Tour de France Mapping Update

The TDF site now has an official link to the Google Earth file of the Tour route.
Now you can also track the race in progress directly in Google Earth, with a live link showing the situation of the race along the route. I'm not so sure how well this will work for tomorrow's Stage 7 Time Trial, but it sounds like fun, anyway. The link and how-to explanation can be found here.
Here's another site which allows you to track the position and vital statistics like heart rate, speed, stress and power of a few selected riders who are using special equipment on their bikes allowing this information to be transmitted. With accompanying blog explanation.

GORC does Whistler!

A small, select group of GORC members hit Whistler, BC Canada for the World Mountain Bike Conference, and some uber-technical riding last week. Here's some teaser pix, we'll get pictures, and maybe some movies onto the website very soon.

One of the early rides we did (Thursday evening) was "A River Runs Through It", this is a fairly well-known trail that features numerous stunt sections. It was a complete blast to ride. In fact you don't so much as ride these trails as you do "session" them. We'd often stop and ride sections of stunts over to take pictures or just to 'clean' them. Here's your's truly on one of the stunts.



Fast forward ahead a few days, and we hit the bike park. Kirb and I rented some monster bikes (Rocky Mountain RMX's 8-inches of travel!!) and tried to go big. Well, we didn't go as big as the bikes are capable of, but we did have some serious fun. Here's a shot of the GORC-Prez himself airing it out over a tabletop jump on "Crank-It Up".



Good times, no injuries. We'll get a new gallery section up soon.

Tour de France Time

Google Earth View of part of Stage 16, Wednesday, July 19th

Well, it's that time of the year again. Here are a few links to help get you ready for this year's Tour:
-If you have Google Earth installed on your computer, you can just click here to view the Tour route in 3D. (You'll probably have to rotate the globe around to France because the intitial view is still centered on the US. Funny.)
-I posted a link to TDF Blog last year. It has all kinds of interesting and unusual Tour-related items.
-ESPN's Cycling News Wire has photos published by the various wire services pretty much as soon as they're available to the public. Usually different than the ones found on cyclingnews.com or Velonews.

Chewie Does the Lumberjack 100

Lumberjack 100

The Lumberjack 100, a 100 mile MTB endurance race was held this past weekend up at the Big M Trail System near Manistee, Michigan.
A couple of our biking friends, Aaron "Chewie" Smith, and Nate Phelps have made the big time, not only finishing 57th and 58th out of 58 finishers, but getting their pictures on cyclingnews.com as well! Great job, especially considering that only 58 out of ~170 starters finished the race.
12 and 1/2 hours in the saddle in 90+ degree heat. Ouch. Oh yeah, Chewie did the whole thing on a fixed gear, and Nate rode a singlespeed.

St. Charles County Parks Mountain Bike Training Class

Eight participants showed up for the first St. Charles County Parks "Inroduction to Mountain Biking" ride. Four GORC elves showed up to help steer the participants around the park. SCC Parks employee Kent "trail shredder" James had a nice introductory level course laid out and everyone survived the the trek. All present seemed to have a pretty good time and I personally hear many saying "I'll be back to do this again next month".

The ride lasted for just over an hour and several folks went out for a few more miles after regrouping at the original start point.

I fully expect this ride to grow in size and when it does, there will be multiple groups going out covering varying skill levels. This is the perfect way to introduce that friend, relative, significant other, kid, stranger or coworker to mountain biking. Its also a great way to help someone who is familiar with riding to step up their skill level. We'll do our best to make sure anyone who shows up doesn't end up seeing something like this...

What:
GORC Mountain Bike Training Class

When:
2nd Wed. of each month, May 10 – Sept.13
6:00 PM–Dusk

Where:
June & July - Quail Ridge Park, Wentzville
August & September - Matson Hill Park, Defiance

Which Line Would You Take?

