Monday, December 23, 2019
Thursday, December 19, 2019
Monday, December 16, 2019
Brian's Report from Cyclocross Nationals
Cx Nationals wrapped up yesterday with a seismic shift in the established order as Clara Honsinger and Gage Hecht defeated established champions Katie Compton and Stephen Hyde. The Upper Valley can be proud to be represented by Kelton Williams in the U-23 race. I am very grateful to Brian Williams for providing some first-hand commentary.
Brian: NATS went as good as could be expected for a first year U23. Kelton had a great start going from the back near the top ten but a classic “over start” too. Faded hard on the 3rd lap and just did not have the best legs, ultimately ended up somewhere around 28/43. Everyone ahead of him was on some form of collegiate team or professional team. Think he kind of hit the ceiling in his given environment, if he wants to improve he will need some form of coaching, consistent high level racing or team dynamics. He has the speed and the skills just not the speed endurance and force that you get with age and continual overload from hard UCI or World Cup racing. Overall though he was happy and represented well, we really had a pro setup with a tent and everything we needed to perform our best. We got the chance to help out a couple other Idaho riders and some upcoming junior talent plus show off the new bike to some interested parties. The venue was about perfect with ideal cross conditions. Thanks for all the help and support!
Ultimately we had a good experience, learned a lot more about CX and what it takes to do it at the highest level. We go to events like that when given the chance so we can discover new opportunities, learn and rub shoulders with some of the best athletes and industry folks in the sport. It was awesome watching Gage and Clara win the elite title. I have a tubing customer and friend John Slawta (land shark), who built a bike for a junior to compete with at NATS in the 13-14 division because he sees something special in him...he finished 14th starting from the very last row out of 70 juniors. John also built Clara Honsingers first road bike not to mention the entire 7-Eleven teams bikes that where branded Huffy, including the bike Andy Hampsten won the Giro on. Needless to say I'm sure the 13 year old boy has no idea he is being mentored and sponsored by a bike legend. Not sure what we have for photos until we get them downloaded, did not have much time to set up for good pics, if anything turns out I'll gladly send some your way.
Thursday, December 12, 2019
Thursday, December 5, 2019
Friday, November 29, 2019
From Jay Petervary: A Long Overdue Update
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te everything this helmet offers. It's lightweight, which is easy to talk about but does really make a difference and can help decrease neck fatigue.Sunday, November 24, 2019
Dave and Tony Ride Sterling Justice
No one knows the exact moment the mountain bike season will end in Southeastern Idaho. Based on the forecast for the coming week forecast the end can’t be too far away. Tony and I went to Pocatello yesterday for what was likely the last big ride of the season. We rode a loop starting and ending at City Creek with the Sterling Justice and Over the Top trails as its backbone. Total distance was about 22 miles with 2600 feet of climbing and a ride time of 3 ½ hours. Sterling Justice extends seven miles from Gibson Jack to Cusick Creek—rocky with spectacular views and some exposed sections. Its difficulty was enhanced by a significant amount of ice in shaded areas and north facing slopes. Over the Top connects Cusick Creek and City Creek with a series of tight switchbacks on each end. Both are outstanding trails and a play a significant part in Pocatello’s trail system which is the most extensive in Southeastern Idaho.
Thursday, November 14, 2019
Monday, November 11, 2019
Kelton Finishes Second to Colin Joyce at Bengal Cross
Finishing second to one of the best young professionals in the US is not the worst thing in the world. Bengal Cross is physically harder than most cyclocross races due to a significant amount of climbing on each lap. Saturday was a great day at Bengal Cross. The numbers were perhaps a little off but the course was outstanding and the weather mild. Peter donated proceeds of the race to Cranksgiving a cyclist supported project of the Idaho Food Bank. Jeff did the double--the A Race plus the B Race. Thanks to Dawn for the photos.
Thursday, November 7, 2019
From Joe Hill--Sidewinder Sunrise
Joe and Chris Babb rode Sidewinder to Stinking Springs early this morning on a pair of the redesigned 2020 Trek Fuel EX. They had a great ride and liked the bike.
