Wednesday, December 30, 2009

SBRacing

We haven't had any updates for the blog because we have been so busy with our new race series. Check out our website at www.sbracing.org. Sign up for our races!! :)

Monday, November 30, 2009

Expensive Weekend!

Happy Late Thanksgiving to everyone! Bri and I ventured out of town for some "family time" this Thanksgiving and along the way we were fortunate enough to stop off and have some fun with Wild Bill and Ashland Mountain Adventures in Ashland, OR on our way home. Wow! What a mountain! Bri has some pictures that we hope to have up soon, but the long and short of it is that we are going to NEED to get some DH rigs. They are so much fun! We both had a ball and I might be hard pressed to even get Bri on her XC bike again...she likes that whole "Shuttle up the hill, Shred down the hill" mentality! And she is pretty good, too! The other guys were impressed with her ability to keep it "twisted" down the mountain! ha!

Even without the DH bikes, we had a ball as we rode the mountain on our XC bikes on our trek North. The trails are pristine and Wild Bill said that we can get in a killer XC loop, with plenty of sweet single track that would provide a weekend of riding with little trail overlap! We will have to go back when the mountain isn't half covered in snow to really get the grand tour! We were fortunate enough that the snow level was high enough to let us even ride!

Even cooler, Ashland Mountain Adventures is coming on board with SB Racing and we couldn't be happier to partner with great people offering a truly fun and unique cycling experience on a mountain that has to be experienced to be fully understood!

More to come about our adventures, but leave it at:
We BOTH have MUCH more respect for slippery, rain and mud covered roots...
Oregon woods are amazing to ride and beautiful to enjoy
Downhill bikes look to be on the horizon...

Hope your holiday was a great one, too!

Monday, November 23, 2009

SIMS BURGER by: Grifall Family Chiropractic

HOLY SMOKES! What an absolutely incredible day, where do I even begin? Let's start with the group tough guy - Mike Grifall, who also happens to be the man in charge at Grifall Family Chiropractic who has generously stepped up to become a sponsor of SBRacing.org! If you are into all things that are health and wellness, then check out their site and give them a call!

So you must be assuming that the shameless sponsor plug is the reason that Mike earned the tough guy award, but you would be flat wrong. Nope. Mike is a tough guy because until today the longest ride he had completed was about 20 miles and in the two hour range. We easily doubled that and he never whimpered, complained or begged for his mommy. Nope, he pedaled on with dogged determination and really impressed us with his perseverance. Seriously, imagine the longest ride you have EVER done. Now double that. Not so easy eh? Way to get in some solid "over-reach" training Mike! Awesome job Sunday!

There were so many equally impressive feats that I don't even know where to go from Mike, but what needs to probably lead the charge was Greg Heinz and the pink scorching he laid down topping out at Demo Forest in 1:04! Most people would KILL to have that time to Sand Point! A truly unbelievable demonstration of Greg's hard earned climbing prowess...and as far as I can verify, the fastest time that I know of up the mountain. Wow, what a way to start the day!



At the top we met up with our pal from OnSite Ultrasound, Corey and his burly SC Nomad. He was ready for the Demo Forest! After ripping some of the fastest lines on the rocky shutes that I have seen, he even overcame some intimidation and rocked out the teeter-totter like it was nuthin! Great show of skills Corey!

Not to be outdone, "Don't call me a Roadie" Mark Faulkner made a special appearance and of course had the fitness, but also had the bike handling skills! The guy was riding the balance logs and hitting drops BLIND like he had ridden them a thousand times. Wow, impressive!

What really impresses me and brings a tear to my eye is the progression our little group has made in only a few short weeks. Travis puts the big wheels of his sweet, plastic Specialized 29er (hard tail!) to good use and is cleaning log sections that riddle havoc with most. Each time he cleans another tricky log section he gets the confidence to move on to bigger and tougher challenges! Plus, the guy is RIPPING the downs, with no rear shock!

Another great achievement...Nathan pulled a classic SUPER holeshot, but then in an unexpected turn of events, toned the ride down and buckled in for the loooong haul. The strategy resulted in Nathan ripping all of the sweetness and cleaning some of the heart popping steeps that usually have us out of the saddle, not pedaling, but walking! The feeling you get from cleaning those toughies is hard to beat, and I have a feeling Nathan will be wanting more!

Lastly, but none-the-less important our favorite beginner racer is now back on the bike after a bit of a break. Taking things easy to start she was able to hold off all comers in her charge to Sand Point in a near record time despite her time off. I have a feeling her fitness will return quickly!

For those that missed it, we hope you can make it out for some fun and carnage next time!