This is the spot on the trail at Big Bear where Rockboy broke his chain. The picture was taken looking against the flow of the trail. The line over the roots was the original trail, but proved to be a lot trickier than most riders were willing to chance, especially with the damp conditions. There were usually about 10-20 spectators here waiting for the carnage. Once the alternate line wore in, it wasn't quite as interesting.
So, which would you choose; the fast, straight shot over the roots with the risk of your front tire sliding and running you into one of the trees, or the safer, wider one which forced you to slow down?

Tilly the next generation

Ok, here she is. We got her from Gods Creatures. An anti-death adoption agency in SPFLD MO. She is approximately 12 weeks old now. Obnoxious! And wakes up at 5:30am leaping onto the bed and playing with your toes. She is the newest addition to the Adams's family and already pi$$ing off the Mandster. Anyway, she is helping fill the hole that Harriette made when she left us. RIP little Harriette and watch us down here going through the hell of kittenhood. Steph

Greensfelder Trail Elf

For those of you wondering who Kent, the Greensfelder Trail Elf is, here's a picture of him doing what he does best. Next time you see him, please thank him, a non-GORC member, for all the hard work he puts in at our workdays. Ok, well, maybe not hard work.
Don't worry if you see him wandering around in the woods talking to himself. That happens all the time. He's really ok.

Snap the flowers

Because sometimes it's worth stopping. Here's an article from MDC full of tips on taking pictures of wildflowers. I don't know when it was written but it seems a little dated -- there is no mention of digital, but photography is still photography, just quicker now. There's good info on lighting, improvised diffusers and reflectors, flash, composition, etc. If you're not comfortable controlling aperture and depth of field you might want to read up on that too. But past the basics, the real key seems to be having a good eye for photos, or just bring Frank with you like GORC in Colorado last year. Many of the modern small digital cameras have great macro focusing and some of them even have the controls to get really experimental. Then when you get back on the bikes you can use the same camera to shoot videos of your friends dropping off ledges. Or mount it to your handlebar for videos that would make you sick. This modern world...

Bridge to Nowhere

It made me sad to see this construction out on the Grotpeter Trail at Castlewood.
I thought about how many lunches the materials used for it might buy for workdays spent repairing and maintaining the deteriorating trails there.
It seems like it would be more useful to teach how to build sustainable trails, or reroute around problem areas, rather than attempting band-aid projects such as this.

Ride Report: Greensfelder

The DeClue reroute at Greensfelder is finished, so 7 of us decided to ride it on Sunday. We started at the Roundhouse parking lot and began by riding Dogwood counterclockwise. Dogwood is in great shape, even after taking a pounding during the Spring freeze-thaw cycle. The climb out of the valley back up to the Roundhouse has a few rough spots where it crosses drainages, but is entirely rideable. Next, the awesomely fun section of DeClue down to Allenton Rd.
Then it's up the steep, rocky grinder to the Radio Tower. Not much has changed with it. In order to enjoy all the fun stuff going clockwise on DeClue, there aren't many alternatives.
DeClue is in good shape aside from a few wet spots below the rock garden where post-holes have collected some water in the drainage.
Up, up and away, then the rollercoaster ride. Mountain biking doesn't get much better than this!
Regroup at the cut-off before beginning the next rocky section. So far, the Punisher is crash free!
Through, around, up and over the rocks until you get to the steep, rocky downhill section. Well, it's not there anymore. The trail continues straight, bypasses and cuts back across the old section in a S-shape before rejoining the existing DeClue section. Along the way are ledges, dips, alternate lines, off-camber screamer sections, and other assorted fun. Um, Randy, the trail turns left here.
You're only on the old trail for about 50 ft. and then there's a keyhole which directs you down and to the left--watch out for that ledge! Down, down, around. More ledges, rocks, turns, a bit of climbing, hoops embedded in trees, the "loading dock", and then back to Allenton Rd.
Then the hardest part is trying to decide which way to head next; back up the way you came, or hit the fun section across the road. Better do both!
We need to put a lot more wheels down on this trail. Don't forget the Off.

