Organic Cotton Continues

Fitzgerald’s is very excited to announce the latest addition to our Organic Cotton line of logo merchandise. Just when you thought Organic Cotton was only available in t-shirts and hoody sweatshirts we are now offering Winter Beanies, Army Hats, and Visors! Come by and show support for your favorite local bike shop guilt free… almost…

Interbike 2006

The Fitzgerald’s crew returned this weekend from another successful trip to Interbike in Las Vegas. Tim, Tom, Jannine, and Scott did it up right this year after 5 years of practice! We all spent 2 days in Boulder City just outside of Vegas where we got to demo all the latest ‘07 bike goodies. OK, the most asked question after the show is, “so, what was the best stuff you rode?” Here’s my personal short list of the gear that caught my attention:

Norco Faze and Fluid 4″ and 5″ bikes. Norco has been our shop favorite for years and they are poised to rule the 2007 model year. Additional refinements make the Fluid our #1 choice for 5″ bikes and finally we have a sweet 4″ xc bike with “Canadian geometry”! Check out how sweet the Faze is!

Compeletly redesigned Jamis 5″ and 4″ mountian bikes. These were awesome! Jamis has been long overdue for a new look and feel to their xc bikes. They fully delivered with the XAM 5″ bikes and the XCR 4″ bikes. Lighter, quicker, stiffer, and just plain more fun. Nice work!

Turner Sultan! Yes, the 29er thing is here to stay. I was very unwilling to adopt the big wheel revolution, until, now! I rode tons of 29ers and loved most of them. This was the king though. Yes it’s better for taller riders, but Jannine at 5′6″ loved them too. Drool factor is huge with this Turner. All I can say is… Get one before they’re gone! Dave B - sell the Flux and the 5-spot, this is your one bike!

SRAM and Shimano Drivetrains. I’ve been all about SRAM for a couple of years now but I must say that Shimano stepped it up huge for ‘07. Nothing like a little competition to raise the bar. I’m still riding SRAM… for now…

Salsa El Mariachi. I walked away from Interbike wanting a lot of things, but I only bought one… this bike! Fully rigid, 29er, 1×9 drivetrain. It’ll be here tommorrow, come check it out! Steel is real, derailuers are for failures (I’ll drop the rear when I get strong enough), and suspension is for sallies!

Orbea Orca! Get your order in now for hands down the SICKEST new road bike since the C-40. It looks 10 times better in person if you can believe it. The top tube shaping is unreal! Yes, it rides just as sweet as it looks!

Colnago CLX and Extreme Power. If you don’t know about the Extreme Power you soon will. This is the Extreme C Colnago that has no weight or riding style restrictions. The finest Colnago yet. I got to ride one. This is the best. But wait, don’t forget about the other great news from Colnago. The carbon CLX is a taiwan version of the Cristallo. So what? Well now we can all afford Signor Colnago’s legendary ride. Start your Colnago collection before you’re 50 years old or the product manager for a ski company.

The demo days in Boulder City were complete with heat stroke, many margaritas (funny how Jannine works at Picas and is still a light weight with the margs), killer wall riding at the motel (not telling where, find it yourself), too much Fat Tire (how’d that beer get popular anyway?), carnage (Tom, Jannine, and I got to play first responder to the nastiest, most grusome bike wreck I’ve ever seen in person). On to Vegas.

Sensory overload! Here’s the clifnotes:
Condo on the strip? Yeah that’s how Fitzgerald’s does it! BMX bikes, not Escalades are the only way to roll around Vegas. Breakfast with Ernesto was classic! The comb over is in full effect and he sure does love his bikes. ‘07 Campy… the only way to go. Fitzy kits in the Giordana catelogue, Nice work Ray!! New speedplay “light action”… here ya go Murph. Footbeds in Fitzgerald’s, of course. Ceramic bearings, where have YOU been? PF Changs saved the day. The Irish bar in NY, NY was very glad to see us again! I can now truly sympathize with Evil Kinevel, that fountain outside Casers is TOUGH! Ron Murray who taught me what a chainwhip is still rules the world! Check out the pump track he helped build in a city park in Stowe, VT below. Go to his shop Irie Cycles in Stowe. And finally, Interbike is a slut fest. Sure I like pretty girls, but the bike industry sunk to new lows this year, LAME. If we took all the money spent on booth whores we could have raised the budget for cycling advocacy by 20%! Think twice the next time you see an ad for bike parts that only shows some big chested nail polish model who would rather wear Carhardts than be caught on a bicycle.

Bikes Rule! And so does Fitzgerald’s!

