New biking experiences: Embrace the Bibshorts

There was so many great things about being at the Sea Otter Classic this year. From meeting all the cool people like Nick from Demon Dirt (of Save Nick's Eyes fame, good to see him riding again), Mondo from Black Market and Art Aguilar from MtnBikeRiders.com just to name a few; to being surrounded by all things biking. Despite being an experienced mountain biker, one of the really cool things was all the firsts that I experienced at this years event.

Embracing the bibshorts: For those of you that know me, you know that I fashion myself a mountain biker first and foremost. I've never worn spandex on the trail before and prior to Sea Otter would have never considered otherwise. However, thanks to an awesome kit from Airborne and some good natured peer pressure from another Flight Crew member (I won't mention any names but his initials are KEVIN BONNEY) I found myself lining up for the Cat 2 XC race in bibshorts. Boy did that feel awkward at first. However, as the miles went by I found I didn't really notice them. Which I have to say was a good thing. I mean the last thing you want to be thinking about during the sufferfest which is White Road is your shorts. I may even try it again. Don't judge me.

I know 29ers are all the rage right now. Aside from taking a friend's 29er for a short spin I can't say that I've had enough experience in the saddle of a 29er to see what the buzz is all about. I'm still not 100% comfortable on it and since it was essentially my first trail ride of the year (on unfamiliar trails nonetheless), I'm having a hard time formulating an opinion. It feels fast, got me to the top of all the climbs and a non last place finish (which was against a field comprised completely of California guys, besides myself). So there's that.

I have been riding my home trails on my 26" wheeled bikes since getting back and the new Goblin (the hardtail 29er offering from Airborne) has just arrived. Now I have a baseline and a few trail rides under my belt so I will be able to better judge the bike. Not only will the Goblin, , see trail riding on my local trails, it will also see more race action. Will I drink the Kool Aide? Stay tuned.

A real downhill course. Prior to Sea Otter my longest DH ride I had ever experienced was 58 seconds. Riding a course with 3 minutes of continuous downhill riding was mind blowing. It just kept going and going and going. It was all too awesome and I want more.

Those were my cool new experiences this year at Sea Otter.

Meanwhile, back home I just entered and won a video contest with my local race series (WORS). The prize is a Fox fork, Kurt Kinetic trainer package, Ryder sunglasses and a healthy energy package from Honeystinger. I may have more exciting news soon on this front. I'll keep you guys up to date. That's it for now.

Sea Otter: Ray's training followup

This will be the first in a small series of post Sea Otter Classic blog posts. I'll start with a review of the training I laid out in my previous blog post and then follow with other posts about the Airborne photo shoot with Ian Hylands, the awesome people I had a chance to meet and new experiences courtesy of Sea Otter.

The timing of Sea Otter remained to be tricky as the weather did not permit local mountain bike trails to open until 4/12 which coincidentally was the same day I flew out to Sea Otter. Given that I was the only rider in my age class not from California this really did me no favors. However, riding on the road did provide a nice endurance base, which is why I was able to finish the 20 mile race and not be last, but in race condition, I was not. But I guess, I had no illusions going in that I would be. I did feel like I could ride all day, just not fast necessarily.

The pumptrack as training for climbing: This actually worked a little better than I thought it would. In terms of cardiovascular conditioning, it was great. I was really surprised at how well I felt with my lungs on the Sea Otter XC course which ends in a 3-4 mile climb. Predictably the shortcoming of this strategy was leg strength. While I was breathing well, my legs just didn't have the power to push up hills at a competitive speed.

Jumping on a 29er without the benefit of much previous trail riding was tough. It could not really be duplicated by riding a 29er on wood at Ray's. I'll get more into my 29er experience in a later post, but let's just say it certainly didn't feel natural to jump on a 29er and race. I don't mean that to sound negative, I just don't have a feel for it yet. My Airborne Goblin is suppose to arrive later this afternoon and I plan on logging as many miles as possible as soon as the trails dry up. So stay tuned for 29er adjustment updates.

Video updates: I just entered a video on the WORS (Wisconsin Off Road Series) Subaru Cup video remix contest. Please, please, please follow the link and leave a comment and/or "like" my video to help increase my chances of winning :) Feel free to watch as many times as possible, too.

I just started cutting the photo shoot footage for the up coming "making of" video for the Ian Hyland/Airborne photo shoot. As I shot a TON of footage, I'm not sure how this video will take to complete, but I'm working on it.

The Sea Otter challenge

How does one prepare for the Sea Otter Classic XC race? This poses a number of different challenges to a mountain biker that lives in Wisconsin. In this post I'll attempt to come up with creative solutions to these problems. I'll follow up after Sea Otter to let you know the effectiveness of each solution. Let's take a look at the main obstacles.

