New Girl in Town

The tears shed over the departure of my first IF were quickly forgotten when the masters from Somerville sent down this new totally kick ass deluxe singlespeed. The setup from last season's geared racing bike was so nice that I wanted to put together the ultimate wrist snapping machine, only for this one I opted for the "feel of steel". The extra weight of steel over Ti was more then offset by the Lefty carbon fork (featuring the mandatory Team Seagal sticker and using a 321 adapter), chain tension is maintained via the Paragon sliders, allowing for vertical drops and Jones H bars which aid in being able to hold a beer after a 100 mile race. All of this is topped off by a Tahitian Pearl paint job that, like a black pearl, changes from deep green to deep blue to black depending on the sun, and of course I honor my wife who supports all my racing by naming the bike after her.

FBI Enlists New East Coast Syndicate To Fight Terrorism

With news of the foiled New York terrorist plot sweeping the nation, we are now at liberty to reveal that the NECS has been working secretly with the FBI to secure the woods of Stewart State Forest and Stewart Airbase from the ravages of Islamic fundamenalists. Making use of the training skills procured in the CIA and at the local dojo, along with recent recruit Clem (see last post), the NECS has carefully been combing the trails keeping an eye out for terrorists posing as innocent families out for a mountain bike ride. We recently came upon this "family" and after a full body cavity strip search found timers, fuses, bundles of C4, a temple ball of harsh and maps of the Stewart airbase. After hours of waterboarding with PBRs and nonstop songs from Barney, the terrorists cried out for mercy and revealed the details for the New York City plot. Score one for the U S of A & NECS!

Federal agents were gushing with praise for the NECS/Darkhorse Cycles riders, pointing out that "without those beer swilling kooks it could have been another dark day for America". Soon after, Darkhorse Cycles was swarming with news crews and paparazzi where one interview with the Mayor and the New York Times was overheard -

NYT - "This is quite a story, how did you manage to pull this off?"

Mayor - "I train these boys real hard, so hard they can sniff out an unopened beer on the side of the trail from 50 yards"

NYT - "Amazing, how did you do it"

Mayor - "Shop Sidekick, pull me another draft. Oh yeah, from lots of post ride drinking. Everyone on the team has the ability to pick an IPA from a C4 bomb in a blind test. BURP. Shop, I need another draft. We also have weekly sessions at the dojo and kegerator reviewing the technigues of CIA masters such as Steven Seagal to ensure the woods are safe."

NYT - "Will this impact the participation in the upcoming Singlespeed-a-Palozza"

Mayor - "Not a chance, in fact within minutes of the story breaking the servers at BikeReg were overloaded with entries for the event. Anybody that is anybody in singlespeed riding now wants to roll with the big dogs."

NYT - "Is there anything we missed"

Mayor - "Yeah, your pint glass is stil 3/4 full, get on it man!"

Muddier Then Thou or Two Men and a Growler

For the second straight weekend the Darkhorse Racing team took to the trails of the storied Stewart State Forest to mark the course for the upcoming Single Speed-a-Palolooza. Circling the parking lot I was beginning to wonder if I had my signals crossed or if the Mayor had one too many Stone IPAs and given me the wrong time. Then pulling into the lot like a WRC rally driver was my good friend and fellow trail clown 650B. This was the confirmation that the ride was on time (650B is always a few minutes late) and that no one else decided to show. The strangest thing is that no matter who we called (Mayor & Shop Sidekick)Hawaiian Mike's voice was on the answering machine babbling something about doughnuts and making it to the ride one of these Sundays. Seems 5/16 is impersonate Hawaiian Mike day - you don't show up for the ride after making it earlier then usual - it was decided the penalty would be a growler per rider at the next ride.
A quick scan around the parking lot and we found lady luck was on our side. We were able to enlist an honorary member for the New East Coast Syndicate for today's ride, Clem. One thing was guaranteed, we would rule the trails with this guy riding on the team.

