Tuesday Ride 12/1

Looks like it'll be Left hand OHV again. We were thinking about S. Boulder but all the good stuff down there is still wet. See you at 6 at the shop or 6:30 at LHC!

Hall sweet Hall

Ahh, it's that time of year again. Time of year when I can get out of the shop around 3:30 and barely have time to squeak out a decent ride. It was feeling kinda chilly when I rolled out so I decided to check on conditions at Antelope. I've ridden the rock garden something like 3 times this week and was ready for something different. Conditions report? Delightfully tacky and a little icy in spots. Get it while it's cold because in warm or in full sun, it's going to be a mess. Stay away if that's the case.
I rode up to the loop (which looked about the same as Antelope, but I didn't ride it) and the sun was starting it's final descent for the day. I called it a day and rode out via the rock garden. The descent thru that thing doesn't ever get old :)

Oh, couple of Hall Ranch rants while I'm at it. First, I think I told about 5 or 6 people to stay on trail. If you were out there and a shaggy bearded guy said "Hey - no reason to ride in the grass, it's already plenty wide," that was me. :) Keep it single folks.

Rant #2. I was stopped on the side of the trail re-ziptie-ing a ziptie holder doohicky when a dude completely raced by at top speed without saying hey or asking if I needed a hand (I didn't). Here's a tip when you see a fellow cyclist on the side of the trail. First, say hi, cause that's just a nice thing to do. Second, ask if they need a hand. That friendliness on the trail is what seperates us from skinny tired racer types that can't be bothered to look up from their aero tuck.

Rant off.

I rolled back to town via Old South, the bottom connector of Picture Rock and then some LGS. The trail sign is finally up at Picture Rock trail! Thanks to all that helped out with that in one way or another. As part of our trail stewardship program with the county, we donated over 60 man hours of trailwork on Picture Rock this season.

May the Force be With You

Pretty darned impressed with this '09 GT Force 3.0 we just got in - darn nice for a 5.5" travel bike for $1100!
The welds on the hydroformed tubing are beautiful
And GTs Independent Drivetrain suspension linkage is about as efficient as it gets.

What more could you ask for out of a 5.5" travel bike in that price range? GTs got a few left, so let us know if you're interested :)

amy and steevo discuss thanksgiving

Check out this link http://www.xtranormal.com/watch/5700021/ Very funny. Sounds like me 7 years ago

rumor of 6pm night ride gathering at marshall mesa trailhead

anyone interested?? I could swing it before a few brews!

Holy Cow - Leigh Donavan is making a return!

The one and only legendary Leigh Donavan will make her return to professional downhill next year, according to a story published on Dirtmountainbike.com Looks like she's even riding an Intense.

Pre Turkey Tuesday Nighter

Let's get that appetite worked up a couple of days in advance. This Tuesday will be a repeat performance of our last super outing at Left Hand OHV. The girls and I did a little recon in the Jeep today to check conditions and talked to a moto guy that was out playing. Sounds like typical winter fun. Good dirt up to 5 points, then ice up 286 from there. All singletracks are reputed to be in fine condition, so expect that we'll hit them. Bike shop at 6 or LHCOHV at 6:30!

fixies are so rad

Dang. Fixies are so cool, I wish I had one. Maybe I'll go to the Urban Outfitters online bike shop to buy one so I can be like the rest of the clones on campus. Yeah, that's what I'll do.

Current Consigment Bike Inventory

We've been doing a lot with used and consigned bikes lately. Have a look see at our latest inventory and give a shout if anything floats your boat. These are available to ship anywhere, too:)

2007 Redline Conquest Pro. 52cm and like new. $1450

2008 Norco A-Line Park Edition downhill bike. Lots of new stuff and upgrades, small. $1975

Turner Burner, medium, full XT with Hope Mono brakes. $1475

Bianchi Roger SS Cyclocross bike. 58cm, only ridden maybe 20 miles. Awesome shape. $1200

1992 Bridgestone RB-1, 59cm, full 8sp Shimano 600/Ultegra. Classic and in great shape.


Transition Covert, small. X9 build kit with a Rock Shox Lyric Uturn. $1800.

go COMBA!

