And so we pedaled our bikes, and carried our bikes. Up, up and over. Over and over, day in and day out. I don’t think many of us expected this event to be as physically demanding as it turned out to be. I think everyone just read 26 timed DH stages and signed up – forgetting to read the fine print as usual, the 10 000+ meters of climbing, 7 days & almost 400km sort of didn’t stick in my memory, but I could still feel the effects of the climbs & hike a bikes a week later, walking the streets of Paris with my mom. And this was just the Liaisons in-between the timed stages, then you still had to do between 3-4 races per day, and they were not just pedal out of the gate and roll down the hill downhill type racing. O no. We had our work cut out for us during these downhill stages, and they were hard. We had to climb, run, push, hike, pedal, hang on, navigate (which was the biggest challenge for me – trying to go as fast as possible, but to go as fast as possible on the right trail), and then to make sure that you didn’t have one of the World Champions’ coming up behind you and getting in their way. O, yes, and you had to try and nurse your bike through 7 days of really rough, rocky, bike eating terrain to actually finish this event.

The mileage went by pretty slowly, but the days were amazing. I don’t think that I have ever done an event like this, and I don’t think that it will ever be the same again. Like I said before, I don’t really know how to put my experiences down into words. I’ve had some time to reflect upon everything in the complete opposite environment and world to where we rode – in Paris, and all I could think about was how thankful I am that I was able to experience such an adventure with so many amazing people and that I have been so lucky that my life has been so enriched and fulfilled by the simple pleasure of riding my bike in the mountains. Never will most of these city dwellers ever experience what we all went through.

The riding was spectacular in every sense. It was rough and very challenging and I take my hat off to every single one of you that finished this pretty crazy event. It was so great to see some of the top elite cyclists suffering and asking about chamois butter and what the hell to do with it, and wrenching & helping others wrench on their bikes with headlamps every night. Spare parts were getting handed around and shared like a bags of candy. Classic memories.

The food was unreal and the crew was just amazing. Where else do you get specially cooked vegetarian & gourmet food like paella, mussels, giant prawns and a delicious different gourmet fancy type of soup every night? The massage team actually knew how to massage and not just rub oil around your body, and the shuttle drivers were more like rally car drivers than shuttle drivers – the shuttles up to the top was quite exhilarating. This event was quite the logistical feat, and hats off to everyone involved and all their always smiling faces – when they all wanted to ride their bikes, but instead worked their assess off for us to ride our bikes.

Anyhow, I can go on and on, but until you actually just go and ride this race, and experience it for yourself, the words don’t really mean much. Sven killed it winning a few stages, and ending in 3rd overall after a terrible first day of running and just experiencing a complete shock to the system – not too shabby for someone that managed to get 2 rides in total before this race. I ended up getting 2nd place behind Tracy Moseley, which I was super happy about. I did actually end up winning one stage, which felt pretty great, but T-Mo knows how to ride that little Trek of hers pretty damn fast, down some pretty damn gnarly trails, and I was honored to be able to experience another amazing adventure with her and ride bikes in cool places. There were 8 women in total, and they all kicked ass – it was really great to see these girls pushing themselves to their limits and having fun while doing it. Never complaining, almost always smiling and returning day after day covered in more bruises.

Cheers to Trans Provence and the masterminds behind a true mountain biking event!

Charge’s own Nick Larsen was on hand, dispensing his usual dose of witty commentary.

Two of the highlighted bikes had crankbrothers Cobalt 11 wheels, and several bikes had crankbrothers cockpit parts, including the carbon Cobalt 11 seatpost.

Charge Bikes have already taken the UK, European and Japanese bicycle world by storm and are soon to become widely available here in the US through Performance and other retailers. Their bicycles combine simple and contemporary aesthetics with cutting edge technology and frame design. Charge enjoys fantastic coverage from the mainstream media, having been featured regularly in the likes of The Times, Telegraph, Daily Mail, Observer newspapers and Stuff, Mens Health, GQ, FHM, Esquire, Monocle magazines.

Frederick Lukoff, CEO of fashion company Stella McCartney,  says of the Charge brand: “What I like about Charge is that there is something about the way they do things that gives you a general sense of cycling culture and depth that attaches you to the brand. It goes a lot further than the just the style and simplicity of the products. I first saw a Charge Mixer in hanging up in a bike shop in London and thought it looked a bit strange, when it was explained to me I totally understood what it was all about.”

