The U.S. Cup presented by Specialized announced some cool series contest and contingencies available for amateur racers competing in the 2009 Kenda Cup West and Kenda Cup East series events.

Kenda Podium Kickback: Open to all racing categories, the Kenda Podium Kickback program will reimburse the race entry fee for one male and one female class winner at each of the Kenda Cup West/East series rounds.

• Kenda staff on site at each race will randomly select one male and one female class category winner at each of the Kenda Cup West and Kenda Cup East series events.
• If the chosen male and female winning riders have Kenda tires on their race bikes, they each will receive a check from Kenda USA refunding the cost of registration for that race. Checks will be mailed to the winners from Kenda USA.

Hayes Lucky 12: One racer at every Kenda Cup West, Kenda Cup East series round and one back up winner will be selected from the event pre registered rider list at random via sports base online computer system to receive the following:

• Round trip airfare to Las Vegas.
• Two nights hotel stay.
• $250 spending money.
• Access to Interbike show at Sands Convention Center.
• Participate in Hayes promotion at Interbike tradeshow booth.
• Interview with USA Cycling at Interbike tradeshow booth.
• Free entry into the U.S. Cup unification “Shootout” round in Vegas on Sept. 26th.
• Hayes Ride Kit-Each of the “Hayes Lucky 12″ will receive a complete cross-country component package, including a Manitou R7 MRD fork, Hayes Stroker Gram brakes, and a Sun Ringlé Black Flag wheel set.
• Pit space and Hayes technical support for winners at unification race in Las Vegas.
• Available to riders aged 18 and up only.
• Must pre-register for event via sports base online to be eligible.
• Winner must be able to participate, otherwise back up winner to be chosen.

Specialized Youth Movement: The first five male and female pre registered riders 18 years and under to sign up for a Kenda Cup West or Kenda Cup East series event will be refunded the cost of registration up to $25, via a VISA check card.

• Registration and refund value to be set at $25.
• Winner will receive VISA Card at the day of the event.
• Must be present on race day to claim award.
• Rider must be in 18 year or under categories to be eligible.
• Must pre-register for event via sports base online to be eligible.

Sho-Air U.S. Cup Ultimate Experience Essay: This 250 word or less essay contest must be submitted through the dedicated contest page on U.S. Cup website. Here riders can share their ultimate race experience at a U.S. Cup series event. One Winner from the Kenda Cup West and Kenda Cup East series will be selected at the end of the respective series dates.

• Open to all racers competing in a Kenda Cup West or Kenda Cup East Series event.
• Only one entry per rider/per event allowed. Rider can submit one essay for every round they attend.
• Only entries submitted on U.S. Cup website will be eligible for contest.
• Winner must show proof of entry to be eligible.
• Winners from each series (Kenda Cup West/Kenda Cup East) will receive the following:
• Round trip air fair to Huntington Beach, CA
• Two night hotel stay $250 spending money
• Ride day with Sho-Air/Specialized Factory team. Includes transportation in team bus to riding spot.
• Each winner will receive: 1 Team Sho-Air Kit-Shorts, jersey, gloves, helmet, shoes, glasses.
• Must be 18 years or older or have accompanying legal guardian to be eligible.

More information is available at the 2009 U.S. Cup website.

Winter in the northern latitudes is just long enough to make this aging cyclist more than a wee bit cranky. Yes, it is possible to grit one’s teeth and meet winter head-on. In fact, the Dirt Rag staff shared a gunny-sack-full of bright ideas in our Cold Weather Riding blog series: parts 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6 and 7. But my favorite coping mechanism is the tried and true road trip. Due south.

The joy of riding my new Trek Top Fuel test bike in the Florida sunshine in mid-February is more than ample pay-off for the minor inconvenience of piloting my mini-van for 950 miles. A blend of mental toughness and planning is all it takes.

I wanted to arrive at my Florida campground around noon on Saturday. The Google driving directions estimated 15 hours drive time. For safety’s sake I planned on taking short breaks during refueling stops, catching a four-hour crash at a rest stop from 2-6a.m., and taking one-hour breaks for both dinner and breakfast along the way. A simple math calculation set my departure at 2p.m. Friday afternoon. Despite a bit of rush hour traffic and a front wheel bearing that started to howl along the route, the long drive went according to plan. Fortunately, I found a garage a few miles from my destination that was able to replace the wheel bearing while I waited, and I ended up setting up camp a few hours behind schedule. I’ll take that.