Fitzy Newesletter 9/20/06

FITZGERALD’S BICYCLES NEWSLETTER-
SEPTEMBER 2006

BRRRrrr! It is NOT too hot to ride today. At least the smoke is gone though and the dare we say…skiing…is just around the corner.

Since so much has happened since the last update…I’m going to let it all flow- so tune in and out as you like, but here’s the news from the road and singletrack.

LOTOJA 2006..or was it 206 (miles)? It’s all a bad dream.
Even with a week of medicinal pizza, beer and ice-cream, it’s still giving me nightmares. But TEAM ORANGE represented huge!
Ian Tuttle’s 2nd Place in Cat IV was awesome. Even without super-domestic Tim Kelley for the final 110 miles, and reporting seeing dead people and other dark times near Alpine, Ian was able to out-sprint the case group (with only a 6’5” sandbag of all sandbags…besting him in his category). If the team can retain Tuttle in the off-season he will be a force in 2007.
Brian Shill(dog)Shilling’s 4th place in the Pro I-II field is reportedly the best overall result for a Jackson-ite, in this Utah dominated race. Kris Lunning put in great efforts throughout to keep Shilling in position for the final drag race up the village road. Lunner held on for 6th overall, his first time off the podium in Lotoja…but he could be heard muttering- “I’m going to kill those guys,” as he left the awards to begin his specialized training for a rematch next year.
Many others from the team deserve a call out, as it is still a monster accomplishment to simply finish this race. 206 miles, over 3 mountain passes (one a 20 mile climb), with wind and rumple strips…it’s one heck of a long, hard, ride.

Brian Schilling Pro – 4th place 9:17
Kris Lunning Pro – 6th place 9:19
Ian Tuttle Cat IV – 2nd place 9:34
Dave Bergart Cat III – 13th place 10:01
Tim Kelley Cat IV - 36th place 10:24
Dave Hutchinson Cit – 26th place 12:29
Len Carlman, Roger Brecheen, Roger Smith, Kevin Patno Relay Team – 9th place 10:10

Editor’s Note: I gotta say- seeing fellow Fitzgerald’s Bicycles riders out on the course was a huge help and having friends and JayP yelling out of passing cars in the final miles was awesome. This team thing is pretty cool.

MOOSE Roubaix. aka Moose to Moose. aka What Race?

It’s 3 hours to game time as I write, so a full report to come. But I’ve put my money on a 3-peat. You go Lunner! They can trash talk all they want, but barring a flat tire…your Furious Rage and Power is 2nd to none. (jayp has you beat on F.R. alone…but not the power combo).
Editors Note- The outcome is in. Sittin’ in and waiting to pounce, Ian Tuttle looked as cool as Cancellara hoisting his (teton granite) cobble trophy, to the dismay of 2 time defending champ Kris Cross (dressing) Lunning, who finally conceded after uncountable attacks by those who knew they couldn’t beat him, but also couldn’t stand to see him 3-peat. Lunner is rumored to be living out of his truck in down a Bend, OR forest service road this summer, alongside Chris Horner…hoping that Jedi Horner gives him the magic tactical view that will allow Lunning to out whit his rivals.
Chellie Terry took the W’s trophy, with a strong push through the first dirt and a gritty effort to hang with the leaders until the devil hill. Cheers to Lori Erickson for being the Devil (fan) on the Moose/Wilson road. Of note, fresh off his sailboat Scott Fitzgerald put in a serious effort and was seen swapping pulls with the Lion of Belgian Beer-Chris Erickson, in attempt to hold onto the family title. (Janine, slowed by a book club injury may not have been at her best.)

New Bikes! Who say’s Fall is not the time for new bike stoke? Luke Lynch’s 29-er is in the house. Beware a ride with JayP, DanK and Luke…as they’ve simply got bigger diameter than you. Sexy bike Luke…podium in Laramie next year?

What happens in Vegas stays in Vegas. Tim, Tom, Scott and Janine head to Sin City for bike overload next week, here’s hoping they remember what hot stuff to order for ’07! Speaking of 07, it’s time to start your Christmas lists…so talk to Scott about the new Campy, New Orca, New FSA cranks, New New stuff. (as he already knows).

