We promote and cover mountain bike advocacy a lot here at Dirt Rag, arguably more than any other magazine. We do it because we believe it is critical for continued access to trails, and to help promote and grow the sport we love. We also do it to give some much-deserved recognition to the good work of all the local clubs and volunteers out there building and maintaining trails for all of us. These local clubs do some amazing work with minimal resources, all in the name of building better trails.

Recently the Dirt Rag World Tour had a chance to get together with several Midwest local trails advocacy groups for the 9th Annual Midwest Mountain Bike Summit in Grand Rapids, Michigan. This was a meeting of people on the front line of trail access, from groups like the Michigan Mountain Bike Association (MMBA), Wisconsin Off Road Bicycle Association (WORBA), Friends of Off-Road Cycling (FORC) Quad Cities, Gateway Off-Road Cyclists (GORC) St. Louis, Chicago Area Mountain Bikers (CAMBr), and Wisconsin Off-Road Bicycling Association (WORBA) to name a few.

These are the kind of people who make it happen in your neck of the woods. They’re out there swinging Pulaskis and McLeods building and maintaining trails. They’re also the ones working with local land managers to gain access to areas so that new trails can be built.

The three day summit/festival was a great way to share information, meet new friends, and learn new trail-building techniques. IMBA was there in force with a 2-day trail school with hands-on technical trail building demonstrations, along with Club-Care and Gateway Trails presentations. Plus there were other workshops and seminars focusing on all aspects of mountain bike advocacy with nationally and regionally known presenters. Stihl and Ditch Witch brought some toys for hands-on trail building at the Cannonsburg Ski Area. There were also races and organized rides from the ski area. Last, but certainly not least, the summit concluded with a 40-mile epic ride. And Founders Brewing provided some much needed refreshments after three days of learning, digging and riding. Advocacy never tasted so good.

A special thanks goes out to Nate Phelps and his crew from the Michigan Mountain Bike Association for hosting this event. Word is, the Midwest Mountain Bike Summit will once again be held in Grand Rapids in 2010. Keep an eye open for details at: www.midwestmtbsummit.com.

Seems like just a few short weeks have passed since Karen asked me if I’d like to travel to the Philippines to attend the 7th annual Terry Larrazabal Bike Festival (TLBF).  Hmm, let me think about that for a minute…

In its 7th year running, the TLBF will be held northwest of the Philippine capital of Manila at the Subic Bay Freeport Zone, (SBFZ). SBFZ is sight of the former US Navy base at Subic Bay, and has become a successful model of military base conversion to commercial use.

Gregorio Larrazabal, aka “Goyo”, started the TLBF in his father’s honor in 2002 to “…cultivate in the youth an aptitude for physical power through a sport, which caters to the young and not so young, rich and poor alike. It is the hope of the family that this legacy will pass on as the years go, in humble remembrance of a man worthy of emulation.” Quote pulled from terrylarrazabalbikefestival.blogspot.com.

According to the blog the TLBF is “…the only multi-discipline cycling event of its kind in the Philippines and Asia…” featuring something for every imaginable cyclist (click here to see a schedule of events).  The three day festival, April 2-5 this year, features mountain bike racing ( XC, 4x, dirt jumping, downhill), trials (26″ and 20″ categories), BMX events (supercross, dirt jumping), road racing, and Olympic/standard distance triathlons.  Truly something for everyone, eh?  In addition to racing there will be a show, called FilBike, with bikes from nearly 30 companies and independent builders from Commencal, to Pivot, to Parlee, to GT.  The fun certainly won’t end when the sun sets, as Jagermeister will be sponsoring nightly parties.  More info can be found on the TLBF blog, and in this Dirt Rag Forum Thread.

Few pics from the thread:

I can’t wait to join the other 1,200+ participants, and 5,500+ attendees, to celebrate cycling of all disciplines.  Look for updates throughout the festival, here in the blog and in the Dirt Rag gallery, as there is much, much more to come.

Now if I can just sleep through the 17hr flight from LAX to Manila…

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.

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

All Mountain.  I think this term has grown on me. It is needed these days to describe the growing number of bikes in between freerider shuttle  bikes and cross country trail machines. The Diamondback Mission series is a good example of this new breed of do-it-all-but-race XC type bikes.

Quick run down of the spec on the large tester I’ll be riding into the spring:

Geometry
-Head Angle: 68
-Seat Angle: 72
-Top Tube: 24”
-BB Height: 13.7”
- Chainstay: 17.32″

My tester tipped the scales at 34.5 pounds.

* Fork: Fox TALAS RL 150-130-110mm travel
*Rear Shock: Fox RP23
* Wheels: Neau Naim 32h 15mm QR thru-axle front, 10mm QR thru-axle rear,
black SS 14g spokes, WTB Laser Disc Trail rims
* Cranks/BB: Truvativ Hammerschmidt
* Brakes: Avid Elixir CR 185 F/165 R
* Rear D: SRAM X9
* Front D: N/A
* Shifter: SRAM X9 trigger
* Cassette: SRAM PG 970 11-34
* Tires: WTB Prowler MX 2.3 front/Stout 2.3 rear, folding bead
* Headset: FSA
* Seatpost: Easton EA50
* Saddle: WTB Pure V Sport
* Handlebars: Easton Monkey Lite XC 31.8
* Stem: Easton EA50
* Chain: SRAM

The main reason I really wanted to test this bike?
Two gears, no waiting.

One real ride in so far. Bike fits well and seems to want to be ridden over rocks and other terrain features. Quickly. I see some trips to find the bumpy stuff in my future, maybe even a day at the lifts once Seven Springs opens again. A whole lotta bike, looks like I need to step it up to find its limits. Stay tuned.

Anyone reading this is probably enough into bikes to know what next weekend is. The North American Handmade Bicycle Show is one of the highlights of the year for me and my favorite non-riding world tour stop. We’ll be headed out in the van with a heavy load of Dirt Rag staffers, specially priced Dirt Rag merchandise and photography equipment.

We’ll have subscription premiums from Genuine Innovations and Jagwire. Also stop by for a look at our new publication Bicycle Times.

Some pictures from last year: Dirt Rag Gallery

Show up or Bruce Gordon will be rude to you.

For a complete list of all exhibitors go here.