Mountain bikers got involved and made their voices heard, speaking in opposition to a proposed Bureau of Land Management (BLM) plan that would lease land parcels for oil and gas extraction near iconic trails such as Porcupine Rim, Amasa Back, Barlett Wash and Tusher Canyon, turning sections of trail into heavily used access roads. Public outcry led the BLM to withdraw the vast majority of leases near these world-class trails.

According to IMBA, “The BLM’s decision reflects a growing understanding of recreation as a valuable public lands resource, but it may be a temporary victory because the leases haven’t been permanently closed. Moab advocates, including former IMBA Board President Ashley Korenblatt and others, will try for a lasting solution to this issue while also keeping an eye on remaining open leases near areas like Tusher Canyon.”

A hearty tip of the helmet goes to all those mountain bikers who took the time to get involved and voice their opinion on this matter.

As you’re gathering gifts for family and loved ones this year, consider giving to the DOUBLEbikeMATCH campaign. An angel donor will double all funds that World Bicycle Relief can collect from Wednesday, Dec. 17th (12:00 p.m. CST) to Friday, Dec. 19th (12:00 p.m. CST) up to a maximum of $750,000. They hope to raise enough to provide 100 bikes (200 with the match)—enough to help over 4,000 people. The clock is ticking, so head there right now. You may donate any amount you like.

A thick stack of Stars-and-Stripes jerseys were awarded over the weekend at the 2008 USA Cycling Cyclocross National Championships in Kansas City. Here are your champions:

Elite Men: Ryan Trebon (Bend, Ore./Kona)
Elite Women: Katie Compton (Colorado Springs, Colo./Spike)
Collegiate Men Division I: Will Dugan (Burlington, Mass./University of Vermont)
Collegiate Women Division I: Carla Swart (Banner Elk, N.C./Lees-McRae College)
Collegiate Men Division II: Colin Cares (Colorado Springs, Colo./Colorado College)
Collegiate Women Division II: Devon Haskell (Chicago, Ill./University of Chicago)
Women 10-12: Mina Anderburg (Louisville, Colo./Mudskippers)
Women 13-14: Sarah Huang (Kenosha, Wis./Hayes Disc Brakes)
Women 15-16: Alexis Ryan (Ventura, Calif./Team C.I.C.L.E)
Women 17-18: Coryn Rivera (Tustin, Calif./Team Redline)
Men 10-12: Ian McShane (Louisville, Ky./Red Zone Cycling)
Men 13-14: Logan Owen (Bremerton, Wash.)
Men 15-16: Jeff Bahnson (Newark, Del./Secret Henry’s Team-Van Dessell)
Men 17-18: Zach McDonald (Bainbridge Island, Wash./Classic Cycles)
Master Women 30-34: Maureen Bruno-Roy (Arlington, Mass./MM Racing-Seven Cycles)
Master Women 35-39: Sarah Kerlin (Capitola, Calif./HRS Rock Lobster)
Master Women 40-44: Wendy Williams (Portland, Ore./River City Bicycles)
Master Women 45-49: Kris Walker (Pocatello, Idaho/kriegcycling.com)
Master Women 50-54: Kathy Sarvary (Lunenburg, Mass./Mid-State Cycling Club)
Master Women 55-59: Diane Ostenso (Cottage Grove, Wis./Planet Bike)
Master Women 60-64: Martha Iverson (Durango, Colo./Durango Wheel Club)
Master Women 65+: Julie Lockhart (Dunstable, Mass./NEBC-CycleLoft-Devonshire)
Master Men 45-49: Steve Tilford (Topeka, Kan.HRRC-Trek Stores)
Men 55-59: Gary Thacker (Louisville, Colo./Chipotle-Titus)
Men 60-64: Phil Bannister (Putney, Vt./Putney-West Hill)
Men 65-69: Rob Lea (Taneytown, Md./Team Fuji)
Men 70-74: Ronald Riley (Aptos, Calif./Team Santa Cruz)
Men 75-79: Walt Axthelm (Durango, Colo./Durango Wheel Club)

The National Championships wrapped up the 40-event USA Cycling Cyclocross National Calendar. The final series standings are as follows:

Men’s Standings
1. Ryan Trebon (Bend, Ore.) 620
2. Jeremy Powers (Hadley, Mass.) 479
3. Tim Johnson (Middleton, Mass.) 461
4. Jamey Driscoll (Jericho, Vt.) 460
5. Todd Wells (Durango. Colo.) 437

Women’s Standings
1. Georgia Gould (Fort Collins, Colo.) 289
2. Laura Van Gilder (Cresco, Pa.) 234
3. Rachel Lloyd (Fairfax, Calif.) 206
4. Katie Compton (Colorado Springs, Colo.) 200
5. Maureen Bruno-Roy (Arlington, Mass.) 193

For more information visit www.usacycling.org.

