Oh yeah, 1am Denny's run before the SSWC, and Paul ordered the steak and eggs (or rather, I ordered it for him). And it was the nastiest piece of meat I have ever seen, grey and bloody, through and through.
Oh yeah, he ate every last bite.
Grey Matter
I forgot about this:
Oh yeah, 1am Denny's run before the SSWC, and Paul ordered the steak and eggs (or rather, I ordered it for him). And it was the nastiest piece of meat I have ever seen, grey and bloody, through and through.
Oh yeah, he ate every last bite.
Oh yeah, 1am Denny's run before the SSWC, and Paul ordered the steak and eggs (or rather, I ordered it for him). And it was the nastiest piece of meat I have ever seen, grey and bloody, through and through.
Oh yeah, he ate every last bite.
Ughhhhh
Wait.. what happened? Where did September go?
As you might have noticed, from our steady stream of announcements of not being open, this has been a whirlwind of a month for us.
But, we've gotten through the most of it, all the busy crazy-ness, and we're back to business as usual.
Danny's wedding was a treat for us all.
That's a pic of Danny, as dressed up as you will ever see him, and his father.
Then Dan was off on a honeymoon for a few days, and shortly after his return, I took off to participate in the mayhem that was the 2009 Single Speed World Championship in Durango.
I did a poor job of documenting the fun, as all my pictures are from the Friday night before the race.
We stayed at the Durango Hometown Hostel, which was far nicer than we anticipated, and I would completely suggest it for anybody looking for inexpensive accomodations in Durango.
After unloading our bikes and dumping our bags, we quickly rode into town to find registration, with just one stop at the liquor store in between.
It rained, and we hid out like hobos in the park drinking. That's a pic of Paul in front of Durango Cyclery, which is a cool shop definitely worth checking out while in town.
We went from visiting some friends of Rich's (and getting fed pizza) to the official kegger in the woods party organized for the race via the "Test Tracks" trails, that run along the west edge of town. These trails are a blast, and it's unbelievable that they are so close to town. If I lived in Durango I'd be finding excuses to head north/south across town on these every chance I got.
The pre-race party was huge.
There was partying.....
And food and beer was plentiful and cheap.......
And live music to rock your face off to....
It was definitely a fun event. So much fun was had on friday night, that I didn't manage to get my camera out for a single pic on Saturday. I was in rough shape, to say the least. I did manage to line up pretty far towards the front amongst the 1,000 plus other racers. And despite being incredibly hung over and wondering if I might throw up at any moment for the first half of the race, I actually raced well and held my position amongst the masses.
For the majority of the race I was working like hell to keep up with a local badass gal named Sarah ( I learned her name because absolutely every spectator knew her). She was battling with a couple other gals for 7th, 8th, 9th place or so, and I was caught in the middle of it. And it was sweet.
The race was 2 1/2 hours or so of punishment for me, and I loved every minute of it.
Besides all the beer stops, everybody seemed to enjoy the bacon and twinkies stop. Nobody seemed to enjoy the bacon and twinkies puke 20 yards down trail though.
Here's some links to some recaps of the race from people who didn't forget about their cameras:
Article from Mountain Flyer Magazine (best bike mag ever, and also noticed editor Brian Riepe listed as a top 20 finisher in the race, which is bad ass).
Bike Snob NYC's account of the event (Notice the guy in his pics with the blond hair wearing a "Bud" jersey? That's Greg Herbold. So if we can get HB to remember who was behind him for the hike-a-bike, the Snobs secret identity will be totally foiled! Also, I totally finished in front of HB, and therefore also beat the Snob, you know, just so you know, because clearly he took the race very seriously).
"official" SSWC09 Blog
After the race I was actually feeling pretty good, until I drank my finish line congratulatory beer, and then I felt absolutely miserable again. I needed to either not drink at all, or drink way more than one beer.
Being a married man with child, and accompanied by a married man with children and another man to be married within the next 24 hours, we split that evening and missed out on the after party. Which was okay with us at the time.
Then I was home for one day, and split again Monday morning for Interbike. We did two days of Dirt Demo, riding and abusing other peoples expensive bikes for a change, and one day at the show.
