Can...not...wait to glue these babies up. The Clement PDX tubular is based on a "tubeless tubular" system. Great for durabiility (read: great for Colorado!) and with an improved casing for suppleness while, again, maintaining stregnth. The LAS (file tread) and a new all-around tread coming soon! The Boulder Cycle Sport Ambassador's Team will be rocking these full on. 

Here are some pictures of the first look. Stay tuned for ride reports. 

The PDX Will ship with these sidewall sickers to pimp your carbon rims. Complete with dragon and a dry-erase PSI sticker to place near your valve stem. 

The rubber on the PDX is phenomenal. The knobbies measure roughly 2.9mm. 

The base tape is unbelievably layered on to the casing with nearly no variance or huge disparity between casing and base tape. Best application I have ever seen. 

Here is a Dugast base tape for comparison (granted this has been glued put I want to draw attention to the edge of the tape as it meets the cotton casing)

The Rhino 32 (l) and the PDX 33 (r)

 Clement's new artwork is incredible (and we especially love it as it was desigend by our good friend Zach Lee here in Boulder!)

I’m noticing I can inhale deeply lately. Always a sign to me that I am at peace. When the teeter totter is listing to any given side, I can never get that deep belly-breath. The kind that you can feel literally cool the very bottoms of your lungs. The kind that you can feel in your toes. The kind I can take in now.

Life is irony personified. At least that is how it feels to me as I am getting older, watching my hands turn into my fathers and finally seeing the forest for its trees. Building an image of a future that was predicated on historical lessons my father taught me on how to build a life, while valuable, needed to be changed in order for my family and I to find happiness. And the greatest of these ironies is that it ain’t about pursuing the nut. It is most certifiably about pursing what provides you the greatest joy and living very much in the moment.

Making the switch from ‘salaried guy’ to start-up guy and essentially attaching the siphoning hose to the bank account to start a business has been…enlightening. And yet while the struggles are present to do the best we can, the moment I am living in, within this period of my life and that of my family’s, is priceless. In my former life, I would not be able to make breakfast and see my children off to school. I would not be able to create my own schedule to coach my boys in this fall’s cycling team. Help my wife with the things she’d normally bear the brunt for our family while she is in school. Simply put, it’s the antitheses of what lessons my father taught me…working for the same company for 40 years as an example…but the mission he laid out is unaffected: being there for your family.

I am attempting to learn the basics again a year and a half into building my first business. What is real and meaningful. What drives happiness. How it can be repeated and keep us safe, happy and healthy. Just like what we all do when we bring out the barriers and practice. We do this for perfection. And so I am doing this as an analog for my life’s needs. Practicing patience, trust and repeatability. This is not our father’s era. Yet it can be rooted in the same principals. Just achieved orthogonally to the path he chose.

More blog posts, photos and details forth coming on these unbelievable steeds but I was excited to show one of the team bikes built up and ready to rip. Huge thanks to Ridley Bikes, SRAM and Ritchey. Clement tubulars coming soon!

Cyclocrossers – we lost a favorite son this weekend in Marc Druyts. Marc unfortunately passed away this weekend due to cardiac arrest after participating in a road race near Kessel, not far from his home. Druyts, 48, was the treasurer Flanders Mountain Cup series and an extremely well liked and well respected racer in the elite with out contract and master's races. Marc leaves behind a wife and two daughters. Keep them in your thoughts and prayers.

For those of you that are new to the sport, Marc is…well he is Belgian cyclocross and Master’s ‘cross to its very essence. He most certifiably is a legend of our sport and worthy of the blue Master’s World Champion jersey.

Pete Webber with a very shocked Marc in his Master’s World Champion’s Kit after Pete came and stormed into the Master’s races in Belgium – Beernem, December 2009.

I had heard the true ‘tales’ of Marc before my trip to Belgium to race at Worlds in 2008 – and where I was able to brush shoulders with this Master’s champion. One of those tales which set the stage before my trip on the aggressive nature of the racing in Belgium was told to me by my good friend Mark ‘Howie’ Howland – a starter at World’s in Mol for nearly every year over roughly a decade. The story, in Mark’s words was this…

“The call up procedure was done completely randomly in Mol…even the prior year’s World Champion himself Marc Druyts was lined up last. He seemed anxious, while I was trying to figure out how to somehow finish in the top half of the field from where we were some 65 guys back. That's when Rudy (ed.- De Bie – a good family friend to Howie) was standing on the railing in the staging area leaning over to tell me to follow "that" guy..pointing directly back to Marc. Marc then moved himself and his bike a few more meters from the last row, puzzling us all. Upon the ‘bang!’ of the gun, while the sound of people still clipping in their pedals was heard (some not even yet clipped in!), Marc was off like a lightening bolt. From his position meters behind the peloton, he used that momentum and speed to blast though the field and past the ‘chaff’ in the back of the race. He went from the back to the front group in two laps, and went on to win the World’s yet again from a four man group. Needless to say, I was in shock and awe, at how anyone could have done what he did that day. I thought he was hopelessly optimistic (I'm still shaking my head as I write this...) The gun went off, the school bell rang, and class was in session on that day.

I'll never forget it. Ever.”

Pete and Marc slaying each other in Beernem, December 2009

Marc is 3rd in the procession of riders running through this heavy classic course Waregem, January 2010

So the point of this post is simple: keep the memory of this legend alive. There is no other way to describe him other than: complete bad-ass.

