COLLEGE CYCLERY BIKE SWAP/DEMO

College cyclery/Pro rider bike swap/jump demo at the C&S Ranch!

Come on out and get your swap, bbq and pump on boys. Saturday the 28th.

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TRAILHEAD CYCLERY PARKING LOT SALE/SWAP

If you can't make it all the way to Sacramento, there will be a huge sale a lot closer to home. Trailhead Cyclery in San Jose is having a massive blowout on tons of top of the line MTB gear. Visit http://www.trailheadcyclery.com/welcome.html for all the juicy details.

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SF IMBA TRAIL DAY

SF Urban Riders builds Bike Approved Singletrack in San Francisco every month.

The IMBA Trail Care Crew of Jason Van Horn & Inga Beck will be in town on April 3rd & 4th to lead a Trail Building Workshop. Putting our skills to work on a totally New Trail Realignment Project - The East Ridge Trail.

Don't Miss Out - Register today!

http://go.imba.com/sanfran.

WHERE: Mount Sutro Trail System above UCSF

DATE: SATURDAY April 4th

TIME: 9am - 5pm

Pizza and refreshments will be served at 4:30

MORE INFO AND DIRECTIONS:

http://www.natureinthecity.org/mtsutro.php

Natural Selection - Ride Order

Do you ever find that there is a natural order that develops when a huge posse of heckadudes sets out on a group ride. The fastest dudes that know the trail the best usually end up in the dust free front (or maybe shedding all the dew off of the brush on a wet morining, or eating all the spider webs across the trail). Below is a great article on ride order from NSMB.com
http://www.nsmb.com/page/s/2743/hound-doggin

SF Urban Riders is building Bike Approved Singletrack in San Francisco. 01/03/09
Start the year off right - by being part of the Urban Trail Movement.
WHERE: Mount Sutro Trail System above UCSFDATE: SATURDAY JANUARY 3rdTIME: 9am - 1pmPizza and refreshments will be served at 12:45
MORE INFO AND DIRECTIONS:http://www.natureinthecity.org/mtsutro.php
SFUR will be working with the Mount Sutro Stewards, Nature in theCity, and One Brick on Trail and Habitat improvements on Mount Sutro.
We will continue to work on the Lower Connector Trail and its awesome switchbacks. This trail is the basis for future trail links like theStanyan Street Trail and eventually over to Belgrave and Clarendon allon dirt. We had 12 volunteers last month and we made tremendous progress. We can finish this new section of trail on Saturday with enough help, and be ready to start another new link in February... how cool is that?
SFUR needs your support in making the City a better place to recreate on your bike!

Carlmont Cleanup Saturday 01/10/09
Travis "Mr. Sugar Shorts" Simbulan gets air at Carlmont Recently at a City of Belmont meeting, Patty was approached by a high ranking city official who had heard from a neighbor about their concerns about the trash in the dirt jumping area behind Carlmont High School. This area is private property and not a Belmont Park, so the city is not responsible for maintaining it unless it poses a health and safety risk, and then the city would need to take a number of legal steps before entering the property. We don't want the city to feel that they need to clean the place up. The landowners appear to be unconcerned about the jumps on this undeveloped parcel and we'd like it to stay that way. So riders who hang out in the forums at Ridemonkey and RideSFO are going to help organize a cleanup day. We are recruiting helpers so we can keep this area clean and tidy. Garbage will be hauled out, including some dumped furniture, and the area will be scoured for random bottles, broken glass or other trash.So save the date and plan on helping out. The dirt jumps have been in use for over a decade and we think they should be considered an asset to the city, not a liability.

Utah, Colorado, and the Sierras.


SF DirtLab Road Trip 2008. Matt and Mitch hit the road on their Chumba XCLs and get a taste of some new dirt. Read more here


SFDL Crew tests new North Face hydration packs! Read more here.


NWD 9 Premier Nite, check out the photos and review here.