Outdoor Demo typically means blistering hot weather, dust, and heatstroke. This year, it was more like thunderstorms, mud, and hypothermia! The first day of the demo gave some of the best weather we’ve seen out there: mild temps with a nice breeze. It wasn’t until the afternoon that it started to sprinkle a bit, and everybody was treated a huge rainbow. It quickly turned into a double-rainbow, and as expected, echoes of “what does it mean??” were heard throughout the demo. It was definitely unique to see that in the Vegas desert, and it was perhaps the first time that it’s ever rained at Outdoor Demo. Then, on day 2, the skies opened up, the temps dropped, and it was a full-blown thunder/lightening storm! The storm didn’t stop people from getting out and riding, and lucky for them: that was probably the best dirt and riding conditions Bootleg Canyon has ever seen.

The Demo was particularly fun for us this year. We had a huge VIP dealer lounge that welcomed dealers to come in, hang out, and enjoy free food, cold beer, and air conditioning—or heaters on the cold/rainy day! After a few hours on the trail, people enjoyed strutting down the blue carpet as they entered the lounge to relax on plush, white leather couches. Tons of good stories were shared, and it was great getting to hang out with everybody.

The indoor show was impressive to say the least—our booth was jam-packed the whole time, and energy was high. The big introduction for us was the cobalt 11 29” carbon wheelset, which is fresh off of winning a design award at Eurobike. We were eager to share it with everybody at Interbike, and people seemed just as eager to get to see it. Expect for it to become available by the end of the year.

Since we know that the long days in Vegas can be tough on everybody, we decided to become the official caffeine sponsor at Interbike, offering free iced tea at the Demo and a free coffee mug with your coffee at the indoor show. We hope that this helped keep everybody buzzed throughout the show! We also were handing out free pint glasses, so maybe those helped keep everybody buzzed at other times…

CrossVegas is a big highlight of the Interbike experience every year, but even more so this year. To help spread the word about the crankbrothers race club, we sponsored the pro women’s race, which became known as the crankbrothers ladylucx elite women’s race. The race club riders both had great results in this race, with Chloe Forsman riding to an impressive 7^th place, and Amy Dombroski landing herself on the 2^nd step of the podium. We were proud to have such strong racers representing the club!

The best part of CrossVegas came in our course-side race club lounge. We invited everybody to join us in the lounge for free race club cocktails, great views of the action, and a perfect spot for hand-ups to the racers. The cocktails were served in race club cups and we handed out baby blue checkered flags to help people cheer on the racers. It ended up turning into a rowdy night, and it was fun to let loose a bit with some diehard cyclocross fans.

Interbike is always a good time, but there was something about this year that was just electric. Maybe it was the double rainbow, or maybe it was all the race club cocktails, but either way, it was a special show this year. We’re already talking about everything we want to do next year, and hopefully we’ll have just as many stories to share.

More details soon at mnmtbseries.com and cuyunalakes.com

With that task behind them, they have created a new style of World Cup racing team, called the race club. This new program is being introduced this week to the cycling community at the Sea Otter Classic in Monterey, CA.

The race club is in one manner a World Cup caliber racing program.On another level, it is an exhibit of our love for simple, classic design.

The vision for the race club is an inclusive racing organization linking our program partners with riders, racers, passionate fans, and enthusiasts through our love of speed, design, and beauty. The organization prides itself on its simplicity, style, design, aesthetic, and love for classic beauty.

In 2011, we will start simply and move deliberately, handpicking partners and athletes who share our values – beginning with Ibis Cycles, Lazer Helmets, fi’zi:k saddles, Continental Tires, and SRAM components.

Amy Dombroski is our first club rider. Already accomplished globally in cyclocross, she will also have a full World Cup schedule in xc, short track, and marathon. She’ll be making her race club debut in short track and xc at Sea Otter this Friday and Saturday.

With this global platform, the race club will be reaching out to riders all around the world who hear the siren’s song of cycling, style, and design.
We will keep you updated with the exciting updates and the race club continues to develop – further telling the story of beauty in professional mountain bike racing.

Finally I have some time to reflect upon the amazing adventure, race & overall life experience that we just returned from. The URGE Cabo Verde invitational was truly a very special humanitarian event that I will cherish forever and I feel very proud to have been a part of it.

