Sunday MTB ride: Hubert goes headfirst...over the bars.

Leo picked me up at 7:15 this morning and we made our way out to Sycamore Canyon to do my third (ever) mountain bike ride. I've ridden Sycamore Canyon on a previous occasion but this time we rode through Martha's Grove and descended down some ridiculous rock garden, staircase of doom.

In lieu of the full-suspension Epic 29er that I rode last time, I rode a Stumpjumper Comp 29er hardtail. I wanted to get a personal, real-world take on the full suspension versus hardtail debate on a trail that I had ridden on previously.

The ride was going swingingly, until we got to the winding-rock-garden-staircase-of-doom descent and I made the unfortunate error of trying to ride down it on my front wheel which meant that I ended up on my head. The saving grace to my improptu ballet routine was that it was going all of 1 mph and so I mostly caught my fall.

After going through a rather long and lonely walk through what is truly beautiful countryside, I rejoined to group to find them all lounging around and waiting...

Leo and Nate were nearly catatonic by the time I rejoined the group:

Chris did manage to get his OG pose on for the camera:

Carlo, as always, was ready for his close-up:

The rest of the ride went off, mostly, without a hitch although Carlo had a minor spat with gravity and gravity won...however, he was thankfully unhurt.

We all made it back to the parking lot and proceeded to do what any rational person would do... indulge in an 11,000 calorie burrito lunch:

So what's my (naive) take on the full-suspension vs. hardtail debate? I need more seat time and I can't wait to go back!

The Sunday road ride resumes next week. 8AM from the shop. See you all then.

Thanks as always for reading.

Ride safe,

B+L Bikes

Fresh Full Suspension Awesomeness

The 2011 inventory is starting to trickle in and the latest visitors to take up residence at the Sports Arena store are a 2011 Stumpjumper FSR Elite and an Epic Evo.

The Stumpy:

It features a Fox fork, XTR rear derailleur, Roval wheels (built with DT Swiss hoops and hub internals), SRAM carbon crank and a new for 2011 2x10 drivetrain. It's an exceptional build kit and an exceptional value.

The Epic Evo:

The Epic Evo features the same XC World Championship geometry that the Epic line is known and loved for, but for 2011 it takes on a more stealth look (minor bling points with the gold accents, of course) by featuring a matte finish, carbon SRAM 2x10 cranks and drivetrain and the renown RockShox Reba/Fox and Brain valve combo.

Both bikes are built up and rearing to go, so come down an take one - or both - out for a spin.

Thanks for reading.

Ride safe,

B+L Bikes

Excuse the interruption...

... the Sunday road ride for this week is being changed to a mountain bike ride.

We're planning on going out to Sycamore Canyon (aka Martha's Grove).

If you're interested in joining us, meet us at the trailhead (Mast Blvd. & Medina) at 7:45AM on Sunday.

For those of you who can't make it for the mountain bike ride, don't worry, the road ride will resume on Sunday October 14th.

See you on Sunday.

November 5th Dinner Filling Up Fast, Register HERE

The registration link for the November 5th World Bicycle Relief Charity Event is now open and filling fast.

To register, for the meet & greet or the dinner, please click HERE.

Register now and don't miss out on good times, schwag, and the opportunity to support an outstanding charity.

For more information, please visit the SDC4WBR blog.

See you all on the 5th.

Thank you,

B+L and SDC4WBR

Register for the November 5th Event HERE!!!

The registration link for the November 5th World Bicycle Relief Charity Event is now open and filling fast.

To register, for the meet & greet or the dinner, please click HERE.

Register now and don't miss out on good times, schwag, and the opportunity to support an outstanding charity.

For more information, please visit the SDC4WBR blog.

See you all on the 5th

Thank you,

B+L and SDC4WBR

B&L Sports Arena Presents: WBR Meet & Greet Fri Nov 5th 5-6:30PM

Join B&L Sports Arena In Supporting World Bicycle Relief

B&L Sports Arena is proud to announce that we will be hosting a very special meet and greet event on Friday November 5th, 2010 from 5PM to 6:30PM.

In attendance will be a very special guest...Chris Horner.

There will be door prizes, refreshments and the company of an exceptional athlete in a very casual setting.


To attend the event, a $25 minimum donation is required (tax deductible) but the company, swag and fund will be well worth it. And, you're directly contributing to poverty relief by contributing to sustainable mobility.

For more info, or if you have questions, please visit: www.sdc4wbr.blogspot.com or email hubert@blbikes.com.