As soon as my caravan of cycling pilgrims rolled up late to the Promised Land of the Dorseyville Fire Hall on Sunday, I knew that it was a record turnout for the Punk Bike Enduro. A multi-colored mass of bicycles, punks, weird costumes and the vehicles that brought them here spread throughout the neighborhood, as I’ve never seen it before.

This, the 19th annual Punk Bike Enduro indeed proved to be the largest yet. More than 220 people showed up to race, ride, shuffle and drift through the muddy trails. The rain kept away this year, and the temperature was bearable. A thin coating of snow remained from a small storm late in the week, and it quickly turned the trails into a fun and dirty stripe of slippery earth after the first few dozen bikes passed along. Nothing these punks couldn’t handle and enjoy, though.

The party rolled out slightly later than normal due to the large number of people needing to be corralled. Yet we still had plenty of daylight to complete all 11 stages, including the double-length Up/Down stage. We weaved in and out of these trails, outside Pittsburgh for the better part of six hours. Beer stops were had, and hidden laminated Punks were collected.

The spirit of the Punk Bike Enduro has always moved many people to break into the Halloween storage box, or local costume store, to cobble together some sort of odd costume. That spirit was taken to the next level this year as Reverend Michael Browne, former Dirt Rag word-boss and current Trek Kool-Aid mixer, returned to town and offered up a flashy new Trek 69er as grand prize for best costume. This really proved to be a catalyst for people to get their weird on.

The dress ranged from the truly original “Girl Riding a Horse” to the borderline-offensive “Lawn Jockey” and from the “Kiss Duo” to the guy wearing an authentic pair of leather lederhosen…without underwear, according to him. I took his word for that one.

Thanks to everyone who did trail maintenance in the weeks before the event, the people who marshaled the course, those that kept score, the patient people who tallied the score, the companies and people who provided loot for the swag table, those who traveled from near and afar, beer, the Dorseyville Fire Hall and you.

To get the full-effect of the fun that was had, check out our Gallery for many photos of the day.

Until then, I present the winners of the 2008 Punk Bike Enduro:

Women:
1.    Paula Bitner
2.    Ruth Cunningham
3.    Chrissy Buerkle
4.    Sharon Leavitt
5.    Michele Johnson
6.    Amber Clark
7.    FU Cheerleader
8.    Becky Iden (tie)
9.    Elizabeth Klevens (tie)
10.    Teri Sage (tie)
11.    Tawny Wilson

Juniors:
1.    Matt Bell
2.    Todd Thorniley

Men:
1.    Rob Spreng
2.    Harlan Price
3.    Chris Beach (tie)
4.    Chris Ruhl (tie)
5.    Dutch Hammer
6.    Henry Spring
7.    Juan Martinez
8.    Tim Heck
9.    Dan Wilson
10.    Aaron Yeveza (tie)
11.    Jamie Bock (tie)

Costumes:
1.    “Pony Express” – Michelle Johnson
2.    “Kiss” - Beth Puliti and Justin Kline
3.    “Care Bear” – Dave Brunder (tie)
4.    “FU Cheerleader” (tie)
5.    “Scary Clown” – Keith Ridenour
6.    “Mohawk” – Juan Martinez (tie)
7.    “Clown” – Ruth Cunningham (tie)
8.    “Lawn Jockey” – Wayne Cunningham (tie)
9.    Dave Crack
10.    “Woman” – Adam Lipinski
11.    “Solid Gold” – Jamie Bock
12.    “Lederhosen” - Frank Elia
13.    Evan gets an honorable mention, too. Not only did he work and ride as a volunteer all day (atop a coaster brake-equipped bike), he managed to nail the Hunter S. Thompson aesthetic and persona, which included staying in character for about seven hours.

