Bellingham is its own world. Only there would they create something as genius as klunker races. All you need to do is pick up an awesome old steel bike with coaster brakes, 1 speed, put some bars on it and ride it hard- klunking on a klunker. Add a couple beers, dirt jumps, rock wall ride with no rear tire, and you got yourself a couple wild and crazy guys...
You're probably asking yourself, why all the bmx tracks lately? Well, because there is snow on all the good trails and it's dark at 4pm. I've been the biggest gym rat lately and need to get out and ride my bike. Will be fun to go check out what Canadian Bmx/4x is all about:). Abbotsford is right across the border to Canada, so google tells me to drive North 2.5hrs from home, and that is what I shall do. With Bryn gone, I will have a couple weeks of frozen snowy goodness left before heading into Australian sunshine. Bikes+ snowboard, check and check
These guys have a 4x series, which sounds like riding a hardtail on a flat BmX track, but I am excited to be going for practice, followed hopefully by a visit to Pinkbike HQ, and then some snowboarding the following day bright and early.
I have tried to rally a small crew, so it's on. The average BMX track doesn't take long to master these days, so I hope these guys have a sweet rhythm section,or a bit of time to ride backwards and do transfers, my favorite game. Roadtrip.
PORT ORCHARD, WA
Last night was pretty fun at indoor BMX with Kat Sweet, Daniel Mazuti, and the 10 ladies in our clinic on hardtails. I quite enjoy teaching these things, And always seem to get the best groups of people:).
Fundaments are so key, gives an appreciation for all the things I have learned over the years to help others. I have a pretty keen eye for cause and effect with biomechanics, so that helps. Got most everyone's timing better for pumping, form a little better, braking on point, gate starts, balancing on a gate, set up, cornering, etc:) Of course, can't learn everything in 2 hrs, but it was a good start. Think women learn best in a supportive all women scene. By the end of the night, we had full gates and full laps- racing. Lot of giggling and smiling faces from people who have never been to a bm track or ever raced 4x. Good stuff. Thanks to Kat for setting it up, and the Mazutis for hosting it. I even busted out my ol trusty bmx bike "Lady Killer" for some squirrely hot laps:) Girl Power? :)
Inside look at my 2011 set up.
Photo credit- Dirt.
As pro riders, we put hours and hours into developing a set up, tweaking out in the garage. Minor changes keep things evolving, but a proper set up is a thing of beauty. With Two full years on the TR450, got it pretty figured out what works for me, and what doesn't through trial and error.
As the years go on, and my speed increases on the DH bike, I still discover ways to keep pushing the equipment to get the most out of it. Helps having a bike company where the owners ride themselves. But as racers Bryn and I work together to talk stuff over- he's pretty quick and been at it awhile:) Companies that seek rider feedback are great too, like Fox, cause it's give and take for both parties, with the same goals.
On tour, nobody really shares their secrets cause it's so competitive. I look to learn from other top pros as well, but it's fairly specific and under wraps. Better to focus on you sometimes.
When teaching clinics or helping other people, set up is the place to begin. Can look at someone and see what's going on- kind of a diagnostic thing. Front end diving: forks could bee too soft, or bars too low, weight too far over the front. Stem length, fork pressure, spacer stack height, bar rise, lever position. All these things go into it.
I get a lot of questions from locals, that in my world I don't think about out loud. But even in my racing tuning is an ongoing process. We test everything. Tires in different conditions, lever position, stem length, tire pressures, gearing, stack height, seat height, bar bends, etc.
I thought I would give all our sponsors and the bikes a little more credit. They have been great to ride!! And hopefully you learn something that can help in your own set up.
FRAME: TR 450 size Small (I'm 5'6.5") - Middle chip suspension setting.
Suspension: Fox 40- Blue spring, Fox rc4 350lb spring . (this keeps evolving, started on purple, adjust height of stansions For steepness of trail)
Drivetrain: Shimano Saint- stock. Dialed.