Downieville Classic 2008

Downieville Classic 2008

The Downieville Classic has always been a true mountainbikers course, requiring the lungs and legs of a fit roadie, and the bike handling skills of a seasoned singletrack slayer. Since my first time competing in it when I was a 19 year old punk in the expert class, then the Coyote Classic, to 2008, a washed up XC racer turned downhiller; I’ve always wanted to do well here.

The XC race is a point to point, starting in Sierra City at elevation 4100 ft., climbing up to Packer Saddle at 7100 ft., and descending 5100 ft into Downieville. About 20 of the 29 miles are on truly epic, fast flowing singletrack that every mountainbiker dreams of.

XC Race Day

After a quick breakfast and camp coffee, we piled in to Murr’s van at 7:45 AM for the half hour drive up to Sierra City. We geared up, filling the Camelback, pulling on the diaper and taking several of the mystery anti-cramping capsules I scored from my XC homies with the Content Works race team. We all went our separate ways to register, warm up, pre-race purge, etc. Murray, Tim and Brian still needed to pick up their registration packets, so headed up the road to get a little warm up in. If you head up the road past the start you’re bound to run into all the race favorites getting their legs warm and patting each other on the butt. Since all pro DH racers were required to do the XC race as well, many legends were up there warming up. You had perennial favorites like Weir, Moeschler, and Tim Olson, as well as some OG (original gangster) DH pros that have come out of the woodwork to try to knock off Weir in the DH. Brian Lopes, Myles Rockwell, Greg Herbold, and Jurgen Beneke were among the ex world champions lured to Downieville to get a crack at Weir. Other notable riders included Canadian legends Wade Simmons and Andreas Hestler.

The race began with a traffic jam of multi-thousand dollar bikes, and toned muscle, bumping handlebars and elbows, scooting forward with one foot clipped in, trying not to get tangled with anyone. It was a weird start to a pro race; with an entire group AM entrants, just kinda cruising along at and easy pace, juxtaposed to the eager and desperate group of fit XC racers feverishly trying to get by. I had started next to Jurgen and our group followed Lopes, Rockwell, Herbold, Simmons and Brian Culp, all the while getting passed by a steady stream of shaved legs pumping like pistons. We made the U-turn off the pavement and began the arduous climb known as the Trail of Tears. I had no business racing XC at any level, what to speak of Pro, so I just settled in, grabbed and easy gear and tried to find a rhythm. My goal for the day was to avoid cramping and bonking, to finish the XC in under 3 hrs. I wound through the first several bends of the trail in the middle ring, past the mist station and up to the sharp right hand turn that makes the first big change of direction. At this point, most riders have found their pace and are keeping formation on the better line of double track, while the faster riders are passing through the rough. The trail turns steeper and looser here, forcing the single speeders and less technical riders off their bikes, suffering through a windless valley, exposed to the searing heat of the Sierra sun. I figure I’m doing good by keeping on my bike and passing a couple of walkers, keeping the mantra in my mind going, “go easy, don’t cramp”. We snaked the side of the Sierra Buttes up to Blue Point, a false summit and the location of the first feed station. When Downieville virgins first get here, they think they’re done with the climb, but another few miles of up and some steeper pitches await. I gladly took a full water bottle to drink and poured another over my head and neck to cool the core a bit.

At this point I had been spinning pretty easy gears and thought I was doing a good job taking it easy. We encountered a couple of steep technical sections that forced some riders off. I thought I deserved a little effort from my legs, so I shifted to the middle ring and got around the walkers. I pedaled by Wade and made a little push for the saddle. As I hit the relatively flat fire road section to the saddle, I jumped on the wheel of a guy that came blazing by. It turns out he had started 5 minutes back in the sport class and was ripping through the tail end of the pro/ex field. I told him my legs were useless and to not expect me to pull. He obliged and I drafted. When the pitch of the road increased right before Packer Saddle, the sport guy took off and I attempted to stay in the middle ring. When I stood up out of the saddle, I felt the first twinges of cramps coming in my inner thigh, first the right, then the left. It was exactly what I was trying to avoid. I had to pull over and massage and stretch my legs for a minute. All the guys I had just dropped went right by as my legs locked in pain. I knew from this point on I couldn’t push hard up any climbs at all. Back to granny gear, I struggled up to Packer Saddle where a slew of onlookers surely wondered if I was even racing at all.

