master bates

jeff bates aka the master. here on the left.

some times he works at wild rose. lately the last 3 years he stays at home with 3 yr old henry, lightens the load on wife maria, and is mr. mom. he has 2 husky dogs and likes to ride 1 speeds. here the 24 moab team last fall in the rain.

rip it. 8 hrs of moab.

since 1992 the master and i have raced a little. he likes to free ride more than race but back in 2002 he trained and was super fast for the xc.

if you ever raced the solitude course he is there every year in expert, pro or 1 speed and he probably kicked your ass one or more times.

he has a nice big scar on his neck from surgery so if you want to see just ask.

If you were a type of food, what type of food would you be?

An apple, Kind of hard and crunchy, but damn sweet and delicious.

If you won $20 million in the lottery, what would you do with the money?

I would buy as much land as I could. Then I would hire my bros to come and build the sickest single-track trails all over it. The compound would have a huge commons house with an extra large kitchen and place for hanging out. A bunch of little bunkhouses would be scattered about the huge garden and fruit trees. Then just chill and ride good trails eat organic fresh food every day, with the people I love.

Tell us about the skin cancer, surgery and about all that

About four months ago I was diagnosed with malignant melanoma. I found a spot on my scalp and went and had it removed. A week later I was under the knife. They removed the tumor and some lymph nodes. A nice skin craft from my thigh was used to cover the huge hole. They found more cancer in 2 of the 6 nodes. They wanted to do more surgeries but I got into a research study that use’s ultrasound to monitor the nodes rather than remove them all. I just got done doing an intense round of chemo (Interferon). Four weeks, 5 days a week, 5 hours a day. That sucked big time. I lost about 17 lbs in those four weeks. I just started the next session of low does self-injections. I do this 3 days a week for 48 weeks. That’s that.

I want to say a HUGE THANKS, to all those that have been there for my family and me. It makes it much easier to focus on beating the cancer when you’re surrounded by love and positive energy. I have been feeling much better as of late, and it's time to get back on the bike. “Don’t call it a come back I’ve been here for years”

How do I rate as an interviewer?

Very entertaining.

If you were a car, what kind would you be?

A Winnebago.

Who do you admire the most and why?

My Grandpa, He was a tough SOB. He made it thru World War 2, and was involved with the planning of d-day.

In the news story about your life, what would the headline say?
“Long Live the Master”
The leader of the “cult of cyclist” died of natural causes on his massive compound earlier today. Hundreds turned out to rip the single track in his memory.