Sunday, February 27, 2011

Eye Candy

belt driven carbon cross from Independent Fabrications.

Wednesday, February 23, 2011

drink smoke

a photo project, found on Mud and Cowbells. images straight from the motherland. beautiful. you can taste the fries.

Tuesday, February 22, 2011

seasoning

the end of another epic year at Big Sky Big Grass. the riding/skiing got better and better through the weekend culminating in an epic 10 on 6 on 4 on 3 bluebird powder day yesterday. one of the best sessions I've ever had, riding with the boys in the Old Man Style. here's a little shot of the OMS crew, lovin' life.


headed for Billings tonight, then across the top of the country, finishing up next week in Killington, VT. it'll be running and yoga until we hit the High Country again in mid-march. considering adding some backcountry corn skiing to the agenda for the May Duo Tour.

exciting finish to the cyclocross season:

Sunday, February 20, 2011

the funny

couple great days in Big Sky. won't even bother going into the details except to say we're having an awesome time, the riding has been epic and it's dumping. again.

downloaded Radiohead's new album, The King of Limbs. only one track in at the time of publication, but so far, so good and you know Radiohead, if you can't trust them, you can't trust anyone. fucking awesome.

like crashes and splinters?


guy gets a splinter through his calf, gets back on the bike and rides across for 3rd. that's almost as badass as Falco breaking his Tibia Friday and still cutting the gig late night.

Gorgeous Belt Driven Calleti rigid 29er SS from Belt Bikes

here's the funny

Thursday, February 17, 2011

Snow

...and just like that, everything changes.

when it snows, I'm happy. when i get to dust of the Legend after 3 years of dormancy, I get downright giddy. if you only knew.

actually, if you were at Big Sky for the Big Sky Big Grass Festival right now, you'd know. we'd be about to down 2000 calories before flogging ourselves in 7-15 inches of fresh all day long...

yep, just like that, everything changes.

truly, Pow!

Wednesday, February 16, 2011

Whoa!

Things are happening very fast right now.
Forget cell phone and shades on porch.
Fly.
Delicious Meal at Home.
Sleep
Paddle surfing in Paradise Cove.
Free drinks.
Sleep
fantastic LA vegan breakfast
baby Grammy's.
more Free Drinks.
The Real Grammy's.
many, many more free drinks.
Sleep
8am flight to SLC.
drive to Big Sky.
Sleep
Ride. Ride. Ride.
Drinks.
Pick.

had a really fun jam with the band in front of the fireplace here in Big Sky last night. First time we've played together in weeks, first time I played bass in weeks. I'm actually better now than I was then.

Wednesday, February 9, 2011

Crux

There's two of these in my size at the shop...



when bunnyhopping goes wrong

Tuesday, February 8, 2011

Roots of Freeride

Everyone's taking it back to the roots.

Sunday, February 6, 2011

on aging

I'm 29. in two months and ten days I turn 30. I just started thinking about it yesterday. I wouldn't say it "hit" me, but it occurred to me, for the first

I always like the old adage that you're only as old as you feel. and it's been easy for me to say, since I've been in my 20's for 9 years, 9 months, and 20 some odd days. until I busted up my knee last year, I pretty much assumed I was invincible. but ever since I busted up my knee, I don't really feel so young anymore. I also assumed as soon as the knee was 95%, I'd start to feel like a 20 year old again. recently, I've been questioning this assumption (and you know what happens when you assume). maybe it's the beer, maybe it's the knee or my diet, but I'm not so convinced anymore. I fully intend to continue along in denial of reality, I know guys that are older than me that still rip, but it's got me thinking...

read a couple books lately. one called Off The Deep End, a sad story about a delusional 40 something who's convinced if he trains hard enough, he can be an olympic swimmer. this dude, Hodding Carter, wasn't even an exceptional swimmer in his youth, but he's convinced he can become one in his 40's. you can see how this ends up. I also just finished Ten Points by Bill Strickland, 49 year old editor of Bicycling Magazine. it's a tale about trying to score some points in the local crit series. a crit, for the uninitiated, is like cyclocross without all the good stuff and all the bad stuff. roadies, pavement, short laps, an hour of racing, lots of sprinting and pain. Bill's a great writer and went through some terrible stuff as a child, so it's a great read. the descriptions of the races are riveting (to a bike dork like me), he's racing against people of all ages, national champions, pro cyclists, but in the end, he doesn't get his ten points.

I know a really really fast guy named Troy, he's an amazing physical specimen, I'd guess he's about as thin and strong as he could possibly be.


