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Lookin Back, Lookin Forward

By dhewes | 02/09/10 | 6:55 AM

I hate to reflect on the past. It is just that-the past. You can’t change it; for better or for worse. This year, at least for me, is worth reflecting on. Being my first year riding for the Crew, I had a lot of expectations for myself and some worries too. Never being on an organized race team before, made me rethink how I look at riding, racing, training and myself.

I learned a lot about myself this year. I never had a “real” structured training program in the past, so I started with a rough plan in the beginning and it gradually morphed into a decent routine. Definetely room for improvement, but overall not bad. Every year, like everyone else, I try to set achievable goals for myself. What I should do is set unachievable goals, so if I don’t make them, I still achieved my original achievable goals. Makes sense to me. I race the same venues year to year, with some new races thrown in when time allows. Every year my goals are to better my times from the previous years. Once you are in your 40’s, it doesnt get easier. Being 42, I have to face the facts that training will be a little more difficult. This year I really surprised myself with what I was able to accomplish. Not only was I able to better all of my times from last season, but crush them. I rode the singlespeed in all but 1 race. I was a little leary at first, just because last year I rode the geared bike in all but 1 race. So trying to reach my time goals were going to be a challenge. (more…)

Observations, Races, Training
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Breck Epic Stage 5 Post on Mountainbike.com

By Thom | 31/08/10 | 5:02 PM

My post for Stage 5 of the Breck Epic is up on Mountain Bike. This is probably the last one. I’m not sure if they’ll publish my Stage 6 post, the one where I basically just talk about the pro-ness of peeing in my bibs.

- Big Bikes

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How would you feel if…

By dhewes | 26/07/10 | 2:35 PM

Of course you could fill that in with any number of responses. But what if you loaned your bike to a friend and found out that he lost it off of his bike rack? First off, I know I will catch heat for this, but I am not one to loan my bikes out very often. Not that I dont want to help someone out, but I dont want to have to go through a situation like this and I am very particular about my rides, stingy…I guess so.

How many times have you been out on the trail and found a tire lever, a tool and maybe on a good day a computer. Well how would you like to be out on a ride and find a pretty darn good bike? A Chumba SS with XTR brakes, SLX crank and Chris King BB. That’s what happened to me on saturday. I was riding into Loch Raven and noticed 2 guys with bikes next to 3rd bike with no guy. Thought nothing of it and rode on. Did a short 1:30 casual ride to stretch the legs before sundays race and saw the same bike without the other 2 guys. Ok, the first thing I thought was someone is sitting somewhere waiting for someone to nab the bike and they were going to pounce. I rode on.

I got to my car and thought what if that was my bike and someone stole it? Why was it in broad day light at a heavily ridden trail and still there? Mystery’s of the universe. I rode back and wheeled it back to my car. Sat for a good 15 minutes to see if anyone was going to hit me in the head or through a Birkenstock at me. Nothing. Now 2 things can happen here. I could take this bike, post it and hope that someone claims it. Or I could leave it and hope that the owner finds it. The second probably would not have happened.

Two women were selling produce at the trailhead so I told them if anyone was looking for it, I would post it on M.O.R.E. I got home, put it up with a very vague description and waited. Today I got a response and all is well. The Friend who lost it was the one who picked it up at my house and I cant tell you how happy he was. He didnt have the money to replace it if it was gone. He just didnt check to see if the bike was secure and it just came loose. Luckily, the only damage was to the pedal and a couple of bent spokes. I fixed everything for him and completely stripped it down and tuned it up.

It really makes me happy that it was returned to the right person. Just remember to double check everything before you leave the trail-everything.

Observations, Trails
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jura. savoie. alpes. fisher. trek. unleashed.

