Sagebrush Today! Roger's Race Report

Roger Hernandez, the Hardest Working Man In Mountain Bike Racing, with Vanessa and Claudia

Thanks to Timari "Booty" Pruis for the photos!

hi chris,

When are you coming back??? we all miss you and need you here to put your crazy spin on things...

I want to say thank you to randy for letting us stay in the house on wheels, vanessa, cheyne and I had hot meals and warm place to sleep and only about 100 yards from the start of the race :)

Thank you to jim wannamaker/kenda as always for hooking us up with gear and tires for the last minute tire changes and warm gear due to the wet / muddy weather that we are no used to out here in sunny cali.

special thanks to ara's friend short stack and timari who worked the booth all day sunday while I was up at the top feeding all the riders

race results.... so many :)

ara 11th place awesome, 1st time back into the sub human cat 1 category, heard he hasnt drank a beer in 3 months, ara you need to go back to what works for you, drink up

humberto 10th place amazing, super cat 1 division tough as nails, ditch the weight weenie water bottle cage so you do lose your amino vital next race and you will be faster

vegas bob 16th place, zoom, tough class, cat 1 also, lets talk about growth hormones and meth, xox

cheyne 11th place, someone needs a beating, cat 2 sandbagger division, my fault gave the flu to him and vanessa and hard to race with 1 lung and other one full of cheese

jaime (claudia dad), shazam!!!, cat 2 3rd place!!! now we know where claudia gets her speed from, great job

randy 6th place, bazinga!!!!,cat 2, sixth place again, same race same place as last year, once again go back to what works, randy didnt have coors the day before the race, body was in shock!!! plus the lighting scares him :)

mark 4th place, singing mtn biker, was rocking the hydra pak and the tomac carbide, problem was spending too much time trainning with rod at karokee bars :)

the girls!!!

claudia 1st place, kaboom, cat 1, lead up the comanding lead, at the final summit lost 28 seconds to a girl on 29er and came back to beat her on the downhill and sprint finish by 1 second!!!! boom goes the hammer stick

vanessa 2nd place, acheew, cat 1, great job for being sick, my fault again gave her flu and possible herpes, she promises to come back with a vengence next race!!!

new rider hondo jr expert somked his field 1st place more info to come on him

yours truly roger

ps great jon sean roberman pmbc cat 2, 12th place, would have done better if his rear derailleur didnt blow up :(







Check out the sweet PIRATE CUT sleeves on VB's jersey! Now THAT'S custom, baby!

Fontana Pix From Mr. Stoner!

Randy racing Super-D on his Tomac Snyper


Four shots of Chucky-T racing DH on his Tomac Primer





Vegas Bob during Super-D.

Bert Is Back! B&V Claim Co-Ed Silver At Corriganville Classic.

The one-two punch of Bert and Vanessa was an awesome thing to behold last weekend. Racing in the Corriganville Classic, the Dynamic Duo raced to a very fast silver medal finish! Bert came out of what I thought was a very serious injury-based retirement and absolutely lit up the field of fast riders at the event. Scary how fast he is, even WITH not racing for a year and dealing with a severely painful hip joint.




Bert grew a "flavor-Saver" patch under his lip in the off-season, so he can have a little bit of the Amino Vital Endurance Formula left over late in the race for a sprint finish. His Tomac Carbide (now in it's THIRD season) rocked it hard for the race. Vanessa would be the second fastest girl on the day, helping maintain an often enormous gap created by Bert. I was so happy to get the pix sent to me from Roger (of Bert racing again) that I almost couldn't believe it. Great shots of Vanessa, too! thansk to our Dynamic Duo for a great race!

Even Jessica Biel Knows It's Good.

Actress Jessica Biel must read our team blog every day. How else would she know to drink it?

Jessica Biel (7th Heaven, Rules Of Attraction, Blade:Trinity, The Texas Chainsaw Massacre, The A-Team, The Devil And The Deep Blue Sea, etc.) was spotted walking around with the first production-run water bottles that Amino Vital made about a year and a half ago, undoubtedly full of Amino Vital Endurance Formula, Mandarin Orange flavor. I'm sure that because she reads our team blog, she knows it is from the leading producer of BCAA's on the planet, and each batch is tested for purity...just like Jessica! She likely was so enthralled by my interview at the Olympic Training Center last year in Colorado Springs, she had no choice but to try it.


