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Mountain Biking News - July 2009
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Thursday, 30 July 2009Colorado Springs -- BMX Racing is the newest sport added to the 2009 State Games of America in Colorado Springs, July 30-August 2, and the addition got immediate big-time results when 2009 USA Cycling National Champion Cody Wilson of Apple Valley, California registered.
The 28-year-old, Wilson, won the national title in the Standard 20" Division at the Challenger Level showdown in Marc h at DeSoto, Texas, riding for his Team Eliminator club in the championships. He finished seventh in 2008 and was ranked #4 in the World in the same season as highlights of a storied career in the exciting and popular sport. Wilson has entered three events on July 30, August 1-2 at the Games, where BMX racing is set for the superb new Pikes Peak BMX venue at Rampart Park.
The State Games of America Bowling competition at the King Pin Lanes in Colorado Springs now has 85 entries from across the nation registered.
2008 Iowa Games silver medalist Bob Heath, 53, of Grand Junction, Iowa, has already chalked up five 300 games this year and a high series of 821 which included back-to-back 300 games.
Jason Reese, 30, of Raytown, Missouri, was a varsity bowler at the University of Kansas and competed in the national championships twice. He bowled the second highest three-game team series in college history and rolled the highest team game and team series in the nation while winning the 2004 National Championship.
Willie Edwards, 51, of Rio Rancho, New Mexico, won the Gold medal at the 2005 State Games of America in Colorado Springs and a bronze medal in the 2007 Games in Colorado Springs as well, along with a Silver in the Mixed Doubles. Robert Dillman, 47, of Albuquerque, New Mexico, rolled to an 8th place finish at the USBC Open Championship and has 29 coveted 300 games and six 800 series in his career.
Registration is open at www.stategames.org and kids and parents can get all the Games' information on sports, hotel and motel accommodations, venues, rules and all the rest.
The Opening Ceremony of the Games gets underway at the Colorado Springs World Arena on July 30. Olympic freestyle wrestling gold medalist Henry Cejudo will cap off a torch run that begins that afternoon at the U.S. Olympic Training Center when he lights the Games official flame at the arena. Tickets ($10.00/$5.00) at: www.ticketswest.com. Every kid who will compete gets to march in the Parade of Athletes by states, too.
Some 10,000 athletes of all ages and skill levels from 47 states are expected for the State Games of America, the third time that Colorado Springs has hosted the signature event of the National Congress of State Games and the nation's largest multi-sport event for these athletes. A record 10,803 athletes came to the city in 2007, breaking the old mark of 9,482 for the 2005 Games in Colorado Springs. The 2011 event is ticketed for San Diego, California.
The State Games concept, a property of the National Congress of State Games, was developed in New York in 1978 with the legendary Empire State Games. In 2008, more than 400,000 athletes competed in State Games nationwide. State Games feature various sports of the Olympic and Pan American Games as well as sports that have regional popularity within each state.
Prominent State Games Alumni include: Jeff Blatnick, Ryan Lochte, Ralph Boston, Mike Mussina, Tracy Caulkins, Billy Hardin, Calbert Cheaney, Curt Clausen, Hayes Jones, Diane Dixon, Tom Dolan, Suzy Favor-Hamilton, Dan Gable, Walter Dix, Rowdy Gaines, Harvey Glance, Nicole Haislett, Nancy Hogshead, Roy Jones, Adonis Jordan, Kobe Bryant, Nancy Kerrigan, Mike Richter, Spencer Haywood, Rusty LaRue, Danny Manning, Henry Marsh, Eric Montross, Rick Hamilton, Chris Mullin, Willye White, Tab Ramos, Vic Wunderle, Glenn Robinson, Alberto Salazar, Lusia Harris-Stewart, Doug Smith, Rex Walters, Lones Wigger, Jr. and Paul Wylie.
Source: www.thesportscorp.org
Tuesday, 28 July 2009Missoula, Montana — This summer, eight Bronx Lab students will cycle a 280-mile stretch of the Underground Railroad Bicycle Route in Ohio. The Bronx Lab Underground Railroad Riders are part of the school’s unique, real-world-as-classroom initiative, "Health and History: Biking the Underground Railroad," aimed at marrying healthy living habits with learning history. The group's route and itinerary were developed with the Adventure Cycling Association. Adventure Cycling tour leader, Chuck Harmon, will head up the innovative bicycle adventure on the ground.
