Big Wheel Racing

Big Wheel Racing team members Jeff, Jeni and Matt rode in the 2nd Annual Durango Fall Blaze Century Ride in Durango, CO.  The ride is hosted by professional cyclists Tom and Kristin Danielson.  Tom races for the new Slipstream/Chipotle Team and Kristin races for Velo Bella, and together they host this charity ride to raise money for their alma mater, Ft. Lewis College.  The ride brought in over $22,000 for the college and will be used for scholarships. 

 The BWR team members rode together for the century, wearing our team clothing, and now getting to wear the team jackets and vests because of the cooler weather.  Our Maxxis tires worked well on the road pavement, and also some packed dirt roads that Tom threw into the great course for this year.  We all used our Honey Stinger products and really appreciate the support from them over the years.  Honey Stinger has been a supporter of Big Wheel Racing and also FooMTB, the local trail advocacy group that Matt & Jeni founded.  Their energy bars and honey gels are just really great tasting and packed full of the power needed for endurace events. 

Image from Adam Lisonbee. 

The Vapor Trail 125 is a grueling ultra-endurance mountain biking event in Salida, Colorado hosted by Absolute Bikes and organized by Tom Purvis and shop owner, Shawn Gillis.  Matt was fortunate enough to be invited to this, which required a resume of accomplishmenst in endurance racing. 

A total of 33 individuals lined up at the start, in downtown Salida at Midnight, Sept. 8, 2007.  18 would finish the course with the others dropping out at checkpoints along the way. 

Matt finished with the 5th fastest time over all, and also had the 1st fastest finishing time for singlespeeders.  

 Matt rode his Moots Mooto-x Singlespeed complete with the Kenda Small Block 8 tires. 

Honey Stinger Energy and also Protein Bars were a big part of Matt’s nutrition plan. 

Diet Power has kept the team members fit and trim all year, and we have truly enjoyed the support from Terry Dunkle.

In addition, Matt stopped by Santa Fe Brewing Company on the return trip and was rewarded with the team favorite - Santa Fe Pale Ale - thanks Ty and Brian!

The Vapor Trail 125 is one of the most grueling ultra-endurance challenges out there as it covers 125-miles of mountain bike trails, and rough primitive roads, with over 20,000-ft of climbing and at elevations between 9,000-ft to 12,000-ft.

A very detailed course description is located at the Vapor Trail website.

Jeff Hemperley raced on his singlespeed bike in the Escalante Days Cross-Country Mountain Bike Race in Dolores, Co.  Jeff captured 2nd place in the category and did very well representing Big Wheel Racing again in southwestern Colorado.  Way to go Jeff!

The Big Wheel Racing Team had great numbers at the 2007 edition of 24hrs of Sage in Gunnison, Co.  The 24 hour mountain bike race took place at Hartman Rocks on a 13-mile looped course, and the goal was to see how many times racers could complete the loop in a 24-hour period.  Big Wheel Racing team members Jen Albright, Jeff Hemperley, and Matt Turgeon all raced as solo racers on singlespeed bikes, and Lisa Wishard raced as a solo rider on her geared bike.  Lyn Alter and Jeni Turgeon raced as a duo in the women’s duo category.  198 entrants competed in this, the largest field ever for the 5th annual http://www.24hoursinthesage.com/.

The team did quite well, with Matt taking 1st place in the solo singlespeed category, and 3rd place overall.  Jeff took 8th place solo singlespeed, and Lisa and Jen took 6th and 9th places in the Women’s Solo Categories.  Way to go solo riders!

Jeni and Lyn raced in the duo category against teams comprised almost entirely of men.  They captured 2nd place in the women’s duo teams, and 10th place in all duos. 

Thanks to all the team supporters for this effort!  Big Wheel Racing had a great day and represented quite well.

Despite very limited knowledge of the courses, a 3 -stage mountain bike race at the Rim Nordic area, near Bear Lake, summoned me like a sailor to a siren. All of the ingredients for a great weekend were available; hillclimb, short track, x-country, typically a stellar single speed field (lots of pros in SoCal), cooler temperatures (nights in the 40’s, highs in the 80’s), camping in the woods, beer, new friends to meet..

The race was well-organized, and run by a crew full of infectious excitement. But, it was short..way short.. The hill climb was just under 2 miles, mostly jeep road, not very steep. The short track was 10 minutes plus 3 laps. After pre-riding the bottom half of the hill climb, and the short track loop, I realized that my 34×20 was way undergeared. A quick trip back to the car revealed that although I had my 18tooth cog, I didn’t have the spacer combo that I needed to install it. C’est la vie. Race what you have.. 1st and 2nd place in ss were pushing 32×14 and 32×16. I spun with them for a while but I couldn’t hang on as they pulled ahead. I couldn’t have hung onto 1st place regardless of my gearing. The short track was worse, but it was fun. As we sat on the line, ssers were racing with the sport class, the announcer suggested that we ride easy for a while, and turn it into a race after 10 minutes. Some guys in the group liked that idea. I didn’t He said go..I went.. for 3 laps, I dervishly spun my little gear, knowing that I couldn’t sustain this anaerobic hell, but also knowing that group was shattered. Finally, Trevor and Mark, and a few of the top sport guys pulled around, and how I envied them as they spun up the road at half of my cadence.. Another 3rd place awaited..