Heavy rains the night before assured us that this was going to be a classic mudfest. Rossi and I set off to scout out the course and sure enough it was muddy with this being one of the better sections and requiring an assist from the tree to ensure clearing the section without a spill.

Having had enough of the swamplands, we both decided it was time to head off onto new trails and thus born out of the soaking wet loins and pulsating thighs of 650B and C-Dubs the latest trails "R-Dubs" which featured this small drop that if taken wrong assured the rider of a tumble down the rocky hillside of at least 12 feet before touchdown with mother earth.

A couple of times through Skip & Bill's, the Campground Trail and a second run through R-Dubs and it was back to the cars for growler time! Well all of you Darkhorse riders (Shop Sidekick, Mayor, Hawaiian Mike) you missed some great riding, great beer and Rossi complaining about how his pedicure had been ruined.

Mother's Day Madness

This Sunday was the day where we all pay homage to our mother's and wives (that is if they are still with us or we are still married to them) by getting up early and making sure we are on the trails at least an hour earlier then usual so we can get back and provide all of the support and love the women in our lives deserve. For me it was just another Sunday where my loving wife, Beth, sent me off to a ride, I gave thanks to my long lost mother and really didn't think twice about my ex wife, got to ride with the gang and of course drink some of the finer yeasty malted beverages from the good old US of A.
Finally back from the ravages of surgery, Top Chef was ready to go with 5 inches of plush travel and a pair of compression bib shorts that rivaled the corsets of the 1800's. After being off the bike for over 9 weeks we wanted to take it easy on our our cook and decided that today was going to be a day to bring out your dead - so off we headed for some of the oldest trails in Stewart, old friends that probably had not seen the knobs of a tire or the snot of a farmer's nose blow since the late '90s.
The fun really began with the first puddle where Sven/Ingamar/Richard/Tom Rossi made a go at yours truly but with skills honed from hours in the dojo I sensed the sudden quickening of the cranks on the 650b machine and with a quick stab of the brakes left Mr. Rossi spraying water on no one but himself. Well this game continued for a while until suddenly during one of the many mind f@*k sessions around the water holes good old Shop Sidekick decided it was time to get in the game.
After bit of the dicing around the water it was a quick right and we were onto the A/C trail, appropriately named as this is where all of the old air conditioners in Orange County go to retire and play shuffle board. Half way down the trail everything suddenly came to a stop as we hit the only turtle crossing in Stewart. While the Mayor was carefully picking the little guy up to move off the trail our Top Chef was into his camelbak pulling out the knives and drooling over the thought of a bit of turtle soup and IPA.

A bit further down the trail we came upon the ghost of Mike Davidson past, this tasty black single speed beach bike (contrary to any rumors this was not an Independent Fabrication test frame) that we all agreed was the spirit of Hawaiian Mike himself. Well I took that bitch for a brief ride, tried to catch some air (failed) and then ran into a tree (absolute confirmation that it was HM's spirit).

As the troops rode off into the distance Shop Sidekick and I enjoyed a quick rode of bike toss before sprinting back to the pack. The rest of the ride was dominated by the good old comraderie that years of riding together fosters and of course all of the reminders that Hawaiian Mike had once again failed to deliver on the promise of making it out with the guys.
Once again we all found ourselves pondering what had become of our long lost friend and ex mountain bike rider Hawaiian Mike Davidson. Well friends we were all in agreement that it was some like this at Casa de Mike -

In the kitchen-

Teacher's pet on the way to detention -

Mother's day with the family -

Getting the post ride "massage" -

Farewell To An Old Friend

It is with a tear in my eye that I have finally said farewell to an old friend, my first Independent Fabrication. This ti deluxe was, at that time, built to be the ultimate 100 mile wrist snapping race machine. Knowing that La Ruta was in the cards she was set up to run full rigid single, 1x9 or fully geared and with front suspension and over the course of her life she was raced in all forms. First making the rounds of the East Coast 100s as a single, then off to La Ruta as a 1x9 and finally in full rigid single speed configuration for the Cape Epic where she became the first single speed to ever enter let alone finish this 8 day epic. There was one more season as a single speed before my eyes strayed and fell in love with a babe with a pair of 29ers.
Putting her in good hands was a primary concern and in stepped Footie taking ownership just 9 days before heading the the Cape Epic where she completed her second go at the plains and mountains of South Africa. Well the good times will not be forgotten and no doubt she and I will cross paths in the not to distant future but for now it is time to await the arrival of the newest arrow in my quiver - a Lefty steel deluxe single speed.

