Wednesday, June 11, 2014

Let the Fun Begin!

Tuesday into Wednesday. A quiet parking that was full vans and tents of DH boys and girls here to free ride is now filling with Factory Semi's.

Today, Thursday, we have registration, a course walk and hopefully a bit of a tune up on the old fork from the fox boys. It's real!! Here we go!

Yesterday I ran into a few old friends. It was really nice to see some familiar faces! Jamie Tilbury, and Jon stout are now wrenching for the Polygon Factory crew, fellow Vermonter Dave Trumpore who is now shooting for pinkbike and a handful of other teams! Also ran into fellow USA teammates Galen Carter, Alex Willie, and Shane Leslie. Stoked to be I such good company.

Here's a few pictures from the last few days!
The sunrises and sunsets are amazing here. " there's a fire on the mountain, lightening in them hills"
Every day has ended with a soak in the stream thatf runs down the valley. Ice cold. Perfect recovery.

All bike photos are courtesy of Raffi DieWaldfee. thank you.
















Transition Tr500 bike check

I am fortunate enough to have some amazing sponsors that make some killer  products. Here's a look at the bike I'll be racing here in Leogang.
Specs:
Frame: transition TR500 lg, slack setting. 26 in.
Rear shock: fox DHX RC4
Fork: FOX Float 40
Bars: spank spike bearclaw, 777mm wide
Grips: spank
Stem: spank spike
Seat post: kore
Saddle: transition
Derailleur and shifter: shimano Zee
Brakes: shimano saint
Cranks: shimano Zee
Pedals: shimano DX
Chainguide: Mrp G3
Wheels: spank spike race 28
Tires: Onza Ibex DH 26 *2.4

She weighs in around 27.3 lbs
 Due to the interface between Safari and this website I cannot comment all he way through each post.
New for the team this year we have picked up Spank and Onza tires. The spike bar and stem 
Have a great balance of stiffness and dampening.  The wheels are amazing. Their "Oobah " rims really can take a beating!
Onza is making some incredible tires and really deserve more attention for their quality! 
They only produce the best, they have no cheap oem spec tires. And the grip is incredible! It took me a day to get used to how much further I could push the ibex before they broke free! Their open tread is perfect for East coast riding at home!
I have ridden 3 days here in Leogang  and it is rough. Being one of the only bike parks it gets bet up.
So many breaking bumps that you must do a bolt check every night! 
My MRP G3 has taken a serious beating here, and hasn't failed me once. Unreal..
The Fox Float 40 is clutch here. The speed is so much greater due to the steepness here. The holes are bigger and the impacts much harder. Being able to get a progressive spring rate and have a few clicks of compression create noticeable improvement is so important !
The new smaller shaft and valving on the RC4 makes for some impressive small bump compliance!

I am so stoked to be here and can't thank my sponsors family and friends enough for helping me get here!
Raffi DieWaldfee Photo.  First couple days of practicing. this bike took everything this Mtn had to offer, and was ready for more!
This bike has made me a lot of friends already. One kid told me I had the most beautiful bike in the World Cup!
It rides even better than it looks. The improvements over the 450 are more than noticeable. It sits much higher in the travel.
It tracks better, and is much more responsive.



New for me and the team this year are Onza tires. They are a Swiss company.
Their philosophy is that they will not make an average tire. They will 







Monday, June 9, 2014

Austria!!!

After 2 long days of travel I finally made it to my Hotel in Leogang. "Half board" is the best thing ever! Breakfast and dinner included! They already are laughing at how much I eat, and that I am the only one who asks for water instead of beer with dinner. They bring me a monster glass of water every night with a chuckle. I am about 4 K's from the lift. I got of the train on Friday and proceeded to shlep my bike box, duffle, and backpack 3 k in the wrong direction up the bike path to the Mtn thinking that's where my hotel was.....long day. It was everything I could do to stay awake for dinner.

Every night there is a table with my name on it. "McAndrew, 2"

I finally found an adapter and will get some go pro pictures and video up today. I took my camera for a jet lag early morning walk and couldn't believe what I saw.....
The farms are so neat and clean here. The cows look content and well cared for.
Quality of life is great here for both the animals and their caretakers






Friday, May 16, 2014

Views Of America! Headed home.

I was lucky enough to spend my winter in Southern California training and riding. That meant heading East again in the spring for Race Season, here's a few photos from the journey!
California was amazing, I can't thank the people that made it what it was enough. Especially Ella. Thank you!
This girl is pretty rad. Not Easy saying goodbye See you soon Ella!.
 We went to the ocean, Coast to Coast.

The day before I left my TR500 showed up! This baby rips!


I'm a mountain boy at heart.

the closer I got to Colorado the greener it got.
My Buddy Chris Dean lives in Carbondale and
was nice enough to host me and take me for a ride.
Carbondale is beautiful.

Getting to CO was incredibly, hard to keep your eyes on the road!

HANK! The named a town after you!

Carbondale. Ph: Deaner

The undergrowth here was so rad!

photos are fun, they let you see your technique and focus on improving

Deaner's A skiing friend of mine that got himself a mtn bike and is now ripping.
It was awesome to see his progress!

So fast the world couldn't keep up!

Wheelies!

Leaving CO was pretty tough, 2 ft of snow on loveland pass over night!

Rad.

St. Louis.

This cloud kept blowing up with lightening
Met up with the Frubee Brothers in Pennsylvania we had
 a blast riding some of my old collegiate tracks!


Feet.