Maine Boat Registration Renewal Available Online through IF&W Thursday, June 25, 2009
Announcing the availability of online boat registration renewal through Maine's Department of Inland Fisheries and Wildlife at http://www.maine.gov/online/boat.
IF&W is pleased to announce the availability of an online boat registration renewal system. The online system, available at http://www.maine.gov/online/boat allows residents or non-residents to renew their Maine boat registration online 24 hours a day, 7 days a week. Payment for registration renewal fees and municipal excise tax fees can be made in one secure transaction using a Visa, MasterCard, or Discover credit or debit card. In order to use the online renewal service, your legal residence town or, for non-residents, the town in which the boat is primarily moored or docked, must participate in the online service. Participation by municipalities is voluntary, but is necessary in order for local excise tax dollars to be processed online and remitted to the town. Currently, 117 municipalities participate in the online service. To see if your town participates in the service, please visit http://www.maine.gov/online/boat. If you do not see the town listed, please complete a "Request Participation" form which will be forwarded directly to your town officials.
The IF&W Magazine is available for you to view. Read the latest edition of Maine Fish and Wildlife online at http://www.flipseekllc.com/maine2009spring.html.
This Spring's issue includes a variety of information from the department and around the state. Sections of the magazine include information about Any Deer Permits and the Deer Predation Study, a message from the Maine Warden Service, and an entry from a "Biologist's Journal". Also included is information about summer activities at the Maine Wildlife Park and the outdoor skills quiz, "What Would You Do?"
Team Giant Update: Ashland 12-Mile Super D! Thursday, June 25, 2009
Sometimes you've just gotta stick your neck out and MAKE things happen. I'm really torn these days on the topic of just what kind of racing is going to provide the most satisfaction, and, more importantly, entertainment… The Ashland 12 Mile Super D has always been on my list of important stuff to do. This year it looked like I'd miss it yet again as I needed (and wanted) to be in Colorado Springs for a stop on the US Pro XC Tour. But wait! The Short Track was on Friday and XC on Saturday. So, if I could find a flight from Denver to Medford, OR (like the 8:15 departure, midnight arrival I found for cheap on Alaska) I could feasibly race 12 miles of alleged radness in the Siskiyous on Sunday morning.
The Mount Ashland start on a foggy morning.
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Fortunately, the race organizers in CO must have known what I was up to as they shortened Saturday afternoon's XC race to four laps. I'd totally have time to take a shower on the way the DIA… And wouldn't have to get quite as tired… I cleverly finished off the podium so as to avoid waiting around to receive "awards". Felice was kind enough to ride shotgun while I drove to the airport, we had plenty to talk about in the form of the obligatory afternoon thunderstorms circling the high plains. I was pretty sure the biggest, blackest one was attacking the airport region. It was. Have you ever ducked when hailstones hit your windshield? I did about seventeen times in the last few miles on Pena Boulevard. The odds against my flight departing on time were confirmed when I stepped out of the car in driving hail to hear the wail of what could only be a tornado alert siren. Awesome. Somehow though, DIA pulled through and by the time my flight departed on time two hours later the skies were clear and a beautiful sunset had commenced. Bullet #1 dodged. My half-hour layover in Seattle was just enough time to grab a delicious Veggie Burrito with Pork and a secondhand newspaper. Then, the inevitable pilot's voice over the intercom asking one of the flight attendants to "Check the latch on the rear service door." Evidently the Door Ajar light was on in the cockpit. This took Maintenance 45min to sort out. I finally landed in Medford at about 12:40 in the morning. Fortunately, my roommate and weekend time travel enabler Chris Moor was there with the Thule truck to pick me up. In the truck was the freshly built Trance X he had sorted out while I was screwing around in CO. High Five, Chris.
I was going through a pretty serious internal struggle as I tried to fall asleep in the face of residual XC race caffeine at about 2am. To wake up in a few hours for a dawn patrol practice run or just give 'er blind at race time? An hour of illogical circular deliberation I fell asleep with no concrete decision. The call was made when I woke to the "non practice schedule" alarm at 6:45. A boiled egg from the Best Western and we were on our way up to the Mt Ashland Ski Area, elevation 6800' or so. It was foggy. Real foggy. Good think I wasn't up there a couple hours earlier, it would have been COLD… I got the new bike all set up and learned that I would be starting behind my favorite Bend Local, Timmy Evens. This led to some good-natured banter about which side I'd overtake him on and such.
Turns out it was the left, a little while after I almost died on a right hand turn. The second on the course, to be exact. Fortunately, the Sam Hill approved inside line approach I'd envisioned (without any actual information to base said vision on) left just enough room to skid outside, hook up and rail out at speed. Rad. Timmy had warned me about the first turn on the track and a Miles Rockwell crash in practice but not the second turn. This got me to thinking for a moment about the next thousand-odd turns I had to figure out in the light fog… Ah well, I signed up for it, might as well pin it. And pin it I did. Pedaling really hard when I could, which was often, and trying to use my trail direction sensing powers the rest of the time. This, as I'd hoped, worked out really really well, which is a testament to just how AWESOME the trails around Ashland are. On a well-built trail you don't really need to know the lines, they just sort of present themselves just as you see each section of trail. Stay loose and don't over-analyze and things will work out just fine. This approach was helped by a perfect amount of moisture in the soil enabling late braking and over-committed cornering, and not hindered THAT much by 40mph foggy fireroad corners and lack of knowing anything at all about things coming up. In all, a perfect ride down perfect trails.
Me kicking it out of said start and into the unknown…
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Eventually, after freezing up and portaging around an obvious rock gap onto a fireroad I got into a completely different ecosystem, the moist forest trails of the ridgetops gave way to a brushy Oak forest that HAD to be near the valley floor. The trail became a steep affair riddled with switchbacks and cute little tabletop jumps. Super fun to flick, air and skid down at speed. Just as this section spit me out on another old road bed I buzzed under a tent that must have been the finish line and asked "Am I done?" to which someone replied "Yes". Fair enough, guess I made it. And without blowing anything or dying. Amazing and a whole hell of a lot of fun. Jason Moeschler and Myles Rockwell, the two guys I was expecting to get beat by, were standing there looking pretty fresh and rested, as if they'd been there a while. Jason was pumped with his run, "My legs felt just how I wanted them to and I hit all my corners perfectly, GPS says 33:47!" I figured he's fast and didn't blow it, so he probably got me. Ah well, at least I had a better time than I recall ever having and didn't die…
We bench-raced for a while as finishers trickled in every minute or so and eventually hitched a ride back to the top with Ashland Mountain Adventures. My old buddy Mike West swung by to see about riding some other trails down the mountain while the rest of the racers did their runs. He didn't have to ask twice. He, Cannondale Kevin and I set off walking through snowbanks to Time Warp, a very appropriate trail for me to be riding at the end of this fairly ambitious weekend. If I only knew how rad it would end up being. Everyone, go to Ashland and ride Time Warp right now with someone who pins it. You'll have fun, I promise. Then you'll turn RIGHT and head back to more sweet trails. We went LEFT and on a tour of the Ashland Creek watershed. Scenic and eventually let to some secret trails and the Hitt Road Chainless race course but not before ten miles of "how lost are we getting" traversing on old logging roads… Every race day should have an adventure, right?
We made it back to the top tired and happy for the third time that day and I jokingly asked the first person I saw, Kiwi Paul, "Did I win?" To which he replied "Yeah, mate, by two seconds!" Sweet. Guess that worked out. Unfortunately I had to beat Moeschler (one of the nicest, smoothest, fastest guys I know) to do it, but that mean my time of 33:45 a new record for the course by almost two minutes. The dirt must have been faster than I gave it credit for…
The ski lodge was packed for the awards ceremony and raffle, which I'm used to being a sparsely attended formality for those who got prize money. Not the case with the 12 Mile Super D. The place was packed and almost every raffle winner and podium finisher was present and stoked when their name was called. Good to see.