1. Timing: The Sea Otter Classic takes place on April 14-17. In a normal year that is tough because the earliest mountain biking trails open up in Wisconsin is April 1st. This year is especially is especially bad because of uncooperative weather that is not allowing the trails to dry out. We will be lucky if the trails even open before Sea Otter.

2. Climbing: What the XC course at Sea Otter lacks in interesting and fun singletrack, it makes up for in climbing. Coming from Wisconsin this is a major training challenge because there are no mountains. The land is much flatter than California.

3. Unfamiliar wheel size: This year I'll be using a demo of one of the new Airborne 29ers at Sea Otter. I don't currently own a 29er and have very limited experience riding them. Just jumping on one and racing could be interesting.

In formulating a solution to problem one I was forced to consider my least favorite bike option: road riding. So when the weather has not been craptastic, I've headed out on the road bike in an attempt to log as many miles as possible on a given ride. I know this is the only way I can actually get true saddle time. In each of my rides I'm trying to exceed at least 25 miles so if nothing else, I have a solid endurance base.

Having the new Milwaukee Ray's MTB close by has been beneficial as well. While I don't count it as true saddle time (as you really are not pedaling much) I think there is something to be said about just constantly riding all winter and how it relates to maintaining a certain fitness level.

Speaking of Ray's I'm finding a really interesting solution to my second problem there. One word: pumptrack. Normally the habitat of the freerider or dirtjumper, I noticed a few months ago that when you attempt to a number of consecutive laps at a fast pace your heart rate continuously rises. Aerobically it feels very much like climbing a hill to me.

Since then I've been doing 5-10 hard sets of 5-7 laps each almost every time I ride at Ray's. Obviously it's not exactly the same as cranking up a hill on a 29er, but I feel the same after a set of laps on the pumptrack as I do after finishing a rep on the "Uphill Grind" Spinnerval video I have in the basement. The main difference is one way is much more fun than the other.

Problem 3: concerning 29ers. I consider this the least of my problems do to the nontechnical nature of the Sea Otter XC course. Nonetheless, I think it will be beneficial to at least be familiar with the handling characteristics of a bike that is so popular (for better or for worse, but that's another post) these days.

I find my answer at Ray's again. Right now, anyone can go to Ray's and demo a Trek mountain bike. Among those bikes is a Trek Gary Fisher collection Superfly 29er. While the Superfly is a full suspension 29er with the funky Gary Fisher handlebars, I've been able to get a feel for how a 29er handles. And since I won't be seeing anything that compares to the technical challenge of Ray's on the Sea Otter XC course, I think this will suffice.

This is not intended to plan for the professional rider and there is nothing scientific about it. It's not really suppose to be a training plan at all. Rather it is intended to offer fun alternatives to those looking to minimize the non fun aspects of training.

Video update: the video documenting the Airborne Wingman's "Hayesing" has been mostly completed and can be viewed here. The video may become part of Hayes Bicycle Group's new "Hayesed" ad campaign where in a subject's bike is switched over to all Hayes components. That includes Hayes, Manitou, Sun Ringle and Answer products. Now quit reading and watching biking relating videos and get out and ride!

What a month

There is so much great stuff to share this month I hardly know where to start. We'll start with "Inside Out." My latest video creation which debuted on Airborne's new website has received a great response. Since it's release I've picked up sponsorship from Hayes Bicycle group and have already started production my next video featuring the components they have supplied. Hayes came through with a Manitou Circus fork, custom set of Sun Ringle jump wheels, Answer handlebars, pedals, stem and grips and they topped it off with a Hayes Prime Pro rear brake. Thank you so much to Hayes for there generous support. So far I am very pleased with the performance of the Hayes products.

After shedding 3-4 lbs off the Airborne Wingman and lower the front end by a good inch it took me a day or two to adjust, but now that I've been riding it for a few days the bike feels fantastic. The Circus fork feels excellent all over the park and the wheels are nothing short of rock solid. I appreciated the increase in points of engagement of the Sun Ringle Dirty Flea hubs riding through technical sections and the upgrade to the Answer Rove FR pedals was immediately noticable. They keep my shoes absolutely glued to the bike. Anwer handlebar, grips and stem have all been great additions as well.

I certainly can't forget the Hayes brakes contribution. I was supplied with one of the long awaited Hayes Prime Pro. It seem to work great (excellent feel and modulation), but it is taking me a little to adjust to just having a rear brake as opposed to running brakes on the front and rear. Certainly having just a rear brake is fine in the park, but it makes it harder for me to do nose wheelies without a front brake :) I may through the rear orginal rear brake back on just so I can fairly judge the increase in braking power to the Prime Pro.