I forced a bag of Cliff-Blocks down my throat and washed them down with some water. As I crossed the timing mat before Sunrise Trail I pulled over to let a group by before the little climb. Finally some descending, undulating turns, loose berms, a few little nugs to pop off, Sunrise Trail is super fun and flowy. Sunrise spits you out on fire road that traverses the side of the Sierra Crest, from Packer Saddle to Pauley Creek. If you still have any juice here (and I obviously didn’t) this is where you can make up a ton of time, reeling in dudes that have cracked after the climb. I just cruised along, trying to make up time when gravity was on my side and going seeming backwards as soon as the pitch turned up hill. Racers went by like I was tied to a tree.

I finally got to the Baby Heads section leading to Pauley Creek. The dudes at Crankbrothers were cool enough to lend me a Joplin post for the race and I took advantage of it here. I dropped my seat to fun height (about an inch down) did my best to make up time lost on the climbs. I had done a pre-ride two weeks previous, so I knew the lines pretty well. I careened from one pile of rocks to another, giving my suspension and tires a thorough beating, all the while passing slower riders through the rough. To my surprise, I had caught Wade by Pauley Creek. We pedaled across and walked up the other side (isn’t it pathetic when you’re racing someone, and they’re not racing you). I assured him it was all downhill from here and to let it rip. I got off to a good start and passed several guys before hitting the pavers section. I flowed several more sections, crossed a bridge and felt pretty good. Too bad, because as soon as any little climb or pedally section came up, so did the cramps. Now it was both my hamstrings and my quads. I had to pull over again and work em out. A large group of guys went by including Wade, Ponch and the guys I had worked so hard to get around. At this point I was just pissed I couldn’t hold position and pretty much stopped passing anyone because I knew I would just be in the way on the next climb.

I finished out the rest of the course, walking all the up hills and just holding position on the downhills. I finished second to last in the AM Pro class in 2hours 48 minutes. The winner, Ross Schnell finished in 1 hour 57 minutes, almost an hour ahead of me.

Pixie Cross

SF DIRTLAB was privileged enough to provide some volunteer service for the Classic, similar to last year, providing DJ services for the Pixie Cross World Championships and the SF DIRTLAB Chicas were the official awards girls. This year we were asked at the last minute, to also build the Pixie course, organize sign ups and run the race itself. We took it in stride and coordinated with Yuba volunteers to build the course and organize the event.

The 2008 Pixie Cross WC was a bit more organized, with racers divided into heats of 4, with the top two advancing to the next round. There were only three divisions; under 16, over 16 men, and women.

The under 16 boys had two heats leading to the final, with Mitch Nuyens taking the win over his younger competitors. The women also had two heats leading to the final, which Pro DH racer, Niki Gudex, easily won.

The over 16 men's comp was pretty fierce, with 3 or 4 brackets, leading to a semi-final followed by final and a 1 on 1 super final. With the top two riders advancing out of each heat, the competition got better and better, the crowd rowdier and rowdier. By the semi-final heat, the Downieville crowd was getting crazy, lining the course, cheering, jeering and spraying racers with beer. The Santa Cruz contingent was especially lively, their hecklers armed with a seemingly endless supply of beer, flogging all riders that crossed their path. Costumes we not mandatory this year, but Yuri sported a full on green frog suit and Harlan donned a green sports bra and a shimmering pirate eye patch. The eventual winner Brian _____ sported no shirt and a blue ghost mask under his helmet. After many hard fought heats, I ended up behind Brian in second place. After the mornings XC race, doing hot laps on those tiny bikes was pretty tough. Props to Nick from Cliff for a great job on the mic.

SEASONS - SF Premier

SF PREMIER

Wednesday April 30, 2008

SF DIRTLAB presents the San Francisco premier of one of the most anticipated mountain bike films to date. The Collective has already given us two great films, now they are ready to deliver the third, Seasons. Stars of the film will be in attendance along with the film’s producers, making the San Francisco stop of the world tour worthy of our unique city.

