The Undeniable Hoffenchard: April 2009

old dogs. new tricks.

well after all these years of turning the pedals i have, as of tonight, competed in my first road race ever. never really had the urge until last year for some reason, and then i realized that i live in an area of freakazoid athletes so i didn't really go for it. BUT inspired by the arrival of the '09 hoff kits and wanting to strike fear (or fjear ) into the hearts of the Tahoe area i decided to jump in and race with the Alta Aplina boys (and others from the reno/carson//minden/gardnerville/south lake tahoe area.)

not knowing what class to race in from the A B C or D categories, i chose B. A class would be the big boys (cat 1, cat 2, maybe cat 3) so that was fucking way out of the question. B class was 3 laps on an 11 mile 'rolling' course in the wind and rain. spring storms. rad.

rolling out mid pack, lap 1

breakaway group of 8 or so starting lap two. yeah, you can see my punk ass hanging onto the tail end of the break.

probably seeing flashes of light and tasting bile in the back of my mouth. BUT looking tough as nails.

towing the line on lap 2

so, the breakaway stayed away and dwindled to 6. we all did some work up front and i was able to get situated to sprint for 3rd. booyah bitches. road racing is hard. MTB race on saturday.

photos and support provided by the B. i'm throwing her out to dominated the D class soon.

i'll work on building the Hoff status out here so you all will get the celebrity treatment when you finally get your asses out here. seems as though the southeast is in love with our mediocre drinking/racing team.

and i just wanted to say that april has held unseen levels of activity here on the old blog. keep it up - this, sadly, is my only connection to the posse back in the dirty south.

Charlotte Summer Series Race #1

Last night marked the kick-off of the Summer Series put on by Neal Boyd with http://www.charlottemtnbike.com/ and I was the Hoffenchard representation (please do not check the results,luckily they aren't posted yet). I will give you the quick lowdown. Fast start, dust, roots, more dust, more roots, more dust, roots, dust, finish.

The last photo is credit to Bill over at http://whereonearthisbill.blogspot.com/ or better known as "Rock and Roll Stop the Traffic". He was or seemed to be very happy to get to meet a Hoffen. I guess the kit comes with celebrity attached, who knew!
The series is most every Wednesday though the summer, so come on up and race if you can. Beers at my house after.

Twilight

a few pics from Athens Twilight. Courtesy of Pastor Troy...

this is Phillip... Phillip races for The City of Forest Acres Cycling Team... Phillip is a fan of making solo attacks...!

this is the field chasing down Phillip

my face tells it all... no finals for me this year....(note how far down my eyes are glancing..)

amateur finals

the man, the myth, the PASTOR (troy)...! not to be confused with Nicolas Cage's character in Face off... Castor Troy. common mistake.

chico century

last sunday's ride. 100 miles in and around chico. the B rode the best i've ever seen her ride. the scenery was sweet. the Sierra Nevada beer was tasty. good times had by all.

and i got to catch up with lara - North Carolinian gone west AND the girl who punked spanky for me at Sea Otter. you should definitely ask him about it.

roy and steak (on a borrowed Ti/Carbon Seven. fuck, that hurts my eyes)

lara and the B

can you appreciate hologram sparkle sidis? where can i get a pair?

'09 kits didn't make it in time. and my helmet is really old.

one of the strongest guys i've ever seen on a bike. seriously. Reve, director sportif.

new kits have arrived . . . and they are so freakin sweet. mine might be making its debut in the high desert this weekend at an XC race. we'll see.

The new pimp mobile

Yet another hand me down from Sir Spanky aka Eric Smith (i say Sir mainly because i was always taught to respect the elderly)...

Popping the cherry today after work....This is my first attempt at both a 29er and a single speed so I'm sure it will take more than a little getting use to (my last bike, as many may know, was a dual suspension 26in Santa Cruz Superlight). So this should be, to say the least, interesting. I'll keep you updated.