The Road Apple Rally is happening this year October 3rd in Farmington, NM.  Its a fast and fun race with lots of whoops and super short and super steep climbs!  A lot of the Durango Pros show up and kick butt!  Head south for some guaranteed fun!

Do you have your  Labor Day weekend planned yet?!  No?!  Well, head up to South Dakota and try the Ridge Riders 50 mile race.  Local pro, Kelly Magelky, has done the race several times and nothing but good things to say about the course and the race!   Enjoy!

From the Ft Lewis Cycling Team website…

Fort Lewis College Cycling and Passion Productions has whipped up the 3^rd annual Hermosa Creek Off-Road Classic mountain bike race on Saturday August 1st! Come one, come all, to race on the high country trail that made Durango famous. Starting at the Lower Hermosa Trailhead there is a 38 mile course for Pro/Semi Men and Women and Singlespeed A, a choice of either the 38 or 20 mile courses for the Expert Men and Woman and 20 miles for other classes and Singlespeed B. Race sponsors have kicked in some great prizes – cash for the top 3 Pro Men/ Women and top 3 Singlespeed A Men/Women and great products for the other classes! The icing on the cake will be the post-race BBQ/Campout hosted by the Durango Cyclery (Food and entertainment) held at the Upper Hermosa Trailhead. Proceeds go to the Fort Lewis College Cycling Team and Bicycle Lemonade.

So the nationals occurred this weekend, pretty cool I bet but four of us (Parker, Charlie, Micah, and myself) decided we wanted to be punished up in Breck this weekend.

The B68 course was amazing, and even more so since the promoter decided to change about 15 miles of it at the last minute!  He definitely added more singletrack (Colorado Trail, Toxic Forest, Blue River Trail, Indiana Creek) which was awesome but it dialed up the suffering so much more.  The overall winning race time was 30 minutes longer than last year.

Props go to Micah who not only finished with the fastest time (6:48?) but also had to endure a flat tire change that included a disc pad removal (unintentional) and a complete tire exchange from his wife’s bike at the 35 mile mark.  Micah turned himself inside out to get 3rd in the crazy strong 30-39 class.  Strong effort man!

Charlie was Mr. Consistency and got 3rd in the 40-49 class.  His visit to the pain cave should be something to remember for a long time.

Parker showed that he isn’t afraid of riding anything in Breckenridge.  I think he actually liked the climb going up Indiana Creek!  Apparently he rode another 30 miles at elevations up to 12,000 feet the day after the race.    I sense a podium finish at the 12 hours of Rage in the Sage for Parker.

Thanks to Jason, Steph, and Betsy for providing support for us lunatics.  It was great to have them at Carter Park!

As for me, I proved once again that Breckenridge eats tires.  I flatted twice within 200 feet on the rear tire.  That was 1:15 and just over 10 miles into the race.  Somehow the tire and bulging tube held up for the next 60 miles.  Crazy.  Personally I couldn’t have been more prepared for the race and I fell truly really good about how I rode.  Once I was long gone from the lead group I was content with catching as many people as possible and just staying hydrated and cramp free.  I drank nearly 10 bottles of electrolytes, ate a dozen Ecaps, dropped my shorts on top of Boreas Pass for some chamois butter, and took a much needed cool down break with Parker on Indiana Creek.  There is nothing like dunking your head in a cold mountain stream on a cloudless mid-70s day at 10,000 feet.  I would have stayed there all day if the water was any deeper.

4 racers riding Bikeparts.com kits all on Giant AnthemX bikes all finishing in the top 10.  Thanks for a great weekend!

Colin M

I am sitting in class this morning while the Urban Assault Ride is tearing through Denver at this same moment.  I have done 5 of these races in Colorado and love the style or urban racing while doing crazy obstacles.  Good luck to the Peak Cycles and bikeparts.com guys heading out to race today Charlie, Brendan, Shane and Micah!  Wish I was out there with you!  Here are some picts of Tate Graves and I from last years race. Enjoy!

Team Bikeparts.com racer, Jason Kompf, climbing the first of many hills in the Gold Rush Run

The 3rd race in the Summit Mountain Challenge, Gold Rush Run, happened this past Wednesday up in beautiful Breckenridge, CO.  Matt and I headed up to join Jason K on his local trails.  All I knew about the race is the Pro/Elite category was going to have to climb ‘Heinous Hill’, not once, but twice.  Way back in college, somewhere around 1997, a group of us started adding a challenge the steep climbs in Fort Collins by trying to ride them only in the middle chainring.  Since that time, we have all gotten stronger and I have not needed a small ring.  But, last year I was headed to Canada for a big race and decided to put it back on just in case.  Even up there, I didnt need it to use it.   The small chain ring has been sitting on my crankset lonely and unused…until that second climb up ‘Heinous Hill’!  It was STEEP and LONG!!!  Check out the GPS of the race course here and see if you can find the said hill on the elevation profile.

During the race we had some rain, but no really long or hard rain showers.  The craziest part of the whole race was the finish line, it ended at a mine!  I looked up as I cross the line, and there were 5-6 lil donkey burros and a guy with a Miners Hat and in the shed in the back were children panning for gold!  In the end, Matt finished 5th which was impressive that at one point during the race he was leading old Norba Pro and all around sking bad ass, Pete Sweson. I, on the other hand, ended up taking a wrong turn, making the second lap much longer then needed… Oh well, it was a fun race with nice people in a beautiful part of Colorado.  If you have nothing going on Wednesday night, head up to Summit County for a good time on the dirt!

First USA Cycling, now more Velonews!

http://www.velonews.com/article/92247/kurchat-drops-absalon-in-heubach

Still got two more races, maybe I can pull off something better!