Sam Koerber (3rd on the day) and I thought we had a crew together for a victory lap down the race track (with some detours for jumps that were bypassed in the name of speed earlier) but everyone wilted with the afternoon rainstorm. We kept it EAST COAST and shredded sloppy wet dirt to the valley floor once again, vowing to race this kind of thing somewhere on the Right Coast in the near future. Good times.
Team Giant Update, Ten Reasons Why Colorado Kicks Ass Thursday, June 18, 2009
I just spent ten days in Colorado without wasting a single one. Here's a bit of insight into just how each and every day was made special in it's own little way…
June 4- Off The Couch kayak racing isn't the best idea. Or, how to make lemonade out of getting smoked… Lizzy English and I drove to CO on a whim so we could compete in the Homestake Creek Race at the Teva Mountain Games. She reckoned it'd be a good way to run the brown and make some cash. I figured I was from the East Coast and could shred manky some low water Class V kayak racing. We decided riding bikes in Salt Lake with Tom Daigle on the way over would be a better use of time than "practicing" on the creek. Turns out if we'd "practiced" more than one run just before racing I might not have tipped over in a few inopportune spots and she might have paddled fast enough to make gas money. Oh well, at least we know the lines at 72CFS for next year… Some people were amazingly fast and precise, so that was a good example for us, embracing the lazy kayaker ideals isn't always the go.
June 5- I'm way better at bike riding. Carl and I pre-rode the Teva Games XC Track, which used some of the 2001 World Champs terrain and was strangely familiar. Unlike the perfect first tracks we found on some freshly melted out North Loop across the Vail Valley. Fortunately, our awesomeness at riding through the woods was catalogued for the next people to ride there by perfect dirt with perfect tracks freshly laid. I hope they appreciated the amount of backing it in that went on…
June 6- Racing at 8000 Feet isn't THAT bad… Somehow after a week of driving, playing and generally not being very professional, which is normally a sure way to suck at racing in the mountains, I didn't ride like a total amateur in the SoBe X-Country Bike (such clever names and promotion at the Teva Games). Sure, Jeremy and Todd beat me by a solid five minutes, which might be a bad sign for Nationals in five weeks, but at least Carl and I stayed ahead of most of the other Colorado Superstars and made some gas money. Then got really tired. Maybe it is hard…
June 7- If you don't like the weather, just drive somewhere else. Sunday dawned grey and lazy for the Fun Giant Team. Lizzy had left at the crack to solo the 16-hour CO to OR drive in a day, taking Whitewater out of the equation for lack of equipment. Just as we got Vail Valley singletrack beta from Jay Henry it started to hail. So we loaded up the rental and bolted for Rad Ross's place in The Grand Valley. Surely it'd be sunny there. It was. And the Schnell Family was eager to pawn off a couple pounds of last fall's Elk on us in the form of burgers and sausage. Combine this with an epic evening shred down the Ribbon Trail and Gunny Loop and you can indeed turn gloomy mornings into perfect afternoons with just a little petroleum product consumption.
June 8- Dude Day is a necessity to offset the sissiness that is racing bikes in tight pants for a living. We declared Monday Dude Day in honor of the fact that Ross can't ride with a broken hip but sure as hell can hang out in the garage and work on motorized things. He baited us into the resurrection of some old, supposedly "80mph" Go-Karts with the prospect of racing said Karts on the local track that afternoon. Only after spending a solid few hours with little knowledge and even less specialized tools did we give up and call the track for professional advice on our project. They were closed. New project. After the Trek/Volkswagen team folded Ross Had to give his 2008 GTI back and retaliated ideologically by getting a super sweet Enduro Downhill racing gig and buying a cheap old sleeper Audi Turbo Sedan. It obviously needed a better exhaust system so we installed that before heading off into the sunset and the general direction of Gunnison.
June 9- Turns out mechanics SHRED trails too… Our arrival in Gunnison was well timed. Joe informed us that one of his favorite rides was melted out. Doctor's Park. We climbed a dirt road along Spring Creek for a few miles before turning down a side road that dipped through said creek. Carl immediately looked concerned as the rest of us started taking shoes and socks off. Joe promised it'd be worth it and it was. The steadily falling snow (note June 9 above) didn't deter us from the five miles of shred that awaited. Starting with high-meadow bombing that fell away into steep rocky switchbacks and eventually dumped us next to a small creek at concerningly high speeds gleefully gapping moto'd whoops. Not to be outdone by, um, itself, the last mile dropped to the valley floor through a series of perfectly built switchbacks interspersed with granite rock-drops and gratuitous skidding. Joe and Mavic Dan led the way, riding fast enough to keep me cackling with laughter the whole way down. Kick-Ass defined. To top it off, after I did a little Gunnison River Whitewater Park shredding Dan had us over for the kind of barbecue you can always smell somewhere in the 'hood but are rarely walking down to sidewalk to. This time it was indeed our destination. If we could have only known that the chili-peppered chicken scent would give way to S'mores before the night ended before we walked through the door… Thanks, Dan and Kathy.
June 10- Dave Weins is still the MAN. The local trails in Gunnison loop around an area called Hartman's Rocks. It's a plateau of Granite. People ride dirt bikes there. And pedal bikes. This makes this place yet another example of how it doesn't matter how the wheels are propelled, so long as there are two of them the trails will be spot-on. Who better to show us than our favorite Tour Winner Slayer, Dave Weins. I'm pretty sure that in three hours of the man pushing the pace we rode most of the 50 miles of trail at Hartman's, roosting most of it solidly. Weins was pretty entertained with the riding style I've picked up over the years of traveling. Commit to most things that appear to go and use the air as plan B when necessary, which was often on this gloriously entertaining day of riding. I love it when a plan comes together at the last possible second over and over again. Maybe someday I'll get to race there for a Growler…
June 11- Pit stops and punching the clock. I leaned to kayak in Maine. There was this kid, Dustin Urban, who was a bit of a ninja in his kayak.. We paddled together a fair bit and had a good time before our lives diverged. He went to Princeton and I globetrotted. He also got really good at kayaking, a Bronze Medal from last year's Freestyle World Cup came as proof. Somehow Dustin ended up in Colorado, working on the South Main community project in Buena Vista. A outdoor-oriented village centered around the Arkansas river. It being on the way to Colorado Springs I swung by to meet his wife Katie and Son Heron, and, obviously, have him teach me a new trick or twelve. We shredded and it was fun. But, duty called and the trek to a "Dealer Ride" and dinner in The Springs continued. Little did I know it would go down as the best Dealer Ride and Dinner in history. Kelli made the call to ride Williams Canyon off Rampart Range Road. This ride wasn't known when I lived at the OTC many moons ago but has become a stalwart. That's because it's friggin' awesome. Good call on the sloppily wet, rocky, perfect trail dropping through a rad sandstone canyon, Emmett. The fact that Amanda's Fonda Mexican Restaurant was a mile from the end didn't hurt…
June 12- Short Track racing is still hard. It's been since last August that I've toed the line for twenty minutes plus three laps. This one was sugar coated with a helping of flowing fun singletrack where one could coast and rest a bit, but that didn't go very far to making it easy. I tried to make it extra hard midway through with an attempt to bridge up to the lead duo of Jeremy and Todd (noticing a theme?) that didn't last very long. Carl and I used our usual team non-tactics to finish 4th and 5th. Good exercise at least…
June 13- Somehow the Sand Creek Series folks figured out how to make a time warp XC Course for our race on Saturday. Unfortunately, I was too tired from the week of rad riding to capitalize on the fact that you somehow climbed for about 15 minutes per lap and descended for almost that long. Perfect. If you're Max Plaxton, who roasted said descent to the win. I, on the other hand, was engaged in a (not very) epic battle with Sam Schultz for the final podium spot on the third lap. Since our battle wasn't that interesting, we were just riding around together, I decided to start entertaining him with skids in corners and clever rock drop lines. On one of these I burped my tire. Oops. He laughed either way. Then I had to stop for a NASCAR pit change at the hands of Joe Staub which slid me back to seventh spot. Fortunately, I got a glimpse of Carl in his own battle for 8th with a bunch of dudes. They had all been "drinking" for the whole race though, which he'd decided for some strange reason to forgo. 12th was his negative reinforcement for that approach… Good thing for him we only raced four laps, good thing for me too as it meant I got a shower on the way to the airport for the second Time Warp of the day…
Anyway, CO is a nice place for bikes. We'll be back soon for Nationals in Winter Park mid-July. In better shape hopefully… Carl is counting calories and I've just purchased an Altitude Tent system from Altitude Tech, it's ON!
