Jun 10 2009
AllRide Chronicles IV
AllRide Chronicles IV: Demos, US Open, Richie Rude is a star!
After a short week in Bend, Kirt, Travis and the AllRide Tour headed east for some demos and racing in the rain!
With a quick stop in Reno to pick up future star, Mikey Sylvestri, they B-lined it to Salt Lake City, UT where they stayed and played with fellow pro mountain biker, Eric Porter. They rode skate parks and enjoyed some sessions on Doug Daltonâs super sweet pump-track!
Itâs not all play and no work on the tour as the boys prepped the demo bikes for a great demo in Salt Lake City, UT with Guthrie Bicycle shop, then B-lined it again to Boulder, CO for a successful demo with Sports Garage. From there they set out on the long journey east to the US Open of mountain biking to meet up with the Santa Cruz AllRide Academy in Vernon, NJ.
The US Open: Kirt entered the race so he could practice with the AllRide Academy riders before their races. After a long rain delay right before finals, Kirt decided to race it but take it easy and just have fun down the slippery slope. The Academy riders had a great weekend! Unfortunately, Graeme Pitts injured himself jumping the week before, so he had to sit this one out. Mikey Sylvestri missed his start time due to some confusion with the timing and had to race last with people already walking down the middle of the trail. Bummer. Better luck next time!! Oh man, Richie Rude can race a bike! This is a 14 year old weâre talking about! Check out the video footage of his pedal power! (video coming soon) Go Richie and Academy stars! Everyone did great!
AllRide Academy:
Richie Rude: 2nd Jr. Men Giant Slalom
1st Jr. Men Downhill
Evan Turpen: 10th Pro Men
Amado Stachenfeld: 26th Pro Men
Next stops: Nelson BC for some NWD filming, the super fun Ashland 12-mile Super D, then down to Redlands, CA for more NWD filmingâ¦
Thank you to all of our life support... Youâre keeping the dream alive.
Santa Cruz Bicycles, Santa Cruz Syndicate, SRAM, RockShox, Avid, Truvativ, DT Swiss, CAMELBAK, Fox, Bell, Crankbrothers, Smith Optics, MRP, WTB, Lizard Skins, Clif Bar, Chris King, V.I.O. helmet cameras, Thule, Deschutes Brewery, Nike 6.0, Skullcandy, Nightrider, Cog Wild Mountain Bike Tours
May 20 2009
AllRide Chronicles III
AllRide Chronicles III: Bike Rodeo for Kids, Demo 5, Academy and Lindsey Races the Pole Pedal Paddle in Bend!
When the AllRide Tour is home in Bend the excitement does not end. Kirt attended a Bicycle Rodeo day with Cascades Academy and taught kids helmet safety and demonstrated some of his stellar riding skills. Kirt helped the kids through an obstacle course, over skinnies and down the slalom track. Whenever we get the opportunity to encourage riding bicycles and teach bicycle safety, we are there!
The AllRide Tour had a great demo with one of our local Santa Cruz dealers, Sagebrush Cycles, here in Bend. People are still lining up to ride the amazing new carbon Blurs and gorgeous Nomads!
As for myself, Lindsey, I am in full swing with mountain and road bike kids camps and guiding with Cog Wild mountain bike tours. I just finished my favorite event this past weekend, the Pole Pedal Paddle a six-stage multisport race alpine skiing, nordic skiing, cycling, running, paddling and sprinting from Mount Bachelor to Bend, in which individuals and relay teams of two to eight participants compete. I was unable to do the run portion this year due to an ailment, so I entered pairs with an old friend who did the run for me. We did great and got 4th place behind an ex Olympic skate skier and her partner and two teams of gnarly women! Not bad!
Our Santa Cruz AllRide Academy riders have been out racing strong! Richie Rude (14) traveled to Massanutten for the East Coast Jr Worlds Qualifier and continued to prove he is one to watch. He crashed during his race run and still managed a 2nd place finish by 2 seconds and would have placed top 10 in pro!
Cierra Smith (14) brought home the GOLD in the Expert Women 29 and under category at the Ashland Spring Thaw downhill. Cierra is on track to be a fierce competitor when she is old enough to turn pro!
