Sorry

We have not updated in a while. All is good. Life has been a bit busy and we have not got around to updating the blog. More to come soon. Take care!

Long Time, No Post!

Sorry, life has been very busy and we have not posted here is a bit. Here is a quick list of what has been going on the last week or so.

- Dad started riding his bike into work once a week. (25 miles each way) If he keeps it up, maybe he no longer will be BIG PURPLE PIMP DADDY and just Purple Pimp Daddy. :-)

- We went to the Tour de Fat last weekend at Tempe Town Lake and had a blast again! We have a few pictures posted at http://www.flickr.com/photos/36692431@N00/sets/1115933/

Tour de Fat - Flagstaff, AZ

The Tour de Fat (TdF) up in Flagstaff was off the hook! This was our 1st TdF and it will not be our last. New Belgium is doing it again next weekend at Tempe Town Lake and we will be there for sure. Every weekend should be a Tour de Fat weekend!

For pictures from the event, go to http://www.flickr.com/photos/36692431@N00/sets/1062541/ .

Tyler's Fetish Cycles Mountain Bike

Dad finished putting together Tyler's new mountain bike. It is a Fetish Cycles D&S and it is 2.5 pounds lighter than his K2 bike. Ty is very excited about trying it out on the trails this weekend. We are all set for the Tour de Fat up in Flagstaff on this Saturday. Here are a couple of pictures of Tyler's new baby. (click on the picture to view more pics)

New Desgin, New Fetish and Interbike

We changed the layout of our blog to make it a little easier to read. We had some feedback that it was tough to read on some computers. Let us know what you think.

I was browesing around www.mtbr.com last night at all the pictures from Interbike this year. We had a chance to go, but work and life would not allow it. Oh, what we are missing!

We are in the process of putting Ty's new Fetish D&S mountain bike together. We should have it done tomorrow and post a few pictures.

Do You Listen To "Un-Cool" Music & Are You Man Enough to Admit It?

“Dirdir” from MTBR started a great thread - What's On Your Music Machine? Here is his original post…
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If you don't know by now, I like to listen to music while riding. I have all sorts of different tunes on my music machine. I could list the bands/songs that I think are cool, but I would rather list some of the songs/bands that I know are not cool. So, here are some of the songs I listen to regularly during rides that make me look like a geek/loser, but ride like a monster. This list is no BS. All true.

1. "Man, I Feel Like a Woman" by Shania Twain. This is a very catchy song.
2. "Wannabe (Yo I'll tell you what I want, what I really really want)" by the Spice Girls.
3. "Soak Up the Sun" by Sheryl Crow.
4. "Supernova" by Liz Phair5. "You Should Be Dancing" by the Bee Gees.

Ok, have at it, but if you do, you must list the "un-cool" songs you like.

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I am embarrassed to say it, but I have a good list of “un-cool” songs on our Ipod…

-Neil Diamond, Sweet Caroline
-Adam Ant, Strip
-Enya, Various Songs
-ELO, Turn to Stone
-The DiVinyls, I Touch Myself
-Dixies Midnight Runners, Come on Ilene
-Billy Squire., Everybody Wants You
-New Order, Bizzar Love Triangle
-Berlin, You Take My Breathe Away
-Europe, The Final Countdown
-Right Said Fred, I'm Too Sexy

"Let the 1st man that has never listened to any of these songs cast the 1st stone!"

Spin Cycle & The 40-Year-Old Virgin

Tyler did his 1st group road ride yesterday with the PMBC Spin Cycle group over at Desert Breeze Park. Tyler did great and fit right in with the gang. We were pacing along at 20-24 mph and Ty felt right at home. Total ride was 31 miles. Thankfully, it was a flat ride and Dad was able to keep up with him. Tyler even got a shout out in their weekly ride email…

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Ohcotukee Loop: Just Another Day on the Road
Added September 25, 2005
Written by Glen Fletcher

We had 22 riders take off on a nice cool morning, ok cool for AZ standards. We also had 5 new riders, Joy, Amanda Tyler, Jeff, and Jim, welcome. One of the highlights was Tyler showing his dad how to ride a road bike. It seems we had 4 flats today, glad I missed one. Mike Klein got the sprint points over Riggs and 5th Ave., well done Mikey. Other than that, it was just another day on the road. Oh yea, there was a Jimmy sighting, but Mike Kirk wasn't along to sing the song. If you don't know, send me a note and I'll relay.