"Beth" at the finish of the 2007 Cape Epic

Breaking News - Hawaiian Mike Davidson Source Reported to be Katie "The Cougar"

Recently on the Darkhorse Racing blog there has been a spat of "interviews" conducted by Hawaiian Mike Davidson on behalf of the team. All of us on the team have been in awe in Mike's uncanny ability to uncover breaking news stories long before even members of the team have the inside scoop.
Well a friend over at the Smoking Gun filled us in on just how he is getting the scoop - seems Mike's studly physique has caught the eye of none other then the original cougar, Katie Couric, and she has been spoon feeding these tidbits to Mike in exchange for a bit of young boy love. At a recent luncheon this Sunday at Trump Towers (now we know why Mike missed yet another ride for "Cub Scouts aka Cougar Scouts") seems the lovefest might have come to an end as you can see from Katie's look.

Apparently there were words exchanged and it went something like this -

KC - purrrrrrr those love handles are getting me hot

HF - Hey get your hands off my doughnuts

KC - I'll put my hands on whatever nuts I want and if you don't shape up yours are going in a jar on the mantle with all the other sets I have ripped off of men's bodies

Right after this the lights went out, there was a lot of screaming and a couple of gun shots. Hawaiian Mike was seen stumbing out of Trump Towers and heading for the Metropolitian Opera to try out for the lead tenor slot

Singlespeed-a-Palooza Number Plates

In the interest of all the recent green initiatives we here at the NECS/Darkhorse Racing Cycles have come up with a new, greener number plate for the Singlespeed-a-Palooza. This test model does not have all the details (racer number and picture) but we are searching the dumps of Stewart to find the nastiest, dirtiest thongs (Pleasure Island, our local flesh factory, has been able to provide the greatest quantity of number plates.) For this race Johns will be linked to customer thongs and beers at the halfway point are mandatory.
Anyhow this beauty was test run over the length of the course with Sal's only comment "it was a bit snug fitting, can you get me a large".

Summer of Love

Well loyal fans (Nico/Casey where have you been?) this weekend finally saw and end to the winter time blues and the sub 30 degree single speed rides. Here at the NECS when the seasons change it comes in like the hot kiss at the end of a wet fist and this weekend we saw temps sitting a full 50 degrees above last weekends trash fest with ideal riding in the upper 80s.
With conditions like these there was no doubt that the troops would be out in full force. with some even being lured to the site with promises of early morning C-Dubs power snacks! But to no avail those in the know didn't show, Top Chef was still too bloated from the recent hernia surgery, and of course Hawaiian Mike was in rare winter training form as seem from this top secret shot.

Never one to miss a ride, the Mayor, despite severe respritory aliments, managed to procure a Sunday pass from the State TB Ward (with backup documentation confirming it was not a case of the Swine Flu) and was able to hack up a lung cookie or two during the ride.

And just to reassure all that the new world order is still intact the Mayor showed his uncanny ability to call the shots out on the course, even from the back of the pack. As a result of this we all had to be on the look out for Tom/Sven/Ingamar/Pedro Rossi whose favorite past time is to lurk back and wait for the waterhole before coming in full bore and giving someone (usually C-Dubs) the big mud shower.

