Big Wheel Racing

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!

By Nate

Fool Hollow Lake in the town of Show Low Az hosted the Deuces Wild Triathlon Festival on May 31 / June 1. The even consists of a “long course” (aka half ironman distance) and an Olympic distance on Saturday, as well as an XTERRA off-road triathlon on Sunday. I elected to do the Long Course race on Saturday, and headed to the lake to bag a camping spot after work on Thursday.

The long course went off at 0630 Saturday morning in an extremely brisk lake (~61F?), and thanks to the combination of altitude and cold water I had a bit of a slow swim at 37:10 for the 1.2mi (2000m). After that long cold soak on the legs it took some time to get up to speed on the bike, but once finally loosened up the bike went smoothly, hammering out the 57.5mi in 2:42:04, which turned out to be 13th fastest bike split of the day. Heat and wind started to become a challenge on the in the last 14mi (which also contains the majority of the sustained climbing on the course). The combination of Perpetuem and nuun worked flawlessly on the bike as usual. An early mistake in T1 though I think set things in motion for a problem filled run, I took a couple ibuprofen after the swim to ward off the not uncommon post swim headache, having forgotten to bring tylenol. Unfortunately, what I failed to remember is ibuprofen will tear up my stomach in a hot run like we had. The result was an inability to absorb nutrition during the run, so after the initial 6 miles pace was decreasing continuously despite trying to keep up the fuel/hydration strategy that has worked well in the past. Consequently the run was a somewhat disappointing 2:04:12. A testament to the Hammer Nutrition and nuun combination on the bike that I had enough gas in the tank to complete the 13.1 mi run with effectively no nutrition and still salvage a 5:29:38 total time. Good enough for 30th overall and 4th in the 30-34 age group.

nuun is “gettin’ it done”

With great pleasure Big Wheel Racing would like to announce that High Desert Bicycles & Specialized Bikes have teamed up to provide sponsorship for our team. We are truly thankful for the opportunity to work with High Desert Bicycles of Rio Rancho, NM which is by far the top shop in central New Mexico. With a line up that includes America’s top bike company, Specialized Bike, and their innovative products, High Desert also provide bicycles from Spanish cycling giant Orbea, and American mountain biking companies Yeti and Titus.

Here is part of the now full line up of women’s bikes from Specialized, the carbon fiber Safire!

Since a good majority of the BWR team likes to singlespeed, this bike caught the attention of several team members!

Drool at the Specialized roadie bling!

The women are a huge part of BWR’s team, as we currently have 6 strong female riders. We are always trying to grow the number of women on the team, and now thanks to High Desert and Specialized our teamates can ride in style!

Since we are Big Wheel enthusiasts, no post would be complete without a 29er!

Rich can hardly contain his excitement!

You can even buy a full team kit from High Desert’s road team, which are our new partners in crime!

Nate and Donnie talking with one of the store’s owners, John Kibodeaux.

High Desert Bicycles chose to sponsor Big Wheel Racing because, according to John, they wanted to support the local mountain bike and endurance racing scene. We are very appreciative of this support and we will strive to do our best to represent the shop. We can only hope that we can display a level of generosity back to the shop in equal to the faith they have shown in us. Thanks High Desert and Specialized!

If you visit, the shop, please tell them that you saw this post on the Big Wheel Racing website.

nuun solves hydration! Convenient, easily packable, and great flavors. An optimum blend of electrolytes to keep you hydrated without all the sticky sweet sugar of sports drinks. nuun allows you to decouple your hydration from your nutrition letting you choose how to refuel.

Use it for an all day epic, or keep a tube in your gym bag for those short workouts where you require hydration but don’t need the carbs.

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.

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

Count on Klinger Constructors, Inc. as one of Big Wheels Racing’s newest supporters!

Klinger Constructors, LLC constructs physical environments in which businesses and people can prosper. We offer extensive construction and design-build services in commercial, industrial, and institutional markets. Since 1982 Klinger has been based in
Albuquerque, New Mexico and has constructed a wide range of projects in the Southwest., We have completed more than $550 million worth of construction. Our customers include many major national companies including MCI, General Electric, General Mills, Intel, State Farm, Wal-Mart and Philips Semiconductors, as well as numerous regional and local firms.

Diet Power software will be supplied to all Big Wheel Racing team members for the 2007 season. This unique tool is very beneficial to athletes who are concerned about proper nutritional intake. BWR members will give reports on the program as the season moves on. We are very proud to have the support of Diet Power and Terry Dunkle.

Top Calorie Counter & Diet Coach

Leading Weight Loss Software Offers No-Strings 15-Day Trial

Of all the weight loss programs on the market today, only Diet Power guarantees reaching your goal weight on your target date. Our award-winning diet software makes any diet* more powerful by helping you control what all diet plans have in common: calories. Our software also balances your intake of 33 vitamins and minerals by recommending foods you like. This extraordinary degree of personalization is one reason weight watchers rate our calorie counter and diet program the world’s best.

