ride with people from all walks of life and all the brands that the bike industry has stuffed into this little corner of the PNW. I'll keep evolving as a rider too, but in the directions that suit me best and not because I feel the need to prove anything to anyone.
And, if for some reason that feeling of “needing to be” this or that starts to creep in, I’ll just shake it off.
Comments
Friday
1 year, 2 months ago
Recreation as culture or identity is often captured by marketing forces. It's how you get things like energy drinks being considered fashion. It's often shallow and outsiders can sniff it out a mile away. Enjoy nature and engage with your local community, try to ignore the rest.
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Mammal
1 year, 2 months ago
I'm assuming this means you're back as a regular, or semi-regular contributor Lacy, and I couldn't be happier if that's the case. I've loved your perspective here in the past, and look forward to reading the "Future You".
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Pete Roggeman
1 year, 2 months ago
We're hoping to hear from Lacy fortnightly but it's not set in stone. Very fortunate to have her as a contributor!
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Lacy Kemp
1 year, 1 month ago
Hi there! I've been swimming with sharks the past week (literally!) and this is a nice thing to come home to read. Thanks for the kind words. I plan to write as often as Pete and Cam will tolerate my word salads. Extra dressing!
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Pete Roggeman
1 year, 2 months ago
I went down to Bellingham for a Kona launch about five years ago. Kona's launches were always so much fun - they paired their dealer events with media launches (why not?) and sometimes things got a bit rowdy. We were on a media ride for the Process 134 and Lacy was one of the Kona reps/ride leaders who were there to make sure we had fun, didn't bonk, had everything we needed for a good ride (yes, beer was available at the rest stop, but so was water and other non-alc drinks). Pretty standard.
Anyway, sometimes these media rides can have a competitive note to them, but this wasn't like that - it was a pretty chill vibe and we all had a good time. I was riding right in front of Lacy at one point and had a really weird moment where I inexplicably rode off the trail and right into a tree. It wasn't a challenging piece of trail. I wasn't going all that fast. Just a weird happening. Lacy howled (once her concern passed and I declared myself ok). "What are you doing, dude? Don't get effed up on our media launch ride!" It was a funny moment.
To make this more relatable, these media rides are just like group rides. Everyone's enjoyment is tightly linked to how everyone behaves, makes others feel welcoming, and don't let egos get in the way of what we're really doing there, which is having fun riding bikes in the forest. It's amazing how many people lose sight of that. Thanks, Lacy, for reminding us!
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Lacy Kemp
1 year, 1 month ago
Rides with friends > media camps. But when the media are your friends it's pretty special.
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Cr4w
1 year, 2 months ago
I think I've spent a lot of time lamenting that nothing in mountain biking fits me, suits me or is marketed to me. A lot of it was out loud in a post just like this. But I really don't care anymore. A recent injury sidelined me for one of the driest winters I can remember and all I want to do is ride. These might be the most expensive of all times but they're also the richest in the sense that I have finally got oodles of good choices for every bit of on-bike gear that I want and that's enough. I can't remember a time when I was more excited to ride and revisit all of the great places around here I didn't get to these last few years.
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gman3000
1 year, 2 months ago
Same thing for me with the health-related fall/winter off the bike. At the beginning, I didn't engage with anything mountain bike related (even NSMB!) because it left me missing riding. Even brief walks in the forest would bum me out. I carried on with the no MTB engagement, and it actually became incredibly freeing. It let me think through what I actually enjoy about riding; the time with friends, exploring new places and the rush of clearing some move. Things are going to look a little different now, and I too am also excited to get back riding and revisit what actually got me stoked.
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Nicholas Haig-Arack
1 year, 2 months ago
Lacy, it's a pleasure to read your thoughts here on NSMB. I'm going through the same sort of post-layoff self-examination and experiencing a similar version of burnout – I love bikes, but maybe the mountain bike industry just isn't for me. Hell, maybe this entire system isn't for me. Can I just live in a shack, grow my own vegetables, surf in the ocean, and ride my bike every day? That sounds nice.
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Todd Hellinga
1 year, 2 months ago
for me it's not a existential finding myself post-break up or job loss, but for maybe the past decade I've felt this way about the bike industry and over-marketing bullshit.
Still love biking and trails, but the industry and 'scene' is a totally conceited shit show that really doesn't add much value to my experience these days. I ride a 2019 fully (27.5), 2016 roadie, 2013 hardtail (27.5), 2010 dj bike(26) and they all work superb although the bike industry would have you believe I'm on horribly outdated unrideable technology with no 29ers, mullets, electronic shifting or mopeds! though, may finally pick up a 29er hardtail this year, mostly for my mid-life crisis marathon xc racing regression...lol
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Lee Lau
1 year, 1 month ago
Always look forward to what Lacy writes.
Like T.odd, am also somehow surviving with obsolete bikes
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Lacy Kemp
1 year, 1 month ago
Nothing is stopping you, my friend. Just send me some sweet tomatoes please!
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Andy Eunson
1 year, 2 months ago
Good article. I had similar feelings of freedom when I quit racing bikes. I no longer felt the need to ride because I had to train. I even sold the road bike simply because road riding here in Whistler is both unpleasant on crowded roads and limited. Go north or south or one climb. I was riding it because I owned it and felt that I needed to justify owning by riding it. Selling it was a good thing
I’ve witnessed people employed in jobs that they hate and therefore do a poor job at. But they were trapped because they had to work. Quit sad really. I took over a position from one such person. He was alcoholic and his work product was pathetic. He was doing things he wasn’t allowed to do, some kickback stuff and he was fired.
