A preview of the Salsa Redpoint & More!

Friday I was able to get out and take the new Salsa Redpoint to the  SVBC projects on Hankey Mountain.  I come from the 90's cross country race back ground so I was super hesitant to drag a 150mm travel bike up 1500' vertical feet.  My mind of longer travel woods bikes is still scared from some of the earlier projects that companies put out 15 years ago.

The Redpoint heading up the last part of Dowells

Well, times have changed and the longer travel bikes are riding great in both directions, up and down. The Redpoint climbed  with great traction and the front end stayed down even on the upper steep pitches on the final ascent to the top of Hankey.  Once at the stop, I was able to turn the bike downhill and enjoy the stable ride on the fast straight sections of upper Dowells.

Why we call it "Magic Moss Trail"

When I took the turn to "Magic Moss", I thought the bike would not react quick enough for the half-track , super tight turns of this trail. No problem, it gave me the agility needed to enjoy this unused trail in the forest! After scouting out the latest project on Lower Hankey I returned to Dowells and felt right at home descending the off camber roller coaster ride of Dowells Draft.

Me and the Red Point...finding the log line!

Come our next weekend to the SBC/Salsa Demo give one a try yourself! There will also be other great Salsa models available including the Pony Rustler, Warbird,  Spearfish, El Mariachi, and Beargrease. Until then I will try and get more rides on the Redpoint before it ends back up on the Salsa demo van.

See you at Stokesville for the Demo...and don't forget the Thursday clinic at SBC!

Thomas

Jeremy Cline in Snowboarder Mag

Last year, Snowboarder Magazine's 19th annual Super Park came to Seven Springs, PA.  This was the first time SuperPark was held on the East Coast.  I knew I had to show up and have fun, even though I wasn't invited.  I was sure the event founder would let me in since he sent me a few invitations to prior SuperPark events. On the first day of the 4 day event, it was a bluebird day and we all were just having a blast hitting new jumps and rails. My friend suggested that four of us should do something unique at the same time on the last takeoff.  We went for it and nailed it on the second try. The very next day, a well-known photographer, Ethan Stone aka E-Stone, posted a photo of the four of us on the Snowboarder Magazine website.  I was in awe that he happened to be there shooting us in the right spot at the right time. I met him a few times in early 2000's and sent him a FB message asking for the raw photo file for personal use.  His response was, "Yes, I will send you one, but you can't post this anywhere on the internet because it will show up in the issue next year". Eight months later, the magazines hit the stands as I eagerly found the photo. It was my 22nd appearance in snowboard magazines and this was my biggest photo accomplishment because three of us in the photo grew up riding at underrated Massanutten as well as it was taken by one of the most well known snowboarding photographers in the world. Also, that was taken three hours away from Harrisonburg. This happened in the first Super Park in the East Coast. Psyched.

On another note, I was able to ride with the No Names crew at Massanutten this past winter, it was awesome.  See if you can find me.

No Names @ Massanutten from No Names on Vimeo.

Odd Find at Fridley Gap

On April 11th, my friend asked me if I wanted to join her hiking on a beautiful day.  I suggested that we should hit Fridley Gap. After a few steps on the trail, we happened to find a hairless tiny baby as my friend said it was screaming and crying. Naturally, we felt so helpless. I figured to leave it alone and maybe the mother will come back and pick it up in a bit. An hour later, we came back to the same spot where we found the baby and it was still here crying. We thought it was maybe a baby squirrel. My friend couldn't resist it due to its constantly screaming and crying; she decided to call the wildlife rescue. We brought it along with us and someone from the wildlife rescue came to her house and confirmed it was either a baby ferret or weasel. We thought it was possibly a ferret due its long body, but didn't think it would exist in the Valley. What a surprise.

The wildlife rescue will keep us updated on the wildlife animal's survival in a week or so. If it survives and is happened to be a black footed ferret, my friend would love to adopt it and we would name her Squirrel.

Harris-Roubaix...A Ride, A Race, A Potluck!

In the 15 or so years of the Harris-Roubaix there has never once been rain.  Tradition proved true again this year! The temperatures stayed cool and did warm up from the initial frigid wind chill everyone felt at Court Square for the noon send off.

One of the reasons I love this ride so much is that it is everyone! You have the speed racers battling out for the 3 lap crown and you have your casual riders out for a beautiful Sunday ride.

As for the leaders, it was a battle of 4 riders who took control of the course by the 2nd lap. David Flaten, Danny Gibney, Andy Rhodes and Paul Deeble.  David Flaten rolled into the farm first at the end of 3 laps. 