Brakes: Saint. adjusted levers in.Takes awhile to get used to the power, but you will never go back. Lasted all year, good stuff, brakes are amazing, use saints for trailbike, slalom bike too) Shimano 203 Rotors- Icetech. They really do stop better and are quiet. lever position should keep you with a neutral wrist, not too far down so you can get behind the bike and keep your wrist strong.
Cables/Housing: Jagwire. Can never have enough of this stuff. Fresh cables mean snappy shifting.
Wheels: Crankbrothers- Opium DH wheels. Held up awesome!! Only small dings in rims from thrashing rocks. (Ran Tubeless most events where Marshy was) . New generation of wheels are even lighter and smoother hub body. Raced them at National Champs!! Iodine for xc , slalom, etc. Cobalt I have em on my hardtail and they have lasted well.
Tires/ Tubes: Maxxis. Best tires!! 2.5 Minions, Wetscreams, High Rollers, High roller 2. Minions are best for most courses. Only use High roller for a back tire because it brakes more aggressive and you can feel the edge, don't really like it for a front. Good on steep tracks for braking, muddy greasy tracks it clears good. UK racers use this tire for everything. High roller 2 is an amazing tire!! Has better rolling resistance, less of an edge, but corners and grips real well, good front tire and rear. Tubes- Freeride for rear, welterweight front, or Stans tubless if you have a new rim.
Pedals: Crankbrother Mallet. New version of their pedals have been awesome for me, bit smaller platform which is great for small feet. I found them easier to clip in and out than the old ones, especially in mud!. We have always taken the pins out of the pedals to make it smooth in and out, but a couple people told me to run pins. Dunno.
Bars/ Stem: Kore Torsion Bars- Red- 35mm rise, 29 1/4" width, Direct mount stem- 50 mm. Anything less than 35mm rise bars leads to a lot of spacers under the top crown. When going downhill, neutral is best, get the weight off the front end. Also we use quite a few spacers to get the bars high. I See a lot of bike park guys and Aussies with too low of a front end, but that works kinda for flat trails, I guess. Low bars and soft fork= goon position. Too high and your elbows will be down. That also has to do with lever position and where they are located from the grip. Mic Pascal is a prime example, he used to have awesome form, now runs 50mm bars and flat levers and his elbows are really far down. Think he did that because of his bike and the steep tracks he rides. Experimentation leads to insight sometimes.
Grips: Lock on ODI ruffians. Never any problems,awesome company.
Gears/ Guides: e.13 / Lg1 guides. 36T or 38T chainrings. 36T for clearance, only use a 38 when there is a big DH sprint. Don't want to run out of gear. Windham was also a case where a 36t wasn't enough for the last section of track. 38T is risky when there is a g out. This is why Specialized experimented with the smaller cogs, but in reality, there isn't enough chain wrapped around the cassette to lay down explosive power. Think only top guys should use that, if at all. They got mega clearance, and lighter set up, but probably didn't have enough spread in gears. 36t with an 11-21 cassette is average.
Seat/Seatpost: This has been a project for me. Getting the seat low enough that you can turn without the seat touching you, but still clearing the rear tire on g outs. Just a general thing with me being smaller. We ran a Kore T rail Torsion seat, with their post. Means no rails, just a beam, which is pretty good . I modified my saddle, adn they made a mini one part of their production, meant I could lower my seat about an inch. Fixed the problem. Like a little dirt jump saddle. Seems weird to have a long saddle for Dh that gets in the way.
Headsets: Cane creek. Quality gear. Their interlock spacers are pretty sweet. Tall top caps.
Shoes: 5.10 Minnaar. 2 spacers under the cleat, cut the overhanging plastic with a knife for clearance. These shoes got better with time. Pretty comfy.
Helmet: D3 is the only helmet:) Airtrix red bull paint job. Don't buy cheap helmets, it says all the wrong things.
Armor: Knee/Shin-Alpinestar Moab BMX, Mtb protector . These were the best looking pads that worked the best and stayed put. Comes with Knee covers. Great company makes modifications based on rider feedback. They have become lighter and more streamlined over the last two seasons. Elbow: TLD kiddy elbow guards, don't slip, fit my arms. XC: Use the lopes neoprene pads Full Body: Tld shock doctor stuff. Been the best I've found.
