Seriously, this looks a cross between the UK Tough Guy race and something possibly more awful. I don't want to hear anyone complain about a 'cross course being too hard ever again. Check out the guy on the proto-29er.
The best part about this video is that, given the timeless cycling attire, at the beginning I wasn't so sure that I wasn't viewing some sort of rural hipster get together held last weekend within riding distance of Brooklyn, San Francisco, Providence or Portland. (I'm just kidding, don't get your tight pants all in a bunch).
Thursday, October 28, 2010
Wednesday, October 27, 2010
Weekly Late Fall and Winter Night Rides - Bikepath and Trail
Hey there! You may have seen this and thought "who is stupid enough to ride in the cold weather?". Or, maybe you're a die hard rider who will ride in pretty much any weather and you detest riding a trainer. Either way you're welcome to join us for some regularly scheduled night rides during the colder months. We're going to host rides on the local bike path as well as delve into some of the local trails here in the Lincoln area.
If you're looking for a reason to ride outdoors when the temps are low, the bugs are gone and the masses are warm and cozy inside (and not encumbering forward momentum on the bike path) then maybe this ride is it! Riding alone in the cold sucks, riding with other people dumb enough to freeze their butts off doesn't. It's just that simple.
If you need some durable and warm riding gear we can help you out. We carry Endura cycling gear and they happen to produce some of the nicest technical clothing on the market. We currently have their Dexter Windproof Glove, Singletrack pants, Techpant Overtrousers, Gridlock jackets, booties, wool training caps, and assorted tights and baselayers. We also have decent stock of Pace arm and legwarmers as well. The Singletrack pants are perfect for those real cold woods rides and make or stellar commuter garb as well. I'm actually itching for some cold weather to check them out for real.
If you need a helmet (and you do to ride with us. Sorry, you may think you look cool riding without one but you just look dumb and a lot like a future tragic head wound victim).... We have a bunch of Kali Amara helmets on sale for $59 while supplies last (retail is $80)! Our resident helmet model below shows us all just how cool you can look in one of the Amaras.
Below you will find all the details, the when the where and what to bring.
Monday Night Bike Path Rides:
These rides will start on Monday, November 1st. Bring a bike (duh), a light, a helmet and weather appropriate clothes. The pace will be fairly casual, topping out at ~ 15 mph. We'll ride to Woonsocket and back to the shop for some cold drinks, (or hot beverages from Honey Dew - your choice). We'll leave the shop at 6:15 with the intention of returning before 8:00. Too much snow and or ice on the path cancels. If it rains/snows on Mondays we'll ride on Tuesdays.
Wednesday Night Trail Rides:
These will start on Wednesday, December 8th. This ride leaves from the shop at 6:15 and hits local trails for up to two hours returning to the shop by 8:00 for post ride beverages. Lights powerful enough for trail riding at night are a MUST, as is a helmet, warm enough riding clothes and a mountain bike! A rear blinky light is a good idea as we will be on the road for a short stretch as well.
If the weather looks questionable be sure to call the shop. Hope to see you out there!
Here are some pics of Mike sporting the stylin' new Endura stuff:
Tuesday, October 19, 2010
Rocky Mountain Demo Bike Sale!! (Some new bikes too)
So, we find ourselves in possession of a handful of really, really nice demo bikes that need to find a new home. The Rocky Mountain Altitude 29er and the Altitude 50s below made the rounds at the NEMBA MBAS rides this year. Each bike has under a dozen rides on it. All of them have been tuned up here at the shop and are ready to get under your ass out onto your local trails. Stop by the shop , or call, email or send smoke signals for more info.
18 inch 2010 Altitude 29er. Mike rode one of these all year and is holding onto his for next season if that tells you anything about this rig. These retail for $4000, you can pick this one up for $2600.
