Meet Kelly Boniface…she races in the Women’s Pro Mountain bike division on a national, regional and state level for Moots.  She has been flying the Moots flag for a few years now and doing quite well.  This year we will be following Kelly through her year as she balances life as a mom, wife and business owner.  We will be doing some fun video updates along the way!

Bear with me on this one…..

I can’t speak for everyone out there, but I’m pretty sure we all know what it is like to have something stolen from us….bike, car, computer whatever it may have been or will be…that feeling in the pit of your stomach….violation, seperation….loss. Below is a small story about a stolen bike….and getting the owner back in the saddle.

This past Monday we received a call from a shop in Golden Colorado (Golden Bike Shop) about a Moots Psychlo X Cyclocross bike they had taken in for repair.  Sounds easy enough right?…not so much.The shop employee smelled something fishy, as in the bike didn’t fit the guy, the guy really didn’t seem like a “cyclist” and he wanted an estimate on how much it was worth (not only a theif, but a dumb one at that)….so the employee took the bike in and called us with the serial number.  A look in our records revealed that the bike was sold to a shop in Pittsburgh, Pa in 2007.  A call to the shop on our end and the dealer was able to provide a home number for the customer that had bought the bike.  Next call to the number and we got in touch with his mom…who then told us that her sons apartment had been ransacked last Thursday night in Littleton, Colorado where he had been going to school…in total; 3 bikes, computers and pretty much anything that was in his home….all gone.  She provided us with a cell number to her son.  Next call to the son….he happened to be standing in his apartment with his father going through the insurance process.  Letting him know we had a lead on his bike was great…you could hear it in his voice…he loved that bike and was torn apart to know it was out there….gone from his care.  We connected him and the bike shop.  Next, they worked with the police officer that was handling the case…they set up the catch.

The shop called the number of the person that had left the bike….they let him know it was ready to pick up.  Into the shop comes the customer…picks up the bike and rolls out the front door.  Once outside the police were waiting for him and put the cuffs on him.  Busted.  Bike goes into evidence and once the case is finished Mike will be riding his Psychlo X ….that now has a bit more history.

In the end it was a good feeling re-connecting an owner and his bike….

Bike thieves beware….our close knit cycling brethren watches out for each other.

Paul Larkin is one of the finest mechanics you can come across and you really have to take your hat off to a man that hangs up his coat from practicing law to tinker where his passion lies – bikes – Paul is part of the team at Cycling Edge in Melbourne, Australia, who distribute Moots Bicycles down under.

Cycling Edge and Moots have come to the party to help us build the perfect bike to circumnavigate the globe. The ideal bike that can not only help us move fast as we target a world record, but tackle the trickiest of terrains, all while having a blast on a finely crafted, finely tuned machine.

In this series we learn about awesome custom bikes and some tips and tricks of the trade Paul has up his sleeve as we design and build this bike.

We’re excited and we hope you’ll share in our story.

Learn more:

And Cycling Edge at:
cyclingedge.com.au

Learn about our project at:
WorldByCycle.info

Last night I sat down to build a set of wheels for next Cyclocross season. Yes, I know it just ended, but I’m a restless bike geek. These wheels are very simple; they use real spokes, real hubs and real rims that are not made of carbon fiber. No nonsense…..handpicked parts that make up the whole…they will carry me across many miles of terrain….similar to a Moots…each tube hand selected for its purpose….ride quality, weight and durability…the parts to make up a whole.

My kids helped me lace them….I told them about; spoke length, balance and tension….building something the right way the first time……to last a long time.

Like a Moots.

My Wheel Build:

Rims: Mavic Reflex CD 32 hole (front & rear) tubular

Hubs: Chris King R45

Spokes: DT Swiss 2.0/1.8/2.0 black

Nipples: DT Swiss 2.0 silver

Last day of January 2012! Wow, how time flies.  The New Year and new season are off to a roaring start…the year of the Dragon? Mr. Moots is pretty close….

This coming weekend the Cyclocross World Championships will take place in Koksijde, Belgium. Known for it’s sand dunes, wind, rain and what looks to be a chance of snow this weekend.  There has been over 30,000 tickets pre-sold for the event…THIRTY THOUSAND! That does not count the at-the-gate sales…look to see 40,000 plus surround the course during the men’s elite race.

If you have never seen Cyclocross take place on a sandy course, the 2011 World Cup (above) will give you an idea of what to expect. This is the course they will race Sunday.  If you have ever ridden a bike through sand, you know how power sapping it can be.  There is an amazing amount of technique required as well.  If you never have, go out and find the biggest sand volley ball court you can find and ride it.  Mountain bike or cross bike….try turning, try running…you’ll get the idea of just how skilled these guys have to been to do this at this speed….to me…amazing stuff.