I did the same ride at midday. Stinking Springs is a tough climb. It was our go-to ride in the nineties. I do not ride it that often now, but when I do it is a significant reality check. Most of the Stinking Springs memories that I have date from a time when I was younger, stronger, and lighter.
Bikerumor Pic Of The Day: Sunset Ride, Idaho - Bikerumor
https://bikerumor.com/2019/11/07/bikerumor-pic-of-the-day-sunset-ride-idaho/
I am a big fan of Bikerumor and a daily reader. I am very excited about this!
I am a big fan of Bikerumor and a daily reader. I am very excited about this!
Sunday, November 3, 2019
Thursday, October 31, 2019
Tuesday, October 29, 2019
Presumably These Are For Cyclists?
Who am I kidding? It is Walmart. They are for fat people.
I am just home after running a few errands. These are the current weather conditions in Rexburg: temperature 10 degrees F, drifting snow, sustained north wind of 26 mph with gusts to 43 mph, numerous accidents and road closures. If there was any doubt yesterday about cancellation of the TNR, today it seems like the most obvious decision we ever made.
Monday, October 28, 2019
Where to Ride: Gravel riding & fly fishing along the Teton's Western Slope w/ XPDTN3 - Bikerumor
Lots of familiar locations in the story. Big Springs. Harriman State Park. Mesa Falls. Warm River. More. We have ridden bikes in all of these places.
Tomorrow's TNR Cancelled. 2019 Perfect Attendence Award to Jeff Hancock
In light of the very cold temperatures forecast for tomorrow evening (overnight low of 0 F) the final Tuesday Night Ride of 2019 has been cancelled. The 2019 TNR season consisted of 29 rides beginning March 19th with only a couple of weather-related cancellations. That does not mean that we only encountered bad weather twice. It means that we only had the foresight to cancel twice. Congratulations to Jeff—the only TNR participant with perfect attendance for 2019. We will look forward to seeing you in March of 2020.
Saturday, October 26, 2019
Monday, October 21, 2019
Cube Post-Race 2019
Photo credit Heather Williams
Photo credit Heather Williams
Photo credit Heather Williams
Photo credit Heather Williams
Photo credit Heather Williams
Photo credit Heather Williams
I had a lot of fun at the Cube on Saturday. Since then we have received quite a bit of feedback, mostly positive. One thing is beyond dispute. This was the most popular Cube course ever. Weather conditions were tough with cold and wind during the kids' and B Races and rain during the A Race. The total number of registered participants was around seventy. In light of the weather, we feel pretty good about that number. The number of spectators was significantly lower than previous years, almost undoubtedly due to the weather.
Local cyclocross stalwarts Kelton Williams and Shae Griffin each added to their long list of Cube victories in the A Race which was notable for a number very fast riders including young mountain bike racers. Jeff has posted complete race results on the Cube homepage www.rexburgcube.com
The Cube is only as successful as its supporters and participants. I am going to do something that I very seldom do—mention individually many of the people who contributed to this year's Cube. The obvious risk is that I will fail to mention someone that I should. If you feel like I have overlooked your contribution, I would be happy to make amends in a subsequent post.
Brian Williams was the principal designer of the 2019 Cube course. Brian has an ability to see potential that other people do not and to utilize familiar features in novel ways. Over the years, he has been responsible for many of the best features of our courses. Brian, Tony, Kelton, and I spent hours at the Nature Park clearing trails, trimming grass, and test riding every variation of every feature.
Brian also made the prize medallions for the A and B Races. They were unique and beautiful--CNC machined, sand blasted, and CNC machined again. I regret not getting a picture of them. Does anyone else have one?
Heather Williams has provided years of professional photography to The Cube and Rexburg Cycling. She is offering free downloads of this year's Cube images at her website. https://heatherwilliamsphotography.zenfolio.com/p689838807 In addition, Heather made a substantial contribution to the purchase of this year's T-shirt.
Jeff Hancock is responsible for virtually every technically or logistically complicated aspect of the Cube, from maintaining the website and registration to drone video and building the techiest aspects of the course such as the Event Horizon. Jeff does most of our design work including the Cube poster, T-Shirts, and several generations of team kits. He has put in more than a few stitches and provided medical attention following some bad accidents. In addition, Jeff has been the primary financial benefactor of Rexburg Cycling through Teton Cancer Institute.