Highlights of Marc’s World’s accomplishments…

2002    3º in World Championship, Cyclocross, Masters, 40-44, Belgium, Mol (BEL)

2003 1º in World Championship, Cyclocross, Masters, 40-44, Belgium, Mol (BEL)

2004 1º in World Championship, Cyclocross, Masters, 40-44, Belgium, Mol (BEL)

2007    2º in World Championship, Cyclocross, Masters, 45-49, Belgium, Mol (BEL)

2008    2º in World Championship, Cyclocross, Masters, 45-49, Belgium, Mol (BEL)

2009 1º in World Championship, Cyclocross, Masters, 45-49, Belgium, Mol (BEL)

2010 1º in World Championship, Cyclocross, Masters, 45-49, Belgium, Mol (BEL)

This season will be an incredible one in the United States. Cyclocross has truly exploded in this nation and for the first time (at least since Jan Wiejak for those of us that are old enough to remember this champion who taught the Americans what European cross REALLY is…) we will see seasoned Europeans toe the line here on our shores on a consistent basis. They’ll be competing in the biggest and best races from New England to Portland and all UCI stops in between. As Cannondale-Cyclocrossworld.com announced, multi-time Swiss Champion Christian Heule will race for the ‘Green Train’ here for the full fall schedule. But as I previously reported, Ben Berden will be yet another prominent European cyclocrosser coming to race here as well full time. Riding for a new bike manufacturer, Stoemper Bikes of Oregon, Ben will take on a full schedule here mixing it up with the best the US can throw at him.

Ben, as I reported in the last post, has a…past. He was a rising star as a Junior and U23 of the late 90’s generation…

Click to read more ...

Honestly, I am not sure even where to begin with this post as I’m having trouble keeping the tears out of my eyes these bikes are so beautiful. Opening up the box shipped to Boulder Cycle Sport directly from the mad Ridley laboratories in Belgium literally had my heart racing….and it was not a let down once the bubble wrap was removed. Behold the 2012 Ridley X-Fire – with a paint scheme custom designed by the geniuses at Ridley’s Custom Fabrication Studio for the Boulder Cycle Sport Ambassador’s team. Brandon, Pete, Allen and I are beyond stoked to ride Ridley yet again this season after three great years of our BCS/Ridley relationship.

The 2012 X-Fires are an incredible animal…offering new features over its 2011 predecessor. We love the X-Fires due to their versatility. With minimal weight penalty, we have removable seat posts and bottle cages so when we’re not racing on these bikes, we’re putting in long epic miles on them upon the endless high-altitude dirt roads Colorado offers us.

So let me take you through some of the highlights of the 2012 Ridley X-Fire which we’ll be rocking through the mud this season…(and it’s OK to get misty eyed due to the beauty of their stunning custom paint.)

The frame sizes and geometry have not changed year over year for the X-Fire.

Click to read more ...

Save The Date! Thursday, August 11th – 7:30 PM Boulder Cycle Sport North Store

Calling all Boulder Junior Men and Women – Ages 9 to 17 (racing ages 10 – 18)! We want YOU to come and be a part of this year’s Boulder Junior Cycling Cyclocross team!

This Thursday evening, come and meet the coaches and returning team members from last year’s successful CX campaign. Some details for you:

• Thursday night you’ll meet the team, coaches, get your kit sized and purchase goods for your upcoming season at special prices.
• Practices Monday and Wednesdays after school beginning August 29th.
• Specialty coaching for returning/experienced racers as well as kids new to the sport and discipline of cyclocross
• Coaches: Ann Trombley (US Olympian) and Allen Krughoff and Greg Keller of Boulder Cycle Sport’s Cyclocross Ambassadors Team among other special coaching guests!

Want to learn more about Boulder Junior Cycling? Click here to visit the website.

Get ready to HUP!

As we head into cross season, the training each year about this time begins to change. We go from epic long base miles and MTB rides that fundamentally teach you how to suffer for long hours on the bike to much higher intensity workouts that stress your body to the core. Intervals, motor-pacing and Tabatas begin to take over so that the constant power-peaks in a cross can be maintained during the course of a 60 minute race…

Click to read more ...

Moms and Dads: You know you want to give your little dumplin’ that extra HUP this season, so why don’t you bring your kids on down to the Paul McCarthy/Blue Sky Velo’s kids cyclocross clinic and let ‘em get some proper tutelage!

My friend Amy Dombrowski (Crank Brothers/Ibis) multi-time U23 cyclocross national champion and all around good gal will team up with yours truly to teach the ‘sport of the changing leaves’ to the youngsters. We’re stoked! Here’s all you need to know:

When: Sunday August 7th 2011 – 9AM to 12 Noon

Where: Rogers Grove Park, Longmont CO (info and map)

Cost: FREE

Registration: contact  pjmac7 at y a h o o dot com

What will be learned: This is an entry level clinic designed for first timers. There will be an overview of cyclocross but mostly tutorials and skills instruction. The kids will be on the bikes as much as possible.

What your child needs: The child should have a mountain bike (with no bar ends) or cyclocross bike, comfortable shoes (or clip less pedals if they’re on them already) and a HELMET (mandatory). Snacks and drinks will be provided by Blue Sky Velo but feel free to bring extras for yourself or specialty snacks if your child has any allergies.

Should parents stay: Yes, the child should have a parent accompany them.

Ages: If your child can pedal, they can attend.

Hope you and yours can attend!

Cyclocross season is rapidly approaching and we are getting ready for the best season yet!  

The mission of the Boulder Cycle Sport Cyclocross Team is to create a fun and competitive cyclocross team, open to all ability levels. Whether you are a seasoned veteran or a first time racer, we will provide an opportunity to take your skills to the next level. Those who have no ambitions of racing, but are looking for a fun social cycling group to be a part of are encouraged to join our growing cyclocross community, too!

Click the image above to learn more about the 2011 BCS CX Team. See you in the mud. Hup!