NEW BIKES:
2010 Rocky Mountain Element 10, size 18. Retail is $2000, we're asking $1500.
2010 KHS Alite 2000. Retail is 1100, we're asking $850.
18 and 19 inch 2010 Altitude 50. The Altitude 50 is a great 5.5 inch travel enduro/all mountain bike. I've been riding one of these all season and I like it enough to keep it for next year as well.
These retail for $3500, you can snag yourself one for $2000. I don't think I need to do the math for you, it's what is known as a "good deal".
18 inch 2010 Altitude 29er. Mike rode one of these all year and is holding onto his for next season if that tells you anything about this rig. These retail for $4000, you can pick this one up for $2600.
NEW BIKES:
2010 Rocky Mountain Vertex 29 SE, size 20.5. MSRP is $2600, we're asking $2100.
2010 Rocky Mountain Element 10, size 18. Retail is $2000, we're asking $1500.
2010 KHS Alite 2000. Retail is 1100, we're asking $850.
Tuesday, October 12, 2010
Ronde de Rhody and NEMBA Fest!
Man, I gotta get some pics from NEMBA Fest. Photo evidence or not, it to say it was a really good time! The long loop was great and it started with a beautiful mix of fast and swoopy singletrack that turned into a nice long technical bony challenge around mile 14. One of the rock staircases was rough enough to knock Joe H's Brooklyn bottle cap off his You are What You Drink headset cap... After the ride we scarfed down some BBQ and beers and headed back to RI thinking that we might not have the energy for yesterday's on/off road tour of RI known as the Ronde de Rhody.
Waking up at 8:00 on Monday was a bit rough but the weather looked promising so we met up with 20 or so other riders at the RI State House and headed out on one really fun, and really unique, tour of the greater Providence area. The route included some out of the way spaces like the old railroad bridge that spans Interstate 95, some trail at Roger Williams Park and the abandoned stretch of old route 195. This ride was maybe best ridden on a 'cross bike (or a road bike with fatter tires) but everyone who rode it, regardless of the bike, had a great time. We unfortunately had to skip a few miles to make the time cut, but it was for great reason as there was great food and drinks awaiting us at McFaddens in Providence. Eric Weis, the ride leader/coordinator, passed out swag and also held an auction full of great prizes from Thule, Thomson, Princeton Tec, Ryders, etc.. This was my second ride on my Hutchinson Bulldog cyclocross tires set up tubeless. They were a blast the other night at Chase at real low pressures and they held up just fine over the varied terrain yesterday.
Anyways, I bored everyone with too many words in the last post. Here are some pics from yesterday's ride:
Waking up at 8:00 on Monday was a bit rough but the weather looked promising so we met up with 20 or so other riders at the RI State House and headed out on one really fun, and really unique, tour of the greater Providence area. The route included some out of the way spaces like the old railroad bridge that spans Interstate 95, some trail at Roger Williams Park and the abandoned stretch of old route 195. This ride was maybe best ridden on a 'cross bike (or a road bike with fatter tires) but everyone who rode it, regardless of the bike, had a great time. We unfortunately had to skip a few miles to make the time cut, but it was for great reason as there was great food and drinks awaiting us at McFaddens in Providence. Eric Weis, the ride leader/coordinator, passed out swag and also held an auction full of great prizes from Thule, Thomson, Princeton Tec, Ryders, etc.. This was my second ride on my Hutchinson Bulldog cyclocross tires set up tubeless. They were a blast the other night at Chase at real low pressures and they held up just fine over the varied terrain yesterday.
Anyways, I bored everyone with too many words in the last post. Here are some pics from yesterday's ride:
Tuesday, October 5, 2010
Catching up and NEMBAFEST 2010!
After catching our collective breathe post Big River Fun Ride we found ourselves deluged with service work and some pretty good days here at the shop. Now that the weather is craptacular I find myself with some time to type and recap, as well as announce a few things of importance to local cyclists.