The next morning, after a hearty camp breakfast, I pedaled an easy 20-minute warm up to the mountain bike trailhead at San Felasco Hammock Preserve State Park. On these trails momentum was my friend. The relatively-flat, swoopy-fast, singletrack was a delightful departure from my steep up-down hometown trails. Thanks to the paper maps available in the parking lot (click here for pdf map) and ample on-the-ground markings, I managed to string together a 2+ hour ride with no repeats. I had so much fun on the San Felasco trails that I decided to stick around and ride them for the next two days. I managed a 2.5 hour trail ride the next day and a shorter get-away-day ride on my third day.

Then off to visit the parents in the greater-Daytona area. My legs appreciated a day off the bike hanging with the family, sipping coffee and catching up on emails (not quite 100% vacation) thanks to the WiFi at the Java Jungle, a relaxing coffee shop that’s decorated like a tropical rain forest.

On Thursday I swung by the Orlando airport to pick up Dirt Rag alum Carol Clemens, and we headed to Ocala’s Santos mountain bike trails, in preparation for Saturday’s 12 Hours of Santos race. We had time for a short leg-stretcher ride on Thursday before dark.

On Friday morning we set up our race pit along the course, right next to fellow Pennsylvanian and visitPA.com rider Rob Lichtenwalner and his wife Sarah. It turned out that IF Pro Harlan Price, another PA racer, was also on the scene. Quite a few Pennsylvanius Snowbirdicus sightings to be had.

Carol and I headed out to pre-ride the course and found it to be nine miles of mixed bag. The beginning and ending sections consisted of short stretches in the steep, tight Vortex trails—which sandwiched the flat, fast and furious mid-section of the course, where the speed limit was set by how fast one could rail the corners.

Saturday turned out to be a sunny 60-something degree day—delightful for racing mountain bikes for 6 hours (me) or 12 hours (Carol). I accomplished my goal of riding at a sporty pace until I felt like stopping. I cranked out five laps in five-ish hours of racing, and then my knees started barking on the steep Vortex climbs, and it was time to shut ‘er down for the day. Carol was there defending her 2008 women’s 12-hour crown, but 2009 would not be kind to her. This year Carol had a few crashes on her dual-rigid 29er in the technical sections—which led to a couple mechanicals, which led to lengthy pit stops and a fourth palace finish. Under the circumstance, her 9 laps represented quite an accomplishment. PA racers fared better in the men’s 12-hour solo category, with Harlan Price finishing first followed by Rob Lichtenwalner in second. Speedgoat racer Ernesto Marenchin took third place in the men’s 12-hour solo. Complete race results here.

After a couple days of post-race relaxing at the parents place, including a windy and brisk day at the beach, it was time to point the mini-van north. With Carol, my dad and I tag-teaming the drive back to Pittsburgh, the 15 hour return trip was just a blur.

Well, we’ve wrapped up the second annual Dirt Rag Women’s Weekend and thanks to Nina, Ray and all the fine folks at Ray’s MTB Indoor Park in Cleveland, we had a wonderfully exciting event that more than doubled the number of participants from last year. Nearly a hundred women of various ages joined us this weekend, many arriving on Friday morning for a day to ourselves in Ray’s.We started off by breaking into small groups, depending on levels of experience, and teaming up with one of the professional women riders who had so generously given their time to help our cause. Some of the clinics focused on the bare-bones basic mechanics of riding, practicing simple balancing skills and body positioning, and progressed to more advanced clinics such as conquering the feared rock garden, racing the pump track and catching air on the box jumps.

Terry and Doc from Superco donated funds to provide healthy snacks to keep our energy up, and when the snacks were gone, Red Bull was on hand to “kick it up a notch.” After a lunch break with food from Chipotle Grill, we practiced our new skills and got some one-on-one time with instructors for a little brush up.

Both Trek and Specialized were there with their respective lineup of women-specific bikes for those of us who like to mix it up and try different rides. We had raffle prizes from SkullCandy, Superco, IMBA, Red Bull, Specialized,Trek, FreeRide Association, DK Bikes, Albe’s BMX, Etnies Girl, and Norco as an added bonus.

The fun continued all weekend. Ray’s saw record numbers of riders as the guys showed up to share the park, and track space was at a premium.

On Saturday night from 10-12p.m., Ray turned the lights off for a night ride around the park, with demo lights from NiteRider Lighting Systems. Karen can attest to the fun of racing around the course in the near dark, but even from the sidelines where I was, the trace of lights weaving through the darkness was somewhat surreal, and very cool.

