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.

Lot's of good stuff

I'm really excited because I just got my new camera. I settled on the Panasonic TM700 which is a HD camcorder with with internal flash memory and expandable SDHC memory. Now I just need to get better so i can start shooting. I've been sick twice in the past two weeks so hopefully that will stop soon.

I've been spending a lot of time at Ray's MTB riding the Airborne dirt jump prototype called the Wingman. I've posted my review of the Airborne Wingman on the Airborne Facebook page if you care to check it out here.

I have a video almost done for the bike, but I'm struggling to find the right music to go with it. I'll keep looking and post it up on my youtube channel as soon as I figure it out. In the mean time here is a link to fellow flight crew member Dan Lucas's video from his visit to Ray's in Cleveland on the Wingman.

I'm all set to go to Austin for some riding and video shooting. I leave on 2/10 and return on 2/15. I'm really excited about this trip. It's been to long since I've ridden on dry dirt or rock. I was there a couple of years ago and had a blast so I'm happy to be going back.

The last bit's of good news. Besides the Airborne jump bike prototype, I will be getting the new Airborne 29er called the Goblin. This will be my first 29er so it will be an interesting experience. Here my flight crew buddy Kevin has to say about the Goblin prototype he has been riding. He also does a small write up on his Wingman impressions and the new Airborne cyclocross bike called Delta on his blog.

The plan is to have the 29er in my hands a month or so before Sea Otter. That's right, they are sending us to Sea Otter again this year and I couldn't be happier. It was such a fun time last year. This year I am already signed up for the XC and DH races. I'll be riding one of the demo Goblins in the XC race and the Taka in the DH race. That's all for now. Look for new videos soon.

Lastly, I want to congratulate Flight Crew member Greg Heil on becoming a new contributor over at singletracks.com Way to go, man!!!

Just a few items of note

The important stuff first. According to my sources Milwaukee Ray's indoor MTB park will be open by the first of the year. So that's good news. I can't wait to get out there as I have been experiencing severe riding withdrawal. Riding on the trainer and riding on slippery snow covered trails just isn't cutting it.

I'm currently working on a helmet fitting video with the largest trek dealership in the country. Most of the video has been shot and I am in the editing phase of the project. It will be posted on a number of websites, including the Airborne and Wheel & Sprocket Facebook pages.

Lastly, I am still working on my latest MTBing video, but I need to take a trip to get the outside footage I need. I'd like to get to Austin, TX or somewhere similar to shoot some video. I'll keep you posted.

Welcome to the off season

Well, we had a great MTB racing and riding season. I won my first race, moved up to CAT 2 and snagged a podium finish there too. While I had a great time this summer, I'm sad to see it being replaced with frozen snow covered ground.

I'm currently relaxing and recovering from the season and feeling like I'm completely neglecting my bikes. It's only been a couple weeks and I miss riding so much. Hurry up spring.

In the mean time I'm working on a few video projects including a brand new MTBing video, a helmet fitting video featuring Kali Pro products and possibly a promotional video featuring a local pro rider. Beyond that training will start for Sea Otter early next year. I plan on competing in the XC, DH, Dual Slalom and Super D races all on Airborne bikes. So I have that to look forward to while I wait for Ray's indoor MTB park to open here in Milwaukee, WI.

Winning is nice

After 3 years of trying I finally won my first WORS race 2 weeks ago. Making it even sweeter is the fact that it came at my favorite course at Lowes Creek County Park in Eau Claire, WI. Chippewa Off Road Biking Association (CORBA) puts on a great event every year. This year was no different with the return of the all-you-can eat dinner and breakfast, free kids playland and of course the prerace movie. This years choice was Leadville: Race Across the Sky, which was a nice change of pace from the usual adrenaline downhill/freeride movies of the past few years. Don't get me wrong, I enjoy those movies, but it's nice to see an interesting movie about the XC discipline.

This is what I learned from this race experience: It's better to be in front. In years past, I had to breathe the dusty air of the riders in front of me and settle for their pace in the technical terrain. Not so at this race. I had clear air and smooth sailing after out sprinting the field to the singletrack. In years past I was content to let the race unfold in front of me. Not this year. This time, I went out with the intent of leading the race and making everyone chase me. It paid off with a 1st place overall finish. It nice to see hard work and perseverance pay off.

This past weekend me and couple Patrollers went up to Levis Mound to patrol the Levis/Trow 100. Levis is one of my favorite places to ride in the state so patrolling this race was a no-brainer To watch some of the racers ride 100 miles of that trail is insane. We had a hard enough time just riding 2 laps and we're no slouches. But the good news is no one got hurt while riding the technical terrain and no one got dehydrated pushing themselves too hard. Way to go racers!!!

On the way home we stopped to ride at Blue Mound which is my favorite trail in the state. By far the most technical riding in Wisconsin, it challenges your riding skill as well as endurance. On a trail this gnarly flat tires are common place so I wasn't surprised to see Ryan flat in the first mile of riding. Then a few miles later Ernie got a flat and at mile 9 is was my turn. It's good to know Blue Mound is equal opportunity that way. It doesn't play favorites with riders running tubes or tubeless setups. Flats all around. Other than that it was some of the toughest and most fun riding I've had the privilege to conquer.

In Airborne news, Airborne Bicycles is sending the flight crew new bikes. I can't wait to get mine. I chose the Zeppelin Elite as my 2nd bike and I'm excited to put miles on it as it stands to get much more use than the Taka here in Wisconsin (not that I don't enjoy riding the Taka. Opportunities are just a bit limited in this region). There will be lots of pictures and video to share of the Zeppelin Elite in action. It should be here in a few weeks.

The Alterra Coffee Bean Classic is coming up this weekend and I hope the weather stays dry between now and then. If it does the course will be great; if not the race will give way to a slow speed affair where the biggest challenge will be staying upright. Not worth destroying a chain in my opinion but we'll see.