The 2nd annual Tour De Big River came and went, and all we heard was that this was one of the better rides most of the riders had participated in, ever. While there were a few casualties along the way the loops were fantastic and the volunteer army that is RI NEMBA pulled off a pretty damn amazing event. After two rides (one just to "ride", and the other to pull down arrows) we were pretty cooked. Speaking of cooked, the multitude of hot dogs consumed between outings proved to be just the ticket to keep the engine stoked, and the spirits high, through two flats and a ton of pine sap laden arrows. A couple of folks also test rode Rocky Mountain Altitudes and an Element or two and came back with some positive reviews which was nice to hear.
On the subject of Canadian bike companies we're really happy to announce that we are now a stocking Banshee bikes dealer! This is pretty sweet and we'll have bikes in as early as next week with local ripper Anthony K rockin' a Rune. Watch out for this BMX guy turned mountain biker...
Some other guy will be riding a nicely appointed Paradox as well, though he's getting old and slow so no need to watch out there.
Unfortunately the new bikes won't be here in time for NEMBAFEST but we'll be up there on Sunday with Kevin from Rocky helping to get the Rocky Mountains out in the woods, and hopefully partaking in another long ride at a great trail system NH. If you've never been to NEMBAFEST, or you've just never been to Bear Brook, get yourself up there for at least one of the days! The list of demos and supporters is huge and the loops are a blast with a great mix of classic flowy singletrack and technical riding.
In more local news, the NBX cyclocross training races have already started. What this means is you need to get down to Wakefield, RI on Wednesday nights for some CX racing, swag and a good excuse to ride your bike in the middle of the week. Matt's training races (and I use the term race loosely, this is a go at your own pace kind of thing) are the perfect venue for anyone interested in trying 'cross and a great workout for the seasoned racer. Expect to see us down there often, and hopefully my Redline will be sporting a new tubeless setup after this coming weekend. We're pretty interested to get some first hand experience with this setup. More traction sounds pretty awesome to me... On that note if you need some new kicks for your 'cross bike swing by and relieve us of our cyclocross tire collection! We've got some Small Block Eights, Crosswolfs, Speedkings, Excavaders and they're all on sale and looking for a good home. Our 2009 KHS CX200 also needs a good home. Come snag it for $900 and go race your face off, OK?
Speaking of racing bikes there's some big 'cross race thing happening in Providence this coming Saturday and Sunday. If you're up at the ass crack of dawn and find yourself at Roger Williams Park in Providence on Saturday morning (and you look real closely) you might, might see either Mike or myself flailing around like a cracked out monkey performing a piss poor rendition of cyclocrossing. That will be one us, proudly putting the amateur in amateur bike racing. But,then, like most normal humans, you likely have far better things to do than race, or attend said race, at 8:00 AM on a Saturday. At least I hope you do anyways. The chances of either of us actually racing are slim but who knows, maybe one of us will find the urge to suffer before breakfast.
I know this post is getting long but since we were talking tires earlier, I need to let it be known that my new favorite all 'rounder in the woods has to be the Maxxis Ardent. It could be that I've been fighting forward momentum all year on these classic standby aggressive NE tire and anything would feel great - including a set of bald Velociraptors. But I'm going with my gut on this and it says that the Ardents rule.
That about wraps this post up, on the horizon expect to see a schedule for our fall and winter free repair classes. News about the impending December 2010 Lincoln Woods Fun Ride and RI Food Bank Fundraiser (what's this, the third or fourth year? I've lost count...), and night rides. We'll be riding in the dark and scary woods and on the path all winter (snow cover permitting) and we'd like to have some company. We've got lights in the shop, and winter riding gear from Endura will be rolling in relatively shortly. Sure, you can hang out at the gym and ride a trainer all winter long, but we humans love a challenge and some real miles in the darkest days go a looong way come those first happy sunny weather days in the springtime. Just keep pedaling and repeat after me; "The night time is the right time, the night time is the right time"....
