I’m just curious who out there rides and what type of riding you do. I race BMX and some occasional DH and spend time freeriding/hellraising/being a public nuisance on my MTB. I know GrowtH is a fellow BMXer, as is Grose. Koenig rides both dirt and road while Steve McGregor is a roadie (we forgive you j/k!). Anybody else out there push pedals?
Yo Jeff, right on bro, excellent. Yes, BMXer here, and will be turning toward some dual suspension excitement and hope to race some 4-man slolom this summer up in Plattekill, NY. I need to hit T-mag/Biotest up to be a co-sponsor of the BMXtreme.com team! Hell yeah. Riding with attitude.
I used to ride XC relatively frequently. I also worked in a bike shop for two years. It was fun when I rode with my dad and with my friends, but as time went on my friends lost interest, and it started becoming more of a chore to go by myself. I also wasn’t juiced to go out and ride as much as I was to go lift. Maybe this summer I’ll start riding again.
I built a DH bike and wanted to race, but didn’t have the balls it took to go as fast as the other guys. I was going to get a road bike but then was let go from the bike shop because I was too busy with High School stuff, so I couldn’t afford one without the discount I had.
I’m down with mountain biking and try to go 1-2 times a week. We have some pretty nice trails here. Unfortunately, they are building on most of our trails and they are making it hard for us to ride.
Anything on two wheels is a blast, but nothing gets the testosterone flowing like going into the last turn of a Pro-Am crit at 40 mph, elbow to elbow with 50 other guys who all want to be at the same place at the same time. The whole time knowing that you push too hard, get pushed too hard or touch a wheel and you’re in a lot of pain and losing some major skin, but if you touch the brakes or lose your nerve you may not have money to put gas in the car for the drive home. A stock car racer is surrounded by a cage and a whole lot of sheet metal. A rodie is surrounded by an 1/8" of lycra on some of his skin. That’s life on the edge no matter what anyone says.
Man you’re making me all misty eyed and nostalgic. Nice to see other bikies out there though.
Um, once I got on the recumbant bikes at my gym…that probably doesn’t count, does it?
I’m a track sprinter in the UK…
Steve - what did you eat for breakfast this morning - or did you write that mid-crit or something?! 
BMXer here. Ride the occasional slalom on my cro-mo hardtail, plus some XC, although it’s a pain in the ass to climb hills with only a single ring…
The infamous GrowtH pointed me in the direction of T-mag. I’m in the best racing shape ever–thanks, bro.
highwayjack, right on! I have a feeling I know who you are, but e-mail me anyway and let me know your progress!!!
This is invigorating, and I need it today, as we’re in what seems like day 60 of constant freakin’ rain, and it’s really bumming me out. I mean, my furnace is running in June! Tonight was/is our regular group mountain bike ride, a really tough group, but it’s going to be completely screwed up trails, and I think I’m going to pass for the first time. It won’t hurt me, as yesterday I had a noontime tire flipping workout and a big shoulder/bi’s/tri’s gym workout last night, but still, I anticipate these group bangups so much. Last weekend up north it rained both days, all the time, low temps, really really crummy. The only bright spot right now is that our cable system added Outdoor Life Network last week, so I’m watching the Giro d’Italia each night! And will be able to see the entire Tour de France, so that’s cool. Steve McGregor, I like your style. I’ve not competed on the road, but know that feeling of riding in a fast paceline or a pack, how cool that is. Brotherhood on two wheels.
Steve, jokes aside, I have all the respect for the risks involved in road riding. I used to have a road bike and can remember the first group ride a hammerhead friend of mine took me on - I was tapping my brakes in mid-pack, breaking out of the line just to get a look at where we were going and even once dropped a foot in a turn for balance, no shit!!! I didn’t make any friends and got dropped w/in about 15 miles on a 30 mile ride and had to try to find my way back to the parking lot we started from…with no wallet or supplies save for a water bottle and a frame pump. I was used to street riding my MTB and was accustomed to being able to bunnyhop onto the curb and roll in the gutter to avoid traffic, so I was scared shitless at having to trust cars to stay in line. By the time I made it back to the truck, he was cleaned up and sitting on the tailgate eating and laughing at me - turned out this was one of the hardest group rides in Atlanta and he brought me along just to break me. I wanted to break some part of his face but was content to eat $3 worth of junk food from the convenience store and fall asleep on the ride home.
Oh, the memories!! I’m a long time triathlete turned roadie (now basically full time weight trainer). Hill climbing was my forte, kind of like Pantani, and TT’s. Dabbled in track, my favorite race being the miss-n-out. There was a race here in Washington (the state, not D.C.) in Wenatchee that was basically two loops over an incredible climb, with an equally incredible descent. I soloed in first over the climb both times, thinking “yeah, this is what racing is all about”, but ended up third in a 3-up sprint. (Sigh!) It’s been a couple years since I’ve raced, and I’m sure my climbing glory days are behind me, as I’ve put on over 50lbs (mostly muscle) since I stopped racing. I’ll get back to the riding fairly seriously, probably mostly track, maybe getting back to tri’s as well.
2eyes, I wrote it last nite and was kind of short on sleep. I read it today and I see what you mean.
John K., OLN rocks!! The only problem is that I have to make the decision between training and wathcing the race. So, I've been spending a fair bit of time on the Computrainer the past couple of weeks. The battles this year in the Giro are awesome. Quaranta vs. Cipo and Frigo vs Simoni. Looks like Pantani minus EPO equals mortal climbing ability. Don't like that guy anyway. He doesn't have any class, bad mouthing Armstrong after he waited for Pantani and handed him the stage at the Tour last year. Gotta admit, there are a lot more T-cyclists than I expected.
Brider - do it man! Put that 50lbs of muscle to use on the track! Get sprinting. It seems (judging by the web-sites) that the U.S. track scene is fairly bouyant.
I was previously a road rider prior to my work steering me into about 5 years of weight training etc. When the opportunity arose to start riding again, I just went straight to the track. I have to admit though, I got a rude awakening when I discovered that my strength didn’t transfer quite as much as I’d hoped…
Things are coming good now though: won bronze medal at the National Tandem Sprint Champs a few weeks back… 45mph on a tandem anyone…?
I’d definitely be up for 45+ on a 2-fer. With two T-bros on the cycle we could bounce almost any one off the track! Really, I’m in the area with one of the best masters teams in the nation (several national and world champs). Stan Gregg, Woody Cox, the Reid sisters, Wendy Boglioli. I’d be learning a thing or two just hanging with theses guys. Problem with me is, I’ve never had a blazing sprint. The only match sprints I won were to take it sppedy from the line and get a gap. That only works once, though, as you get a rep and guys expect it after a while. The one thing I’m worried about is that with the new weight, I’m gonna tear the bike apart. I remember an interview with Ken Carpenter a few years back, and he was talking about his ride being a “girder on two wheels”.
Yes, I admitt, I am the 31 year old guy riding wheelies around the neighborhood on his BMX bike that everyone makes fun of. I ride a little street, flatland, and go to the trails when I can. I have been riding since I was four and I still love to ride.
Road, trail mountain whatever I can Mountain bike on all though. Peace.
Road or mt. bike. I’ve been around skinny triathletes for to long and it’s starting to rub off. just got a new cannondale 1000 aero, what a sweet machine!
Steve, did you see those downhills last night in Italy? Guys going 50 miles per hour, losing it in the tight curves, locking up the brakes, hitting the wall and not even coming off the bike? Man, can you imagine the feeling, locked into the pedals, and cranking down on the brakes at that speed? What daredevils. I’m in awe.