Oregon State Championships in Salem, OR

Team Lost Coast Brewery has been at it this winter with some mad CX racing action. Team member Geoff Huber reports in on the recent state championships in Oregon. If you want to catch up to Geoff and try out a hoe new Marin Cortina cross bike be sure to look for the Marin Bikes tent at any upcoming Cross Crusades or Outlaw Cycle Cross Series!

November 11….Matt, Anna, and I headed up to the Oregon State Championships in Salem Oregon this past weekend and had a blast. We had our brand new “fleet” of cross bikes in tow and arrived early to set up shop and watch some racing. The weather was perfect…cold and raining. We set things up and prepared for a wet day of racing. Matt brought his single speed and raced at 1:00. My hat is off to him because he was running a relatively low gear and did very well considering the length of the course and he was racing against guys who take cross VERY seriously. The course was fun and challenging. The race was held at the Salem Fairgrounds and the race promoters did a great job of integrating the course into the buildings and motocross track. There were several inside/outside sections that were tricky, and there was a lot of open and exposed areas that were tough because of the rain and strong winds.

Kona pro and National Champion Barry Wicks showed up and made things tough right away. There were 28 of us in the A race and Barry strung us out on the first lap. I had a decent start but man do I need to hit the intervals. I struggled with the pace at first but found my rhythm in the second half of the race and moved up a couple of spots. Even though my legs were not great…my Marin Cortina was AWESOME!!! I had a couple of days to get comfortable on the bike before the race and man does that thing rock. I felt very confident in the wet, mucky stuff and was able to make up ground in all the corners. My experience with cross bikes in the past is that they tend to handle a bit like road bikes with knobby tires. This is not the case with the Cortina. This bike makes you feel like you are perfectly balanced and is very inspiring to ride. The only change that I will make is changing the 50/34 chain rings to a more cross specific gearing like 48/36 or 46/36. My little legs had a hard time with the 50 tooth…and the 34 tooth put me down into too low of a gear unless I was down on the 11 tooth cog of the cassette. Just a small change…everything else is perfect.

We had a great time at the State Championships and the CX Worlds…(look for Matt’s blog on that race). Next up is a local race down in Medford, Or. Matt and I will be looking to put the hurt on the local Southern Oregon boys, and we will be giving anyone and everyone a chance to get one of those brand new Marin Cortina’s dirty. Happy trails….Geoff.

Marin endurance racer Yuri Hauswald recently posted up some of his travel stories with the fine folks over at Bikemonkey.net:

I know I missed the deadline on this event months ago, and we all know that Ross Schnell and Heather Irmiger have ink in new places, but I was recently sent some photos which inspired me to share a snapshot of my SSWC ‘09 experience. It was my longtime friend, and founder of Launch clothing (an edgy cycling line that melded function with fashion way before any other brands), Daniel Jaber who reminded me I should share my perspective on this two-wheeled bacchanalian circus.

I flew into Albuquerque Wednesday night and was greeted by grey skies and ominous clouds, as well as a steady drizzle that was causing flash floods in parts of New Mexico. Thursday saw Vanessa and I drive through the neopolitan desert landscape, through towns like Cuba, Ignacio, Aztec, on our way to Durango, where we  landed at the “Hand Made Frame Builder Show.” The show, organized by Ecologic Events in conjunction with Passion Productions, was held in  a dingy  brick and mortar basement bar, one teeming with single speed fans from all over the world. The event showcased stellar local builders, such as Matt Clark of Stout Heart Cycle Company. We also ran into these dirtbags on the way out to the men’s room.

Friday’s pre-ride, with a star-studded crew that included both eventual winners, was a lung opening, lactic tasting, ass whooping experience. Don’t get me wrong, I loved every aching moment of it, as I was once again completely humbled by how much faster real pros are than me. The views from the top of Raider Ridge, which sits somewhere around 8,000 ft., were spectacular.

Friday night’s festivities, held at the end of a housing development cul-de-sac, included an epic dirt jumping contest, live bands, a track stand contest, and a piece of the “decider”–a karaoke-off between Italy, New Zealand, and Canada. (It is just this observer’s opinion, but Canada got robbed! The burly, “bear” chested Canuck belted out a version of “Kiss,” originally sung by the artist formerly known as Prince, that brought the house down and should’ve guaranteed his place as one of the final two contending countries.) Needless to say, the judges’ two favorites were New Zealand and Italy, who had some guy pretending to sing that I saw bowling at last year’s decider as a Frenchman?? I didn’t know you could gain citizenship that easily.

The King, actually Keith Darner, long time CO cycling advocate, and some crack were in the house come race day, as well as many other colorful characters.

I spent a moment of the early part of the race with eventual women’s World Champion, Heather Irmiger, who, when I asked her if she wanted a pull as we roosted out the fire road, matter of factly stated that “I’m not sure I want to go that fast….I’m not sure I want the tattoo.” She would pass me a little later on, just before the steep, two mile hike-a-bike, like I was standing still, never to be seen again.

You never know who or what you will run into on a SSWC course, so I wasn’t too surprised when I rolled by some guy pulled over on the side of the course in argyle shoe covers and penguin suit who looked to be heckling passing  riders. I would later discover, just before a spectacular yard sale, front wheel endo crash, that the penguin was actually Danny Pate of Garmin Slipstream. On the final hike of the day, just before the top, was perched  an Anasazi cliff dwelling, of sorts.

