Merry Christmas Dad (aka Bus Stop)

Merry Christmas pops... here is your xmas present from JnLnS...

Frame: Titus Motolite
Suspension: Fox RP23 Shock / Fox Talas RL Fork
Brakes: Avid BB-7 Mech Disc
Drive Train: SRAM X.9 Shifters, Rear Der, X.7 Front Der
Wheels: Mavic 717 Rims / XT Hubs
Crankset/Chain: Shimano LX
Handlebars/Stem: Easton EA-70 / Vice
Seatpost: Richey Pro

Christian Side Hug

Brad's new Look!

Masa takes down the 4x4

Tomorrow is the official start of our training for the 2010 24 Hrs ITOP. In honor of this milestone we decided to try out the new In&Out burger off I-10 in South Tucson for lunch. Masa went big and took down a 4x4 Animal Style Burger, Fries, & a Chocolate Shake. Congratulations Masa on your momentus achievement!
In&Out Secret Menu

Need Another Rider

The Sonoran Pirates Plutonium Rods needs a replacement rider for Dave 'El Grotto' Bauer, who was suddenly scheduled for USAF Aircrew survival school. (Nice timing too...camping in northern Washington in early Feb...that ought to be a hoot and a half.)

Current team is a 5 person Coed and consists of:
Chino
Diana
Mt. Goat
Silent Ed

Willkommenes Ausbilder Chaos

the sonoran pirates would like to officially welcome a soon to be new member of the team... ausbilder chaos... he picked up this Kona Coiler from craigslist today and will be racing with us in the 24 ITOP... willkommen ausbilder...

Spoked Bacon is Registered

Neo, Ausbilder Chaos, Dark Angel, MK, & Mr. Jackie-O are now registered for the 24 ITOP as Sonoran Pirates: Spoked Bacon. It makes everything taste better.

I didn't ride today...

but the mountain goat did... on facebook he posted that he rode his Niner Air 9 in the snow today... and my lazy backside opted to ride the couch instead of my bike... i suck...

Eat Shitake Registered!

Team Sonoran Pirates Eat Shitake has been registered, 4 person Men's Open Team consisting of McLovin, El Hefe, Pescadito and ToughGuy....

Plutonium Rods Team Registered

The Sonoran Pirates--Plutonium Rods has been registered for the 24HIOP. The 5 Person Coed team is Silent Ed, Moutain Goat, Chino, El Grotto, and the Boss.

See you all in the cactus.

Monkey Mastication is registered...

Masa, Magellan, EL A, Bus Stop, & Belgarath are registered as a 5 Person Coed team named "Sonoran Pirates Monkey Mastication" in the 2010 24 Hours in the Old Pueblo. Lance Uppercut is riding solo (crazy bastard). Looking for a team? Add a comment... I am helping to coordinate team formation.

Introducing... the new Sonoran Pirates Logo

I just confirmed the design with our graphics designer. I expect to receive the package of high quality files in the next week or so. I will figure out how to make them available to everyone on the team. All team members are free to use the graphic. We will be working on a team jersey based on this design soon. Cheers!

Yakima Sprocket Rocket

Chainsaw & I installed a new Yakima rack system with 4 x Sprocket Rocket bike trays on the new Honda Pilot this afternoon (thanks bro!). I am very pleased with the design and the overall quality of the system. I'll report back after the system has some use.
yakima sprocket rocket

Easy Trail

McLovin.. put on that body armor its your turn.

Uno Bicycle Studio Opens in Civano (Tucson, AZ)

Uno Bicycle Studio - Now Open
Owner: Bruce Rhoades
Phone: 520-867-8799
Location: Tucson, AZ (Civano)
Bikes: Yeti, Ibis, Seven, Van Dessel
www.unobicyclestudio.com

Final Vote...

Yo... vote by comment... final vote... good lord this has taken forever... voting closes on Saturday...

and the winner is...

I am happy to announce that the winner and new sonoran pirate logo is... E. Thank you very much to all of the other letters for your participation.

A few have suggested the need for minor changes to this design. I now open the forum (via comments to this post) and will go with what I consider to be the consensus on Wednesday morning. If there is strong disagreement I may use the voting process to settle the difference.

& in the morn... we ride

6+ hours... several of which spent solely manipulating the cursed avid juicy carbons... and El A's new pink Ellsworth Epiphany is ready to role... set the sag in the morning... then we're off to ride... thanks to Masa for helping with the build.

