Backbone Race Report: October 2008

LAST DAY PEEPS! Come in and hang out!

My last day at the TREK store is tomorrow! Come in and say goodbye to the greatest bike salesperson in all of history....or at least in the crowded nation inside my mind. I will miss all of you immensely, and hope that you will all stay in touch, stay on your bikes, and never call me to ask if you can borrow my truck to move out of your apartments...:) Just kidding, but if you ARE borrowing the truck and it breaks down, YOU will be responsible to have it fixed! Please bring me beer, burritos and maybe some tequila as a going away present...or maybe coupons to Undone Lingerie so I can get Lyd something skimpy. See you all tomorrow, or at Vonn Jazz Lounge on Monday at 8pm! Holla!

Voler Elite Shorts

Three key elements are featured in the exceptional design of the Elite DX Short

TECHNOLOGY: Developed in Switzerland and used by top racers, the new 220g Quantum DSX fabric reduces wind drag while improving compression & durability.

FIT: The anatomically sculpted body fits like no other with the 10-panel construction conforming like a second skin.

FUNCTION: The Carbon Micro Mesh panels provide maximum breathability for comfort, and the exclusive anti-bacterial 3-tier molded Ion SL pad puts padding where needed for specific pressure points with minimal material on the sides to conform to your movement.

Call Ed Fonda at Voler to order your team's custom sublimated team outfits today!

Wehe at Chequamegon

Howdy Y'all

Single-Speed fully ridgid at 17 lbs.

One of the last great MTB races in the USA - the Chequamegon 40 with 2500 racers by lottery or invitation only ( in my case). An event were the promoter actually cares and gives back to the participants. I wish I could say that about Nationals, but hey we might not have any in 09 anyway depending how things work out...

Time to go back to my roots of XC racing and to start w/ MTB Stage Races.

thank you very much for your support - I appreciate it a lot!

Happy Trails!!

Tom Wehe

NICE WORK WEE-KNEE! Hope to see ya soon, thanks for the update!

Touch My Chatahoochie, and other tales from Atlanta.

The drive to Atlanta was fun. It was dark and freezing cold, but fun. It's amazing what cheesy '80's music and a large coffee can do for driving morale. Atlanta was a great bike town. Everyone rides here, and the city is amazingly bicycle friendly. Bike paths that wind through parks and connect to downtown and all the small villages on the outskirts of town were sweet.

We stayed at Lydia's dad's benefactor's home in Norcross. Her home was enormous, and sat on a 100 acre plot of land in a bend on the Chatahoochie River. The dogs were fun to run around with, and the property had enough elevation to make a sick slalom run or pump track out of. Lydia's dad's art was everywhere in the house, and his studio was in the old garage next to a perfectly preserved 1929 Rolls Royce.

We were in Atlanta so Lydia could play at Eddie's Attic, but we spent most of the four day trip hanging out in Virginia Highlands and Little Five Points. The area reminded me a ton of Burbank and Riverside.

Old friend and So Cal native Debbie Crawford met us for breakfast. She now lives in Canton, Georgia.

Creative Loafing entertainment reporter Jeff Slate, glad to see Lyd return happy and successful to a neighborhood of people that ended up not so much the same. The local Atlanta newspaper will be featuring Lyd and her dad in a HUGE write up in January!

Hanging out at one of Lyd's old jobs, the El Myr. Cool place to grab food and a beer! Many people still remembered her, and came to the show. It was warm and sunny there, and the hills made me wish I had my new TOMAC TYPE X to power through the tight and twisty roads. Decatur was full of tree lined streets that would make great group ride mornings in the Fall.

Back to 35 degree days here in C-Bus, where my windshield is caked with morning frost....can't wait to get out and ride before the big freeze of '09!

Return From Atlanta

Although Atlanta was VERY pleasant, and actually reminded me a great deal of So Cal..