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Over the weekend, Dad got out and saw “The 40-Year-Old Virgin”. Very funny movie! I highly recommend that you see it if you are in the mood for a good laugh. (if you are 18 or over)

Arizonins at the MTB National Championships

Arizona did pretty well at this year's MTB National Championships. We had over 60 Arizonins compete and 28 Podium Spots! We also had a few win the National Champion jerseys...

PRO WOMEN DOWNHILL FINAL RESULTS
1 BUHL, MELISSA - CHANDLER, AZ - KHS BICYCLES

KAMIKAZE DOWNHILL FINAL RESULTS
1 STILWELL, JESSA - SIERRA VISTA, AZ-DAWN TO DUSK - BEGINNER WOMEN

MARATHON FINAL RESULTS
1 GORRY, WAYNE - PAYSON,AZ - CANNONDALE - MEN 50+
1 CONNORS, MATTHEW - SCOTTSDALE,AZ - MINI OPEN MEN

EXPERT CROSS COUNTRY FINAL RESULTS
1 ALLEN, TIM - FLAGSTAFF, AZ - NAU - EXPERT MEN 19-24
1 BECKER, STEVE - PRESCOTT, AZ - EXPERT MEN 55-59
1 MEYERS,MELANIE - FLAGSTAFF, AZ - RED ROCK RACING - EXPERT WOMEN 19-24

SPORT CROSS COUNTRY FINAL RESULTS
1 COX, AMY - SCOTTSDALE, AZ - NOVA - SPORT WOMEN 18 & UNDER

You can see the complete results for Arizonains at http://www.teamnova.org/images/azins_mtb_nationals.pdf

For overall results for the USA MTB National Championships, see http://www.norbanationals.com/results/champ2005/

Tour de Fat

The 6th annual Tour de Fat in Flagstaff is coming up this Oct. 1st. We have never been before, but hear many good things. We plan on going this year to take part in the rides and the fun. Check it out at http://www.newbelgium.com/vibe_tourdefat_flagstaff.php .

They are also having one in Tempe, AZ the following weekend (10/8/05) that I am sure we will attend also... http://www.newbelgium.com/vibe_tourdefat_tempe.php

Back to Real Life

We got home last night around 11 PM, unloaded the Element and went straight to bed. We are very tired from our great trip, so we will be short today. We added the rest of the pictures from Mammoth and posted them HERE.

Congratulations to everyone who competed in this year's USA MTB National Championships.

Mammoth - Saturday

Awesome day today! Tyler raced in the 11-12 category against some tough competition on a very tough course. Ty went out strong but, lost contact with the lead group on one of the climbs. He was really hurting and having trouble breathing. But, he fought through it and did an awesome race. Ty finished 7th. The kid who won the event, put in a time that would rival many of the adult categories. Ty will have another shot next year to take the 11-12 category National Title.

Ty's buddy, Zack, raced in the 10 and under category and took 2nd place. This is Zack's 1st year racing and he has made some huge progress in a short period of time.

Congratulations to both Ty and Zack!! We are all VERY proud of you.

Other results that we are aware of...

Boys 13-14 - Kyle "Krack" took 4th place.
Girls 18 under Sport - 1st Place, Amy Cox
Junior Expert Girls - 4th Place, Rachael Throop

Complete race results and info can be found at http://www.cyclingnews.com/mtb/2005/sep05/NORBAnc05/?id=default.

We are heading back to the Valley tomorrow AM and we will try to put more pictures and information up later in the week.

Mammoth - Friday

It has been very exciting and fun up here in Mammoth. Beautiful country! Here are a just a few things that I can remember...