"This adventure will immerse these students in an extremely important chapter in our nation’s history, and in the joys and challenges of bicycle travel, bringing them face to face with their own physical potential and limitations. This is the kind of rich, hands-on educational experience we hope to create at Bronx Lab," said Michele Hoang, Bronx Lab teacher and co-leader of this year's trip.
During their nine-day Ohio tour, the students will bike from Milford to Oberlin, Ohio. They will visit Underground Railroad landmarks such as the Rankin House in Ripley, the National Underground Railroad Freedom Center in Cincinnati, the National Afro-American Museum and Cultural Center in Wilberforce, and many others, while pedaling their way to improved fitness. The students will also visit three college campuses: Central State University, Ohio Wesleyan University, and Oberlin College.
Ginny Sullivan, route coordinator for Adventure Cycling, added, "We hope that the physical experience of riding the route, combined with historical exploration, will be able to give these students a small sense of what it must have been like for freedom seekers as they fled north."
The eight students competed for their tour spots by participating in a rigorous application process within Bronx Lab and all of them have had to maintain outstanding behavior and academic performance during their preparation for the trip. Students have prepared by fund raising, attending classes on the history of the Underground Railroad, biking, and bicycle maintenance, as well as participating in physical training, including long, weekend rides.
Bicycles and helmets for this year's trip have been provided through a partnership with the Bronx-based organization, I Challenge Myself.
Bronx Lab School staff and students are available for comment and interviews. Please contact Michele Hoang at 718-696-3700 (Bronx Lab), 714-260-1494 (cell), or via email at michele.hoang@bronxlabschool.org.
For more information about the Bronx Lab Underground Railroad Riders and their August bicycle adventure, visit: www.blurr.us.
For more information about Bronx Lab School, visit: www.edline.net/pages/Bronx_Lab_School.
For more information about the Underground Railroad Bicycle Route, visit: www.adventurecycling.org/ugrr.
Source: www.outdoorindustry.org
Monday, 27 July 2009On Saturday, 18 July 2009, seventy-five intrepid adventurers took on the extreme challenge of The Glen Nevis River Race. They began by taking a 20ft plunge into the icy waters of the River Nevis, near Fort William, clutching their trusty inflatables before racing down a two mile course at very high speed through rocks, rapids and deep, narrow gorge pools (the Gurgling Gorge, Dead Dog Pool and the Leg Breaker). If that wasn't tough enough the final obstacle on the route was a jump off the 30ft high Lower Falls waterfall (the Lower Falls Leap) before racing to the finish line.
This year extreme sports enthusiast Dean 'Deano' Dunbar from Blairgowrie, Perthshire, became the first ever blind man to compete in the race. He was partnered by his wife Rona and completed the course in an astonishing time of 35 minutes. (To read more about Dean's adventures, including some world firsts, go to www.extremedreams.co.uk.)
With times ranging from only 19 minutes to 54 minutes the secret of the day was undoubtedly to stay aboard your craft. The overnight rain and the high water levels took their toll on a percentage of the field with basic navigation and the ability to stay afloat proving the biggest challenge for all competitors. For many the series of rapids before the Gurgling Gorge was too much and with punctures to lilos and water intake in the first mile forcing racers to retire only sixty two competitors made it to the finish.
The men's race was won by the 2008 winner, Stephen Cant, in a record time of 19 minutes and 6 seconds. Stephen said after the race, 'The river was at a fantastic level, every rapid was just about navigable, and I knew if I could hang on to my lilo I could put in a fast time.' Stephen is delighted to unofficially have the course record and cannot wait to speak to his brother Robbie in Alaska who is also a previous race winner. Jenna Jackson who won the ladies race in 2008 also won again this year in the time of 20 mins and 29 seconds, finishing third overall. Jenna said 'I loved it, although I have to admit at times I was scared but I just had to keep going.'
The Glen Nevis River Race is organised by Fort William based events company, No Fuss Events, and raises much needed funds for the Lochaber Mountain Rescue team. Frazer Coupland from No Fuss had the tough decision to make as the river levels fluctuated a lot in the days leading up to the event. He commented: 'When we left on Friday night we were assessing risks on low water levels and then overnight everything changed as the river level rose by a massive two feet.' The decision was made to do the full course for the first time since the race was reintroduced in 2008. However competitors were spared the jump off the 35ft high bridge at the start. Instead they jumped off a 20ft ledge just below the bridge which gave every participant a sporting chance of getting aboard there lilo before tackling the Gurgling Gorge!
