It is with great sadness that we announce that we have to cancel the BLBBRBK Snowbike Relay Race this weekend.

We were only allowed to use the Forest Preserve under the condition that the ground would be covered in snow. At this point, the ground is barely covered and the forecast is against us. Lots of sun, no snow. If anything remained by Sunday, it would be patches of ice and frozen footprints. Trust us, we’ve considered every alternative to cancellation, and there’s no other good venue.  We apologize for any hopes that have been dashed.

We highly encourage all would-be attendees to ride their fatbikes in honor of BLBBRBK on Sunday. We also encourage everyone to hit the other races in the Fat-Bike.com series.

Please stay tuned for future Fatbike events, group rides, and the like. Please also mark your calendars: The Gravel Metric 2012 will be held on May 27th, 2012.

And while this is a HUGE FAT BUMMER, we’re happy to say it’s not a huge loss. We made 30 or so t-shirts and had a keg of custom beer brewed for the event, but we have a dedicated staff here at NCC, and we like to make the most of every occasion.

Chad took care of the 30 shirts:

and Eric took care of the beer (BLBBRBR)*:

*No beer was actually wasted in the production of this post **.

**Eric is really good at looking less than sober.

A couple weeks ago, I (Tobie) along with a few other guys pulled the ejection seat on winter and took 5 days to go mountain biking in Sedona, AZ. This was a dream that became a reality because of the loving support of 5 wives, 5 employers, and one awesome bike company. In the weeks before our trip, Salsa Cycles arranged for us to be greeted with five Salsa Spearfish to enjoy during our time there. It was pretty incredible. I’m still having trouble believing this really happened.

Here are a few shots from the trip.

Yours truly

Dean rides the red line

Phil-billy

The Spearfish

I don’t think I can state how much fun the Spearfish was to ride. The bike was fast, comfortable, and spry. It climbed like no other bike I’ve ever ridden. This is the longest stint I’ve put in on the bike (I’ve ridden them before, but only for short rides), and I’m very glad we picked one up for our demo fleet this year (Yes, you can try it, too!).

The Stanfords, some midwest ex-pats who used to ride with the NCC Crew years ago, have set up camp in Sedona and made sure we had places to ride, places to eat, and a place to unbox and box our fleet. Thank you, Zach and Sarah, for making it easy for us and for taking it easy on us.

Zach, in full NIU/NCC regalia, points the way

Our time down there was made very comfortable by the good people at the Red Agave Resort and the Sedona Bike & Bean.

A complete and wonderful account of our trip has already been written on Riding Against The Grain, so I will keep my post short and sweet. Many thanks for Dean for his gift of verbosity and great photos.

BLBBRBK IS APPROACHING!

Our first ever fatbike race is coming up on January 29th at Afton Forest Preserve.

BLBBRBK will be the 3rd in a series of fatbike races sponsored by Fat-bike.com. The race format is a 3 hour, 3 man relay. The course will be just over 2mi.

NEW ADDITION: We WILL be having a SOLO category, sponsored by GORE Bike Wear.

CLICK HERE for Registration and Waiver forms. Complete them at home and bring them to the race.

The race starts at 11am, but plan on arriving a little early to sign in and get ready. You can sign up as a team or enter the rider pool to join a team. If you do not have a fatbike, you are still very welcome to attend. We encourage riders with fatbikes to make themselves available as team captains. We will have fatbikes to share and there should be bikes enough for everyone.  Riders are encouraged to pre-ride the course before 11am – this is good for everyone – it will familiarize you with the course and pack it down at the same time.

Once the gun goes off, the team (or the rider) that gets the most laps in 3 hours wins… something. We’re not quite sure what that thing is, but we know it will include some 45North Husker Du tires, T-shirts, some high fives and plenty of respect. The goal of the day is for everyone to have a good time.

BEWARE: Any racers caught cheating or taking the race too seriously will get time in the penalty box.

Penalty Box

This should go without saying, but it’s going to be cold out there. All riders are responsible for themselves and are responsible for maintaining sensation in all their extremities. We’ll do our part to have a warming station and some shelter, but please dress for the weather. Laps should take around 20 minutes, so even between exertions, you should be prepared to stand out in the cold.

There will be no running water at the Forest Preserve so be sure to bring drinking water for the event. Again, we’ll do our part, but come prepared.  We’ll have a grill going all day, so feel free to bring something for the grill if you’d like.

RSVP on Facebook here to let us know you’re coming. If you’re not on Facebook, good for you; we’ll see you there.

Please give us a call if you have any other questions about the race. 815.758.2403 or email rideaway@northcentralcyclery.com

HUGE Thanks to 45North, GORE Bike Wear, Finish Line and Fat-bike.com for their support.

BLBBRBK is an AXLETREE Production. 

Say hello to Whisky.

Whisky is a new carbon-specific brand with a great aesthetic.

The first batch of their handlebars and seatposts arrived this week. We were not the only ones happy to see them come in.

Mr. Ridgway was also very ready to make his Moonlander the hottest lander on earth.