Yesterday, Travis Brown won the Men's Pro Marathon event. Today, Jeremy Horgan-Kebelski won the Men's Pro Cross Country event. Former World Champ, Ned "The Man" Overend took 5th at the youg age of 50!

Shonny VanLandingham was leading the Women's Pro Cross Country for 3 laps. On the 4th lap and final lap, she got a front wheel flat on the downhill section of the course. That allowed Mary McConneloug to catch up to her and ride Shonny's back wheel as they approached the finish. About 200 yards before the finish line, the dirt trail meets pavement. Right when Shonny hit the pavement, her front wheel washed out and she went down hard. Mary took the National Championship on Shonny's tough luck. Allison Dunlap raced her last race of her career and finished 3rd (I think).

Team Nova Racer, Trevor Downing, finished in the top 10 in the Junior Expert XC event.

Tyler and Zack are trying to rest up for their race tomorrow. Tyler will be racing the 11-12 category and Zack will be in the 10 and under. We will post results and pictures tomorrow.

Be sure and click HERE for pictures from Mammoth.

The Road to the MTB National Championships - Day 2

I had a long post written but when I went to post it, my internet connection was lost and so was the post. So, you will have to wait until tomorrow for more. We are safe and sound in Mammoth. Dad is very tired and needs some sleep!

Here are a few pictures until tomorrow. You can also go to our flickr page to see more.

Ty and Alison Dunlap

Ty, Shonny (Dad's girl) and Zack

The Road to the MTB National Championships

We loaded up the car left our house for Mammoth Lake, CA at 6PM yesterday. The plan was to drive as far as possible tonight and either get a hotel or just sleep in our Honda Element. Dad had a full thermos of New Mexico Pinion Blend coffee and he was ready to go. Our friends, the Edwards, tipped us off to this coffee and Dad just loves it. You can buy it at your local Trader Joes.

Ty laid back and went to sleep around 9:30PM. Dad plugged the headset into the iPod, poured another cup of coffee and set the cruise control. The trip went very smooth with little to no traffic. Driving at night has its perks if you can stay awake. Around 2AM, Dad had enough and pulled into a rest stop at Coso Junction. We were only 140 miles outside of Mammoth, but better safe than sorry. Dad laid the seats down and caught some much needed Z's. Ty woke up long enough to figure out that we had stopped and went right back to sleep.

Pictures of Ty's New Fetish Road Bike

24 Hours of Adrenalin @ McDowell Mountain Park

We were planning on having Ty and a junior mountain bike team do their 1st 24 hour MTB race this year at McDowell. However; with all the confusion to weather the event was going to be on this year or not, we will not be doing the event. We do plan on doing the Soul Ride together in October and then the 24 Hours in the Old Pueblo in February next year.

Here is an email from the 24HOA on the AZ event...


From: "info@twenty4sports.com"
Date: 2005/09/13 Tue PM 12:11:42 EDT
Subject: 24 Hours of Adrenalin - McDowell Mountain Park

Dear past adrenalin participants,

First let me apologize to all of you that have participated in the past and look forward to racing again this year. Communication from me has been very poor and I can?t expect you to understand my struggles, the majority of you just want a fun, safe event. The workload of twelve is now only shared by two (full time). Since the lawsuit, what has happened is reality and we face entirely different challenges as we try to move forward. We cannot provide the level of customer service we once could and that is disappointing to me. We are unable to develop (finance) new events from scratch, nor continue losing money at the expense of other events. All we can do is try our best, for some that will be enough and other not.

I understand from your point of view that a lot goes into planning your team?s effort. Now that registration is turned on for the McDowell event I will need to look at registration very closely. Last year 297 riders showed up and if we are unable to double that number, we can?t host the event. I will be reviewing daily to see if we are financially able to be responsible and will make a definitive decision a week from today basis on the 7 day trend. Any teams that sign up are guaranteed a 100% full refund (within a week of such announcement) if the event is cancelled.

If we reach the numbers necessary to host this year?s event, I will provide each team captain with a 15% discount coupon for next year?s event.

