Trail Work for Tour de Burg

 Trail work this past Sunday on North Mountain was a party - all of bike shops in town sent a representative or two to clear Church Rocks for Saturday's stage of the only race that matters: the Tour de Burg, a five day stage race (4 mountain bike days, 1 road day) starting next week.

Lush leafies and magic moss.

Corn cobs

Closeout Bicycles!

   I took my afternoon to creep and crawl around the store attempting to find bicycles for folks at a tremendous deal. On the blog today, I was able to discover a closeout in almost every flavor of bicycle in the shop. 

   First off, I'll start with the bread and butter of the trail, a stealthy, full suspension 29-inch mountain bike. This Trek Fuel Ex 5 pictured below comes in at, $1,4999 on closeout price. 

    Ah, my favorite section of the shop. Recently relocated, the Salsa & Surly bikes always extract the adventure in all us. Branded as their rackless randonneuring weapon, the Colossal 2 sports a SRAM Apex drive drive train and mechanical disc brakes. Originally priced at $2,399.99, a closeout price of $1,699.99 will let you roll out of the store on this 56 cm adventure rocket.

Adventure By Bike. 

   For the aggressive asphalt attackers, two black & white 2013 Trek Domane 2.0 steeds remain. Available in a 58 and 60 cm, the 10-speed Shimano Tiagra equipped bikes are ready to rip for the closeout price of $999.99.

Video featuring the ISO Speed Decoupler

   Nestled atop our latest Kuat Rack in the store (Transfer 2) sits a 2014 Salsa Warbird in a 55cm. Check out this video about the annual Dirty Kanza ride in Emporia, KS. This beast will shred through the back roads of the valley sporting 32 mm Bontrager tires. The frame will clear up to 38 mm tires for your thunderous desires.Originally priced at $1,699.99, this gravel grinder can go to battle for just $1,299.99. 

Aluminum frame, carbon fork and disc brakes.

Sambazon's Hundred Day Challenge

Summer's been in full swing, and we've all been working and playing hard.  Sambazon, the supplier of PULP's delicious acai sorbet, has written a list of 100 challenges that can help you add a little more purpose to your day.  Some of the challenges are easy changes to make to every day habits, and others are more far reaching and require a bit more effort.  Whether you're deciding to make a personal change or reaching out to others, do it mindfully and with purpose.  Positivity is powerful thing and we all have endless opportunities to pass it on.  Now, the challenge has already been going on for a few months, but it's never to late to eat better, be a more mindful consumer, or spread some love to someone you don't know.  Go to http://www.sambazon.com/100/ and see if any of the tasks are callin' out to you! Sambazon is offering a free bottle of juice just for signing up. ;)

Scared of the Dark

Leaving Fredericksburg on bikes with hopes to reach Harrisonburg by midnight makes you feel funny. The Bluestone boys and I departed FredVegas around 5:00 pm on Sunday evening, equipped with thousands of lumens and 7 tail lights. Looking like a holiday parade and with music blasting, we weren't easy to miss! 105 miles and two huge climbs later, we were back in Harrisonburg - around 1:00 am.

A lotta good views off the back!

Eats.

Beef sandwich or ice cream sandwich?

Getting darked on about halfway through the ride.

Blurry Bluestone illuminati, about to go over Massanutten through the resort!

Have some tea!

I've got some more news from the PULP end highlighting our soothing and refreshing teas.  We're offering chilled tea made with loose tea leaves from the Red Blossom Tea Co.  The spectrum of flavors includes ~white ~green ~oolong ~black ~and jasmine.  These are high quality teas that are thoughtfully grown and harvested so that the leaves are fresh and their unique flavors are kept intact.  An experience is guaranteed with every cup, so its a steal at $2.00.  Canned Yerba Mate is also available if you're looking for "Enlighten Mint".  We'll be changing up the flavors of chilled tea from week to week so be sure to check in.  The current concoction is an Organic Formosa Red lightly sweetened with honey.  This particular tea is described as being "sweet, smooth, and rich, with hints of bourbon, honey and cream, but with a slightly deeper and more complex character."  Try a cool cup and let your taste buds see for themselves. 

Meet Dillon Long, our newest shop employee!