The Glen Nevis River Race always attracts a vast spectrum of people. This year a group of seven men, who went to school together, meet annually to take on a new extreme challenge. In recent years they have competed in events such as bog snorkelling in Wales, mud running in Amsterdam and bull running in Spain. In 2008 one of the SPECTRE team had spotted a feature on the race and the 2009 trip to the Outdoor Capital was booked. Team members travelled from across the world - Brisbane, Dubai, Wales and England - to be in Fort William for the race and the whole team agreed that the Glen Nevis River Race was definitely one of the best.
The race has also attracted a number of celebrities over the years including John Noakes and Dougie Vipond. 2009 was no different and this years competitors' list included TV personalities Rory McGrath and Paddy McGuinness.
Sunday, 26 July 2009JEFFERSON CITY, MO - Event organizers and Missouri Lt. Governor Peter Kinder today announced the start and estimated finish times for each of the seven stages for the third Tour of Missouri professional cycling race, scheduled for September 7-13, 2009.
The following cities will play host to a leg of the 2009 Tour: St. Louis, Ste. Genevieve, Cape Girardeau, Farmington, Rolla, St. Jame s, Jefferson City, Sedalia, Chillicothe, St. Joseph, and Kansas City.
The race will be contested over seven days and seven stages. There will be two circuit races (St. Louis, Kansas City), one individual time trial (Sedalia), and four point-to-point road races (Ste. Genevieve to Cape Girardeau; Farmington to Rolla; St. James to Jefferson City; Chillicothe to St. Joseph). The start times, (central standard time), the finish city, and estimated finish times, are as follows:
Stage 1: St. Louis (circuit race) -- 2:30 PM -- Same -- 5:10 - 5:45 PM
Stage 2: Ste. Genevieve -- 11:00 AM -- Cape Girardeau -- 3:00 - 4:15 PM
Stage 3: Farmington -- 11:00 AM -- Rolla -- 3:10 - 4:15 PM
Stage 4: St. James -- 2:00 PM -- Jefferson City -- 5:45 - 7:00 PM
Stage 5: Sedalia (time trial) -- 2:00 PM -- Same -- 5:00 PM
Stage 6: Chillicothe -- 1:00 PM -- St. Joseph -- 5:00 - 6:10 PM
Stage 7: Kansas City -- TBD -- Same -- TBD
Stage by stage courses will be announced Thursday, July 30 in Kansas City.
The overall course will take on a very different slant in 2009. For the first time, the race will route east to west, starting in St. Louis and finishing in Kansas City. The past two years, the race routed west to east starting in Kansas City to finish in St. Louis. The overall mileage for the course is expected to be more than 600 miles.
Though a stellar world-class field was presented last year, the three-year-old race is expected to be event better as the Tour of Missouri was granted an upgrade to one of the top five-ranked events outside Europe by international and national federation's for cycling last month.
The upgrade has drawn pro tour teams Astana, Cervelo Test Team, Team Columbia High-Road, Garmin Slipstream, Liquigas, Team Saxo Bank and Quickstep. Domestic teams participating in 2009 include BISSELL Pro Cycling Team, BMC Racing, Colavita / Sutter Home presented by Cooking Light, Jelly Belly, Kelly Benefit Strategies, OUCH presented by Maxxis, and Team Type 1.
Last year, the event drew more than 435,000 spectators over seven days. Missouri Tourism noted a direct and indirect economic impact of almost $30 million to the state. The event is sanctioned by USA Cycling, the national federation for cycling in the United States, and the Union Cycliste Internationale, the international governing body for the sport of cycling.
Friday, 24 July 2009iBikeRide.com announced the launch of an exciting Bike and Kit Review service. What makes this service special is it is driven like all our services by you riders as a community.
So what's it all about? Well have you ever asked yourself?
- What is the best bike I should buy for the trails and parks I want to ride?
- What pedals best suits my riding style?
- What DVD's will both inspire me and give me practical tips to take my biking forward?
- and so on...
In the real non t'internety world we get this advice from our biking buddies and rightly so. But often there are so many choices we cant always find a mate who has tried every product or more not all of us have been riding that long to know who to ask! With the User Review service you can help each other out by finding riders who have asked those exact same questions you are now asking, read their reviews, get in touch and then get some real life advice.
The more reviews we get the better a rich knowledge source it is for others looking to buy. Which means next time you look to buy you can dip in and get some great advice from your fellow riding buddies. We encourage you to share your experiences and post your Reviews.
iBikeRide.com is a young social networking mountain bike site dedicated to the active development of off road cycling internationally. It is run by riders for riders. Offices are based in London, England.
Source: ibikeride.com
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