Some dedicated locals hauled in massive quantities of bacon, Twinkies, Ju-Ju-Bees, tequila, and a bong. Did I mention that they had some bacon?! With over 990 riders, the Anasazi oasis of nourishing replenishment eventually ran out of food.

Wonder if it had anything to do with this guy showing up?

I would eventually buzz the finish around the mid-40s, not that anybody was really counting except me, of course. I had a beer with new World Champion, Ross Schnell, who revealed that he had been riding with a crazy tech carbon/plastic cast protecting his broken wrist. If he wasn’t in that purple skinsuit, I’d have said he’s a tough guy.

The final piece of the decider would be played out under a lit outdoor basketball court that happened to be just outside the brewery where Ross and Heather got their new tattoos. New Zealand dominated Italy, and thus won the rights to next year’s SSWC–but you already know that.

Andrew Taylor and Greg Watts have been hard at it putting the finishing touches on what will be San Francisco’s sickest jump contest to date. AT’s Showdown at the Palace is going to be HUGE!

Starting from the Cow Palace’s upper parking lot, riders hit the the drop-in ramp before launching into three Adidas mega-ramps. With some of the world’s top riders coming to San Francisco, the Showdown is an event you won’t want to miss!

Held in conjunction with the SF Bike Expo, show goers will get to enjoy bikes and bike culture of every style. With a host of events including a bike swap, Manufacturers’ expo, cycling fashion show, low rider bike show and the much anticipated Bikemonkey.net Cross Palace cyclocross race.

The Cow Palace gates open at 10am with AT’s Showdown kicking off at 2pm. Map

Launch Pad

AT Testing the Jump Line

This Friday, Nov 20, you have an opportunity to meet some of the finest Mountain Bike Slopestyle riders in the world and have a little pre Expo Party courtesy of Marin Bikes. The SF Urban Riders and SF Dirt Lab will also be in the house promoting the SF Bike Park. They will be gathering at the Marin Factory Store at 1090 Folsom St at the corner of 7th St. from 6 to 8 PM.

The top riders will be signing autographs on Limited Edition AT Showdown posters. Contest rider rostrum includes: Andrew Taylor, Cam and Tyler McCaul, Greg Watts, Jordie Lunn, Paul Basagoitia, Jamie Goldman, Luis and Andreu Lacondeguy, Ben Boyko and more! Free beer and pizza will be provided. Plus you can enter to the raffle to win a Marin Alcatraz Dirt Jump Bike worth $1199.99. Half of the proceeds go to the SF Urban Riders Mclaren Park Bicycle Park and the other half will go towards putting on AT’s Showdown.

Other prizes include Marin goodies, Skull Candy Headphones, SDG saddles and more. Raffle tickets are $10. Winners will be announced at the Bike Expo. You don’t have to be present to win. Many thanks for your support!

Where: Marin Factory Store 1090 Folsom St SF 94103 MAP
What: Riders, Raffle, Free Beer & Pizza
When: 6 to 8 PM, Friday Nov 20th

$10 Raffle Ticket Gets You This!!

Come Hang with Marin Bikes and Sheila Moon!

The Marin Demo Van will be out in tailgating force this Saturday night at the 3rd round of the Pilarcitos Bay Area Super Prestige cyclocross race. Come watch this special round of racing under the lights with races starting at 2pm with the last race going off at 8pm. Stop by the Sheila Moon/Marin tents to say hi, try out a hot new Marin Cortina or Toscana cyclocross bike and grab some hot BBQ food!

When:
Saturday, November 14th 2pm-10pm

Where:
Sierra Point in South San Francisco off Hwy 101 at the Sierra Point Parkway Exit.  Map

See you there!
Pilarcitos Bay Area Super Prestige Series Website: http://www.pilarcitos.com/2009Cross.htm

By now you’ve seen the flyers, or read the headlines on the forums; Andrew Taylor’s Showdown at the Palace is bringing some of the world’s best dirt jumpers to San Francisco! Held in conjunction with the SF Bike Expo on Saturday, November 21st, AT’s Showdown brings together the best dirt jumpers in the world to roll out

big.

Held at the historical Cow Palace in south San Francisco, the course features a sweet mix of features

including ramps, a loading container drop in through the Palace’s trees and a couple of surprises

Marin Bikes will be on hand with hot new 2010 bikes for your viewing pleasure. Other events at the Expo include the Cross Palace Cyclocross Race, a BMX stunt show, bike swap, manufacturers expo and Bike Styles Fashion Show. Doors open at 10am with AT’s Showdown kicking off at 2pm.

Don’t miss the Bay Area’s biggest bike culture event!

Fresh off of his silver medal performance at the Red Bull Rampage, Shaums March recently gave the crew at Pinkbike.com a run through of the new Quake 7.9 from the rocky trails of Bootleg Canyon in Boulder City, NV.

Packing a completely new frame, more travel and a slimmer linkage system the 2010 Quake 7.9 brings some serious game to the freeride arena. For those on a budget, the Quake 7.8 offers the same killer frameset in a more affordable package.

Quake Highlights:

-180mm of Travel

-Redesigned frame with 1.5″ headtube and new narrow profile Quad Link™ linkage system

-Replaceable rear dropouts with SRAM Maxle 360 Troudh Axle

Want to get some ride time on the Quake too? How about having Shaums or one of his Mad March Racing coaches ride along with you to help bump your riding skills to the next level? Attend any MMR camp in 2010 and you can roll on one of these monsters too!