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.

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.