Answer All Mountain Stem

Here is one of the first looks at the new Answer Products All Mountain Stem. It is for over size (31.8) handle bar, has a 6 degree rise, and will be available in 70-80-90-100mm lengths. No word yet on when it will be available for sale, but look for it in time for that early spring bike build.
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Cycling Training Tips: Resolutions – bicycling.com

Here is a great training article from Bicycling.com:

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US Cup Calendar of Events

Scott Tedro and the Folks at the US Cup have release the 2010 race schedule for the US Cup and Kenda Cup mountain bike races. The following is the news release from the US Cup website.
Dear Racers, below is a calendar of events that the US Cup will manage and promote in 2010.
We have two series on tap, as well as an Invitational Only Shootout in early September.
Don’t get confused as some of these events will overlap, acting as a Triple Crown, US Cup California Series, Kenda Cup Qualifier or all of the above. We know as racers you only can be in so many places at once, and that you have other events you want to attend. We hope to make each race you attend at the US Cup, something worth your time and effort.
Come join us for some good racing and entertainment in 2010.
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Too cold, but still rode

I went to my favorite, close to home, mountain bike trails today at Cherry Plain State Park. There is generally a little bit more snow there than I have. There was enough snow that I decided to stay on the dirt roads and not try to ride the singletrack. I probably should have stayed home and rode the trainer, but it was a nice day and I wanted to ride. Actually it was a nice cold day. Too cold. The high today was 22 with a wind chill of 5. Thats too cold to ride. But I wanted to ride. I rode two loops around the park and through some of the Wild Life Management Area for a total of just over 9 miles. The start of the ride wasn’t really all that bad until I hit the wind. With more cold and snow and ice in the forecast, I have a feeling that there won’t be too much outdoors riding for the next couple of months.
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US Cup Announces New Triple Crown All Mountain Series

The US Cup is pleased to announce the 2010 dates for its inaugural Triple Crown All Mountain Series.
“We are excited to release our Triple Crown dates and venues to the public. We wanted to take into consideration all major UCI events and dates before we released the Triple Crown schedule. After reviewing the Pro XCT calendar which was released on USA Cycling’s website two weeks ago, we felt we have made the public wait long enough for this announcement, comments US Cup Chairman Scott Tedro. “The US Cup has also, as a show of support for the Pro Riders that are chasing Olympic birth, tentatively agreed to do our part by hosting a UC 1 inscripted Pro XCT event at Fontana on March 27-28th, and feel good that we have established this series with minimal impact and overlap of existing events” adds Tedro. “The whole concept of the Triple Crown event is in conjunction with our partner promoters, incorporate 3 top tier venues and offer Pro riders a substantial amount of prize money over $35000.00 in cash payouts, not just the top 3 Pro Riders, but to the top 10, while still making it logistically possible to incorporate it with their existing race schedule”.
The opening round of the US Cup Triple Crown All Mountain Series will be held at Bonelli Park on March 13-14. The second round will incorporate the Mountain States Cup series at Chalk Creek Stampede May 15-16 and the final has been awarded to Massanutten resort on June 19-20th. This concept embraces all parts of the country and we hope the racers will be excited to see a US Cup triple crown come to their home town race.
“We couldn’t be more excited to work with the great folks at the mountain states cup and Massanutten venues. In our opinion they are some of the top promoters in the country and already have established themselves with the racers and cycling community”, adds Ty Kady US Cup marketing director. “Chris Conroy, Keith and Sarah at MSC have been very receptive of our concept, and of course George Willetts of Massanutten has been running the Hoo-Ha for the last 20+ years and is all over the idea.”
“The Triple Crown All Mountain series will test the rider’s ability in multiple disciplines to declare the Triple Crown All Mountain winner. We have decided to make this series more appealing to the riders, sponsors and media by incorporating Cross Country, Super D and Short Track into the series concept”, continues Kady. “A rider’s best 2 of 3 events will be calculated to crown a winner at each race and ultimately the overall series Champion.”
We are also going to be paying 10 deep in each discipline, plus offer US Cup bonus bucks to the top 10 male and female finishers at each individual event given certain field numbers are met. Then as an added bonus any rider male or female that can sweep all three rounds of the Triple Crown will put an extra $2K in their pocket. This could be a huge pay day for the riders!
“This couldn’t be possible without all the US Cup supporters. Companies like H2O Overdrive, Specialized, Kenda, KMC Chains, GU, John Wayne Cancer foundation and others have all really stepped up their support of US Cup events for 2010”, adds Ty Kady.
In addition the US Cup will continue with its network of Kenda Cup’s, that act as local and regional qualifiers. The Kenda Cup’s feature over 15 locations across the US, from Ashland Oregon to French Lick Indiana. The US Cup Invitational shootout will be on September 11-12, The US Cup will also manage a high level west coast based series that incorporates the Triple Crown opener, Pro XCT race and other California favorite venues.
Look for more details on Triple Crown scheduled payout and presenting and naming sponsors of this inaugural event as well as updates to our ever growing Kenda Cup qualifiers.
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Back With EVOMO Mountain Bike Team for Another Year

EVOMO BRING THE RUKUS – I’ll be riding for Team Evomo mountain bike team again for the 2010 race season. Evomo is an apparel company with the coolest original designs for mountain bike t’s, hoodies, jackets and hats. Evomo has the coolest riders on the teams too.
From the Evomo website

What the heck is this Evomo thing?