Stephanie Hancock has been responsible for race-day registration and check-in. She has spent countless hours in the cold managing the registration table.
Tony Perkins, head coach of the Upper Valley Composite Mountain Bike Team, was a significant cycling mentor to me thirty years ago during the mountain bike boom. He has never stopped. Tony is the boots-on-the-ground guy who is there from the first moment of planning to the last minute of clean-up.
Lana Grover has provided IT and design assistance over the years. Jeff built the Rexburg Cycling Blog. Lana taught me how to use it.
Chris Huskinson was Rexburg's first cyclocross racer and pitched the original idea of the Cube to me, Tony, and the City Rec Department all those years ago. Chris provides the potatoes that are a Cube staple as well as providing a trailer and storage for our course marking supplies and barriers.
Kellen Birch maintains the Rexburg Cycling Facebook page and the Rexburg Cycling trailer as well as providing deejay and audio to the Cube. There is a saying that friends help you move, but real friends help you move bodies. If I ever have a body to move, I will call Kellen.
Scott and Rachel Hurst have been our primary liaisons to the NICA mountain bike families. The participation of the mountain bike kids has added new life and excitement to the Cube. Rachel has been our volunteer coordinator for the past several years and is unfailingly calm, organized, and hard working. Rachel organized the hot cocoa and baked potatoes.
Emma Hurst (my cyclocross nemesis) and Erik Hurst organized the high school kids to help with the post-race clean-up.
Joe Hill and the guys at Sled Shed have provided mountains of course marking tape, raffle prizes, bikes, and mechanical support.
Eric Cameron has been responsible for timing at the start-finish line for the past two of years. Timing would have been perfect this year except the rain glitched out some of our touch screens.
Ryan Edge and Stefan Haase from Fitzgerald's Bikes were at the Nature Park well before sunrise and worked for hours along with Morris Christensen, Michael Karren, and Sasha Socolov to mark and set up the course.
We are very grateful for the support of the City of Rexburg including Greg McGinnis Director of the Parks Department, Officer Wayne Robison our liaison to the Rexburg Police Department, and Mayor Jerry Merrill a consistent friend and supporter of the Cube.
Our deepest gratitude goes out to the participants; to Kelton and Shae for keeping the other racers honest, and to everyone who makes the effort to come back year after year. Dan and Shae Griffin drove over from Boise and the mountain bike families from all over the state. Bob Walker has participated in virtually every Cube since the beginning. Peter Joyce has also been a long-time supporter. Please consider supporting Peter's race, Bengal Cross on Saturday November 9th in Pocatello. Dan Streubel from Driggs seldom misses the Cube. Many of the Rexburg locals have been here since the beginning.
Post Script.
My first omission was the most obvious, my wife Dawn, who spent the day wrangling the twin terrors, the two Olivers.
Post Script.
My first omission was the most obvious, my wife Dawn, who spent the day wrangling the twin terrors, the two Olivers.
Saturday, October 19, 2019
Hit and Run at the Cube
Thanks to everyone for a great Cube today. We will publish a few pictures and a race report in the next day or two. In the meantime, we need your help. There was a hit-and-run incident during the awards presentation. A small silver car was hit by a large blue pickup truck (categorically not Michael Karren who spent many hours volunteering today as well as helping out last night). If you have any information that might assist in identifying the driver, please contact me or the Rexburg Police Department. Dave
Wednesday, October 9, 2019
Sunday, October 6, 2019
Cube Preview Tuesday Night
The TNR will be a regular road ride. Likely Steve's loop. Swinging by to take a look at the Cube course on the way home. If you want to bring a cross bike that would be helpful but certainly optional.
Sedona II
We wrapped up an excellent week of mountain biking in Sedona with a stop in Salt Lake City yesterday where I rode the Bonneville Shoreline Trail with Thomas from City Creek to Emigration Canyon. We saw Sedona’s famous White Line Train which for obvious reasons we opted not to ride.
Cube Volunteers Needed!
As the Cube has grown, the need for volunteers has increased. We are committed to putting on the best community event we can. Good volunteers make that possible.