Clothing: Jett. based in Colorado, rider owned company. Their Lightning shorts and flight gloves fit great!! No complaints. For xc,ride short and raven short. Strike jersey with a base layer was the topI used.
Eyewear: Oakley Crowbar goggle. Clear lenses. used blue when it was really high contrast,but my optometrist just told me that you never want to wear blue, just clear, yellow, and rose colors. Fire iridium is my favorite, vr28, clear.
Tools: Park Tool- makes everything! Lezyne mini tool was in my pocket every day, crankbros tool in my pack. patch kit. Pressure gage. Trader Joes unsweetened Mango slices .
Insoles: Esoles- custom footbeds.
Red Bull: Last but certainly not least. Best company in the world to be sponsored by. Gives me wings.
Big Thanks to all our partners this year!!!
Kat Sweet from Cascade MTB Alliance put together a little 4x/bmx clinic next week (Thurs) Nov 17th at indoor bmx. I am going as a guest coach. Check it. http://sweetlines.com/2011/11/09/4x-clinic/
For some November is the time to grow a mustache , but for Bryn and I it is the final bit of cold weather we have to endure before heading into spring/summer time in Australia!! our double life of dirt bikes, driving on the wrong side of the road, looking at funny animals, riding through the gum trees, and eating sleeping and breathing improvement on bikes.
With a lot of changes on the horizon, things are looking bright in days to come. For now, daily life includes frost on the windshield, coffee, colorful trees, darkness at 4:30pm, lot of emails, and quite a bit of time in the gym getting ready to get ready, if you know what I mean:) Starting a bit early this year thanks to Perform X training! You will know more about this soon enough. Bit of a powerhouse line up of Athletes this year from one of Canada's finest Mtb and Moto trainers- Todd.
Few more weeks, then Adios,, off to see the wizard , again.
RENTON, WAYesterday was the 2nd annual halloween slalom event at Bermsled trail. Bunch of people chipped in to make it run smooth, but GHY Bikes, Phil Sunbaum, and Travis were the main players this year. Gibby, brough some smoked salmon, which was a welcomed alternative to spicy dogs. Thx gibby.
Trail was flowing real well, perfect conditions, Even some sunshine for a nice little saturday of slaloming.
The turnout was a bit bigger this year, think at least 40 riders. Which was good, but then the wait to do runs was massive. 30-40 min between runs. 1.5 min between people.
Bryn decided last minute to race. He rode this trail the other day on his trail bike with the seat kinda high and was ripping, but hasn't really done too much little bike stuff or standing up and sprinting.
Not surprising, he hasn't lost any skill, and took out the Victory!!! In two runs none the less!! He's doing really well with the rehab on his femur, working every day to get it back.
2nd-5th were all within less than a second. 1st Bryn 59.99, Keith 2nd with a 1.01.2, 3rd Lucas 1.01.5, 4th Jill 1.01.7, 5th Travis 1.01.9
Tons of prizes, snacks, and good times. Fun to be a part of again! Thx guys!
Costumes were pretty good. Travis, hands down won best costume as the count from sesame street. I went as Brent Pee Wee Lee, you have to be kinda old school bmx to get it. He is the ABA all time points leader, from Wa, and always wore a jofa, fanny pack, had crazy number plates with blinking lights, etc. Other noteworthy costumes; AJ was The Dude from the big Lebowski!! White russian in hand!! Couple goth blood bath guys, a Hipster, Wolverine, Black Swan, bumble bee, cow, party boy, jersey shore jailbird, and one sicko was a feminine product. All in the spirit fo the season...
RENTON, WA2nd Annual Halloween Slalom! Last year this underground race was so much fun.
