The Muddiest Tomac Carbide Ever.

This is Sean C's brand new Tomac Carbide after the Alum Creek OMBC race Sunday. You could imagine my joy when he rolled it in and asked if I could "make it work again." Yay me.

**I don't even know what the hell I'm looking at!

Sean Cavaluchy Takes 6th, Has Orgasm!

Enlarge this photo for the best "O" face picture you have ever seen...


Backboner Sean Cavaluchy raced in the pouring rain and cake-like mud at Alum Creek for the newest installment of the OMBC mountain bike racing series. Jeff was all the way up from Kentucky with his entire family, but missed his start time a-la Vegas Bob by 20 minutes, so he spent his entry fee on beer and pork rinds. Sean was snapped below crossing the road from the kiddie lap to the real lap at Phase 1.


Sean stopped by the shop after the race, completely spent either from his race, or the on-bike orgasm..I'm not sure which. His Carbide was so caked with mud, his front derailleur was completely immobilized by clay-like slop. Great job with the 6th place finish dude!

Charles Libolt Admitted To King's College, London!

Charles Libolt is the smartest DH racer in the world. Now, that's not saying much I know, but when you consider that he's not in his fourth year as a freshman in High School, that means something amongst the mostly brain-dead ranks of the average downhill racer. Charles has just been notified of his acceptance (read that as; Charles' parent's credit check and money order worked out) and will be leaving soon for his tenure at King's College, London. Unlike most gravity racers, he will NOT be studying the various interstate marijuana possession laws,

*These socks from SOCK GUY were my favorite swag item at Interbike last year.
but in fact will ACTUALLY be there in search of a degree...and hot British naked boobies. OK, hot British naked boobies with good teeth (I really DO need to clarify).

*Remember Samantha Fox? She was made famous (as a singer) thanks to her naked boob pix in British newspapers...a weekly tradition in London.
Wish our little Pro DH racer luck as he likely attempts to evade expulsion due to gapping the various stair-drops on campus aboard his TOMAC PRIMER. Gonna' miss you home boy!

AUSTIN BENGE TAKES 5TH AT SOL VISTA!

The U.S. National Championships were held last Sunday at Sol Vista Ski Resort in Colorado, and with a LOADED field of national and international riders, Backbone's AUSTIN BENGE slayed it with a stellar 5th place finish! On a course where many top pro's were taken off the mountain by helicopter with broken pelvis', ribs, vertebrae and arms, Austin rocked his bike to a great podium finish. Thanks to KHS for the clutch hook-up on a DH bike! Great job Austin, well done!

Cal State Over, Alum Creek XC This Weekend!

**Dawn, Bert and I awaiting the medal ceremonies after a Cal State Race a few years ago.


Last Sunday saw the final installment of the Cal State Series in Big Bear, CA. Vegas Bob raced his 'Cross bike, and managed to take 6th place, despite a harrowing descent on a rigid, skinny wheeled bike down the infamous "Fall Line" final drop. With most of the big races over for the West Coast

**Betsy Willey approaching the finish line back in the CFR days. She's riding "The Duke," affectionately known as the "Big Girl Fork."
(except for the 'cross season, the Southridge races, anything at Tahoe and Mammoth, anything at Rim Nordic, maybe some Idyllwild stuff, the U.S. Cup final in 'Vegas...you get the picture) the action here in the Midwest in full swing. Jeff and Sean will be out on their Carbide's Sunday throwing down at the OMBC XC race at Alum Creek. Starting off with a long pseudo road ride to the singletrack,


**Sean C in the final two miles at Alum Creek on his new Tomac Carbide.
you need to be hammer-down to be in the top 10 on the trail, as the chances to pass are very few and far between. Not in that top 10? You better save some energy to bring it on the return ride back across the dam, and pick off whoever is left. See everyone at the races!

Dune & Moon.

**Sting as Feyd-Rautha Harkonnen in 1984's Sci-Fi thriller "Dune."


No, I'm not referring to the crazy movie based on the crazy book featuring STING, "ornithopters," and very large city-destroying worms. This is a once in a lifetime bike ride for most...or never, if you don't know about it. This is a ride to plan an entire vacation around, so check it!

ONCE EACH YEAR the National Park Service stays open late, deep inside the geographical odyssey that is White Sands National Monument. This "Moonlight Ride" is amazing, and should be done at all costs if you have the time. Ripples of wind-blown, sun bleached and time-worn sand roll in dunes hundreds of feet high seemingly forever. At 275 square miles, this is no easy place to survive..but the starkness of it all by moonlight won't ever be forgotten. Join the NPS for the FULL MOON BIKE RIDE for just $5.oo per adult, and $2.50 for the crumb-crunchers under 16. The ride is eight miles long, and you will enter the very heart of the park's dunes. The eerie quiet and mind blowing scenery will stay with you when you fall asleep. It's not uncommon to see bobcats, foxes, and mountain lions on the prowl, so if you have night vision goggles, get them out of your phony ice cream truck and book this trip!



OCTOBER 3rd, 8 to 11pm....visit nps.gov/whsa for more information!

Watch Channel 10 Saturday a.m.!

**Channel 10's Andrea Cambern and Angela An reporting from "Hat Day!"

Sadly for the television viewing audience I was asked to do a live T.V. broadcast interview on bike maintenance by WBNS News Anchor Angela An. I will be on at 6:20a.m. talking about how to be prepared for a 100 mile ride like the pending Pelotonia ride here in Columbus.