Well this weekend, despite having some patented C-Dubs power bars before the ride, I was able to keep the old fart at bay for most of the ride and it wasn't until he sprinted ahead on the fireroad that the payback came. With Rossi a 100 yards up the road the Mayor made the call "RIGHT" and off we went into Skip & Bill's, another sweet section of single track with a nice bridge. With Aikido like skills I dumped the bike and found the largest, flattest rock so when Rossi came to the bridge it was in mid flight and hit in a manner that put up a geyser similar to this.

Needless to say Rossi was a bit wet and in good humor over the entire prank - but at what cost to me in Moab I have to ask?
Finally back in the parking lot while having our fourth round of double IPAs, we were wondering about our ability to navigate our way home. Right about this time Sal whipped up the shirt and noted that he always keeps a map of the home state handy for just such an emergency. The only question we all had is where is the star showing the exit you live at - a major faux pau when tattooing your home state on the body.

Curb Your Appetite

To ensure that all guests at Casa de C-Dubs do not suffer the same fate as Top Chef (face down on the couch at 2 am with the bib shorts still on) we have decided to issue these Hannibal Wurster masks to limit the intake of fine wine and recovery bars.

Stewart State Forest Gives Up Her Dead

When one is presented with the opportunity to use 6000+ acres of state forest for riding and to have virtually no restrictions on adding new trails at will, you like to make sure the mountain bike community is doing it's part to maintain this slice of Nirvana.
This past Sunday was designated by the DEC as clean up day for the state forest. Aarmed with our beat up pickups, propane grill, meat and of course copious amounts of the finest yeasty malted beverages, the NECS & Darkhorse Cycles race team set off on a mission to clean the trails.
What we learned from this archiealogical expedition is the following - hunters like beer, lots of beer, and they seem to favor the mini Budweiser bottles and an occasional Old Style. The mountain bikers seem to lean towards Corona and Sam Adams and the horsey set, well there we the occasional single malt bottles turning up. The mother lode of the entire expedition came at the Game Warden's station, so either the state employees like to eat chinese food and drink cheap beer or the hunters are really a bunch of pigs. Either way we cleaned the place up and in the end found this real kick ass fixie (with yours truly taking it for a test spin) that is potentially the grand prize for the Singlespeed-a-Palooza.

Ferrari Formula 1 Linked to Moab Race Effort

With the recent technology limits and budget caps being put in place to hold down the spiraling costs of competing in Formula One, Ferrari has has graciously offered to throw the full weight of their R&D department behind the 24 Hours of Moab effort.
Rumors from the F1 paddock are that Ferrari's head Luca de Montezemolo, a big fan of the Snuggie, upon seeing the ad campaign, immediately committed all excess capacity at the factory to help with the development of Mike Davidson's fixie.
Fearing the imbalance that could occur in cornering with one pony keg empty and the other full and Mike's ability to maintain balance when totally in the bag, Ferrari opted for the single full keg set up to optimize handling. To aide in faster lap times Ferrari's recently developed KERS (kinetic energy recovery system) will be employed, making use of energy created during braking (and Mike breaking wind) to keep the keg properly pressurized for optimal flow. Calculations from the engineers shows that Mike can save over 8 minutes per lap by not having to pump up the keg. This new super secret ride will be undergoing it's first test at Stewart on Easter Sunday.

Hawaiian Mike to Ride Fixie at Moab

Not satisfied with the handling of his new Niner One 9, (too many crashes on the opening ride and the fact that his son took back the tubing for his jungle gym), Hawaiian Mike and MacGyver, the Darkhorse Cycles Skunk Works Factory Development Team, have been hard at work in the basement creating a more stable frame geometry for the race. After a couple of laps around the neighborhood Mike was heard commenting "this thing is so stable I can pound Double Dead Guys on every lap and never crash".
While capacity for water bottles is somewhat in doubt, The Mayor immediately noted that the rear platform was the perfect mounting point for a pair of pony kegs and is rumoured to be in negotiations to have a custom geometry 29er version built. Currently the biggest concerns being faced are the ability to adapt the Cycleops PowerTap's 32 spoke hub to the 12 spoke front wheel and how to sync up the rear disc brakes to ensure there is no brake induced spinouts.
Further testing is slated to take place this weekend at Stewart with a big wheel version planned for the Porcupine Ridge ride scheduled to happen right after the race.

