The Intergalactic Single Speed World Championships

With all this talk about epic rides, the Intergalactic Pilots have decided to to unleash the 2005 Intergalactic Single Speed Championships. The invasion will take place on the frigid, dark Thursday night of December 15th, under full stealth mode.



Click on the map to see the top secret route.

"Forget the World Singlespeed Championships, the UCI, the Olympics and other such crap! Do they have moons of Ionic? Do they have the Black Hole of Slaughterhouse Gulch, the Quasar of Meriweather¹s butt crack? No they don¹t, but we do and we shall visit each one and pound a frozen cold one in their honor. This event is deeper, danker, darker, more uncut and definitely, absolutely colder than and other Intergalactic Single Speed Championship. This event is so stealth, we don¹t even know where it¹s going to be held yet, other than somewhere in the Boulder County Galaxy. May the force be with you."



Btw, the Colorado State Patrol has just added a policy banning the biggest bicycle events in Colorado!! Their new policy:

Limits bicycle and triathlon events to 2,500 riders
The limit can be lowered at any time putting every event at risk, sign the petition at Bicycle Colorado.org and let your legs be heard.

Other Side Of The Fence

It doesn't matter what you are talking about, everything in life has a flip side. This year's epic was no exception. Check out the other sides of the story from Dave "what saddle sore?" Harris, Becca "abs of steel" Blay, Josh "stars and bars" Bezecny and Jason "has anyone seen my jean jacket" Sager.

So I am At Home Watching Scooby Do....

I don't know if it is the thick air or the poison from the thorn bushes but I sleep great in Wisconsin. For the next 6 days I am completely off the bike, or any form of physical fitness for that matter, and enjoying the food and family that makes Wisco my home (btw I am bringing cheese curds home, first come, first serve!).

My annual trip back to the mother land is always bitter sweet, trying to visit all of my family in only a matter of a week, and the whole time knowing in only a matter of couple days I will have to say goodbye and head back to the daily grind.



Thanks to Uncle Crispy and Aunt Katie, I am now manning operation digestion and for the first time in over ten years enjoying meat on Thanksgiving. Today is one of those days when you feel like you have a "get out of jail free card" when it comes to eating. I hope your stuffed, from my family to yours, happy holidays. Time to enjoy the entire "That 70's Show" marathon...

Worth a Thousand Words

The days of our lives are defined by the experiences and the people we choose to let in. Some of those experiences simply can not be explained by words or pictures alone... Yesterday was one of those days (For those who shared in this epic adventure you understand, much respect).





Over the course of 11 hours, from sunrise at 30 degrees to the sunset up the infamous Shaffer’s climb out, I was dragged through every human emotion possible. A group of 18 friends, whose common ground is defined by their passion for two wheels, ventured into the Moab’s White Rim for what turned out to be a lot harder task then I had expected. (I can't really explain what Jordan is doing in this picture but I hope he finds what he is looking for?!?)



Trek/VW's newest addition, “Rad” Ross Schnell, is always keeping the vibe positive and ringing in the old school. (Check out the fog building up under his vintage Oakleys!)



Blog off ‘05.... Sager cancelled all his appointments at the Park City Spa to make Brian’s Epic Ride and round out one of the most talented MTB group rides ever.





Nick Gould is doing his best version of the child's pose, getting rejuvenated for six more hours. The “Muscle’n it” crew from D-town made a much appreciated appearance and continues to always keep the love alive! (Btw, next year Dave Harris has to do two laps) A piece of me still feels drawn to the Durango scene and I am blessed to have such great friends there that share my same crazy visions of life.



Team Maverick showed up in typical fashion, sporting their free sunblock samples and forgetting their number plates. Ryan “The Grinch” Lynch, a man of deep thought provoking words, pretty much summed it up, “oh, so blown out”.