OK…..Just when you thought we were a little’ol bike club: Top Shelf Team Racers Chellie Terry get’s Fitzgerald’s Bicycles into Velonews.com! Chellie took on the W’s Pro Peleton in the Parker Mainstreet Omnium over the weekend outside Denver, CO. 6th in the Timetrail, 12th in the Road Race and 9th in the Criterium put Chellie and Fitzgerald’s Bicycles in 7th Overall. With some of the country’s top racers present, this was a huge season ending victory for Chellie. We’re all proud she represented the team so well at this national level event. Lunner’s wheels, Bergy’s Helmet, Shop Mechanic help on her bikes and team tdi help on her bio-team car all went into her successful weekend. See article: (scroll to bottom for Chellie/Fitzy Team listings in results) http://www.velonews.com/race/dom/articles/10890.0.html

MUST HAVE GEAR- If you don’t own the team edition, Alpine Light Jacket, I don’t envy you. This is simply the best cycling top going. It blocks wind, rain, cars (it’s bright), doesn’t flap, has rear pockets for vest, etc. and simply put…it will make you feel and look faster. Period.
Limited supply on sale at the shop- $120.

Thank you to our sponsors! We love you guys. And we hope we’ve represented you well all season. It has been the teams most successful and most visable season yet. I’ll have a recap of the season in October, with a guest writer to recap the mountain bike season.

Riding slow but clean,
tK

Congratulations Teton Park! 42 Miles of Pathways.

Well, it’s been a long wait but Grand Teton National Park has made public their transportation plan. By the looks of it, we the cycling community made out great. Check out this statement from Dave Vandenberg,

Today the park announced the Final Environmental Impact Statement for their Transportation Plan. Thanks to all of you who voiced support for pathways in the park, public participation made a difference in influencing the park’s decision to combine elements of alternatives three and four from the Draft EIS for a total of 42 miles of multi-use pathways in Grand Teton National Park.

David Vandenberg
Your Executive Director at Friends of Pathways

Thanks Jackson Hole for all your hard work on this!

Don’t forget about LotoJa!

If you were lucky (or unlucky) enough to register for LotoJa before it filled up you certainly are aware of this Saturday’s drama. If you won’t be participating in the country’s longest single day road race then I strongly encourage you to take at least 5 minutes out of your day this Saturday to stop along the roadside and cheer on any of the riders you see. There will be especially good drama unfolding sometime around 4pm when Fitzgerald’s riders Ian Tuttle and Kris Lunning will be looking to win the CatIV and Pro Categories respectively.

Endurance races are very special events in the lilves of these athletes. Recently our own Dave Byers completed the Park City 100 mile mountain bike race and wrote a great insight to what these events mean to a rider. The submition below should get everyone pumped for some LotoJa cheering!

For the 2006 E100 100-mile race in Park City I had one simple goal: FINISH

Since early 2006 this beast of a race has been looming on the horizon as my first attempt at a 100-mile mountain bike race. With 18,600’ of climbing and roughly 95% of the course on singletrack trails, the E100 would be a huge challenge and gave me plenty of motivation to train this summer.
In the end I crossed the line in 13:41:49 for a middle-of-the pack finish, my first off-road hundie under my belt, and my proudest achievement on the bike to date. After many highs and lows throughout the day the final 4-mile singletrack descent into the Canyons Resort was euphoric. I had a serious case of perma-grin throughout the final descent as I could hear the crowd and see the race banners below me at a distance and all the pain that had accumulated during the day temporarily melted away. As I crossed the finish line I was cheered by my wife Michelle, many friends, and many more strangers. Receiving my “100-mile Finisher” medal was a feeling I will not forget.
So many factors influenced my day of racing that it would be tough to give a detailed account. Pre-race anxiety, darkness, rain, hail, wind, brutal climbing, tricky descending, crashes, beautiful singletrack, more climbing, and a lot of time riding alone shaped the whole experience.
There were a few highlights:
- The anxiety and excitement of lining up for a race that I was not 100% sure I could finish
- Ripping along the Mid-Mountain trail during Stage 1 with the sun rise peaking through the storm clouds
- Seeing my wife Michelle face her demons in the rainy darkness and toe the line for the 50-mile race; her first solo mountain bike race of any kind.
- Receiving support and motivation at aid stations from Tracy Petervary, my homie Rick, and my wife Michelle when I had expected to race fully self-supported
- The ebb and flow of insane amounts of climbing followed by incredible and challenging descents

My short journey in endurance mountain bike racing has been filled with memorable experiences and inspiring people. I am inspired by the super-fast guys like Jay P. as well the racers who toe the line not knowing for sure if they will make the cutoff times. Seeing my fellow Fitzy team members at races this year and getting to know more of you has added to the experience. Only 362 days til’ next year’s E100!
Dave

Newsletter 8/30/06

Tour day Jackson Wrap Up/Enduro Recap/Hint of Fall
This edition is not brief (sorry b-smith) so get comfortable and read on.