I'm not going to bore everybody with another "bike dorks trying to get their party on in vegas" story. Instead, I'm going to go ahead and pretend I am Stevil, and let you read his account of the event, because it's way cooler than mine, and can't actually get me in trouble....
All Hail the Black Market's Stevil goes to Interbike and gets it done.
And if you want to know who reinvented the wheel with some unbelievable new doo-dangle, inevitably made of carbon, there's plenty of places to go for that (because quite honestly, I didn't hardly see a thing at the show, somebody was a little bleary-eyed):
Velo News blah blah blah
Cycling News blah blah blah
Singletrack blah blah blah
and dont forget to check out Bikefix.net for coverage of the show, as Marc and Charlie will certainly have sifted through all the lameness and found something sweet to show you.
Okay, kiddo is bound to wake up soon, my lap is beginning to get warm from my new - used Macbook that I just picked up from Long (wicked photagrapher, but probably sold me a totally crap laptop, check out his site: http://longnguyenphotography.com , seriously, this thing is like lava), and also I have a special limited edition S.F. Brewing Yippee IPA bomber in the fridge that I've been working hard not to open since 12:01, but I think the time has come.
Thanks for reading. If you's got any photos from SSWC or Vegas that you'd like to share with our little Bikeworks brethren, I'd be appreciative.
As you might have noticed, from our steady stream of announcements of not being open, this has been a whirlwind of a month for us.
But, we've gotten through the most of it, all the busy crazy-ness, and we're back to business as usual.
Danny's wedding was a treat for us all.
That's a pic of Danny, as dressed up as you will ever see him, and his father.
Then Dan was off on a honeymoon for a few days, and shortly after his return, I took off to participate in the mayhem that was the 2009 Single Speed World Championship in Durango.
I did a poor job of documenting the fun, as all my pictures are from the Friday night before the race.
We stayed at the Durango Hometown Hostel, which was far nicer than we anticipated, and I would completely suggest it for anybody looking for inexpensive accomodations in Durango.
After unloading our bikes and dumping our bags, we quickly rode into town to find registration, with just one stop at the liquor store in between.
It rained, and we hid out like hobos in the park drinking. That's a pic of Paul in front of Durango Cyclery, which is a cool shop definitely worth checking out while in town.
We went from visiting some friends of Rich's (and getting fed pizza) to the official kegger in the woods party organized for the race via the "Test Tracks" trails, that run along the west edge of town. These trails are a blast, and it's unbelievable that they are so close to town. If I lived in Durango I'd be finding excuses to head north/south across town on these every chance I got.
The pre-race party was huge.
There was partying.....
And food and beer was plentiful and cheap.......
And live music to rock your face off to....
It was definitely a fun event. So much fun was had on friday night, that I didn't manage to get my camera out for a single pic on Saturday. I was in rough shape, to say the least. I did manage to line up pretty far towards the front amongst the 1,000 plus other racers. And despite being incredibly hung over and wondering if I might throw up at any moment for the first half of the race, I actually raced well and held my position amongst the masses.
For the majority of the race I was working like hell to keep up with a local badass gal named Sarah ( I learned her name because absolutely every spectator knew her). She was battling with a couple other gals for 7th, 8th, 9th place or so, and I was caught in the middle of it. And it was sweet.
The race was 2 1/2 hours or so of punishment for me, and I loved every minute of it.
Besides all the beer stops, everybody seemed to enjoy the bacon and twinkies stop. Nobody seemed to enjoy the bacon and twinkies puke 20 yards down trail though.
Here's some links to some recaps of the race from people who didn't forget about their cameras:
Article from Mountain Flyer Magazine (best bike mag ever, and also noticed editor Brian Riepe listed as a top 20 finisher in the race, which is bad ass).
Bike Snob NYC's account of the event (Notice the guy in his pics with the blond hair wearing a "Bud" jersey? That's Greg Herbold. So if we can get HB to remember who was behind him for the hike-a-bike, the Snobs secret identity will be totally foiled! Also, I totally finished in front of HB, and therefore also beat the Snob, you know, just so you know, because clearly he took the race very seriously).