New East Coast Syndicate Medical Meltdown

We here at the New East Coast Syndicate are wishing all the best to our seasoned singlespeed champion, Paul Livornese (aka Top Chef) who is going under the knife as this is being written. There seems to be a growing theme here with C-Dubs having his round last year, Top Chef in today and MacGyver going in for a bit of pipe cleaning next week! We wish for a speedy recovery to all and anticpate everyone being back in the saddle for the season. On the off chance on of our fearless riders has his chart mixed with another patient you might end up being chased down the trail by a crazed rider looking like this.

Moab Spy Photos

With word of the Darkhorse Racing/Beer Drinking team making the rounds of the mtb forums, major cycling publications have been bombarding the shop with calls for comments. It has gotten to the point where the Mayor find himself reaching for the tap everytime the phone rings. George was overheard at one point screaming "I can't take it anymore, now I know how the Octomom feels when she comes home with the kids."
It has even gotten to the point where the dumpster is being scavenged for clues on team strategy and more importantly the bikes everyone will be racing. Rather then sell ourselves out to publications like The Star and National Enquirer, and to provide the Mayor with some peace and quiet, we have decided to release this super secret development photo of the Mayor's 24 Hour ride. MacGyver is still developing a derailleur hanger strong enough to support the weight of a full keg, which Mayor's coach has determined through prolonged training sessions, as the minimum fluid intake he will require per lap to stay properly hydrated.
In the event MacGyver is unable to get either the titanium or unobtainium derailleur hangers to work, Shop Sidekick as come up with this beautiful baby. It is currently undgoing testing in Stewart State Forest to determine if it is a viable option for the narrow singletrack.

March Stud Muffin - Hawaiian Mike

This month's feature rider is none other then Hawaiian Mike (aka The Guppy) out for his first mtb ride of the season. Mike assured us he would have been on the trails sooner but it took MacGyver and Mike a bit longer then planned to build that beautiful gold singlespeed. Apparently converting the Kohler Dual Flush into a rideable seat proved tougher then Mike planned and his kids put up one hell of a fight as he dismantled the jungle gym to obtain the proper strength tubing to handle all his man power.

Mike, our hat is off to you for finally putting down the strudel and picking up the bike, making you the NECS March Stud Muffin.

Even More Sponsors for the 24 Hours of Moab

Right on the heals of the earth shattering news of Snuggie being an offical sponsor of Dark Horse Cycle Racing for the 24 hours of Moab, Rogue breweries have thrown all their weight behind the effort and have promised to fuel the team's spirit with their top of the line spirit, Double Dead Guy Ale! The Mayor, seen below at the exclusive photoshoot for Rogue's new ad campagin was quoted saying "night laps are for the young punks. Being the Mayor, and senior citizen of the team, I have earned the right to suck down all the Double Dead Guy I want during the night." Geroge fully intends to assist on the night laps, throwing replacement battery packs to passing teammates.

Dark Horse Racing Picks Up New Sponsor for the 24 Hours of Moab

In an effort to combat what we anticipate will be a very cold October night in the desert of Moab, Dark Horse Cycles Racing Team has been engaged in an all out effort to retain sponsorship to provide team members with the maximum in comfort. Rumors have been circulating in Velonews and the various mtb forums about a potential collaboration between Niner, NASA and Brooklyn Lager to ensure that riders will be warm but their beers will remain cold. Well loyal readers it is time to dispell all rumors and mystery and reveal our latest sponsor, seen here during a preliminary super secret test session - SNUGGIE!!!! The only concern expressed by The Mayor was who would get his beer once he settled in for the long session of night laps.