Flipping through hundreds of Sven’s stunning photo’s, I cannot help but feel sad to be off the colorful islands with all its’ happy people. The people of the Cape Verde islands know how to live. They are some of the richest people (culturally) that I have ever met. Happily living with next to nothing. To us it seems like nothing, but they have what matters. They have their families, crops, wine, music, culture, exquisite nature, time, patience and that freedom of not revolving your life around materialistic bullshit. We can all learn from this content and peaceful nation. I love these kinds of adventures, because it really just puts everything into perspective.

If there ever had to be a huge disaster affecting the whole world, I really do think that this archipelago of Islands will remain untouched and unharmed and that the people will just carry on with their lives without ever realizing what happened in the outside world. That is how remote they felt to me, out in the middle of the big blue Atlantic Ocean.

The focus of the URGE event/race was more about the humanitarian impact that we could offer than the actual racing. We were all told to race at 85% of our ability, as we were very far away from any kind of hospital, and we had no access to a helicopter for emergency rescues and there were 1000foot drops offs backing the countless slippery switchbacks. The fact that we had no idea what the four different racetracks looked like didn’t help either. Try telling 10 time World DH Champion, Nicolas Vouilloz or current World DH champion Tracy Moseley to only race at 85% of their potential – not possible when you are dealing with racers and a timing device! I am not sure how, but somehow all 15 of us racers made it through all 4 races with no helicopter rescue needed. The tracks were insane, and some sections completely unrideable, but it was oh so much fun!

Besides the amazing races we did, we visited the school that we were raising funds for. It was the first time that I had been back in a school environment since I left it a long time ago. We spent the whole morning in various classrooms meeting the students and teachers, exchanging stories and learning about their culture while enjoying some traditional food that was made especially for our visit. Students were fluent in up to 4 different languages, some even more, putting all of us to shame. It was a real eye opener, and this visit to the school was a great reassurance of the purpose of our trip in Cabo Verde. There were so many highlights on this trip, and I’d like to share a few with you:

The ferry ride to the Volcano Island of Fogo, was most definitively not one of them. It was four hours of torture, trying not to vomit when absolutely everyone around you was vomiting. The worst part of it was that we had to get back on the ferry 2 days later and repeat the above.

Having to hike to the top of a volcano with my bike was a first. One step up, three steps down. Then having to race down the volcano on my bike was another first. The fact that I was the (un)lucky one that got to race down first and had no tracks to follow was another first. I guess someone had to show those pro guys how to do it!

Meeting Cesaria Evora was really special. I have been a fan of her music for a long time. She invited all 25 of us into her humble home for grog or punch as she called it. A traditional rum and sugar cane concoction that was rather harsh on an empty, post sea- sick ferry stomach, but drink we did. It is not everyday that you get to raise a glass with an absolute legend.

Leaving all our bikes on the back of a small pick up truck in the street in front of our accommodation for the night, with no locks, gates, guards or garages in sight. A nervous 15 riders went to bed hoping to see their beloved bikes in the morning. (Of course mine was at the end – so first to go if someone decided to steal them). That doesn’t happen on these islands. My faith has been restored. Poverty does not have to lead to theft.

The small ferryboat ride to Santa Antao was such a great experience. We were lucky enough to sit out in the open, on the floor and witness a group of incredibly passionate and talented guys practicing Capoeira, singing & dancing. The music was so infectious you couldn’t sit still, you had to move, clap and sing, and before we knew it we arrived in Santa Antao with no seasickness in sight, ready for the next adventure.

Our second race almost didn’t happen because of logistical problems with half the bikes not making it on the plane, but thanks to Fred & Manu, they rented a yacht and got the rest of the bikes to Santa Antao. It was a stressful day filled with planes, boats, taxi’s and building up bikes at breakneck speeds on the side of a road, throwing on some gear and starting our hike up into the wind and clouds late in the afternoon. The race was on. It was rather nerve racking at the top with zero visibility, howling winds, a day nearing its end, and us having to race down the other side completely blind. This was exciting. While waiting for my race run, I’ll never forget Nico’s face as he came running back up the track after walking down a ways to scope it out, he looked at me and said (in a very French accent): “Zere iss ziss rock slab, iiit iiiiss veryyy sketchy, wet, and you can die, you must not ride it, you get off your bike, ok.” When Nicolas Vouilloz tells you something, you better listen. It was a crazy track, and I just wanted to get down safe. Halfway down the track, the mist lifted and it was a sight that I will never forget. It was the most incredible view of the most amazing valley and I just had the biggest smile on my face. I loved every minute of this and giggled all the way down to the finish line. It wasn’t about the race, it was about the ride, the place, the camaraderie between friends and the people we were here to help. I got two second place finishes, but ended up in third place overall behind Tracy & Sabrina with the combined time of the four races – only 1 minute back from Sabrina!

