Back to the Future...

Anyone who lucked out and got to grow up in the 80s remembers Michael J. Fox in Back to the Future. Remember the 'Hoverboard'? It was awesome! I allowed our protagonist to successfully keep up with a train, evade hooligans and look good doing it. We all swore we were going to get one as soon as they came out in 20 years or so. I still haven't seen one on Mythbusters yet but Jones Snowboards has taken matters into their own hands.

The Hovercraft is the closest board I've come to that mimics the idea of effortless surfing over and above all on the mountain. At 156 cm it defies what your collective experience tells you. It floats. In the deep and in the steeps it rides high and lets you slash and carve your way. It is short and maneuverable and extremely playful. Still fairly quick edge-to-edge this is an all-mountain shredder. Tons of setback, a short-almost vestigial tail; and a long, pronounced nose combined with directional rocker changes your expectations for the better.

Where I was most impressed was in questionable snow conditions with sun-exposed icy slopes that hadn't seen a storm in a while, chop and crud with lots of tracks; the board still made the conditions fun. The board rose above the crud and powered through the chatter to make a barely-salvageable day enjoyable. The short tail will not land like a board with a longer tail and takes some getting used to. That said this board is amazingly versatile. It may not be the only board but anytime the conditions require a tool that can save the day and make snowboarding more fun - the future is now.

Great Customers

Our customers are great. We love having the best customers in the area. People who are passionate about what they do and want to maximize their enjoyment of cycling and share that enthusiasm with others as well as introduce new comers to the sport. Our customers have many choices and we appreciate them selecting us to help them with their needs.

Retail business is an interesting way to spend the day. It's never boring. We are usually busy and see all types of requests and sometimes see problems that have no solution while being presented by someone wanting an answer 'right now'. Yesterday we were busy in the shop and missed greeting a customer and helping them out. Unfortunately he was in the store for under five minutes and we hadn't greeted him yet. We strive for better and fell short in this instance. This customer very clearly let us know that he didn't appreciate our lack of responsiveness to his presence. As he headed out the door he yelled a couple of things about our lack of service and his disappointment, that we were losing business etc. We were a little stunned at his outburst but at the same time we were trying to finish what we were in the middle of to try and attend to his needs. He was correct, we were slower than we should have been in acknowledging his needs and his expectations were not met. In retail it is truly impossible to be all things to all people.

Today is another day and I just had another experience that makes us appreciate our customers even more. Tanna had some work done on her bike a month ago and was going through her credit card statement and realized we had undercharged her repair by $100.00. That's a good chunk of money for both her and us. She came in today with her repair ticket, explained what she thought we had done wrong and asked to pay the full balance of her repair. I shouldn't be surprised. I am very appreciative. At the same time the contrast in transactions in two days was kind of shocking. Most people are honest and appreciative. Frequently, people set courtesy aside when they are upset.

In any case, thanks to our customers of all types. There are those we haven't been able to help but we appreciate them letting us have the opportunity. There are those who view our transactions as part of a relationship and wish to make sure both parties are happy with our interactions. This post is just kind of a feel-good note to say thanks to those who give us the chance to do what we love to do. The Discount Tire photo is from an ad than ran in 1975 showing a little old lady who wasn't satisfied with her purchase throwing a tire through the front window of the store. Thanks for not taking things that far.

Tour de France Sale is Back!

Here's how the sale will work. Follow the Tour de France with us and pursue the Maillot Jaune with some of the same equipment being used by the Worlds' best racers. For each day check with us to see who won and on what equipment. The days certain wheels, tires, clothing, bikes and equipment win; we'll have that equipment on sale. Expect 25-50% off some of the hottest equipment going. It's kind of a Bike Race Fantasy for Equipment. If Zipp wheels win today they'll be on sale today and tomorrow for 25% off! Allez!

Borrowed a good article on endurance nutrition...

Since many cyclists struggle with what the nutrition needs are and how to address them on longer rides..

http://blogs.cybersym.com/ultrarunning-biochem.html

Written addressing ultra runners but much applies well to cyclists and other endurance athletes.

Good post by Dayton Crites on Trails we get to Enjoy.

Here's a great little post Dayton wrote on some issues that mountain bikers will have to begin taking consideration of as outdoor recreation from all user groups becomes more popular.

http://bikethebeav.wordpress.com/

Preserving Access
June 6, 2011
by Lonesome Hank

Think of all the miles of singletrack you’ve ridden in your life. Think of the hundreds of thousands of feet of manicured earth you’ve enjoyed, the meters of berm and roller you’ve utilized to defy gravity for just a moment. Adds up, don’t it?

