Cycle the Earth

Bike Messengers Gone Wild

Scott — Sun, 18 Nov 2012 00:10:13 +0000

Great scene from Quicksilver!

Vapor Trail 125

Scott — Tue, 28 Aug 2012 18:51:43 +0000

Vapor Trail 125

Location: Salida, Colorado

Date of Next Event: September 8th, 2012

Registration Info: Online registration at race website

Race Website: Vapor Trail 125

Event Description:

The Vapor Trail 125 is a high altitude ultra-endurance Mountain Bike Event on some of the best single track in the country.

It starts at 10 PM on a bridge over the Arkansas River at 7,000 feet elevation. Participants ride through the night, and most of them through the entire next day never dropping back below 9,000 feet until the last 8 miles. The course draws a large circle through some of the highest mountains in North America. There are multiple high points near or above 12,000 feet. There are six long sustained climbs that each can take 2 hours or more to complete.

It can rain, it can snow, it can be windy and/or cold. The night is always cold in the high country, temps below freezing can be expected for 6 hours or more. There is roughly 20,000 of cumulative climbing.

There are 4 aid stations, and there are some people out on the course during the event, but people who get involved in this event need to know how to take care of themselves. On many parts of the course a rider can be 10 or more rugged miles from any kind of help. That rider needs to have the clothes needed, skills and tools for fixing a bike, water and nourishment, and good judgement. The people who participate in this event have to have done this sort of thing before and proven that they know what to do and what to have in order to take care of themselves. For this reason we require each rider to submit a ride resume prior to being allowed to register.

Vapor Trail 125 from chris miller on Vimeo.

Map & Elevation Profile:

Courtesy of Mountain Bike Radio, listen to Tim Ek as he discusses his latest adventure, the Vapor Trail 125. He tells his story of what it’s like for someone coming from near sea level in Duluth, Minnesota to the high alpine terrain of the Central Rocky mountains to begin a 125-mile, 20,000-feet-of-climbing race at 10pm and finish a dirty, beaten, and triumphant soul.

Listen in to Tim’s hour long tale here:

Listen to internet radio with Mountain Bike Radio on Blog Talk Radio

Race Reports:

MTB Race Catalog

USA Pro Cycling Challenge Boulder

Scott — Sun, 26 Aug 2012 16:22:05 +0000

Stage 6 was the biggest day in American pro cycling history. With 18 Boulder County based professional cyclists the entire town became a massive sports arena as stage 6 of the USA Pro Cycling Challenge descended on Boulder. The biggest crowds of any stage yet in the race lined Flagstaff to see Rory Sutherland, a Boulder resident from Australia, win the stage with a gutsy move just under four miles from the finish.

Jens Voigt on the attack since the beginning of the Flagstaff climb claims the King of the Mountains victory.

Tim Duggan, a Boulder native, has a strong 5th place stage finish!

Leipheimer, who was fourth coming into the stage 8 seconds back, takes the yellow from Tejay with a strong surge at 2.5 miles to go. He pushed ahead to a 21 second advantage over Tejay.

Christian Vandevelde was sixth in the stage, 1:02 behind Sutherland, and remains second in the overall standing but is 9 seconds behind Leipheimer.

Danielson didn’t get to keep the KOM jersey despite wearing it for a week and securing a stage 3 win.

Big George Hincapie wows the fans on Flagstaff!

Hincapie and Taylor Phinney were fueled by 35,000 fans on their way up Flagstaff!

…while Nathan Haas fuels with liquid courage!

Earlier in the race….Sprint leader Tyler Farrar.

Cadel Evans feeling the pain drops from the race with a knee injury.

“Whistle while we work”. George protecting Tejay early on.

Haas gets a Buzz on Flagstaff

Scott — Sun, 26 Aug 2012 02:05:48 +0000

Nathan Haas enjoying a Coors on his way up Flagstaff on the Golden to Boulder stage of the 2012 USA Pro Challenge!

Niner Air 9 RDO

Scott — Tue, 08 May 2012 00:42:40 +0000

A new horse has joined the stable. Meet the new Niner Air 9 RDO. This Black Stallion will be my Bailey Hundo and Leadville 100 race rig!

A custom build:
Niner Air 9 RDO XL Frame
Enve Composite Twenty9 XC wheels
DT Swiss 240 Hubs
SRAM XO 39/26
XTR Brakes
Niner RDO Seatpost
Enve Bars

Sweet lines! Internally routed cables.

Motivation!

Remote lockout on the SID XX!

Simple!

Light weight, super responsive, quick acceleration and climbs like a mountain goat! This thoroughbred eats up the trail.

Downhill Skills

Scott — Tue, 20 Mar 2012 01:07:05 +0000

Alejandro has some downhill skills!

Cliff Hugging Mountain Bike Trails

Scott — Mon, 12 Mar 2012 22:20:26 +0000

If you have acrophobia, an extreme or irrational fear of heights, then you might consider avoiding these trails!

Dr Seuss Like Bikes

Scott — Sat, 03 Mar 2012 02:53:16 +0000

Happy Birthday Dr Seuss! I’m sure you would love all of these bikes!

Looking for a Big Brother

Scott — Sat, 03 Mar 2012 01:39:23 +0000

My Leadville 100 MTB buckle is looking for a, gold trimmed, big brother this year.

He will meet his big brother on August 12th the day after I ride my Mountain Bike across the finish line in less than 9 hours at the Leadville Trail 100 MTB race.

History of the Leadville Belt Buckle

The Whole Enchilada Enduro in Moab, September 2012

Scott — Tue, 28 Feb 2012 02:20:38 +0000

The myth becomes reality with the Whole Enchilada Enduro race in Moab, September 29-30 2012. From Burro Pass all the way to the bottom of Porcupine Rim, this should be a truly epic enduro event. The Whole Enchilada is arguably one of the most distinguishable trails on the planet. Linking up several Moab favorites, this trail spans almost 30 miles and has a cumulative descent of over 7,000 feet. The beauty of this ride is not just the sheer scale of it – but its diversity. The Whole Enchilada Enduro turns an epic all-day ride into a test of fitness and technical skills as riders race from the top of the La Sal Mountains down through four different climate zones to Porcupine Rim, where they finish just above the Colorado River. Starting in high alpine forest at Burro Pass, riders will transitions to aspens, high desert and finish off plummeting down to the Colorado River on exposed single track. The type of riding will be vastly diverse as well: from slow, steep and technical rocky singletrack to wide open high speed sections and everything in between.

Complete info at www.enchiladaenduro.com