New Vid

After talking to Neil and Mattison today, at Seven Cycles, I was amped to go ride. Testing my new camera....


Untitled from Ride Trails on Vimeo.

Caught Napping

Some pics of the Sevens napping....

Sick, Tired, and Super D Action

This week knocked me on my back. I was sick, didn't get to ride, had looming deadlines but that was all erased by some sweet, sweet, oh so sweet Oregon singletrack.

So my first race of the year came at a difficult time. A family member on my wife's side passed away, I picked up a bug at work (working healthcare has it's wonderful benefits), no riding so the body could rest and attempt to race on Saturday coming up, and lots of design project deadlines.

4AM Saturday morning came quickly and my friend Bear and I headed North deeper into the heart of Jefferson State. After registering we set off to try and pre-ride part of the course. Next thing I knew we were heading up on the shuttle and I still didn't know over half the race course. At the top we had some time so I rode the upper section which included this wicked steep climb that lasted about 3 minutes. My legs felt like old beef jerky as I continued to ride in hopes of having them wake up a little.

My Sola and trusty 80mm of travel up front were scheduled to start first for the hardtail division. I headed down the hill brakes a squealing! As the climb of doom approached it felt like I was barely moving. About half way up I swear I saw my grandma walk past me. Finally hit the downhill section and was a little tentative on the upper section when I almost blew a corner and hit a tree. Not knowing the course made it challenging but it was some ripping singletrack. Soon after I made it to the section I was able to pre-ride before the race. I felt a little more comfortable and attempted to let it flow but was feeling the effects of being sick and off the bike all week. Blew another tight switchback  and had to get back on course. After a couple of close calls the finish line came.

After all the hardtail racers finished I found out that I had won by 16 seconds. Coolest thing I heard during my run was someone saying "Whoa, he's on a hardtail." It was a fun race and at least I know what to expect next year if we head back there.....but for now I've got some training to do.

Thanks to Echelon Events for putting on a great race and to Seven Cycles for my ripping singletrack machine!

Hitting the last creek crossing

Deep in the heart of Jefferson

Our local 14er

Nice to see the lake pretty much full since it was down 140 feet before winter

So Why a Seven?

In the early 2000's I was racing a lot on production bikes. The only problem was that after a year the frames would give out. Either the frames would crack, bottle mounts would pull out, threads on the bb would be toast after constant overhauls, and so on and so forth. At the time sponsorship determined the bike our team would ride. Was there a bike out there that could be ridden and raced into the ground and handle the abuse?

I've always had a thing for handmade bikes. They weren't as popular at the start lines as most uber carbon and aluminum bikes but they still had there place. Right? I remember when Mary McConneloug was schooling guys in the pro and expert class on a steel bike back in the day (at the Lemurian race when it was out at Shasta Dam, and she rode away from me on one of the big climbs.....I thought to myself "She is rad."). Then she was racing on a Seven. She raced the same frame for seasons on end and it held up.

I wanted a bike that would last. I chose Seven and have never looked back.

My ripping singletrack machine

Hitting the Singletrack Again

The sun came out and warmed things up today (It was close to 70 degrees....really nice!). I got out on some of my favorite trails too.

Singletrack + Sola = Smile for miles

Good day for a nap in the sun

H2O

Lately the rains have been coming down hard....a good thing since the lake is almost full now. It has been over 10 years since Shasta Lake has been full. Hopefully it stays that way for as long as possible but the demand for water from So-Cal is so great that usually it empties out quickly. Prior to winter the lake levels were 120+ feet below the crest. The other day it was 16 feet from the crest if that gives you an indication of how much rain Nor-Cal has gotten (North of Sacramento that is.....we are closer to Oregon than we are Sacramento). From my house I can take trails out to the lake for about 28 miles of dirt. Another benefit of the rain? Hero dirt!

Greetings

It's been a busy year full of surprises. One day an e-mail came from Mattison at Seven and next thing I knew I had a spot on the Seven Cycles Development Team. My love affair for Seven Cycles began many years ago and has only grown as I have been racing and riding on one since 2005.


I would say "Let the Journey Begin!" but instead "Let the Journey Continue" seems more appropriate!

My Sola lets me take a break on some singletrack