It's a couple days before Halloween, but you get the idea, costumes n bikes. G.H.Y Bikes is hosting it, but my buddy Travis has put a lot of time into digging this trail. I was out there the other day helping too, Just before the rain, so we got a good base down. With Bryn not riding, Travis is the one to beat, unless Luke maybe shows up. I came a close third last year, so it's on. Travis has a double and some better tires this year, so I think it's gonna get wild. Community events are rad. Gibby, hope you got the smoked salmon again.
Bryn had surgery the other day to get the pins out of his elbow. He is now at full range of motion, much happier, and almost totally healed with everything. That Femur break was a hard injury, and will take some more time to get full strength back, but he was out shredding xc like nothing had happened the other day. Skills never leave:). On track for next year:)
In the world of Motocross, they are having a race tomorrow where the winner takes home 1 million dollars. Crazy. Guess it's one class whatever bike they want to ride. Course designed by RC and mcGrath. Villopoto, Windham, Alessi, Metcalfe, Weimer, Musquin, Brayton, etc . in the mix. Watch Tomorrow- Saturday
Beautiful day yesterday at the bike park at Stevens Pass. Best scenery with the sun shining and all the fall colors. Not a super developed location as far as a village, but the main lodge is really nice. This weekend had a lot less of a crowd than opening weekend's 1000 people. Didn't have to wait in line at all , just pounded out runs. Got in like 11 or 12 just chilling. Having a chairlift makes it so easy to get in the volume. There were only two trails open so far, which is a good start. Lots of potential still to go.
Of the two trails open, the Wookie trail was really quite good, especially in the mud- Kinda kept the trail clear. Washington dirt is so much fun in the wet, I love ruts!! probably my favorite thing, so I had a blast cruising through the forrest. The run is probably about 2.5 min. Bryn even rode it on his covert, but kinda needed to chill out and bring a bigger bike. First few days back on dirt.
The other trail, a blue trail, was not for me, it probably rides pretty good in the dry, but it was so boggy this day and flat and mellow. Like though that it catered to a new crowd. Saw all kinds of people , on a variety of bikes out there riding having a good time, which is what it's all about!! Little something for everyone. Made some new friends:)
Back in the day, I had a seasons pass at this mountain to snowboard, so Stevens is my zone. Remember my little red VW Golf, Dilated Peoples blasting on the stereo, and many a wooded missions through the trees with my pals. Wish Harrison were here now.
Anyway, fantastic start to the Bike park!! Honestly, nothing better than fall conditions!!!! Only bummer is daily bike washing, but small price to pay. Can't wait to get a billion runs in:) Hopefully they want to use some local Pros to promote the place!! I'm down, being as local as they come and the National champ:).
Laguna, CA
Troy Lee Designs has launched a couple of retail stores, Laguna and Costa Mesa? We went to the store in Laguna, right down the street from the beach, and none other than Leigh Donavan is the Manager:) It's looking really good. Vintage motorcycles, riding gear, art, clothes, and much more. The clothing line is coming along nicely. So congrats to Troy and co. and Leigh!!!
CHULA VISTA, CA
Bryn and I decided to roadtrip the west coast- Seattle to so.cal to do some riding, see some friends, visit sponsors, and watch an epic supercross Bmx race at the Olympic training center. I lived at the OTC for two years, rode that same track daily, so it was good revisit and see everyone.
Arielle Martin is one of my good friends. She was my roomate and Training buddy from 2007-2008. We had a monumental battle to make it to Beijing. It turned out well for me that year, But now it is her time to shine! World cup final on home turf:)
She has ridden that exact track for almost 5 years, so it is fair to say that team usa had a bit of a leg up.
Mike day was also there, racing again after a back surgery a year ago, donny robinson, Kyle Bennett, Anne Caro was there as a coach, I was there as a friend and supporter, nick long, herminator, Connor fields, Josh Meyers, Brooke Crain, Amanda Carr, amanda gieving, even little kim hyashi was racing this event. No shanaze? Dunno why.
Pretty much all of our friends and industry people who love Bmx were at this event!! Old school, new school, etc.
The wind was pretty strong all weekend. Santa Ana can do some cross winds in the middle of the day. Took out so many people. Last few times this was a night race, so no winds, but not this time.