Kirt and Travis are on the road! They will report back after the US Open in Jersey. They stopped to pick up our newest Academy addition, Mikey Sylvestri. Kirt gave Mikey his 2007 V10 that has never been ridden to race at the Open. Kirt met Mikey at Sea Otter when he let him borrow his slalom bike and he won his class, never having raced a mountain bike before. Kirt saw something special in him and has decided to take Mikey on the road to help him fulfill his dream of racing mountain bikes. Keep an eye out for Mikey Sylvstri, the kid is amazing and now has a chance to shine!
Thank you to all of our life support... You are keeping the dream alive.
Santa Cruz Bicycles, Santa Cruz Syndicate, SRAM, RockShox, Avid, Truvativ, DT Swiss, CAMELBAK, Fox, Bell, Crankbrothers, Smith Optics, MRP, WTB, Lizard Skins, Clif Bar, Chris King, V.I.O. helmet cameras, Thule, Deschutes Brewery, Nike 6.0, Skullcandy, Nightrider, Cog Wild Mountain Bike Tours
May 5 2009
AllRide Chronicles II - Demos and Academy Updates
AllRide Chronicles II: Demos 1 - 4 and The Academy Rides Strong
Demo time!! Santa Cruz Bicycles has some amazing bikes in their collection so people are lining up to give them a try!
March 11-12 Demo 1: Grand Junction, Colorado with Backcountry.com
Kirt and Travis headed out to Grand Junction to meet up with online outdoor retailer, Backcountry.com to let them play on some pretty new Santa Cruz Bicycles. Legend xc racer, Daryl Price came out to help out and the event was a great success!
April 15-19 Demo 2: Sea Otter Classic
During the chaos that is Sea Otter, we could not resist letting people take the bikes out for a rip. We then encouraged their voracious desire to buy the bikes on the spot by giving the adults yummy Deschutes Brewery beer after their rides!
April 25 Demo 3: Cambria Bicycle Outfitters in San Luis Obispo, Ca.
April 26 Demo 4: Bicycle Emporium in Auburn, Ca.
Santa Cruz AllRide Academy Update: May 1-3 Fluidride Cup in Port Angeles, Wa.
We packed the kayaks onto the Xterra with the Thule racks, loaded up the bikes and headed up to beautiful Port Angeles, Washington for some Fluidride Cup downhill racing action. Academy riders Amado Stachenfeld, Graeme Pitts and newest addition, Mikey Sylvestri once again blew us away with their talent.
The course was steep and fast with plenty of switchbacks, rocks, drops and threading the needle through the tight trees; as Kirt did with his bike and then his body during his qualifier. For two days, every practice run was under blue skies and on dry trails, when suddenly, ten minutes before qualifying, down came the rain. This created an entirely different course as riders were slipping and sliding down rocks, blowing wet corners and getting pitched into trees without warning from wet, slimy debris everywhere. The rain continued through the night but let up the morning of the race. This put riders, yet again, on a new course, slightly drier, still slippery and a bit unpredictable.
Kirt decided to take off the gas a bit to have a safe run and was really excited when he ran a good time and ended up ninth amongst some great talent. Kirt said: It was fun racing a real downhill course again. These kids are fast, but I was most impressed with Bart McDaniel! 45 years old and killing it! Gives me hope. The Fluidride cup is a race not to be missed. Great job out there!
Our trusty mechanic, Travis Lucas, did not sit still for one second during the four days of practice and racing. Travis deserves an award for helping out so many young rippers! Great job Travis!
Our team: Graeme Pitts looked strong and capable as he bettered his qualifying time by 2 seconds for an impressive 17th place! Amado Stachenfeld blew out the second corner and landed off course, but was looking fast all weekend! Mikey Sylvestri is definitely one to keep an eye on. He has virtually no mountain bike racing experience and his qualifying time would have put him right behind Kirt in 10th. He crashed during his race run in a section that definitely claimed some racers.
Kirt was really excited to be back at the roots of the sport where he was inspired to see the enthusiasm from people who love to ride bikes down hills really fast.