We all received these really special one of a kind volcano rock mask trophies, hand carved by a local Fogo artisan called Tarzan. A great gift to cherish this amazing adventure and to remind me of the amazing people, hospitality and the beautiful islands of Cabo Verde.

My training for this upcoming Cape Epic race has been quite a bit different than in the past when I was on the trainer for hours on end and getting all the road miles and gym hours logged in. This year, it started off with a 6 week intensive Yoga teachers training course that I attended to become a qualified teacher. It was intense, and all my usual gym work was replaced with the yoga studio using my own body weight. It made me strong and has given me a good base to start training from.

Then it was off to New Zealand where I only had my beloved 6” Santa Cruz Nomad trail bike & I was just out riding my bike wherever and whenever I could. If I had a heart rate monitor, it would have been beeping constantly, as there were no gradual climbs or rides in the entire country. Put it this way, I could potentially take the win for the hike a bike sections – if there was such an award at the Epic. I had a blast though. We lived in a van, rode pretty much every day, dealt with crazy rain and floods, ticked off as many different trails in our riding NZ guide book, pushed hard to try to keep up with all the locals who always show you their hardest and best ride, rode some pretty scary, very technical, actually completely insane trails – if you can call them trails. I felt like a true adventurer out in the jungle, clambering over gigantic fallen trees from all the rain and windstorms and riding & hiking through the most beautiful pristine indigenous forests. We got heli dropped at the top of mountains only to reach our van hours later after riding rocky, scree clad mountain faces, sliding down slippery roots and wading gushing rivers. Not once did I think of my mileage, or my time in the saddle or my training, I was just out on my bike, riding hard and loving every single minute of it, having an epic bike adventure and passing out of exhaustion at the end of every day. 100% Pure NZ indeed.

Australia was a different story. I was still on my New Zealand riding high, and went straight to the Boranup forest to go on a cross country bush ride in the Karri forests, only to see 4 of the biggest, most dangerous, venomous snakes in Australia in a matter of only one hour. One of them – a Tiger snake, even had the cheek to slither right under my bottom bracket. I was pretty freaked out to say the least, and not willing to start loosing limbs for the sake of the Cape Epic, so I resorted to the road to keep riding. I wanted nothing more to do with the Australian forests. Riding the road with no shoulder on a Nomad when it was 36 degrees Celsius  (96F) was not too much fun, but I kept riding, thinking of Tracy having to do the same in equally tough but opposite freezing temperatures.  Sven was my back up, motivator and support vehicle. He would drive ahead and have cold water and ice towels ready to cool me down. What a treat. Almost as good as a Cape Epic water stop! It was a little glimpse into what the temperatures could reach during the Cape Epic, and it was a good reality check that this event was no joke. You have to be prepared on every level and so I kept pedaling hoping that when I got back on my little Santa Cruz Carbon Blur XC, it would feel like a breeze and the pedaling would be effortless.

Now that we are in mid January, I can’t help but think of the Epic and wonder if all the trail riding and yoga has been enough to see me through the grueling stages of the Cape Epic. There is still some time though.

Between intervals on the snow shoes and some cold riding I’m busy packing for another pre-Epic trip. Tracy and I are both getting ready for the Urge Cabo Verde enduro downhill event that takes place from the 7^th to the 14^th of February on the Cape Verde Islands off  of the West coast of Africa. We were both invited to participate along with 13 other athletes to this amazing humanitarian event where we will be doing 4 downhill races on 4 different islands to raise money and bring awareness to the country.

The premiere was held at the movie theater on Main Beach in Laguna Beach, less than a block from our studio. The theater was completely packed, and people were even standing in the aisles to watch the film. We were thrilled that so many people were able to come out and show their support for the amazing charity that Hans and Carmen created. If you haven’t already seen the film’s trailer, you should check it out here: http://www.wheels4life.org/videos/wheels-4-life-the-film-trailer/.

After the film, everybody made the short walk over to crankbrothers, where the party was already getting started. As they arrived, the food started serving, the drinks started pouring, and the flashes in the VIP photo booth started going off. Wahoo’s Fish Taco provided a huge catering truck that was serving delicious tacos and burritos, and drinks were flowing courtesy of Sambazon and 2Nite Premium Vodka. We also had plenty of beer and wine on hand, so people definitely didn’t go thirsty or hungry. The house was completely packed as everybody jammed in shoulder to shoulder. Local musician Nick-I performed live for a couple hours, keeping the crowd entertained as they awaited what turned out to be a massive raffle and auction. It’s safe to say that everybody had a stellar time.

