Saturday, February 28, 2009

Giant Intro's 29" bikes into 2010 Lineup

Looks like Giant will be entering the 2010 lineup with at least 1 bike.
A hardtail.

Here are a few "released" sketches provided by Giant on FaceBook.

You can talk about it here.


Thursday, February 26, 2009

Salsa CroMOTO SUL Stem RECALL

SAFETY RECALL

Salsa Cycles CroMoto S.U.L. Bicycle Stems

CroMoto S.U.L. Quill and CroMoto S.U.L. Threadless Stems are affected. These stems were also used on the following complete Salsa bicycles: Ala Carte, El Mariachi, Casseroll Triple, Casseroll Single, and La Cruz

Complete bikes sold after: November 5, 2007
Aftermarket stems sold after: March 31, 2008

Offical Recell Notice Here.

Belle Island Closed at least 3 -4 weeks. (Update to North Bridge and SouthBridge Closings.)

Hello All,
(Actual article at bottom of post)

As many have already read or been told, Three weeks back the City of Richmond shutdown the Southside Bridge due to structural issues. (IE weld & planks)
Because of the serious work and this is expected to take up to 3 months to complete.

Meanwhile, the only other access point is the Lee Bridge "pedestrian foot bridge" that links the North side of the river bank to Belle Island. Just this past weekend (2/22) a 3' chunk of cement came loose and feel from the above Lee Bridge and came to rest on the pedestrian bridge below it.

Since this time, the City of Richmond has been forced to shutdown this access point to Belle Island, leaving NO Official Access to Belle Island.

The city initially hoped to have the pedestrian bridge reopened after 3 days, but this is now a MINIMUM of 3-4 weeks.

So if anyone is trying to complete a loop of the downtown trails, you will have to ride up to the roadside (both North & South side of river are close at each trail head) and cross the top of the Lee Bridge.

Look for signs pointing you to the trails, be safe and have fun!

Click here for the latest discussions on CCVA":


Thank you,
Jay deBellonia
CCVA Admin
Co-Founder Richmond-MORE

Here is a quote from a recent article:
[ Belle Isle will not reopen for public use for several weeks because of pending plans to protect the main pedestrian bridge from falling debris from the Robert E. Lee Bridge and to repair another bridge used for emergency access, Richmond officials said today.

"It looks like it's going to be several weeks," said John R. Pope Jr., director of the Department of Parks and Recreation. "The best thing people can do right now, the average park user, is stay off the island."

Richmond public works officials said they hope to approve a design today for scaffolding that will be erected along roughly 100 feet of the pedestrian bridge from the north bank of the James River to the island. The scaffolding is necessary to protect pedestrians from being struck by debris, such as a three-foot length of concrete that fell from the Lee Bridge on Saturday afternoon and forced city officials to close access to Belle Isle.

At the same time, city officials said they are pushing for expedited approval of bids to repair the emergency access bridge to the island from the river's south bank. The bridge was closed last month after faulty welds were discovered beneath it. City officials said today they expect repairs to take several months to that bridge.

Dexter White, director of the Department of Public Works, said the Lee Bridge is safe for vehicle traffic and already was scheduled for detailed inspection in April. He said the inspection would focus on the structural integrity of the bridge, completed in 1988.

The city also is working with the Virginia Department of Transportation, which designed and built the Lee Bridge, to determine why repairs made to the structure five years ago failed last weekend. Those repairs were made after city and state officials determined that the two spans of the bridge were rubbing together,.

City officials said the two spans are touching again, but they don't know the cause or the solution.

"VDOT is working closely with us on this one," said acting City Engineer M.S. Khara. ]



http://cyclingcentralva.org/forums/index.php?showtopic=14146

Sunday, February 22, 2009

Belle Isle - NORTH FOOT BRIDGE

The suspended pedestrian bridge to Belle Isle from the north bank of the James River in Richmond was closed today after a large piece of concrete fell from the Robert E. Lee Bridge above.

No one was injured. The concrete chunk fell and shattered onto the pedestrian bridge around 5 p.m., said Christy Everson, spokeswoman for the city's parks and recreation department.

Ralph White (JRPS Mrg) estimated that the concrete chunk was about 3' in length and said that it fell closer to the Belle Isle side of the bridge.

City officials say the footbridge may not reopen until Tuesday 2/24.

The plan is to install a 50-foot-long scaffolding and wood tunnel to provide a layer of safety for to park users.

There seems to be no reporting or mention about the safety or condition of the Lee Bridge itself and we'll post more as information comes about.

Friday, February 20, 2009

Mark your Calendar, Richmond Xterra is BACK!

Join us at Brown's Isle in Richmond, Virginia for the XTERRA Atlantic Championship.
Weekend Schedule.
6/14/09 XTERRA Richmond Xduro Trail Run - 21km
The 21km Xduro and 10km trail run is classic XTERRA, with an urban flair. This course has stair climbs, railroad track crossings, rock jumps and a scenic run along the James River. A true test of trail running endurance.

6/14/09 XTERRA Richmond Scramble - 10km
The 21km Xduro and 10km trail run is classic XTERRA, with an urban flair. This course has stair climbs, railroad track crossings, rock jumps and a scenic run along the James River. A true test of trail running endurance.

6/14/09 XTERRA Atlantic Cup & XTERRA Sport.
Distances: 1000m swim / 29k mountain bike / 11k trail run

The XTERRA Atlantic Championship is one of five XTERRA America Tour Championship Races leading to the XTERRA USA Championship in Ogden, UT.