The film screening will be at the Victoria Theatre, located at 16^th St. and Capp St. in the heart of the Mission District. The event will feature a killer raffle with prizes from sponsors like WTB, Chrome, Gamut USA, Crankbrothers, Northstar at Tahoe, DJs keeping the vibe right, industry reps giving up the dirt on their latest goods, and of course, frosty refreshments. Come early for good seats and a chance to talk to one of your mountain bike heroes. This show will sell out so get your tickets early.

Tickets available online by April 7^th at the: http://www.victoriatheatre.org/boxoffice.htm

or day of show at the box office.

Wednesday April 30^th | Doors 7PM | Show 8PM | Q & A 9pm | Afterparty TBA

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SEA OTTER DH 2008

SNEAK PEEK

SF DIRTLAB put in the work last Saturday, volunteering for ma man Wild Bill, working on the 2008 Sea Otter DH course. It was beautiful day in Monterey California, sunny, in the 80's, light breeze, shovels in hand and an awesome crew of volunteers. The lower part of the course was already dialed, so we concentrated on reworking the rythm section near the top of the course. True to his name, Wild Bill coralled the wild life, capturing a bobcat, water buffalo and other beasts, and put them to work. We completely rebuilt the rythm section, (spectator spot at the top), tearing out the three jumps there and replaced them with a couple of showtime booters. Scroll down for some pics and course changes.

Course Description

Top

The start is exactly the same as years past, rolling out of the gate to a bumpy, grassy, sweeping left. It straightens out for a second and then there's the loose right hand sweeper that inevitably takes out so many racers that shot out of the gate with a little too much gusto. After the sweeper, there the same small double from last year, followed by a new double about the same size. You have to suck em up and speed jump them, pumping with all you got to clear the booter you're about to launch. After the two sets of dubs there's a big take off on the left and a little roller on the right. The fast line will be hitting the big takeoff, clearing about a 10 foot gap and then trying to clear the table to landing about 30 feet from the lip...only the best of riders will clear the whole thing. Beginners may opt for the roller on the right and will be met with a bucky little step up right after it, that takes em to the top of the same table. Roll off the backside and pedal up the lip of the next jump, about a 20 foot step down. Both of these jumps are way bigger than the jumps last year and should really seperate the classes. Also, with the new line, you carry alot more momentum into the next couple of features. This year, I think you'll see alot more guys popping off the top of the little step up and gapping over the table into the big left hand berm. Outta the berm, the next table got a better lip and a shortened table with a longer landing. This leads you into the right turn where the log over used to be. The log got burried and now theres a double into a berm there to set you for the mini rock garden section. It should be easy to pop off the first rock and clear the whole thing this year.

Middle

After the rock garden, there's a pedally straightaway section with a reworked table top. This jump use to be petty bucky and too short, now its a little better, longer and not as tall. Pedal out of the that section to a the little uphill single track into the S-berms. This entire section remains unchanged with the S-berms leading you to the log drop and the fast bumpy staight away that merges with the fire road. Nothing has changed from last year until the bottom section. Little fire road climb, to steep rutted section, into left hand berm (still rough at this point), to mini triple jump, to right hand turn and hip jump onto the pavement. blaze off the pavement and into the grassy singletrack sidehill section, rippin down to the bumpy double track.

Bottom

Keep your speed up down double track so you can clear the much cleaned up hip jump and let'r rip into the fun new section below. This little section is all new and super fun; Land the hip, rip through a sick liitle right hand berm, pop over the doubles and slide into the left hand berm. You're just about done at this point, pedal up and around a grassy corner, across the bridge, into the mini left berm, into the mini gully, over rollers and sprint to the finish.

Masuda approves the new jump near the top of the course. Sean from HMB Bikeworks in the bobcat and others fine tuning with the hand tools.

Cody speed jumps the two doubles before the biggun and pumps like a mofo for needed speed.

Cody gets some pop to clear the 30 footer.

It's about a ten foot gap, with a long ass table to clear. Yeah, had to trim some trees too.

Dusty grill, limp hands, Sean from HMB Bikeworks takes a well deserved breather.