24 Hours of Big Bear

I know it's 8 months away. But it's never too early to start recruiting riders. June 12 and 13 next year. We're probably going to do two teams (we might even have enough for another all girls team) We'd love to see some Pirates from out of state join us.

http://www.grannygear.com/Races/Bigbear/index.shtml

"Proof" of Pescadito's defeat of Magellan

Masa?

This is from funpeak.com... however a little bird told me this is actually Senior Masa himself. Nice move by our token mexi-canic.

FS: Rocky Mountain Switch ($800)

Chad's selling his Rocky Mountain Switch. This bike is in excellent shape and saw very little use. He has to make room for his new Ellsworth so his loss is your gain. This is a great inexpensive way to try your hand at some freeriding.
craigslist add

Race Across the Sky - Leadville 100

Armstrong vs. Weins MTB Documentary
Join us! Thu. 10/22 @ 8pm
Park Place Mall, Tucson AZ.
documentary website
other theatres

Mountain Bike Technical Manuals

We finished building up Richey's new 29er Gary Fisher Paragon last night with most of the parts from eBay & cRaigslist. We had a minor mishap with the fork which is a 2004 Marzochi MX Comp Air 29. In my search for a technical manual I ran into this website which has a ton of manuals back to the mid-90's.
mtb tech manuals

The "Dirty T"

It's great to be back in Tucson. I'm surrounded by great friends, who love to ride! Their attitude is contageous my inner fire and pashion to ride are back with a fury! Sadly they were nearly burnt out over the past five years of living in Phoenix, the city with a average tempature that is 3 degrees cooler than hell.

Im selling the M1A1 Switch I have been struggling to pedal, and am currently in the build process of my new Ellsworth Evolve! Hearing all the great things Magellan has to say about this bike I figured it would be impossible to go wrong! Build should be done in a month!

Im ready to RIDE.

another friend of the bible...

Founding pirate (and my brother-in-law) Chadski... picked up this new Ellsworth Evolve this week. I'm very stoked for him to get back out on the trail.
Ellsworth Interbike Booth

7 Pirates - Tour of the White Mountains

The pirates had 7 participants in the Tour of the White Mountains on Saturday. Please welcome "MK" to the pirates on his first event.

35 Mile - Men's Open (132 riders)
L.Uppercut - 9th / 03:29:46.29
McLovin - 42nd / 04:12:28.12
Pescadito - 58th / 04:28:15.80
Magellan - 59th / 04:28:16.84
El Hefe - 105th / 05:33:03.93

35 Mile - Single Speed Male (18 riders)
Sen. Masa - 11th / 04:11:00.53

15 Mile - Men's Masters (17 riders)
MK - 11th / 02:35:45.72

more pics
official results
event website

Results Note: Pescadito & I ended in a 200 meter sprint finish that he won by a wheel length. However, the time keepers screwed up & gave me the win.

CrossVegas 2009

LanceUppercut & I enjoyed the CrossVegas race after aimlessly wandering through Interbike this past Wednesday. Good time.

Genius!

"The bike developed by Hopworks Urban Brewing, has been built on the frame of a cargo bike that carries two kegs of beer and a pizza storage compartment. The bike will be shown off at the upcoming Oregon Manifest handmade bike show."

Pirate Bicycle Head Badge

This aluminum bicycle head badge is self sticking and available to buy for $11.50 at wcfanshop. Thanks to Lance Uppercut for sending me an email link (but being too lazy to post it).

Tandem Robo-Biker Pedals For You

This is an article I found on Geekologie.com. The writer has an unnatural love for Dinosaurs, and is convinced that

Robots will take over the world and do weird and dirty things to him. Hence the article below referring to above Robot. Enjoy.

"Joules is a robot designed to KILL! pedal the back of a tandem bicycle. And I can honestly say I have absolutely no interest in biking down the street getting ****** by a robot names Joules.

'He's the creation of a guy called Chris who, challenged by his son to create an electric tandem that worked via pedal power, more than satisfied the brief.

The nuts-and-bolts robot is powered by a PMG-132 electric motor and, unlike most lazy-assed back-end tandem riders, does all the work himself.'

Yeah but no but no. As much as I do hate pedaling myself, I'd rather walk my bike up a hill than have this jerk do the work for me. You hear that, Lance Failstrong? YOU WILL NEVER PEDAL ME!"