Marc Willers of NZ was in title contention for the world cup overall, but he went down in practice over the first jump- didn't race. French guy- Daudet won the title just showing up with willers out. Prokop, 4x world champ folded a wheel on the first jump and hurt his hip and ribs- didn't race. Ol DR donny robinson got hit from behind and went down on the same jump- tko. Sarah walker caught a wind gust in practice, still raced. So yeah, big jumps and wind is not all that good unless you know what you are doing.
Impressive to see the progression o the sport. Especially with the girls. Lot more young girls hitting huge jumps and attacking. Arielle was the only lady to boost the massive triple into rhe first turn. Guys too. Beijing seemed like a veteran advantage, London might be a different story. Will see. London is the most amazing track I have ever seen. Kinda wished I could ride it. Without a perfect start though, forget it.
Everyone was here; foreigners were all hungry for a win, but it was never gonna happen. Usa took 4 out of 6 medals, and dominated.
Arielle had been mixing up her lane choice all day. Starting in the middle for earlier rounds, but picked lane 8 to avoid the carnage for the main. From there, clear shot, no interference and pull all the way to the first turn. In the middle lanes, people were bumping , crashing, casing the first two jumps. Us girls were getting that little bit extra pump on the backsides and gaining. Sarah walker, who is tough to beat, was struggling a bit, and couldn't hold em off. Straight domination here for Arielle!! Must have been the awesome sign I made her, or her husband, family, etc.
Brooke Crain also rode awesome for 2nd, with Mariana Pajon the world champ rounding it out for 3rd.
Men's semis and finals had a ton of carnage. Poor Mikey was in 4th in the semi after the berm jump, but someone came inside and he swerved and lost his front end over the edge of the paved turn. Hamburgered his skin. Final, Nick Long n Connor fields got the early lead. First turn was dead even, but with Connor on the inside he came out first. Nick was not so lucky as someone dove low and clipped his front wheel out of the turn. Only Connor made it outta the turn clean. Nick took a major slam, and got run over by 6 people. Some Dutch kid made it out, and herminator got outta the pile and took third. Barry nobles 4th. Damn.
Connor won every lap I think, maybe lost by an inch at the line on one round. Can't remember. Nick too. Nick's bike was interesting. He's like 6'4" and had the longest rear end I have seen on a Bmx. Drag racer:) probably helps keep the front end low.
Anyway. That's the news. Lots of other stuff happened, but I'm typing on my phone. Stoked to see Greg Romero working with some new talent, arielle take he first itnl win. Mikey healing up. Steve Spencer wearing the shirts I made for Mikey for trials, usa doing so well, catching up with chris Powell n Tiffany, Leigh and Stik, kinger, dave from the OTC, pete d, j.rich, n more. Good times.
http://www.facebook.com/media/set/?set=a.2428920451754.2137160.1513875482&type=3
Made a little video from Nationals. Interviews after the race...
NORTH CAROLINA
Got it done this weekend in the mud! Wasn't pretty, but National Championships for both Downhill and Slalom was a nice way to end the year. Thanks to my sponsors and friends who made this possible.
Logan Binggeli for the Pro men's win. Gwin 2nd with a crash, Mitch 3rd, Riffle 4th, Philip Kmentz 5th.
I made an interview video from after the race. Check it tomorrow.
NORTH CAROLINA, USA
Mitch Ropelato and I took the Slalom national championships tonight. Always satisfying to add a few more 'stars n bars' to the 'ol collection. Now have National Championships in 4 different disciplines- BMX, 4x, DH, and Slalom.
Good event, lots of fans were out making noise, few brews help with that, kind fitting there was a beer festival or something going on. There were patriots in the mix as well sporting their finest USA do-rags. Larry Longo on the microphone was classic too.
Had my head down trying to put in solid riding, so I only caught the tail end of the races behind me. Between being on the track and hiking up there hill, there was maybe 5 minutes to rest between rounds. Lucky to have bike pushers, for an easier turnaround. Thanks to Slayed Steve, Mr. Gwin, and the Idaho guy .
