xxc.cult:ure

How does the local pharmacist know you are a cyclist/failed mountain bike magazine publisher on the edge?…

Rite Aid Pharmacy: Will there be anything else sir?

Me: Nope…. just the Lexapro prescription and this udder cream.

Rite Aid Pharmacy: Oh, well OK then… (freak).

On side note… While the Lexapro may or may not help me deal with failure,  I KNOW the Udderly Smooth helps my tender bitz on rides and is SUPER cheap. If you are lathering your manly/lady bitz with anything else, you’re probably paying too much for the nearly the same anti ball friction goodness. And NO Udderly Smooth is not an advertiser (yet).

Found this shot of Italy’s Marco Fontana (Cannondale) today over on the MTBR.com forums. Gotta give him credit for staying calm and still hanging on for a bronze medal after crashing in the last (and possibly only) rocky section of the course. Luckily for him he didn’t have all that far to go until the finish, but hey it’s far enough if you ask me.

In a CyclingNews.com recap he said ”It’s really hard climbing the switchbacks without a saddle because you don’t have balance.” Something that you can see him demonstrate doing in this fan shot video clip:

I suppose when you’re on the podium with a gold medal around your neck, you can wear whatever the hell you want on your feet. As demonstrated here by Jaroslav Kulhavy… 

Finally back in the XXC Magazine World HQ office. It seems like a long time since I last posted anything here or on the web site. My apologies… sometimes dad and husband duties take over. Who am I to complain about heading to the U.P. to race the Ore to Shore and then on to Copper Harbor to lay knobs on the amazing trails there?

Anyway, back in the office and looking forward to posting more here, on the website AND finally getting to the end of work on XXC Magazine #17.

I am posting this cross video pretty much just because…

• It’s been pissing down rain here at XXC World HQ all day and had I rode it sort of would have been in conditions like the vide (minus the snow).
• It features Mr. Sven Nys who will be racing in the Olympic MTB race this weekend.
• I am doing the 46 mile Ore To Shore on Saturday and the field will be stacked with super fast cross guys like Tristan Schouten and Brian Matter.
• I can, want to, feel like it, like it, etc., etc.,

Pretty sweet video of the trail work that is done here in Michigan on a brand new trail: The Merrell Trail in western Michigan.

xxc.cult:ure, XXC Magazine and xxcmag.com thank the volunteers for their hard work, it’s much appreciated. For more information on the Merrell Trails visit their Facebook page.

THE B.R.C.C. SWEATER FROM J. CREW - $298

These sweaters are made from yarns spun from virgin himalayan yaks. Their warmth and bulky fit will have you looking stylish whether you’re on your way to class, off to tea with dear old granny or out randonneuring with your pals.

OK, obviously these are not cycling sweaters, are not from J. Crew and are not for sale (although I THINK Rapha probably has something in the works). It is just a neat photo I found from a 1973 of training ride by the Beacon Roads Cycling Club in the U.K.. The club’s history dates back to 1946 and is still going.

Then.

World Cup XC, cross, marathon, you name it. Thomas “Frischi” Frischknecht did it all and did it well. Dude is legend, dude is the balls.

The photo above is Frischknecht (Frischi to his friends. We’re not friends…. yet.) winning the 1999 World Cup in Canmore, Alberta, Canada. I’ve seen some other shots from that race; knee deep, tire sucking mud that forced most riders off their bike. It’s no wonder a racer that also excelled at cross won.

Now.

Now Frischknecht is the team manager for the über successful Scott/Swiss Power mountain bike team and also the color commentator on Red Bull TV’s World Cup race coverage. It’s always nice to have him drop some knowledge on you when watching a race.

Photo credit: The original top photo is from Gibson Pictures. The Bottom is via MTBS.cz.