Gregg's BlogCycle | Great Rides Start Here

Danskin as Inspirational as Ever

By Jeremy | Published: August 19, 2010

We’ve been supporting the Seattle Danskin Triathlon since 2002 (we did miss 2009) and every year I am completely inspired by the participants. Each year we are in the transition area and help countless women with everything from flat tires to bent frames. We learned very quickly that the Danskin was not like any other event that we support. The vibe is completely different. Being an all women’s triathlon and a place were many are doing their very first triathlon this was not surprising, what was surprising was the way they all supported each other. It was completely different than being at a men’s event or even a co-rec event. While these women are there to compete, the competition is most often with themselves and not with others. This leaves them free to support every other competitor out there and it is an amazing thing to witness.

The bikes aren’t always in very good shape. It seems that many of them haven’t been ridden in years. For some bikes I know that from year to year I’ve been the only one to tune it up and never at the shop. But these women get on these bikes and complete an event that many thought they never could. It’s inspiring and humbling.

We’d like to thank the folks at Danskin for allowing us to come down and help out year after year. It’s a great experience for all of the employees that come out to help and we learn a lot from the event every year.

[View with PicLens]

Posted in Support, Why we ride, Women | Tagged Danskin, support | Leave a comment

Kat Scratch Fever!

By ryanf | Published: August 12, 2010

The Dirt Corps Team in cooperation with Trek’s MTB marketing Director Michael Browne and Gregg’s Cycles presented Kat with a brand new 2011 Scratch 9 for all her hard work and dedication to her craft. Her trail work ethic, terrific race results and the third Thursday skills coaching are just some examples of her contribution to the team and the sport.

You Rock, Kat!

It all came together through the help of Michael Browne from Trek. The bike was delivered to Gregg’s on Tuesday, Ryan Finnegan was able to get it put together and with Dan Saimo’s help, we got it up to Whistler right in the middle of Crankworx where Kat is competing in the Air DH and the Giant Slalom. The Dirt Corps team all assembled at the Saimo’s condo and invited Kat to join us for a “mandatory” team meeting so that we could surprise her. The plan worked perfectly and we had her come out the front with everyone and Saimo came riding around the corner on her new bike and just handed it off perfectly. It was such a great surprise and she was so happy we made her cry! It was awesome to see the look on her face and just watch her try to figure out what was happening and how to process it.

We made sure to take some pictures of the occasion and I have put them up on Picasa here: http://picasaweb.google.com/HuckThat/KatScratch#

Way to go Kat, we hope you love the new bike!

Meow!

- Contributed by Matt Patterson -

Posted in Dirtcorps, Teams | Tagged DH, Dirt Corps, Dirtcorps, Downhill, Trek | Leave a comment

NW Cup 2010 Race #4 and Season Results

By ryanf | Published: July 29, 2010

Great showing for Dirt Corps riders at the final race of the NW Cup 2010! Result highlights are listed below. Also, the complete list can be found here. In short

Cat 1 Men 30-39
Matt Patterson – 1st (1st Overall)
Tristyn Duerr- 9th

Matt Patterson 1st Overall Cat I 30-39

Cat 1 Women
Kat Sweet – 1st (1st Overall)

Kat Sweet 1st Overall Cat 1 Women

Cat 2 Men 19-29
Lance Heim – 20th
Wes Vieira – 26th

Lance "Pancho" Heim

Cat 2 Men 30-39
Ryan Finnegan – 1st (1st Overall)

Ryan Finnegan 1st Overall Cat II 30-39

Cat 2 Men 40-49
Jason Gibbs – 4th
Jim McCracken – 5th (3rd Overall)

Jim McCracken 3rd Overall Cat II 40-49

Cat 2 Women
Jen Tell – 4th (3rd Overall)

Jen Tell 3rd Overall Cat II Women

Cat 2 15-18
Kye Refvem – 4th

Cat 3 Men 19-39
Mike B – 2nd
Dustin – 5th

Cat 3 Women 0-18
Carlee, D (aka Kat’s trail daughter) – 2nd

I’d like to extend a huge ‘Thank You’ to the Olympic Dirt Society for putting together a well run, super-fun Series this year. We’ll definitely be back next year!