"official" SSWC09 Blog
After the race I was actually feeling pretty good, until I drank my finish line congratulatory beer, and then I felt absolutely miserable again. I needed to either not drink at all, or drink way more than one beer.
Being a married man with child, and accompanied by a married man with children and another man to be married within the next 24 hours, we split that evening and missed out on the after party. Which was okay with us at the time.
Then I was home for one day, and split again Monday morning for Interbike. We did two days of Dirt Demo, riding and abusing other peoples expensive bikes for a change, and one day at the show.
I'm not going to bore everybody with another "bike dorks trying to get their party on in vegas" story. Instead, I'm going to go ahead and pretend I am Stevil, and let you read his account of the event, because it's way cooler than mine, and can't actually get me in trouble....
All Hail the Black Market's Stevil goes to Interbike and gets it done.
And if you want to know who reinvented the wheel with some unbelievable new doo-dangle, inevitably made of carbon, there's plenty of places to go for that (because quite honestly, I didn't hardly see a thing at the show, somebody was a little bleary-eyed):
Velo News blah blah blah
Cycling News blah blah blah
Singletrack blah blah blah
and dont forget to check out Bikefix.net for coverage of the show, as Marc and Charlie will certainly have sifted through all the lameness and found something sweet to show you.
Okay, kiddo is bound to wake up soon, my lap is beginning to get warm from my new - used Macbook that I just picked up from Long (wicked photagrapher, but probably sold me a totally crap laptop, check out his site: http://longnguyenphotography.com , seriously, this thing is like lava), and also I have a special limited edition S.F. Brewing Yippee IPA bomber in the fridge that I've been working hard not to open since 12:01, but I think the time has come.
Thanks for reading. If you's got any photos from SSWC or Vegas that you'd like to share with our little Bikeworks brethren, I'd be appreciative.
No Pajarito This Weekend
Breaking news:
Pajarito will be CLOSED THIS WEEKEND.
We just got a call, there was a burst water pipe, and they will be unable to open.
Possibly there will be another weekend open before the end of the season to make up for it. We'll let you know if we hear anything.
Pajarito will be CLOSED THIS WEEKEND.
We just got a call, there was a burst water pipe, and they will be unable to open.
Possibly there will be another weekend open before the end of the season to make up for it. We'll let you know if we hear anything.
2009 Red Bull Burner
Late breaking news:
registration for the Red Bull Burner for '09 is now up. Follow the following:
http://www.bikereg.com/events/register.asp?eventid=9353
Better hurry. There are a limited number of spots available.
Bikeworks is signed up, and Tony says he is bringing it! Oh, it is going to be broughten!
registration for the Red Bull Burner for '09 is now up. Follow the following:
http://www.bikereg.com/events/register.asp?eventid=9353
Better hurry. There are a limited number of spots available.
Bikeworks is signed up, and Tony says he is bringing it! Oh, it is going to be broughten!
Closed Saturday
We will be closed Saturday, Sept 12th (this Saturday, the one coming up really soon, like the day after tomorrow).
Senior Swinton is gettin' hitched, so we figured that would be a pretty good excuse to close shop.
Sorry for any inconvenience. We will also be closed on Sunday and Monday, as per our usual hours. So you know what that means..... Three days off in a row for Dan and Tony. HA!
Thanks, I will return with pics of Danny in a tux, which will very likely be the first and last time any of us see Danny in a tux.
Senior Swinton is gettin' hitched, so we figured that would be a pretty good excuse to close shop.
Sorry for any inconvenience. We will also be closed on Sunday and Monday, as per our usual hours. So you know what that means..... Three days off in a row for Dan and Tony. HA!
Thanks, I will return with pics of Danny in a tux, which will very likely be the first and last time any of us see Danny in a tux.
Swinton's Last Ride
We had a celebratory "Bachelor" ride for Danny yesterday, as he will soon be taken off the list of Albuquerque's most eligible redheaded bike nerd bachelors.