25 hrs in Frog Hollow (Oct.31-Utah)

Anyone interested in a Race?
During Daylight Savings weekend (hence 25 hours). Halloween Night, I can only imagine the outfits. In the desert, weather normally 70s day time, 40s nights during this time of year. Charity for this race is: 50% for local trail building and maintenance and the other 50% to the IMBA. The race is in Hurricane, Utah.
25 Hrs In Frog Hollow

Wonder how this would work for camping at the 24?

Image found on thedailyweird, I'd give photo credits if they were listed...

Bike Thieves Caught on CCTV in Bristol

The move towards Socialism invites public surviellance (think 1984). If you have lived or visited the UK you probably know that the CCTV cameras are everywhere. In this case... some wankers are caught on camera nicking a bicycle.

Thats Right !!

Einstein said...

"Life is like riding a bicycle. To keep your balance you must keep moving."

two rides + one tour = a hot dog?

Rides...
Tue. 8/25 @545am - Fantasy Island (Irvington Side) - 1 hr ride
Thu. 8/27 @545am - Fantasy Island (Irvington Side) - 1 hr ride

Tour...
Sat. 10/3 - Tour of the White Mountains... I'm down... sign up

Germans...need I say more?

Hell Yeah!

A founding pirate is back on his bike...

Joke too horrible not to share...

A road walks into a bar. They're a few other roads there... a couple of massive freeways hanging out near the bar, a one-way street over at the jukebox, a couple of nice clean suburban lanes sharing laughs over a pitcher. In the corner is a really, skinny, wiry guy. He's talking to himself and twitching violently.

The road walks up to the bartender, orders a drink and asks, "Hey, what's the twitchy guy's problem?"

The bartender says, "Stay away from that guy. He's a cycle path."

Energy Return Bicycle

During my quest to find a profitable way to get into bike industry... I ran into yet another odd bicycle design concept. Join the Erbolution. FYI... I pulled the pic off an ebay add.
www.erb.com

Looking for Feedback...

I'm really thinking about going for a new Specialized rig. I have been looking at 29er's for a few months now, and I really had my heart set on a Gary Fisher. But the local bike shop up the street is running a special 12 months same as cash. Now being a divorced Dad and paying my ex more than I care to say plus a portion of my left testicle, I have to find creative ways to be able to afford this not-so-cheap hobby. I did look at a really nice Pivot 429. Hahahaha. A little out of my price range at $4,599. But they had some Specialized bikes rolling out in a couple months. They're also willing to do a deal for a military dude. So what do you all think of the new Specialized line coming out? I already asked Chino what he thought. What's everyone else have to say? The StumpJumper and the Epic were the two mains ones I'm looking at. Exact specs are kind of scarce, so if you find any other info to sway me, let me know.

Here's an excerpt of one of the models I'm leaning towards...

"The other 29er Specialized debuted was the new Epic 29er, which was designed to be a fun ride both on and off the racecourse, and follows the company's classic long toptube/short chainstay/low bottom bracket fomula. Like all of Specialized's rear shocks now, the new Mini Brain shock on the Epic is designed by Specialized, but manufactured by Fox Racing Shox—a departure for Specialized which for a spell oversaw all its own rear shock production, with mixed success. The Epic 29er sees the same S29 fork that the S-Works Carbon 29er, but gets 100 millimeters of travel. The SRAM XX equipped cross-country whip is quite lean too, weighing in at just 25 pounds."

More from Bike Mag on this article...

The New Texas Training Instrument

Well... I sprung a few bucks and got the SE Lager Single Speed roadbike! I gotta train around here if I am going to be able survive the races coming up... goodtimes.

The Unicycle Lawn Mower

? which pirate posted this ebay add ?

Arizona Trail & The Texan

McLovin (aka The Texan) was in town for Pescadito's birthday this weekend. Magellan, Lance Uppercut, McLovin, Hefe (aka Tortuga), & Pescadito rode the Arizona trail @ o-dark-30 today. Good ride. Thanks to Uppercut for the pics.
more pics

Mountain Bike Tubulars?

The Geax Saguaro... a tubular mountain bike tire? Check out this article from Mountain Bike Action's March 2009 issue. Can someone tell me why?

thrustpac... seriously

The inventor of this contraption visited Lance Uppercut at the shop last week. Who in turn sent me a link to this site... www.thrustpac.com

move over bacon

Interview...

