Specialized Trail Crew Contest

Specialized recently ran a contest for a Trail Crew, a group of riders that will ride their 2010 S-Works Stumpjumper and be an ambassador for their products. My friend Wynn Peterson sent me a link to the contest and told me I should enter. When I read it, I knew that it was for me. Hillary helped me make a video (see the videos on this blog page)

The qualifications that they were looking for included "riders who respect and are respected by their buddies." (here is the job description and the goodies that come with it-http://www.specializedriders.com/blog/1/post/show/2384 )

I latched on to this idea and asked all of my riding pals to watch the video and share their thoughts. The judges read the comments after watching the video, and thanks to them, I have made it to round 2!!

The next step is an actual ride. Tan @ Specialized called me and said that I will be riding with the guys at the local shop so that they can get to know me better. It sounds like I've got this gig nailed and that the ride is just to make sure that I'm the real deal and not some freak.

More to come as things continue to unfold.

Fall is here!

You can see the leaves have already begun to cover the trails in Slaughter Pen. This makes the trails a bit "shady." By this, I don't mean that the sun doesn't come through the trees; rather, the leaves cover the roots and rocks in the trail, making it anyones guess what you're going to hit as you fly down the trail. Thank goodness for great suspension! Still, I tend to be a little more cautious.

Got out and rode Saturday with a group of 5. We hit the newer sections of the park. Yesterday, I rode by myself late in the morning for an hour. I rode hard: Seed tick to Urban to Razorback to Free Time, to Rocky Ridge to Razorback and Seed Tick again. Good cardio workout.

Saw a 4' black snake leaving headed into the woods as I started my first trail. I barely missed running over him. Is it good or bad luck crossing the path of a black snake? Either way, I had a great ride...

Finally, a day with no rain

Got out and rode with Brad Nielsen and Shane Davis today. It's been raining for days. The amazing thing about the trails in Slaughter Pen is that they shed water so well that they are ridable within hours of a rain.

We hit the Urban trail and the new section today. One casualty...I broke one of my eggbeater pedals. It's still rideable. I'm surprised though. I had another pair for 3 or 4 years that never broke despite hitting tons of obstacles. These pedels are maybe a year old.

The one that got away...

My brother Jon and his family came down to visit for Labor Day weekend. Jon and I always try to ride when we're together. We rode Saturday, and he filmed me the entire time with his helmet cam. We decided we would squeeze in a ride on Mon. morning as well before he had to hit the road, and I volunteered to man the helmet cam this time.

Labor Day started out with dense fog. With all of the moisture in the air, the first video I shot didn't turn out very well. The real bummer however was the second video. We rode up on a bridge, which was wet and slick. Jon hit the bridge at full speed and lost all traction. The bridge laid him out on his back. Then, to top it off, he slid off the side of the bridge on his back and fell what I would gauge to be 4 feet into the creek. It was amazing! Jon was done after that. At least he had video to watch of such a spectacular crash. Unfortunately we found out later that the battery had died. We are still bummed. There may never be another one like that again.

Opening Blog Entry

I've been considering doing this for a long time. I have been pondering the idea of starting a guide service for cycling, but knew that it would require a blog. I've definitely got the pictures and the testimonials of friends in many places to back up my claimed abilities, but it's time to start publishing them. This is the beginning of many pics and videos of bike trails, bike riders, and many good times, past and present.

You'll notice my blog is "QASpecialized." My initials are QAS and the bikes I ride are Specialized. I've had that for a gmail address for 5 years now. Specialized is currently holding a contest to find people to be on the Specialized Trail Crew. Riders will be given a 2o1o S-Works Stumpjumper to ride for a year and have opportunities to go ride together. My friend Wynn Peterson sent me a link last weekend and told me he thought I would be great for this. With the help of my wife, I recorded a video today that I believe clearly lays out the case that if anyone is Specialized, I AM. I also wanted to name names of all those that I have been able to share time with on the trail and help get started or get back on their bikes. I am leaving it to those of you who fall under those categories to comment on the video and share your experience.

I've had some great years, and I'm looking for next year to be the best yet. Here is what Specialized is looking for.

http://www.specializedriders.com/blog/1/post/show/2384

Check out my video and see what you think.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4JJYHTkGr7Q

Nemesis

This is the hill on the slick rock trail that I mention in my video posted on Youtube. I attempted this hill every year for the last 4 years. This year, I knew it was coming. I took my time riding to where I could view the massive climb. Here I stopped, and watched the rest of my group make their attempts. Zobe tried 3 times, and on the third time, he fell. I waited for everyone else to make their tries. I had no idea what it would be like on my Enduro. The last several times I made the attempt was on a Stumpjumper Expert.

I pedeled, nice and steady. Everyone always tripped up on the initial part of the ascent where the rock has a few knobby rocks jutting out of the path. I calmly negotiated through. Amazingly, I conquered...all the way to the top! All of my pals were standing near the middle of the climb encouraging me, knowing that the hardest part was over. Soon, we were all at the top celebrating together. I received many a Hi-Five.

2009 was my year at Moab!