Interesting link: Teva Mountain Games Film School student Stephanie Pearson's first-ever video production project which I was somehow chosen as the subject for. She did a good job… http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Be-sHD-A4pM
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At least Joe had to walk across Spring Creek too…
It snowed in Doctor's Park
We had good Pizza in Crested Butte. I turned into a food coma warrior in the comfy couches…
Lizzy English fires up "Champagne Boof" during the Homestake Creek Race. Sick.
Shredding at the Buena Vista Whitewater Park on the Arkansas River
Carl and I look like we're working effectively together in this Short Track shot. We're not.
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Team Giant Update by Carl Decker Tuesday, June 09, 2009
Adam Craig and I have never had so many people think that we ROCKED! When we decorated the car with our initials separated by a lightning bolt, we thought we were clever. Then when people saw the AC/CD car at the Oregon Trail Rally last week, maybe they thought we were clever. Or they thought we were with the band, AC/DC. I'll admit, I've been mistaken for a roadie before. But not that kind of roadie…
Oregon Trail, the 4th stop on the Rally America National Championship tour, would be the first race in a long time for Adam 'n' Carl's Giant Team4fun. The trusty Wheels of Teal had been through a transmogrification of sorts. In the last year, she'd changed from a lowly Group 2, two-wheel-drive, 130 horsepower car into an Open class car with 300 horsepower and 4-wheel drive. Over a base coat of sweat and tears, a coat of white paint was applied. And on top of that, some stickers. Now we'd see if she (we?) were ready to race against the quickest cars and drivers on the continent...
Day one started at Portland International Raceway with some short stages on mixed surfaces: tarmac, gravel, grass, and motocross track. After lots of time at registration and many apologies to the staff for us being summarily late and unprepared, and after the vehicle "scrutineering" where they surprised us by saying that our car was "good to go", we returned to our RideLife tent and awaited the start.
PIR is the best rally spectator event around. The four short stages start at 7pm and go into the dark. You can see every car on every stage in 3 hours while eating a hotdog. You can wear your nice shoes straight from work, and you won't rip the oil pan off of your car trying to get to a "spectator area". It's also great fun for the competitors to check out other racer's lines and for the Service Crew to actually see some action, other than battered cars limping back into the service area.
Speaking of service crews, we had the largest and most experienced crew we'd ever had. AC's dad, Harvey, flew out and joined Old Man Decker in the pits, for a combined 100+ years of automotive wrenching and sandwich making experience. PIR was a great place for the Dads to get to watch the WOT and all the other, less white cars compete. And it was fun for Adam and I to check out all the fancy new equipment in the Parc Expose. Lots of New STIs and Evos and people with fancy unstained racing suits with their names embroidered on them. There were even some old Group B cars from the eighties on display for us to ogle. From back when men were men and cars were 2000lbs with 800 horsepower.
The stages went well on friday. We did some nice drifting on the tarmac with gravel tires and ended up 2nd overall in the regional competition. How it works: the regional competition is for racers that don't do the entire national series. Each of the three days of the rally is scored as its own race. The national competition has no daily victor, each day is part of the three day rally. So if you don't finish a day, the regional racer fixes his car and starts again tomorrow. The national racer packs up and goes back home to the money-tree orchard. Did I mention that the entry fee is 1200 US Dollars for the national? 1800 with late fees. 650 for us regional guys. I recently heard that "Rally racing is a disease only cured by poverty".
Day two: Gravel roads in the hills twixt Hood River and Mt Hood. Seven stages on some spectacular roads. Stage 2 was one of the most memorable stages I've ever driven. It started out with 3 miles of very rough roads that had both of us exercising our sphincters as we tried to avoid the larger rocks, which were painted bright orange. Then it opened into beautiful grasslands with smooth, fast corners and exciting 80mph blind crests. We managed an indicated 115mph on one 350m straightaway. I don't think I liked this stage while we were racing it, but in hindsight, it was fun. Kinda like some mountain bike races... As the day wore on, our notes reading/absorbing improved and we began to set some good times. Every stage, the turbo would stop working for 5 to 25 seconds when we least expected it, leaving us missing about 2/3 of our prancing ponies. Annoying at the time, but even that seems like it was fun. Now, a week later, from my couch. Still don't know what was causing that.
On day 3, we went to the driver's meating (meant to misspell that) and learned we were 8th overall among national and regional competitors. We also learned that there were ribs cooking and we could reserve a rack that would be done at noon. AC and I did the right thing and put 20 down on a hot lunch for the Dads. The stages were the same as yesterday, but backwards. Amazing how foreign a road is backwards when you have it memorized the other way. Before the first stage, I asked Adam if he smelled a whiff of gas, as I did. He said no. His first car as a kid was a sandrail, so the gas-smelling part of his nose may be worn out. By the end of the stage, even he could smell gas, as it was filling up the floor under his feet! We were in the eye of a shiticane! I pulled the car off and we hopped out. He grabbed the fire extinguisher as I looked under the car to see fuel pouring off of our hot exhaust. Crap. Rally might be over. I started tearing underbody protection off while Adam took the panels out of the back seat to see if we could find the leak. He turned on the ignition as I had a look. Massive geyser of gas from a split fuel line between the body and the tank. We stole some line from the cooling system up front, borrowed some pliers from our rally pal, Brian as he passed, and had the thing back together in 20 minutes. Showed up 3 minutes late to the next stage, and were penalized 30 seconds, but we were back in the rally, if smelling a little gassy (not in the usual way). We returned to the service area at noon with a long list of things to fix and only 40 minutes to fix them. Just as my dad was arriving with our ribs. I'll never forget working on the Engine Control Tuning and looking up to see Harvey checking the dipstick with one hand, while eating a rib with the other. Turns out those were some top-notch ribs. I think I may have been removing a wheel while eating a rib about 2 minutes later.
By the end of the day, we were 1st overall in the region, both for the day and for the three days combined. Our times put us in 8th overall for the National as well, not quite in Dave Mirra territory (he was 5th), but not too far off. Travis Pastrana destroyed us and everybody else. And he gave a lot of thumbs-up before leaving the awards banquet early to fly off to film season 2, episode 1 of his MTV Nitro Circus show.
As for AC and I, we're back to riding bikes now. Gotta get in shape! The Tour Bus rolls in to Alabama next weekend for the 3rd XCT National Mountain Bike series race. Prepare to be ROCKED, Birmingham!
Happy Trails,
Carl Decker
For a bunch of sweet OR Trail Rally Photos check out this fellow's blog- http://mattpoppoff.blogspot.com/2009/05/oregon-trail-rally-2009.html
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IF&W Insider
Click here for IF&W Insider: The Monthly newsletter of the Maine Department of Inland Fisheries and Wildlife
Team Giant Report, Bump n Grind from Alabama Tuesday, June 09, 2009
Bump n' Grind
I like going new places. Filling in the gaps on the map so to speak. The Deep South has somehow survived to this date as one of those grey areas. I have to admit that I didn't know exactly where Birmingham was within Alabama, or, to be honest, exactly where Alabama was in relation to Mississippi, Louisiana and Arkansas… No disrespect intended, I just haven't driven through there in my treks across the country. Must have too much northerner in me. Fortunately, we had a fantastic southern couple to show us the ropes once we landed. Regional Giant Rep Will Hibberts and his wife Ashley volunteered to put us up for the weekend. We all jumped at the chance to not stay at a hotel and eat out at chain restaurants but didn't realize the treatment we were getting ourselves into. They have a beautiful home and Ashley stocked it with enough food to feed, well, a bike team, for the weekend. She also prepared a beautiful pre-race dinner on Saturday night. Mmmm, Ahi. The weather was even beautiful. No rain and not THAT hot.
