'Old Friend' Businesses Celebrate Children's Day And Earth Day The Pedestrian Shops and Boulder Arts & Crafts Gallery are teaming up for a kids' Crocs-decorating event to benefit the Boulder Mountainbike Alliance designated for the Kids' Learning Loop at the Valmont Bike Park. Parents and kids can purchase a pair of kids' Crocs at the Pedestrian Shops and take them next door to the Boulder Arts & Crafts Gallery to decorate them, 1-3 p.m. April 24, 1400 block of Pearl Street, 303-443-3683 or 303-449-5260

All great industries have well known rivalries. Mac vs PC, Coke vs Pepsi, SRAM vs Shimano....and so on. In the car rack industry, it's traditionally been a Thule and Yakima show. Unless you're in Colorado! And if you're here in CO, cars are awash in COLOR....brought to you by RockyMounts!

Folks invest so much in their bikes, Bobby Noyes, founder and owner of RockyMounts and his crew here in Boulder, allow you to PRO-ify your fossil-fuel burning ride with their array of colored racks, many with insane prints, all to show off your own style. And as Bobby says in his company's motto: "The racks (and thus your car) are for use only if you positively cant ride there." I did a '5 questions with..." episode with Bobby to learn more about this business of his, how it started and where it's going. Have a read of that to understand the company's history, but what needs to be understood is the core cycling focused approach RockyMounts has to its product design and to its own culture. It's about cycling and the lifestyle we all love and lead.

So recently Bobby, after months of engineering work, launched his latest incarnation of a modern roof-mounted bicycle transporter: The Pitch Fork! But with the release of the Pitch Fork, I think Bobby has a game changing product on his hands to turn the screws on the behemoth car rack manufactures and their benign, uninspiring, stove top black approach to market domination. I swung by the shop and Bobby walked me through the product and I was floored. I grabbed two new ones and immediately started to put them on my roof racks. I observed the following...

• Mine were of course white sex powder coated aluminum,but there are plenty of colors to choose from!
• The new trays are built from stout aluminum and combined with the new fork mount torque lever, bike sway was non-existent...and trust me I rallied my grocery getter to see what was going on on hard side to side turns.
• The trays work seamlessly with either Thule® and Yakima® crossbars so there is not this massive re-investment. Just install 'em on the system you have attached to your car now!
• The racks came complete with all hardware for quick and easy installation. It took me less than 5 minutes per rack to get 'em on nice and securely.
• The Pitch Fork includes the new stainless steel, long-throw, lockable quick release is the easiest to use in the rack industry. One sided smooth, positive adjustment, large knob is easy to turn, 12mm of closure (our closest competitor only has 7mm!). There is not a single easier to use mechanism that provides that much torque and security. My wife LOVES this because it's super easy for her to get the bikes on and off securely as she doesn't have the same hands strength I do.
• The new Pitch Fork now has a Nylon ratchet strap is adjustable and easily secures the skinniest road tire, and up to a 2.7” mountain bike tire 
• MSRP $89.95

I was able to snap a couple of photos of the Pitch Fork and I'll walk you through some of the rad details....

Note the profile...incredibly low! LOTS Of reduced noise and  super PRO looking.

This is the new torquing mechanism for the fork mount. Have a look at how it works! Also note the disc brake cut-out, now standard on the tray.

This is a shot demonstrating how my 29'er 2.1" tires fit. The tray is designed to accommodate from a road tire up to a 2.7! A rad feature here is that the straps slide from the SIDE of the tray, not the bottom, which means super small bikes (kids bikes) can be easily accommodated for without having to take the rack apart to slide the strap past the load bar.

Old and New: The Lariat (right) as compared to the Pitch Fork (left).

So who do YOU support? Big Co's stovetop black uninspiring racks, or RockyMount's innovative new product emanating from a company that BLEEDS cycling through and through? I know you know the right choice here...

You can Buy Online, call them or visit "Rocky Mounts world wide HQ" in the flesh to purchase the racks and other carrier supplies.

Awww, yeah! The boys and I are heading due west on the 70 to the Fruita Fat Tire Festival at the end of this month. CAN NOT WAIT! We'll get some big mileage in, invariably drink some adult beverages and laugh lots. I'm going to be testing some new bits sent to me by the good people at SRAM to ensure their new products can meet up to the demands of...me. Ha! That is how serious companies like SRAM are in ensuring what they make works and works well. This will be the second time riding for me in Fruita. The first time, a year ago exactly with a big crew. Good times! Looking forward to some deep milage.