Dillon Long grew up on his family's farm just outside of New Market. When he was 15 he decided to the attend the Blue Ridge School near Charlottesville. He began riding with the school's mountain bike team and wound up racing his first race in the spring of 2008. After racing for about four years, he went of to college at GMU. Sure enough, four years later, he finds himself back in the valley. When Dillon isn't at the shop he is either riding his BMX bike in the 'Burg or he is working on the next roller for his pump track back on the farm. He plans to begin XC racing again in 2016.

Week internship at Shenandoah Bicycle Company.

"Nate" Layman dove into bike shop culture this week as our first intern.  Like a sponge, he absorbed more than just bike shop work methods, hopefully not too many paint fumes...  Here's his personal account:

I've always wanted to work at a bike shop. The opportunity arose when my mom asked me what I wanted to do this week. She suggested that I talk to Thomas about helping out at the coolest place in the world: Shenandoah Bicycle Company. So I emailed Thomas and he accepted the offer. I was stoked. When I started I didn't know what to expect.

Whether assembling bike racks, or prepping mountain bikes, I've been busy the whole time. I even inhaled paint fumes while spraying painting the bike wash station. It has been an amazing experience and I want to thank the SBC staff for letting me help out. Hopefully in the future I will be able to be an employee at the Shenandoah Bicycle Company!

Skateboarding Rules

One day, my older brother left a Thrasher Magazine on a couch and I saw some dude catching air with a board under his feet on its cover. I became very curious and studied every single page. A few months later, my mother got my brother a skateboard for Easter and I was like, "Hey, hey, what about me!?". My mother knew it would break my heart if she didn't provide me one. I was 9 years old. Anyway, I started to follow my brother skating and saw him doing some flatground ollies. I knew I had to learn the trick and it took me a month to be finally comfortable. I have kept learning new tricks since then. It has been 29 years. If it wasn't for skateboarding, I wouldn't have had a snowboarding career or became a world class traveler. Skateboarding changed my life forever. 

We do need a concrete skate park in Harrisonburg. It would give kids a sense of purpose in their lives. Also, it would keep them off the streets. What are we waiting for!?

I too have ridden the red planet!

Back in April I was lucky enough to escape out west to Sedona with my better half.  Desert life is all that it is cracked up to be.  Trails to hike or bike, skateparks, train rides, it's all there. I'm a huge fan of the desert southwest and in all my travels over the years passed by the exit for Sedona on trips back and forth from Flagstaff to Phoenix. This time, Emily and I planned the route to stop in Sedona and then in Santa Fe on the way back to see SBC alumnus Paul "Pauly Paul" Forrester. I won't bore you guys with a bunch of words. Instead I'll post a bunch of cool pictures below. Hope you guys dig it.

Community Roots- Permaculture Garden

early morning when the sun is just waking things up

Hey there Harrisonburgians! Ever go through the intersection at MLK and S Mason and wonder what's going on in the front yard at the RISE house?  Well, I've been working on developing a not so typical garden called Community Roots that will be growing fruits, vegetables, herbs, and flowers.  It's open to anyone in the community who wants to get involved, and a portion of what's grown will go to RISE's community outreach program called Food For Love Packs that provides kids in our community who are in need with fresh, local food.  

early tomatoes!

some of the first strawberries

The plan is to get our own little food forest ecosystem established following permaculture principles.  Permaculture is a term that combines the ideas of "permanent culture" and "permanent agriculture" to form a sustainable system that follows patterns and relationships found in nature.  A successful system has a closed energy loop.  It is also rich in biodiversity because this allows symbiotic relationships to form among living things and provides safety nets to prevent major losses in case of incidents like pests or drought.  Each element is designed to be as beneficial and productive as possible, so a lot can be produced in a small space! These systems require a lot of work up front, but as time goes on and more perennial plants become established the less labor is required and the greater the yield.

cucumbers and zucchini 

This project has yet to be taken on and funded by any organizations, so I've been depending on community support to make it happen.  Many people have generously given time, money, rides and helping hands to help get the garden to where it is now, but there's still a lot to be done to transform the rest of the lawn into a beautiful and productive food forest!  If you're interested in getting involved or want to know more about Community Roots shoot me an email at nordsese@dukes.jmu.edu.

