Big Wheel Racing

Big Wheel Racing
Stan’s NOTUBES Clinic
24 Hours in the Enchanted Forest – A Race to SolveCFS

Lenny Goodell of Big Wheel Racing gave a Stan’s NOTUBES clinic on June 18^th at the 24 Hours in The Enchanted Forest – A Race to SolveCFS. This is the second year for this event which is a benefit for SolveCFS. SolveCFS is part of The CFIDS Association of America, the largest and most active charitable organization dedicated to Chronic Fatigue Syndrome (CFS), which affects more Americans than multiple sclerosis (MS), AIDS or lung cancer. This year’s event had 322 registered racers comprised of 82 soloist and 65 teams. It would be great to have Stan’s NOTUBES as an official sponsor of this event in 2012.

Lenny demonstrated to approximately 30 people the installation of 1) A tubeless ready tire on a high end tubeless ready rim 2) A tubeless ready tire on an older standard rim 3) Stan’s valve stems on both rims and removed cores for inflating 3) Stan’s yellow rim tape on the older standard rim.

Some of the questions Lenny answered were: 1) How much Stan’s sealant is required? A) 2-4oz, depending on the tire size and if it has previously been mounted with Stan’s sealant 2) If I get a flat while riding can it be re-inflated with a hand pump without putting in a tube?  A) Yes as long as the bead isn’t broken and the sealant seals the puncture 3) On deep standard rim, do you need more than one wrap of the yellow tape? A) Yes for some rims such as the Bontrager X-Lite rim, which was used in the demo.

During the event one of the female riders had a flat and didn’t want to install a tube. So along with a few other female attendees who watched the clinic they successfully remounted the tire with a floor pump and techniques demonstrated during the clinic to re-seal the tire. They were very pleased with their success…

Below are a bunch of the pictures taken at the clinic:

Full set of pictures at: https://picasaweb.google.com/goodellpublic/BWRStansClinicAt24HITEF2011?authkey=Gv1sRgCLCbhJOZ5NqBdQ#

Big Wheel had another great showing at 24 Hours in the Old Pueblo this year! 

The weather was much better than last year, but it still got cold and humid during the night (34′ish degrees) and windy most of the time. The course was in great shape and was fairly fast, except for the head wind on the bitches (6 rollers on a dirt rode). Lenny’s new Specialized 29er Captains tires from High Desert Bicycles rocked the trail. These are his new tires of choice!! Lenny and Jen’s King Cage Ti water bottle cages are sweet and worked great for those blind inserts in the middle of the night, and our new Pactimo team thermal jackets were sure nice for those cold early morning laps. The team was sporting their new one Red one Green BWR socks from Sock Guy, which Lenny received an offer to trade goods for a pair from a fellow SSer. Jen enjoyed her Kenda Karma’s hooked up for some stable laps on both her bikes, including the recently acquired custom frame from Siren bikes. Last but not least, are Lenny’s awesome SRAM Avid Juicy Ultimates brakes made descending sweet with the great modulation they allow.

A special thanks goes out to our PIT crews, which were Laura Hemperley, Claudia Goodell, Lenny’s parents, and others for Jen and Mike’s teams.  Liz Mazzola was there to pit for John, but got sucked into racing on the tandem. YOU ALL ROCK!!!

Here is how the BWR team members fared:

• Lenny Goodell -  5th  in Solo Single Speed
  • Podiumed with 11 laps
• Jeff Hemperley- 18th in Solo Single Speed
  • 7 laps before getting sick
• Jen Albright- 7th  in Coed-Duo 
  • 15 laps (7 laps for Jen) - only SSers in top 10
• Mike Mangan- 14th in 4 person men open
  • 19 laps  (5 laps for Mike)
• John & Liz Mazzola – 26th  in Coed-Duo
  • 5 laps – The lone Tandem team
  • Note that John & Liz had 6 or 7 flats and had not planned on riding the tandem until Todd (promoter) asked if they wanted to ride it in the coed-duo class.. so their tires were not properly prep’ed for this course. Wait and see what they do next year!!! I heard rumors of a full suspension tandem…

The full results are HERE.

Here are a few pictures from the event:

Lenny and Claudia sporting their BWR Moroccan Beanies.
Yep, they got them on their Morocco trip last December.

John & Liz on the Tandem at the start of the race.

Jeff (grr-animal) at the start of the race. Doesn’t look sick yet!

Jen at the start of the race.

Lenny still running at the start of the race.

The rest of the pictures can be viewed HERE.

Also the professional pictures are HERE. Enter Bib#
    65 for Lenny
   123 for Jeff
   239 for Jen
   465 for Mike
    7 for John & Liz

-Lenny

My (Wunnspeed) Ergon Love going on

A boy (namely me) and his gloves

As you can see from the above photos….I’m an avid Ergon fan. Big Wheel Racing picked up Ergon as a sponsor in ’08 and we’ve never looked back. We’re also proud to call them a sponsor for 2009. Woohoo! Seems that people on the team really love the quality, fit and feel of the things that Ergon produces. Seems that everyone has some unique way of using the packs for many things.

