Any sweet natural 'cross terrain like this in SW MT?



Bandit Cross: Ruining It For Everybody from Quality Bicycle Products on Vimeo.

via backcountry.com

I dunno about you, but a week-long gravel tour is on my calendar for 2013...



Jay Petervary Tour Divide Record Ride from Fisher Creative on Vimeo.


 And here's a look at his gear...
 
JayP's 2012 Tour Divide Bike/Gear from Jay Petervary on Vimeo.

From the Bozeman Police Reports this week:

"A man wearing a red coat and a “Christmas hat” was riding a bicycle on North Eighth Avenue and flipping people off around 1 p.m."

People are Goofy

I was lucky enough to see this awesome helmet last night at the Holiday Stroll. And the Lady who created it was kind enough to let me get a picture for the blog.

"I have placed information vital to the survival of the rebellion into the memory banks of this R2 Unit"

I could repost all sorts of stuff from the "Go Huck Yourself" blog. The best trick in this video is right at the beginning, I think.

Good morning, Bozeman!
How 'bout a nice cup of the Condor to start your day...

Are you going to be out riding your bike in the snow? Welp, watch this video of a dude ripping in Jackson Hole and get stoked to ripe your bike around in the snow!

HERO3 Test- around JH from Andrew Whiteford on Vimeo.

Here's a dude ignoring all the technical side of BMX tricks and just going big and fast.

Greg Illingworth UK/SA from CSG UK on Vimeo.

... and doing fastplants

If you feel like you need to take a break from all the Cyclocross action happening around town next weekend then head over to Bogert Park on Saturday the 27th at 2:00pm for the Renegade Offroad Race.  

This will be a "townie" bike only race through Bozeman, into the mountains, and back again.  Dirt trails, barbed wire, fences, and fast pavement!  Come prove yourself and maybe even win some stuff.  

* no carbon fibre allowed, costumes encouraged, townie bikes only

http://www.facebook.com/events/236324133162413/

Renegade Offroad Race

---

Saturday, October 27 at 2:00pm

---

Bogert Park

via Adventure Journal

Perhaps the most inspiring story you’ll ever hear on National Public Radio is that of Ernest Gagnon, who just raced his first cyclocross event. Two years ago, the Massachusetts man weighed 570 pounds. He was embarrassed to be seen in public. He had diabetes. Circulation in his legs was going. Doctors wanted to do gastric bypass surgery. Instead, he chose to chase after a childhood dream — to race bikes. He started contacting people on Facebook out of the blue to ride, and in the last 24 months has lost 240 pounds. Recently, the 33-year-old signed up for the Midnight Ride of Cyclocross, threw on the Lycra, and saddled up his reinforced titanium steed. To the cheers of the crowd and the announcer, he finished. Yes, last. But is there anyone on the planet, least of all Gagnon, who thinks that matters. Of course not. What a stud. Click on over to NPR to hear it. There’s a transcript you can read, but New Hampshire Public Radio reporter Sam Evans-Brown is himself a roadie and did a terrific job. Do yourself the favor and listen to the audio. From NPR.

I'm sure that you've seen this, but you should probably watch it again.

Via Dirt Rag Mag http://www.dirtragmag.com

Not the best video footage ever, but it gets you thinking:

Hey cyclists,

Get off your lazy asses and help out with a good cause for a few hours on an evening between Sept. 11-13 from 5-7pm.

The Bozeman Area Bike Advisory Board (BABAB) is organizing Bozeman's 2nd annual city-wide bicycle count on Sept 11-13 from 5 to 7 pm. We are using standard methods from the National Bicycle and Pedestrian Documentation project

http://bikepeddocumentation.org/

Over 4700 cyclists were counted at twelve locations in September 2011. We added three new locations for 2012.

We want to invite you to participate in the 2012 count. Minimum commitment time is two hours. The volunteer signup is available at

http://www.signupgenius.com/go/4090F48A9AE22A57-bozeman

As a member of the Bozeman Area Bicycle Advisory Board (BABAB), I want to share two upcoming events with you and ask that you pass these along to other City and County leaders/engineers/planners. 

1.        BABAB is organizing Bozeman’s 2^nd annual city-wide bicycle count on Sept 11-13 from 5 to 7 pm. We are using standard methods from the National Bicycle and Pedestrian Documentation project http://bikepeddocumentation.org/ .  Over 4700 cyclists were counted at twelve locations in September 2011 (see attached results). We added three new locations for 2012.  We want to invite you to participate in the 2012 count and consider how this data may play into city planning, prioritizing projects and identifying demand.  The volunteer signup is available at http://www.signupgenius.com/go/4090F48A9AE22A57-bozeman.  BABAB will discuss the bike count at our September 5^th meeting (6-8 pm at the City Hall Commission room) and invite you to provide input. 