The 2nd annual Tour De Big River came and went, and all we heard was that this was one of the better rides most of the riders had participated in, ever. While there were a few casualties along the way the loops were fantastic and the volunteer army that is RI NEMBA pulled off a pretty damn amazing event. After two rides (one just to "ride", and the other to pull down arrows) we were pretty cooked. Speaking of cooked, the multitude of hot dogs consumed between outings proved to be just the ticket to keep the engine stoked, and the spirits high, through two flats and a ton of pine sap laden arrows. A couple of folks also test rode Rocky Mountain Altitudes and an Element or two and came back with some positive reviews which was nice to hear.
On the subject of Canadian bike companies we're really happy to announce that we are now a stocking Banshee bikes dealer! This is pretty sweet and we'll have bikes in as early as next week with local ripper Anthony K rockin' a Rune. Watch out for this BMX guy turned mountain biker...
Some other guy will be riding a nicely appointed Paradox as well, though he's getting old and slow so no need to watch out there.
Unfortunately the new bikes won't be here in time for NEMBAFEST but we'll be up there on Sunday with Kevin from Rocky helping to get the Rocky Mountains out in the woods, and hopefully partaking in another long ride at a great trail system NH. If you've never been to NEMBAFEST, or you've just never been to Bear Brook, get yourself up there for at least one of the days! The list of demos and supporters is huge and the loops are a blast with a great mix of classic flowy singletrack and technical riding.
In more local news, the NBX cyclocross training races have already started. What this means is you need to get down to Wakefield, RI on Wednesday nights for some CX racing, swag and a good excuse to ride your bike in the middle of the week. Matt's training races (and I use the term race loosely, this is a go at your own pace kind of thing) are the perfect venue for anyone interested in trying 'cross and a great workout for the seasoned racer. Expect to see us down there often, and hopefully my Redline will be sporting a new tubeless setup after this coming weekend. We're pretty interested to get some first hand experience with this setup. More traction sounds pretty awesome to me... On that note if you need some new kicks for your 'cross bike swing by and relieve us of our cyclocross tire collection! We've got some Small Block Eights, Crosswolfs, Speedkings, Excavaders and they're all on sale and looking for a good home. Our 2009 KHS CX200 also needs a good home. Come snag it for $900 and go race your face off, OK?
Speaking of racing bikes there's some big 'cross race thing happening in Providence this coming Saturday and Sunday. If you're up at the ass crack of dawn and find yourself at Roger Williams Park in Providence on Saturday morning (and you look real closely) you might, might see either Mike or myself flailing around like a cracked out monkey performing a piss poor rendition of cyclocrossing. That will be one us, proudly putting the amateur in amateur bike racing. But,then, like most normal humans, you likely have far better things to do than race, or attend said race, at 8:00 AM on a Saturday. At least I hope you do anyways. The chances of either of us actually racing are slim but who knows, maybe one of us will find the urge to suffer before breakfast.
I know this post is getting long but since we were talking tires earlier, I need to let it be known that my new favorite all 'rounder in the woods has to be the Maxxis Ardent. It could be that I've been fighting forward momentum all year on these classic standby aggressive NE tire and anything would feel great - including a set of bald Velociraptors. But I'm going with my gut on this and it says that the Ardents rule.
That about wraps this post up, on the horizon expect to see a schedule for our fall and winter free repair classes. News about the impending December 2010 Lincoln Woods Fun Ride and RI Food Bank Fundraiser (what's this, the third or fourth year? I've lost count...), and night rides. We'll be riding in the dark and scary woods and on the path all winter (snow cover permitting) and we'd like to have some company. We've got lights in the shop, and winter riding gear from Endura will be rolling in relatively shortly. Sure, you can hang out at the gym and ride a trainer all winter long, but we humans love a challenge and some real miles in the darkest days go a looong way come those first happy sunny weather days in the springtime. Just keep pedaling and repeat after me; "The night time is the right time, the night time is the right time"....
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