Will and his riding buddy Jim took us out on a tour of Oak Mountain State Park to shed some light on exactly why every Southern MTB rider calls this their favorite race. The seventeen-mile loop around which most folks do two laps is exactly what a "Mountain Bike" race should be. Racing around something you'd go ride anyway, which is exactly what we did. The boys were nervous about keeping up but they shredded, Jim knew all the secret shortcut lines and would whoop in approval whenever we found one on our own. Our stoke for the big loop was dampened a bit by the fact that, in the name of spectator involvement and UCI regulations, the Pros were slated to do a 5.8 mile loop closer to the start finish. This took in plenty of super fun sidehill singletrack and techy climbs but also took in a fair bit of pavement. I insist that you can race MTBs on any surface, but a mile paved drag to the finish, downhill, is a bit much… All the regulars were bummed to not see what kind of lap times the big guns would post on the Blood Rock loop but we'd try to give them a show anyway…
Turns out Carl and I didn't provide much of a show until the finish sprints we both contested. He for 13th and I for 7th. We both uncharacteristically won our little battles. I did it with less style over Troy Wells that Carl over his four sprint-ees. While they all braked for the high-speed double left into the home straight Carl kept accelerating and ran it wide onto the perfectly bermed grass, passing everyone at half again their velocity and taking it home with a gap jump over the timing mats. Well played. If either of us had been able to get out of our own way on the paved sections of the course to maintain contact with the (imperative to be in) lead group, we could have used our kick for the win, or at least a respectable position, but we're MOUNTAIN BIKERS, goddamn it, and we'll get drop dead (or get dropped) before we'll try super hard to keep up with a bunch of guys who think racing aggressively on pavement is appropriate. Until the bitter end that is, then we'll sprint for basically no reason. Kelli is a girl, so she's way smarter, she rode hard the whole race and got to stand on the "Podium," as a reward. Lucky.
I like the south, people were FIRED UP on bike racing and Giant bikes, the food was great and we got to go swimming in the reservoir after each day's riding or racing. Hopefully we come back next year and get a crack at the proper race course, I've got an inkling that some locals might have concerningly fast lap times…
Sitting on the deck is nice. Even more so when you're offsetting the nerdiness of discussing your Zoot Recovery Tights by eating barbecued shrimp.
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We played Gran Turismo 5 every night for rally practice. We're not very good…
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Ryan and I should have trained on the road together more in Bend this month, then we mightn't have gotten dropped on this one…
Carl looks fast in the woods, doesn't he?
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Maine Fish & Wildlife Spring 2009 edition
Click here to view online magazine
This edition features stories on Any-deer permits, Great Blue Herons, and other interesting features.
Also, you can watch videos, hear Great Blue Herons, and take an Outdoors Skills Quiz!
State Agencies Partner with Angling Group to Combat Invasive Species Monday, May 18, 2009
AUGUSTA – The Maine Department of Inland Fisheries and Wildlife and the Maine Department of Environmental Protection have partnered with Fly Fishing in Maine (FFIM), a group dedicated to protecting Maine’s fisheries, to place three washing stations at popular Maine fisheries in an attempt to prevent the spreading of “didymo” -- an invasive species of algae -- to Maine’s rivers.
Two of the sites are on the Rapid River in western Maine, and the third is at the Route 35 bridge in Windham on the Presumpscot River.
“Perhaps the most serious threat to Maine’s fragile aquatic natural resources is the introduction of invasive fish, plants or other organisms. It’s imperative that we make every effort to prevent these intoductions from occurring,” says John Boland, Fisheries Division Director for the Maine Department of Inland Fisheries and Wildlife. “Fly Fishing in Maine deserves credit for facilitating this effort.”
“Didymo” – Didymosphenia geminata and commonly called “rock snot” – is a type of algae known as a diatom. The single-celled organism can “bloom” or spread, creating mats of brown material on rocks or riverbeds that could interfere with the life cycles of insects and fish. Presently, didymo has not been found in Maine, but it was confirmed in New York and Quebec in 2006, and in New Hampshire and Vermont in 2007. Didymo is native to far northern and mountainous reaches of the globe, but is expanding its range, commonly to waters frequented by anglers.
“There is no one answer to solving the problem but between a public education awareness program and the first of what we hope to be many public washing stations, there is a chance that we can limit the spread of this stuff,” said Ken Beaulieu of Fly Fishing in Maine.
This program is made possible by a generous grant from L.L. Bean. The grant will cover the costs of building the pilot washing stations, signage and the washing solution. Other partners in this effort include landowners, the Maine Department of Transportation (Presumpcot River site), Rangeley Lakes Heritage Trust (Rapid River-Lower Dam), and Nextera Energy (formerly Florida Power and Light) (Rapid River-Middle Dam).
The stations will be maintained by volunteer “station keepers” who will monitor the stations and refresh them with a 5% salt-based solution. To be effective, anglers will need to remove plant and other debris from boots and then soak their boots, nets and other gear for 3 minutes before proceeding into and when exiting the water, according to John McPhedran, a land and water quality biologist at the Maine Department of Environmental Protection. Anglers also are asked to clean equipment again at home and then dry completely, ideally for 48 hours.
“This is a reasonable start to ensuring that anglers are not contributing to the spread of didymo into Maine’s waters,” Boland said.
For more information on Fly Fishing in Maine, visit its website at www.flyfishinginmaine.org.
Team Giant Report, World Cup #3 from Houffalize Tuesday, May 05, 2009
By DRHS alumni Adam Craig formerly of Exeter: Houffalize 2009
 It's all been said about Houffalize, Belgium. Basically it's everything a Mountain Bike XC race should be. Not a small Ardenne Region to rest on its laurels though, Houffa is trying to break into the gravity scene as well. For 2009 they quietly upgraded the Belgian Series FourCross of last year to a full-blown World Cup and added a Belgian Cup Downhill race. I was unaware of the existence of a DH track until I noticed an eight (or so) year-old BOOST it off a step down jump on a rad BMX race bike. I rode up the street to investigate and found what was obviously the finish of a racecourse. Hmmm.
It wasn't until later that evening, following a delicious Pizza dinner with the other Giant Euro team riders that I got a bit of beta on the event. Bryn Atkinson and Jill Kitner were out for pies as well and we caught up for a few. Turns out the boy had raced the DH that day and won 3000 Euros. He kept specifying EUROS as the units of local currency, suggesting that one could buy a Tank in his native Oz with that kind of coin.
Cash aside though, I asked, seriously, how was the track? Evidently Bryn had been doing practice runs with Filip Polc who was caught with his DH pants down and only had his Hardtail 4X bike. He was keeping up, even riding sections faster that Bryn on a proper DH sled. Always one to be positive, even he said that it was a bit weak, and at just over two minutes, a bit short. But hey, it is a "Bicycle Race" after all. There were rumors flying around on the weekend of a Houffalize World Champs bid for 2011, I guess the DH will need a bit of work, or relocation… Jill handily won the "slightly undersized" four-up race in a solid field while Jared Graves cleaned up the 200 or so men in attendance. Maybe he and Bryn can go in on a tank with all those "Euros"…
I could have sworn on the start climb up the Rue de something-or-other that there should be plenty of elevation for a proper DH course. There was plenty of elevation for a bunch of cracked out Benelux riders to go smoking by my "realistic about racing for two hours on a tough track" ass… I reckon I crested in about 60th. Giving me a great view of a bunch of said locals doing their best to ride like spazzes and lie on the floor as soon as possible. Fortunately, Oli was holding things down up front, he crossed the start finish line in 7th on lap one. About two minutes ahead of me and my new best friends. I settled into the task of having pretty average legs and focused on steadily riding through traffic while having a good time hitting some jumps and being amazed at how much easier the Anthem X is to ride fast that the Hardtail I normally campaign in this little town.