I was asked by Hayes to make a short video of the parts change over as part of the "Hayesed" ad campaign so look for the in the next couple of weeks. Editing for that will begin as soon as my computer comes back from the shop. It just stopped working two days ago and was sent to the techs at Apple to see what they could do with it. I'm keeping my fingers crossed that it will be back within a week.

Additionally, I was just asked today if I could flight out to Sea Otter a day early to film a "making of" video for the Airborne Flight Crew during their photo shoot with Ian Hylands. This a very exciting opportunity for me to work with an extremely experienced and successful professional in digital media. While I look forward to collaborating with Ian, it's also a bit intimidating being such a newbie to the video scene. But I'll go in and do the best I can and try to absorb as much as possible.

So there you have it; a very postive March with an even better looking April head. Now, if only the weather would permit the trails to open....

The Green Monster is coming....

Last year I added the Taka (the Airborne downhill bike) to the quiver and won my first ever downhill race. This winter the Airborne Wingman DJ bike joined the flock and I am having an amazing experience riding it at Ray's here in Milwaukee. This spring will bring another first. Airborne is sending me the new Goblin which will be my first 29er.

I have a lot of friends who have drank or are about to drink the 29er Kool Aide. I am still skeptical that I will like the bigger wheels more than my 26 inch wheels. I will be racing the green beast at Sea Otter this year as well as at least a couple local races so stay tuned as I make the transition.

So the question is what wheels size is your primary steed? And what made you decide to go that direction? Was it the marketing hype, your riding style, peer pressure? Sound off!!!

I also want to thank all the video naming participants again and let everyone know that "Inside Out" will be making it web debut on the newly designed Airborne Bicycles website this Tuesday (3/22). It will then see it's big screen premier on 5/4/11 at the Times Theater in Milwaukee at 7:00pm along with a screening of "Ride the Divide." So if you are in the Milwaukee area on that date it would be great to see you at the premier!

Help name the video contest

I'm in the process of putting the final touches on my newest video project. I'm having a little trouble coming up with a title that I really like. That's where you come in. Please leave your suggested titles in the comment section below on this blog along with some sort of contact info so that I can get a hold of you in the event your title is selected. The winner (not that the rest of you are losers; just non-winners where claiming a prize in this contest are concerned) will receive an Airborne water bottle and T-shirt! The winning title suggestion will be chosen by a panel of experts (me) based on exhaustive market research and debate (which one I like best). I'll accept submissions through, say......March 6th, 2011. So good luck and like Stephen Colbert at the next presidential election, vote early and vote often for your best chance to win. If you like what you see feel free to subscribe to my blog and/or Youtube channel. And of course I'm always willing to accept more facebook friend requests.

And in case hadn't heard yet. Airborne bicycles is now accepting applications to fill 6 Flight Crew positions. Details can be found at Singletracks.com, but the highlights include:

• An (almost) all expenses-paid trip to the Sea Otter Classic
• 1 or 2 free Airborne bikes for you to keep
• Other free gear and schwag
• Insane discounts on the rest of the Airborne line

So submit your application by 3/15/11 and maybe I'll see you at Sea Otter!!!!

The biggest news first. I have been asked to continue as a member of the 2011 Airborne Flight Crew. This means I will be having my first 29er ownership experience in the near future on the Airborne Goblin 29er as well as going to Sea Otter again this year.

I just completed my 34th rotation of the sun. I celebrated with friends at the Black Box Lounge at Ray's. I can't think of a better way to celebrate a birthday than riding your bike with friends. Given that I have a February birthday and live in Wisconsin and that this is Ray's first year of operation in Milwaukee this is the first time I've had the opportunity to celebrate in this fashion. It's the next best thing to having a summer birthday. I'll definitely take it.



I leave for Austin tomorrow and almost everything is in order. I just have to pack up my things including my bike. I can't wait to get down there and ride and shoot some video in weather that is not so.........Arctic. Speaking of video, I finished the second Wingman video. I'm pretty happy with how it turned out, so I hope you enjoy it.

After developing and watching this video I feel very fortunate to be a flight crew member and live where I live. Not only do I have the privilege of testing out a prototype of the Airborne Wingman jump bike, I am also lucky enough to live only 45 minutes away from the newest Ray's MTB in Milwaukee. Reflecting on this video, I can't believe how much I have progressed as a jumper in just 6 short weeks. But the coolest thing is, I having so much fun doing it. I hope that comes across in the video.

I do have one shred of insight for anyone who hasn't tried jumping before. I can honestly tell you that before this experience I would have never considered buying a jump bike. This experience has changed all that. I never knew how much fun I was missing. Don't make my mistake. I don't care what brand of jump bike you try, but I HIGHLY recommend you try it.

I'll check in when I get back.