Besides Counting Calories…

…our diet software shows nutrition facts for 11,000 foods, plans menus, tracks calories burned in exercise, charts body measurements, “doctors” recipes for healthy weight loss, delivers personalized nutrition news and features, lets you meet weight watchers online, and more…

Use Our Diet Calculator Free—No Obligation

Try our complete diet program free for 15 days. (You can download now or get a CD in the mail.) If you like what you see, pay $49.99. If you don’t, there’s nothing to cancel, nothing to return—We’re Not That Kind of Company™. (Even after purchase, we offer an unparalleled one-year money-back guarantee.)

From Road ID’s founders:

The concept for Road ID hit home while I was training for my first marathon. My father, being a concerned parent, said “What if you had an accident while running? What if you were hit by a car, tripped and knocked yourself unconscious, fainted, suffered from heat exhaustion or, heaven forbid, had a heart attack?” To my father, I said “Ah dad, don’t worry about it.” To myself I said, “Man, I’d be up $#!t creek without a paddle.” The hospital would have no idea who I was, how to pull my medical records and most importantly, who to contact. It freaked me out to think that I could be lying in a hospital and neither my friends nor my family would know where I was, simply because I did not have ID.

It wasn’t long after my first marathon that my father (Mike) and I (Edward) teamed up to create Road ID. If you are a runner, cyclist, jogger, walker, hiker, climber, skater, skier, boarder or someone who just doesn’t spend all of their time on the couch, then I encourage you to invest in some security - order a Road ID now. Don’t wait until it’s too late. While you are on our site, take your time. Make sure you find out everything you need and should know about wearing ID. If you have any questions, just contact us. We are happy to personally address any of your questions.

ACCIDENTS DO HAPPEN!! Each year, over 450,000 of us are taken to hospitals unconscious and without Identification. If you experience an unexpected injury or sudden illness, when not at home, don’t you want those who come to your aid to have quick easy access to YOUR IDENTITY? Road ID not only provides safety and peace of mind for you and your loved ones, but Road ID can prevent serious delays in medical treatment and possibly even save your life.

Our mission is two fold: One, to educate runners, cyclists, walkers and other athletes who participate in other sports such as rollerblading, skiing, climbing and hiking about the importance of wearing ID. Two, to provide these athletes with innovative products that impel them want to include ID as an integral part of their gear. Whether you engage in cycling, bicycling, running, walking or any other sports, let Road ID assist you in making ID an integral part of your gear.
Please support Road ID by going to www.roadid.com Tell them Big Wheel Racing sent you!

Ride424™.com was conceived with one simple goal -  to help grow the sport of off-road ultras by providing information to help newcomers and experienced racers alike get more fun out of these challenging and rewarding events. By providing a forum for the North American racing calendar we also aim to help race promoters coordinate with each other, fostering constructive competition among those who bravely step up to the plate to promote ultra-MTB events.

Karl Etzel founded Ride424™.com in 2004 to address the needs of serious (and not so serious) ultra-endurance MTB racers. Recognizing that the sport is young and unorganized, and that racing is often a significant expense in both time and money, he built the site into a consumer review page for athletes trying to make informed decisions about which races to pick. Karl has a background in engineering and was a marketing manager in the Silicon Valley tech industry prior to founding Ride424™.com and Momandpopcoffee.com.

Big Wheel Racing proudly supports the efforst of Karl and Ride424.  Please check out his website and patronize his sponsors in order to help keep this valuable racing resource viable. 

Whether you are in the market for a starter bike or pro level gear for the road or dirt, BikeSource has you covered. With six locations throughout the United States, you are sure to find a location nearby or simply visit them on the web. BikeSource carries a wide variety of bicycle, clothing and accessory brands including Specialized, Serotta, Cervelo, Orbea, Pearl Izumi, CycleOps and Oakley.

BWR thanks BikeSource for its support of grass roots racing!

Whether you’re jumping out of the gate in BMX or mountain cross, lining out the sprint in the local crit, screaming along on your favorite downhill, or climbing to the top of the nearest mountain just to ride back down, you don’t have to worry about what’s underneath. Go ahead and focus on the race, the course, the competition, the ride – leave your tires to Maxxis. Maxxis takes pride in the development and construction of high–quality performance products that riders trust on any surface.

That trust is earned through continual improvements in technology. Assisted by their champion sponsored riders, who offer feedback on performance and durability, Maxxis’ engineers develop innovative tread patterns and pioneering technology. Many different compounds and durometers - joined with features such as Kevlar® belts, our exclusive silkworm technology, butyl inserts and nylon breakers – let riders conquer any terrain. The resulting improved performance and durability translate to victory for professionals –and a trouble free ride for the enthusiast in all of us.

BWR thanks Maxxis Tires for their support for grassroots racing!