Once again, thank you to the Chambers Family for hosting, SMT for the supplies, the volunteers (Jake, Lemma, Bart, Marcia, Collin, Basil, Bruce, Stephen, Adam, Misty, Chris C) and all who brought great food! See you again next year for another running of the Harris-Roubaix "A celebration of Gravel Roads".

Project #1: Upper Hankey in the books!

The plan coming in reality! Blue old, red new!

Shenandoah Bicycle Company is super happy to be a part of the many great projects that the Shenandoah Valley Bicycle Coalition is putting on the ground in 2016. Think about supporting these efforts with a simple donation!

New trail on North Side .

 The first big project, Upper Hankey, is almost in the books.

It was a little sad to say good by to the Death Chute.

I have been able to get out to the project every few days to keep track of the work in progress. It has been a pleasure to work with Andrew and his crew from Elevated Trail Design. Upper Hankey has been in the works for years, volunteers like myself, Vince Bowman, Paul Johnston and Kurt Rosenberger spent many a cold days walking the dense forest trying to figure our the layout for a fun and sustainable trail.  Our goal is to design and help build a trail that will fit with the rest the forest and bring even more folks more smiles!trail that has so many memories for folks.

Sun, open & fast on the South Side.

We call that good finish work!

 The Upper Hankey Project is the first of six big projects that will be happening this year in the North River District of the George Washington National Forest. The other projects that will be breaking ground and completed in 2016 is Carr Mtn, Lower Hankey, SMT South, Wolfe Ridge, Camp Todd and Chestnut Ridge. All these projects will total about $300K in trail improvements. 80% of these improvements is funded by the Recreational Trails Program and 20% has to come from matching funds/donations. To answer the questions you are thinking, yes SVBC will be needed some serious volunteer and funding help from you! For now get on your bike, run up there or take a hike and let us know of what you think of this first project.

Dowells Draft, more fun to be had. 

 Here is a link to the more photos!

Thank you for letting me part of you riding!

Thomas

Early Spring Chillendale

I hit the Rocktown trails today for a quick ride. At 38 degrees, it took some work to get off the couch. End result as follows;

You can already see some rocks.

Gotta hit the powerline trail!

Ferocious critters live here .

Brake less they said.
This is my first blog post so I'll keep it short. Check out Hillandale Park/Rocktown Trails if you haven't yet. It's practically in \our backyard with a fast flowing pumptrack and the powerline for you gravity junkies,tons of  rocks for some slow technical tomfoolery and also some quiet forest you can cruise through for when you just want to chill.

Ethan & Dillon go crazy!

It was a sunny day. I went to Kaylors Ridge with Dillon, Ann Brie, Dad and Joel. It was my first time up there. We saw the ski resort from the top of the mountain. We went into the trail and it was really rocky. My Dad had to carry my bike and Ann Brie had to carry Dillon's bike down a big rocky section where there was a big tree. Then, Dad and Ann Brie rode down that part. We (Dillon & I ) went down a part that had a jump, we both went and did it again. We went by a tombstone that said "RIP: Here lays Big Stump".

I had this real big wreck. My feet went over my head but I never let go of the handelbars. It could have been worse. I caught myself but my chest hit the stem. I cried a little but not long. 20 feet later we were going up into the field by the pond and I hit a root and wrecked again. Then we went down the "Boundry Trail", it was Dillon's favorite trail.

The ride was about 7-8 miles, it was a realy hard ride. At the end we rode the short track, it seemed easy compared to the rest of the ride.

-Ethan Denzil Jenkins

Salsa Pony Rustler is here!

Come check out our newest addition to the 650+ category.  The Salsa Pony Rustler is a dynamic creature.  You can run big 650b tires which it comes stocked with, OR you can run 29er wheels with up to 2.4 sized tires.  The Rustler runs the split pivot suspension design which gives you optimized traction and improved feel without sacrificing pedal efficiency.  Come in and test ride this new steed for a good time.

A JMU weekend at Stokesville Lodge

Last weekend SBC hosted the JMU Cycling Club at Stokesville Lodge. SBC knows is it fun to get out and ride with your friends, but to create a fun and supportive bicycle community; the time off the bike is what creates the lifelong friendships.

Saturday afternoon we did a great ride on the new trails at the Stokesville Campground. Shredding those awesome trails created the appetite for the group burrito dinner and fellowship that followed. 

The new bonfire pit in the front of the Lodge kept us warm at night while we tried to make a dent in the enormous brush pile that has been accumulating with the upkeep of the campground. Sunday started with breakfast at the lodge then folks got ready for a bigger off road adventure on Lookout Mountain. All the riders did a great job, especially those who were new the fat tire riding. Thanks to the JMU cycling crew who came out to the Lodge and Scott, Zach, David, Ellen and Stephen from the SBC team! Let's make this an annual event! - Thomas