Bert "The Hurt" Blanchette's Birthday Today!

Bert, after waking up this morning on his b-day.


















Team XC Captain and all around nice guy Bert Blanchette (say that with a French accent like the announcer at Sea Otter, it's more fun) is celebrating ANOTHER birthday today. JESUS man, aren't you old enough? Why do YOU have to take ALL the birthdays....selfish bastard. Y'know, Lydia is 41, and SHE is going to need some of those birthdays too..god knows SHE isn't getting any younger!













I am so dead.




I have known Bert since the early days at CFR, when we all met as a very large team to get our XC jerseys and take the team photo near JPL. After that photo, only three of us were left racing...everyone else disappeared. Since that day, I have had the pleasure of seeing Bert go from Sport, to Expert, to Semi-Pro and Pro. He has always been the consummate professional athlete.























No talk, just action...kinda like Clint Eastwood, except that Bert would beat the everloving hell out of Clint Eastwood. They both share something though. Bert and Mr. Eastwood both have really old, disgusting balls. Don't ask me how I know, but if you search YouTube long enough...you find many things you wish you hadn't.






Well, Bert has raced everywhere and everything, has raised all the girls who have come through this team and gone on to race Pro on the race courses, and always been there to keep my desire to kill everything in balance (as long as I e-mail him first).










Bert has been a category winner, leader, and U.S. National Champion. He's raced for Specialized, Tomac, Titus, and now back home on Tomac bikes...and even had a short stint on a loaner Seven courtesy of Jennifer Miller. I had the good fortune to ride back with him from Vegas last year to Burbank, and enjoyed the conversation we never get to have.









































Bert is also the reason we have juniors on the team. His son Ryan and daughter Christine have been racing in Backbone jerseys for a loooooong time now. Ryan is a tird burglar for sure, but at least Christine is cool. Anyhow...make sure if you see Bert this week at home, or next week in Vegas for Interbike at a hoffbrau or nudie bar, tell the leathery, wind chapped, fly-blown, crusty, skinny, dehydrated, wizened-up, old-ball having bastard HAPPY BIRTHDAY! Hurry up, he doesn't get to have ALL the birthdays!













Bert in another Kenda/Tomac ad with his Super-D shot in the background






















Another Kenda ad featuring Bert!























Bert after we hauled him out of Las Vegas' "Cheetah Club" with an empty wallet at last year's Interbike trade show.