ARA TAKES TOP 3 FOR SO CAL CROSS SEASON!

Hey Captain!

 

What a season!? From podium spots at the UCI race to the meltdown in Long Beach, it was a fun season but long. 12 races out of 14 for the series, I am officially tired and burned out. My goal was a top ten overall, trying to top my best  of 18th overall from last year. What a difference a year makes..and a cyclocross bike. Consistently getting a top ten at the races, 6 podium spots, and almost winning one of them was rteally exciting. Earning a 3rd place overall in Class B was surreal, made me edgy at times fighting for my place, but kept the me going through the end. Hearing the race announcer say "Ara Movsessian from Backbone Adventure Cycling" gave me goosebumps every time. It all came together this season mentally and physically, hoping to transfer this over to the upcoming mountain biking season. Of course I couldn't do this without the support from home and afar. Big thank you to Joy and Stack who supported me at the various races, especially Joy. It means a lot to have somebody to help. HUGE thanks to all the sponsors who support Backbone Adventure Cycling. Big shoutout to Roger from KENDA TIRE for hooking me up with great tires for the various conditions. The Kommandos for grassy flat courses and Kwickers for the mud were great. Ken is the man!! Thank you for the XPEDO CXR pedals. Never had an issue clipping in and out with these pedals in the mud. Amino Vital for hydration/nutrition was perfect, got me recovered enough to do two race weekends! SIGMA computers analyzed my training and racing data so I knew where to improve..soooo much data gathered. H & S Bike Shop for the Giant TCX hook up was a big help. Made a world of difference. Made new friends out there week in and week out. Anthony, Ben, Mike, Curtis, Griffith, and many more. Time to take a break and get the batteries charged for the mountain bike season!

 

Cheers,

 

FUZZ

Mark and Matt Thome Spend Thanksgiving in Polebridge, Send Fat Bikes!

Mark and Matty-Ice spent Thanksgiving up in Glacier National Park. THAT is adventurous for sure! With FEET of snow dumped on the ground, the town of Polebridge (where Matty-Ice resides) was a frosty welcome for Matt. They did wish they had their fat bikes, since the riding would have been perfect for them, but there is only so much room in the car y'know? 

People were certainly out and about in Polebridge, like the guy above on a grocery run with his mtb and a trailer. Mark has been out with some surgery, but has been rehabbing like a mo-fo and looks to be riding and racing again for 2015. That is always great news!

Have a great Christmas everyone, and keep the rubber side down!

Chris

Ryders Eyewear Selfer Contest!

Josh and I sent in our "SELFER" contest entries to Ryders Eyewear last week...by FAX...which is awesome and the only way you can enter TO WIN FREE SHADES FROM RYDERS! You must hand-sketch your "selfer" and fax it to Ryders. Deets below....

Josh Qualls Earns ACE AWARD, and Makes The News With Jeff Williams!

Backboner Josh Qualls was brought in to the fold by Backbone lifer and all around amazing guy Jeff Williams...so it's no coincidence that Josh would also be a pretty amazing guy. The Ashland Cycling Enthusiasts (the well-executed club he rides with in Kentucky) chose Josh, along with a couple of other folks, as this years' "Ashland Cycling Enthusiasts Award" winner. Josh continues to be a great example of what it means to be on this team, and with a mentor like Jeff how could he not? Here is the nomination/award write up from A.C.E;

"Josh Qualls- this individual has restored my faith in our youth. Whether representing ACE and sponsors at races or assisting a newbie on a challenging ride, this ACE member truly exemplifies the ACE values of giving back to the sport. Most recently this individual initiated Sunday morning mountain bike rides at Greenbo State park which had upwards of 20 riders in attendance. Building on this success, this individual presented the mountain biking opportunities at the recent KBBC meeting at Greenbo. Capable of dropping every rider in the peleton, this rider can often be seen at the back assisting struggling newbies or even seasoned veterans just having a bad day. Our next recipient of the Spirit of ACE Award is Josh Qualls."

Jeff and Josh also were written up a few weeks ago in the local newspaper in Kentucky, where they were photographed during their "Slow Race."  See the page below!

Great job doing great things guys, it is an honor to have you on board!

Ara Tops Podium In So Cal/UCI Cross Races

Below are a few of the Fuzziests' latest cyclocross race updates from all over California..with one being the UCI race in L.A. that saw him land in 4th place! Big thanks to Tsolag and Vegas Bob for their support!

"Captain,

SLOcross was not slow! Fast course with plenty of tight turns and power ups. The teeth chattering back section took a toll on my wounded left hand but hung on for dear life. Got 2nd place, good result, but lost first place by 2 seconds. Couple of the top 10 guys didn't show up so we took advantage of gaining major points in the overalls. Lost the guy on the backside and almost caught him at the end. Some of the those Central Coast racers are fast. Took the Sunday race off to recover and heal. Getting ready for some major racing coming this weekend at the Greek Theatre, UCI Sanctioned CXLA! Goal is to get top 15. Hopefully. 

This past weekends race was a good way to tune up for next weekends big races.Sponsor Spotlight : Amino Vital Pro Grape
It is nearly impossible to drink from your bottle during cross races
because you are just pinning it the whole time and there is no room to take a sip, so for me it is very important to recover well after the
race with Amino Vital Pro. Cooling down after the race and sipping on 3,600mg of BCAAs, Glutamine and Arginine. This past weekend after the race I rode back to the hotel which was 6 miles away and had a whole bottle of Amino Vital Pro to replenish my empty muscles. Felt good the next day during my recovery ride around San Luis Obispo."

FUZZY TAKES 4th AT L.A. CROSS TODAY! That is a UCI race, and he landed top five out of 36!! Way to bring the rage Fuzz!

Ara took another top five finish in last weekends' UCI cross race at Griffith Park! This pic was taken by the fine folks at Tenspeed Hero after the race.

The Fuzz rolled to the Turkey Trot CX race last weekend, and sadly wrecked out (as did many) in the rain-soaked sand pits. The pix from this obstacle looked pretty amazingly bad on Dorothy Wong's page, but that's racing folks! The wrecks were too much for Ara to overcome to have a repeat podium performance...but still managed to fight his way back in to a top ten! Ninth place is still amazing, and we are proud of our Fuzzbucket no matter what!