2010 Crooked Roubaix Race - Inaugural Year!!

Info from the race website.

"In the lore of cycling, one of the most difficult and demanding of all races is the Paris-Roubaix, an arduous 160-mile journey from Paris, France north to Roubaix. The course features twenty-eight fearsome sections of cobblestoned pathways, the bane of many a professional cyclist. An awesome sporting spectacle, the “Hell of The North” is the one day outside the Tour de France that the whole world watches cycling.

On September 11, 2010, Wheat Ridge Cyclery presents an altogether Colorado version of this legendary event: The Colorado Crooked Roubaix. Beginning and ending in Winter Park, the 90-mile route promises riders a truly challenging tour through some of the most majestic scenery in the state. Featuring massive stands of aspen that will likely be autumn-tinged, rushing streams, mountain lakes, alpine vistas and 10,000-feet elevations, all enjoyed from a challenging and technically demanding course, this mostly dirt road route is sure to produce smiles.

Road bikes on dirt? Yes! For a century, the grand tours of Europe have been raced on sections of dirt roads. Many of the famed passes in the Tour de France weren’t paved until well after World War II, and this year’s edition of the Giro d’Italia (Tour of Italy) featured dirt roads.

Wheat Ridge Cyclery’s President, Ron Kiefel, raced Paris-Roubaix three times in addition to his seven Tour de France appearances. He has logged many thousands of miles with skinny tires on dirt roads, and is regarded as one cycling’s greatest bike handlers. “During my many years of training, our 7-Eleven team would venture onto the dirt roads above Boulder for the adventure of it. It was fun to be off the beaten path and improve our bicycle handling skills along the way.”

Technical Director of the Colorado Crooked Roubaix is Paul Balaguer who brings his 22 years of experience in planning Ride the Rockies to designing a unique route that promises riders a mix of 65 percent unpaved surface and 35 percent paved county roads.

“This is going to be a great ride,” said Balaguer. “There’s really something for everyone – great climbs and descents, as well as stunning scenery. I have a hunch that a lot of our riders will be seeing most of this terrain for the first time.”

Colorado Crooked Roubaix sponsors include Winter Park & Fraser Valley Chamber of Commerce, Specialized Bicycles and Winter Park Resort.

“Winter Park and the Fraser Valley welcomes this unique opportunity for cyclists to experience our valley and all of Grand County,” said Catherine Ross, executive director of the Winter Park-Fraser Valley Chamber of Commerce. “The Crooked Roubaix is a perfect challenge to showcase the various terrain in the area. Our community plans to make this an unforgettable experience for all.”

Specialized, whose Roubaix model of bicycle was designed specifically for racing on the cobbles of northern France, will provide a limited number of 2011 Roubaix model bicycles for selected riders to ride in this event."


Crooked Roubaix 2010

off road assault on brian's patience

linus called me last night and convinced me it'd be a good idea to meet for a 7am mountain bike ride in umstead. riding that early typically isn't my style, but it sounded like a good idea because (1) it was supposed to reach 101 degrees today and (2) bryan had to work later in the day.

after a somewhat late start, linus caught a flat within about 5 minutes. about 5 minutes after that, i washed out my front wheel, got back up to remount my bike and found that my front wheel looked like a taco. maybe not a totally folded-over crunchy taco, but at least a wobbly and unridable soft-taco. in either case, when you start comparing your bicycle components to food items, you've got problems. fortunately, we had 3 of the durham mechanics with us. linus redeemed himself from his earlier flat by de-tacoing my wheel with two precision bashes against the ground (not recommended for real tacos). a little spoke re-tentioning and it was totally ridable--although i worried that the fix was only temporary and the wheel would turn into some other foodstuff at any given moment.

back up and rolling again, linus gets a second flat. to avoid a schleck-mechanical-controversy, we clearly indicated that brian should roll ahead so he can get back to work. after that, things went much more smoothly. however, we did run into calvin in the parking area who said that he cracked his frame after the last ride and had just received a replacement. that's fast turnaround, which is a helpful reminder of why it's nice to buy a bike from a company with a good warranty (specialized, in this case) and a good warranty department, as well as from a local shop who can help expedite the situation (the raleigh bicycle chain, in this case).

ride well and don't break shit.

revisionist history

this truly must be the time after history. Sir Curveship is getting his local cycling news not from an unpopular local cycling blog, but from a popular local neighborhood blog. All of the group rides seem to be departing from the Mile High City, rather than the Bull City. And shortly after moving to the northeast, smAli forwards me this article:

The bank robber's height may lead some to believe that this felony was not committed by the blogger named Felonius, but I tend to think that he sent it along to brag about his exploits. Besides, in these tough economic times, who doesn't need a little extra cash for some new bike parts?

I was also intrigued by the fact that cycling videos (as well as barely-relavant music videos) have been replaced by beer videos. This is fine by me because it's too hot to even think about riding bicycles, so thinking about watching videos about beer is about my speed.

The British lads at Brew Dog have created a comically strong beer that is served in a stoat-coozie as a grand "fuck you" the the Germans. While many (okay, probably relatively few) watched this battle like a Cavendish/Greipel media duel, no one was paying attention to, say Chris Anker Sorenson while the crafty Dane escaped. Indeed, both the British and Germans have been scooped--in their attempt to serve beer in a small mammal, the Danes have actually produced a beer that has been processed by a small mammal:

I've actually tried Beer Geek Brunch-Weasel at FakeBeerFest a couple of years back and it's quite good. Combining coffee and beer is great, but using coffee beans that have been eaten and passed and collected (and presumably washed off) by civets is sheer brilliance.

