Peak Cycles – BikeParts.com Blog

I had heard of the Flume trail out near Lake Tahoe and was excited because my road trip was taking me that way. However, after hanging out at Pope Beach in South Lake Tahoe for the day. I was reading on the beach (becuase that water is damn cold to jump in) for a while suddenly felt the sun go away. Either it was some big muslce guy about ready to kick sand in my eye and take mygirl, or it was 8:30pm. My watch said 3:00pm. Confused I looked up in the sky and the Lake Tahoe fire was burning furiously real close.

The officals were evacuating town, so we packed up and got out of there. We ended up camping near North Beach for the next couple days instead. I ended up getting to ride the Flume trail the next day. I was really fun and although I was bummed the killer views of the lake were smoked out, I thought about all the families who lost thier homes in the fire. I hope they put that fire out soon…. – 6.25.07 – jesse

So, after the Deer Valley National, I kept heading west on a little road trip. Along the way, I headed up into the vineyards of Sonoma Country in Norcal and hit a race up at Lake Sonoma put on by bikemonkey.net. The fast group had a good amount of guys and I didnt know what to expect.
The course was fast, twisty,hot and rolling. You would be climbing for just a minute and then start a tight descent for a couple more. After a lap, I did my best to get the hang of it and in the end finished 2nd. At the finsih line there were spectators with water guns cooling off the competitors. The first place guy said he had done the trails for 12 years, so he had it dialed! Afterwards they had a mellow awards ceremony and BBQ. After going to “blownout” NORBA National it was refreshing to do a low key race with some cool guys to remind you why you ride/race again! – 6.23.07 – jesse

I took control of the race from the start since my legs felt a lot better than at the hill climb. I thank the masseuse for that! I pinned it pretty hard on the first of three laps to see who could follow. Fellow GoFast/Bikeparts.com teammate Brian Chimeliski was keeping close enough that I could see him and Carlos was hot on his tail. I knew if I could make it to the downhill with a lead that I could stretch it out a little more. After that came the first of two climbs up Lower Cherokee which is like a wall on a singlespeed. I looked back at the top of that climb and saw that someone else was in second and dangerously close. I pinned it again and made it the downhill clean. At the bottom of the downhill when we hit the flat road at the base of the resort, Tate came flying past me in the lead of the 30-34 Experts! I told him it was his race and he was off! About four more experts came flying past me chasing Tate, so there was a battle for that top position. Going up Lower Cherokee was a grunt but a reeled a few of those experts back. Tate was fading but not too fast so the battle was still on. Soon after I passed him another expert came by at a speed that seemed like he was on his first lap. whoa. I pinned it again on the downhill, which reminded me that the Crankworks Super-D is coming soon and that I was happy I put a suspension fork back on the SS. Took the flat road back to the finish line for a SS salute. Feels really good to take the victory. Tate ended up in third in easily the biggest expert class of the race. – Colin McKernan

HOT and DUSTY, thats how I am going to describe todays brutal XC! After staging close to the last row, the start was fast and steep. The race was 4 laps, about 32 miles and each lap got hotter and harder. In the end, Matt succumbed to the pain and sadly did not finish. However, this was Colin’s first NORBA as a Pro and he finished 41st! I hurt my knee from the super d and didnt even think I was going to be able to race today, so I am happy to say I finished 33rd! – Jesse

So, Matt and I loaded up in his GTO and headed west to Park City, UT for the NORBA National at Deer Valley. Chad, Colin Matt and I woke up early and did a few pre rides down the Super D course and it was fun riding with the guys. The Super D race wasn’t until 6:00pm, so we pre rode the XC at 3:00 in the heat to get ready for tomorrows race. The XC is super smooth and not too many steep climbs, however, if I were to guesstimate, I think the XC course has a million switchbacks! Anyways, on to todays race, the Super D was a TT race because of all the single track. There were about 38 pros racing even guys like Eric Carter. Matt was starting about 3 minutes ahead of me. He had a solid run and kept his bike up the whole time. My race went well too until about 20 feet from the finish. I was sprinting to the line and dropped my chain. I slammed my knee into my fork and almost went down and ended up coasting in. In the end, Matt posted an unofficial race time of 9:11 finishing 14th and I was at 9:15 at 18th! Stay tuned tomorrow for the XC live report! – Jesse

Team GoFast/Bikeparts.com headed to Castle Rock to the 24 Hours of E-Rock. After 23 hours, the team finished in first out of 10 teams completeing 45 laps! From the start, Tyler put in an amazing Leman start and first lap setting the team up for a great race. Matt had the fastest night lap of 27:28 minutes. Tate had the most consistent time with only a 4 minute deviation from his fastest and slowest lap. Jesse took the fastest lap time of 26:20 minutes. A big thanks to GoFast, Maverick Bikes and Peak Cycles for supporting the team as well as Sue and Jessica for feeding and taking care of the team during the race! We could not have done it with out you! Click here for photos of the day, and night!

Employee of Peak Cycles and Team GoFast/Bikeparts.com member, Brendan Harrison, spent Memorial Day in the ER being treated for a fractured radius from a fall on the Red Rocks trail. The doctor said he should be back in 4 weeks or so. Take it easy B, we will see you on the dirt soon! – jesse

This weekend Team GoFast/Bikeparts.com found them selves in the Angelfire, New Mexico for some Super D, XC and ST racing. The Team bunked up with the Tough Girls and Fuentes Design in a condo for some fun company when not on the bikes. Super D didnt begin very well when the start gun fired and their bikes were still on the chair lift. Despite the late start, Colin, Jesse and Matt still managed to finish midpack on the wet and slippery course. The XC race was tough with long, techincal climbs and fast decents went much better for the team. Tim and Colin both finished 6th in Expert and Single Speed races. In the Pro race, Josh was on fire and finished 7th out of 38, with Matt beating Jesse for 12th by 30 seconds and Brian finished strong in 25th. Be sure to check out the MSC #2 photo album for more of the weekends stories as well as fellow condo camper, Colin Osborn’s blog for another point of view.