....we had to drive through Appalachia. Apparently, when General Sherman slashed his way through the Cumberland Gap, he missed a few. The above photo was a very common sight as we crossed from the border of Kentucky and into Tennessee. I am reasonably sure that banjos were being piped in via state sanctioned speakers along the highway in Tennessee. Did you know that mulletts are alive and well? I actually came across a dude's bouffant hairdo! I have coined the term "dudefont," and will leave you with this pic of him.

Be patient kids, lots of photos coming!

Titus Up For Sale!

Thanks to a killer fiancee who is gathering cash as we speak for my new TOMAC TYPE X or maybe even SNYPER (I'm not sure which one yet), I am placing the Titus FCR on the sale block. This is an open sale to anyone, and this bike is pretty sweet. 21.5" custom Ti frame, Manitou R-7 100mm fork w/rebound and REMOTE lockout, Shimano XT shifters, cassette, chain, and derailleurs. Cane Creek Ergo Control II bar ends (old school bitches!), Easton EA 70 bars, XPEDO Ti Ti pedals, Truvativ Stylo Team SL Cranks and Stem, Thomson post, Spinergy rear wheel w/Avid BB-7 brake, Ringle RPM Lite rim brake front wheel w/ Avid SD Ti brake, Avid brake levers, Maxxm Ti railed saddle, etc. TOTAL WEIGHT with uncut steer tube and seatpost, w/ bottle cage and bar ends on is under 24lbs! (23.8 exactly)
Comes with street slicks as well as new set of Kenda XC mtb tires (SB8 and an El Moco!). It has TOMAC decals on it now, but will come with a brand new set of TITUS decals as shown in the picture...

Everything is well maintained. Contact me via website contact page info or by leaving a comment on this page! All reasonable offers will be heard, bike will go to highest bidder...

Current decal layout...comes with factory Titus FCR decals as well..

Lyd's New Show Poster!

We leave tomorrow for Edde's Attic in Atlanta, GA for Lydia's show there on Monday, but here is the poster for the Vonn Jazz Lounge on November 3rd! The lower shot is the back of the postcards that will be all over C-Bus by Wednesday. Get yourselves out and have a drink with us during the three hour show!

NOMAD Pix From Roger!

Not surprisingly, Roger took a ton of some bikini clad chick rockin' his new NOMAD portable pressure washer on the beach for the Camp Pendleton 'Cross race. Not just our team, but many of her sponsors have these units. Ed Fonda at Voler Team Apparel has one, as does POB from Amino Vital. They both love theirs almost as much as we love ours. I bet Rog had ice water in the bikini-girls' tank, just in case...

Come By, Say Hi!

I will be leaving the Sawmill Trek location on November 1st, so all of you super-cool customers who have become my new family and friends here in Columbus need to stop by and say "Hi" or..I guess "BYE!" Thanks for the constant laughs and all the appearances at Lydia's shows! Stay in touch by visiting the team website for my contact info! Good times here...good times....like my daily lunch-break-stripper sent to me via my fiancee, Lydia Brownfield!

or the store beer-guzzle fests...

Store mechanic Joe Minerd and Lydia at a show at Thirsty Ear.

My wingwoman and rockstar store sales woman Lauren hanging out at an afterwork singing session. It is rumored that she will also be leaving the store.

Repeat customer and guy repsonsible for bringing all 20 of his friends to me to purchase bikes, Johhny Merry at the house having beer and steak!

Customers Lisa Mehl and faster than hell buddy Robin at Lydia's CD release party.

Customer Johhny Merry at Lydia's top secret 41st b-day bash at the Southern Theatre

New Albany store wrench and marketing peeps Ben and Amanda at one of the many Old Bag shows, after which usually ends up with the entire neighborhood in our home for bbq and beers!

Ed Luck and Nancy of Luck Bros Coffee in Grandview (they donated 10 gallons of coffee to the store camcer ride!) hanging out with all of us...they were kind enough to let me leave bikes in their store window that drove holiday sales well beyond the holidays here.