A policemen

Hitler speaks from the dead, and Germany listens.

German Federation Repeals Restrictions On Racing 29″ers

January 20th, 2010 by Guitar Ted

Word has come from Germany that the nations sanctioning body, the BDR, has repealed its restrictions against racing a 29 inch wheeled bicycle in off road competitions starting now for the 2010 racing season. The UCI, which governs international racing, was appealed to by Gary Fisher six years ago to allow international racing of 29 inch wheels and the UCI did allow for this then. However; each nation has its own governing bodies for national events and Germany was nonplussed by the UCI decision as it forbade the use of 29 inch wheels in any of its sanctioned events, essentially making a 29″er an outcast.

Now with this restriction being lifted, it will be interesting to see what, if any, 29 inch wheels are actually raced in Germany in 2010. It is also interesting to note that a major cycling publication based in Germany is conducting its second round of tests on 29″ers. Perhaps 2010 will see big wheel popularity increase in Germany to the point that some of the countries home brands will start dabbling in 29 inch wheels for future models.

Ode to my 29er

I wake up in the morning after dreaming of my 29er ride,

I dreamt I was peddling it along a hillside,

Before I go to bed at night I say a prayer to the Lord,

I thank him for Gary Fisher bringing 29ers to the drawing board.

My favorite drugs a demon she's got 29” wheels,

Until you actually try her you will never know how she feels,

She takes me down some crazy shit, it's the stuff I like to ride,

She feels so good between my legs I can't keep satisfied.

Some days come, and some days go, oh those dreary winter blues,

If it weren't for my 29er to get me out there I swear I'd turn to booze,

The sights I've seen, the things I've done I live a life unjaded,

True to form, and born of storm 29er bikes are the best thing created!

HUMBLE PIE

This weekend was the first race of the 2010 season, and as many of you know I moved up into the cat 2’s for the new season. With this 2010 season I had a lot of optimism on how the season would unfold. So with the first race of the season in the books how did I fair? Let’s just say I was served up a very large slice of humble pie, and did not taste very good!!!!

With this race I was thrown into a realm that I’m not very accustom too. Last year was my first season back racing XC since 1998, and it seemed that with the random and unorganized training that I did, I always found myself on the podium. I will not lie, last year I became accustom to this.

Yesterday’s race started out much like most of my races last year. The bell goes off and I out sprint 30-40 other riders to the single track and I set the tempo. Yesterday’s race was no different. The problem was that once I got into the lead, within 2-3 of the race my legs began to feel like a ton of bricks. I moved from 1st to 20th in a matter of minutes, and before I knew it I was in 20th position. I don’t know exactly why this happened but it did! After a few minutes my legs began to breathe life again, and I began to come back. Unfortunately I got inoculated by fire, (those boys are FAST), and I found out first hand that in the cat 2’s unless your name is JHK (Jeremy Hogan-Kobelski), or Sam Schultz you’re NOT coming back. Fortunately, I was able to drag my sorry excuse of a 29er Crew member butt back up into 14th position before the race was done. This was very discouraging.

I don’t really know where to go from here. I will have to sit down with my coach and talk this one over. I have been training, I have been following the schedule, I have been eating right, (well maybe not that last one), I’m trying to eat right. As I said before, I’m in a new realm. I ‘m now coming to the realization, the days of just random training are over and they aren’t going to get the job done.

This season I can already tell, is going to be different than last year. This season is going to test my resolve. The question is how I am going to deal with it. Am I going to crawl into a fetal position and cry like an over grown baby, or brush it off and take it as a learning lesson.

Check back later because right now, I WANT TO DO THE FETAL POSITION.

The past and the future.

This has been a whirlwind year for me. I developed a strong love and bond for the 29er in late 2008 and at the beginning of this year I decided to start racing XC again, because I was starting to become a typical fat cop. Within a year I dropped approximately 40 lbs, and was starting to ride fast again. The thing that I did not foresee was I rekindled my passion for mountain biking again. I had started to forget the camaraderie that this sport instills in every one of us if we allow ourselves to open our hearts, and minds to our fellow rides. I also rekindled that overly competitive spirit which is every one of us. I started to train more and more, and what I found was the more I trained, the more I wanted to race. With racing I found that I began to reconnect with friends I had lost touch with and I made some new friends along the way too. This happens with all of us in our day to day lives I know, but sometimes, I don’t think we as busy people really take the time to truly appreciate our friendships.

As the season went on I began to get better and gain an abundant amount of confidence in myself and my abilities. I started to assess what I wanted to accomplish in the 2009 season, and also look forward into the 2010 season. My main goal for the 2009 season was to continue on the path I was on, more or less. I wanted to continue enjoying racing my bike, but I also set 3 goals #1: win the Arizona State Police and Fire Games, #2: Win the 24 hrs of Fury, and #3: put a season together that was accomplished enough to gain a spot on the Gary Fisher 29er Crew. How did I fair. Well I got 2nd at the AZ P & F Games, I won the 24 hrs of Fury on a 4 person coed team (thanks to great teammates) and I was asked to be 1 of 2 rides in the state to be on the GF 29er Crew (this in thanks to Greg DeCori and E-Dog at the Slippery Pig Bike Shop).

All in all I can sum this last season up in 1 word….FUN!!!!!

So what do I expect for my 2010 season? I hope this season will be filled with a lot of the same things as last year…hard work, goals accomplished, and friends made. I have a very ambitious season ahead of me. For this reason I acquired the services of a great coach (Art McFarland). Art is already helping my cycling in ways I never could imagine. I am lighter, stronger, and faster than I ever have been on a bike. Because of this, I will be bumping up to the cat 2 category in the MBAA series. I would also like to continue where I left off in the cat 3’s…..ON THE PODIUM. I will be going back to the AZ P & F Games again this year to redeem myself. I will also be heading to Lake Tahoe for the Western State P & F Games.

At the end of this season I hope to be able to reflect on my 2010 season with thoughts of an inspiring scripture from the bible. 2nd Timothy, Chapter 4, verse 7:

I have fought the good fight

I have finished the race

I have remained faithful

To me this means: if I work hard, if I race every race to the best of my ability, and if I stay the course…..I CAN NOT AND WILL NOT FAIL.

THE FIRST RACE OF THE SEASON IS SUNDAY………LETS GET IT ON LIKE DONKEY KONG!!!!!!