I first met Dejay and Fuzzy after I stranded myself at the Interbike Dirt Demo day last year and they let me cram into the back of their Sprinter van for a ride back to the Vegas strip, rockin’ out to Flight of the Conchords the whole way.  It’s the same Sprinter van they travel together in for about six months out of the year, going from race to race, spreading the Niner love and schoolin’ the singlespeed competition with an NUE championship and a 24 Hour National Championship under their belts.

When they’re not traveling, Dejay Birtch, 32, lives in Tucson, AZ, and Fuzzy (aka John Mylne), 34, lives in Arcata, CA.  We interviewed these guys about what they do, what their favorite rides are and what it’s like being on the road for half the year in a van with dirty chamois and a rack full of demo bikes…plus some totally random questions, like this:

BIKERUMOR: So, Fuzzy, what came first, the beard or the nickname “Fuzzy?”
FUZZY: The beard was first, but before I had the beard my nickname was Shaggy.

Click “more” to read the rest of the interview…

(more…)

Set for March 15 – 20, 2009 in Asheville, NC, the Professional Trailbuilders Conference will feature seminars, expositions, demonstrations and meetings for those that manage or build trails.

Topics include design and construction, land management, trail planning, contracting, advocacy and other related matters.  Attendees will also be able to demo trail building equipment on the dirt and earn certifications on some equipment.

More info here.  Thanks to Todd Branham for the tip!

The Greensboro Fat Tire Society will host its annual meeting at Natty Greene’s (3rd Floor) on Monday, January 26 at 6pm 7:30pm.  Head over to see what’s planned for 2009, including the new trail they’re working on, events they’ll host and select committee members.

Join or renew your membership at the meeting and support local trail building.

Moots Cycles and Dirt, Sweat & Gears announced Moots’ two year commitment to sponsor the 2009 and 2010 Dirt, Sweat & Gears 12-hour endurance mountain bike race festival in Fayetteville, TN. Moots crew members will travel the 1,402 miles from their high altitude home in Steamboat Springs, CO to oxygen-rich Fayetteville, TN to partake both as partners and racers in one of the Southeast’s fastest-growing mountain bike events.

Scheduled for May 9, 2009, the third annual Dirt Sweat & Gears (DSG) race is on USA Cycling’s Mountain Bike National Ultra-Endurance Calendar. Last year’s DSG event drew 300 competitors from 31 states and Canada, including pros Nat Ross, Tinker Juarez, Josh Tostado, Rebecca Rusch and Pua Sawicki.

“Moots is psyched to team up with Dirt Sweat & Gears”, said Rob Mitchell, president of Moots Cycles. “Clay and Grant have created a competitive race environment while maintaining a grassroots flavor that allows all participants to be festive in a close, fun and tight-knit atmosphere. It’s an event we feel mirrors a lot of what Moots is about.”

(more…)

Want to increase opportunities to ride mountain bikes in the National Parks?  Now’s the time to act.

From IMBA: At long last, the U.S. National Park Service (NPS) has proposed a rule change which will make it easier for parks to open trails for mountain biking. IMBA urges mountain bikers to register comments in support of the rule change. IMBA has been asking for this change since the 1990s. We now enter a 60-day commentary period to make the change official.

Take Action Now! Customized letters are most effective.

You can read IMBA’s white paper analysis of the proposed rule change and view the entire text in the Federal Register online. We know that several groups are working to defeat this proposal — it will take thousands of comments in favor of the rule change to ensure it stays intact.

As the proposal explicitly states, none of the NPS procedures for environmental review — or opportunities for public commentary — will be diminished by this change. What it will achieve is a much more manageable system for adopting mountain biking trails. The proposal states, “As a general matter, the proposed rule provides park superintendents with a more efficient and effective way to determine whether opening existing trails to bicycles would be appropriate in the park unit they manage.”

IMBA believes that this measure will enhance national parks and deserves your support –click the link to use IMBA’s automated form, which will email directly to the appropriate party.  It only takes 1 minute, do it now!

Read “more” for a sample letter from IMBA…

(more…)

Since we don’t have our own eyes and ears on the ground in Adelaide for the Tour Down Under, here are some links that do:

CyclingNews.com – coverage of the press release, which is largely the same coverage that’s in the NY Times today.

VeloNews.com – Race coverage, detailing Robbie McEwen’s win and Lance Armstrong’s 64th place finish (results from the opening crit don’t count toward the final times), plus a little commentary on some of the statements made at the press release.

