This past weekend, I travelled with a teammate to the fifth race in the Plastiglas /Chico Racing’s Ontario Cup Series. The drive from From Guelph to Sudbury takes about six hours and we only had a Pontiac Firefly to stretch out in, but watching the event in the flesh and riding the course afterwards were well worth the cramped legs.
Our trip began on Saturday around 5:30pm with Derek picking me up in his little three cylinder which we call ‘Booger’ (it’s a faded forest green which could have been sampled from a five year old’s trousers). We loaded the bikes on the rack, packed another layer in the hatchback, and took off like an excited sneeze. Having brought my laptop, I burned us a ten hour MP3 CD to cruise to and we were settled in for the long haul by the time we hit HWY 401. Read the rest of this entry »
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I’ve had a really busy couple of weeks. Last week saw a friend drop in for a few days before moving overseas, and then some other friends set up camp for the weekend while one of them raced in a local dh event. The riding conditions also happen to be stellar at the moment, so when you add all of this stuff together, it means that the computer has been gathering dust.
I’ll surprise you all with a boatload of new stuff some day soon but in the meantime…
TBH Content
Given my lazy man excuses (see above), new content has been a little thin the past couple of weeks but here comes the recap, fast and furious: check out this ride through the Southern Namib Desert. Guitar Ted describes some of the things you need to consider when sizing up a 29er. That was it for the week!
Elsewhere around the ‘net
Lots of goodies here, proving that the world doesn’t stop when The Biking Hub goes silent.
2006 Norco Six. NSMB serves up a review of the Norco Six from a woman’s point of view. I’ve ridden this bike, and it’s fantastic as a light freeride, Shore-style bike. It’s a little heavy for real all mountain use, but word on the street that that’ll change for 2007.
2006 Cannondale Prophet 4x. Pinkbike has a gushing review of the 2006 Prophet 4x. While I haven’t ridden the 4x, I have spent a bit of time on the regular 140mm Prophet and I must say that I was thouroughly impressed by the ride. It’s a fun, snappy little trail bike.
2007 Cannondale sneak peek. BikeMagic released some great shots of the 2007 Cannondale lineup, including photos of the carbon Rush, the Perp (a slopestyle / freeride rig), and the ‘07 Prophet (see above).
Other gear news. The forum users at NSMB.com bagged a look at the bikes that Commencal has for 2007 and, although I’m not riding too much of the gnarly stuff right now, I’d jump on the Supreme Six in a heartbeat. What a gorgeous looking bike. BikeMagic has a review of the 2006 SRAM X.0 rear derailleur and trigger shifters. Trek has brought Jose Gonzalez on board to work on the company’s full suspension mountain bike lineup.
Other. Flipper has some great cycling photos (Flash required). The Trans Rockies Challenge started up this past week. The Broadband Racer looks set to deliver cycling footage to you nuts out there — as long as you live in the United States. Since I don’t reside in the US of A, I’m just passing this one along and don’t forget Cycling.tv if you’re into this sort of thing.
Crankworx 2007. The Crankworx love fest was held up at Whistler a couple of weeks ago and, while the event wasn’t without controversy, the crowds loved the Slopestyle event and many of the industry’s big names (at least on the dh and freeride side of things) made an appearance.
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It was announced Saturday that Floyd Landis’ ‘B’ sample tested positive for elevated levels of testosterone. According to CyclingNews.com, “Isotope Ratio Mass Spectrometry test (IRMS) had also been done, revealing the presence of exogenous testosterone (contained within, but originating from outside the body) in the sample.”
So, aside from the obvious fact that the UCI is going to push for a multi-year suspension of The Floyd, it looks as though the American is going to lose the 2006 Tour de France title. If the title is taken from Landis, it’ll go to Oscar Pereiro, who finished second to the ex-Phonak rider at the end of the event.
My thoughts? Aside from being disappointed by the audacity of these riders who try to pull the wool over everybody’s eyes, I don’t really care. There were some really dramatic stages this year — Phonak giving Pereiro the yellow jersey after a useless ‘defense’ where the Spaniard regained almost 30 minutes in the GC, Landis cracking spectacularly in the Alps, Landis going ape shit on the rest of the field the next day — and that’s what I’ll remember.
Pereiro can be the paper champion and be memorialized for that: the first rider ever to win the Tour who didn’t actually win the race. And I’m not saying Landis is or isn’t the ‘real’ champ either but, after all of the suspensions and hellfire that came down in the days before the start of the race, I wouldn’t be disappointed if the results of the 2006 Tour de France were voided and a blank space left in the annals.
Tough luck bro‘, but you’re involved in a sport with so many crooks and cheats that it’s difficult to take anything at face value. But whatever happens, your ride during Stage 17 will still go down as one for the ages.
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29″ers seem to be generating a lot more interest in the mainstream press than in past years and, with the arrival of new models from manufacturers like Cannondale and Kona, many of you are going to have a chance to get a close look at these big-wheeled mountain bikes.
This article takes a look at the important things to look for when shopping for that first 29 incher. Read the rest of this entry »
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