 2.      There is a free 90 minute webinar on bikeway design on September 5^th.  I want to encourage city/county planners and engineers to participate.  This webinar features Bozeman’s very own Joe Gilpin of Alta Planning and Design, a nationally recognized expert in the bike/pedestrian planning field.   Joe has graciously offered to do a follow up talk in person to expand on the webinar content and discuss local issues and ideas for how this relates to the Bozeman area.  We would have to schedule a date and time for the follow-up. Let me know if WTI can facilitate a follow up meeting. We have a nice meeting space and would be happy to host a meeting. Details below:

This webinar was originally scheduled for July 11, 2012. The date has been changed to September 5, 2012.  NACTO's Urban Bikeway Design Guide has quickly emerged as the preeminent resource for designing safe, protected bikeways in cities across the United States. NACTO will release the second edition of the guide in the fall, with updated graphic profiles for all of its bicycle facilities, a new subsection on bicycle boulevard planning and design, and a survey of materials used for green color in bikeways. The guide continues to build upon the fast-changing state of the practice at the local level; it responds to and accelerates innovative street design and practice around the nation. 

Join APBP and NACTO for a free, 90-minute webinar on the second edition of the Bikeway Design Guide. This training offers a unique opportunity to learn directly from some of the cities that compiled the guide. Attend this webinar to gain a better understanding of the guide's contents, hear how to use and implement these designs, and find out what NACTO envisions as the next steps to adopt and deploy these tools and design guidelines. Presenters: Roger Geller, Bicycle Coordinator, Portland Bureau of Transportation; Joe Gilpin, Senior Planner, Alta Planning + Design; David Vega-Barachowitz, Sustainable Initiatives Program Manager, National Association of City Transportation Officials (NACTO).  APBP has applied for 1.5 Certification Maintenance credits and will offer a certificate of attendance. http://www.apbp.org/events/event_details.asp?id=241901

Please share this email with others who may have an interest.

Thank you,

Rebecca

Rebecca Gleason, P.E.

Research Engineer

Mobility and Public Transportation

Western Transportation Institute (WTI)

For your listening pleasure via. Apparently they're playing this Chemical Brothers track at the Olympic Velodrome in London prior to the races. Get yer Tron-cycle on.

Bike Polo! 

This Sunday, July 22nd 2:00 pm at Mystery Ranch front parking lot. 1750 Evergreen Drive off of Griffin.

(Bonus:  John and Chelsea will be in town and playing)

The task: ride 55 miles of unforgiving gravel in the first ever Morganzo 55: Double Nickels on the Grime.

click for full map

The players: a ragtag collection of has-beens and never wases...

 (l to r: Jon W, Amy C, Matthew T, Lincoln J, Sam H, your author)

The purpose: the endless pursuit of beauty by bicycle

The challenge: impassible roads, unquenchable thirst

 The reward...

Matthew Thomsen wins the Morganzo Trophy as first overall unsupported badass cyclist. 


Amy Chiuchiolo wins the Hardcore Trophy for killing it in the Morganzo and then riding the Bangtail Divide immediately after. Seriously.


Sam Haraldson wins the Troll Trophy for slaying the hilly Morganzo on only 8 gears. 


Lincoln Jamrog wins the International Trophy for coming all the way from Livingston and building bridges made of gravel. 


Jon Wareham wins the Spirit Award for his positive attitude during multiple mechanicals.

The Minutemen - "This Ain't No Picnic" from  Double Nickels on the Dime

The Minutemen - "Corona" from  Double Nickels on the Dime

Thanks to all the participants and we'll see ya in 2013.

I normally ride bikes, but when I have to drive a car, I drive my Ford Fiesta (it gets really good mileage) like this...

via Bike Jerks

TIME CHANGE

In response to this crazy heat we've been having, we decided to bump the start time for the Morganzo 55: Double Nickels on the Grime up an hour to 9am.

This Saturday, July 14.

Arrive early to the corner of Dry Creek Rd. & Theisen Rd. north of Belgrade to get your cue sheet and we'll leave promptly at 9.

Hey jondub... have you seen this one?

via


TEAM DILLY IS THE MAN TRAILER from Kyle Stark on Vimeo.

The 55-mile course for Morganzo: Double Nickels on the Grime is looking great. I rode parts of it last night while trying to figure out which machine would suit me best for the actual event on July 14th.

Wanting desperately to use the fully rigid ride pictured below, I installed 42mm tires, dropped the psi, and tested it out last night. Alas, some of the rutted, dried mud sections were still a bit too rough for my comfort level. The rocky, molded sections of road even rattled my water bottle out of its cage at one point.

Fortunately, at least 45 miles are more like the lovely gravel you see above. Even so, I believe suspension (probably a hard tail) is the best choice for the terrain.