I like minute 19 in the hour long race above…Sven Nys riding the high line like he is on a motorcycle….while the others run….He’s my pick for the big race….Nys, Nys, Nys…he’s Versnellen (accelerating) listen for those words on Sunday…..it’s coming.

If you are looking to watch Cyclocross Worlds live you can find live streaming links here: CYCLING FANS

A complete listing of start times can be found here: WK CYCLOCROSS 2012

I’ll be up, coffee in hand, computer fired up, watching it all go down from here.

HUP HUP!

Dreamride out of Moab, UT sent this little bit along…..Psychlo X RSL, track ends, Deep green paint single speed.  It is nicely topped off with a Moots RSL stem painted to match, Moots Cinch post & Brooks saddle.  Carbon hoops, Eno Crank and (gulp) a flat bar.  Very slick.

44mm head tube with Mr. Moots long for the ride!

We’ve unpacked most of the dirty clothes, washed up a few muddy bikes and for the rest of it….we’ll just let it hang in the garage until the mud falls off on its own.  Cyclocross season came to a close for me on Sunday January 8th…just over 4 months after it started.  A good long season with plenty to be thankful for and plenty to bring me back for more next season.

Updated 1/17/12: The inside story to the issues I had during the race……so what happened?

I’m not a guy that would make excuses for my races.  I don’t believe in racing that way,  plus I pride myself in having zero mechanical issues during races.  I take the “to finish first, you must first finish”. Period. I’m of the old school Norba stance that you should be able to fix your stuff without outside assistance.  Of course Cyclocross we have the pit and that is part of the game.  There is some luck involved, but really you make your own luck on the race course. For  me the mechanical I had was my own doing…..lesson learned.

THE SKINNY:

The story is I started on the wrong tires (and I know better)…I had pre-rode the course on a Grifo tread and felt confident in them.  For the first two laps of the race they were fast, but the course was quickly going south.  A thin layer of mud on top of those beautiful ice ruts.  I decided to pit and take the bike that had the Dugast Rhino mud tires and instantly felt faster and started to close down the gap to Don.  However, my B bike had a suspect chain guard/guide set up and with the super bumpy ruts the chain would bounce out of the guide and wedge between the chain ring and the inner guide.  I had to stop 3-4 times with two laps to go to pull the chain out of the “stuck” rhymes with…never mind.  I finally got to the pit and went back to the other bike to finish off the race.

My mistake.  Lesson learned.

Still a great race……the day after the mechanic for Myrah came by and told me they thought I might have had him if for not the mechanical I had……but that is bike racing. It was nice of them to say and I’m really happy with 2nd…don’t get me wrong….I hope to be back at nationals in 2013 and be towards the front of the race.

Finishing out the season at nationals was great…being in the hunt for the win was all I could wish for and coming up 2nd makes me think I have and know what it takes to be at that level again. As with every passing season of Cyclocross, I even learned a few things along the way…..

Some are a given…others are not:

– Family (they tend to be your/my biggest supporters) take care of them first, the rest is bonus.

– Tires….they need to fresh…they need proper pressure (I know all of this and didn’t follow it)…don’t skimp.

– Good Pit Crew….by luck I got Matt Pacocha from Bike Radar to be my pit man….none better….(should have listen to him on tire choice).

– Don’t be stubborn…..(read line above again: tire choice)

– Travel with fun/good people (family or friends) Thanks to Michael Robson for logging 2200 miles round trip with me. Never a dull moment.

– It’s bike racing….like Adam Myerson once said…”it’s just stupid bike racing, you know,….but it means everything”……

– Drink that beer. Life is too short to live like a monk all of the time….have an adult recovery beverage now and then….it’s okay.

–Don’t stop riding a bike….duh.  As I age, it has kept me young at heart….

I’m sure I learned way more than that this year, but that is what pops out at the moment.  I’ve put together some other photos I took during the trip to Wisconsin….you can view them here on our MOOTSFLICKR if you like.

Until next time Cyclocross,….I will be dreaming of you and your mud, and snow, and ice and cuts and bruises and low pressure tires, and good smelly stuff I put on my legs and course tape I blow through and finish lines in the dark and so on and so on…..only 8 months til Vegas!

But who’s counting?

This short clip of the stair run up at Cyclocross Nationals comes to us courtesy of long time Moots friend Chris Setter.  He captured Jon hitting the stairs just behind Brian Hludzinski of Boulder Cycle Sport…who funny enough I’ve know for 20+ years and have battled countless times on the cross courses across the country.

Always good to be surrounded by friends.

HUP! HUP!

I’m starting to pull together some of the video footage we took while in Madison for Cyclocross Nationals.  This short was taken after doing two laps on a very muddy course on Thursday afternoon.  Michael Robson entertains us for a moment or two.