With our snowpack being 150% of normal dirt is hard to come by if it isn’t mixed with Mag Chloride and Slush. Getting time on the bike is simple; go out and suffer up the road climbs on the singlespeed with knobbies. Hard is good. 2 hours is all you need to feel like you trained on a day when they canceled your first race.

As the snow slowly melts in the northern reaches of New England, the roads are beginning to clear and riding outside has finally become a reality for me. I just closed our cross-country ski center for the season last Sunday even though there is still plenty of snow left to slide around on in the woods. The skis have been waxed and all the rental and personal equipment stored away until next winter. We’ve enjoyed a great season of snow and although my bicycle riding miles are low right now, I racked up an impressive 1,300 miles of grooming (the old fashioned way on a snow mobile with drag behind groomers). Think cold, dark nights driving very slowly, all the while inhaling the sweet fumes of two-stroke engine oil that tickles your lungs and probably negates the benefit of many a bike riding mile. (more…)

This Sunday marks the first day of British Summer Time. The clocks go forward an hour and light evenings become a reality.

Sunday is also the day for the first round of the Midlands XC series, which I jointly organise with Trek UK rider Nadine Spearing. This is only the second year that we have been organising the series after stepping in at the last minute in 2007 and it’s been a steep learning curve!

Want to see what riders will encounter out on the course? Check out these youtube videos: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=AIqL720gwVs for a taster. Very much a ‘UK’ course, we don’t have many ski resorts…

Please note: I take no responsibility for the choice of music! 

Rode the Superfly first time last week and it’s da bomb, from tight single track to a loose, sketchy climb it makes riding fun here in New England. Our racing season starts next week, great EFTA mtb time trial/season opener, certain sections of this course are just going to be much quicker on the 29. (more…)

Hello 29er world. My name is Jesse and I’m proud to be kicking off my fourth year as a 29er crew member. I hail from Madtown USA which happens to be a two hour pedal and steer from the 29er headquarters (lucky me). I enjoy a handful of things that don’t include flat tyres, four day old chamois, and exploded clif shot packages. My latest kick is practicing my 29 with my brother and teammate Marko “DARKNESS” LaLonde in order to achieve big wheel domination. I often wonder what would happen if everyone rode big wheels? World peace? A utopian society in which neighbors invite neighbors to ride 29? An intentional community which consisted of 29er xing signs on every corner? Who knows…

This blog is symbolic of a utopian blogosphere where I can come and speak amongst my 29er brothers and sisters, share my racing adventures, and gain insight on the land of opportunity. I look forward to spending time with you internet.

happy trails!

I have been coaching a ski team all winter, so needless to say I have not been on the bike since cross season ended. Of course I still did my commute to work which is a whopping 3 miles.  My winter hybernation coat is nice and thick and my dryer seems to have shrunk all of my pants. I am still waiting on my SuperFly (insert superfly theme song), so the past couple of weeks have been out on my single speed and road bike. It feels really good to get back on my bike and I would be lying if I said it didn’t hurt.  I am excited to be a part of this 29er crew. It seems we have a great mix of individuals and it is too bad we all live so far a part because we would have one dynamic group to go on rides with. I will leave you with my boyfriend Matthew’s,  favorite saying when he turns up the hardest route or steepest hill….”It’s good for you”.