 I eventually caught up with our young Norwegian teammate Anders who was riding solidly in the 30's. We spent most of our day there while Oli battled up front, holding down the fort so to speak. Eventually I came around and picked my way up to 29th on the last lap, having the last laugh, so to speak, on some random dudes, and some guys who I really don't like getting beat by… One of those guys wasn't Oli, who I passed at approximately double his rate of travel with about ten minutes of racing to go. I ended up completing this part of the race about three minutes faster than ol' Beckinsale, who was overteaken by a further 30 riders in that amount of time. Goes to show the depth of the field…
So basically, Oli and I reckoned that we each had a good solid tour of the field and got to see a bunch of riders. He could expound upon how pretty much everyone from 14th through 65th rode the last lap and I could explain how 30-odd guys could pass someone on one climb only to eventually be caught and disposed of by said person with a bit more, um, reality… I finished where I started after two hours in 29th, and Oli, well, he wasn't so fortunate…
Thus ends the spring World Cup swing for me, I'm on a plane back to America now, wishing it was a clear day so I could look for polar bears in Greenland, or maybe see some swollen brown rivers as a sure sign of polar ice cap melting. Guess I'll just go to sleep instead. I'm looking forward to three weeks at home which I'll put to good use somehow I'm sure. First up is a trip to Cali for come creekboating, then we're racing Rally Cars at the Oregon Trail Rally on the 15th-17th of May. In between all that I'm going to ride my bike a bunch and get in proper shape for the best World Cup races of all, that being the ones on the Right Coast. (Maybe I'll work on my starts…) Till then, enjoy the spring, or is it summer now?
Cheers,
AC
Carl's been practicing, check out some Rally Action at http://www.vimeo.com/4158230
Controlled Moose Hunt Set for Eastern Aroostook County Thursday, May 07, 2009
AUGUSTA – The Maine Department of Inland Fisheries and Wildlife will be conducting a controlled moose hunt in Aroostook County in response to farmers' concerns about crop depredation and to address the increasing incidence of moose/vehicle collisions along Routes 1 and 161.
The controlled hunt, which will occur between August 17 and September 19, 2009, was approved by the Maine Department of Inland Fisheries and Wildlife Advisory Council on Wednesday, April 29.
"With a solid plan in place that was written by our biologists, the Maine Department of Inland Fisheries and Wildlife is implementing this controlled moose hunt to alleviate the negative impacts caused by moose in parts of eastern Aroostook County," according to Commissioner Roland "Danny" Martin. "Broccoli and cauliflower crops are being damaged by moose, and the number of moose/vehicle collisions, which can prove fatal to humans, remains high. Our intention with this year's controlled moose hunt is to reduce or alleviate problems in this area where recreational hunting could not."
For several years, IF&W has increased the number of moose permits during the annual fall recreational hunt to respond to the landowners' concerns for crop damage and communities' requests for safer roads. With the controlled hunt, IF&W has greater flexibility to effectively manage moose in areas that may have limited access or are in "non-traditional" habitats, such as an agricultural-woodland mix, that may not be attractive to hunters.
The controlled hunt is NOT open to all hunters. Persons eligible to participate include:
- Landowners with 80 or more contiguous acres, who own property in Limestone, Caribou, Woodland, Presque Isle, Fort Fairfield, Washburn, Westfield, Easton and Connor Township. The eligible property is agricultural, forested or undeveloped land that is open to hunting, including hunting by permission. A dependent living in a landowner's household also is eligible.
- Any shareholder in a corporation that qualifies under the Internal Revenue Service Code as a Chapter S corporation is eligible for the landowner permit drawing if the property meets the landowner permit requirements. Dependents of shareholders are not eligible.
- All Registered Maine Guides that currently have all Maine Department of Inland Fisheries and Wildlife license privileges in good standing and are not convicted felons. Guides will NOT be eligible to hunt and only three permittees picked at the discretion of the Guide will be eligible to hunt.
A total of 100 permits will be available. Eligible persons wishing to participate must file an online application form that's available on IF&W's website, www.mefishwildlife.com. A person may not file more than one application, and each application is for "one chance."
To avoid confusion with the recreational moose hunt, applications for this controlled hunt WILL NOT be available on the Department's website until Monday, May 18.
The online application deadline is 11:59 p.m. (EDT) on June 14, 2009. A random chance drawing will be held on June 15. The winners' names will be posted on IF&W's website. Selections are final.
Selected landowners and Guides may hunt during the entire five-week period (excluding Sundays).
There is no application charge. Permit fees are $52 for residents and $477 for nonresidents.
The permits will be allocated as follows:
The moose taken under these permits are in addition to the statewide bag limit. Permits issued under this controlled hunt are exempt from the provisions of the moose permit point system of the recreational moose hunt. A person who receives a controlled moose hunting permit is exempt from the two-year eligibility requirement of the recreational moose hunt. All other fees, laws and rules relating to moose hunting will apply to this controlled moose hunt.
Additional information about the controlled moose hunt is available on IF&W's website or call (207) 287-8000.
Study: Soft plastic lures harming Maine's trout, salmon Tuesday, April 28, 2009
AUGUSTA – The Maine Department of Inland Fisheries and Wildlife (IF&W) is strongly encouraging anglers to protect Maine's fish by changing from soft plastic lures to biodegradable ones.
Maine fisheries biologists are reporting increasing numbers of angled trout and salmon with indigestible soft plastic lures in their stomachs, according to John Boland, IF&W Fisheries Division Director. A discarded soft plastic lure consumed innocently by a brook trout from the bottom of a freshwater shoal likely remains in that fish's stomach for the rest of its life and may cause health issues such as ulcers and weight loss.
Soft plastic lures are most commonly used by bass anglers, often in waters shared with trout and salmon. IF&W is cooperating in studies on the effects of soft plastic lure ingestion by trout and salmon, including one recent experiment at Unity College, which was conducted by IF&W Pathologist Dr. Russ Danner, Unity College Professor Jim Chacko, PhD., and IF&W Fisheries Biologist Francis Brautigam, and in another study currently underway at Southern Maine Community College.
The study conducted at Unity College found that 65 percent of brook trout voluntarily consumed soft plastic lures if they simply were dropped into water.
"We found that fish retained the lures in their stomachs for 13 weeks without regurgitating them," according to Dr. Danner. "They also began to act anorexic and lost weight within 90 days of eating a soft plastic lure."
Without regard to the chemical toxicity of ingested soft plastics, the fact that these lures are occupying space in a trout's stomach limits the amount of space available for natural food. There is a lot of veterinary medical evidence that foreign bodies in the digestive tract cause ulcers, weight loss, and anorexia.
"We strongly encourage anglers to voluntarily purchase biodegradable and food-based lures rather than soft plastic ones," Dr. Danner said. "Also, we are asking anglers not to discard plastic lures into any waters, and also to attempt to retrieve any soft plastic lures that have become unhooked".
For millennia, trout and salmon have foraged the waters of Maine for nutritious natural forage such as small fishes, insects and other invertebrates. In the last 20 years, food mimics made of soft plastic has begun to compete with these nutritious natural forage items. The effects of soft plastic lure pollution on freshwater ecosystems are not well understood yet, but it is unlikely that eating soft plastic lures will be found to be a good thing.
"The wide assortment of soft plastic fishing lures is staggering," Dr. Danner said. "Soft plastic lures come in every color, a myriad of sizes, and resembling every swimming, crawling, and flying creature a fish could imagine eating. Large fish searching the waters of Maine are bound to come upon brightly colored soft plastic lures lost or discarded by anglers and consume these imitators of natural food items."
There are estimates that as much as 20 million pounds of soft plastic are being lost in freshwater lakes and streams annually in the U.S. The average life expectancy for these soft plastic lures is more than 200 years.
"We need all anglers to do their part to protect Maine's valuable fisheries from this serious threat," Dr. Danner said. "Natural lure alternatives are available at many retailers and online, and should become the choice of people who love to fish Maine's waters".
