Pure Awesomeness !!!

Hey everyone as some of you might know I am now contributing to Grammo Bicycles blog . . . http://grammo-bici.blogspot.com/. I was originally going to abandon this blog and just write on the Grammo one but have since decided not to do that. So follow the link to Grammo for sure and stay tuned here as well. I just wanted to thank some great people for some amazing things as of recently. First and foremost I want to thank Unreal Cycles http://www.unrealcycles.com/, http://grammo-bici.com/  as well as Standing Stone Brewing Company http://www.standingstonebrewing.com/ for all of their support this season. There is no doubt that with out their help I would not be able to be doing all that I am.

 

The bike above is my new all mountain bike from Unrealcycles, its a Titus FTM and it pretty much rocks. I can't thank them enough, its a do it all bike and it really finds its self home in these neck of the woods. This picture was taken when I was showing some new found friends around some pretty awesome trails . . . More photos of this ride and bike to follow.

John descending some switch backs

Another shot of the Titus FTM

John coming up over a log . . .

Bummer . . . trail exit, can't get enough of this stuff

Here is a shot of my friend riding out at Applegate lake with me on an easy pedal day, this place is so gorgeous . . . IE look at the background !!!

Alecia killing it, she's been riding less than a month !!!

The picture above was from a ride on my current road bike about to be replaced by a Grammo Road bike thanks to Grammo Bicycles, can't wait for that. But man this picture does not justice to just how beautiful of a road this was, not to mention I reached 45mph on the way down!

another picture from my amazing road ride !!!

This bike is one sweet ride !!!

Here is a picture of the race bike, its crazy how lite this thing is . . . 

The above picture is of my race bike for this season, after a few races I have decided that I will forgo on the rigid and will be installing a front fork. It just doesn't seem to pay off to run a rigid. I feel as if a fork will help me that much more on the run and allow me to be a little bit more rested and fresh. I'll have to wait and see if it makes a difference. More pictures and stories to follow so stay tuned!!!

February is OVER !!!

So like I said I just want to use this blog to share races, stories and what it take to be prepared at the amateur level for the Xterra tri's. This season I started my training later than I would have like to but at last my first month is behind me. Just thought I'd share what my dry erase board looked like for February. . . I also got some cool new gear to train with that I will soon be posting on here my favorite of which is the Garmin 305 Forrunner . . . Till next time Just Ryde !!!

Cathing you up on Dan

Me and Dano !!!

So like I said it has been awhile since I have been on this blog but have all the intentions of using it a bunch over the next 8-12 months. For those of you who have read about Dan this is just a follow up with some cool pictures. It just so happened that where he was ending his trip was only hours from where I ended up moving (insert picture)

So of course as soon as I got into town I called him and we did an awesome little weekend. We rode Mckenzie river, Sisters and Bend. My favorite trail out of the entire weekend was easily lower whoops in Bend . . . So much fun. Dan was all healed up and we had a great time riding together. Its crazy that I met a guy in FL over a year ago, I decide to move clear across the country and then somehow meet back up with him, pretty awesome. So here are some pictures of the awesome weekend I had when I first got to Oregon over 8 months ago now . . . Till next time Just Ryde !!!

Xterra Season is fast approaching !!!

Hey everyone so I took a small hiatus during which I moved straight across the country just so I could have better mountain biking trails . . . And it worked I'm in love with Southern Oregon. Anyways The XTERRA Tri Season is about to begin and I couldn't be any happier. This year I decided to hire a trainer and so far its paying off big time (thanx Darcy!!!) She managed to get me out on a road bike which I was against (stupidly) for awhile but have since fallen in love!!! I also decided to purchase a more race oriented bike which I am stoked about should have it in a few weeks, its a carbon Grammo 29er and boy it wants to go fast!!!

So just wanted to get back on here hopefully have some followers this season. My goal is to qualify for worlds in Hawaii. I am doing at least 8 races this year and the schedule looks like this . . .