Tuesday, November 17, 2009

Sunday Morning

It looks like the SB Racing crew is looking towards another Sunday morning ride...does Santa Cruz sound good? The woods are calling out to me again, and there are still trails that we haven't even conquered yet! The problem with riding the goodness is much like any successful crack dealer knows, the better the product the more your customers come back! Demo is top shelf and I just find myself craving more and more...in fact what am I doing at my desk? Time to go riding! Get out and pedal your bike - It will bring a smile to your face!

Sunday, November 15, 2009

SIMS BURGER by: Monterey Bay Builders

Today’s Sunday Morning SB Racing.org Group Ride (SIMS BURGER) was a great affair and is brought to us by Monterey Bay Builders. If you need some work done by a reputable and great local builder, then call Monterey Bay Builders today! (831) 384-5573.

I figure it’s only appropriate to throw a shout to MBB, because Nathan was like a rabid dog on the start, setting a blistering pace up the first climb and then Anthony held down the fort when we were slogging away, lost, out of food and water and still a looong way from the truck!

The ride itself was incredible! We manipulated last weeks loop and somehow ended up with even MORE climbing and MORE fun trails! YES! Double wammy! We topped out the climb and SFSSS (Super Fast Single Speed Steve) had a bit of a stomach issue so he called it in early, so we were forced to cut our group of 6 to 5.

We dropped into Demo in front of about 18 riders and I was wondering if they were going to catch us. And I shouldn’t have doubted it for a second because the SB Racing Team is not afraid of anything! The guys were hauling butt! We even stopped to hit a cool new teeter-totter obstacle, some jumps and Nathan and Greg took the “A” line into Sawpit – big drops and all! Nice job guys!!! The climb out was new as we hooked a left at Albuquerque and the pain was severe…Especially near the top where it was pretty much a hike-a-bike…or a pedal until you puke and crash over on your side as I aptly demonstrated!

Travis had his super cool Specialized S-Works 29er up to speed and was easily riding the single track with all-time best form. And by the end of the day, logs that resulted in a dismount earlier in the day were being cleared by everyone. Nice learning curve! I figure if you drag people over enough logs they will get tired of carrying their bikes after the 87th log and just learn to jump the suckers! Turns out this theory has some merit!

Pretty much a super sweet day of pedals, good times and fun with friends! Greg had a great time on his maiden voyage to the forest (“Welcome to the Jungle, we’ve got fun and games!”) and put his Pink Specialized in the front on the climbs and was hanging it out on the downs with the best of them! I could have gone without the spill at that resulted in a huge scrape and golf ball sized bump on my thigh, but I’ll chalk it up as a small price to pay for day like today…ahhhhh……

Sunday, November 8, 2009

SMSBRGR – The Sims Burger

Hmm, not sure if the “Sims Burger” will take hold or not, but for everyone wondering just what in the heck this new burger is that In-N-Out must have added to the menu, let me shine some light…after all, we don’t want readers of this blog misinformed and ordering Sims Burgers at their favorite grease pit!

Sunday Morning SBRacing Group Ride = SMSBRGR = Sims Burger. Perfect!

While others were off jumping barriers and cross dressing, a few brave souls took to some choice Santa Cruz trails when it was still early and cold enough to see our breath in front of us…although, not cold enough to deter Mr. Marsiguerra from the standard issue “short/jersey” combo. That’s just madness! Good thing the first climb has a way of raising the core operating temperature in a hurry…

Our little group consisted of the above mentioned bikini model, Nathan, Anthony, Steve, Travis and myself. The surprise of the morning was the GORGEOUS Sexy Green Tranny that was along for the ride. Now, I know most of the cross dressers are out running and hoping as mentioned above, but Steve’s sweet green single speed is a thing of beauty regardless of your sexual tendancies! Did I mention SS? Oh yes, and I did I mention that BY FAR, AND UNANIMOUSLY AGREED UPON, the COOLEST ASPECT OF THE DAY was Steve’s ability to RIP OUR FREAKIN’ LEGS OFF!!!

Holy cow, looks AND intelligence…or in this case speed? Wow. I can’t say enough about Steve and the clinic he put on today. I was fortunate enough to keep him in site and take some notes, but by golly, that guy was simply amazing.

As for the rest of our group, we had an absolute ball! Trail conditions were near perfect and the pace was swift without being break-neck. Stops were kept to a minimum and trail carving got top priority billing over resting and talking (isn’t that for sissies anyway?). I think we even found a new trail or two for a few guys which always adds to the fun factor. Best of all, everyone rode great, seriously solid efforts by each and every one! Sounds like a Sims Burger is a pretty tasty treat after all!

Next week we are planning another SC loop and hitting some different trails. Should be equally fun if not more so! Travis, Nathan, Anthony, and Steve hit up a little barbeque place afterwards that I will definitely be partaking in as well. While a Sims Burger is satisfying, it just leaves you hungry for even more!

Great ride for all that made it!