And why do they call it Morganzo? See here...

Yup. A bunch of them Morgan kids still have property up there north of town. Hopefully they won't mind us sharing this lovely land with them.

See ya out there in a couple weeks.

To support National Bike Month, GOOD and CLIF Bar are asking you to tell us how you would promote bike riding and get more of your neighbors on bikes. You can vote to bring $1000.00 to support trails around the Hyalite Reservoir.

Dan Lacey kills everything in this clip.  
1:24      180 to fakie smith cab to manual to 360 out
Don't forget the huge 360 over a rail and of course the toothpick to over toothpick. Ridiculous!


 

Bike polo has been canceled for Wed. June 20th.

Join us for the inaugural riding of 

The Morganzo: Double Nickels on the Grime

Saturday, July 14 @ 9am TIME CHANGE

Meet at the corner of Dry Creek Road & Theisen Road north of Belgrade in time to get set up for a 10am start.

WHAT IS IT?
It's a 55-mile bicycle race on gravel roads in the shadow of the Bridger mountains. The course is scenic, hilly and curvy, gaining over 3000' of vertical along the way -- that's the equivalent of climbing Mount Everest from sea level more than 1/10th of the way to the top.

WHY GRAVEL?
Gravel is more fun than pavement and offers more consistent kickass views than singletrack. Plus, there's a movement afoot. Check out Almanzo or Gravel Grinder to learn more about the awesome races that have been going on in the Midwest for several years now.

HOW DOES IT WORK?
In keeping with the spirit of gravel racing, The Morganzo is an unsupported race and you are wholly responsible for your own safety and well-being. Winner gets first choice of beer from the cooler. There is neither an entry fee nor prize money.

RULES

• You are on your own. Bring everything you need to fix anything that might break or go flat.
• No littering. Let's show respect for all the beautiful private land we'll be riding through.
• Helmet required.
• Winner will be showered with praise and probably cheap beer.
• Last one home is a rotten egg.
• Here are more well-written rules to consider that they use in the Trans Iowa.

GOOD IDEAS

• Be sure to carry plenty of water. 2 bottles probably won't be enough.
• Ride what ya got, but road tires are not recommended. There is no perfect bike, only perfect doping techniques that can't be detected by the feds...yet.
• Have a way to easily view the cue sheet (which will be provided). They make fancy stuff for it if you're into gear. Or just hang near the course marshall who created the route.
• Carpool with a buddy

MORGANZO? DOUBLE NICKELS?
It's local history. It's punk rock. See here for more.


RSVP in the comments if you're in or have questions.

Wed 6/13/12

Sam H, Kirk Ahlberg and myself set out earlier this afternoon from Bozeman to the Butte area to see if we couldn't catch up with some CDT Mountain Bike Racers. Using the smart phones of my bike geek friends along with the spot tracking system ( http://trackleaders.com/tourdivide ) we were able to catch a few riders just west of route 15 south of Butte.

We caught up with a dude named Kevin who started a time trial along the route 2 days before the race began. I wish I could remember his last name, but without the tracking list of riders it is lost on me.We were talking about the riding and the bear bell his daughter gave him for his ride. I hope that his family will find this post and enjoy seeing him in the field getting it done.

Behind Kevin was the fabled Babe the Blue Tandem ridden by last years winner Kurt Refsnider and Caroline Soong who also raced last year. 

I had wondered about Babe and if he was steel or a ti frame. Kurt told me that they always prototype in steel.

 Here is a close up of the Rohlhoff they're running.

 And the grip sifter that Kurt said is giving him some pain while riding.

Ryan Correy riding in close on the tail of the tandem.

Ryan making a move.

The tandem wasn't gonna let him get too far ahead.

Kirk, Sam and myself rode North of the trail to try and catch more riders.  

Dylan Taylor rolling into the top of the pass.

Dylan said he was feeling good and that his new pink bar tape on his bar ends helped.

Katherine Wallace rolling in.

A close up of her fork. I think she said it was a whiskey.

Representing the Kiwis.

Apparently, for you bike geeks out there, Ollie Whalley is running a Rohlhoff with a belt drive.

We were stoked to talk to some of the riders in this years race. They are keeping us stoked and inspired as we follow their beacons from the comfort of our office chairs. 

Ride the Divide!

Interested in following the Tour Divide? Here are some good resources:

• follow the participants visually on the SPOT Tracker leaderboard.
• rss or check in to daily audio updates at http://mtbcast.com/site2/ 
• or, for the same reports, subscribe to MTBCast on iTunes
• messageboard discussions at bikepacking.net

And if you haven't seen "Ride The Divide" you can stream it on Netflix.