I was reading some archive blogs on BikeRumor and ran across this interview of Dejay Birch who works with Lance Uppercut at Arizona Cyclist.

Bike porn... Ellsworth & Surly

I buckled post theft and bought/built another Ellsworth Evolve 29er.

We now have several fool proof and redundant security systems established to safe guard our bicycles... the next prospective thief won't be so fortunate.

I converted my Surly Cross Check from a flat to a drop bar set-up.

Ride Tomorrow Morning!

Who's down to ride tomorrow morning, I'm getting fat and Amber says I can't cause of the wedding.... 5:30am Fantasy Irvington? or wherever, let me know...
-Hefe

Rosaryville Ride - Plus Chino Crashing!!!

Chino, Pickles, Christina & El Grotto went for a ride in an absolute downpour today. Today was Christina's first ride - EVER! She took her new Trek 6000 out that she bought from Chino's bike shop wife. All around good stuff today. Grotto lost brakes and went shooting over the edge of a ravine. No video of that though. Catching Chino's crash on video was the highlight.

Make sure you watch through to see Chino and his gracefulness on a log crossing.

3 car garage & only 2 cars... hmm..

someday... I will... build one of these...

What?

New Look?

McLovin is rollin' out...

I will miss you my friend.

Pretty Cool Light System

This would be cool for a 24 Hour bike race. And it's not that expensive. Only $65.00
Monkey Lectric

Stolen: Ellsworth Evolve

Hey team... my ride was stolen from my garage on Friday... please keep your eyes open on the trail & on-line for it... Black, Large, Ellsworth Evolve w/ Brookes Saddle, X.9 & XT, Fox Fr & Rr, King & Thompson etc. Get a license plate and call the police if you think you have spotted the bicycle. I do not want anyone getting physically hurt.

This was a Class 3 Felony in Arizona for which a person can be sent to prison for a maximum of 8.75 years or put on probation and sent to the county jail for a maximum of one year. The maximum fine is $150,000.00.

Ask Chopper on 29'ers

Bike Magazine's Greg Randolph answers the following question in this month's issue: Why aren't there any downhill 29er bikes?

#1. Downhillers are not trendy metrosexuals wearing shants, chainlink jewelry and festooned with soon-to-be regretted tattoes related to bike exploits.
#2. By the time you put a DH tire on a 29er you would have to register it as a carnival attraction.
#3. The only thing worse than a 29er evangelist is a fixed-gear poser.
#4. The 29er is like parachute pants.

Now that's some funny shit right there.

FS: Seca 700 Race

Seca 700 Race, used less than a dozen times. email me, ill sell it for what i paid for it.

Crested Butte?

Yo... Ed (aka silent ed) is planning a camping/biking trip to Crested Butte from July 13-17. Anyone intersted?

Crested Butte Info

Sunday Ride

Anyone want to?

McLovin's Fully Ridged Huffy Downhill Racing at age 13

Preview of Pirates Sedona Memorial Day Weekend Trip

So Today before we came home from Sedona Nate aka "Pescadito" graced us with this classic over the bars trick. Laughing is permitted and encouraged!

All I could think is this is gonna hurt...

So Derek and I went for a ride here in Denver, in the Green Mountain area. Cool place, neat trails, little bit rutty with some loose stuff. We are about 50 ft from the car when I hit one of those ruts and the loose stuff. The Lizard Skin Lock-on Grip made an impression when it came in to contact with my thigh. The grip went in 2 inches, missed arteries, but it left a nice hole for the doctor to sew up after the ambulance took me to the hospital. I thought that Derek was gonna pass out from seeing my open flesh wound. This is on my front left thigh half way between the knee and the hip. There are 14 external stitches and about 5-6 internal stitches to sew the muscle together where it was torn. I wanted a before shot but the hospital wouldn't let him take one..Damn! It will be a couple of weeks before I am riding again, but in the mean time I'll be looking for less evil grips!

Elephant Head MTB Challenge 2009

McLovin, El Hefe, & Pescadito make a run at Elephant Head and here is some new Footage from the helmet cam. The Original Soundtrack got stripped because of copyright and so I put an approved YouTube Licensed song on the track.. Kind mesmerizing if you get into it. Enjoy.

Memorial Weekend Trip to Sunrise Park

We are planning on heading to Sunrise Ski Park for a couple days of riding and camping on Friday and Saturday of Memorial Weekend 5/22-5/23.

Whos in?