By Dan k | 08/07/10 | 11:16 AM

p10503751

(more…)

Observations
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Low altitude training

By Branden Morvant | 06/07/10 | 4:26 PM

dscn0997 On most of my training rides, I go into New Orleans whether it’s along the lake front and through New Orleans East or just around City Park and the Mid City area. But everytime I go on these rides, I pass this church with this utility pole in front and can’t help but notice how low the city is. In this picture, the ground is 4 feet below sea level. (more…)

Observations, Training
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Go By Bike

By James | 17/06/10 | 1:37 PM

go_by_bike

Riding to work was the lazy option for me… a ten minute freewheel instead of a 35 minute walk. A change of jobs alters this with a 13 mile direct route on the road following the national cycle network, or a longer off-road option. What can beat a cheeky singletrack commute on dry dusty trails in the early morning sunshine? A ride home on dusty singletrack in the evening sunshine! When you start getting obsessed with training hours and set things to do for every session, using the bicycle simply as a mode of transport, not just a source of fun and form of exercise is actually quite novel! Makes more sense to me than the current default these days of people driving to the office and working out at the gym!

The change of jobs also sees me cycling in London for the first time. Not something for the faint hearted! Massive strides are being made to make the capital city more bike friendly and the number of people I see riding now compared to 5 years ago is remarkable. It’s a long way from being Amsterdam or Copenhagen, but a revolution has definitely begun and the number of races now taking place around the capital is huge. And having recently watched the Tour Series take place in Canary Wharf and spent a day working with Rollapaluza in a shopping centre, it’s racing that’s all about big crowds of spectators - something that’s great to finally see at UK events!

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Wanna Piece of Meat?

By dhewes | 19/05/10 | 5:16 PM

I know what your thinking, don’t even go there. No offense to anyone with kids, but I have the coolest son on the face of this dirt friendly orb.

Yeah, wanna piece of meat?

When Alex was 4, we where watching some brainless, nonsensical show on Disney Channel. One of the characters had said “You wanna piece a me?” I think it was a spoof on some Robert DeNiro flick or something. Anyway, Alex thought the said You wanna piece of meat? It kills me to this day.

Now he is six and makes this comment whenever we are out on one of our epic rides.

It really is a single speed nation

He loves to be out on the trails; as long as we can do the following: a) throw rocks in the water. b) find a vine to swing on and watch it break and me fall on my back. or c) getting Cheetos after the ride. I can usually work them all in. This ride was his first “long” ride. 6 miles of fire road and singletrack bliss. He used to have one of the Trek Trikes with big inflatable tires. He would ride these trails on that!

I am very competitive by nature, but I try not to push that on him. We do have our little “race” sessions though. I kept saying out loud-”I know I can take you, man.” His reply… “eat my dust.” He thinks he is something now that he got his Fisher SS Precaliber. Listen up-If you have kids that ride, get this bike. 15lbs, aluminum frame, ahead style stem and alloy wheels.

Eat my Dust!

All in all , it was a cool day. He is still learning the ropes and is a little skittish on some of the baby head size rocky 3 miles descents. “Get back on that bike and take it like a man!” Just kidding. He does really well. I dont force him to do anything he doesnt want to, even though I know he can do it. I think he respects that. That’s what I like about this sport. I have seen how parents react and interact at other sporting events and it is really sad to see. This is one on one, just you and your prodigy-awesome!

His teeth were already missing

Before our ride, the visor kept falling in front of his face, so he quoted his favorite cartoon character; Marvin Martian-”Someone stole the X-10 space modulator.” For those of you that dont know of Marvin, Marvin’s face shield would always fall in front of his face while he was trying to blow up the Earth.

So…Get out and ride. I love to race and go out and ride fast on my own, but nothing compares to a day out on the trails with the little ones. The picture says it all. Enjoy the ride and stay single (speed).

Observations
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Short Winters and Riding Weather?