Thanks again everyone for helping me get here!

Couldn’t have done it without you! Especially John!

-Colin O

Team Bikeparts.com Pro, Colin Osborn, has been in Europe the past month trying out the dirt!  Here is the following write up from USA Cycling about the young Americans kicking butt!

Development mountain bikers fare well in Europe

The USA Cycling National Development Mountain Bike Team grabbed both first and second place at the Wittnauer mountain bike race in Germany on May 10. U.S. team member Tad Elliott (Durango, Colo.) earned a victory in the local mountain bike race, while his teammate Robbie Squire (Sandy, Utah) grabbed second and Ethan Gilmour (Ludlow, Vt.) finished ninth.

The National Development team members also recently contested the Racer Bikes Cup/Swiss National Series #3 in Solothurn, Switzerland where Elliott finished 27th and Squire 30th in the top-level European race series.

Racing alongside the USA Cycling National Development Mountain Bike Team members was Mitchell Hoke (Colorado Springs, Colo.), Tristan Cowie(Brevard, N.C.), Kevin Cane (Dillon, Colo.), Stephan Ettinger (Cashmere, Wash.), Trevor Downing (Durango, Colo.) and Colin Osborn (Durango, Colo.). These six U23 cross country racers are experiencing European mountain bike racing for the first time as a part of the first of three USA Cycling European Mountain Bike Development Race Camps scheduled for this summer.

The six camp participants are set to contest the following upcoming races:

May 17-Heubach Budesliga XCO, Germany
May 23-Buhlertaler Hill Climb, Germany
May 24-Solingen MTB RennenXC, Germany

The U23 and junior cross-country camps are based in Kirchzarten, Germany, each running for a three-week period. The second and third camps, scheduled for May 28 – June 15 and June 18 – July 6, will be open to both U23 and junior 17-18 riders. Click here for more information.

This Article Published 2009-05-12 17:10:31 For more information contact: asmith@usacycling.org

This Article Published 2009-05-12 17:10:31 For more information contact: asmith@usacycling.org

The Rocky Mountains cycling magazine, Mtn Flyer, has this photo on their blog of Team Bikeparts.com racer, Mitch Westall heading out for another lap at Teva Games in Vail.  Looking fast Mitch!

Mitch Westall climbing fast in Vail at this years Teva Games

Team Bikeparts.com representing CO in SD!

jon w, tate, matt, micah and i all headed to Rapid City South Dakota for the Black Hills Fat Tire Festival.  it was a small, low key event but it was a new race to do and beautiful part of the country to see!

we got a hotel in downtown Rapid City because the races were being held in a park system just on the edge of town.  (see the photo below)

Friday – Hill Climb: matt, micah and tate raced.  tate took off at the start, but micah proved to be the strong one on the 7 minute steep fire road climb to the radio towers ( see the 1st photo above) and won the entire race and set himself up well for the King of the Mtn stage race.

Saturday – XC race: jon w, matt, micah, tate and myself raced.  two 10 mile laps up and down and around the park.  the start of the race was 1/4 mile sprint in wet grass!  matt took an early lead with jesse, micah and jon chasing with another local pro attacking him often.  as the race course crossed over its self, matt almost hit Tate on a descent as Tate was climbing just minutes behind the race leader.  jesse and micah had a hard time staying behind matt but jesse came around him into the final descent.  micah attacked hard and caught matt and jesse.  in the grass spring towards the finish line, micah attacked again!  jesse ended up winning, with micah 2nd, matt 3rd, local pro in 4th and jon w in 5th.  bobbie watt ( jon’s wife placed 2nd in the womens race!)

Sunday – Super D race: jon w, matt, micah, tate and my self raced.  the super d was very casual and was done in a Time Trial format where each racer starting individually and was racing the clock like a downhill race.  the race promoter said “if you think you are fast, get in the front of the line!”  so tate and jon w started the whole race off.  tate had some bad luck and tore his baggy shorts.  micah and matt also had some bad luck but jon watt kicked ass and won with a time around 6:35minutes!  as well, bobbie watt won too!

King of The Mountain –  in the end, Micah gained enough points in all 3 races to win the King of the Mountain award!  he took home some cash and a pretty trophy!  Matt placed 3 in the KOTM and needs to contact the race promoter for his money!  :)  seriously matt…

Not only were there races, but there were organized group rides and a Film Festival!  The winning film was about a 34 month old toddler riding around town picking up girls to AC/DC’s TNT song!  very funny!  And, like any fat tire festival, the beer was flowing!  The whole event was fun and the locals were all very nice!  South Dakota has a ton of trails and next time you are thinking of heading to Fruita or Moab, head north east instead and check out the Black Hills mountain bike scene!  :)

Black Hills Fat Tire Festival

P.S. it was a good weekend hanging out and racing with you guys!  - jesse

This race is part of the Summit Mountain Challenge series and is happening this weekend up near Keystone!  $2o entry fee and 12:30pm start time…  count me in!!!  Click here to find out more about the Tour De Trash.

Micah strong on the start

Mitch W and Micah J headed to Santa Fe this weekend and met up with Tom A for a little New Mexico XC  and ST racing.  Micah ended up 4th in pro in the XC!  Way to go!  Mitch did well in the Cat 1 ST race and finished 4th, but was battling food posining and a flat tire, and wasnt able to finish the XC race.  It was good to see you racing on the dirt again Mitch!  The XC  course was fast, twisty and rolling!  Check out the GPS of the race here…  Here are some photos of the XC race..

For all those roadies climbing Lookout Mtn, keep your head up for these 4 wheel skate board down hill daredevils racing the other way!