USA Cycling has announced the creation of a new professional cross country mountain bike series—the USA Cycling Pro Mountain Bike Cross Country Tour (ProXCT) presented by Sho-Air. The ProXCT will be comprised of seven UCI-sanctioned events throughout the United States, with each event offering ranking points to top finishers, and the series offering overall individual and team titles for men and women. UCI sanctioning means that the competitors will have the opportunity to accumulate international ranking points as well.

President and CEO Scott Tedro sees his investment in the ProXCT as an effective marketing venture for not only Sho-Air, but for other non-endemic companies as well. “I’m lucky and excited to have been chosen to champion the ProXCT and honored to work with USA Cycling as a supporter of mountain bike racing in America,” commented Tedro. “The leadership that USA Cycling has demonstrated throughout the process in order to fuel excitement about pro cross country racing has been integral in developing a model which I believe represents an intelligent business decision. I’m hoping that the momentum we’re creating encourages additional non-industry dollars to follow. USA Cycling has been a great partner in this endeavor and I’m looking forward to making the pro tour something to be proud of.”

“The new ProXCT represents a tremendous step forward for professional mountain bike racing in the U.S.,” said Steve Johnson, CEO of USA Cycling. “I am very excited by the strong support of our presenting sponsor, Sho-Air, and the fact that we have seven great venues in the inaugural year of the tour.”

“Now that a nation’s qualification for the Olympic Games is based on a four-year cycle, it’s even more important we have UCI races in the U.S. this far in advance of London,” commented USA Cycling’s National Mountain Bike Development Director Marc Gullickson. “The ProXCT not only creates opportunity for our athletes here at home, but the consistent exposure to a highly competitive environment will raise the level of everyone’s game.”

The USA Cycling ProXCT will involve only cross country racing; however, USA Cycling plans to roll out a gravity-based pro tour in the near future.

2009 USA Cycling ProXCT presented by Sho-Air International:

• Mar. 29th: U.S. Cup – Fontana, CA
• Apr. 19th: Sea Otter Classic – Monterey, CA
• May 31st: Bump N’ Grind – Birmingham, AL
• Jun. 13th: Carmichael Training Systems Sand Creek International Classic – Colorado Springs, CO
• Aug. 8th: U.S. Cup – Mount Snow, West Dover, VT
• Aug. 15th: Yankee Clipper at Windham Mountain – Windham, NY
• Sep. 26th: USA Cycling Pro Cross Country Mountain Bike Tour Finals – Las Vegas, NV

I know some of your are expecting some brain gas here but I have some exciting subscription oriented news to share.  Allow me to introduce you to our new subscription system.

In order to better serve our subscribers, we recently upgraded our database to a new system.  The beauty of this new system is that you all can manage your subscription online; change your address, renew, and see how many issues you have left–all real time.

I’ll walk you through it.  Start by pointing your web browser here.  You should see this page.

In order to log in, you’ll need two items; your subscriber number and zip code.  Starting with issue #140 in February, our mailing labels will include this information.  See below.

As of now, none of you have that information so I’ll have to ask that you look it up by clicking “Look up your Subscriber Number.”  Enter the email we have on file for you, and your subscriber number will be sent to said email address.  Note to gift givers; you must use your gift recipient’s subscriber number and their zip code to log into their account.  Simply email me your recipient’s name and address, as well as your name and address and I’ll look up the corresponding subscriber number.  If we don’t have your email on file, email me your full name and address and I’ll confirm and send you your subscriber number.

After you have your subscriber number, enter it and the zip code we would have on file for you in order to log in.  That means that in order to update your address, you’ll have to use your old zip code until you have updated your account.

Once logged in you’ll be able to see your address, and “remaining paid issues.”  To the left of that information you’ll also find all of the forms you will need in order to change your address, renew, and report missing issues.

If you have issues beyond the scope of this system, or are unable to retrieve your subscriber number, shoot me an email.  When emailing, please include your subscriber number, if you know it, as well as your full name and address.

Please keep in mind that this is a new system and there are bound to be issues that we have not yet discovered.  Check out the new system and be sure to let me know if you suspect there may be an error with your subscription.  We want to make sure everything is in order.

Thanks for your patience and cooperation.

Cheers,

Justin Steiner
Dirt Rag Subscription Guy