If you are one of the last four people on Earth who don't use the Amino Vital products for your workouts and recovery, you should stop by the Arnold Classic sports trade show in Columbus, Ohio next month! Jeff "Tookie" Williams and I will be in hand to give out samples and pose with your wives and girlfriends. Stop by and say hi to the Amino girls, like Lil' Lydia Johnson who also moonlights as the Columbus ALIVE! Magazine "Fan Girl." What is she a fan of? Amino Vital of course...

Charles In Charge

I don't really have anything to say, I just love this pic and always feel compelled to say "Charles In Charge" when I post one of his pics.

ABEL 8.0

Backbone fan Shawn Baden was out with Des and Abel yesterday for a big ride up in the Chatsworth/Simi area mountains riding VIPER, and snapped this photo of the new LEANED OUT Vaca-nator. His Tomac Carbide climbing the puke-inducing ascent to the fast and furious Viper trailhead, the trio blasted down the ridgeline and then went for Turtleburgers. Abel probably put curb-feelers and hydraulics on his Carbide, frikkin' Vato. Thanks for the pic guys!

Sean C. Rocking The Winter With His Hydrapak Streamline

Sean's Tomac Carbide is just bad-ass. Everything the sponsors make, his bike has has on it...and it just is a beautiful work of art.
His new HYDRAPAK STREAMLINE in murdered-out black is just the ticket for those Ohio mountain bike races that are all singletrack with little chance to get to a water bottle. Thanks Sean for the pic...beer this week at Fado, dude?

Team Kits, Ryders Eyewear On The Way!

The team order is being put together as we speak at Voler Team Apparel, and I just heard from Chris at Ryders Eyewear that the shades are en route! Having everything before Sea Otter will be great, and seeing how everyone is communicating with each other AND the sponsors is also a pleasant experience! The new sponsors for 2010 have really stepped up, and the long-term peeps have been amazing as well. I am just waiting to hear back from the canopy printing company on the new cover for the team (weather set-backs in the midwest have delayed this a great deal), and we'll be all set with the stuff we needed to get done! Tire order will also go in Monday or Tuesday, so if you are on the freebee list and haven't sent me anything, you are gonna be stuck with whatever I choose for you. Well, good luck to all racing this weekend at Fontucky and we'll see you soon!

It really is the perfect food. Say "HI!" to the turtleburger.


When faced with what might be the eighth wonder of the gastronomic world, you must step up to the proverbial plate. While ascending California's Mt. Wilson, the only thing on my mind is whether or not I'm burning enough calories to ingest such a marvel after the ride. And so you ask "What IS this turtleburger of which you speak?"




Friends, the BACON-CHEDDAR-TURTLEBURGER is nothing less than a miracle. It consists of a solid pound of ground beef, laced with extra sharp cheddar cheese. Wrapped in bacon and fitted up with jumbo hot-dogs as appendages, this baby is pure gold.
Thankfully, I have kept my sweet mountain bike in tip-top condition so I can stay rolling long enough to attempt such Herculean feats of intestinal fortitude.


While many of you ride for the health benefits, I turn the pedals so that when things like the turtleburger come along I don't have to be left out in the
bacony and deprived cold. Yeah...I know...I didn't believe it either......but I just ate all the turtleburgers...and I'm not sorry.

NEW HYDRAPAK Website Love

Randy's 23lb Tomac Carbide!

Yo Captn,

I just wanted to send a little write-up on my Carbide that I THINK I have completed now except for a set of FSA K-force light cranks that I will be getting soon. I know I have sent in pictures but this is what I built it with.

1) Rock shox SID team fork with remote lockout.

2) Right now a FSA K-force team cranks.

3) XTR 11-32 rear cog set.

4) KMC x-9sl gold nitrate chain

5) XTR shadow rear derailleur

6) XTR front derailleur

7) Race face carbon seat post.

8) Sunline x-c stem, sunline carbon bar, sunline seat, and grips.

9) XTR rapid-fire shifters

10) Avid XX brakes with 160 rear and 175 front rotors.

11) Last but not least I finally gave in to the tubeless thing with non UST Karma tires on my wheel set with Stan’s.

So as it sits right now I have my medium Carbide sitting at 23 pounds 8 ounces, not bad and a totally kick-ass bike.

Randy Rush

Blame Billy Joel

*I had that same look when I found out, too.

