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January 5, 2007
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Member Profile: Brian Bich
18 questions with DXC and Brian Bich
DXC: Name/Age/Family
Brian: Brian Bich, 40 years old. Wife Kirsten, sons Nathan and Connor. And dog Keisha. She was my first child. And lately, she’s my cleanest and best behaved child.
DXC: What is your ‘day job’ when you aren’t out on the trails?
Brian: I’ve been teaching biology at Lake Superior College for ten years. Biology, Anatomy, Physiology. Most of the students are going into Nursing, Radiology Tech, Occupational Therapy Assistant, Surgical Tech - a lot of primary health care. We also have a biology major track, too. My biology teacher in high school was my dad, and he was my favorite teacher. I thought I would be a high school teacher and coach, but in graduate school, I was teaching and eventually supervising grad students, and that’s how I got to be where I am. When Kirsten was choosing her residency, we specifically chose Duluth because there were so many colleges around and I figured I would find something if I was patient.
DXC: What is your XC skiing history?
Brian: I had never been on skis, other than downhill skiing once or twice, prior to coming to Duluth ten years ago. I basically started out from ground zero - going down hills without falling down. The first winter here, Rhett Bonner loaned me an old pair of rock skis and I had an old pair of classic skis. I had always seen cross country skiing and had always thought it looked like fun. It’s not my best sport, but it’s by far, my favorite sport. I just love skiing.
DXC: About how many hours per week do you get out these days?
Brian: While I’m teaching, about 10 hours per week or less. In the summer, I don’t teach, so then I can get out 12-15 hours per week or so.
DXC: Do you prefer to ski alone or with friends?
Brian: I like both. I end up skiing by myself a lot, because of my schedule. Occasionally with Kirsten, and now the boys are getting big enough that we can all go out. I had to go with other people to learn – Rhett Bonner, Phil Rogers and Doug Olson all really helped me to learn. I guess I do a lot by myself, but I wouldn’t say I prefer it that way.
DXC: What other activities do you like to do?
Brian: I do a lot of triathlon [Brian is the Minnesota Men’s Triathlete of the year -DXC]. In high school, I did everything. I played baseball in the summer, football in the fall and basketball in the winter and ran track in the spring. We didn’t have cross country running, which probably would have been a better sport for me. I actually played basketball for two years in college, at Augustana College. Basketball was my first love. I was pretty good at it, but I’ve come to find out that I’m more gifted with slow twitch muscles than fast twitch. After college, I wanted to find another sport so I tried triathlons. I was never much of a swimmer and even though I didn’t bike a lot, I always loved cycling. And I was a gifted runner. So we got to Minnesota, where there are a lot of triathlons and I found out I was actually pretty good at them. Cross country skiing is the ultimate cross-training sport for any aerobic activity. More than triathlons themselves, what I really like is training. I like being in good shape. Even if I never did a race, I would still do all these sports. I also enjoy hiking, running, camping, fishing… Oh - and I LOVE hauling stuff in the wheelbarrow. I love doing manual labor with a wheelbarrow and a shovel.
DXC: What is your most memorable skiing story?
Brian: The first time I went cross country skiing. It was before Kirsten and I were married, and her whole family took me out cross country skiing during Christmas. We stayed at a place up by Lutsen. I was on rented skis. I picked it up enough that I could keep up with everybody. As we were heading back to the car, we came up on a down-and-up that crossed a little crick. It looked pretty safe, even though there was a little bit of water. I figured I’d just skim right over the water. I skied down the one side and when my skis hit that slushy water, they stopped and BAM! I went down, face first - totally covered my upper body in slushy water. Boy, that was funny from multiple aspects. I mean, I was with her family, we had only been going out for about a year and a half. Classic stupidity. After that, I wasn’t on skis for another six years.
DXC: Who has been your biggest inspiration in skiing?
Brian: Rhett Bonner is my mentor. He taught me to ski. As far as the world class guys, I really love watching biathlon. I love watching Ole Einar Bjorndalen. He’s awesome - I love watching him ski.
DXC: What is your favorite local trail?
Brian: I like the Spirit and Magney trails a lot. But I like Piedmont a lot too, since it’s right out my back door. I like Magney and Spirit because they’re so challenging - I can get a good hard workout. With Piedmont, I don’t have to waste any time commuting - I’m here.
DXC: What is your favorite ‘recovery’ food?
Brian: After a race, I love stuff with fat in it. I love hamburgers. I eat a lot of cereal. I eat two peanut butter and jelly sandwiches every day. I have high metabolism.
DXC: Read any good books or seen any good movies, lately?
Brian: I read a really good one about doping in sports - “The Game of Shadows.” And just today, I took Connor to “Happy Feet.” That actually had a bigger and broader message than most cartoons.
DXC: Classic or Skate?
Brian: Oooh, boy. Both. Here at Piedmont, I do classic a lot, of course. Skating in perfect conditions is just awesome. But so is classic.
DXC: What one upgrade would you like to see to the Duluth City Trail system?
Brian: Snowmaking somewhere. Anywhere that would make sense. Probably the Spirit Mountain campground loop or Chester Bowl. That’s actually one of the reasons I joined the club. This year’s snow situation is a perfect example of why - we don’t have a club if we don’t have snow. I think if we had a solid plan, people would line up to help. I mean, we’re freaking out! If someone had snow, I’d be there skiing.
DXC: What do you value most about living in Duluth?
Brian: I just love all the public land and trails.
DXC: Any tips for beginners?
Brian: Make sure your skis are flexed right for your weight. Don’t just get skis based on your height - if your skis aren’t flexed right, you can’t balance. I don’t have great technique, but it makes a huge
difference in being able to hold a glide.
DXC: SNS, NNN, 3-pin, or…?
Brian: SNS Pilot for skating Profile for classic. Not that I really prefer it, but that’s what my first skis had, so that’s what I use.
DXC: What does your XC future hold?
Brian: Hopefully I’ll be able to ski this year. I hope I’ll be able to ski until I die. If I had to have all my sports taken away and could only keep one, I would keep cross country skiing.
DXC: Why did you join DXC?
Brian: To join a group that would accomplish things for the good of cross country skiing. Being part of a unified group to help accomplish things. Anything that makes trails better, improves skiing
opportunities, I support.
DXC: What should DXC’s next big focus be?
Brian: Snowmaking, without a doubt.
DXC: Anything else?
Brian: I know some people would like more trails to be lighted, but to me, when you can spend $100 and have an unbelievably powerful headlamp, it just doesn’t make sense to spend hundreds of thousands of dollars lighting a trail. Even a $10 headlamp is just fine. My favorite thing is skiing at night with my headlamp.
I’d love a yurt-to-yurt ski system out around Spirit-Magney.
I’d love to see a human-powered corridor through the entire city of Duluth that connects to all the trails. That would be a huge draw for the city.
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