By dgoode | 03/05/10 | 9:36 PM

For the Pacific Northwest the winter has been short and although the snow has been thin the weather is still wet, windy and cold. Weather being what it is, that has not slowed down the ambition to hit the local mountains for some long fire road climbs rewarded with even longer single track descents. Last weekend a small group and I took a shot at a ride we questioned to be passable at all. For myself it would be a great test of my Superfly 100 on a trail that is usually over run with 6 inch all mountain style bikes. On our climb out of the parking lot towards Mt Spokane we questioned how much snow we would come across and if it would still have a nice hard crust that we might be able to ride on. It was not long until our question was answered, just about at the 3500 ft mark we started to hit patchy spots but they were short enough to plow through. Lucky for us we did not have to much more elevation to gain on the fire road and the trail was located on the sunny side of the mountain, it could only get better!? Well that was not quite the case, as we arrived at the trail head we quickly realized that all of our short winter long, the snowshoe traffic had packed a very hard, thin trail that had not melted down yet. So two options; turn around and ride down the boring fire road or take a chance on packed icy death. Well we are mountain bikers, so icy death it is!! I took the lead through the first couple sections and learned right away that 29 inch wheels float on this snow better than the 26 inch wheels did. I had no problem staying up on top of the snow pack while others in the group struggled to keep their bikes up right and pointed down hill. A few turns later we did hit dirt and what a change of pace. I finally got the chance to really let the bike go and rip some turns through the rough stuff and put it to the test. The bike had no problem soaking up the roots and rocks, flying through the tight switchbacks and forging some very cold creeks. All said and done I”m very impressed with the bike and can’t wait for the whole mountain to thaw out. Short winters and riding weather can come early anytime in my book.

Gear Reviews, Observations, Ride Reports
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I love the Ferrous and my Superfly-a rambling

By dhewes | 27/04/10 | 6:32 AM

This post simply exists because it’s raining and for some idiotic reason, I am typing. Just some observations, comparisons and plain ole’ bantering.

I have to be honest, I love carbon. Ever since my beloved Trek 9800 and Fisher Procaliber OCLV’s from 1994, I have been hooked. I didnt know much about it back then. I was just betting it was light and fast. Good thing I was right.

My trusty 9800 at 24 hours of Canaan 1997

I have ridden every type of material out there: Aluminum, Ti, Boron (Univega), Composites, Carbon. What’s missing? Steel. I never had or ridden for that matter a good steel bike. Back in the early 90’s, that was almost all you could get. I chose the harshness of aluminum as my first real bike.

That all changed when I was turned on to 29ers back in late ‘07. We had a Devo Blue Ferrous in the store in that just had my attention every time I went into work. I would study its every curves. Every aspect of this bike had me from day one. So, I sold my Trek Fuel 100 and Devo was mine. I immediately stripped it down and on went the monocog zoot suit. I was in love, really. This was hands down just a beautiful bike, and it rode as such. It weighed in at 22lbs 3 oz., not bad. I am a self confessed weight weenie, and proud of it.

The Ferrous in all it's Glory at 24 Hours of Big Bear

I had put roughly 1500 miles on her, but the dreaded carbon skeleton was just dying to escape from the closet. The news hit. Gary was offering a Superfly SS frame to the masses. I love carbon-I think we cleared that up earlier. I snatched up the last one in my size, just barely. I opened the box, and there it was. I cradled it, tickled its belly. “Such a cut little Superfly are-n-t…” Um, sorry. Anyway. I was truly amazed and a little leery about the weight. Carbon of today is certainly more fragile than the carbon of yore.

All told came in at 18lbs 8 oz. I was able to get one race at the end of the year in ‘09, and took first place at the 6 hour Rocky Gap event. I was blown away. It seemed as if everyone else was too. I never got so many comments about an inanimate object before. This bike is fast. Plain and simple. I have to admit, though it was not that “special feeling” ride that my Ferrous offered. I am certainly not saying that I dont like my Superfly, nothing could be further from the truth. It is my go to bike for everything. My ferrous came to my rescue at the Baker’s Dozen earlier this month. As I reported in my earlier post, my neck did not want me to go on. My ferrous gave me some much need relief.