Please note that during the next 30 days we are hosting two events and attending Interbike and will unlikely be in a position to communicate directly with you. We will attempt to communicate with our batch email system as best we can.

Sincerely,
Stuart Dorland
Founder24 Hours of Adrenalin - 1994

Bike Build - Day 2

We finally got Ty’s new Fetish Penna built up last Sunday. Everything was coming together great until Dad cut the front brake cable too short. Of course, we had every other cable in our garage except a road brake cable. So, Sunday morning we ran down to our LBS to pick up the cable and finish the bike. The weather here in Phoenix has been cooling off to double digits finally. We hit the road around 4PM for the inaugural ride of Ty’s Penna. The bike was like butter! We started off real easy for a while to let Ty get comfortable on his new mount. Then, we cranked it up a bit and cruised along at 20 MPH for a while. Ty handled the bike like he had been riding it for years. It was great for Dad to be back on the road bike again. The Cannondale had been sitting on my trainer way too long and was itching to hit the pavement again.

We are off to the MTB National Championships this Wed night! It is a 9 hour drive to Mammoth Lakes from the Valley. We plan on leaving around 8PM and driving through the night. Dad may have to pull off the road and catch a cat nap around 3AM. Ty is looking forward to the event and seeing how he can do on the National level. We will post pictures and updates this weekend.

New Fetish Bike Build - Day 1

After work today, Dad ran around and rounded up the final components for Tyler's new road bike. We were finally able to locate a 165mm crank set. We got home and started putting everything together and everything was going very soothly. We got about 1/2 way done and started to route the cables. Then, we discovered that the bike manufactured did not install the cable router under the bottom bracket. So, we hit a rode block and Tyler will have to wait one more day to ride his new steed.

Tomorrow is the day. Here are a couple of pictures of the bike so far...

MTB Training, New Road Bike & Disc Golf

Last night, Tyler continued his preparation for the MTB National Championships by working hard on the indoor trainer for a whole hour. That kid is getting stronger by the day! We also picked up his new road bike frame today from Fetish Cycles. Dad has to get busy this weekend a build it up. Ty will not let me relax until it is done. We will post some pictures once it is all built up.

Today was a day off the bike and we played disc golf in with a handicapped league with the Spinners on Green gang. Tyler improved his score by 4 strokes on an 18 hole course. Dad took home 1st place by improving my handicapped score by 5. We were very fortunate to be able to play along with the best disc golfer in the state, Dan Ginlley. Dan gave Ty and I some much need pointers to help improve our games. We both ended up in the water only once this time around! :-)

Getting Ready for MTB Nationals

We are getting ready for the NORBA National Championships next week. This will be our 1st time at the championships and Tyler is very excited. Tyler won the 2005 MBAA (www.mbaa.net) State Series for the 11-12 category. He is looking to see how he matches up with the other kids from around the country.

For some great pictures of the race course, check out this link... http://www.teamnova.org/nova_forum/viewtopic.php?t=43&sid=5e67cd85e6dfe703f8ccb0a7d53c855a

Disc Golf

While up in Flagstaff over the weekend, we took a stab at disc golf (http://www.pdga.com/) with some friends. We played the course at Thrope Park and actually did not hit a tree on one or two throws. It is a fun sport and I highly suggest giving it a try. It is basicly golf played with a frisbee.

Durango MTB 100

We went to the 3rd Annual Durango MTB 100 on August 6th, 2005 at the Durango Mountain Resort. The Durango MTB 100 is arguably the hardest 100 mile (actually 105 miles) mountain bike race in the country with over 18,000 feet of climbing. Finishing the 100 mile course and even the 100k course is definitely a monumental achievement.

My brother, Corey, finished the event in 12 hours and 52 minutes to take 13th place. There were only 15 riders that completed the 100 mile course. Hats off to Corey! (He will probably kill me for posting this).

Here We Go...

We are just starting with this whole blog thing. This picture is of my son, Tyler and his Uncle Corey up in Flagstaff a few weeks ago. We had a great time riding up to the Waterline Trail. It is a great ride up in Flagstaff. Talk to you soon!