I just signed up for "The Cube 2019" and you should too! Click here now: https://signup.com/go/LijBODB
Tuesday, October 1, 2019
Sedona
Dawn and I are in Sedona this week. She lured me here with promises of mountain biking. And true to her word, she has been a tenacious rider and a good sport generally.
We have mostly avoided downtown Sedona which is gridlocked with tourists and traffic. The city is home to restaurants, crystals, all things New Age, and art galleries ranging from serious art to velvet Elvis. I will leave it to you to place the example above on that continuum.
Think of Sedona as a significantly upscale Moab with fewer cyclists and an extensive system, dozens perhaps even hundreds, of mountain bike trails radiating out in every direction. Most of the trails are loops, typically of about 3 to 7 miles. You can link them together in a virtually infinite number of combinations to produce an almost endless series of multi-hour rides. It is the best trail system of its kind that I have ever ridden.
The trails are remarkably well marked and well-engineered. Many of Sedona's trails would rate a high moderate level of technical difficulty by modern standards, significantly higher by historical standards. A medium travel bike like the Fuel EX is a decent match for these trails, but the optimal setup would be an even burlier rig. Compared to Moab, Sedona has more vegetation in the form of pinion and juniper, less sand and slickrock, and more hard-packed soils and blocky rocks.
Shout-out to Sled Shed and James Turcotte who spent all day Saturday upgrading Dawn's Bike for the trip with a new dropper post and 1 x 12 Sram drivetrain.
Monday, September 30, 2019
A Hearty Congratulations to State Champion Jake Parkinson.
Jake left Rexburg for the greener pastures of the greater Chicago area. He just won the Illinois Cat 5 American Bicycle Racing State Criterium Championship.
Friday, September 27, 2019
Thursday, September 26, 2019
Monday, September 23, 2019
Cube Volunteers Needed
I just signed up for "The Cube 2019" and you should too! Click here now: https://signup.com/go/LijBODB
Friday, September 20, 2019
Thursday, September 19, 2019
Technical FAQ: A tubeless tire blowout in the Pyrénées – VeloNews.com
Regular readers will know that I have been a long-time user of road tubeless including carbon clinchers (Enve, Bontrager). My experience with road tubeless has been overwhelmingly positive. The discussion linked below deals with the potential for catastrophic failure of a similar set-up.
https://www.velonews.com/2019/09/bikes-and-tech/technical-faq-a-tubeless-tire-blowout-in-the-pyrenees_500757
https://www.velonews.com/2019/09/bikes-and-tech/technical-faq-a-tubeless-tire-blowout-in-the-pyrenees_500757
Wednesday, September 18, 2019
TNR Moving to 5:30 for Remainder of the Season
It has been another great year for the Tuesday Night Ride. Final TNR of 2019 will be Tuesday October 29th.
Thursday, September 12, 2019
2019 Cube Registration Open
It is with a great deal of excitement that we make the official announcement for the 2019 Cube. The vintage Cube shirts are envied by all who see them, and this year we've got something swinging in from the 70's. Hint: It will look a lot like this poster. All who register before October 12th will be guaranteed a shirt.
You can now register online at https://www.webscorer.com/register?raceid=157143 Information can be found at http://rexburgcube.com While same day registrations will be available this year, we'll only be able to accept cash payments at that time. With other cyclocross races fading into memory, The Cube remains as one of the legacy cyclocross races in Southeastern Idaho. We will never forget that the success or failure of a local race is based on the commitment of its volunteers and the positive word of mouth that it is able to generate. Even if you do not participate in cyclocross, you can help us by volunteering and especially by spreading the word about the Cube to as many people as possible. We have tried to make the Cube very accessible with an adult registration of $30 and kids' registration of only $10. As a bonus, we will continue to offer half price registration ($15) to the high school NICA MTB riders #idahoMTB @idahoMTB. This will be a great way for the HS kids to end their race season. Thanks for your support!  |
Sunday, September 8, 2019
Last kilometer - Stage 15 | La Vuelta de Espana 2019
Great day for 2018 Tour of Utah Champion Sep Kuss
Congratulations to Eric MacBeth, Bruce Baxter, and Aaron Miller on Lotoja Finish**and Clint Mortley
According to our local Lotoja participants, conditions were good yesterday with mild temperatures and manageable winds. But there is never an easy Lotoja in light of the extreme distance and complicated logistics. This was Aaron's first full Lotoja after participating in the relay previously, I believe number six for Bruce, and several for Eric-I do not recall the exact number.