Hawaiian Mike Gets His New Niner S.I.R. & Goes For A Test Ride

NECS Spring Classcis Begin - Pomona-Westwood-Pomona

With the unrelenting nuclear style assaults being waged by the members of Team Seagal down on the trails of St. Louis and the ensuing creation of more strength through negative weakness, it was only a matter of time before the nuclear winter and it's resulting thaw would work it's way up North. Well my good friends it arrived this weekend and we here at the New East Coast Syndicate decided the time was right for our take on the age old Euro ritual - the spring classics.
We rolled out of Hawaiian Mike's tiki bar and brothel planning on a low key 35 miles through the rolling hills of Jersey's swank estates where the closest we would come to cobbles like these was going past an estate driveway.
With everyone jacked up on a couple of cups of Joe, it wasn't to far into the ride before we all decided to stop, have a gu, swig from the water bottles (sorry no flasks on the road rides) and try our hand at snowbank calligraphy. Back onto the bikes and we proceed to put in a handful of miles dodging potholes and boneheads with cellphones glued to their heads. Banter consisted mainly around the duration of the ride with Hawaiian Mike insisting it was going to be an easy 35 and the wily old Mayor, knowing Mike's ability to judge distance was right up there with that of an infant telling time, having severe doubts and his beer goggles on. Meanwhile Top Chef and C-Dubs decided to make a bit of sport out of the ride and attempted to crush every climb there was. As we plowed through the towns, riding with zeal and desire to get back to the growler luau at the casa, everyone started to roll through the stop signs to get back sooner. No sooner did we roll through one and then come up to the cars at the stop light when this thing, with cigarette hanging out of her pie hole, starting jawing off to us about obeying traffic signals. Judging from her size we all guessed that she had more then a bit of experience running lights to make it to McDonalds for the breakfast special.
As we rolled along, what had been forecast as a beautiful sunny day was fast turning into a rather gloomy one. Inquiring on which direction we were heading I pointed to the blackening thunderheads, looked at Hawaiian Mike and gulped as he gave the nod that we were going right into the thick of it. Ahh spring time and thoughts of the euro classics and the finest of Belgium
turned into the spring classics and the reality of Belgium, sprinkles, then intermittent rain and then the downpour.
And trust me it wasn't one of those quickies, it kept coming for awhile until we rode north into the clearing skies and windy colder conditions, and of course it was into the wind the rest of the way home. With Hawaiian Mike practicing for his single speed races by keeping it in the small ring and spinning like a tyke on a tricycle his seat began to succumb to the gyrations of the glutus maximus and the bolts loosened up and cried uncle. A couple of passing riders came to the rescue and within minutes we had Mike back in the game and riding toward total implosion. Not having listened to the wisdom of the Mayor, at about the mile 35 mark Top Chef and I heard a loud explosion and when we looked back we saw a sight very similar to the film clip below with Mike finally collapsing under the torrid pace and conditions.

Well once we picked up the pieces, shed the Hazmat suits and finished off the final miles it was into the driveway and time to enjoy a few of these well earned beers. Shop Sidekick, MacGyver and Footie, you missed a classic salt covered ride.

February Stud Muffin - Ryan LaBar

Anyone that can ride 4 days, 250 miles and 25,000' of climbing is a stud! For riding the Baja Epic on the Shit Bike, Ryan LaBar of Bike magazine, is the New East Coast Syndicate's February Stud Muffin of the Month

East Coast Syndicate Tackles the Nuclear Winter

With the onslaught of global warming we here at the East Coast Syndicate continue every Sunday morning doing our best to curtail the emission of noxious gases (at least from the tailpipes of automobiles) by setting out on our weekly 2 hour singlespeed-a-thon in the Newburgh version of Nottingham Forest - Stewart State Park.
As the season rolls on more and more riders are unknowingly getting sucked into the vortex of the New East Coast Syndicate. Taking advantage of the skills of CIA handlers and past brushes with subliminal mind control techniques, the members of the Sunday rides are showing a superior attitude and superior state of mind. No amount of snow or ice, frigid temperature or hunter in the woods has been able to stop the onslaught of a battalion of single speed maniacs combating the elements in search of the perfect winter single track.