Pros race for $10,000 pro purse
Age groupers battle for slots to the World Championship
Top amateur finishers earn points toward their standings in the XTERRA America Tour Series
Brown's Island in the heart of downtown Richmond is headquarters for all the action. While the XTERRA race course begins and ends on the island, the race itself spans the James River Park and nearby city.

Entry Type
XTERRA Atlantic Championship - Individual $95.00
XTERRA Atlantic Championship Team $140.00
XTERRA Atlantic Sport - Individual $65.00
XTERRA Atlantic Sport - Team $95.00

Camp Hilbert Mountain Bike Series:



Start your 2009 racing season off with RunRideRace

Camp Hilbert Mountain Bike Start

The Camp Hilbert Series which kicks off the season March 8, 2009! This series has races for runners and mountain bikers. For those on Fat Tires we will have races divisions for beginners to enduro. To kick off each day day of activities the gun will start Froze Toes 4 mile trail run at 8am.

In addition, RunRideRace is taking over the Spring and Fall Cup (Twisted Tire Events) which take place on the trails of Poor Farm in Ashland, VA.

Camp Hilbert Mountain Bike Race Series 2009
Race 1: Sunday March 8, 2009
Entry Fee $25-$35
Free Kids race (on dirt roads @ 11:30am)
Race day registration 8:00 am
Start Time: 9:30 and 12:00
Register

Race 2: Saturday May 9, 2009
Entry Fee $30-$35
Free Kids race (on dirt roads @ 11:30am)
Race day registration 8:00 am
Start Time: 9:30 and 12:00
Register

Race 3: Sunday June 28, 2009
Entry Fee $30-$35
Free Kids race (on dirt roads @ 11:30am)
Race day registration 8:00 am
Start Time: 9:30 and 12:00
Register

Latest Info @ www.runriderace.com

Other RunRaceRide Events coming up...
Twisted Tire/Spring Cup in Ashland, VA on Sunday, April 19, 2009.
Online Registration Closes Friday, April 17, 2009 at 12:30 AM ET



Devils Backbone Challenge



Talk about it here.

March 28, 2009, 10 am @ Wintergreen, Va
Rolling Start

XC scoring for the Virginia Off Road Series

The Start/Finish at the new Devils Backbone Brewery right outside Wintergreen, Va. Rolling start up Brent’s Gap will get you warmed up for the incredible trails ahead. The course will have double and singletrack trails leading you through creeks and up to incredible ridgeline views. Dive back down to more double and singletrack trails. Your course will be determined by your riding skills level. All will head down Brent’s Gap to finish back at the Devils Backbone Brewery!

Course Description: A 10am rolling road start from the Brewery up to the top of Brents Gap. Short downhill to trailhead on right. Doubletrack will start you into the woods. From there you will have a mix of single/doubletrack through creek crossings, climbs to great ridgeviews, and descents to keep your brakes screaming. (approx.6-7miles)

Once you complete that section, Beginners will take the road back to the Brewery for a ripping fast finish. The Expert/Sport/SingleSpeeds will continue back into the trails and venture through 3 to 4 more miles. Then back to the road where the Sport Cat will head back to the Finish. The Experts/SingleSpeeds will then do another lap of the above and then race back down from Brents Gap to the Brewery!

Brents Gap: approx. 1.8 miles from Start/Finish Line with approx. 600 ft elevation gain.

CATEGORIES:
Men/Women Expert - 2 laps
Men/Women Sport - 1 lap
Men/Women Beginner - .75 laps
SingleSpeed 2 laps
High School Sport - 1 lap
High School Beginner - .75 laps

$35 online reg / $40 day of Event
Registration is here: Devils Backbone Challenge.
Talk about it here.

And afterwards the Brewery will be having events and other festivities to help enjoy the rest of your day after racing hard on the Devils Backbone Challenge!



Tuesday, February 3, 2009

Powhite Trail Work Saturday, 2/07/09

First, a big THANK YOU to all the volunteers who showed up last Saturday for our first effort in Powhite Park.

We accomplished quite a bit more than we thought possible for one day, with a good deal of new trail being cut and old trail reclaimed. Our goals for this weekend will be to buff out the new section that was built last weekend, while installing a berm or 2, and also to cut new trail to continue the new line near the back fence. Additionally, we will be working on adding more technical(rocky) lines to the new trail. The weather should be beautiful both Saturday and Sunday, with highs for trail work on Saturday around 60. Hope to see everyone out on the trail.

Where
Although we will be working near the "back gate" of the park, Nathan has asked that we park in the parking lot just off Jahnke Rd across the street from the hospital and walk or ride our bikes in to the work site. The reason for this is that the dead end near the back gate will have equipment and a City vehicle or 2 parked there, and we would like to be considerate of the residents and not block the street any more than necessary. For those who have never been to Powhite Park, just follow the trail coming from the parking lot down the hill, cross the creek on the 60' decked bridge and bear left. Continue on this trail which borders the swamp(keeping the swamp on your LEFT) until you come to another, smaller bridge. Cross this bridge and you should see the work site up on the hill in front of you. If you have any questions, feel free to call Nathan Burrell at 357-8897.

What to bring:
Wear sturdy shoes or work boots and bring work gloves. Dress in layers because you'll probably warm up rather quickly once you start working. It is also recommended to bring some water and some kind of snack. It's better to have it and not need it, than need it and not have it.

Cancellations:
In case of inclement weather, any cancellations of Trail Care will be made by 7:00am Saturday morning.
Notification will be made on the Cycling Central VA forums (www.cyclingcentralva.org/forums), the Richmond-MORE website, or via email.
Currently the weather forecast for Saturday is supposed to be partly cloudy with a high of 41, and rain is not expected.

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