Jonathan and Masuda, enjoying some shuttles after a hard days work.

The sun is down, but that didn't stop the boys from trying to clear the big one.

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CCCX DH#2

March 22, 2008

Check out Jesse Gray!

Shon's little brother Clinton gettin some.

For all the pics go to:

http://bikeguy.smugmug.com/2008

CCCX DH #1

March 9, 2008

SF DIRTLAB rallied down to our first race of the season, hitting up the always pedally CCCX Series in Monterey, CA. Jonathan, Matt, Mitch, Shon, Clinton and Jesse, strapped on helmets and battled the 200+ competitors on the fast, sandy course. We were stoked to finally build up our new Chumba F5 DH bikes and put them to the test. We'll have a full review of the bikes soon. Mitch led the way with a 3rd place in the Pro class. Here's a few pics from the day.

SF DL Crew posing at the awards gathering

Jonathan with his sick new F5. A crash kept him out of the running today.

Mitch's new ride. Par for CCCX courses, there was a lot of pedaling, so he rode the Mojo Carbon today.

Our little home away from home. Hookin the people up with the essentials.

Shon's new ride flyin the colors too.

The SFDL crew hits up a Nor-Cal pump track! Food, Sun, Music, and Berms.

The riding was sick and the vibe was chill. Now we all want one in our backyards!

SoCal Road Trip

San Luis Obispo | Santa Barbara | San Diego | Bootleg Canyon

Trip detail | Five days 1,800 miles

Thule rack fully loaded

Taking off the three work days between Christmas and New Year's, gave me the opportunity to hit the road and ride some fresh goods. I called some homeys who I thought would have some time off too and Michael Schickenberg and Josh Trenter agreed to head south for a SoCal DH tour. We packed up the Pathfinder and left the morning after Christmas and headed down to San Luis Obispo.

San Luis Obispo

I had originally booked us a local tour guide, but that fell through, so we had to do some figuring on our own. Michael had run into some guys from SLO the previous weekend in Santa Cruz, so we gave them ring and they provided some intel to DH trails in SLO. Some web searching led us to possible shuttles of of Cuesta Grade, and our SLO sources confirmed that's where we wanted to go. We headed up TV tower road and followed the treasure map to the goods.

The View from the TV Tower Road. Check out Moro Rock in the distance.

We made our way to the top and found the trailhead quickly with the help of our local intel. We had to roll odd man out style because we didn't have another vehicle to get back to the top. Michael volunteered and Josh and I got to hit it first. We were stoked to find a nice little ladder drop and wall ride right out of the gate, leading to a series of berms and some flowy sidehill sections.

Michael teeing off in SLO

The drop above put you right into this sweet little wall ride

Several more berms, mandatory gaps and some seriously fun, high speed rock sections led us down into a nasty creek bed and subsequent hike-a-bike out. A quick jaunt up the other side had us back to marked trails, where we connected with Morning Glory. Morning Glory is a bit more XC, really smooth, sinuous, with fun turns and a few pedaly sections. This leads you down to some fast sections through open cow pastures, through a couple of gates and across a set of train tracks. Another fun flowy single track section takes you to the exit fire road and you end up right on the Cal Poly Campus for the shuttle pick up.

We decided to camp at the trailhead so we could wake and ride and get to Santa Barbara by noon. We knew it was going to be a cold night, so we went and picked up some cheep fleece blankets to add another layer to our sleeping bags. Despite a campfire, a bottle of Jameson and the additional blankets, we all froze our nuts off overnight, waking up to frozen puddles and the smell of campfire infused in our souls.

Hitting the DH trail and Morning Glory at sunrise was a great way to start the day, making the two hour push to Santa Barbara fly by.

Santa Barbara

We met up with Rex and Matt in SB and went straight to Tunnel Trail. Now we had 5 riders and a shuttle car, but only a four bike rack. No problem, a sleeping pad, rotated bars and removed left crank arm allowed us to lay Rex's Bullit flat and we strapped it down to the roof of the Pathfinder in true heckadude style.