Illinois Riding in the Shawnee

When most people think about riding in Illinois, rocks are not usually the first thing that come to mind. Well, for those of you who aren't aware of it yet, there's plenty of rocky, technical riding in the Shawnee National Forest near Carbondale.
Our friends down at SMBA are working hard on some existing trails there that needed a little TLC. If you like Chubb and Greensfelder, with maybe a little of Matson Hill thrown in for good measure, then this is the place for you.
Pete and Gigi were down there recently and kindly submitted a few photos of their ride on the Cove Hollow Trail. Cove Hollow and the Cedar Lake Trail share a common trailhead, so you can get in a tough ride of up to 22 miles if you're so inclined.
There are other trails down there as well, so check out the website.

Greensfelder Workday Saturday 5/20

We're going to try and finish the re-route this weekend, but there are several somewhat complicated sections left to build, so we'll need help from all the experienced GORC trailbuilding experts we can get out there.
The map shows what's been done to this point, and what we hope to finish is shown in red.
If you haven't been out yet to see why some GORC members consider this to be one of the most fun, and exciting trails in the area, now's your chance.
Be aware that I-44 has some major construction going on around the 6 Flags exit, so you might want to consider an alternate route. Here are a few other alternatives:

You Were Wrong Cabinet Sanchez

This site features "poorly-drawn cartoons inspired by actual spam subject lines." The Cabinet Sanchez one apparently got things started. I know I've been getting some crazy ones lately.

SIUE Connector Trail

Here's a detail of the newly constructed connector trail between Trails 1 & 3 at SIUE. Previously, you went to the first intersection with the cross-country trail and followed it down to the bottom of the hill, made a left, then a right on the asphalt. Now, the connector branches off to the right just before the cross-country trail, and takes you around to a short section of asphalt which leads to New Poag Rd. and on to the trailhead of #3.

In search of the blue agave

In honor of Cinco de Mayo, the anniversary of the invention of the blender, here's a fourteen page article about tequila and mezcal. I figure it'll take an evening to read it for those inclined to learn more than they need to about the stuff. Happy 84th birthday to the magic spinning blade, and catch a cab home if you drive to the bar on Friday.

Bill Introduced to allow easier development of trails in MO State Parks

News from the MOBikeFed.
In case you missed State Rep. Mike Sutherland's talk at the MMBF, here are the details of a bill he introduced back in Feb. to make it easier for groups like GORC to build trails in Missouri State Parks:
Rep. Sutherland's amendment allows one organization to help across several (or all) Missouri parks and allows expands the scope of the allowed activities to include trail building.
In short, it allows organizations like GORC, EarthRiders, and IMBA to work with the Missouri Parks to build trails of all types.

Ozark Trail on the TeeVee

Not everybody gets the Ozark Trail Association's weekly email updates so I'll post this up here. John Roth of the OTA (and GORC, but he keeps that on the DL) just had a really big weekend with the Middle Fork / 200 mile grand opening celebration. Here's a great five-minute interview with him from last week on the KMOV-4 TV morning show. Click this link and then click Part 3. He even plugs mountain biking on the OT in it. Go OTA.

MTBr's spankin' the roadies!

It's been a good week for old MTBr's gone road racing.

First, Floyd Landis spanks'em good in the Tour of Georgia (not the "Tour de Georgia", as the promotors named it. That's lame) The second-to-last stage up Brasstown Bald was fantastic, with Danielson and Landis stalking each other up the hill. Danielson later admitted to making a potential "tactical error" by not attacking right from the start of the BB climb. Landis was able to cover his every move on the way up. Landis used to race for the GT mtb squad.



Yesterday, Cadel Evans showed'em his backside in the final ITT to win Romandie. Cadel is a former MTB world champ with Cannondale.



Keep'em comin' boyz! The Giro starts this weekend.