3/27/11 XTERRA REAL CA
http://www.tbfracing.com/events/realmtbtri.html

4/17/11 XTERRA South Championship Waco TX
http://www.xterraplanet.com/races/race.cfm?race_id=1310

5/15/11 XTERRA Pacific Championship - Santa Cruz CA
http://www.xterraplanet.com/races/race.cfm?race_id=1413

6/11/11 Granite-Man/ obviously : ) Home race
http://granite-man.com/

7/10/11 XTERRA Vashon Island WA
http://www.buduracing.com/pdf/2011%20xterra%20vashon%20071011.pdf

8/7/11 XTERRA Black Diamond WA ***(Voted Hardest Xterra)***
http://www.xterrablackdiamond.com/

8/27/11 XTERRA Lake Tahoe NV
http://www.bigblueadventure.com/pub/main2.asp?daEvent=60&daPageName=INTRO

9/4/11 XTERRA Canada Championship Whistler BC (Probably most excited about this one!!!)
http://www.xterracanada.com 


9/24/11 XTERRA USA Championship
http://www.xterraplanet.com/utah/index.html

and hopefully . . .
 

THE WORLD CHAMPIONSHIP in Maui

Quick Update on Dan

Talked to Dan last weekend, he verified that his collar bone is broken and is out a month but his spirits are high . . . The crazy guy told me that he's already back on his bike riding it around the parking lot with one hand. Just can't hold him down!!!

Croom . . . Give it a chance

Alrigh I know most people have negative thoughts when they here the word "Croom". Well hopefully this post will change that for someone. Last Saturday Dave the machine, Bob the mountain goat and myself went for a ride. . . we ended up doing 30 miles and if anyone remembers it was the first real hot day that we've had this year (kicked my butt). The ride was good we parked at fire tower (like parking there for security and the shower) did the south blue loop to the north blue then took the yellow shortcut back to the trucks. I took my camera and didn't get near as many photos as I had intended(I will be getting much more in the near future) on but got a few and wanted to share the goodness of Croom with everyone . . .


So the first picture is of Bob coming down an option near the pits on the north blue loop . . . There is a fun little drop semi technical down hill followed by a small tire jump . . .


This here is Mount Pisca I believe(not sure on the actual name) . . . If you look hard you can see Dave to the top right well at least his legs are there, the picture doesn't do it justice but its a pretty good down hill you just have to be able to make the climb . . .


Here I am on a log ride just south of the Drunken Monkey which is my favorite section of Croom, there is also a log before this one which is a little more challenging . . .

And this is Dave again on the more challenging log ride, soon hopefully we'll be able to roll right into it and get both on our first try, hasn't happened yet . . .

Anyways those are just a few of the many good options that you can find at Croom. Yes it is sandy and yes there are big hills . . . that are sandy . . . but sprinkled through out all the hills and sand you will find enjoyable and at times challenging sections. If you have only been out there a time or two give it another chance. Its not Alafia or Santos its different, if you ride there enough you will build amazing endurance that you can't get at other ride spots in the area. The key is going out with someone who knows how to get to the good stuff and being able to push yourself on some of the more XC style things. Two pieces of advice bring water, LOTS OF WATER and a map. Because the loops are huge you can easily be 16 miles from your vehicle . . . so if you get lost you want a map to get you back and enough water to get you there. Again if you've only been out there a few times and haven't enjoyed yourself I suggest doing the next SWAMP ride which is the last Sunday of the month I believe you can check Swampclub.org for more information. So please before you bash Croom give it a chance, you don't write a review on a bike after only one short ride, it takes time to get to know the bike and get comfortable on it, Croom is the same way . . . So hopefully we'll see you out there . . . till next time Just Ryde!!!

His Biggest Fan

Well, he's finally done it. He has made every breathing moment about Xterra racing and fitness and I couldn't be more proud of him. He has come a long way since that enervated finish at his first race and will grow to be even more amazing I'm sure (even at the cost of 63 year old men he cripples on the trails)! He will be sure to ride that Cannondale Super V 500 past every unsuspecting person on the trail. I'll never forget his first tri when a guy looked at him and said "Ohh a Super V 500, I had one of those...like 8 years ago!" I will also never forget how he blazed past him on the trail and took 4th in his age group and 23rd overall. It was his first tri! He is soon to be traveling the country to attend every Xterra race he can and if you can stand to look past his horrible proof reading and lack of spelling skills he is now wanting to take you on the journey! Of course I will be there too...being his biggest fan