Bruce and Aaron report an epic day. They were able to get together in Afton, ride the final two legs, and finish together. They express gratitude to their wives Lori and Debbie for rock star level support. (Comment from Dawn--It is harder to support a modern Lotoja than it is to ride it).
It has been twenty years since Eric has lived in Rexburg, He was the top local talent in those days. Following a serious accident and years of a very difficult schedule of work and post-graduate education, Eric is back in serious training with 8000 miles year-to-date in 2019. He plans to come back to Lotoja even faster nest year. With his permission, I am sharing his Facebook post.
**Last entry--Congratulations to our friend Clint Mortley on another 9 hour Lotoja.
**Last entry--Congratulations to our friend Clint Mortley on another 9 hour Lotoja.
Friday, September 6, 2019
Thursday, September 5, 2019
Wednesday, September 4, 2019
Eric MacBeth Here for Lotoja--Looking for Some Local Riding
This is a great opportunity to ride with a Rexburg legend. Eric is planning on a 50 mile ride at 4 p.m. today and about 30 miles tomorrow on a flexible schedule. If you cannot make it for the entire distance today, consider doing a partial. If you are interested please reach out to me and I will give you Eric's contact information.
Tuesday, September 3, 2019
RPI 2019 Shae Top Ten in Baked Potato-Dawn Brings Her A-Game to the Tater Tot
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| Rebecca Rusch leads out the Baked Potato |
Shae had a great day, finishing (we believe)* 6th place in the Women’s 100 mile Baked Potato and taking home another RPI bolo tie.
Dawn finished 12th of 97 female participants in the Tater Tot. You can scoff at the Tater Tot, but almost a hundred men and a hundred women cared enough to pin on a number and race a bike.
The big news at Rebecca’s this year was the modification of the Baked Potato course which historically has measured a little less than 100 miles. Rebecca commented at the awards presentation that she believed the new course was better and more challenging. I did not love it. The 2019 course included an out-and-back in Wild Horse Canyon and a late race diversion. In Crusher-speak, think of the diversion as a Sarlacc Pit filled with jagged rocks somewhere around mile eighty. I was OK with 40 mm tubeless tires and a light touch, but a lot of other riders and equipment did not fare as well.
* There are still some technical issues to be resolved with the reporting of the top women’s finishers.
Thursday, August 29, 2019
Wednesday, August 28, 2019
Monday, August 26, 2019
Wednesday, August 21, 2019
Tuesday, August 20, 2019
Sunday, August 18, 2019
Saturday, August 17, 2019
Ride to Nowhere at Palisades Fondo
As evidenced by the photos, The Palisades Pie ride started early this morning in cool conditions. Sasha was the only local to opt for the 113 mile distance featuring about 11,000 feet of climbing. As far as we know he is still out on the course somewhere. **Update (Sasha successfully completed the long ride. He describes it as very difficult with sections of full-suspension mountain bike type conditions), The rest of us registered for the short course, 60 miles with 6000 feet of climbing.
The organizers mentioned the need for some route finding but we did not take that warning as seriously as we should have. There was an intersection about 10 miles in—a hard right from a major gravel road onto a smaller gravel road. Jeff, Ryan, Chris, and I were all together, just behind a couple of Jackson riders when we blew past the intersection without a second glance. (It was “marked” with pink tape). We did not realize we were off course for almost 20 miles. Jeff was the first to feel uncomfortable, I was the last, happy with our steady progress on good gravel. By the time we recognized our mistake and returned to the missed turn, completion of the course would have required 90 miles of total riding.
We opted to return to the start. Our total ride was 51 miles with 4000 feet of vertical through high meadows with small streams and grassy hillsides, evocative of Copper Basin. By almost any standard it was an outstanding ride although not the one that we were planning on.
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