Two races down, less than 30 minutes of high-intensity effort.. Sunday’s cross country race was more suiting to my gearing, two 6-mile laps. The course was great, essentially 15 minutes of single track/double track climbing (with some very steep, loose, sandy pitches) , another 8-10 minutes of mostly gentle (ie. spun-out climbing) on a gradually climbing jeep road, which was the prefect place to suck down a few Honey Stingers. Then 10-12 minutes descending loose jeep roads and single track, with some wicked nasty, sandy, stutter-bumpy switchbacks near the top..just stick your front wheel into the rut and hang-on. 68 minutes later I finished in 4th place (a new pro showed up and wasted us all). My effort was good enough to hang onto 3rd for the stage race..

This gives me points in the SoCal Triple Crown series, meaning that there are a few more shorter races in my immediate future, so I need to start hitting the intervals. I finished the cross country race feeling all warmed up and ready to start racing

Big Wheel Racing Team Member Donnie Cole won the 2007 Sandia Crest Dualathalon riding a Singlespeed bike!  The course consisted of a mountain bike race up the legendary 8.5-mile King-of-the-Mountain trail to the top of the Sandia Crest Ski Area.  Once up on top, the racers changed over to running and loop on the mountain top (all at over 10k elevation), and then the racers returned to descend back down King-of-the-Mountain.  In Donnie’s own words, he wrote;

Saturday morning I lined up at the starting line for the Sandia Peak Challenge duathalon, which consisted of a ride up King-of -the-Mountain, then a change into the running shoes for a 2 mi. run on the service road to the Ellis trail head parking lot and back, change back into the bike shoes and head back down king of the mountain.  I rode my single speed Gunnar with a 19×32 gearing and threw a couple of Honey Stinger gels in my jersey pocket in case my energy level got low. I was second off the line and was able to maintain my position to the top. My Maxxis Cross mark tires hooked up great. The first guy to the top was doing a two person team so that put me in first place for the solo class. Had a good run and an ok descent and finished in 2:06 which was good enough for 1st place overall.  All in all it was a very challenging event. The Sandia Peak Challenge raised $26,000 for the Cystic Fibrosis Foundation.

Jeni Turgeon also raced Sandia Crest Mountain Bike race which consisted of just the 8.5-mile King-of-the-Mountain trail and it’s infamous 1700-ft of climbing!  Jeni raced in the Women’s Sport Category and took 4rth place.

Jens Nielsen and Matt Turgeon both raced the Breckenridge 100 on July 22, 2007 in Breckenridge, CO.   Big Wheel Racing team member Jeni crewed for both Matt and Jens.  Matt raced on the Moots Mooto-x SingleSpeed, and won the singlespeed division of the race, and also placed 8th place over all out of 84 contestants for the 100-mile solo race, and Jens placed 11th. 

A description from Cycling News on the course states;

“After five days of thundershowers and inclement weather, race day for the third annual Breckenridge 100 and its little brother the B-63 greeted athletes with cloudless blue skies and only a hint of a breeze. Starting at 6:00 am at the Riverwalk Center in downtown Breckenridge, the racers began their quest to race three distinct cloverleaf style loops among the high alpine terrain of Summit County. Loop one took riders over Wheeler Pass at 12,374 feet and onto the Colorado Trail to traverse the Ten Mile range at 12,500 feet. Total elevation gain for the three loops is 13,010 feet.”

The race included several professional riders, including former US Olympian, and 8 time National Champion Tinker Juarez, and also US Olympian and 2 time National Champion Travis Brown.  The news report from Cycling News can be found here.

Matt rode his KendaKarma 1.9 tires and with the 29-in wheels found those to be perfect for the course on a singlespeed.  Jens, rode tires from Maxxis- another sponsor of Big Wheel Racing -and used his favorite Crossmarks.  The Moots Mooto-x performed flawlesssly for Matt and he believes that the bike performed much better than any other mountain bike that he has ridden.  Both riders used Honey Stinger energy and protein bars, as is the normal for Big Wheel Racing team members.  Both Matt and Jeni and also team member Brad Davis all race on Moots Cycles, a legendary Steamboat Springs, CO bicycle manufacturer.  Jen’s wife Karen even brought along celebratory Santa Fe Brewing beer at the conclusion!  The team members enjoyed the Fiesta IPA special brew.  The support crew and team members also enjoyed wearing the complemetary clothes from Avant Garb in Albuquerque, NM.  Thanks Mark, and thanks to all of our other sponsors for helping the team out!  We truly appreciate your support and have enjoyed representing your company and products!

The Santa Fe Big Friggin Loop, stop number 3 of the grassroots style New Mexico Endurance Series covered nearly 70 miles and 14,000 feet of climbing on steep, remote trails around Santa Fe, NM.54 participants were in the race and 20 finished the grueling course.

Jens Nielsen (Big Wheel Racing) of Albuquerque, NM won the race at 9:09 with John Stevens (Mountain Top Cycling) also of Albuquerque, NM coming in second at 9:19.