Think of all the times you’ve come across a downed tree, a rockfall, washed out section, or other obstacle blocking the trail. Maybe, if it was in your power, you moved it. Maybe it was too big, you vowed to come back with friends and tools to take care of it. Maybe you didn’t.

Point being, is that for all we enjoy riding the trails, too few of us get involved in the effort of maintaining them.

I’m one of the guilty party too. National Trail Day came and went, and I only found out after the fact that a dedicated crew of trail workers was there, working on improvements all day long. And from what I hear, there were not many mountain bikers.

In Green Canyon, that’s a problem.

That trail is one of the best resources of any Logan or Cache County mountain biker, and we need to show we care about the trails we love to ride. The more we do that, the more opportunities we’re going to get, from eventual access at Beaver Mountain to more mountain bike and freeride specific opportunities in Providence canyon and elsewhere.

But please, don’t be one of those people building imitation north shore features on public land. That does nothing but piss the forest service off, and make it harder than ever to establish more mountain bike opportunities.

If you want to help us create more goodwill with the forest service, and establish mountain bike specific trails that will last several lifetimes – come out and help us build again in Green Canyon. I’ll See you there.

June 11th 8:30am, Green Canyon Parking Lot

Thanks Dayton and see you there!

Thanks for participating in the BeWell/Joyride Sprint Tri!

Thanks to all the participants who came out and helped make the triathlon a success! We had our biggest turnout in the history of the event. We continue to draw a large field of first-time racers as this event is geared toward being fun and welcoming.

The volunteers from the Joyride Bikes Team, BeWell, Old Navy, Nathan and Mike with the music and other organizations along with cooperation from EMT services and local law enforcement allow this event to get better each year. Thanks to Missy and the Sports Academy and Racket Club for being gracious hosts again.

Look for pics taken by Charcie Rebalkin found here:

http://milestonephotography.smugmug.com/Other/Joyride-triathlon-2011/17187190_Fp2jKk#1303846857_bcbsbKW-A-LB

See everyone next year!

High School Mountain Biking?

I've been hearing for some time about the potential other areas of the country have developed regarding cycling as a high school sport. It looks like those efforts are coming to Utah. Hopefully this endeavor finds success and support. One of the best things about cycling is that participants are usually life-long athletes rather than 4-5years through high school and then the activity stops. Here is the info below:

My name is Lori Harward. I am the director of Utah High School Mountain Biking. I am contacting Utah’s cycling clubs to let them know about us and what we are doing.

We are an organization bringing mountain biking into Utah’s high schools in 2012. We are in the bid process with the National Interscholastic Cycling Association (NICA) to become a Project League. NICA is the governing body for high school cycling. We have a strong bid and feel confident this will happen. Upon winning this bid, NICA invests in Utah to get our League up and running. They provide coaching education and certification. Partnered with THE POSITIVE COACHING ALLIANCE, they will train coaches, assistants, rider leaders, etc. They will bring to Utah a Coaching Clinic which will teach coaches everything from how to teach mountain biking skills to running the school program, all with a focus on how to treat kids with respect and how to build their self esteem through positive coaching. NICA will aid in skills clinics for kids, aid in getting our races up and running and they will help provide means and sponsorship to get us off the ground.


Race Venues following NICA specifications, follow a 4-6 mile lap format, making them very spectator friendly so parents, families, and friends can watch their athlete race and cheer them on. Our proposed race season will be in the fall.


We already have 40 volunteer coaches in over 25 schools. We have over 80 volunteers total. And, we are still growing.


Our League Development Committee, being highly passionate bikers ourselves, is fully committed in bringing to kids this wonderful sport which has brought so much joy in our own lives! It is fun, and the kids will have fun! We wanted to meet the needs of those kids not in mainstream sports. And, we want to do so in a positive way that builds the self esteem of kids. The great thing about cycling is that is is life-long, you can be 30, 40, or 60 years old and still out riding for fun and/or racing, providing health and fitness for life! Unlike many high school sports that realistically end for most kids when they graduate.


We need your help. As part of our bid process, we need to have 1000 likes on our facebook page http://www.facebook.com/UtahHSMTBike. Could you please let your club members know about us. Also, please have them contact me if they have children who would be interested in participating or if they would like to volunteer themselves. I have attached a flyer you can view and/or use.


Lastly, could you please tell me the number of people in your organization? Feel free to contact me.


Thank you for your help!



Lori Harward

More potential good news from UDPS.

