Weekend Prep

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A bunch of shit in front of me that I got to dump for the masses to read, all equally rad in my humble opinion.  We start with the festivities of the weekend.  While our very own Judi will be ripping up that fine Ohio singletrack I will be riding bikes, drinking booze, and enjoying the good times at SSUSA down in Boulder.  Say what you will, think what you will think, and loathe what you will loathe in regards to Boulder, CO, but for this weekend that doesnt matter.  Hopefully damn near 100 of the nations radest singlespeeders will descend upon the town like a plague of locusts.  Boulder cougers take note, if you wish to find yourself a SS man, this is your weekend to stalk and pounce.

Screen shot 2011-02-24 at 3_10_52 PM

Here are some of the details for the drinking and riding over the next few days:

Friday night: Cruiser ride through Boulder, stopping at bars along the way.  The race location will be disclosed during this ride, and the decider competition for the right to host next year’s SSUSA will be held.

Saturday: 9 am Ride Start, awards and party to follow at 303 Vodka Distillery in Boulder

This is one of the those weekends where if I make it out smiling and alive it can be called a success.

If two nights of Singlespeed centric fun seems like too much fun to handle, there are plans to crank the fun up to 11, with a large going away party for Jake Kirkpatrick on Thursday night.   Like the two guys Dirty interviewed last week, Jake will be attempting the Tour Divide later this month, on a singlespeed.  That dude is more badass than most of us can ever hope to be.

The party from 4-8 pm will be held at Swiss Chalet Timepieces at 17th and Pearl Street.  A silent auction to raise money for Kirkpatrick’s adventure will close at 7:30 pm.  Join friends family, supporters and others to learn about Kirkpatricks race strategy and aggressive training regimen, and to see his custom singlespeed belt-drive Black Sheepbike.  Kirkpatrick’s titanium bike won the “Best Off-Road” award at the 2011 North American Handmade Bike Show.

Jake-tissot-255x300

Jake’s journey as well as the journey of the other hardened souls who are attempting Tour Divide will be documented by the fine folks at Push Pedal Crank.  Be sure to check out the site before during and after the Tour Divide for some great pictures, and other goodies.

Onto the next nugget of awesomeness, since Big Kitchen is busy studying for the bar exam, he spends his “study breaks” filling up other people’s inboxs will links of cool shit to distract them when they should be working.  Here is what he sent out today (probably NSFW, but that depends on your work).

I can too…

(reblog hot chicks)

I found this on Tumbler.  It’s ridiculous.

http://icantoo.tumblr.com/.

Ah, picutres of minimally clothed hot chicks always makes the work day go by quicker.

Next we have bike related movies, and I’m talking about the Rapha Continental The Movie (I’m having trouble getting the video to embed, just use the link).  Holy shit does this show some great riding.  Sure I cant even afford a Rapha shoelace, but that doesnt mean I can’t drool over the riding that the group of dudes who rock their gear got to enjoy.  I dig the fact that all the information and routes about the rides that the Rapha Continental gang has done over the years is available on their site.  It got me thinking about following their routes for both the Snowy Range in Wyoming, and the Black Hills route in South Dakota.  Inspiration by one leads to one riding, which then leads to further inspiration of others followed by more riding by others, now that is some circular motion I can get behind.

Finally, having lived in the land known as the Big Sky, I still keep up with what they have going on up there.  The first is the recent report I read about the Helena Dynamos youth cycling program out of Helena, MT.  The program is run by a guy named Geoff Proctor, you might have also seen his work with the Euro Cyclocross Camp that gives American racers the chance to fully embrace the Belgian cyclocross lifestyle for a couple weeks every winter.

At several points, we shared some of the challenges to getting kids on bikes — from forms we have the kids fill out to how we instruct them when riding through town, from scheduling trail work days to outlining goals of the program.  At this point we have several Dynamos qualified for Sun Vally MTB Nationals and we hope to bring a bunch to Missoula XC as well.

1954_RobertsonTom_110527

Any group whos goals include getting kids on bikes, and teaching them the proper skills necessary so that they will continue to ride bikes in the future is alright in my book.  Big pats on the collective back to all those who helped put the trainign rides together.  Check out some of the great photos snapped by Tom Robertson, one of MT finest photographer, who can also rip it up on the trail.

Finally, I came across this picture from the trail building that is taking place to prepare for the Missoula XC race this July.

drop

Oh yeah, that looks like a nice 4 foot drop on the “A” line.  There is a “B” which will take longer, is slightly less rad, and wont result you being swarmed by groupies upon completion.  And that’s all I got, my weekend starts now.

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About 40 Hands

A fan of riding bikes with one gear, malt liquor, riding without knowing how many miles I’ve covered, and strip clubs that let you bring your own keg. I typically have a stupid grin on my face, it is because deep down I know that no matter what, my mom thinks I’m cool. Denver, Colorado, USA

4 Replies to “Weekend Prep”

  1. 40!!! have a great weekend, ride lots and raise a pint for me! i will be thinking of you guys this weekend. much love to my DC fam.

  2. Sounds like there’s lots of great cycling going on this weekend. I’m glad to be able to take part in it in my own very small and slow way. Turtle Power!

  3. I guess you live in Boulder now. That’s cool. They ride bikes there too. Wonderin’ if you’re gonna make Thursday Night Lights tonight? If not, there’s lot’s more coming in the next few weeks. If I don’t see you, I’ll make sure to drink some whisky for you before the climb to the top of Horsetooth.