After rollin up Gibraltar Rd, we headed straight to the top of Tunnel Trail, the epic descent thats like Mile in P-town, but about ten times longer. We attached our bike bells and headed down for the super rocky white knuckle drop in.

Michael with his SB biker bell

JT in mid negotiation

Rex enjoying the vistas from Tunnels

JT droppin in on Jesusita for the bonus loop

We all got to the bottom, safe and sound, grinning ear to ear. We turned right where Tunnels tees into a fire road and pushed the bikes up to Jesusita trail for a bonus loop. Another ripping, flowy trail, Jesusita has a bunch of tight switchbacks, small rock drops and and little nuggets to pop off. We were famished after the ride and headed directly to Freebirds in IV for a killer burrito. Post burrito coma, we retreated from the late December cold and stuffed all our bikes and dude stank into one tiny room for showers, bike porn and some well earned ZZZ's.

Packed into the Hope Ranch Motel, switched on the bike porn and manufactured some ZZZ's

We awoke to a dark, cloudy day, with Cold Springs and another Tunnels run on the menu. We did the misty mountain hop at the top of the ridge, a heavy drizzle soaking our clothes and coating our goggles. It's a pretty long shuttle up and we all enjoyed the view at first chance.

Drip coffee

Cold Springs was really fast and smooth at the top and quickly morphed into the typical SB rock chute, with sharp sandstone teeth biting at your rims. I already had a massive flat spot from yesterday's run down Tunnels and tried to keep it a little smoover today. We got most of the way down Cold Springs trail, but lost the single track towards the bottom. We ended on old school fire road, with big sweeping turns and a few steeper rocky sections, making feel like we should've grown out our handle bar mustaches and been on Klunkers. We rallied to get back to the top and do another run on Tunnels before heading out to meet my boy Andy in San Clemente.

We hit the road after feasting on some Indian food and were at Andy's place for the night. I use to work with Andy Hilliard back in the day at Sierra at Tahoe. Since runnin board shop there, Andy's joined the bike industry and currently works for Crankbrothers. A huge thanks to Andy and Megan for putting us up for the night.

San Diego

Another early morning had us wolfing down killer breakfast burritos from Pipes in SC and heading down to Poway to ride a spot called Ted Williams.

We had talked about shuttling in Laguna, but Rex convinced up to check out TW. It was a wise choice as TW might have been the highlight of the trip for me. The place is very similar to Carlmont, but bigger; complete with red soil, step downs, berms and gaps...super fun. Like C-mont, you can either shuttle or just push up the hill. Most people just push since it's almost as fast.

Last couple hits in the 8 pack leading back to the car

There are a bunch of DH trails leading down from the top, one with pretty challenging rock gardens, trail gap step downs and another with a series of really fun berms. They all kinda criss cross each other and meet again at a bowl near the bottom that has a bunch of step down gaps and other booters. Most of the locals we met were super friendly and willing to show you around.

Rex hitting the smoothest step down road gap ever

Steep rock roll-in

Andy eyeing up this crazy line...

There was this huge step down gap that we were eyeballing a bit, but not really determined to hit. I took a speed check run at it and that was enough to gather some attention. A few local riders came over and one volunteered the other to show us how it was done. There was a nice steep drop-in to get up to speed and then about 150 yards on the flat leading to a smooth take off, about a 35 foot gap and an 8 foot step down (camera battery was dead). This thing made big pimpin at C-mont look tiny. The local ripper hit the steep drop-in pedaling and had it wide open across the flat, in his top gear, mashing as hard as he could all the way to the lip...he barely made the landing. He did it one more time for good measure and the results were almost identical...savage! Watching that was enough to ensure I would not be attempting it this day. From the bowl back down to the car was fun little 8 pack. We almost convinced ourselves to stay in San Diego and avoid the perceived NYE traffic to Vegas, but after repacking the car we opted for for Bootleg Canyon, NV.

Bootleg Canyon

Bootleg Canyon is a well known DH riding area about half hour south of Las Vegas. The bicycle industry trade show also has dirt demo there annually.

