The TMBRA Spring Series starts this weekend

Sunday marks the start of the TMBRA Spring Series with one of my favorite races of the year. Bluff Creek Ranch is located about 10 miles north of LaGrange. BCR has about 7 miles of fast flowy single track that makes for a fast race and over all fun time. With the impending blizzard/ snowstorm/weathapocalyspe/ .5 inch-1 inch of snow, it's looking more and more like a muddy race, which I think will suit me after the race 3 weeks ago. Bring your mud bike and a towel.

Tallboys are flippin' cool

So we got a couple Tallboys in yesterday and they are all built up and ready to roll. I would like to take a moment to apologize the potential buyers of these bikes. Unfortunately, during the build we couldn't control our drool. I promise the frames are clean now. After they were built we started noticing some of the cool features on the bikes. Some were obvious and others took a little more attention to notice.

The first thing we noticed was the tapered head tube. This is becoming more and more common. The over sized bearing and head tube allow the rider to maintain more control over the fork and front wheel. You can also use 1.125 stems that are available everywhere.

The cable stops are also molded into the frame instead of riveted on. This is a benefit on two fronts. Firstly, they won't break off. It doesn't happen often but it's a pain in the butt to fix. Also, when the stops are molded into the frame there is less likelihood of flex. This will guaranty accurate shifting everytime.

The last thing I will talk about is the grease zerk on the lower linkage. This allows you to push the old nasty grease out and have fresh grease to keep you bike running smoothly. This user servicable feature on the Tallboy is also available on the Blur XC and Blur LT. Santa Cruz is even nice enough to include a grease gun with each frame.

I told you Tallboys are cool

Lessons are only helpful if you learn from them

So a couple days ago I told you about my horrible experience at The Miles of Discomfort. I pretty much made a point of not riding in horrible mud again. It sucks, it's horrible and it's bad for your bike. Supposedly, Bluff Creak Ranch only got 1 inch of rain Thursday. It also, apparently, drains well. I disagree on both accounts.

I decided to race on a team with a few friends in the 12 hour coed category. We had 4 people on our team: myself, Darryl Rosenfeld, Paul Sedillo and Fayza Elmostehi. Darryl started the race for us and rode a 35 minute lap. Paul and Fayza rode their laps and then I was up. My lap started how it usually does at Warda. After the loop around the pond, you have a false flat from Hell. It is made worse my the moisture in the ground. The first bit of trail is relatively dry and packed but eventually I reach the first of the many bogs in the trail. The mud was axle deep but soupy so as long as you kept the power down you were fine. Repeat this for about 20 minutes and then it's time for Gas Pass which was packed and worn. Great down hill and lots o'fun. The rest of the trail was pretty straight foward until the roller coaster, which was a 1/4 mile long mud pit. I made through my first lap in 38 minutes and 37 seconds.

As the day, wore on fewer and fewer riders were on the course. Some were dropping out because of the conditions or mechanical issues. After 3 laps, most of my team said they done and I headed out with my lights on the bike. I did one complete lap in the light and started on my fourth lap. I made it through half the lap then needed my light. The mud and muck that was horrible during the day was even worse at night. I finished my lap and figured my team was done but Darryl was there ready to go back out. He pulled off a fast night lap to finish the race for us.

We ended the race with 14 laps and in 5th place.

Erique Williams (Team BWF/Casey Stoddard U23 Development Team) was the surprise member of the Six hour solo male category. He came out of nowhere and completed 8 muddy laps on a brand new crankset. Racing on new equipment is always a bad idea but some times you can still luck out.


My bike is clean now. Unfortunately, my rear brake pads did not survive.

Riding in the Mud- Bad Idea or Worst Idea EVER

So last weekend I headed out to Comfort, Texas for the Miles of Discomfort Marathon. Having talked to other riders, I figured I was in for a fun race on a great course. As it turned out, I got spanked a great course with horrible conditions. On Thursday morning, they received a bit of rain and the temperature dropped significantly. When I arrived on Saturday I noticed a general lack of mud, Awesome. I forgot to take into account the freezing temperature.

The race started and the trail was in relatively good condition. Then 11:00 AM rolled around and brought his friend Above Freezing Temps. UGH. My bike took a cue from me and gained about 15 pounds. The drive trained packed full of mud and I could have planted a rather successful garden in my rear triangle. This was all before I finished the first Lower Loop. As I came around I noticed a lot of people standing around since they already called it quits. At first I thought they were weak. Then I did the Upper Loop and realized they were smart. My bike gained even more weight and my rear wheel stopped moving. I finished that loop and called it quits. In the end 2/3rds dropped out. I have an amazing amount of respect for anyone who finished. I do, however, question their sanity.

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Hi Chris