Lyra Parker of Durango, CO won the Women’s Division with a finish time of 11:55.

Matt Turgeon (Big Wheel Racing) of Albuquerque took the Singlespeed Divison with a time of 9:30.

Former New Mexico State Governor Gary Johnson (Taos Ski Valley, NM) finished with New Mexico Endurance Racing Legend John Mazzola (Cedar Crest, NM) and Deb Wrenko (Santa Fe, NM) at 15:58 to close out the field of finishers.

13,500 foot of elevation climbing, 155 miles. This is one tough road bike race in Fresno, CA to the top of Kaiser Pass.  Three members of Big Wheel Racing participated - Jeff Hemperly and Matt & Jeni Turgeon.

305 people began the ride, and 255 finished.  Like we said, this is one tough race! 

Matt did very well, placing 9th overall in 9:39 (sub 10 hours!!!).

Jeff, affectionately known as El Freako from Rico, placed 36th at 10:33. Jeff’s friends, Chuck and Keevin, placed 84th and 86th respectively both at 11:55, and Jeni came in 186th place at 14:09.  

Wow, what an effort!  Way to go BWR.

We brought out some Santa Fe Pale Ale for after race celebrations and it was well appreciated.  Jeni and Matt both rode on Maxxis tires, with Jeni on the Courchevals and Mat on his favorite Detonators.  While most of the roads were smooth, some were rough and the tough Maxxis tires made descending seem like we had full control at all times.  Not a flat or even a drop in tire pressure.  Honey Stinger bars, again did the nutrition trick and all 3 of us were kept full of energy through the race by eating the nutrition bars and also honey gels. 

Jeni Turgeon just recently completed her 3rd Double Century (200-miles in one day) by finishing the Grand Tour 200 in Malibu, CA on June 23, 2007.  Jeni had previously completed the Death Valley Double, and the Solvang Double Centuries previously this year.   By completing the 3rd Double Century in one calendar year, Jeni became a California Triple Crown winner for the first time ever, and 2nd member of Big Wheel Racing to accomplish the task.  The purpose of the California Triple Crown is not only to encourage individuals to participate in these Double Centuries but, more importantly, to recognize the individuals’ accomplishments. Riding a Double Century requires a lot of training and mental determination so this series of challenging events provides many positive benefits.

Jeni used her Road ID bracelet, and MaxxisRoad Tires and Maxxis Tubes on her carbon fiber road bike.  We celebrated her completion by opening bottles Santa Fe Pale Ale (Matt’s favorite) and Santa Fe Wheat (Jeni’s favorite) brewing in New Mexico by our sponsor, the Santa Fe Brewing Company.  In addition, which is always a requirement for us, the wool Sock Guy Socks kept our feet quite happy - even in the summer!

Please congratulate Jeni for accomplishing her first triple crown! 

Less than two weeks after moving to California, I tried to continue the Big Wheel Racing dominance at the the 12 Hours of Socal above Lake Vail in Temecula, unfortunately I lack Matt’s legs and lungs. With temperatures exceeding 90F, and less than 200 feet of shaded on a 10.6 mile course, it’s safe to say that I wilted, less than most but more than the two leaders. By the end of the day (8:20 or so) I had completed 10 laps, for a total of 106 miles with 13,500 feet of climbing (not to mention the extra 2 miles and couple hundred vertical feet from a wrong turn during Lap 2), which was enough for third place in the Solo SS category (and prolly top 5 or 6 in overall solo). At 7 pm, I checked the results and saw that I wasn’t going to catch the two leaders, and no one was going to catch me, so I could’ve stopped, but the trail continued call to me, and the sunset loop was spectacular (and the temperatures were dropping, coincidence?).

The race organizer puts on an excellent event. The course was challenging (even without the heat), with very steep climbs, some steep descents, and lots of sand. The aid station at the summit of the Dam Climb, was manned all day by the most cheerful of volunteers and the coldest liquid water imaginable. It was a welcome shock to the system to down 2 dixie cups every lap, and almost painful to dump a third one down my back. Then sporadically, the promoter was encountered anywhere on the course on his quad. Inspecting the course, looking after the welfare of racers, and giving words of encouragement throughout. I’ll be back in November to compete again, this time the SoCal boys will be cold and Ill be relishing the change..

Sponsorship ShoutOut - Hard to tell from the picture, but I rocked the SockGuy reggae striped socks all day, would’ve resulted in funky tanlines if it weren’t for all the dirt on my legs with an SPF of 1000..

The Pactima kit kept me super-comfy all day, despite the amount of black on the jersey and the copious amount of water on my back that dripped down to my shorts. ‘Nuff said

And I still feel that I can ride all day long on Hammer Perpetuem, although with respect to the heat, I did supplement the Perpetuem with Hammer Nutrition’s Endurolytes. JIC..

All smiles prior to the start

3 laps down, still smiling

6 laps down, moving to a camelback, hurting but still smiling

The beginning of the Dam Climb, which continues up the ridgeline to the right, and then gets steeper as we climb the next two ridgelines

After the summit, the route continued down ridgelines on terrain resembling Fruita, or White Mesa