If you wish to learn more about the experiment conducted at Unity College a report on the project was published in the Northern American Journal of Fisheries Management. It is available at http://afs.allenpress.com/perlserv/?request=get-abstract&doi=10.1577%2FM08-085.1.
Team Giant Report, Cumberland Classic KZN Tuesday, April 28, 2009
Since I'm hiding out in South Africa while everyone else is at Sea Otter I figured I should do some racing too, preferably in wide-open terrain to mimic the Otter experience I'm missing out on… Fortunately, there was a Kawazulu-Natal Series race at Cumberland Nature Reserve just outside Pietermaritzburg. The local guys I'd been riding with tipped me off to it, nice of them since Felice reckoned I'd win on the drive over at dawn on Sunday. I'm going to need to brief her on the Team Giant shit-talking and prediction policy…
As we rolled down a dusty dirt road that's a sure indicator of quality local racing it became apparent that a whole bunch of folks were headed out to race. We filed down to a little valley, parking under the canopy of some pretty cool trees. I need to figure out what those things are called, you know, the ones with a canopy fanning out parallel with the ground and only a couple meters thick? They look like umbrellas and do an even better job of blocking the inevitable sun. The valley was already packed with bike riders. Five-year-old kids and retirees marked the ends of a spectrum of cyclists that included everyone imaginable. All were pumping up tires, drinking coffee, exchanging stories and generally having a good time as the sun rose and race time drew near. I didn't really have a good grasp of how many riders there really were until we all toed line at 9am sharp. A major dirt road was packed with riders for about 500 meters. That's a lotta people. The "Classic" distance wave took off first, a few hundred people out for one big 45k loop around a Cane Plantation, through pine forests and back to the nature reserve. A couple minutes after we casually rolled off the line the 25k and 10k groups, accounting for another couple hundred newbies and casual riders, made their way out to cut us off at the pass. Dang, people in KZN are into their MTB racing. I was chatting with a local guy on the roll-out and he said things have been blowing up in the last few years as people get into MTBing for a bit of fun and to stay off the busy roads. Good to see.
As I was feeling all warm and fuzzy inside on the state of SA mountain biking I heard the telltale sound of a tire going flat. That sucks for someone I thought. Oh wait, that sounds like my tire. I must have run over the perfect little rock at the perfect angle and perfect amount of weight on the otherwise graded and watered gravel road we were riding down. Shoot. I stopped at the first turnoff and shook the Stan's miracle liquid around to seal the hole, then borrowed a floor pump from some guys who were late and just on the way to the start when they saw us coming. Problem solved. For a few minutes. Then more leaking and more shaking around and pinching. More leaking. Finally, the perfect combo of shaking, opening and closing the hole and a blade of grass sealed the leak for good and I could set out riding through the Cane with a couple hundred of my closest bike racing kin. Ah, playing catch-up is fun. I almost caught them all, just Craig Paul (my local trail tour guide) stayed ahead, hidden amongst the traffic of the 10 and 25k racers as we rolled through the plantation to the finish… There were SO MANY people on the track, it was great to see ten-year-olds riding their BMX bikes down a pretty fast sandy track, bouncing around and not at all worried about it. They looked like Carl must have in his first race at about the same age. Others were walking their significant other's bikes for them and not speaking. The full gamut of cyclists, all making the final push to the fruit stand and shade of the finish.
I didn't linger long at the finish though, another local fast guy, Andrew, and I had roosted a super fun singletrack winding through a creek bottom together during the race and figured we'd better go ride it again before the prize-giving proceedings took place. It was the call of the day, I'm continually amazed at how much lovingly constructed and maintained singletrack is in the hills around here. I'm starting to figure out how all the South Africans I know are such good bike handlers, they've got good stuff to practice on, the better you can drift the more fun you can have around here.
It seemed like everyone who raced lounged around in the shade as the stragglers filtered in and results were tallied. Eating pork products from the lunch truck, catching up with their mates and telling war stories from the day.. Local bike racing is a great thing. We eventually got our prize money and rode back up the singletrack and down the Tar Road to Maritzburg, finishing off a perfect morning of bike practice. Felice had the vision to start our Refrigerator emptying task by using the extra milk to made Crepes for lunch. What a great idea. We had all kinds of filling experiments from the usual peanut butter and jelly to baked beans, cheese, salt and pepper or yoghurt, mixed nuts, jam and chocolate. Oh man, that was a good lunch. I think she's going to open a Crepe Stand in Bend. Not sure if 1140 NW Portland is zoned for business but I sure hope so…
Other than mint local racing, I've just been taking it easy and riding a ton down here, catching my fitness up with the rest of the World Cuppers and my cinema and literature appreciation with that of an average human. It's been swell.
-Oh, there's more Gold on the cyclingdirt.org website, check out Carl and Kelli's Pre-Sea Otter commentary. They rode fast there, good work holdin' down the fort, kids.
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Giro Painted me some sweet new Captain America lids. This particular Zebra isn't impressed…
Felice and I went waterfall hunting, we found one…
Martin was impressed with the Guy Weedwacking and racking the trail at Giba Gorge.
Oli had quite a nice recovery ride on Sunday before flying back to the UK, scenic waterfalls and Zebras.
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Team Giant Update, Ten Reasons Why Africa Kicks Ass Submitted April 15, 2009
Submitted by Olympian Biker Adam Craig: Our esteemed Giant Global teammate Oli Beckinsale and I agreed, over the course of an entertaining afternoon of riding around Pietermaritzburg, that this report would fall under the "Ten Reasons Why SA Kicks Ass" format since so many of the reasons were filled out in just that afternoon…
1. Zebras. Yup, we've been riding around in a little park down the road that happens to have a few black and white striped horses hanging out. They're pretty cool, Mohawks and all. Seem friendly too, or maybe have just given up their inherent wildness on account of living in a park on the edge of town. Africa is cool.
2. Concrete Paved Singletrack. The aforementioned park also has a 2.5k loop trail that's 100% covered in concrete pavers. Good grip when it's not raining and fun obstacles engineered for walking. Unfortunately the warm-up with the Kona Boys involved a bit of moisture and no Zebra sightings, maybe that's why we all got so smoked off the line…
3. It's summer here! Ah, nothing like a fifteen hour flight across an ocean and the equator to change your weather… It's between 20 and 35 degrees Celsius everyday here, raining a bit at night to keep things green and fresh during the day. I've been loving the long winter in the Great White North but it's kind of nice to just put on a jersey and shorts to ride all day in the sun. Maybe a little SPF till the tan comes around but other than that it takes about four minutes to get ready to ride, leaving much more time for sleeping…
4. Monkeys. They're all over the place. In the backyard here at our Duvet and Crumpets apartments, behind the Team Giant pit area at the race, along the roads and trails we've been exploring. Evidently the locals are kind of over the monkeys stealing stuff and making noise but I'm still thoroughly amused.
5. Robots. No, not human-like machines cleaning your windshield. Traffic Lights. I've gotten a bunch of directions since I've been here, all of which involve driving on the left side of the road and passing at least two "Robots". "You head down to the Robots and turn right on Victoria, then up two Robots and left on Boon" or whatever. It's settled, I'm going to make up some random names for stuff here and see if anyone notices. Maybe wireless internet can be "Magic" since it seems to be impossible to find…
6. Cheap meat. A nice ten-minute walk up around the corner from D n C brings us to the local dining strip consisting of a pub and two restaurants. The first one is called Pesto and is your standard good Italian. More important is the other though, The Butchery. Yup, they make meat. We went the last three nights in a row. We each had a nine-dollar Filet (pronounced Fill-it) Mignon the first two nights and agreed it was the best steak ever. Last night we figured branching out was in order so we got a full rack of ribs for a starter instead of the usual carpaccio. This left us free to have fish for a main and seriously consider carpaccio for dessert. Mmmm.