Top 10 + Academy rippers
Qualifier / Final
1 Curtis Keene 2.43.76 / 2.39.37
2 Luke Strobel Team Maxxis 2.50.32 / 2.42.28
3 Ryan Condrashoff X-Fusion/Intense 2.49.26 / 2.42.44
4 Andrew Mitchell 3.09.78 / 2.42.53
5 Joey Schusler Yeti / Fox Shox Nationl Team 2.47.56 / 2.43.60
6 Bart McDaniel FluidRide/Evil 2.45.21 / 2.43.71
7 JD Swanguen ODI, Troy Leedesigns, Spy 2.53.71 / 2.44.72
8 Chris Boice Yeti / Fox Shox National Team 2.51.27 / 2.45.63
9 Kirt Voreis Santa Cruz Syndicate / AllRide 2.56.31 / 2.45.73
10 Philip Weiring FluidRide/Evil 2.48.42 / 2.46.31
17 Graeme Pitts Santa Cruz AllRide Academy 2.52.27 / 2.50.20
33 Amado Stachefeld Santa Cruz AllRide Academy 3.00.16 / 2.52.54
61 Michael Sylvestri Santa Cruz AllRide Academy 2.47.14 / 2.59.88
Thank you to all of our life support... Keeping the dream alive.
Santa Cruz Bicycles, Santa Cruz Syndicate, SRAM, RockShox, Avid, Truvativ, DT Swiss, CAMELBAK, Fox, Bell, Crankbrothers, Smith Optics, MRP, WTB, Lizard Skins, Clif Bar, V.I.O. helmet cameras, Thule, Deschutes Brewery, Nike 6.0, Skullcandy, Nightrider
Apr 28 2009
Sea Otter Classic 2009
AllRide Chronicles: Sea Otter Classic 2009
Wow! What a great Sea Otter Classic this year!
The sun was shining, the wind was mellow, the vibe was happy and some Santa Cruz bikes are yellow.
This Sea Otter was a bit different for Mr. Kirt Voreis this year.
The Santa Cruz AllRide Academy had their first big event together and enjoyed some racing and mountain bike camaraderie.
Kirt was focused on making sure they all had fun, first and foremost... but the talent amongst these young rippers blew us away!
Cierra Smith - 1st Downhill U18 Girls 3:00.11
Richie Rude - 1st Cat 1 Men Downhill 15-18 (he's 14) 2:21.87 and 12th Cat 1 Men Dual Slalom 18 under
Evan Turpen - 27th Pro Men Downhill 2:14.77 and 30th Pro Dual Slalom
Troy Sladek - 2nd Jr. Boys 11-12 3:05.05
Graeme Pitts - 2nd Dual Stunt Men 19-29 and 70th Pro Men Downhill 2:20
Amado Stachenfeld - 58th Pro Men Downhill 2:19.87
Lainey Aldridge - 13th Pro Women Dual Slalom and 14th Pro Women Downhill 2:38.26
Austin Aldrich - 23rd Cat 1 Men Dual Slalom 18 under
Kirt Voreis - 19th Pro Downhill and 15th Pro Dual Slalom
Kirt wasn't so shabby himself as he ripped up the Dual Slalom and the Downhill after a winter of ankle surgery, recovery and only a month back on the bike. He was disappointed about the Dual Slalom because the nasty berm that seemed to be taking all the top pros out on their faces, slowed Kirt down just enough to get eliminated in round two. The DH was equally exciting as Kirt busted out a massive flatty on his heavy V10 for the crowd... I suggested he stay low to the ground and actually RACE... but he was having too much fun making the crowd cheer... Kirt was pretty excited to be back amongst his friends and peers and was stoked on a 19th place finish, 4 seconds off the winner, Mick Hannah who is BAAAAACK!!!
Our AllRide Tour had a few demo bikes out for testing. People seem to be fighting for the new Carbon Blurs. They are simply amazing... But so are all of Santa Cruz's bikes... Our booth was a popular place to oogle over new Santa Cruz Bikes drink some Deschutes Brewery Beer and fondle all of our sweet products from our loyal sponsors.
We are looking forward to a summer of shredding on our bicycles!
Thank you to all of our life support...
Santa Cruz Bicycles
Santa Cruz Syndicate
SRAM
RockShox
Avid
Truvativ
CAMELBAK
Fox
Bell
Crankbrothers
Smith Optics
MRP
WTB
Lizard Skins
Clif Bar
V.I.O. helmet cameras
Thule
Deschutes Brewery
Nike 6.0
Skullcandy
Nightrider
Photos will be posted soon!