Troy's a cool cat, super nice, and though I think we've got some pretty substantial ideological differences (just like I have with damn near everyone down here) and we've only really talked in short sentences, I think of him as a friend. I think we've raced maybe 5 or 6 times and every time he's finished in front of me. I followed him around, sucking his wheel for at least 5 laps in Birmingham this season. I managed to keep up with him and the only other Pro1/2 in Chattanooga two seasons ago in my last weekend as a 3, I was even leading for half a lap after he and the other guy got tangled up in the sand. Troy's a hoss, fast as hell and consistent, even though he's riding less than he used to (TBAR and State Cyclocross Champion in '08). He's got a wife and two kids and I assume a full-time job and he still kicks ass. Troy gives me hope and keeps me in denial. I still believe...

this looks awesome, modern free-riding at it's best

Saturday, February 5, 2011

Epic Finish at Lille!

the four best 'cross riders on the planet take an epic last lap.



USGP Schedule has been announced. these are the big ones.

Friday, February 4, 2011

more mountain bike access in Middle Tennessee?

I heard today from Scott at Eastside Cycles that there's plans for a short beginner mountain bike loop through the hills and fields and woods of Bells Bend, right across the river from my home.  apparently it'll be pretty mellow mountain biking but it sounds like it will be absolutely perfect for cyclocross. 

the Burch Reserve property adjacent to the Warner Park system is still under consideration for mountain bike trails, you can voice your opinion HERE at the Friends of Warner Parks website.  the possibility of new trails, whether for hiking, running or biking is a positive thing for our community and I'm optimistic that we'll continue to make our voices heard.  next meeting is March 17th, I believe, but don't quote me on it, just double check and mark your calendar.  there were probably 120 mountain bikers there, it'd be great if 300 showed up.

I've become a member of SORBA today, you should consider it as well.  If you don't live in the south, at least become a member of IMBA (no, not IBMA, you don't want that).

In a little more than a week I'll be back at Big Sky to tackle the huge chunk of granite known as Lone Peak:



this photo was taken less than an hour after I skied it last year.  this year I'll be using just one plank.

Jeremy Jones is the greatest snowboarder alive.  he's ditching the sleds and choppers and doing it all under human power.  you gotta see this:



Mountain Bike Trails near Leipers Fork?

friend and fellow cyclocross freak Cooper dropped me a line to let me know he's on a committee to decide the fate of 400 acres south of Leipers Fork. trails and mountain bike access has been a pretty hot topic around these parts of late and I've somehow worked my way toward the center of the action. from what I can tell, this is a great opportunity for the mountain bike community, we're underserved (I was not underserved last night, but that's another story) and while these trails aren't in Davidson County, they are within striking distance. here's an overview of the area:


I think at this point the best thing you can do is head over to the Facebook page called Yes! to Mountain Bike Trails In Williamson County and "like" it a perhaps even leave a message.  we need all the help we can get.

in cyclocross, despite the World Championships having been contested, they're still racing.  even I'm getting a little tired of it, can't imagine how these dudes must feel.  even cyclocrosschannel is burned out, only offering a highlight reel of the race in Maldegem instead of the typical last two lap offering.  much of what I post on here about cyclocross I pick up from the CXMagazine website, and most people who would care already go there, so it's a bit redundant...  anyway, here's a great video from the womens World Championships:


Championnat du monde Cyclo cross 2011 - Dames Elites from Web Petitesreines on Vimeo.

it's been a cold week, with lots of moisture.  pump track is shut down, I did about 60 miles down to the Natchez Trace on Wednesday, but other than that, I've been an indoor creature.  spent about an hour reading an epic Floyd Landis interview yesterday morning.  Floyd was raised Mennonite, so I was always a fan, until the doping thing broke, then I was confused.  for some, this interview clears things up, I'm still confused, but it's a great read. 

speaking of reading, picked up Bill Strickland's Ten Points for $.75 yesterday along with the Aron Ralston book about cutting off his own arm and a couple David Sedaris books.  that's useless information.

Thursday, February 3, 2011

Chaco

summertime is a long way away, but since I'll be surfing again next week, I figured I might as well cue up some flips:

ordered a pair for the wife as well. I had a pair of Chaco flips but my roomates dog ate them years ago. that is all

Wednesday, February 2, 2011

"anybody who rides a bike is on drugs, unless you's a kid"

"he's American, I'm American, what do American's do? We do drugs, quit bein' ignorant"



I used to do drugs. I still do, but I used to too. 

Tuesday, February 1, 2011

new day, new month

fuck yeah!

let's start it off with a demo reel of all things awesome:



it's amazing how much "things" are progressings. by things I mean all things awesome, like bikes, surfing, snowboarding, ladies physiques, etc... I was born a little too late, I could really mess myself up if I was 18 right now.

long ride with Jeremy planned out on the Natchez Trace. We're looking at 100% chance of rain, 30 mph winds and lightning! Awesome! Look at this baby rolling in! wheeeew, we're stupid. maybe I should just stay home and eat a pizza.

one of my favorite artists, Daniel Tashian just released an EP, The Lights Of Town. Daniel makes the coolest music and he's going to be a dad.

Interview post Worlds with Sven Nys on velonews.

alright, gotta roll, this kitchen ain't gonna clean itself...