7. Fresh World Cup racing. Right, we're here to race bikes. It's always kind of the UCI to throw us somewhere exotic in the southern hemisphere for the kickoff. Everyone is pumped to be somewhere new and warm on account of competiton. Unfortunately, I guess a bunch of guys came down here early to get in shape and used to riding in a sauna. Which means that even before my bike rattled itself to a pretty strange, yet serious, mechanical mishap on lap two I was already getting kind of smoked. That just took me from the 30's to the 100's… Ah well, nothing like playing catch up to snap you out of your heat induced haze of slowness and allow some actual decent bike riding. I passed tons of dudes on the way to 49th. Kind of a waste of a perfectly good #6 start position, that, but hey, maybe I'll constructively play catch up in Offenburg and Houffalize too. So much pressure starting on the front row after a long winter… Now I'm just another guy. Oli did good work keepin' er steady though, starting 27th and moving up to 22nd by day's end. He got a sunburn too. The thousands of FIRED UP spectators could have told him that though, they see pale British guys down here on vacation all the time… Next year we're gonna try to come down early and do the Cape Epic in preparation, mostly so Oli can get a tan.
8. Culture. It's real interesting down here in South Africa. Watching the news has been a good education to the kind of stuff that goes on in the rest of the world. Mucking about outside has reinforced the fact that we're in a different world here, in a good way. People seem super nice for the most part but there is definitely evidence of the way things used to be…
9. Relaxing. All this culture and introspection hasn't gotten in the way of some much needed recreation quarantine though. It's nice to be back in the swing of bike season, travel somewhere cool, relax and ride some bikes. I'm looking forward to the next week down here of exploring some new terrain, sleeping a ton and catching up with the fitness required to be competitive in the World Cup. The long winter has me ready to go, once I actually am ready…
10. Good proper mountain bike riding. A strange number rang into my mobile phone yesterday evening, I answered, hoping it was important on account of the cost it would inevitably come with… Turns out it was Martin Franger of the Giant Swiss Team who was staying in Durban to train for a few days. We agreed to meet at the Gabo Gorge trail center and ride for as long as we could. Turns out we rode for a goodly while on rad singletrack in the sunshine. A few stops to hunt for monkeys were in order, as was a pause to high-five the guys who were grooming the trails we were riding. Weedwacking back the ever-advancing foliage and raking the berms and switchbacks. Thanks, guys, well worth the twenty Rand (about two bucks) it costs to ride for a day. It's pretty amazing to see such a well developed riding culture down here, you read about it every few days in the newspaper too… Guess I'll try out a little local racing this weekend in Kawazulu-Natal and get a bit deeper into the scene. Someone will say "GO!" at least…
Team Giant Update Monday, April 13, 2009
Monkey dropped by to slide us some Troy Lee/Honda Supermoto Team practice tires and show off his sweet new trailer ball…
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This will be a good story for those who don’t think being a Professional Cyclist is full-time job. Not to be confused with a full-time job that isn’t sweet, of course… In my old age I’m trying to broaden my value in my chosen field while also keeping myself entertained by doing new things and meeting new people. This balance of racing and new stuff was achieved perfectly over the last week in California. First up was some good old-fashioned bike racing, albeit with a face-lift, at the first stop of the new US Pro Cross Country Tour in Fontana. From there Carl and I headed up the coast to the Santa Ynez Valley for Fox Racing Shox’ ‘o10 Product Launch at the Zaca Station MX Track. Kick ass.
Racing was fun last weekend. I was a bit concerned over my indifference to it in Chile but things came together. Maybe it was the familiar faces (like Northwesterners Spencer Paxson and Eric Tonkin) and location (Southridge Urban Park) or just the fact that the cobwebs were out and the mind was reset, either way, good times were had. Even if they involved Carl smoking me in the Super D finish sprint just like Barry did last year… Fortunately, Kelli didn’t have to sprint anyone so Giant was victorious in both Super D events, which you can gauge the level of D involved by their winning bike choice- the XTC Advanced Hardtail… Maybe we should go to Europe and race some proper Enduro DH sometime, where you would actually DIE if you rode a HT, as opposed to winning… It was still a good way to pass an otherwise quiet Saturday afternoon though, and there’s something about a person, any person, saying “GO!” that makes you get some pretty good exercise until you cross a finish line of some type. I might have to get my roommates to start saying GO when I leave on a snowy training ride and scratch out some kind of finish line in my rocky front yard to end at, I’d totally be in shape in no time…
Right, on to proper XC racing. Holy crap, there were 120 Pro Men on the start line in Fontana. Combined with a generally large crowd of amateur racers and curious passers-by it was looking to be a solid afternoon of racing. It’s a good thing that some of the backside trails we’ve always used and hacked into even more oblivion were shut down over the winter and the resulting revamped course was super friendly to the casual onlooker. Straight up a bit of a gut-busting climb, down a cool techy descent which included a “Pro Section” at the bottom for us to strut our, um, stuff? Then up to the water tower and back around the block via the Super D course, we were lapping in twenty-odd minutes and having a generally good time along the way. Team Sho-Air manager Ty Kady was following us on a Kawasaki Dirt
Bike with a Helmet cam and doing a seemingly good job of capturing the action first-hand. I was actually able to see some action first hand for most of the race as somehow an extra week of training had me racing in the mix. I rode around in the top five after the first lap, having a genuinely good time roosting the Anthem X on the descents and trying to ride smooth and fast on the techy climbs. It was almost like being on a fun MTB ride that happened to be a race. Perfect. Highlights included hitting some sweet jumps while Ty followed on the moto without crashing in the kind of karmic slap you could expect while showboating and getting solidly punked by the Subaru/Fisher duo of JHK and Sam Schultz on the penultimate climb battle for third place. 5th for me, some Canadian guy won… Carl was 12th I think, he must have been too in shape from all the “training” he’s been doing in San Diego to pull off his usual accidental 6th at the first one of the year…
No wonder the Gary Fisher team tactics won out on the last lap, I should have been screwing around less and pedaling more…
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We stopped at the Giant Intergalactic HQ in Thousand Oaks on our way to Fox Camp to catch up with all the folks we didn’t see at Woodward. Which was the entire product department. They’d been in Taiwan for a couple weeks putting the finishing touches on the 2010 Giant line. I’m not really at liberty to say, but we’re going to have some cool stuff, from subtle refinements to complete overhauls and a few things that have been a long time coming. Keep your eyes peeled this summer…
Fox Racing Shocks makes cool stuff. For lots of fun activities involving wheels. From Desert Racing Trucks to Quads and Dirt bikes, even Snowmobiles and Jet-Skis, Fox has you covered. For the first time ever, they held the 2010 product launch for all of their lines (except snowmobiles) in one spot. This gave the media an opportunity to see the kind of cross-pollination that makes their designs so unique and effective by actually experiencing each of the segments back-to-back. Translation- I got to shred on a bunch of rad motorized stuff in between going for some entertaining bike rides in the hills. The first night we all had dinner with some informal presentation of products and Fox’s approach which culminated in founder Bob Fox taking us through the early history of the company he founded with Poker money to produce Motorcycle Air Shox in 1975. Some good anecdotes about racing (and winning) the Indy 500 and entering the Snowmobile market gave us some entertaining insight to where the current company got it’s start. Nice guy, that Bob Fox. The next day everyone had an opportunity to learn about the suspension product in their area of expertise and then play with whatever other toys they needed to glean product parallels from… In our Bike world we sent editors out on 2009 product for a spin around a fun loop including an old DH race course and some flowy meadow singletrack for session #1, then switched to the ‘o10 product during lunch for the same ride in the afternoon. This let them feel the difference first hand between the current product and new Boost Valve rear shock and FIT damper fork technology, which I’ve been riding very happily since last fall. It’s good stuff, making flipping lockout knobs and switches even less necessary is a huge step in the right direction.
But really, who wants to talk about bike suspension when there are a multitude of options for motorized fun. Lunch time was long enough for quick spins in the Ford Raptor pickup or Side-by-Side ATVs, and after the second ride session it was a free-for-all with Motos and Quads ripping around piloted by your average bike rider. Perfect. And nobody died.
