The Team Darkhorse 24hrs of moab crew, here to referred to as TD24MC, has been secretly working with industry insiders, outsiders, strange doctors from Bolivia, and anybody that is silly enough to pick up the phone in order to obtain any advantage for our all day desert super-party!
after careful consideration it looks as if we have found a sponser which may actually allow us to get a few night laps out of the Mayor himself. see below for our new energy drink of choice. if this doesnt work we will have to resort to crystal meth and kool-aid. you know old school style cause thats how we roll.
above links stolen from team dicky
Friday, March 20, 2009
Monday, March 16, 2009
NEWSFLASH!! DARKHORSE TEAM MEMBER FEATURED IN INDY FAB MARKETING CAMPAIGN!!
darkhorse singlespeed team member CDUBS is the star of the new Indy Fab marketing campaign. no word as to when this photoshoot took place.
calls where made from DH headquarters to the north county to speak with IF.
DH
so we hear you have an ad with cdubs in it?
IF
ahhh, yeah. its a new guerrilla marketing initiative. we wanted to place ads in some, ah, non-ordinary areas and well cdubs sort of fit the bill.
DH
hows it working out?
IF
it seems to be going over well in the west village of nyc, and in europe for some reason. lots of requests for a ad featuring cdubs and david hasselhoff. we made some calls but havent nailed it down yet.
DH
so where can we find this ad? any bike mags?
IF
no we have been posting it in public restrooms by urinals, you know community toilets, behind dumpsters, back alleys, fast food joints, stuff like that.
DH
interesting.
IF
yeah we are trying to branch out a bit.
DH
ok thanks for your time
IF
i'll send you a shot of the ad in the "wild".
DH
great. do that.
so click the pic to make bigger. CDUBS now even more world famous!!
Singlespeed sufferfest....or the black dirt that ate my soul....
so the darkhorse singlespeed crew rallied sunday am for a little throw down in the stewart state forest. shiny new and old steeds alike emerged from winter hibernation to see what the trails had in store. all but CDUBS sported their one gear machines. he however has more bikes in varying states of disrepair and as such was relagated to a geared bike. heathen!
we hit up some dirt and soon found out that picking trails carefully would be the measure of the day. the oatmeal paste mud was exciting! trails that are bomber fast had us pedaling dowhill. about 8 miles in "el jefe" asked for my opinion on our current direction. i apparently answered in a bit of a curt fashion. "ride it out" was what i said. this incited the commandant to reply in a not so cordial manner and turn up the pace. i suffered.
ever have one of "those" days. you know the ones i'm talking about. the mind says go and the body gives you the finger! yeah thats where i was at.
course direction was changed and it was decided that we would hit up the "black dirt". this is a little known section of stewart that we ride on occasion. it is usually dry, drains well and rolls along at a good clip. you can cut from one side of the park to the other in short order usually. sunday was different. i had no gear. the black dirt grabbed every knob on the tire and tried to pull it into the abiss. i slogged along well behind the bunch while they made jokes about my guppy face. in short it was horrible. bad day on the bike. sweating and then cold. heart rate all over the place. just not a good showing for the maiden voyage of my new 29'r. come to think of it thats probobly the only thing that got me off the couch. i wanted so badly to turn the pedals on that bike in the woods. well nowhere to go but up from here i suppose...
from the black dirt we hit up some of the fireroad/pave and looked to pick up a few trails on the way back to the lot for a much deserved beverage. along the way we ran into a crew from Conn. and let them tag along for a bit. little snowmobile trail action, a stream crossing and a couple hills and it was back to the lot.
a great ride regardless.
spring is in the air. if the weather holds the trails should be in great shape in the coming weeks. hopefully i can say the same about myself........
we hit up some dirt and soon found out that picking trails carefully would be the measure of the day. the oatmeal paste mud was exciting! trails that are bomber fast had us pedaling dowhill. about 8 miles in "el jefe" asked for my opinion on our current direction. i apparently answered in a bit of a curt fashion. "ride it out" was what i said. this incited the commandant to reply in a not so cordial manner and turn up the pace. i suffered.
ever have one of "those" days. you know the ones i'm talking about. the mind says go and the body gives you the finger! yeah thats where i was at.