Few things annoy me more than when some puny human upsets The Natural Order Of Things. Once this happens, the world becomes mired in darkness for a century or so, until the balance is set right again. I have been harboring this grudge, and scientifically monitoring the happenings after the event in question since that fateful day, March 23rd, 1985.
That was the end of days....the day that would lead to a slow downward spiral for all humanity. It was the day that Billy Joel managed to, INCONCEIVABLY, get Christie Brinkley to marry him...and ultimately bear his mutant offspring. I have not been the same since.



**How could we have let it happen? Christie Brinkley? To Billy Joel?


Growing up, I was led to understand that even if you had LOADS of money...you still couldn't get a Christie Brinkley if you were a (just for the sake of argument) Billy Joel. It was not to happen, EVER....not for any reason. Why? Because if it did, glaciers would melt, the Earth's temperature would rise, and we would all become mole people. Well, it's happening. The glaciers are melting and the earth is rapidly gaining degrees. I have seen "People Of Wal mart" photos, and the mole people are here now, too.


***REALLY? ARE YOU LOOKING AT THAT?


Not helping the global temperature increase was the marriage of the Lilliputian actor Tom Cruise to the statuesque Amazon Queen, Nicole Kidman. Once it was over, Nicole said that she was glad to be able to "...wear heels again." Nice. But it was not her fault. You must blame Billy Joel for screwing with The Natural Order Of Things.



****Tom Cruise pictured in the foreground (red coat and crown), welcoming Gulliver to his island.



Even though Tom Cruise gets a double-wide trailer in HELL for also wedding the EQUALLY as statuesque and attractive Katie Holmes, I still must hand blame to The Piano Man. It was he and he alone who must bear the brunt of creating a virtual "Turd In The Well" of the human genome project.

That being said, there is a funny little bit of irony here. This major shift in the Space-Time-Continuum has led to something equally as bad. It's hard for all my guy friends to swallow, and even I frequently scratch my toupee in confusion over how it all happened. You can all blame Billy Joel for it as well. Humanity will never be the same....



Thank you Billy Joel, you beautiful-ugly little bastard....

Ara's Palm Springs Century Report

Hey Chris, here is a little write up and thank you for Amino Vital ! Please forward this to them!

This past weekend we completed our first century of the year, the Tour of Palm Springs. The small close knit group of riders have been training very hard getting in shape for the ride. We knew that our water bottles needed to be filled with the best sports drink and not just suger and water. Two of our riders are in their mid-fifties, one in their forties, another in his thirties, and a young buck in the twenties. I have been using Amino Vital for the past several years for training and racing mountain bikes, so I convinced the crew to give it a try. Couple of years ago a friend and I rode the Triple Bypass ride, 120 miles - 3 mountain passes, in Colorado and did not cramp up once! That was my selling point and they were bought.

Each rider got a baggy full of Lemon Citrus flavor of the powder from heaven. At each SAG stop we refilled our bottles and kept on going. Everybody was amazed how well and fast the formula worked. Nobody cramped up and we were all feeling strong as we crossed the finish.

"Amazing how well Amino Vital worked. This is my 17th Century and have never felt better in my life!" - Bruce Osgood.

Cameron Cripps has been riding a bike for only 4 months and was planning on doing only 55 miles in Palm Springs. By the time he reached the cut-off route Cameron still had plenty of energy in his legs and continued on to finish his first Century in six hours.

On behalf of the group of riders that used Amino Vital THANK YOU so much. Four riders have been converted to real believers of your product and will continue to use it.

Another thank you for sponsoring Backbone Adventure Cycling for all these years and look forward to spreading the word at events, races, and on the street.

Ara "Fuzz" Movsessian
Cat 1 XC
Super-Domestique to elderly riders.

First Look; 2010 B.A.C. Team Kits!

Using some of the colors from the original 2005 team jerseys, and some of the 2009...I am really liking the nod to the team's five year anniversary. Thanks to all of you who make this fun each and every day.


Even from Ohio.


O.K., not really.

Lake Fontucky Photos

HEY! Isn't that super-bad-ass XC racer Timari "Booty" Pruis' road bike in the background?




The race in SoCal last weekend was a wet bastard, especially for the Xc and Super-D Saturday. Pix are courtesy of Randy Rush and Kim "wow those are my knockers" McNeil. Thanks guys!