But enough nonsense. A few of the BCCers are approaching their moment of truth at the Off Road Assault on Mt. Mitchell this weekend. Best of luck to our own ORAMMers and may you have the power of the mighty Air Jammer Road Rammer

The End of History

I just saw the news on Bull City Rising that Bicycle Chain Durham is getting booted from its spot in order for Whole Foods to expand. Here's wishing they find a new location soon and that all goes well for both the shop and all the teammates working there.

Like all cyclists in Durham, I have a lot of memories from that location, mostly of the legendary Tuesday rides. Memories of squirrelly riders, strong riders, and a few very strong riders, like our own Professor. Let's hope all that history isn't coming to an end. And what better way to toast it than with a beer. A strong beer. A very very strong beer. Called "The End of History." Served in a squirrel. (What?)

The End of History from BrewDog on Vimeo.

(Just don't buy it from Whole Foods.)

video killed the blog star

I'm happy to see that Hollywood is (finally) living up to his name and is starring in films. He also appears to be tuned in to the fact that mountain bike related films are all the rage:

Somehow, seeing a car that resembles mine driving around in a hometown that used to be mine makes me pine for Douglas Fir trees.

I actually did go for a mountain bike ride the other day, like the first one I've done in at least a month. I planned on rolling out on my own, but ran into Calvin (the real one, not the cartoon one sometimes depicted peeing on things on people's car windows) over at Crabtree and joined him and a bunch of other folks for a really large ride. I think the ride was organized by the Misfits (the bike ones, not the band sometimes depicted with the skull logo on gutter punks' jean jackets or on youtube:

).

Anyway, it was fun to get back on the dirt and ride with some nice folks. Especially Calvin, who I hadn't seen in a great long while and who is rolling fast, as always. I felt bad because I had to bail out early because I was late for dinner and in danger of getting grounded and having all of my Misfits albums taken away.

Even Linus is getting back into the off-road game, with a fresh new 29er frame he managed to make look like a gutter punk's jean jacket before even riding it. If you like pre-distressed furniture or jeans that are already ripped around the edges, you'll love Linus' new bike. No, actually, you'll probably think it looks terrible. It does look terrible. But, therein lies its beauty. Hopefully he post pictures soon.

Also, there was road racing, but more on that later.

Crested Butte the Movie Part 2: Reno, Flag, Bear, Deadman's A.K.A. Loch Ness A.K.A. Nessie

Reno/Flag/Bear/Deadman's Gulch Mountain Bike Ride Preview from Juicy Fruita on Vimeo.

Hollywood Does Crested Butte

Doctor Park - Crested Butte, CO from Juicy Fruita on Vimeo.

Crested Butte the Movie Part 1 - Doctor Park

Doctor Park - Crested Butte, CO from Juicy Fruita on Vimeo.

I'm wearing the camera and Derrick is in front.

Thanks to Derrick at www.juicyfruita.com for posting the video.

Gonna miss ya Ali!

Adios to Ali

Greeting Blogosphere...

This week Durham is losing a truly wonderful member of the community to the Garden State. True, Ali has been given an opportunity to teach at one of the finest learning instutions in the nation, and he finally has a use for that 1978 T top Camero that he's been eyeing on Craigs list. But alas he is a charter member and founding father of Bull City Cycling and he will be missed greatly.

As the weekend rolled through at the seemingly normal frenetic pace, I had the opportunity to reflect on some of the "Ali" moments that have been burned into my memory. My first ride with him in which he quitely ripped my legs off at Beaverdam. The long road rides cascading through the neighboring counties of North Carolina. The horrific crash that ended up in an emergency room visit to Duke and most recently a weekend trip suffering on the mountain roads of NC. Through it all, the one constant has been a solid bike rider, good conversation and an easy going attitude.

I am conflicted as I am very happy for his success but selfishly want him to stay. Ali, I am sure that I speak for all that have spent time with you during your stay in Durham, Good Luck in all that you do, keep riding and stay in touch!

Adios my friend.

Baby Dave Sighting!

Pirate, Wicked Mike and I picked Baby Dave up yesterday just east of Gunnison in Sargents, CO. He is doing great and having a grand experience. We loaded him up in the truck and drove him to Crested Butte for the night. We met up with former Chapel Hillian Derrick Nehrenberg and family for dinner. Of course we filled him with food and cerveza. I dropped him off this morning back in Sargents and he is progressing along as you can see here.

800 mile or so to go. 1600+ in the bag.

Go Dave Go!

Baby Dave Ride the Divide Update

Just talked to Baby Dave. He is in Steamboat Springs. He is riding strong and says he is gonna crush everyone when he gets back to NC. He's rolling a fully loaded Surley Cross Check with 45c tires and Mary Bars. Fully loaded his bike is about 70+ pounds. He is basically at the half way point. Hopefully, Pirate, Wicked and myself will catch up with him Monday in Breckenridge or Friday in Salida. So far so good. His tent was attacked one night by two wild horses. Nothing bad...they were just poking at it with there noses. He claims to have photos.

Snoop sez

Ride the Divide Baby Dave!!!

Baby Dave crossed into Colorado today on the Divide Trail. He departed from Canada early in June and is on his way (Solo!!) to Mexico on the Continental Divide Trail. Hopefully we will cross paths in the next couple of weeks!

Check out his progress.