In the photo on the left, you can see my team Ergon team colored BD2 Backpack and the GP1 Leichtbau grips as well. In the photo on the right, you can just see my gloves. I’m lucky enough to live in Europe where these gloves (the HM1) are available.

Now, let me tell you a few things about these products. First, the grips. I’m primarily a singlespeeder. Also, I ride mostly without suspension so my hands can get quite tired and used to fall asleep after many hours in the saddle. Since I installed the GP1 grips on my bikes, I’ve not had any problems whatsoever. In fact, I’ve spent up to 8-9 hours in the saddle mtb touring in the Dolomites without a hint of a problem.

Ergon makes grips in many different configurations and also in various sizes. What that means to you is that you can choose what size, shape or color works for you. You can also get them with barends of various shapes and materials (i.e. Carbon Fiber, Magnesium, etc.).

The pack… in a word…. FANTASTIC!

Let me give you an idea of what some of the other team members have to say about Ergon products too.

Matt and Ergon working together

Matt Turgeon says… “Ergon changed the entire way I brake and hold onto the bike. At the onset of the 2008 season I did obtain a set of Ergon GP1 grips but did not know how to use them. I tried to still hold onto the grips with my smallest two fingers and then brake with the larger two. In early March I had an accident and ended up breaking 4 fingers, 2 in each hand. Recovery was difficult as I just could not hold onto the bars effectively, much less even try to use the brakes. A freidn familiar with the Ergon grips taught me how to properly hold the handle bars – with the index finger and thumb and then change to middle finger only braking. The change was AMAZING! With no pressure placed on the smallest two fingers anymore (which are also the weakest gripping fingers) my arms became more relaxed and my upper body no longer was prone to fatigue. Ergon is so far ahead of the curve and I love my GP1s!”

Andrew and Ergon

Andrew’s Ergon on the White Rim

Andrews pack on the White Rim

Andrew Carney says… “The Ergon BD2 is hands down the best hydration pack I’ve ever had on my back. The Ball-Link (FLink) system allows the pack to move with you and your movements as your ride. Long gone are the days of packs riding up or shoulder straps hindering upper body movement. It’s a sensation that truly has to be experienced to fully comprehend because you’ll never know how good a pack can feel until you’ve had an Ergon on your back. Inside the pack are countless little organizational details such as compartment separators, organizers, and an integrated rain fly. If you ride with a pack for long or short rides, a Ergon BD2 will be a vast improvement over traditional hydration packs in terms of both comfort and function.

I’ve been using Ergon grips for 2 years now and it was love at first grasp. The wing shape of the grip vastly reduces hand fatigue over long rides and provides many different hand positions. I prefer the GR2 with bar ends because they provide additional hand positions and leverage when I need it. I have a set of Ergons on every bike I own and no bike is complete without a set. Even if you’ve never experienced hand pain or fatigue on traditional grips, a set of Ergons will drastically improve both your comfort and control level while on the bike.”

Jeni Turgeon says… “The Ergon pack has got to be one of the most versatile pieces out there. It fits well to the back and allows you to stash tons of items either in the pack or outside and on it! ” and “No more sore hands with the Ergon grips!”

…and in the “Probably not what Ergon had in mind but we used their packs for it anyway file”…..

Devin Curran says… “I once attached a rear 29″ wheel to mine and rode home 9 miles from work…” Devins photos below.

Devin’s BD2 backpack and his Spot

Looking over Devin’s Ergon grips at the road ahead

Matt using his BD2 as a utility pack

Matt with the same BD2 out for a hike

Ergon changed the entire way I brake and hold onto the bike. At the onset of the 2008 season I did obtain a set of Ergon GP1 grips but did not know how to use them. I tried to still hold onto the grips with my smallest two fingers and then brake with the larger two. In early March I had an accident and ended up breaking 4 fingers, 2 in each hand. Recovery was difficult as I just could not hold onto the bars effectively, much less even try to use the brakes. A friend taught me how to properly hold the handle bars – with the index finger and thumb and then change to middle finger only braking. The change was AMAZING! With no pressure placed on the smallest two fingers anymore (which are also the weakest gripping fingers) my arms became more relaxed and my upper body no longer was prone to fatigue. Ergon is so far ahead of the curve and I love my GP1s!

Well it’s the end of the 2008 cycling season and the Big Wheel Racing team was all over the world this year!  We truly did international events thanks to our 3 members over in Germany who raced all over the European continent!  But the domestic riders here in the US were no slouches either as many events were covered by our team members.

We will soon begin actively seeking new sponsors for the team and hope to retain and work with many of the sponsors who were with us this year and also last year!  The growth of the team has been tremendous in just 2 years of our existence!  We truly owe it all to our sponsors and we thanks all of you.

If you are interested in sponsoring Big Wheel Racing, please download the team resume by clicking here.  Contact information and pricing is listed on the resume, and note that in some instances were are also open to bartering for sponsorship.

Here is a short list  of just SOME OF THE events covered in 2008 and many of those – plus others – we plan to hit again in 2009!