course direction was changed and it was decided that we would hit up the "black dirt". this is a little known section of stewart that we ride on occasion. it is usually dry, drains well and rolls along at a good clip. you can cut from one side of the park to the other in short order usually. sunday was different. i had no gear. the black dirt grabbed every knob on the tire and tried to pull it into the abiss. i slogged along well behind the bunch while they made jokes about my guppy face. in short it was horrible. bad day on the bike. sweating and then cold. heart rate all over the place. just not a good showing for the maiden voyage of my new 29'r. come to think of it thats probobly the only thing that got me off the couch. i wanted so badly to turn the pedals on that bike in the woods. well nowhere to go but up from here i suppose...
from the black dirt we hit up some of the fireroad/pave and looked to pick up a few trails on the way back to the lot for a much deserved beverage. along the way we ran into a crew from Conn. and let them tag along for a bit. little snowmobile trail action, a stream crossing and a couple hills and it was back to the lot.
a great ride regardless.
spring is in the air. if the weather holds the trails should be in great shape in the coming weeks. hopefully i can say the same about myself........
Monday, February 9, 2009
Ronde Van Rocklander
so the team darkhorse singlespeed syndicate met up for some skinny tired geared mileage in the greater rockland and bergen counties this sunday. with the forecast calling for sunny skies and temps reaching the 50's it looked like a road ride was in order.
9:00am saw 4 hearty souls depart from the "hawaiian mike" headquarters under blue bird skies. we rolled our way thru rockland county avoiding potholes and a-holes who amazingly seemed to be able to drive with one hand on the wheel, one on a cellphone and their heads imbedded deep within their ass!
the first 17 miles ticked off fairly uneventfully. El Hefe inquired at this point as to our route and total distance. it had been decided earlier that about 35 miles would be nice. we were somewhere into the halfway point here so no one seemed to fuss. now you must understand something here. there are miles and then there are mike miles. 35 mile rides have become 50 milers on occasion. there was also a rockland county death march a few season ago..... but i digress.
nature called shortly hereafter and our pelaton of four pulled over for a pitstop. it was here that mister CDUBS noticed the blackening skys. "man it looks really bad over there. which way are we headed" well i doubt i need to tell you. we saddled up and headed into the dark ominous skies. temps began to fall and so did the rain. so from rockland county we headed into bergen county and some how ended it in flanders!!!
the rain and wind pounded us in the face for the next few miles. brave souls endured yet the conversation seemed to get a little quieter. thankfully showers past and the sun returned. at about the 25mile mark i noticed an odd feeeling in the rear of my bike. it seems that my saddle had worked its way loose from my seatpost. exciting. call the boys to the side of the road and reach into my saddlebag for a tool. yeah, its not in there dumbass. sweet. well four guys and no tool means mike gets to ride the rock and roller seat home! sweet!
about mile 30, seat doing the flexy hippy shake and riding into an exquisite head wind hawaiian mike self destructed. legs just gave up the ghost. any climb saw me right out the back. kaboom!
mile 35 and we pause for another call of nature under an overpass. two guys are riding at us headed the other way. they slow and i ask, beg, for as tool. sweet mercy they have a 5mm!!!! my ass is saved! and that is no small feat! so seat fixed and hey shouldn't we be done by now someone mentions? well 35 became 42.
42 miles later hawaiian mike HQ saw four well worn souls, some worse off than others, roll back into the driveway. thanksfully there were growlers of fresh microbrew, dry clothes, yummy hot food and much revalry to put a fine end to an epic febuary ride! a pre-spring classic! hoo-ra!
Monday, January 26, 2009
"Hawaiian" Mike hits the road......
rumors of my death have been greatly exaggerated!
while some others out there would have you believe that i have disappeared from the cycling world and crawled into a dark corner to hibernate away the winter i am here to tell you its just not so!
some members of the Darkhorse singlespeed (see above) gang have been gathering to stroke out the miles thru the crusty snow and brave icy stewart pave but i have had other ideas...
on sunday after taking care of some family stuff i found myself with an afternoon, sun shining and a high temp of around 18 degrees. hmmmm, what to do?
the old trusty road steed had been hanging upside down since christmas. neglected and unloved. little air in the tires and she was good as new. bundle on the layers, fire up the ipod, fill a bottle and i'm out the door.
5 minutes in and i'm climbing thru some rolling rockland county back roads. legs feel good, cold air is burning the lungs as they adjust.
15 minutes in and i'm rolling along trying to come up with a route. just making turns that feel right at this point. climb some, spin some. body warms up, legs feel loose, widespread plays on the ipod.
cars pass, get an occasional glance from a passenger or driver. close call with a side mirror of a van. they dont even notice. i grab a bigger piece of the road avoiding the slushy mesh and the deep potholes on the shoulder.