Many thanks to the instructors:
Tammy Donahugh
Gale Dahlager
Tamara Peloquin
Darcy Turenne
Nadia Steinbrecher
Terry Seeberg – Superco
Stacey Mulligan
Nina Buitrago
Jackie Baker

Also a big thanks to Subaru and Pabst Blue Ribbon for the party at the Holiday Inn on Friday night. Hopefully, they’ll let us back in next year after the antics in the swimming pool….sorry, no details, you’ll just have to come next year to see what you missed.

To see more fun pics check out freeridefoundation.blogspot.com and The Dirt Rag Photo Gallery, plus stay tuned for some video to come….

It is hard for me to believe it is time for this event again. I’ve been putting on a self-supported 400 mile ride/race/challenge/event across Pennsylvania since 2006. In alternating years the start is in either Pittsburgh or Philadelphia and the route meanders its way across the state using part of PA DOT Bicycle Route S, the Allegheny Passage and the Schuylkill River Trail. This year it will be starting at Point State Park in Pittsburgh and ending at the Liberty Bell in Philadelphia. It is a race in the key of NO:

NO entry fee
NO registration
NO course markings
NO checkpoints
NO support
NO prizes

Keeps it simple for me to organize and keeps the riff-raff out. Bring it with you or procure it on the way. No drop bags, no support vehicles. Hope you like gas station food.

Rainy morning start:

Photo: Max Steinbrenner

Start date is May 8th, 5am. website: ctcpa.blogspot.com

Lots of pretty roads out there in PA:

Photo: Rob Lochner

Some previous words about it:

From Carol, Co-conspirator in year one, a big part of why this event happened, did not ride due to injury:
-http://www.dirtragmag.com/web/brainfart.php?ID=203

From Michael, first year finisher, pre-race jitters:
-http://www.dirtragmag.com/web/brainfart.php?ID=211

Print coverage of 2007 race (scroll down for CTC content):
-http://www.dirtragmag.com/web/brainfart.php?ID=211

Part one of 2008 race, still haven’t finished part 2:
-http://www.dirtragmag.com/blogarific/crush-the-commonwealth-part-1/

The record stands at 45 hours and 43 minutes, word on the street is multiple riders gunning for 36 hours. The west to east route is easier, mostly due to a prevailing tailwind. Should be interesting to say the least.

Me, somewhere between mile 200 and 300 and probably somewhere around hour 30 of riding.
Photo: Max Steinbrenner

Miles of farmland and rain:

Photo: Max Steinbrenner

Still want to read more?

Old website: pittsburghpedalpushers.blogspot.com

fxdwheel: http://lockringnotincluded.blogspot.com/search/label/crush%20the%20commonwealth

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First Impression: Everti 29R

It has been quit a while since I’ve had the opportunity to test a bike other than the 26” dual suspension variety and I think it’s good to mix things up a bit. I’m completely happy and excited to now be riding an Everti 29R. I think the wheel size of this hard tail is apparent by the name.

Everti, a Canadian company, has been making reasonably priced titanium bicycles since October 2000. My size large 29R frame weighs 3.68lbs, retails for around $1595 and arrived a few weeks ago, preceded by a box full of components including:

Fox F29 fork
Bontrager 29” Race X Lite wheelset
Truvativ Stylo crankset
SRAM X-9 twist shifter and front and rear derailleur
SRAM PG-990 Powerglide II cassette and PC-971 chain
Avid Elixir R brakes with a 185mm and a160mm rotor
Maxxis Ignitor 29×2.1 tires
Easton EA70 seatpost and EA-90 stem
Ritchey WCS Carbon Low Rizer bar and grips
FSA Orbit X headset
Fi’zi:k Gobi XM saddle
The 3/2.5 titanium tubing is double butted and both the down tube and top tube are bi-axial oval in shape. The “S” bend chain stays change from round to tapered oval in shape, and the entire frame has a brushed satin finish. It looks so damn good with clean welds and subtle decals. The frame measures as follows:

24.2” top tube, center to center
19.09” seat tube, center of BB to top of seat tube
71.5° head tube
74° seat tube
17.5” chain stays
12.2 BB height

With my old and trusty Shimano M520 pedals and the supplied build kit the 29R tipped the scale at 26.3lbs, and as far as I could tell on the sloppy snowy trail conditions we have here, it handles awesome. More importantly, it fits me like my favorite jacket, nice and comfortable. With a race or two already planned for this machine and regular trail riding to come, I’m so ready for spring that I can hardly stand it! –Shannon Mominee