The raffle and auction were packed with incredible prizes. To name a few, we had beautiful Ibis and GT dreambikes, all expenses paid vacations, signed jerseys by mtb legends, drumsticks signed by Foo Fighters drummer Taylor Hawkins, 1 year supply of XS Energy Drinks, XFusion and Fox Racing Shox forks, Fizik saddles, Oakley grips, Troy Lee Designs helmet…the list goes on and on. There were tons of bidding wars that got pretty heated, with one between two crankbrothers employees gunning for the Rapha-Focus skinsuit, ending with one of them having to actually wear the skinsuit. Good times all around.

Once the raffle and auction were over and donations were totaled, we realized that we raised over $18,500, well over our original goal of $10,000. This amount will be used to purchase 100 bicycles for an orphanage in India, and another 80 for Ugweno Valley in Tanzania. Not too shabby for one night…

It just goes to show how amazing Wheels 4 Life is and how much people want to support the work that Hans and Carmen do. They were both beyond happy with the results of the night, and humbled by all of the generosity that was shown by those in attendance. We couldn’t have asked for a more successful night.

If you weren’t able to join us at the party, you can at least check out the fun we had. The full set of photos is available at: http://www.flickr.com/photos/crankbrothers/sets/.

A ton of people and companies came together to support the event in one way or another, and none of it would have been possible without their help. So, a massive thanks goes out to everybody who contributed: Wahoo’s Fish Tacos / Sambazon / 2Nite Vodka / Oakley / Performance Bicycle / GT / Clif Bar / Vestal Watch / Volcom / Ben Warner & Laguna Beach Magazine / Nick-I / iXS/ XS Energy Drink / Go Pro / Adidas / Brian & Paula Lopes / XFusion / Revo / Troy Lee Designs / Fox Racing Shox / Chris Jones / Ergon / Niner / John Wayne Cancer Foundation / Taylor Hawkins / Fizik / Adam Craig / Glenn & Iris Bourne / Montage Hotel & Resort / Leigh Donovan / Solo Sports / Primo Island Lager / and more!

Bend, Oregon hosted Nationals again this year, and there’s something about that town that brings out the best of cross: subfreezing temps, crazy spectators (some shirtless, some in speedos, and at least one in a Gumby costume), bagpipers, drum lines, delicious Deschutes brews, and most importantly, mud…and lots of it. This year definitely brought a muddy race for every category. Early in the week there was a ton of snow on the ground, but when things warmed up a bit, the snow turned to water, which turned the course into a total mud bog. Simply, the conditions were epic.

The races for every category were nothing short of impressive, and we were proud to see a lot of crankbrothers athletes land on top of the podium. Danny Summerhill and Zach McDonald took the first two spots in the men’s U23 race, and Zach also claimed his second collegiate D1 championship. Katie Compton is some kind of super human and raced to her seventh elite women’s championship. The men’s elite race started as a battle between Jeremy Powers and Todd Wells, but after the two got tangled up in a crash, Powers was left with a mechanical and Wells had the chance to build a gap he maintained to the finish. He crossed the finish line with his hands in the air, earning his third national championship in 2010 (the other two were on the mtb in short track and cross country). Congrats to all the crankbrothers guys and gals that left it all out there on the muddy course.

Aside from the serious racing business, Cross Nationals brings a lot of crazy fun. There’s enough nightlife jammed into the week to last you awhile, with one of the highlights being the Clydesdale race held Saturday night at 9:30pm. The promoter made it clear that seriousness would not be tolerated in that race, so of course there were lots of costumes, lots of racers who clearly had a few drinks and ended up face planting in the mud, and, appropriately, whipped cream and cake hand-ups replaced the typical dollar bills. During the races themselves, it can almost be more fun to watch the zany antics of the spectators. And when you’ve worked up an appetite from the hard work of cheering and running around the course, you can enjoy some free Bob’s Red Mill oatmeal, or satisfy your craving from some frites, a classic Belgian delicacy appropriate at any cross race.

We’re sad to see cross season come to an end, but the sound of the thousands of cowbells we heard in Bend will probably still be ringing in our ears for awhile. Next year, Nationals moves to Madison, WI, and you can bet we’ll be out there weathering the cold and adding to the craziness that is cyclocross. Hup hup.