4th annual Tour de Jackson came to a climactic conclusion atop butte d’springcreek last Tuesday. Finishing the tour with the infamous tour d’ butte stage, including a timed finish up the famed 12 switchbacks of amangani…provided a down to the wire action in the Men’s race.
Borrowed from ucjh.com ghost writer, shilldoggydog:
SO CLOSE!!! Chris Murphy (Fitzgerald’s), in his swansong event in Jackson before heading to Seattle for PT school, earns the hardest fought and most coveted victory of his career by holding off a hard charging Brian Schilling (Fitzgerald’s) and Kris Lunning (Fitzgerald’s). The gap was a tenuous :28 over Schilling and :40 over Lunning coming into the final climb up Spring Creek, but it proved to be just enough as Murph clawed his way to 3rd place on the climb and finished :14 back of the desperate duo, securing his win by a mere 4 seconds! Congrats Murph! In the women’s race, Amanda Riley had built up an insurmountable lead, but Chellie Terry rallied to take the Polka Dot jersey and 2nd place, while Jill Damman repeated her 3rd place finish from last year and takes home the Green jersey. Thanks to everyone for participating! It was the best year yet for the TDJ! Final results on UCJH.org

Also from UCJH.com
Aug. 21 - Rendezvous Hill Climb
Congrats to Cary Smith and Amanda Riley for their victories in this weekend’s Rendezvous Hill Climb. Reports from the racers suggested slightly slow conditions due to loose rocks, but overall favorable conditions and weather.

Congratulations to our very own Luke Lynch who stood atop the Nick Wilson’s picnic table podium with his 3rd place in the Rendezous Hill Climb and looked fast in his Sports Page front page photo. Luke’s coming on strong and is rumored to have started his season late with Moose Roubaix as his target in Sept.

The Fitzgerald Team results from the E100- Park City Utah, Aug. 26th. That’s 100 miles of mountain biking.

-Dave Byers for pushing past the unknown and finishing the 100 mile race. And Michelle Byers for her 50 mile race effort.

-Nate Carey won 20-29 age group in the 50-mile. (Special props to Nate’s coach, Amanda Reilly who finished 3rd in the Elite/pro women’s category!! That’s awesome…)

-Dan Kaslow won the singlespeed division in the 50-mile.

-Jay P 3rd overall in the 100-mile.
Jay Petervary also clinched the overall title in the 30-39 age group of the Rocky Mountain Ultra Series points championship with his great performances in the Firecracker 50, Breckenridge 100, Laramie Enduro, and the E100 100-mile. (Psycho. We love you man. You’re a total inspiration to all of us. But you’ve simply ruined all of our ability to complain about a long ride, being tired, a sore –ss or anything for that matter).

-And Tracey Petervary for putting up with Mr. JayP and for hammering yourself, in so many tough races this year. Tracey is seeking a PR company like Jay has, as reports of her epic exploits are not as easy to come by

NEWS from the Road Trip, and a long strange trip it’s been.

The Idaho State Championships, Boise, ID saw out-of-taders Brian Shilling, Kris Lunning and Ernesto “Hawk” Carter racing in both the road race and criterium. Of note- Shill-dog has moved up to Cat II, joining Lunning in the “Pro” peleton. And Hawk has taken the big step of racing outside of Jackson. Hawk, if you can keep loving to ride your bike until you’re Shilling’s age…you’ll be pretty darn fast. Idahoan Chellie Terry, raced to a 5th and 4th place n the W’s I-III category races at the Idaho State Championships… so she won’t need the “famous potatos” stripes on her jersey for ’07.

SPEAKING OF IDAHO. And FALL. It’s about the best kept secret single-track around….just over the hill in the Big Holes. The secret (Teton Valley Mt. bike trails map) is on sale at Fitzgerald’s Bicycles in Map form….for $12.00.

Still with us? We love our faithful readers. A quick note…Tue. Night rides will continue until it gets too cold. We’ll announce the switch to 5:30 start times in the coming weeks. Also…Thu. Pedals and Pints will continue to roll on…as will 5” Fridays and Women’s Wednesdays…..so grab your friends, and extra layer, slip that blinking red light in your underseat bag….and get out there….there’s still plenty of riding to be had.

(Grafiti) Aritist (strikes) paints new mural on south side of shop. Check it out before you go into the brewpub for a few pints. Rumors are flying that this could be the new artwork for next years team shorts…here’s hoping Giordana doesn’t put one of those “raindrops” in the wrong spot up front!

Rider of the Week- gone but not forgotten. The Pocket Rocket. Ol’Bobblehead . The Sprinter. Pug Slayer. Murph.
Tour d’ Jackson Champion…and now…the student. Way to go bro. Also, for your 2nd place, Cat.IV Snowbird Hill Climb and 1st place Wolf Creek Pass Race! Nice job Chris Murphy!

Ciao,
tK

Have you given back to the trails yet this summer?