Cheers,

Ryan

Posted in Dirtcorps | Tagged DH, Dirt Corps, Dirtcorps, Downhill, Dry Hill, NW Cup, PA, Port Angeles, Race | Leave a comment

Bike Polo Champions…

By Jeremy | Published: July 28, 2010

Gregg’s own Dusty Riggs is a bike polo champion. Last year in the Bike Polo World Championships Dusty’s team won it all and this season Team Smile is out to defend their title. To get back to worlds they had to go through the North American Hardcourt Bike Polo Championships on July 16 – 18 in Madison, WI. Up to 68 teams on 6 courts competed with cash and prizes on the line. With Trek bicycle acting as the title sponsor the event was sure to be well organized and fun for both spectators and teams alike. In talking with Dusty after the event I learned that the event was a great time and that while Team Smile placed 2nd overall they were confident that they could have come out on top if not for losing to “a team we shouldn’t have lost to”. With the second place prize being wheels of cheese from Pleasant Ridge Reserves it was a bit of a drop from the $3600 that the first place team received (just enough to get them to the World Championships in Berlin). Dusty did win the Male MVP award and with that got what looks to be a used (although in very good condition) Kawasaki dirt bike.

Dusty and his new dirt bike.

Team Smile members Dusty, Seabass and Leon will have registered for the World championships and will be looking to defend their title this year. They just might need to sell that dirt bike to get there!

Here’s a great article from Kristian Knutsen of the The Daily Page.

And some great pictures.

And… this outstanding video about the birth of the sport which started right here in Seattle with some folks from Gregg’s.

Posted in Employees | Tagged bike polo | Leave a comment

NW Cup 2010 is in The Books

By ryanf | Published: July 26, 2010

I am exhausted. I didn’t really know it going in but I guess the anxiety was very slowly building in me as each race came and went. What started as just an excuse to hang out more with John Henry and ride my bike with cool people ended up quite different than I expected. All of a sudden there were points and standings to defend. I was wearing an official Dirt Corps jersey and there was a Team Name to uphold and Teammates to not let down. I found myself needing one more pint glass to complete the set of 4. Clearly, the pressure was on! Then, just three short minutes and it was over. Decided. In the books. But, somehow, I didn’t feel satisfied. I didn’t feel like I could just let it all go. There was something still talking in the back of my mind. I didn’t sleep well last night and woke up this morning earlier than I wanted to and just couldn’t get back to sleep.

It felt very bittersweet unpacking the van this morning knowing that the chandelier and the Oriental wouldn’t see another NW Cup Race this year. My tool box is a mess. There was dust everywhere. We had apparently set the leaking cooler on the ground in the dirt before loading it in to the van – right on top of my pillow. One of the garbage bags had developed a small hole. So, I washed the van hoping I’d absorb the symbolic nature of a ‘fresh start’ and feel better but something lingered.

It wasn’t until I read Matt’s email about entering all the events at Crankworx that it hit me and I immediately, peacefully deflated. NW Cup was just four small races in a small town race series. They are just for fun. I had let it all build up to way more than it needed to be. That voice in my head that was telling me it wasn’t over was right. It’s never over. But in the good way. There’s always going to be another race. There’s always going to be another day in the sun riding bikes with friends. Race #4 is behind us and the NW Cup is over, sure. I even have a pretty sweet medal to show for it. But there is no more room in the cupboard for more 2010 NW Cup pint glasses. The collection is now complete. It’s time to enjoy today and set our sights on rides to come. As I said last night at the Diamond Knot when the amber nectar quenched a four month long thirst – “Victory never tasted so sweet!

Cheers, my friends.

Results to follow.

Ryan

Posted in Dirtcorps | Tagged Dirt Corps, Downhill, Dry Hill, NW Cup, PA, Port Angeles, Race | Leave a comment

Sally Edwards Rocks the House

By Jeremy | Published: July 14, 2010

If you’re a woman and you’ve ever thought of doing a Triathlon this is the woman that has blazed the trail. A pioneer in women’s triathlons and other endurance sports, Sally Edwards is now the national spokesperson for the Trek Women Triathlon. We were luck enough to have her come and speak at our annual W.O.W. Women On Wheels event in March and last night (July 13, 2010) she made another appearance to talk about training for your first triathlon.

It was a packed house at Revolutions just across the street from our Greenlake store. We started early to transform the coffee shop into to an intimate space for some motivational speaking. It wasn’t long before Sally had all the women on their feet and throwing monkeys off their backs. Sally’s message of empowerment and preparation is the perfect vehicle to help get women all over the country off their couch and become an athlete and we’re lucky to have had her here to talk to the women in Seattle.