Aboard my red Transition Double, I had a flawless year in slalom, never lost a round at any event:) Proud of that.
Seems like a lot more people, amateurs and pros alike enjoy this slalom format. Scott Hart if he were here would have been out of his skull, he's the biggest slalom proponent I have ever met:) You get more ride time, no interference, skills are rewarded.
Think it also depends on the track. This one was really good , as is sea otter usually; but I have seen some real half assed ones in my day. When well crafted effort is put into a course, people are happy. It's all about turns and flow. This was a pro set up here at Beech mountain. Chris Herndon put some hours in., riders thank you.
The final with Mitch vs. Neko was really exciting, hard to tell who won the first run, but then mitch turned it up in the second round to take the victory. His set up is pretty unique to his riding style -micro-knobby tires front and rear with a single speed, normally has only a rear brake, but UsA Cycling made him put a front one on. Think he was ready for a skatepark session afterwards:) His little protege Cody Kelly, killed it for 3rd. Those two must spend hours at the pump tracks and skate parks together:) Good stuff though. Logan for 4th.
PRO WOMEN SLALOM 1. Jill 2. Darian Harvey 3. Jackie Harmony 4. Johanne Tuttle
PRO MEN'S SLALOM 1. Mitch R 2. Neko Mulally 3. Cody Kelly 4. Logan
NORTH CAROLINAJust finished up a Downhill qualifying run. They had the men go first, so I was the last one down the mtn today. Full spikes, might cut em down for tomorrow though as the sun is out for the rest of the weekend, but they were hooking up out in the grass.
Gwin took the men's win by like 11 seconds over Riffle, Keene, Logan, Memmellar, Mitch R, KT. Cody had a crash, but that's all the news I got. Like I said, I was sitting at the top.
You would expect to see Gwin pull a lot of time on a track like this that is either ruts or off camber, he picks the right speed and just commits to angles. His whole family is here. Was chatting to his dad, who is really quite outgoing and friendly, His mom too. Neko has family support as well; Mom bro, grandparents. nice to see. His grandparents always cook a ton of food for their team and bring it to the races. I want to sponsor a grandma to come cook food for us:)
My run was pretty good, just messed up one bit and had to pass someone, but happy to get a full run locked in. The sprint to the end is brutal, lot of pedaling. Being sick doesn't help that, but I'm feeling good on my bike, having fun. Jackie 2nd, Darian 3rd. I think. Didn't actually hear. 12 second lead.
Really liking the new Crankbrothers Mallet pedals, and their next generation Opium wheels! The freehub feels so nice. Stronger, lighter, faster:) One of the best companies to be involved with , quality gear.
NORTH CAROLINA
Pretty good day, little dh practice in the am, slalom quali in the afternoon. It's been raining a bit today, actually a lot last night and this morning, but the traction up at the slalom tonight was perfect. Just a little boggy on the take offs of the lower jumps. Few guys got squirrely. Poor ol Mitch hit one jump earlier at practice and got sucked in which flipped him over the bars and into his shoulder. All good though. That kid can take a hit like nobody's business. He still qualified fastest in the Pro mens' class. I did as well.
More spectators than I thought. Fans love slalom.
Course is really so fun. turn to turn to turn, pump , flow. All the things we love about riding bikes.
SLALOM QUALI Pro Women 1. Jill 2. Jackie Harmony 3. Darien Harvey
Pro Men 1. Mitch Ropoloto 2. Neko 3. Cody Kelly 4. Lear Miller 5. Logan Bitchin' Bingelli
DH For downhill this morning, I think today was even better in the mud. Full spikes for dh, deep ruts, wet grass turns, loved it. Kept my runs to a minimum today, course is ever changing with this weather. I've been trying to fight off a cold too. Hard to do two events and keep my energy up for sunday.
Cat 2 and 3 raced already. Bumming schedule for them to come all the way out here for one day of practice and a race run the next day. Hopefully they change that so those guys get more riding in next year.
Anyway, more tomorrow. DH quali and slalom finals.