I am trying to contact bicycle advocates in Cache County to invite them to participate/provide feedback in UDOT's Peace on the Pavement Campaign.
If you or others you know may be interested in this effort, please contact me ASAP. Thank you.
Please see info below:

As you may have heard, the Utah Department of Transportation and the Utah Department of Public Safety are launching a campaign to raise awareness of traffic laws related to bicycles on the road, and to improve the relationship between bicyclists and motor vehicle
drivers. As a part of the campaign (which has been branded "Peace on the Pavement"), a bicycle ride across Utah is being planned. The ride will bring cyclists into cities and towns for events that will inform families about bicycle safety and the need for cooperation in
sharing the road.

We are now in the secondary planning phase of the campaign. The campaign team has determined that the most efficient way to move this phase forward is to assemble a planning group made up of people from the locations where the ride and events will take place to generate ideas and help to coordinate logistics. If you are interested in participating in this effort and/or know of a bicycle advocate(s) in your County that is, please let me know.

We have selected 9 counties to hold awareness rides/media events including: Cache, Davis, Grand, Salt Lake, Utah, Wayne, Weber, Washington and Summit. I am still looking for contacts who would like to be involved in Cache, and Summit Counties. Please let me know if you or someone you know can participate in this effort. We want your county to be represented.

A planning meeting will be held next Tuesday at UDOT's headquarters. If you can't attend the meeting in person, you can call-in. Let me know if you will be calling in and I will email you the call in number.
Again the meeting will be held on:
Tuesday, March 29 from 1:30 to 3:30 p.m., at the UDOT Complex (4501 South
2700 West, Salt Lake City)
We appreciate your willingness to be a part of this important effort to build awareness and improve safety for bicyclists and motorists on Utah's roads. Please feel free to contact me directly if you have any questions or concerns.
RSVP to Keri Gibson at kgibson@utah.gov or by calling the number below.

Keri Gibson
Bicycle & Pedestrian Safety
Utah Department of Public Safety/ Highway Safety Office
801-243-7571
kgibson@utah.gov

A bit of information from the Joyride Club President regarding some new access for recreation in the Cache Valley area...

Fellow Bikers (especially those MTB ers....),

I have recently caught wind of a meeting in SLC on March 31 of the Cache-Wasatch Recreational Advisory Committee (RAC). This committee will be discussing and voting on, among other issues, a proposed plan to do some work in Smithfield Canyon. Though I have not seen exact details, I have spoken with a member of the RAC that lives in Smithfield and helped draft the proposal. Of main interest to myself, is the inclusion of a singletrack multi-use trail that runs the length of Smithfield Canyon (from the campground to the wilderness boundary. Other points of the proposal include cleaning up the canyon by designating camping areas and improving the road, as well as restoring the road to the original boundaries drawn up by the congressional committee that first instituted the wilderness area.

Expanded recreational opportunities in these Congressionally appointed corridors through wilderness area are hugely beneficial to the population at large. A shining example of that is in Green Canyon with the recent singletrack improvements/additions as well as designating campsites. Along with these improvements have come conflicts though. As Green Canyon is by far the best piece of singletrack close to town, it is becoming more crowded and there will be increased conflicts between those of different as well as within the same user groups. The trail up Smithfield Canyon would definitely help the growing congestion problem in Green Canyon, by offering another viable recreational option.

There is a public comment period immediately prior to the vote. So far, there are two of us that are willing to carpool/caravan down to SLC to help in this effort. I wanted to throw this out to the cycling community at large to see if we could drum up some more support. We would love to have as many people as possible attend this meeting. I'm a little short on details, but hopefully will be able to provide more in the near future. Please let me know if you are interested in more details or if you would be interested in joining us.

Thanks,

-Neil-

Triathlon Club Meeting

Trainer sessions are up and going strong. For those who haven't joined us yet they are Wednesday nights from 6:00-7:30 PM.

This Thurday we are very excited to announce the addition of a new member to the Joyride Bikes Cycling Club. Emily Monroe-Jones has decided to partner with Joyride bikes this year. She is a USAT certified triathlon coach and has been running successful training programs in Cache Valley for the last two years and will be offering custom training programs through Joyride Bikes. Emily has big plans for the multi-sport scene in Cache Valley and we are very excited to be partnering with her in this endeavor.

We are going to be doing a meet and greet with Emily at the Sports Academy on February 10, at 8:00 p.m. at the Sports Academy. We encourage all club members to attend as we will be discussing general club issues for 2011 as well as triathlon specific plans. Let me know if you have any questions.