Speaking of “blown out,” coming down the final road stretch we came accros Ranno walking in the bushes, sporting the face of utter displacement and exhaustion (If this ride can produce this face on an exprienced pro, imagine what it does to an average joe). Just finishing something like this ride, that breaks down our physical and mental barriers, opens new doors to confidence and possibilities (Ranno did finish out the ride under his own power).



Consider this Brian's personal invitiation for next year’s birthday adventure (note what the signs says in the background!). Wish you where there and may all your days be epic.

Schnell's Inside Line

Game On...

There you have it, it's official, Sager's walking the line and bringin' it to the table, the great Blog-Off of '05. Little does he know that I have a few secret weapons up my sleeve, sure his dictionary is a little larger, his groupies run 3 rows deep, but can he audio blog?

So there you have it, the place, Brian Smith's epic 30th birthday ride; the time, this weekend; the rulez don't exist... 110 miles in the unsupported desert with an unlimited possibility of keystrokes. Stay tuned....

Style In A Can

In the cycling world, there is a certain logo'd style that has gotten a little redundant. Or maybe I have just been a dressing up in my little lycra super-hero suit a little too often. Whatever the case maybe, my bro Mike has been creating a super hip niche for himself. Mike has just entered the cycling scene after a career as a World Cup Mogul Skier and is bringing his own style and art to the table.





Mike has a variety of original stencils ranging from Einstein on a bike to Sid Vicious and Johnny Cash. I have been sending him threads and he has been turning my old dress shirts into one of a kind pieces of art. Mike said he has "seriously gone out on the town and came home in just his undershirt because someone bought the shirt right off of his back."



If you are feeling Mike's style and would like a little work done on your old threads, drop him a note at mikefriedb@aol.com (subject Stencils).

Chamois Time Is Training Time

Tough day in the office, so we opted for a long redneck lunch break and kicked back with the afternoon soaps.



It was bloody cold out there today so Ranno and I entertained ourselves by taking turns trying to smile with our frozen face muscles. Funny what happens when you lose control of your voluntary face functions (bodily fluid flows like wine and your face feels like needles are slowly going to town)



Mad Props goes out to my man Jeremiah Bishop, for suffering down in La Ruta. Talk about tough dayz in the office, check out this picture of JB after the first of three stages (picture props to velonews).

"Na, It Looks Like It Will Pass Over"

In preparation for this coming weekend's epic adventure, Ranno and I mounted up our trusty cross steeds and headed into the drizzling rain. What seemed like a great idea quickly turned sour as the temperatures quickly dropped and the clouds opened up, leaving our bodies shivering and frantic.



By the time I got home I couldn't even grasp the clasp of my zipper to get at my house keys. I desperately looked for a neighbor to help me out....No luck.... So I preceded to pull my jersey over my head to get at my keys and do something I have only had to do once before (Snowmass 05 National).... Head straight for the shower and jump in fully clothed. Freezing and throwing my phone, digital camera and ipod out of the line of fire I began the slow process of defrosting. You know you are bummed when your body starts to itch and you can't tell if you are cold or hot.

I guess this means game on... Bring it Brian.

BTW, check out Matisyahu, he has been the most played beat on my ipod this week.

Kicking Off My Boots

Took a trip out to Eldorado Canyon today on the cross bike, one of the most amazing natural treasures in Boulder County. En route, I decided that I am announcing my retirement from running.... Permanently. I am sick of being chronically sore and stumbling out of bed in the morning resembling more of a plane crash victim, than an athlete in cross training. Over it....



Ever been told to face your fears... well, the recent Redbull Downhill Road Rage has my number. If at first you don't succeed, then this event is definietly not right for you. Carl Decker represented for us skinny guys on dirt (you may not believe this, judging by his consumption of take and bake raspberry pies in the winter).