Jeff Williams Makes it 2 For 2!

Jeff "Tookie" Williams landed once again inside the top three spots at the OMBC XC race last Sunday! Tearing things up on his TOMAC CARBIDE, Jeff was one spot out of Bronze on the final descent when the guy he was scraping knobs with taco'd his wheel and and took a dirt-nap. Jeff made sure he was ok, then hauled ass on to the finish and grabbed his second BRONZE in two races. Think carbon mountain bikes aren't durable? Jeff's Carbide was actually Vegas Bob's OLD Carbide from over three years ago, and it's probably seen over 150 races. Way to go Tookie!

New HYDRAPAK For Commuting!

The new Hydrapak Del Mar! What you'd buy if you weren't a broke-ass filthy girl-pant wearing hipster!

Bike commuting gets a well deserved upgrade with Hydrapak’s new Del Mar Hydration Pack. The vaulted TRAMP Suspension arches the pack and allows for arguably the most air flow of any pack on the market. Accompanying the pack is a perfect urban sized one liter Reversible Reservoir, a dedicated laptop pocket accommodating a 15” notebook, and a shoe sleeve that is designed to take as little or as much interior space as needed whether you fancy flip flops or Blundstones at work. A rain cover, organizer pockets, and audio port are among the numerous special features rounding out this pack.

Urban Style meets Serious Function

Vegas Bob & Rim Nordic!

Yo Cap'n!
Yesterday was #1 in the Rim Nordic Series. Although at home it's been 75 and we haven't seen the sun all week, up at the Rim it was sunny and hovered around 90 for the race. It’s coined "SoCal's Toughest MTB Race" but they thankfully took it a little easy on us for the first installment with a little less climbing at the beginning of the lap and the omission of the second batch of climbs later on.


(World Famous Vegas Bob in another Kenda ad..this time for Sea Otter.)
A new set of technical switchbacks kept us on our toes and lots of swoopy, fast descending near the end made it a fun one. It’s still at 6,500 ft elevation though, so the thin air always makes it hurt. I quickly rolled into 4th place by railing the first downhill section, but after pinning it up to the fireroad across the top and starting to see stars I had to back off. I also had a few dabs in the soft, tight turns of the new dh section.

(Ara, Bob and I on Thunder Mtn. Trail, in Red Canyon, Utah.)
By the end of the lap 3 guys had caught and passed me. I managed to hold my lap times fairly consistent, though, slowing just 1 minute on the 2nd and another 2 on the 3rd, staying in 7th place, a minute behind 6th.


(VB fresh off the Short Track podium at Sea Otter)

VB

Austin Gunning For Gold

**Austin and his modified 6" Tomac Snyper behind the team booth at Outdoor Demo in Bootleg Canyon. If only they would have told us about the Vanish! :)**



Hey Chris! It's Austin... my computer has been down for some time now. I got 6th in Plattekill Juninor World's for the quallifier in New York! A mechanical at the U.S. Open kept out of the top five.


**Austin talking about his Tomac bikes, and how awesome they are.**
OH! I also took 4th in Colorado yesterday!! I am shooting for the top spot next weekend at Nationals!

**That is one leggy Snyper!**


Austin Benge
Backbone Adventure Cycling

Mark Thome Featured In Cycle News!

Royal Racing and Jay at Sea Otter

The Hill's Market Breakfast Run.

I'm so jealous.


The Whale Shark swims lazily across the surface of the ocean, massive jaws agape as it scoops in tons of microscopic zooplankton in an attempt to increase it's body mass and fill the cavernous belly inside. Now picture that sea creature covered in very tight lycra, riding a bike. That's me. Using enough chamois butter to fulfill the needs of all the world's cyclists at once in order to squeeze into my team kit, I was ready to hit the door with my CLEARLY blind wife for a nice 26 mile run up the bike path from 3rd Ave to Hill's Market and back.


**MMMM...turtles. Come to think of it, doesn't The Old Mohawk have turtle soup?**
You should all know by now that I like to eat just about more than anything else on the planet. Chili dogs, Turtleburgers, funnel cake..all of it. Well, whilst on our fun two hour ride we stumbled (quite by accident) upon the Hill's Market seasonal weekend Veranda Pancake Breakfast.

Beginning in May and running through October, the weekend mornings have the staff at Hill's Market flipping flapjacks faster than SpongeBob can cook a Krabby Patty.

**The Pourous One after a Krabby Patty bender. **

For a paltry five bucks, one can ride to the northernmost point on the Olentangy Bike Path and sidle up to a breakfast replete with sausage, coffee and the aforementioned flat cakes, all while chilling the most like Space Ghost on the outdoor patio. What could be better than hitting the now completely exploded bike path (south of Lane) and rolling up to a killer breakfast? The shade is perfect, and the meandering and windy trail mimics the movements of the Whale Shark as it gorges. Sunday it starts a little late for me to eat, ride home and get to work on time,
but Saturday's earlier option may just work for a guy who (CLEARLY) only rides to eat. If it helps anyone else out, I have personally contacted the Fruit Of The Loom guys to see if we can get Backbone Team kits with "Super-Band-Waistband" sewn inside the belly area for a little more "give" in my XXXL jerseys....

I'm just sayin'.