COMBA had a party last night to celebrate being one of the first IMBA affiliate clubs in the country. A few of us from the Redstone crew went down last night to help them celebrate by drinking their beer and eating their pizza. It was like a who's who of Denver/Jeffco area mountain biking. Developmentally, it seems that COMBA is a few years behind BMA but they are working their arses off down there.

It was great times and the fundraiser was a success. Here's a quick pic of COMBA president Terry tossing out some schwag. I even got some socks. Sweet!

Tuesday Nite Action!

I just got back from a tour de LGS and let me tell you it is muddy out there. I don't even think LHC is going to be dry by tomorrow for our Tuesday Ride. Well, when one door closes, another opens. This Tuesday, 11/17, is the day of COMBA's (Colorado Mountain Bike Association) year end fundraiser at Wrigley's Bar and Grill (18200 W Colfax in Golden). The fundraiser/party starts at 5:30 and is $5 at the door. Admission includes all you can eat pizza, mountain bike movies and some schwag giveaways. They are also auctioning off a bike to raise fundage.

I'll be closing the shop down at 5:30 to head down to Goldentown. I've got room for 3 more. Anyone want to go and/or caravan, let me know!

Sunday Snow Day

It was a slow-ish day in the bike shop today. That was good, though, as it let me get a few things finished around the shop. After a few regulars passed thru around closing time, I mustered up enough gumption to get out from behind the counter and outside for a bike ride. I can't say the weather was particularly tempting. It was gray outside, 30 degrees, wet, and just kinda miserable all around. But it was my afternoon to ride (tomorrow, too - woohoo) so I was going to make it happen. A lot of you have heard me say this plenty of times before, but it's plenty true. I think I've ridden more in crappy deplorable conditions more than I ever used to since having kids. When you have time, you have to take it. Sometimes a sanity break is just what the doctor ordered, regardless of what mother nature is up to.

Today was one of those days. I had spent all morning with a full mug so I was warm, caffieinated and ready to roll.

Feeling lazy about future bike maintanence and thinking ease of cleaning, I put pedals on the SS and got it ready to roll. After donning PI Amfib from head to toe, I was ready to head out. It was cold. The original plan was to roll around town on the LGS but I found myself drawn to Picture Rock. It was acceptably good. Conditions were snowpacked and partly cleared. The clear sections were few but actually tacky. Nice.
I had to at least pedal up to the BMA pic-a-nic table. I heard that the benches were a recent addition so I had to check them out. The snow on the table paints a pretty good picture of the snowfall, too. Apparently, all the other users of the trail in the snow (1 bike, couple of hikers) decided to turn around at the table as well.
There were no tracks past the pic-a-nic table, but I forged on.
I didn't make it very far past mile marker 2. Oh, by the way, Boulder County installed all of the mile markers to make it safer and easier for rescue efforts and trail work. nice. Past mm2, the snow was firm, wet, thick, and not easily travelled. This is as far as I made it.
The descent to Lyons was a fast slip slidery good time. I'm glad I got out.

Wonder where I'll go tomorrow?

