Mavic Mantra Shoes

hey kids:

this just in... i got my feet into the new Mavic mantra shoes and they are about the coolest new thing out there. picture a pair of shoes that is almost as light as your sidi's, has a cabon sole, a tough-as-nails upper, rubber toe bumper, a real grippy outsole, and comes with a sick-looking scree-bootie.
Basically, Mavic is on the forefront of a movement to make more of an adventure shoe that is uber-high quality. Guys riding the backcountry on their $5000 six-inchers don't want to be caught dead wearing a pair of lace-up hiking boot-looking fiascos, so the only real quality option has been more toward the racing end of the spectrum. That's great, until you have to hike out of a situation and your high-end italian shoes shred like used kleenex.
So, if you're like me (and i know i am), you should give these shoes a hard look this year. They've got comfort, quality, and toughness--and that ain't all bad.

dig it.

The Mantra shoe looks burly, because it is. The fit is svelte, though, and these make my size 46 feet feel light and airy (not an easy task).

The Mantra bootie is a tight-fitting, tight-looking tron-esque scree bootie designed to keep dirt, rocks, and water out of the shoe on long backcountry expeditions.

Valmont Bike Park Site Plans

hey kids:

The complete collection of plans and drawings for Valmont Park is now
available online. These are medium-level design documents that show
the general layout and design intent to comply with the City's site
review process. There are many pages of technical documents detailing
every aspect of the site, from the landscaping to the buildings to
the bike stuff. Once approved by the Planning Department, the design
will become much more detailed before construction begins later in
2009. Check out the progress!

here's a sampling; let the salivation begin.

An overview of the northwest quadrant of the park

A sampling of the types of features that will be included

An initial rendering of the possibility of an covered riding area.

Mailbag!

hey kids:

check it out, i just opened my mail and this was inside.

i know the pic is all grainy and crappy... my personal photographer is out doing other work right now--gotta get her on some sort of retainer.

anyway, if you will notice the "3" next to Cross, you will understand that this is one more piece in the creation of a dominating monster known only as Blue Sky Velo CX.

booyah.

Daily Camera Valmont Bike Park Article

Thanks to our very own Marty Caivano for getting this article in the Get Out! section today. Who's coming this afternoon to check out the new plans?


http://www.dailycamera.com/news/2009/jan/26/valmont-bike-park-coming-together/

Rob

Valmont Bike Park Donor Report

Hey kids:

check it out; the coolest thing you can do this week is happening tomorrow from 4 to 6 down at Boulder CycleSport in north Boulder. Valmont Bike Park will be debuting the new and more complete schematics for the park.

Bikes Belong has offered up a matching program for the next two weeks, so if you haven't donated yet, or just need to do something with the product of your counterfeiting machine... now's the time to make that dollar go further!

Beer and Izze will be on hand, getting tossed out for free. You might have to throw a couple bucks in the donation bucket to keep from getting heckled, but it will be the best happy hour in town tomorrow.

Be there or be square.

3 minutes and 21 seconds

this is underneath the highway in seattle, and is 3 minutes of warmth on an otherwise cold winters day.



bon apetit.

Raddest T-shirt of the year

yours truly with the first Mavic track-Tee west of the Mississippi

hey kids:

check this out, we just received some limited edition velodrome-inspired T's from Mavic France. They are in the states, but not even Mavic employees have these yet. Be the first on the Blue Sky Block (or second, since i am already living in mine) to bring that next level of style to Longmont. These shirts have that slick-euro style, but fit normal. So, you can rock this after a hearty winters meal and not look like Sprockets.

the shred-dial is ripped off when you bring this to the table

Quantities are limited; get while the gettin's good.

North American Cyclocross Trophy Announces 2009 Schedule

Blue Sky Velo is pleased to announce that the 2009 Blue Sky Velo Cup, a UCI C2 cylcocross race, that will be held in Longmont, Colorado on October 31st, will be part of the North American Cyclocross Trophy.

Coming off of a strong first year that saw series champions Ryan Trebon and Georgia Gould capture the individual titles, as well as the coveted “NACT champions belts,” the North American Cyclocross Trophy announced its 2009 schedule with expansion to Canada.

The 2009 season will include 10 events:

· Star Crossed on September 19 (Seattle. WA)
· RAD Racing Gran Prix on September 20 (Seattle, WA)
· The Erdinger Gran Prix of Gloucester on October 3-4 (Gloucester, MA)
· International Cyclocross on October 17-18 (Toronto, ON)
· Blue Sky Velo Cup on October 31 (Longmont, CO)
· The Boulder Cup on November 1 (Boulder, CO)
· Whitmore’s Landscaping Super Cross Cup on November 21-22 (Southampton, NY)

The addition of Canada’s most prestigious cyclocross race to the NACT schedule makes it a truly North American series. Toronto International Technical Director Scott Doel commented, “Our race has experienced tremendous growth in the last 5 years, and that's evident by the depth and talent of the competitors involved. We're honored to a part of this exciting North American series.”

The short-term vision for NACT expansion was about adding a high quality event while achieving a true continental presence. In the long term as cyclocross continues to grow in the US and Canada and fields become deeper and deeper at the top the NACT can see expansion to comprehensive pro tour. “We would love to see the sport get to a place where additional dates are supporting in the U.S. in the Southeast, Midwest and California and well as Western Canada,” remarked Brook Watts of The Boulder Cup.

Myles Romanow, series founder and Whitmore’s Landscaping Super Cross race director, fully embraces this vision for the future, “Cross is experiencing explosive growth in America, and it's only a matter of time before it attracts mainstream media attention and is embraced by more than cycling fans. The dynamic racing and fun atmosphere at the races is ideally suited for the average public.”

The North American Cyclocross Trophy, created in 2008, is comprised of “the classic cyclocross races” of North America. Each race on the tour has a long history and represents the essence of the sport. Overall series prizes totaled over $7,000 in addition to daily prize totals making it the richest cyclocross series outside of Europe.

Buchanan promises additional announcements during the coming off-season. “We’re adding some event elements that should bring additional excitement to both spectators and racers.”

Complete information is available at: http://www.nacyclocross.com/

For more information on the North American Cyclocross Trophy contact Terry Buchanan at 425-503-2333 or terry@buchanangc.com.

I don't have a sign, but...

I figured this might possibly be accepted as a contribution.

And no, I don't know this guy.


(Rob, I don't have the authori-tah to add this to your post...feel free to move it to the bottom of yours.)

only in boulder...

...will you see a sign like this.

it kinda gives me a good feeling because the city is watching out for us cyclists out there, but it also makes me wonder how much a sign like that costs... and what other crazy street signs are there in a warehouse somewhere?

alright, now that i think about it, we need to start a contest: what is the oddest street sign you have seen while riding? this is my submission; not because it was really that wierd, in fact it seemed to fit right in. it just made me think about all this stuff, and actually post a blog--and i've never been this moved over a street sign before.

as always, my personal roving photographer, Mz.Caivano, headed out to the scene to snap this groovy pic.

rob

This is how i feel when i am on the track

watch the whole thing, you'll get it.

SAVE THE DATE: January 22, 2009

Come enjoy an evening of movies "By, For, and About Women" with this year's outstanding LUNAFEST Film Festival brought to you by the Boulder Luna Chix! ALL proceeds go to the Breast Cancer Fund and Health Links Foundation , and we have a raffle you DO NOT WANT TO MISS!

For tickets please contact the Boulder Theater at or 303.786.7030.

See you there!

Colleen Cooke - Clif Bar