Jumping motorbikes is fun.
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Wednesday was the highlight day for us Fox Team members as there were no media folks to muddle our motorized experience. Fitzy and I did community service first thing in the morning on quads, mud bogging our way around the heavily watered Motocross track to work the moisture into the dirt. Once it was passable, Neezer set me up on a brand new Kawasaki KX450 MX bike to reap the fruits of our quad labor, and, er, learn about the parallels between Moto and Bike rear suspension… I spent the next couple hours riding the beautiful hillside track, remembering all those childhood MX techniques with a dozen others who were kind enough not to land on my head. I got the hang of it eventually, at which point it seemed prudent to stop before I started trying to figure out just how close to the top of fourth gear you needed to be to jump the 90’ step-up on the hilltop… Holy Crap riding motocross is fun. And HARD. Carl and I left the track with adrenaline in the red and did a sweet road ride up Figuroa Mountain to cap off the day. That was yesterday. Today I’m the sorest I’ve ever been in my entire life. I guess I should start riding MX all the time, who needs to go to the gym when you can just fluidly control a 240 pound, 60 horsepower bike for a couple hours and get the same thing, plus have one of the best times ever.
Anyway, looks like preparation for World Cup #1 is almost complete, I head to South Africa on Monday to find out how alternative winter stacks up in the grand scheme of things.
AC
Oh yeah, check out this sweet new website for all kinds of race footage and rider interviews from Fontana, and pretty much every race this season. Great job, Colt. www.cyclingdirt.org
2009 Maine Moose Permit Lottery Set For June 18 Thursday, April 09, 2009
AUGUSTA – Maine Department of Inland Fisheries and Wildlife Commissioner Roland "Danny" Martin announced today that the 2009 Moose Permit Lottery Drawing will be held Thursday, June 18 at the University of Maine at Fort Kent.
The drawing of names will begin at 6 p.m. at UMFK's Sports Center, located on 23 University Drive, in Fort Kent.
This is the first time the lottery drawing has been held in the St. John Valley. Since 1999, the Moose Permit Lottery Drawing has been held at different locations throughout the state, including Millinocket, Boothbay Harbor, Old Town, Bucksport, Scarborough, Presque Isle, Rumford, Phippsburg and Kittery. Last year's drawing was held at the Kittery Trading Post.
"This annual event usually draws a large crowd of outdoor enthusiasts, and folks that have applied for the moose hunt," said Commissioner Martin. "I want to thank UMFK President Richard Cost for hosting this year's event, and a special thanks to Senator Troy Jackson and Representative John Martin for helping to coordinate the drawing."
According to Commissioner Martin, a planning committee comprised of local officials and citizens from the St. John Valley and Aroostook County will be formed to help organize the drawing. The Greater Fort Kent Area Chamber of Commerce will be assisting in helping to promote the event.
"Since the drawing will be held in a large facility at the UMFK campus, there will be plenty of opportunity for local businesses, including sporting (hunting & fishing) businesses, to promote Aroostook County and exhibit their products," Martin said. "We encourage these businesses and organizations to place their trade booths and their exhibits at this year's event."
"The St. John Valley is the perfect place to hold a moose lottery drawing because of the large population of Moose in northern Maine, and we are thrilled that Commissioner Martin has picked Fort Kent this year," said Rep. John L. Martin.
Senator Troy Jackson, who represents northern Aroostook County, said that he looks forward to this year's event. "This will be an opportunity for folks in the County to showcase their products and hospitality," he said.
Commissioner Martin said that IF&W staff from Augusta and local biologists and game wardens will be on hand at the event. "This is a great opportunity for sports enthusiasts and the general public to interact with our personnel," Martin said.
Anyone interested in becoming a member of our planning committee or locating their trade booth and exhibit at this year's drawing should contact Andrea Erskine at 287-5201 or at Andrea.Erskine@maine.gov.
Maine Wildlife Park Named a 2009 Editors' Choice by Yankee Magazine Thursday, May 07, 2009
AUGUSTA -- The Maine Wildlife Park, owned and operated by the Maine Department of Inland Fisheries and Wildlife, has been recognized as a 2009 Editors' Choice in Yankee Magazine's Travel Guide to New England, on sale from April 28 through the end of the August.
 The Editors' Choice recommendation designates Yankee editors' and writers' favorite restaurants, lodgings, attractions, and bargains across New England.
"Yankee's editors and our trusted legion of travel writers select our Editors' Choice winners," says Yankee editor Mel Allen. "From their own experiences and tips from our readers, they research and find the most deserving establishments in New England. Recipients range from the rustic to the refined, but all are noteworthy and memorable destinations."
Located just 3.5 miles off of Maine Turnpike Exit 63 on Route 26 in Gray, the Maine Wildlife Park is open daily from 9:30 a.m. to 4:30 p.m. Visitors must exit the park by 6 p.m. Here, you can view and photograph live moose, deer, bears, eagles, cougars, porcupines, coyotes, owls, turtles, trophy trout, and more – over 30 species of native wildlife. Enjoy nature trails, wildlife gardens, a snack shack, nature store, picnicking and more! Admission fees. www.mainewildlifepark.com
"We at the Maine Wildlife Park certainly appreciate the national recognition by Yankee Magazine," said IF&W Natural Sciences Educator Lisa Kane, who supervises the Maine Wildlife Park. "We hope the designation of being the 'Best Place to Meet the Natives' will contribute to our already promising 2009 season."
The magazine's write-up is as follows:
Editors' Choice – Yankee Travel Guide (2009)
Maine Wildlife Park - Best Place to Meet the Natives
This state-operated refuge and education facility houses wildlife that are either being rehabilitated or are unable to return to the wild, including deer, moose, black bear, and bald eagle are among the 25 or so species on view. Interactive displays and exhibits, special programs, and nature trails round out the offerings.
For 33 years, Yankee Magazine's Travel Guide to New England has been the most widely distributed and best-selling guide to the six-state region, providing readers with a comprehensive vacation-planning tool and daily reference.
Yankee Magazine's 2009 Travel Guide offers 270 reasons to see New England, including 254 "Best of New England — Editors' Choice" selections where visitors can find the best foods and refreshments, lodging, attractions, and bargains. This special issue also names 120 top events around the region and includes food, home, and garden articles. Yankee tells readers who's the Best Seafood Place with a Water View, Best Trendy Eatery, Best Down-Home B&B, Best Summer Theatre, and many more. And for those who think Yankee is wrong, the staff is running a "Best of New England — Readers' Choice" survey at YankeeMagazine.com/readerschoice, with results to be published in Yankee's January/February 2010 issue.
"Travel may never have been as important to our psyche as it is now; we may have lost money, but not curiosity," says Yankee editor Mel Allen. "We still need the fun and adventure and stimulation that travel, more than anything else, gives us. And no place I know lets you see so much—from mountains and deep, clear lakes to storybook villages and world-class museums, all within a few hours of one another—as New England does."
The Maine Wildlife Park also will be recommended on YankeeMagazine.com.
For more information visit: YankeeMagazine.com
IF&W Weekly Report
Click here to read Inland Fisheries and Wildlife Weekly Report for February 03, 2009.
Click here for Maine Fish and Wildlife Winter 2009 Magazine ONLINE!
Important Sporting Numbers
1-800-253-7887 or 1-800-ALERT US to report violations of Maine hunting and fishing laws.
207-287-8000 for Administration, Fisheries and Wildlife Divisions, Maine Warden Service, general information about fish and wildlife, licenses, boating and recreational vehicle registration.
207-287-8003 to reach the automated Fish and Wildlife line. This line provides 24 hour information and updates on hunting and fishing seasons and new laws.
To reach a game warden 24-hours a day please contact Maine State Police at one of the following numbers:
| Augusta 1-800-452-4664 |
Houlton 1-800-924-2261 |
| Skowhegan 1-800-452-4664 |
Orono 1-800-432-7381 |
| Thomaston 1-800-452-4664 |
Gray 1-800-482-0730 |
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