35 minutes in i roll thru the empty streets of an orthodox neighborhood while matisyahu raps it out dancehall style. i giggle at the irony. the cold has apparently seeped into my brain.
there is nothing else out here on the road. just the pedals turning, steady cadence, nice tempo ride. build the base back up. no big ring hammering. climb steady, long and gradual thru the rolling hills. dont head out to the steep ones. save those for later. soon enough.
55 minutes in and trying to figure out where to go for another hour. pick a direction and head that way. no grand plan just spin. no economic crisis out here, no work stress, no obligations, no deadlines, just turn the pedals. rage comes on the ipod. pick up the cadence a little to keep in time.
1:35 climbing toward home. couple gradual climbs and then a short punchy one. keep it steady and feel pretty good. watch for glass and road debris. hands and toes cold. dont want to have to stop to fix a flat.
1:55 cold has seeped thru. almost home. coast the descent past the middle school and my loop doubles back on itself.
Home 30 miles in the books. gotta get warm.
and so it begins or it continues depending on where you start and or finish. almost febuary and soon the days will get longer and lighter and warmer. next thing you know we will be towing the line at the local races or heading south to test the legs in the mountains.
while some others out there would have you believe that i have disappeared from the cycling world and crawled into a dark corner to hibernate away the winter i am here to tell you its just not so!
some members of the Darkhorse singlespeed (see above) gang have been gathering to stroke out the miles thru the crusty snow and brave icy stewart pave but i have had other ideas...
on sunday after taking care of some family stuff i found myself with an afternoon, sun shining and a high temp of around 18 degrees. hmmmm, what to do?
the old trusty road steed had been hanging upside down since christmas. neglected and unloved. little air in the tires and she was good as new. bundle on the layers, fire up the ipod, fill a bottle and i'm out the door.
5 minutes in and i'm climbing thru some rolling rockland county back roads. legs feel good, cold air is burning the lungs as they adjust.
15 minutes in and i'm rolling along trying to come up with a route. just making turns that feel right at this point. climb some, spin some. body warms up, legs feel loose, widespread plays on the ipod.
cars pass, get an occasional glance from a passenger or driver. close call with a side mirror of a van. they dont even notice. i grab a bigger piece of the road avoiding the slushy mesh and the deep potholes on the shoulder.
35 minutes in i roll thru the empty streets of an orthodox neighborhood while matisyahu raps it out dancehall style. i giggle at the irony. the cold has apparently seeped into my brain.
there is nothing else out here on the road. just the pedals turning, steady cadence, nice tempo ride. build the base back up. no big ring hammering. climb steady, long and gradual thru the rolling hills. dont head out to the steep ones. save those for later. soon enough.
55 minutes in and trying to figure out where to go for another hour. pick a direction and head that way. no grand plan just spin. no economic crisis out here, no work stress, no obligations, no deadlines, just turn the pedals. rage comes on the ipod. pick up the cadence a little to keep in time.
1:35 climbing toward home. couple gradual climbs and then a short punchy one. keep it steady and feel pretty good. watch for glass and road debris. hands and toes cold. dont want to have to stop to fix a flat.
1:55 cold has seeped thru. almost home. coast the descent past the middle school and my loop doubles back on itself.
Home 30 miles in the books. gotta get warm.
and so it begins or it continues depending on where you start and or finish. almost febuary and soon the days will get longer and lighter and warmer. next thing you know we will be towing the line at the local races or heading south to test the legs in the mountains.
Tuesday, January 13, 2009
Winter B(l)ooze
ah yes the post holidaze winter doldrums. high of just warmer than death, frozen fields and roads. sweet sweet northeast ice storm winters how i love thee so......
fear not as some of the heartier of the darkhorse lot have been out fighting the elements and getting in some hard earned miles! gotta earn your turns and earn them indeed this time of year! for a update click here, as mister w has been doing an excellent job of avoiding the rollers and mocking me out in cyberspace!
as i sit indoors sipping dark hoppy goodness and watching the snow pile up on my window sill faster than on the mirrors of sorority girls in florida i cant help but yearn for the warmer months. this of course breeds the hatching of plans.... the race calender is coming together. check out bikereg for the latest. sign up now and get not only a discount but also some motivation for the coming months! the singlespeed race, h2h series and the 40 loom large on the horizon!
so here's to kicking the empty's of 08 out to the recycle bin, wiping the last of the pumpkin pie off our chins from last season and hoisting a fresh cold one to 09!
Wednesday, December 24, 2008
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