“why are’nt you racing tonight?”

Clearly, I’m training for cx… can’t you tell? Geez! (Thanks Yakima for the veggie dawg!)

I sometimes feel a little guilty for showing up to watch some racing and not actually racing. The promoter scowls at me, industry types heckle me for being so PRO and too disaffected to even consider doing some lowly local race. “what no UCI points on the line? I’ll not bother getting my tyres dirty for this nonsense!” People walk over during the race: “what happened!? did you drop out?!” Nah. Just chillin, I wanted to come out and hang out and watch my pals race!

We were riding home from the STXC finale and I waved (like I normally do) at some hipsters headed the other way and they scowled back: “singlespeed!” in disdain at our spandexyness, and cable housing.

amazing.

Earlier in the morning, I was driving downtown and began crossing the Burnside bridge. When suddenly this kid on a fixie in the opposite bike lane blasts the wrong way across all four lanes of traffic on the bridge, in front of my car and heads the wrong direction down into the bike lane to my right. I smirk a little and then laugh, as I drive past a new-to-lycra and STXC-citybiker riding the correct direction in the bike lane, shaking her head visibly as we both silently acknowledge one of the dumber moves on a bike we had seen today.

Man, if only I had electronic shifting!! Then those young whipper snappers would really have something to resent me for!

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My house is kinda obsessed with this lady. I’m not naming names, but a couple of my housemates have mad crushes on her. I’ve already sent her off an email inviting her to try cyclocross.

Oh wait! Except for the small detail that the Cross Crusade promoters (total hosers in my book) have decided to cancel the series this year.

WTF?!

Greg is f’ing stoked on his new Ridley X-Night frames.

Take a look: HERE

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Just wrapped up a nice rest week, catching up on lots of work. Enjoying splitting time between my Speedvagen cx bike, BMC Pro Machine and a Ridley X-Fire from Portland Bicycle Studio. It is pretty fun to cx over between the rides. Riding each is so different yet, they are all really nice so finding something to criticize in any of them is hard. Not that I am looking but, people ask “which one is your favorite?! what is the difference?!” They are all light, they are all stiff and wicked fast. There is something to love in each of them and no glaring flaws that jump out.

And no, the Ridley X-Fire is not the bike I will be racing this cyclocross season. I’ve got to have experience on the bikes I sell! It is important.

I’d love to check out a titanium cx bike… the Vertigo in Portland Bicycle Studio is just too big for me. That would be the whole spectrum of materials. Carbon, Steel, Titanium. I guess I am leaving alloy out… ok, I need to get on an alloy cx bike too! (Zac Daab was rocking some bad ass Sycip cx bikes last season) It is vital for me to have a personal grasp of how each material and different geometries relate to each other and to the rider. I loathe when guys that have never put miles on a carbon bike dismiss them: “plastic bikes suck! waaah!” and the reverse is boring as well: “but, steel bikes are so HEAVY!”. I try not to comment on a bike or components unless I have a lot of experience on it. And so should you.

Maybe I should bug Seven or Independent Fabrications to get me on something TI and cyclocrossy. mmmm. I wonder if Desalvo has anymore room on the payroll for another cx rider…

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Did a run up after a little spin Sunday morning, and I was surprised how normal it felt to me. Grab your bike, run up some stairs. That is all there is to it really.

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Embrocation Cycling Journal has a new website. And it is AWESOME.

Houffalize World Cup 2009 from Mountain Bike Rider on Vimeo.

Mountain biking is still rad.

(video heads up courtesy Ken Bloomer)

Come out and watch the premier of Brian Vernor’s latest film:

Where Are You Go

Friday 31 July
7PM

CLINTON STREET THEATER
2522 SE Clinton Street at SE 26th Ave.

Part of the Bicycle Film Festival !

Purchase tickets HERE!

This video made my day:

Video via Joe Parkin.

I’ve been keeping tabs.

The odds on Niels Albert are not so good on the road but, he is still winning races. And finding his way sheepishly to dopingcontrole. VDB is up in there too, looking like a regional masters racer!

(Photos: Roland Desmet)

Summer is popping off in Portland. 100 degrees today. holy crap. My girl friend is taking me to a casino/resort/waterslide/hot spring/tee pee/indian reservation tomorrow as a summer present for hanging in there through a couple epic months of work and training. oh hell yes! Record temps tomorrow 110. one hundred ten! That is 40 degress for the euros.

2 days off, no computer, no phone, no intervals.

Cyclocross you ask?

cyclocross is in full god damn effect. I just got a confirmation from a very, very, V E R Y amazing sponsor for this season. I am stoked. Thrilled. Thrilled beyond belief. And still top secret. heh heh.

Still waiting to finalize the rest of the sponsors. It is a tough business wrapping this stuff up. You don’t really hear so much from other riders about their sponsors. Who knows what other teams have going on. You get to piece together the stuff throughout the season or if their equipment sponsor is their title sponsor… for instance Kona. What are Ryan and Barry riding this season? Kona cross bikes.

At any rate, it does not matter a whole lot what they are riding, they will certainly be winning more races than myself, and garnering more attention to whatever they are winning on. That must be one of the nice parts of being a PRO, you don’t have to hustle for all your gear yourself! There are others managing that shit for you. But man. I geek out on my gear! I hand pick everything and build relationships with the companies I work with.

And I am stoked about what I’ve got going on this fall.

Rumors abound, BMC? Steven’s? Leopard? Zanconato? Scott? I don’t know nothing about nothing. My lips are sealed. Word has it a local small builder has a small inheritance they are interested in putting into a certain cyclocross racer. I’ll let you ponder that one. I’m going to be very picky about what bikes I ride this season. I’ve been on the best bicycles in the world for the last four years.

How do you progress from there?

I’ve been getting the Ridley cyclocross bikes in Portland Bicycle Studio, they are pretty bad ass. The full carbon X-Fire has proven to be very popular. I took a complete bike off the floor on a spin the other day, it was pretty nice. Felt great. Natural handling. Quick. There is a reason that every body is making bicycles out of carbon fiber, when done right, they are damn nice.

I’m not sure that BMC is going to be bringing in a cx bike this season and frankly, it is a little late in the game to do it. Sean Chaney’s Vertigo cx bike is hanging out in the studio too. It is so insane. Gets so much attention!

I did get to write the swiss a note: “dear BMC, your cx bike is a joke. it is not up to the level on the ProMachine. you can make a better one. let’s do this.” They were responsive but, I don’t think anything will happen this season.

ok, it is too hot to keep writing.

I should sell my Powertap mountain bike rear wheel as I am not using it at all.

32 hole wireless Powertap hub
135 spacing for mountain bike
includes disc rotor
laced 3x with DT Revolution spokes
Stan’s Olympic Tubeless rim

Includes the complete Saris “electropack” setup:
HR strap
hub tool
2.4 wireless computer
USB download cradle

All in very excellent condition. I ride mountain bikes so infrequently that it just did not get too many miles put on it.

$1100.00

Shoot me an email if you are interested.

[email protected]