The Sunday Crew - Sans Hawaiian Mike (no surprise there)

Unlike our brothers in the heartland of global brewing - St. Louis - who if lucky are able to squeeze one or two of these magnificent rides in a year, we have been blessed/cursed (depending on your state of mind) with these conditions for the last 9 straight weekends. Today the conditions proved to be better then usual with temperatures finally getting into the double digits without the wind chill and the icy conditions buried under another 6" of fresh pow. Most of the trails well tracked and packed by snowmobiles but on occasion we were able to get in some fresh ones like this quick shot down the hill.

C-Dubs taking the plunge

The highlight of the ride came as the Mayor led his pack of merry men out onto the reservoir for a lap on the ice. It is here that we are all able to hone our aikido like skills of balance and quick reflexes for the summer races/wrist snapping. There is nothing quite like seeing a pace line of riders spinning along on the glassy surface and one by one suddenly riders are hitting the deck in spectacular fashion. Even the ice fisherman were able to emerge from the haze of alcohol and various illegal substances just long enough to get in a couple of chuckles before focusing intently on trying to bag that record breaking perch.
With everyone having taken enough of a beating on the ice and Shop Sidekick's voice fading into the distance from laughing so hard at the ice capades, we all elected to take the most direct route back to the parking lot and partake in the traditional Dark Horse Cycle debrief - cold growlers of IPA. With the forecast calling for more snow this week it seems like there won't be any let up. But there is always a bright side to all of this, the snowbank keeps the beer nice and cold.

New East Coast Syndicate January Stud Muffin Pinup

For all of you that are in need of new wallpaper for your computer the New East Coast Syndicate is happy to offer our Stud Muffin of the Month download. The first ever wallpaper pinup features Clydesdale class racer MacGyver, seen here showing that his muscles are impervious to the cold.

The Hawaiian Mike Memorial Ride

Okay fans of the New East Coast Syndicate, you now get to see just how stubborn the Dark Horse Cycles Sunday Single Speed riders can be. Not having learned our lesson after the New Year's Day nut freezer ride we waited for yet another day of optimal conditions before setting out for more adventure in the secret forests of Stewart State Park.

As always heading the pack was the Mayor of MTA, George Zublasky, this time sans thong and single speed. In close pursuit was Shop Sidekick, Mike Rave, who was sporting a fine set of fire breathing dragon rotors on his new scandium Niner. With 5" of fresh powder on top of the base layer (which consisted of 3" of snow/slush followed by nights of 20 degree weather to help put down a solid ice layer). The Mayor had made the smart choice and went with full gears and never has MTA seen so much riding in Granny gear. Shop Sidekick and I opted for the single speeds and would later pay for such a foolish choice.

Right on the Mayor's wheel was MacGyver Webb on the Titus Hell Rider. After casting eyes on my flask holder, MacGyver broke out the slide rule and determined that could reproduce the finely crafted aluminum holder in a matter of 27.24 hours - something that none of us doubted after seeing the awesome basement special Flesh Shredder tires he had created after pulling an all nighter with a keg in his lab/machineshop. At least MacGyver was kind enough to grind off the tips of the screws to avoid inflicting bodily harm on any unsuspecting riders.

Despite the conditions there is nothing better then looking down the trail and seeing a sight like this - virgin tracks!!!!

Here is the Mayor showing everyone how to lay it down in the woods 

and then showing everyone the physique you too can develop with the 12 oz. curl workout

By this time you all might be asking, why the hell is this article entitled the "Hawaiian Mike Memorial Ride"? Well sports fans we have pictures for you that are rarer then an image of Sasquatch, they are shots of Hawaiian Mike's spirit out for a Sunday ride with the crew.

Hawaiian Mike busting trail at the start of the day

and after the ride enjoying a fine yeasty malted beverage with the crew