Thirsty Thursday

It felt a little weird getting on my road bike, (instead of my mountain bike), at the Wild Oak Trail parking lot outside of Stokesville. Kelly and I had decided to start our ride a little further from town, which allowed getting further away from the Burg in less time. We started from Wild Oak and took Leading Ridge road to Braley's Pond, then hopped on 250 and went over Confederate Breastworks. Two more climbs brought us to Monterey, Virginia for lunch. We rolled to Sally Hiner road next, and swung back and forth across Virginia/West Virginia state lines. No matter how bad you're slumming, Sally always puts on a party that leaves you dazed, dizzy, and stoked. Feeling even more weird, we pedaled up the last Shenandoah Mountain climb, hung out with David Taylor who had just casually bombed down the dirty side of Reddish, and then gradually descended back to our starting point. I got two flats in the last ten miles! Tour training at its finest.

Uh huh.

Doe Hill Road

Big 'un

Hangin out 

Lil 'un

Almost all downhill from here to the car!

M(oooooo)ve over, we're going camping

   It's so easy a nine-month old can do it! A couple Saturday's ago around 15 fine folks departed the backyard of the shop on a emaculate spring afternon ultimately headed toward the Stokesville Campground for the second bikepacking trip of the season.

   I was super stoked to have the day off and be in my favorite summer shirt sitting atop my tangerine Surly Crosscheck with an extra dab of sunscreen splotched on my nose. David Lee straddled his Surly ECR and led the troops through some neighborhoods and out onto 42 South.

One of the toughest, but most rewarding climbs of the trip. 

   I made a clutch executive decision to drop from the back and burst into Mr. J's to flag down two egg and cheese bagels for the ride, one of which made it into Lee's stomach later in the ride. It's important to keep the leader well nourshied, you know?

   Loaded with Arkel Dolphin 32 panniers on the front of the Crosscheck I hauled back out onto the route and caught the group just past Mole Hill.

   Lee's well-planned route, which we pre-rode the weekend prior was spectacular and featured many sights and sounds and little to no long stints on any particular road.

Stop and smell the methane, that's how that saying goes right?

   A highlight of the ride out featured Marshall Hammond "turtle necking" a 29-inch tube into a 26-inch wheel to remedy a flat.

Paul Hansbarger sporting some Devil's Backbone atop a bag he designed.
He's cool like that. I think an addition to his frame bag line is ideally
in the works. Beer tarp? 

   My favorite part of this trip was that packing food for the ride wasn't necessary with a mandatory stop at the famed Stokesville Market to look forward to. The market has become a staple for riders exploring the campground and national forest trails. Great pizza and even better beer and a guilty pleasure, Puffcorn. 

   Members of the group were quite refreshed to roll into the market late in the afternoon to stock up for the night of fun at the campground. I slammed a Sunkist and Dr. Pepper within five minutes of being in the market! Sodas never taste better than when you get off your bike.

My trusty steed fully loaded. The rear rack actually came of an old electric bike and
perfeclty houses a Z-Lite sleeping pad where the bike's battery woudl tradisionally go. 

   If you're caught up in the never ending debate between panniers and a trailers, just try them both! This was the first ever trip where I had panniers in the front after some heavy guidance from co-workers and I'm completely sold. Going downhill like a sturdy racehorse has much better of a feel than sporting bags in the back twerking on a descent trying to keep your back end to settle down. 

A secret stop on the way home Sunday
proved scenic and educational for our group. 

   That night we were all able to feast on our bountiful spread of goodies before a rumbling fire that carried us off into the night as we departed for bed. 

   Bikepacking is my favorite. I heavily encourage anyone interested to come out on the next trip which is slated for late August 15/16--we are more than happy to talk setups and lend out and a trailer if you're thinking of one. Plus you can come and join Lee and I as we attempt to be funny with group memebers!

   Adventure by bike- Stephen

A bicycle build for 2 Billion, spreading smiles around the world visits Harrisonburg!

Last Thursday evening Jamie Bianchini came to the shop with his family to share the story of his tandem bike journey around the globe.  Jamie spent almost a decade of his life traveling to 80 countries around the world with his custom made bicycle, specially designed to be converted from a tandem to a single bicycle to help him on his mission.  He rode rode through cities and remote villages around the world offering people rides and depending on the kindness of strangers to keep him moving along the way.  Jamie was fueled by the power of love and human connection, and made it his goal to spread love and smiles to everyone he met.  A Bicycle Built for Two Billion was written as a memoir of his journey.  Jamie uses the proceeds from his book to fuel other acts of kindness for people around the world! We were excited to host Jamie and his family at SBC and had a great evening of photos, food, video, and discussion. Big thanks to everyone who showed up and keep your ears open for similar events that we could host in the future.

PULP carried on at a work bench during the event!