There is shuttle you can take to the top for $5 a run or $25 for the day. The shuttle drop is about a 5 minute hike from the top.

While Bootleg has trails for all abilities, it is a pretty unforgiving place, tons of sharp rocks, lots of exposure, making a digger there pretty consequential. The local shop is super helpful, has all the gear and spare parts you need, and produces a nice map of the trail system. We hit up most of the trails and over heard one rider say that a trail called Ginger was the gnarliest trail he had ever ridden. It was after lunch and getting towards the end of the day and I knew we had to go check it out. Ginger was as promised, steep, loose, mandatory drops to steep sketch landings, narrow drainage slots, exposed, exposed, exposed. It kept you super pucked with each move getting techier and techier, growing your stoke each time you make a section and puck into the next.

I had been riding with a pack all day and decided I didn't need it anymore. As luck would have it, of course I flatted on that run. My rear wheel was already flat spotted to hell after a years worth of riding and the beat down of the previous days in SLO, SB and TW, so I got the joy of riding out with my flat and totally destroying that soft DT 6.1 rim.

Rex, JT and Michael went on for the last run of the day and we closed out another epic DH riding day. We took turns driving home and blazed all the way back to SF that night. It was great to get out and see some new trails and open up our MTB universe a little more.

P-town Punisher

P-town Punisher
Race Results

The first ever P-Town Punisher went off at an un godly hour on Saturday November 3rd, 2007. SF DIRTLAB sent out the call and local crushers come out from as far as Chico to test their mettle against one of the toughest dirt climbs in the Bay Area. This climb has long been a gauge of fitness for local fast men, readying them for battle on the XC circuit. It takes a special glutton for punishment to savor the pain of an arduous hillclimb, pushing your legs, lungs and mind to the edge, without the reward or relief of the downhill. I congratulate all the entrants to the P-Town Punisher and challenge you all to best your time next year.

This event would not have been possible without the generous support of our sponsors, Chrome Transport, WTB, Red Bull and the Sports Basement and volunteers. Thanks to our volunteer crew: Nica, Taya, Lori, Debbie, Ryan and Gideon for your time and effort.

Scroll sown for more pics and words.

I told you we had to go early....the view of Montara Mountain at sunrise. It had been a long time since I woke up this early for a ride.

Tim Olson powering his way to 1st place and the fastest time of the day, a scorching 32min 58.

Ken Shiokari had to pass some non-racers to set the best amateur time at 41min 14. As Ken crossed the finish line, he shook his head and said, "man I'm outta shape"! Ha Ha!

It's kinda wierd when one of your good friends becomes your new hero, but Kim Perrin was the only person to compete in the DH category, riding his 8" VP Free, chugging an MGD at the bottom of the wall, and still posting a time of 51min 42...Hero!

John "not Sanchez" Howat was pretty heroic too, carrying two bottles of beer and liter of hot tea with him to the top!

When I said the Stone Throne at the top of the mountain, I meant it.

And survey the vast Kindom below...congrats Tim!

The post race taco feed was kick ass...Ben Lyon doing his best Cedric impression in the foreground...smell my finger!

Amateur Winner Ken "I'm outta shape" Shiokari showing off his new Chrome messenger bag and WTB goodies

Tim Olson's 32min 58 earned him a cool wad of cash and a pair of Chrome shoes! Not to mention that pimpin SFDL trucker hat.

You kow you're big timin' if you walked away with one of these custom P-Town Punisher necklaces

After the awards, a few of us went back out for another session, poppin wheelies, hittin jumps and posing in the beauty of the day

And after a second round of tacos and beers we hit up the Slug Farm to witness some DJ action...Damon workin out his new line

One of the young guns killin it out there is Matt Adams...sweet x-up.

See the rest of the Pics here...

SF BICYCLE FILM FESTIVAL

SF Bicycle Film Fest

and

Chrome Party

SF Dirtlabbers showin some love after watching Klunkers, an outstanding film about the history of the modern mountain bike.

If you came to the Film Fest, not only did you get to see some inspirational films, but you got free valet parking!

DJ Toph-One mixing up the special sauce to keep the Chrome party rockin.