Grandstand Cycling – ABC’s podcast of the event, with commentary from Roger Wills, John Thompson-Mills and Peter Walsh.

Astana Cycling Team – Photo gallery of the team, including the pic shown here.

It’s been a couple of days since the last Lance update, so here’s a couple of items to get your fix:

Lance Wants to do an Ironman – Examiner writer James Raia shares the news that Armstrong is considering doing Ironman after nearly a quarter century away from triathlons.  The article names a few other pro roadies that went all tri-geek and some interesting tidbits about record times.  Oh, and he’s engaged to his baby’s mama.  That story here.

What Other Riders Think of Lance – Cycling News has a good long article with interviews and quotes about what other pro riders, past and present, think of Lance.  Read it here.

Get Ready to See Lance’s Comeback – The Tour Down Under starts this Sunday, with coverage available in brief recaps (and highlight reels everywhere) on Versus.  TV Schedule here.

picture from Astana’s website.

Registration is open for the Bone Bender 3/6 Hour Mountain Bike Race in Smithville, MO, and they have a really cool event logo.  Click image to enlarge flyer.

FROM GT: GT Bicycles announced exciting new additions to the 2009 GT mountain bike team. The team will continue to be gravity-focused, adding Eric Carter, Mick Hannah and Andrew Cho to the GT roster. These three exceptional riders will help support GT’s 30-year race heritage.

“GT’s race legacy has been built on developing innovative products by leveraging pro athletes and incorporating them in product testing and development,” said Bruno Maier, Executive Vice President of Marketing for the Cannondale Sports Group. “With the new GT team riders, we will be able to get vital feedback and incorporate it into current and future platforms.”

Mountain biking legend Eric Carter, dubbed “EC”, is no stranger to standing at the top of the race podium and has collected his fair share of titles and wins over the years. EC has one World Cup Championship Title, two Overall World Cup Championship Titles and 11 National Championship wins– most recently winning his 11th National Dual Slalom Championship title in 2008. With his race experience and product knowledge, EC will be a valuable asset to the GT brand both on the course and off.

(more…)

With more links than you can Clump a Kona at, we give you their latest press release:

Building off last year’s accomplishments, the Kona freeride team will be shredding the world over this year with big-air assaults, high-caliber dance moves and all-around kickass style. Riding their Cowan, Stinky and Bass rigs, these six aerial artists will be bringing it hard to every competition and post-event fiesta – regardless of the official language.

Fresh to the Kona Clump team is freeride phenom Graham Aggassi (Sombrio/Giro/Oakley) – AKA Aggy. This precocious 18-year-old rider from Kamloops, B.C. has been riding a Kona since he first saddled a bike. With the help of the Bicycle Cafe, Aggy rode his way up the ranks and was signed by Kona in October 2008. After placing third at the BearClaw Invitational and seventh at the coveted Red Bull Rampage, Aggy’s transition to the Clump Team was just as smooth as his 20-foot gap jump landings. This season he’ll be pedaling the globe competing and filming for his debut in Freeride Entertainment’s NWD 10.

(more…)

 

The NC Winter Cup Cyclocross series wraps up this weekend in Charlotte on Saturday (Jan 17) and in Greensboro on Sunday (Jan 18).  Download the flyers and get the details here.  It’s plenty cold, so any mud should be frozen, which I can verify from my night ride last night at 29° on the Wild Turkey Trail…nothing was wet, only frozen.

Loosely related, I was cleaning my mountain bike prior to the ride, and the Spin Power foaming degreaser we reviewed earlier forms a nice slush on the chain when it’s at or below freezing, making it very easy to see where you’re cleaned and where you haven’t.  It still did an excellent job of getting the gunk off the chain, and almost made cleaning my bike in freezing weather fun…almost.

Just found this, too.

The UK seems to have found a great way to fund increased cycling and pedestrian paths…use money from the Lottery!  It seems most U.S. state and multi-state lotteries use “education” as a way to get approved, but all those kiddies have to get to school somehow, right?  And since it seems too many schools are cutting physical education programs, they could at least get some exercise on the way to and from school, right?

Again…just food for thought if you’re in the advocacy business, why not try to get some state lottery funds earmarked for Safe Routes to School or something similar?

Thanks to Scott Cooper for the heads up on this!