EX2 Day of Endurance

On most courses, my Superfly is THE bike to ride. I choose it 90% of the time. When the course is riddled with holes and stutter bumps, I definetly give the Ferrous the 5 stars. Steel still has that magical feel. It is an overplayed, overdone, overdone analogy, but it is true. Something about steel just works. Not to heavy, not to stiff. Just right Goldilocks. Just don’t let me find you in my bed.

For most of the population , you can no longer enjoy the fine dining that Gary brought to the table, the Ferrous is a thing of the past. I was lucky enough to nab an ‘08 and ‘09. Maybe one day Gary will see the error of his ways and make the Ferrous available again. I think offering the bike as a geared first option turned many people off due to the weight (28.8 lbs). Maybe just in a ss version in the future?. Anyway, for those of us that have em’, enjoy!

Gear Reviews, Observations
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Yankee Springs TT

By gkuyper | 26/04/10 | 10:11 PM

This year’s Yankee Springs TT was very different from past years and not at all what I expected. Normally I would tell you my favorite part of any race is gritting my teeth digging in and venturing as deep as I can into the pain cave in hopes of eeking out a little extra speed. In the case of Yankee I found that sometimes doing the opposite can be just as much fun. I am sure it would be normal for me to write my race report on this blog but instead will share a race that was a lot more fun for me and far more promising for our sport.

keegan My day started with far to many nerves and not enough go. I was fortunate though as Dan K. from Leadout Racing had asked me to coach/chase his 11 year old son Keegan through the woods during his beginner race. Keegan occasionally rides with us on and off road and has been making serious progress this year so it sounded like it would be a good way to get some miles in and have fun. At the start he made sure to point out Billy, another young kid that he races with a lot, and as we lined up we realized we would be starting the TT together and Keegan got pretty serious. From the gun he rode a steady and kept things smooth and consistent. Up until the first hill Keegan and Billy reeled in several riders that had started ahead of them and kept the pace very comfortable. As we started the a nice little grinder of a hill Billy dropped his chain and Keegan powered around him and up the hill and kept his intensity up for several minutes so as not to play rabbit for Billy. We had soon passed a good chunk of the 11-14 year old field and started catching adults in the beginner class. We treated each rider as a rabbit riding hard to catch them and then Keegan would recover just long enough to politely ask for a pass before starting to hunt his next target. It was a blast to see the lines and finesse a rider that young and light could take up the hills and through some of the tighter sections of the course. At one point I hip checked a tree trying to poach his line not realizing it wasn’t wide enough for me. As we got closer to the finish I new he was well ahead of his time goal of an hour and 30 minutes, but continued to encourage him to ride harder. At the same time I couldn’t help but be impressed by his consistent pace. He even cyclocross dismounted and ran the heavily rooted uphill to save time. With about 2 miles to go we started talking about the finish and how he had to go as hard as he could in the last mile as there would be “fans” everywhere. I was hoping he would be motivated and push harder with all the cheering. Coming into the last K I ducked the tape and hit the paved road through the camp ground to not interfere with his finish. As Keegan wound it up in the grass next to the road, I spun like crazy to make up for having to get outside of the tape. I am pretty sure if it wasn’t for the little section of singletrack right before the finish I would have never caught him as he crossed the line in 32X11 and was turning the gear over and himself inside out. He ended up beating his goal by over 10 minutes and finishing 4th in the 11-14 field. He also took over 25 minutes off his previous best time. I truthfully had a blast doing it and will almost certainly be chasing him around the Fort Custer course this coming weekend. I love racing and competition, even if it isn’t me competing. It is also great just to see someone else accomplish their goal and share in a small part of their experience especially someone so young and motivated about the sport we love. All in all it was impressive to see so many young kids in general that have discovered mountain biking. I am also a big enough man to admit I bet him an ice cold coke that he couldn’t beat his time goal and happily paid up so he could sit and recover with it while he waited for his sister to finish her race.