This whole web video was made using some of them there fancy Iphones. It's artsy and shows off much of the amazing street riding to be found in Paris.
enjoy

via Strong Towns

This is not real, but should be:

Livingston Bicycle Fest

Sunday, May 20th 12 to 4pm

Miles Park, Livingston, MT

I figured a little schooling was in order since it's Bike Week and all. Follow me, Jimmy, and we'll see what happened before that bicycle just showed up at your neighborhood Woolworth's...

the bicycle is a comfortable and cheap way of getting abouta great boon to man
ideal for shopping
easy to park
handy for work
a faithful friend ever ready to take tired workers back home
and after work, to bring relaxation, health & happiness

via

It's Bike Week in the BZN and that first time biking to work can sometimes be a little daunting, but you don't have to let it be.

Check out the comments on this blog post for some great tips for first time commuters:

       http://www.bikecommuters.com/2012/03/16/lets-bike/

Some of the tips that jumped out at me are...

• you don't need a special bike -- any bike'll do
• choose the route that is most pleasant, not fastest
• it's okay to start by just biking in one direction (like maybe take the bus in the morning with your bike and just bike home to avoid getting sweaty)

Happy Bike Week!

STOLEN BIKE ALERT:

If you have any info or see this bike, please email us here at The Fix.

Printed without permission from Loto Mojo:

There's been a surge the past few years of semi-organized gravel bicycle rides, at least across the Midwest. I first heard about the Almanzo a few years ago and appreciate the independent spirit and grassroots vibe of the ride/race. The Trans Iowa is another one I'd love to ride one day.

Read more and stay tuned to Loto Mojo and here at The Fix for more on this ride / event.

If you're not already following the Trans Iowa and you're interested in doing so, here's the link to a primary reporter/organizer of the race (ride).


http://g-tedproductions.blogspot.com/

I know we can all feel summer coming. Here's a great downhill edit to satisfy the cravings:

2012 Bike Week Schedule

Coffee Stops

May 14-18, 2012, 7-9 AM Free drip coffee and refreshments for bicycle commuters at these fine Bozeman Establishments:

Monday (May 14) Rockford Coffee by Team Rockford/Clif and the Bozeman Police Dept. (corner of Rouse/ E. Main)

Tuesday (May 15) Sola Café by Gallatin Alpine Sports (GAS) and Oracle (290 E. Kagy)

Wednesday (May 16) Costco –by Master’s Velo (refreshments: New Day Bakery food and Crema Roasting) (2505 Catron St) *For recommended bike routes to Costco- see facebook.com/bozemanbikeboard

Thursday (May 17) Lil Sherpa Java – by the Dirt Concern (111 E. Mendenhall)

Friday (May 18) Community Food Coop by Gallatin Valley Bicycle Club (908 W Main)

Bike From Work Party

Friday May 18 5-8 pm Lindley Park Center (1102 E Curtiss St) Pasta Dinner (to first 75 arrivees) & Beverages (suggested $5 – 20 donation)/ Raffle Prizes/ Live Music/Bike Activities

Kid's Events

Thursday May 3 (4:30-6:30pm): Bozeman School District K-5 Bike Rodeo - Emily Dickinson School (2435 Annie St). For details contact Julie.smith@bsd7.org or Sharon Navas at 522-6650

Wednesday May 16: Bike to School day – Contact your school for details

Thursday May 17 (4-6pm): Bike and Board Rodeo (for Middle school students, ages 10-14) Chief Joseph Middle School (4255 Kimberwicke St). For details contact Amanda at 522-6312 or Amanda.ferrat@bsd7.org

Bike Commuter Challenge

Join Bozeman’s Bike to Work Challenge by creating a team at your workplace.  Any team member who bikes to work any day from May 7th – 17th can win prizes.  See RideShareMT.com for details. 

Bicycle Shop Specials

Thursday May 10 (4-7pm):

• REI (2220 Tschache St) -  Bike maintenance and food from Baja Fresh (accessory give-aways –tire levers, patch kits or water bottles) and 20% off coupons (free)

Tuesday May 15 (7pm):

• Summit Bike & Ski (26 South Grand) - Basic bike tune-up/maintenance class (free)

Thursday May 17 (6:30pm): 

• Bangtail Bikes (137 East Main) -  Bike maintenance clinic (free)

Now through May 18:

• Bozeman Bike Peddler (101 East Oak) - Trade in ANY used bike and get a minimum of $50 off a new bike 

May 12-18:

• Chalet Sports (108 West Main) - 20% off of all commuter accessories (Panniers, fenders, bells, bike outerware...)  
• Owenhouse Bicycling and Fitness (25 South Black) - 20% off on helmets, 10% off on Burley trailers
• Roundhouse Sports (1422 West Main) - discounting a full maintenance bike tune up from $60 to $39.95, or a safety check up from $30 to $19.95, and 10% off bike accessories (one time purchase)