If you would like more information about the Trek Women Triathlon check this site out. www.trekwomenstriathlonseries.com

[View with PicLens]

Posted in Women | Tagged Danskin, events, Sally Edwards, Trek | Leave a comment

Why We Ride – A Photo Essay

By Jeremy | Published: July 6, 2010

This is why we ride.

Or maybe this is why we ride?

This is why we ride.

This... is why ride.

Is this is why we ride?

Leif rides to get to the top.

We ride so we can smile.

Now this is why we ride.

This is why I ride.

This is what scares us in to riding!

[View with PicLens]

Posted in Staff, Why we ride | Tagged Devils Gulch, mt. bike, why | 1 Comment

Ransavage Promo Video

By ryanf | Published: June 23, 2010

A promo vid for Jesse Ransavage of Team Dirt Corp and Adam Ransavage of Evil Bikes. Shot on a Sony HDR-FX1 with no color correction. Songs: Alright by Ratatat and desillusion by Hedgehog Dilemma.

Posted in Dirtcorps | Tagged DH, Dirt Corps, Dirtcorps, Evil, Ransavage, Trek | Leave a comment

Livestrong Challenge is just that.

By Jeremy | Published: June 22, 2010

What a day. With over 1600 people riding, walking or running to support the LIVESTRONG foundation the streets of Queen Anne were full of yellow and black. The message of “Fight. Defy. Courage.” not only applied to the fight against cancer but also to the act of riding your bike on a day that had about five hours of constant rain and never got about 55 degrees. Don’t get me wrong, I’m not saying that fighting cancer is like riding your bike in the rain, but for the people that were out there to ride they certainly had to Fight. Defy. (and most certainly have) Courage.

It was our honor to take part in the 2nd annual Seattle LIVESTRONG Challenge. We set up early at the start line and had a total of eight mechanics out on the course at “Powerstops” or driving the course. It’s a good thing we did! With wet weather like we had there were a lot of flat tires and even more shifting problems. It always amazes me the types of bikes that people are willing to ride 45, 70 or even 100 miles on. Mostly there were amazing bikes out there but there were also some bikes out there that had seen better days. Not to worry though, we were there to fix them all. One person went 65 miles on a mountain bike with slick tires and only one (barely) working brake. We fixed that. Another person rode the first 45 miles or so with only 3 of their 24 gears working. We fixed that too. Another guy rode the full 100 miles on a fixed gear single speed bike… with a chicken suit on (no joke and ~~unfortunately no picture~~). There’s no fixing that!

Thanks to @rhodeskc for his picture!

It also always amazes me how wonderful people are when they set their minds to supporting a cause that means something to them. These 1600 people raised over $800,000 to fight cancer. Amazing.

Posted in Support | Tagged bikes, charity, events, livestrong, rain | 1 Comment

Duthie Dash a Success!

By Jeremy | Published: June 22, 2010

I arrived early. The stage was set for the first ever Duthie Dash. Wet trails, more rain on the way, first time racers, lots of kids, sport classes full, pro riders and a beer garden. Not much more you could ask for in a Northwest race. The folks at the Evergreen Mt. Bike Alliance had done a great job getting the trails ready for the racing and getting the race ready for the participants.

We were out at the race to provide mechanical support to the racers and had a great time doing it. One of the joys of doing mechanical support is how happy people are when you can help them out. All in all, most of the bikes at the event were in great shape and we mostly loaned our pump out. There were a few last minute flats and brake adjustments that needed to be done and those people were certainly happy we were out there.

The fine fellas from the Dirtcorps were out there to do something far more important. Man the beer garden. Dirtcorps + beer And while we fixed peoples bikes before the races the Dirtcorps helped fix the hydration needs of people after the races. With all the money collected going to support Evergreen the beer flowed quickly from the two quality kegs donated by the Snoqualmie Brewery.

the future starts! There were a few really outstanding things about this particular race. One was the number of kids out there to race for what was the first time for a lot of them. It’s great to see the little groms out there on their bikes with their parents following behind them. This was a great event for kids as the course was compact and the trails were in great shape. Sweet trails The second was the trails. Evergreen and their army of volunteers has done a masterful job creating trails that bring out the best of Northwest riding while holding up amazingly well to the rain that we get in this area. Hats off to an amazing crew and a job well done!