SKH:  How long have you been on the Fitzgerald’s Team?

DB: Since 2006.

SKH: What kind of riding do you do?

DB: Mountain, Road, Cross, and Snow, with the occasional digression into Downhill and Pump Track.

SKH: What is your favorite ride?

DB: Mid-Mountain Trail, Park City, UT in late September when the Aspens are ablaze.

SKH: Tell us about the 12 hours of Mesa Verde?

DB: I raced the 12 Hours of Mesa Verde on Saturday, May 12th in Cortez, CO.  It is one of my favorite races of the entire year because it has an awesome 16-mile course, great organization and festive vibe.  I raced the Solo Singlespeed and took 7th out of 43 Solo singlespeed men with 7 laps in 11 hours and 41 minutes.

SKH: What’s next?

DB: The Boise 9 to 5 mountain bike race on June 9th.

SKH: What one thing have you purchased from Fitzgerald’s that you can’t do without?

DB: Ergon grips. They absolutely save my hands during long training rides and races.

SKH: What song gets stuck in your head during long rides?

DB: During Mesa Verde I was singing “Everybody Hurts” by REM.

SKH: What note do you write on your stem?

DB: “Eat, Drink, Smile.”

SKH: What is your favroite post ride treat?

DB: A milkshake from the Victor Emporium…. The best milkshakes on the planet.

Dave’s favorite grips, the Ergons, are available on our website and you can follow Dave on his blog.  And most importantly, those milkshakes can be had just down the street from us on Main Street in Victor at the Victor Emporium!

Thanks to everyone who came out for our Grand Opening & 10th Anniversary Party.

We had a great time meeting all our new neighbors, seeing old friends, chowing down on Bill Boney’s BBQ, and throwing back a few cold ones from Snake River Brewery and Grand Teton Brewery.

Also a big thank you goes to our Fitzgerald Team Members Chris, Dan, Melissa and Kim who helped tend the bar and David Hudacsko for the help with the sound system.

Bicyclists Allowed On Some Yellowstone Roads while cars are not!

Now through April 19, the road between West Yellowstone,
Madison, Norris and Mammoth Hot Springs is open to travel by adventurous
and prepared bicyclists.  There is no spring bicycle access to Old
Faithful or Canyon.

A bicycle trip into Yellowstone this time of year is not to be undertaken
lightly.  The quickly changing weather can be blustery, snowy and brutally
cold.  Snow and ice may cover sections of road.  Bears, bison, elk, wolves,
and other wildlife could be encountered at any time.  No services are along
these sections of road.  Cyclists should expect to encounter — and yield
to — snowplows or other vehicles operated by park employees or
construction workers traveling in conjunction with park operations.

Bicyclists are required to ride single file and follow all other rules of
the road.  They are strongly encouraged to carry bear spray, should be
prepared to turn around and backtrack when encountering wildlife on the
road, and must stay out of closed areas.

Cyclists are urged to call 307-344-2107 from 8:00 a.m. to 4:30 p.m. on
weekdays for updated road access information, or call 307-344-2113 for
24-hour weather information before traveling to the area.  Additional
planning information is also available online at
http://www.nps.gov/yell/planyourvisit/springbike.htm

http://shop.fitzgeraldsbicycles.com/

Greetings Fat Bike Racers & Potential Fat Bike Racers,

• Local governments deserve a voice in transportation. The Cardin-Cochran amendment ensures that cities and counties have a voice in making transportation decisions for safer streets in their communities.
• Safety matters. Bicycle and pedestrian deaths make up 14% of all traffic fatalities, but only 1.5% of federal funds go      towards making walking and biking safer. These programs provide funding for sidewalks, crosswalks, and bikeways that make streets safe for all users.
• Active transportation is a wise investment. Walking and biking infrastructure is low-cost, creates more jobs per dollar than any other kind of highway spending, and is critical to economic development for main street America.

• HR 7 takes us back to the 1950s. HR 7 takes us back to a 1950s system by eliminating dedicated funding for biking and walking AND kicking   transit out of the highway trust fund. We need a transportation bill to meet 2012 needs, not 1950 needs.
• HR 7 doesn’t invest wisely. Federal transportation laws should invest our finite resources in cost-effective, efficient infrastructure solutions that create jobs and keep the economy moving. The House bill eliminates walking and biking, despite the fact that walking and bicycling infrastructure is low-cost and creates more jobs per dollar than any other kind of highway funding.
• HR 7 makes streets more dangerous for kids. By repealing the successful and effective Safe Routes to School program, the House bill makes the streets more dangerous for kids on their walks and bike rides to school.

Take Action Now!

Registration is from 3:45pm to 4:30pm before the race at the start. $5 entry fee.

Three classes: one lap, two laps, the third will be made up of teams of two making one lap each.

There will be snow bike demos on the day of the race.

“No bup, do you really get the network of Winter groomed snow machine trails between Island Park and West Yellowstone?”