The ride was our local favorite, around the mountain (from town, out the low road to Bernalillo, through Placitas, up the dirt Las Huertas road, and back home through Cedar Crest and Tijeras).
There were seven of us in the end, J.F., Armijo, Guy, Brian, Brad, Danny and myself. Strangely, all seven of us forgot to bring water bottles, so we had to resort to drinking from flasks early on:
It was an overcast day though, so water didn't seem all that necessary.
We pit-stopped at the Placitas grocery store for some supplies.
And eventually a potty break was needed, or course:
We got to the steep climb out of Placitas all in one piece and feeling a little punchy:
But the dirt road took some victims.
Thanks to some brilliant team work from Brad, all attacks from John "the climbing specialist" Armijo were foiled, and Swinton found victory across the top of the dirt road climb. Or at least I assume he did, but honestly they were already out of my sight at that point.
Once we all emerged victoriously onto the Crest road, Danny decided that the suffering had only just begun, and pointed us up to climb the rest of the road. That turned out to be quite painful, and our group mostly came undone as we all struggled up the hill in our own personal battles against gravity.
I was quickly questioning my food decisions (sweet roll, beef jerky, Twix) and beverage decisions (whiskey, tequila, Rock Star, and a little water) of the day. By the time I reached the top, I knew I wasn't making it down without some food ( I was also questioning my decision not to bring any food), and took a pit stop in the little store at the top. I don't think a Coke in the can has ever tasted so good, nor have I ever drunk one so quickly.
The crew graciously waited for me to consume my sugar and allow my head to stop spinning, so that they could graciously drop me one at a time on the way down. My road descending abilities are truly atrocious. But as I watched Guy pass me, going at least 10mph faster and drafting off a minivan through a corner, almost instantly shooting out of sight, I made myself feel better by deciding that I would beat them all down a technical section of singletrack. Pffff, roadies.
The next stop was Ribbs, because nothing goes with big road rides better than red meat and pitchers of beer.
Clearly, Danny hadn't suffered nearly as much as me at this point:
The food and beer was plentiful and delicious:
The company and conversation was perfect:
We feasted, and then slowly and heavily climbed back on our bikes to work our way back into town.
Heading west across town on the bike path, I started noticing the shadows were getting long:
We had definitely been taking our sweet time, rolling back into Albuquerque probably somewhere around 5pm. I'm going to go ahead and blame our slow progress on all the flat tires.
It was getting late, but there was a couple more stops necessary:
Danny was presented with the literal ball and chain, constructed by J.F. I didn't pick it up, but it sure looked heavy.
Then he rode with it over to Guy's, where it was handcuffed to his wrist:
And then he had to ride the last leg of the journey, from campus area to downtown, holding this thing.
It was a great day.
Red Bull Burner 2009
News about this years of Red Bull's Burner for this year, but first this:
www.peopleofwalmart.com
Apparently I'm not the only one who often feels to be the most intelligent / attractive person in the store when I'm there.
Yeah, that looks about like our WalMart next door.
I have to thank my bro-ham Adrian for the link to that site. He lives in Sweden, so he must have been looking for a little something to remind him of home.
So, back to the Burner:
Red Bull is throwing down for the burner this year, putting it on their national calendar I believe. They are limiting it to 150 racers, registration will begin early next week. Check the website:
www.redbullburner.com
Tony and crew will be there to defend their 2008 Team champion title. Dans will be there to fix some busted ass downhill bikes for 12 hours (and drink beer). It will be good.
Adios
www.peopleofwalmart.com
Apparently I'm not the only one who often feels to be the most intelligent / attractive person in the store when I'm there.
Yeah, that looks about like our WalMart next door.I have to thank my bro-ham Adrian for the link to that site. He lives in Sweden, so he must have been looking for a little something to remind him of home.
So, back to the Burner:
Red Bull is throwing down for the burner this year, putting it on their national calendar I believe. They are limiting it to 150 racers, registration will begin early next week. Check the website:
www.redbullburner.com
Tony and crew will be there to defend their 2008 Team champion title. Dans will be there to fix some busted ass downhill bikes for 12 hours (and drink beer). It will be good.
Adios