An email quote from Carl's teammate, Adam Craig, sums it up: "At 158 pounds, Carl was the lightest guy in the downhill road race by at least ten pounds. Even with his sweet custom gravity road machine, complete with fairing, ballast (bottle of pennies in the cage) and huge disc brakes he was outgunned by the more gravity oriented riders. Pretty much what I am saying is that Carl got smoked, but he didn’t crash and die, which is a huge step in the right direction. Lots of other guys did."

ep-ic \'e-pik\ adj.

So, I have been lying around today, procrastinating going to the gym, when I started arguing with myself. Now, don't get me wrong, that's pretty common. I argue with myself all the time. The weird part was what I said to myself. I said "Dammnit Nick, go do your workout now or I'll climb inside your stomach and lay eggs!"

Well it's that time of year again, Brian Smith is getting a little older and every year he has some crazy adventure on his birthday. This year he is turning the big 3-0 which makes it, "Brian Smith's Epic Birthday Ride".



Webster defines epic as, "extending beyond the usual or ordinary, heroic", which pretty much sums up B-man altogether. The date is November 19th, the plan is to bust out the White Rim Trail in Moab, UT in one unsupported effort. This means carrying all the water and gear you will need for a 110 mile mtb adventure into the backcountry.



The group being assembled to join our aging friend parallels the definition of epic. So far we have about 10 current NORBA pros and a couple legends of the sport including Dave Weins. ( Sager.... you should take off your snow pants and come join us) I will be documenting the entire ride (should be about 10 hrs) and making everyone say "cheese" at least a dozen times. And if you have the weekend free and want to join us... Drop me email.

Inside Maverick's Factory

Anyone that says "Boulder sucks for mountain biking" hasn't gone on a ride with local Pro Ariel Lindsey (I never get sick of watching him bust out that 30 mph manual, sorry for the blurry pic, it really is 30 mph). Ariel has one of the most coveted jobs in the bike industry, he gets to test and innovate some of the sickest products out there, and there is only one way to do that... ride your bike!



The Maverick crew always has something new and improved brewing behind their doors. Check out this integrated 9 speed hub, rode it around the parking lot and it was as smoother than cable shifting!



Ariel could fetch top dollar for his GPS downloads, I swear, I have lived 2 years in Boulder and I finally am figuring out where to ride.

Little Victories

This was one of those moments, you know the kind..."you had to be there". But really.... one of those moments when a "moment" was made. 7 year old Joey gets pulled up onto stage @ a Matt Nathanson concert (which rocked my face off). He had ran into Matt on the street earlier that day, asked for an autograph and busted out a sweet classic riff for him on his midget sized guitar.

Little Led Zepplin sweatshirt and all, Joey came through big when I would have frozen up, and preceeded to bust out the entire "Stairway to Heaven" song... solos and all. By the end of the song he had the entire Fox Theatre chanting "Joey" and the applause was off the hook... leaving me all teared up and reminding me that dreams do come true.



Plant a seed and watch it grow... anything can happen when you harness your inner energy.

Git 'R Done

During the season it is easy to feed this blog some worthy content, however as the off-season looms ahead I am finding I am suffering from a mild case of writer's block.




Yesterday I took my boots to the mountains above Eldora for a little back country adventure, complete with a dose of red neck four wheelin in the Touareg. My body has been cronically sore from all of my multisport adventures, man you think you are in shape but realistically you are in shape to do one thing, in one direction....I have some serious work to do in the coming months... maybe a push-up or two?

Btw, the National Calander for '06 has finally been released, letting the traveling circus know where they will be calling home for the next year.

Believe in Jojo

I need to give a big thank you to Jojo for honoring me on her site this month. I am truly flattered, especially after the athletes that have been honored in month's past. Through her incredible work ethic and positive energy, she is a hero in her own light as she balances being a Pro Triathlete, Elite Road Cyclist, Head Soigneur for Kodak Gallery Easyshare/Sierra Nevada Men's Professional Cycling Team, and going to school to be a Doctor! Damn Girl, thanks for giving time management new meaning. If you need a little motivation... check her out.