I have been wanting to make myself a bottle feeder for a while so today I spent 20 minutes in a hardware store and 10 at home slapping the final product together. The goal was to make the cheapest version I could think of that would actually work, $11.95 later I have magic.

Step one: Buy some junk from an idea in the head

Some PVC parts, a broom that I wanted the handle from, and a tree steak.

Step two: Begin assembly, Glue PVC and take apart broom

Broom handle removed and now have epic hand sweeper for the back of car after races.

Step three: Final steps, screwing broom handle into bottom of PVC, applying team sexiness, put steak in ground, slide handle over steak, and insert Cytomax bottles.

Awesome! Best under $12 toy I have ever made.

-Sheek

Team Director Dave Sheek spent some with sponsor Felt Bicycles before the Sea Otter Classic…

Felt on the Road- With Dirty Minds. Part 1

9 May

The past few weeks have been very busy for the fat tire department here at Felt.  Sea Otter, The Whiskey 50, and the Fruita Fat Tire festival all took place in the last three weeks. Needless too say, there were a few scheduling conflicts, but we managed to have a presence at all three events, while fitting a few photo shoots and video shoots before and between each event!

Read More…

Awesome picture Sheek! Thanks Eddie.

On the road again the team headed north to Santa Ynez, CA for another weekend of events…

Saturday was the last of the triple crown events. Siegle and Sheek prepared themselves for the midday Short Track race and with his performance last weekend Gaviota was ready to win. From the start Gaviota took the lead and controlled the race through the first lap. He punched the pace up the first rise separating the field into two groups. With Cat 1 and Pro men racing together riders had to mark their competition. With one lap to go Siegle and Marco Arocha were off the front together both riding in to win their race. Sheek was chasing solo between groups to finish fourth overall and second in his group to Arocha.

After a refuel both were off to ride and inspect the Super D (SD) course. A fun course but strong gusty winds were the most dangerous part of the day. The gust were blowing riders off the single-track which made for some interesting racing. Siegle already captured the best points he could on the day with his win so his attempt at the SD was to finish and save the body for Sunday’s XC event. Sheek, however, was looking for a better result. He put together an okay run to have the fastest time in his group and take a win.

To celebrate it was off to the local Firestone Brewery to meet up with Ted Willard and Master of Team Support and Ultra Endurance Woman of the year, AJ for some food and possibly a tasty beverage. Team Friend Jeff Sanford joined the group to keep all entertained with loads of legendary stories and laughs. Fun times.

Sunday morning the team met back at the Dirt Club of Santa Ynez Valley for XC preparations. Willard seemed to be enjoying his warm up on the pump-track with Gareth Feldstein as the two were schooling the little kids in pumpology 101. Sheek ran around trying to figure out if he had enough fluids with the increasing temperatures and Siegle meditated in his chair under the Charmichael Training Systems tent getting in the zone.

The Pro men were out on course first and Siegle positioned himself perfectly so he could watch Sid Taberlay (Kenda/Yeti). He knew who he had to stay with to be in the race and after two laps Taberlay and Siegle were still together as the two headed out on the last lap. On the last climb Taberlay made his final move separating himself to solo in for the win. Siegle stayed close to finish second.

Next it was the Cat 1 men. Willard got angry on his pedals to get the holeshot with Arocha second wheel and Sheek sitting third. The first rise Willard and Arocha rolled ahead as a small gap opened and eventually others had to work hard to get around Sheek who was on cruise control. On the last lap Willard and Feldstein battled it out but it was Willard who took another win. Sheek held on for fourth for the day.

It was another good weekend for the team. Thank you to all the sponsors as well as feeds and support from AJ.

The trip started late Tuesday night with Sheek driving north towards Santa Cruz to meet up with the Felt Bicycles crew for some trail action on the new Felt Edict 29ers, if you don’t want to read about it and just want the bike explained to you watch the video of the teams friend shr-Eddie Mcdonald showing off the new Felt Edict 9 LTD.