The new Team Gofast/Bikeparts.com downhill jersey just arrived! The team will be breaking them in this weekend at the Super D at the second stop on the M.S.C. series in Angelfire, New Mexico. Be sure to check out all the other cool team gear here.

Team GoFast/Bikeparts.com came out in full force at Race the Bear in Lakewood.  It was a fast and hot race, but in the end everyone finished strong!  In the Expert class, Tim Barnes, Brendan Harrison, and John Polli (who came out of 7 year retirement) all were quick with John and Brendan finishing 2nd!  In the SS class Colin McKernan had no trouble with the course and won the race!  Tate Graves represented the team in the Semi-Pro class and finished 18th.  In the Pro class, Brian Laiho showed his strength and finished 6th with Josh Bezecny, Jesse Swift and Matt Unger coming in 7,8 and 9th place!  Click here to check out the photos!

Team GoFast/Bikparts.com had their unveiling this weekend at the 1st stop of the Mountain States Cup series at the Chalk Creek Stampede.

In the Single Speed class, Colin McKernan placed 2nd on the fast, bumpy course in a sprint finish on his recently built SS 69’r!

In the Pro class, Josh Bezecny, Brian Laiho and Jesse Swift lined up with close to 30 other racers. The large field strung out quickly and each racer was on their own. Laiho ended up being the fastest team member, finishing 10th with Swift a spot behind in 12th.

Overall, it was a nice to shake off the dust from the spring training and get the first race under the belt. The next stop for the team is another fast, flat course at Race the Bear in Lakewood. Then a welcoming change at Angelfire, New Mexico where the climbers can show off their power, and the descenders can show off their skills!

– Ride fast, Jesse

Hot off the press at CURVE clothing, the new team jerseys just arrived! Check out the full zip jersey and the fleece lined, heavy duty long sleeve jersey!

we went to Fort Collins and road Horsetooth / Lory State Park. the decents were a blast but that climb up the service road to the towers HURT! here is a view of FC from the Westridge Trail- jesse

For the fourth or so time this winter we got a 2 foot dump at my office in Genesse. Luckily this storm is melting fast and I was able to ride the next day. – Colin

I wanted to send a fast update between ridings of my
new little girl Maverick Durance. She was born Monday
April 16th at Peak Cycles at 9:45 in the evening, and weighed in at 25lbs 4 oz…

So, Matt and I went and explored a newer trail in Jefferson County called Centennial Cone. I thought it was going to be a flatter trail but was pleasantly surprised by a ton of switchbacks and sweet descents! Not only were the views nice, but we didnt see anyone else the whole time.

Dear Readers,

    Its a funny thing this world of ours.  You can travel thousands of miles to different countries, different continents and find and meet people that you practically know.  I was getting ready to go for another amazing base ride the other day and I happened upon and american gentleman who asked me if I rode and of course I said "yes" as I straddled my gleaming steed wearing my state of the art slipstream riding apparel. Little did I know that come to find out this kid races in the junior class at the NORBA Nationals and we practically knew each other. Fast forward to this weekend and we went on the "Super Euro Base Ride". And by super Euro I mean to say that we found this little road, that climbed up through this little mountain town in the Sierra Nevadas.  The road was single lane newly paved with no guard rails and upwards of 6000ft of climbing.  Base here in the Sierras is a bit different than in the states because it seems that the only roads that are suitable for riding  have massive climbs in them.  TOO BAD!!!!! haha.  Anyway here are some photos of me and my new friend Kirk having a nice day at the office…..

Welcome Readers,…

    What do you get when you mix 2 parts Flamenco, 1 part Paella, and 3 parts Roadbike.  You get base training in the winter monthes in a southern city in Spain called Granada.  Granada is a historic moorish city at the base of the somewhat majestic Sierra Nevada Mountains at the bottom of the Iberian Peninsula.  Base here in Granada consists of some really scenic highways and byways that snake in and around lakes, dams, valleys and plateaus.  The Spainish riders here are friendly, but only to a point it seems.  Since they have weather here that is nice enough to ride all season they seem to know that they are fit and you are not so any hopes of trying to show them what americans are made of, seem to shatter at the site of their gleaming legs and custom carbon orbeas.  The riding here is a way of life.  The young and the old, the fast and the well, not so fast, all ride here in Granada.  Old men on "walmart" bikes with no helmets are often seen huffing and puffing up the pass of La Peza while "Team Andalucia" can actually not be seen whizzing by you at who knows how many "Kph" back down towards Granada itself.  For the cyclists in all of you, the wonderful consortum of unknown and wellknown "Euro" bikes here would want to make you want to stop reading and call bikeparts.com for your new bike right now.  As for me personally, its really nice to feel like I could maybe be getting fit in one of the most well known countries on earth for cycling.  Granada is a wonderful place to ride and I would suggest to anyone if they had the chance to come that they do so as soon as possible.  Until next time…

Tyler "In Granada" Henderson

Happy Birthday Timbra! It was a good night out with ya!