The most fun I ever had at a job was often due to the attitudes of my colleagues. The bike shops I worked at in the 80s were super fun. I was lucky to work with people with vision and drive. People that started up Rocky Mountain and Kona and Syncros. Clever people with drive. I was trained as a geologist but the work was ephemeral in the 80s so I gave up. I wasn’t very good at it anyway but I did enjoy the work. A person needs to be able to pivot and shift with changing fortunes and make the best of what fate throws at you. You seem to be doing just that.
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Curveball
1 year, 2 months ago
I'm happy to read that I'm not the only one who packs along a hefty beer. As a recreational rider, I've become far more excited about riding new trails than buying the products being promoted my way.
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JVP
1 year, 2 months ago
Riding new trails is the best!
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Kyle
1 year, 2 months ago
Been in bikes since around the 2008 crash (not that I had a career anyway), from courier rat to wrench to corporate stooge and back again. It's fun but it weighs on you to care about the non-fun parts. I deleted my Strava, and just ride bikes now. Getting other hobbies is incredible too, and turns out they make bikes more fun too! Turns out being hunched over and broke made my hamstrings terrible, and my teeth bad ;) Dirt bikes, skis, hiking, whatever. Your hamstrings can use the cross training and the time away is great since, turns out, other stuff is fun too.
I actually thought something NEW was NEAT and COOL this past year which hasn't been the case in a few years and I didn't care about all the blahblahblah that the internet echo chamber and the friend/riding groups rally around.
Career burnout coinciding with hobby burn out sucks. Enjoy yourself!
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Pete Roggeman
1 year, 2 months ago
What was the thing you thought was neat and cool?
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Cr4w
1 year, 2 months ago
Kevin Bacon went through the same thing! https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=r4e2iEvIRIQ
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JT
1 year, 2 months ago
Been out of the mfg side of the industry for 6 years now, though I still volunteer at a local non-profit occasionally and offer up help to those I know in local shops if asked. Leaving for a completely different field was weird at first, but yes, it was VERY liberating. I could ride and not have to be The Company Face at every trailhead parking lot or skatepark. The lack of sensitivity and respect some people had was mindboggling at times. Please, tell me your unfavorable opinion about our goods while I'm gassed and/or cleaning a gash. Nothing takes the sting of rubbing alcohol away like an inconsiderate ass with an opinion, and that's coming from a considerate ass with one+ of their own.
I do miss the rando meetups with industry and non-industry friends at events in wayward places, but it is positively great to be anonymous near everywhere else.
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fartymarty
1 year, 2 months ago
Lacy - you're definitely writing for the right website (NSMB) if you're wanting to get away from the "corporate" side of mtb. Can't wait to read more from you.
Pete, Cam - you've put together a killer line up of writers - awesome work and keep doing what you're doing (it's working).
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danithemechanic
1 year, 2 months ago
I feel you Lacy.
After ten years mostly in the workshop of a bike shop, i'm conditioning myself to accept maybe i should just do another job. Something that gets me away from reading all the latest news, and being updated on the latest tech, wich honestly in the past few years has become so boring.
I've got a different eye on mtb because i didn't do it in my teen, i didn't work on them right away, i didn't ride in the freeride era. But i'm trying as much old shit as i can, and man it feels fun and refreshing. As a technician i'm sick and tired of an industry that just pushes the "future" but without recognizing the value of the past. And this is sadly happening to riding too, and in the end trickles down to my riding.
I'd say drop the phone, quit the gram, grab a bike (of wathever sort, electric?) and try something you've never tried before. I'm trying not to bike instead because i feel that's what all my life revolved around in the past few years.
Spend a day at the museum and be ok with it while the sun out is shining. Best new feeling.
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tmoore
1 year, 2 months ago
Your title had me thinking a hockey analogy was coming. I'm happy for Lacy that you left the crease for a quiet area
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Lacy Kemp
1 year, 1 month ago
I'm still learning hockey lingo. Right now it's just the things that I've learned from Slap Shot and the Goon.
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freedmeister
1 year, 2 months ago
Great writing. Dirt-rag stuff right there. Keep it up.
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utopic
1 year, 1 month ago
> I’m not the kind of person who will wear the things that are actively marketed to me (sorry fellow marketers) or that are on trend. I’m only semi-aware of who’s doing what in the World Cups or enduros these days. I don’t really know who rides for what teams, or who put out the latest sickest edit ever. I just... don’t really care. It seems like so many people want to get past the noise and just want to ride their friggin’ bikes.
hear, hear!
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XXX_er
1 year, 2 months ago
post covid some folks are finding they need to make mo money and they can do that by getting out of bikes
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polverefango
1 year, 2 months ago
Really happy to read your words here! For me, who had an addiction to Bikemag for decades, being able to find Mike Ferrentino and now you is like a rebirth! Welcome from an almost sixty year old old biker from Italy!
Michele Monti Forlì Italy
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Brad Nyenhuis
1 year, 1 month ago
This comment has been removed.
Lacy Kemp
1 year, 1 month ago
Thanks Michele. I'm as excited to work with Mike as you are to read his words! He's my fave.
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