Blackburn (the cycling accessories company) has a new film they’d like you to see about some adventure bike camping titled Roll With It. It features the set up for a joke: a photographer, a musician, an artist, a food blogger, and an ecologist hit the road on bikes. The film is the rest of the story.
“Camping by bike is an adventure everyone can experience without over complicating it.” says, Robin Sansom, Blackburn’s brand manager. “This film, at the core, is about the unexpected rituals strangers have when they embark on a bike and camp adventure together. We look forward to bringing this to communities all over the world in hopes of inspiring more people to get outside.”
The movie premieres whti month in LA and New York. For the official word, please follow the jump.
We hesitate to give The Lost Sierra Triple Crown grinder series any play, because truthfully, we like keeping our corner of NorCal free from the ravages of bike over population, but sometimes a series is just too good to keep quiet about. And this is one of them.
The Lost Sierra Triple Crown is made up of three events. The first event, Lost & Found, rolls out this Saturday (June 4, 2016) from Lake Davis, California. According to organizers the Lost & Found course “features a perfect blend of pavement, dirt road, gravel road and historic railroad grade with 100 miles, 7,000 feet of climbing, and is 80 percent dirt. The second is the world famous Downieville Classic in August 6, 2016, and the third (and one you should not miss) is the Grinduro in Quincy, California on October 8, 2016.
These events take place on some of the most amazingly beautiful remote pavement, gravel, and singletrack that you will find anywhere in the world. We’d say more, but we’ll just leave it at this. . . from one of our undisclosed rides last summer.
Looking for something to watch on Netflix this weekend while recovering from Memorial Day celebrations? We have just the film. Inspired to Ride, from the producers of Ride the Divide and Reveal the Path, is a beautifully shot record of the first ever Trans Am Bike Race across 4,233 miles, ten states, all self supported.
It’s the antithesis to events like Tour de France and Race Across America. There are no teams, no support vehicles, no special jerseys and not a dime in prize money. . . As they battle lack of sleep, injuries and spirited competition, INSPIRED TO RIDE takes you on an invigorating road trip — amidst the jaw-dropping beauty of the TransAmerica Trail with its varied landscapes, intriguing locals and found stories which dot this path of discovery. . . Featuring Mike Hall and Juliana Buhring plus many more “crazies”.
While a movie about a race like this has the potential to be a snoozer, filmmaker Mike Dion and his crew pull together a film that is visually stunning, constantly compelling, and deeply insightful into the minds of these ultra-endurance bicycle racers. Check it out on Netflix.
After 782 miles and eight days of racing, 23 year-old Julian Alaphilippe (FRA) of Etixx – Quick-Step Pro Cycling Team clinched the 2016 Amgen Tour of California championship, becoming the youngest rider to hold that title in the race’s 11 years.
“This victory is really important. It’s my first win of the season, and it’s the first time that I won a General Classification,” said Ardennes sensation Alaphilippe, who is the first French rider to win top honors in California. “It’s really something special to win this race, especially here in California, and I’m really proud of my team all week, especially today because it was a really stressful day for a lot of riders in the peloton. Everyone wanted to be in the front….It was a good day and I’m really, really happy.”
After a harrowing last lap charge by Mark Cavendish’s lead-out man Mark Renshaw to reel in the break, Cav had to go it alone in the sprint of Stage 8. He jumped on Peter Sagan’s wheel and waited for Peter to go, then blasted by both Sagan and Alexander Kristoff for the win (his 10th tour of California win).
“I’ve been coming to the Amgen Tour of California for many years. There’s a reason all the top riders in the world come over to America to race here,” Cavendish said. “It’s always been a great race, and Kristin and AEG always put on a tremendous show, as well a great, relaxed race for the riders to come to….I’m happy to be here and I’m definitely coming back.”
For the official word from the Amgen Tour of California (including coverage of the women’s race) please follow the jump.
After taking a flyer well into the race World Champion Peter Sagan talked it over with the Tinkoff Director of Sport and decided to sit up and wait for the peloton to catch him on the streets of Santa Rosa. He jumped back in for the circuit laps and muscled his way on to Alexander Kristoff’s wheel for the final sprint and came around only to lose by an inch to the Olympic Bronze medalist.
“It was a hard stage…I was really struggling on the climbs… at the end, Peter [Sagan] was in front alone, and he had two minutes, and we had to chase hard. And at the end he almost beat me also, so it was an impressive ride by him but I just managed to hold him off, and I’m really happy to win here in California,” said Kristoff who earned a bronze road race medal at the 2012 Olympic Games.
For the official word from the Amgen Tour Of California, please follow the jump.
The name of the game was “fast” in Folsom today as the 140 men competing in the 2016 Amgen Tour of California raced the clock in their individual time trial event, with Australian Rohan Dennis (BMC Racing Team) recording the fastest time.
“I was optimistic. Alaphilippe ripped out a very, very good ride…,” said Dennis of his chances to overtake the race lead today. “16 seconds – it’s not over, but it’s not going to be easy to bring back, that’s for sure…Tomorrow’s supposed to be a really tough stage…It’s been a pretty hard Tour as it is, and this Tour has gotten harder and harder every time I’ve done it.”
For the official word (including women’s TTT coverage) follow the jump.
Cannondale Pro Cycling Team’s Toms Skujiņš (LAT) lead a break about 45 minutes after leaving Lodi, California in Thursday’s (May 19, 2016) Stage 5 of the Amgen Tour of California and he never let up.
“It wasn’t easy to get in the break, of course, because people knew that the break might stick,” said Skujiņš. “I luckily managed to get in the right one.”
The peloton never saw him again until they all reached the finish line at Heavenly Valley. Stage 5 couldn’t go to a radder guy. For the official word from the Amgen Tour of California, please follow the jump.
Pro snowboarder Austin Smith decided to tag along with Smartwool on their annual 350 mile ride from Steamboat Strings, Colorado to Salt Lake City, Utah for the Outdoor Retailer Summer Market because, really, how hard could riding a bike 350 miles in four days be. It doesn’t hurt that his bike is a Moots, but his corduroy shorts? Well, not so good. Watching people come around to the subtleties of cycling is always fun. Check it out in this episode of Smartwool’s ROAM TV.
If he can hang in on the hills, there’s no stopping Pete Sagan, especially when the finish is downhill into a flat sprint. The World Champion rode that last two miles of the 2016 tours longest stage (133.6 miles) like a boss and after letting Nathan Haas make the first jump, Sagan blazed around to take his 15th Amgen Tour of California stage win and his second of 2016.
“It was hard, but good,” said Sagan, when asked about today’s stage. “I’m very happy for my other teammates, and I’m very happy to have won.”
For the official word from the Amgen Tour of California, please follow the jump.
Watching Bikes vs. Cars has given us a much better understanding of the reasons for the drama we all face every single day as we try to do something as simple as riding our bikes. One of the best cycling documentaries every made, Bikes vs. Cars is now available on Netflix. Search for it, watch it, and then share it with everyone you know.