Tales from the Laudramat/Wow is all I can say

With crappy weather impending, today was destined to be a slow day. Earlier today before the precip started, a man rolled up on a motorcycle with a bag full of clothes heading in next door to do some laundry. After he got his load started, he came into the bike shop to shoot the breeze. No biggie, happens all the time. As we started talking, he told me that he'd been spending the night up in the forest with some buddies. He left his duffel bag outside overnight and woke up with a couple inches of snow on the ground so he needed to do laundry. Pretty nondescript guy riding a 15 year old Kawasaki street bike. We got talking awhile and it sounded like this guy definitely knew his way around a bike. He said he'd been racing speedway, short track, and TT motorcycles his entire life and had made a living as a professional dirt track motorcycle racer. There's not too many folks that can earn a living like that so he was quite interesting to talk to. I didn't ask many questions, just listened. I started riding motorcycles when I was a kid and had many motorcycle heroes growing up. We talked about Malcolm Smith (Tomac owner Joel Smith's father), who was one of his peers from days gone by. As it turns out, this fellow was also in the movie "On Any Sunday" as well. He was very modest and only mentioned that he was in the movie as a bit part because he was part of that scene. He was a fascinating guy to talk to with lots of great stories. He kept popping in and out as he would go next door to check on his laundry. Before he left, he asked if he could hop on my internet. He brought up a web page and asked me if I could please look at it after he left. He was planning on heading to Boulder, riding up to Ned, then to Estes and back down 36. I told him that he would encounter crappy weather on the Peak to Peak, but he wasn't concerned - said he was prepared for anything. He was extremely modest and didn't even give me his name. He walked out, started up his bike and got his laundry loaded up. Then he then turned, helmet on, and walked back into the shop. He said he wanted to introduce himself but didn't want to create a scene because of his fame. He reached out his hand, shook mine, told me his name, and I think I had to pick my jaw up off the floor. The man - Jay Springsteen - one of the winningest motorcycle racers in US history.



It was a real pleasure Jay. Thanks for spending your day in the shop and be careful out there.

brrr. Or is that burr?

Brought to you by our weekly Tuesday night ride. Every Tuesday at 6 :)

Intense Tracer 29!

Here's some shots of Intense's latest creation, the Tracer VP 29. Jeff Steber, headman at Intense has been riding this prototype for a bit. Looking at April availability and pricing will be the same as the 26" Tracer VP.

Here's the highlights from Intense...
• Tapered head tube 1.5” lower & 1.125” integrated top.
• 135mm spacing.
• Adjustable travel from 5” to 5.5”. 7.875” x 2.25” shock. Travel has no effect on geometry.



• 73mm BB width, ISCG-05 tabs are machined with the BB shell (1 pc).
• Easton EA-6X tube set. Monocoque top tube.



• Weight @ 7 lbs w/ rp23 (Md size).
• Front der. compatible. Cable guides for dropper style seat post
• Accepts full-length seat post. Next generation VPP linkages for even better pedaling efficiency. Angular contact bearings and zerk fittings on lower link.



*Setting forward into our latest 29” wheeled bike, the Tracer 29 gives all the benefits of big wheels and VPP with the benefit of long travel. This bike has a more relaxed geometry over the Spider 29. Perfect for an Epic ride or a local trail.
Settings:
• Optimal sag @ 30%. Travel change does affect leverage ratio, so sag will need to be adjusted accordingly. Top hole 5.5”, bottom hole 5”.
Options:



• Color ways; Intense Red, Stealth Black, Works/Raw, Apple Green

good day to ride

Mondays are always good days. Today was no exception. I found myself short on time so I rode up the frontside of Hall and back. The rock garden was in great shape. Seriously - it was almost perfect.


All was good until I got up almost to the top. WTF was this?

I wonder who built this line? I'm guessing it's a line that the county built because equestrians bitched that they couldn't ride up the rock. Just a guess, though. I'll find out more so I can bitch about it later with solid facts under my belt. But I won't complain for now :)

Can't wait for downtown Lyons to get repaved!

See all of you for this Tuesday nite's ride. LHC, can't wait. heh heh.

Tuesday Ride 11/3

Now that DST is over, we'll be meeting up at 6pm. No sense trying to chase the daylinght now that there's not any. Needless to say, all rides will be lights mandatory until, we'll, Spring.

This week we're hitting Left Hand OHV. It'll be steep and icy and a total crapshot but we're going to hit it anyway. Uber steep jeep road climbs that will make you hate life, followed by steep fast descents that make you forget at least just a little bit of the climbs :) But not all.