Evomo is the most progressive lifestyle clothing brand to hit the mountain bike scene. We are providing fresh, original designs and accessories for the style minded rider.
Evomo Style is an image that we live. Most of us here aren’t really that good at mountain biking (except for the Team riders- they kill it!). I mean its the rest of us that might be a little on the head wound end of things. It’s either one of us on the side of the trail vomiting up a nuke-em breakfast burito and a coke or another guy is laid out on the trail bleeding. Its not like we suck, but we just dont ride really good. I dont mind so much actually because a lot of our inspiration for the Evomo style comes from our experiences riding and the epic road trips we take. Its all part of the Evomo style.
We participate in the sport, and we think thats key. We freaking LOVE to ride! We also try our best to support the sport too. CORBA, for example, is the Concerned Off-Road Bicycle Association located here in LA. We are working to contribute to the needs of their organziation whenever possible. They have worked many long hours to keep countless trails open in Los Angeles County. Trail closure all over the US is an on going battle for all mountain bikers.
Do you surf? Do you skate? Do you snowboard? Maybe you do one or none of those sports. Either way, all you need to know is put all those old worn out surf shirts in a trash bag. Then, tomorrow, on your way to the trailhead, drop them off at the Goodwill, cause the only thing you will need to wear is Evomo!
time to ride,
EVOMO TEAM
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2010 Tentative Race Schedule

Here is my tentative race schedule for 2010. As always, races may be added, deleted or changed. I’m planning mostly marathon/endurance races for this coming season…And then cyclocross.

Date Event Location
Feb 13 Schenectady’s Winterfest Ice Race (Tentative) Schenectady, NY
Mar 28 Easter MTB Race Schenectady, NY
Apr 25 Singlespeed-A-Palooza – 28 Mile SS
presented by Darkhorse Cycles and Niner Bikes
New Windsor, NY
Jun 6 Schenectady Central Park 6 Hour Race Schenectady, NY
Jun 12 Blackfly Challenge – 40 Mile MTB Race Inlet, NY
Jun 20 Stewart Sixer – 6hr MTB Race
presented by Darkhorse Cycles
New Windsor, NY
Jul 10 6 Hour of Pat’s Peak Henniker, NH
Jul 24-25 VT MTB Festival – Mt Snow Classic
Root 66 Race Series
MT Snow, VT
Aug 1 Darkhorse 40 – 40 Mile MTB Race
presented by Darkhorse Cycles
New Windsor, NY
Aug 7-8 Wildcat Epic 100 – 100 Mile MTB Stage Race New Paltz, NY
Aug 28-29 UCI World Cup Final (Tentative) Windham, NY
Sep Race With The Wind – 50 mile MTB Race Lowville, NY
Oct 31 All Hallows MTB Race Schenectady, NY
Sep/Oct/Nov NYCROSS.com Cyclocross Series Various NY & VT

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MTB Parts Tally – 2009

As I was writing the previous post, I started thinking about what the 2009 season cost me in bike parts. Not money, although it’s all money…but what bike parts broke or wore out. So, I decided to make a list of what the season cost in parts…
  • Broken frame
  • 2 flats (tubes)
  • 1 rear dérailleur
  • 1 set pedals
  • 1 spoke
  • 2 chains
  • 1 cassette
  • 1ea 22T and 32T chainring
  • 1 set shifters
  • 2 sets (f&r) brake pads
  • cables/housings
  • 1 cycle computer
Overall, with the exception of the frame, it was a typical season for parts. And, now that I’m riding a Titus Titanium, I don’t think I’ll have to worry about a frame again.
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Snow, Ice and Singletrack

It might be a winter wonderland out there, but we’re still riding…Come on, four inches of snow won’t stop me. 27 degrees won’t even stop me. Unfortunately, the snow and cold will eventually stop me. I took a drive over to Cherry Plain State Park with my friend John. He just picked up his new Gary Fisher 29er and wanted to ride. I think I might have gotten him hooked on these trails. Hmm, I guess I’ll have the share the 4000 acres with someone else. We didn’t do the compete set of trails, but we did stick to the singletrack. The singletrack trails are tricky enough without the snow, a four in snow cover certainly made the ride interesting…Icy dirt roads…snow covered rock gardens…and still great singletrack. We took it slow, and we just did an easy five miles. With 9 more days left in the hunting season, introducing John to the rest of the trails will wait for another day. Cherry Plain tends to get more snow than the rest of us, and with the weather forecast not looking too promising, this might be the last ride here for a little while. Or, at least until the snowmobiles pack down some of the other trails here…
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Rudy Project Sponsorship Thru 2011

I’ve sign on with Rudy Project, for Helmets and Sunglasses, for an additional two years. This will bring their sponsorship through the 2011 cycling season. I’ve been wearing Rudy’s Rydon II and Skyman glasses and their award winning Zuma Helmet for the past 18 months. Weighing in at only 10.9 oz., the Zuma is a compact, streamlined design enhanced by a system of 21 vents: ZUMA combines the characteristics of a technically advanced helmet with a dynamic, highly attractive look. With the technologically advanced Sterling and Wingspan helmets, Rudy is certain to grow their market share.
Most of the Rudy Project glasses are also available for prescription at an authorized Rudy Rx dealer.
Visit e-Rudy.com and check out their killer Combo Deals.
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