1500 miles of Snow Machine Trails between West and Island Park

Alright, I can’t possibly fake it at this point so I admit I really have no clue, other than stories and local lore, as to what awaits up North.  I’m a skier… so why should I care about a network of relatively flat snow machine trails in the opposite direction of all my skiing fantasies?

At the time this conversation was going on, Jay and I were huddled (not literally, I swear) inside his garage deciding weather or not to drive to Rexburg for a Cube ‘Cross race in near blizzard conditions. I’d like to tell you we finished the conversation on the drive to the race… I’d really like to tell you that.  Actually, I’d really like to tell that to Saur-dude and Harder but, I can’t.  Damn it.

Anyway…. Jay went on to give me the one on one low down on the shangrila that he and Tracey have been pioneering for the past few Winters in our back yard.  Ha! Pioneering groomed trails you say?  Here they were, against all odds, forging across the tundra, fighting for survival in a new land… while yielding to ‘biles the whole time.  Yes, I was in my skin suit, on the edge of my seat.

The trails and the roads around Island Park yield primo riding.

After some more yapping from Jay, I was convinced there are some sweet trails up North that are worthy of some attention.  Remember, he’s the man and the man should be listened to.  With that out of the way, Jay laid on me the concept of the West n’ Back ride.

“Imagine if we laid out a 50 mile route from Ashton to West Yellowstone on groomed trail?” Jay spun the tale while I was all ears, “A rider could choose to ride 50 miles to West, or 100 miles West and back. Not only that, the route would have multiple points of access to gas stations, bars, and lodges while sneaking in and out of some seriously remote Continental Divide trail.”

This sounded better by the minute as our day of cross racing disappeared in the conversation.   He explained this idea was not aiming at a formal race, but rather a free group ride with a competitive edge.  Something in line with the dozens of free Mountain Bike and Gravel Road races that are popping up across the West.  That morning, the cross race in Rexburg was dead and the West n’ Back Grand Fondo was born!

After adjusting for a Snow Machine race this was the final proposed route in yellow.

As the day of the event approached… so did the storm.  No matter, the date had been set, riders had traveled, West n’ back was on and we gathered at the shop Friday night for a chalk talk.

With its many turns, riders made sure to check and recheck the route.

Morning came and Teton Pass was closed – No Jackson riders this year unfortunately.  We had to wonder what awaited us up North since the storm continued to pound all night.  I told myself years ago I would never go for a long Fat Bike ride in on a powder day again after pushing my bike for nearly 7 hours a few years back at the Togwotee Winter Classic.  Oh well, since the Pass would be closed most of the day, my ski area was closed too.  Might as well go explore some new trails with some good people!

Foster the People? No - Shuttle the People, Foster!

Thanks to JH Limo Lounge we had a pimping 4WD Van for the drive up – bikes and riders were clean livin’ on the inside!

uh, yeah. About that storm last night...

Once in Island Park, it took about 5 seconds to realize that even though all the trails were groomed last night, another foot of fresh snow fell and made them un-rideable.  So we changed course and headed to the Ponds Lodge for another chalk talk.

Time for another chalk talk

Jay double checked the grooming report, talked to the great ladies at the Ponds, and poured over the map to save the day and the ride.  Joe and I waited patiently… at the bar.  I have to give another shout out to the Ponds Lodge.  If you are driving or riding through Island Park, be sure to stop in and enjoy a great staff, awesome food (we sampled the breakfast burritos and the pizza later on), a huge tap wall, and a clean, modern sports bar atmosphere.  They have newly remodeled cabins for rent too and there is Fat Biking, XC Skiing, and Snow machining out the door.

Time to ride.

All riders had lots of STOKE even with the change of plans!

Jay and Bergy itching to ride.

Here's the "start line"

Since the trails were too deep, we opted for an out and back road ride.  The conditions were on the soft side of things but in general the riding was pretty fast.  Even though we weren’t on trail, it felt like it!  The whole crew moved along together all day.

The roads had great riding!

Joe Meiser, Product Manager from Salsa/Surly/45NRTH, flew out from Minnesota to check out the emerging scene here.

Back to the Ponds for post ride Pizza, Wings, and Beer!

After all riders were sufficiently soaked through from sweat and snow, we called the Ponds Lodge the “finish line”.  About 32 miles in all through beautiful country.  The day was filled with “thumbs ups” from snow machiners and when we were hanging in the Ponds parking lot there were lots of questions and enthusiasm from the ‘bilers.  The Ponds owner, RJ, came over to our table after his snowmobile ride and was super welcoming!  He was excited to have another user group visiting his business and he gave us some great advice while pointing out trails on the map.  I personally can’t wait to rent a cabin at the Ponds and explore more trail!

Jay P called it – this is the place to ride!

Cheers!

Everyone loves Fat Bikes!

2012 Grand Targhee Snow Bike Race from Dave Byers on Vimeo.