Wednesday morning started early as everyone met by the Soquel Forest trail head to make some turns and let the new bikes look pretty for the cameras, more to come on Felt’s new ad campaigns as they release. It will be a must to share the amazing views of the forest, bike, and Mr. Coffman hucking the 9 LTD off a seven foot drop. Long day short, after six hours on the trails it all ended with everyone enjoying tasty mexican food before the drive south to Monterey.

Late Wednesday night Sheek finally found his way to Salinas, meeting Gaviota (Jason Siegle) and another Charmichael Training Systems (CTS) coach JG (asked to be kept anonymous because after her experience of sharing a room with these two she said she might never travel with the team again). Being too wound from the day of riding, Sheek kept everyone awake telling the tales of the trails.

Thursday morning came too soon as the CTS coaches were early to rise and get to the Sea Otter Classic (SOC) to set up camp and share their knowledge with all SOC visitors looking for coaching, camps, bike fittings, and more that their new Santa Ynez office has to offer. Besides work, it was a day for the team to get out and inspect the Cross Country course before the weekends events. Check the ride from Strava Pro Siegle and take a look at some of the trails, pre-rides, and racing from the SOC.

It was another fun day of riding, visiting some of our favorite brands (SDG, Felt Bicycles, SPY, Cytomax), and more. Sheek who stupidly left his sunglasses at home needs to thank MMX at SPY for the deal on the Borough that protected his eyes with a style ahead of his old J-LO look. The rest of the team thanks MMX too for this change away from teenie bopper.

Thursday night like all the nights of the SOC was filled with Gaviota routine of fueling the group at Whole Foods and then back to the room for his famous drink “the beetdown,” filled with apples, carrots, and beets.

Friday brought the first of races for the team and the beginning of warm temperatures. With temps hitting 99 degrees in the valley of the course this might have added to cramp fest most riders suffered on course. But there was no excuse for Sheek putting himself into a ditch and trying to make love to the poison oak off the side of the trail. The race started well but 10th was the best he could capture in the 35+ and a nice case of SOCTD (SOC Trail Disease = Poison Oak).

Saturday was a different story for the team and different level of racing as Gaviota went to the raceway ready to crush himself. The pro men were flying off the tarmac onto the dirt roads surrounding the Laguna Seca raceway creating a dust cloud almost 200ft high, it was an ominous sight that looked like a herd of stallions stampeding through the hills. By the feed zone a group of ten riders chased the leader, Todd Wells (Specialized). Then it was small chase groups of riders smashing themselves in the blistering heat of the valley floor. Siegle came in a few groups back looking strong. Grabbing his Cyto brew he pushed a little harder bridging himself up to the next group. By end of the lap, entering the long climbs that lead back into the raceway Siegle showed a new side of confidence and strength. It was impressive as he worked with Troy wells (Clifbar), Jason Sager (Jamis), and a few others through the climbs. By the last hill the group was fading and Siegle rode away from his group to grab 21st, his best pro finish to date.

Saturday night was the first Cyclocross event that SOC has offered. Sheek was registered and looking for a taste of the glory. While Ben Berden (Raleigh) rode away from all small groups chased and Sheek dug deep to hold on for 17th. It was a good spectacle and an event that will grow as fans and racers alike were definitely enjoying themselves. CXMagazine has a nice write up about the event.

(Sheek playing it smart starting behind the best in the business)

Sunday was just another day some morning riding, booths, and then all were off for their long journeys home. Great weekend and great support from the team sponsors who helped make the SOC an even more enjoyable experience.

-Sven Albert (SDG team reporter)

Excerpt from kbhr933.com by Angela Myers:

Big Bear, Ca, September 16, 2011, 12:00pm - Wednesday September 14^th was the kick off of the cyclocross season in Las Vegas.  Cyclocross is a form of bicycle racing in which riders ride on dirt, grass, pavement, and have to go over barriers, normally resulting in cyclists jumping off their bike, and jumping over the barrier, or bunny hopping over the barriers with their bike.  Cross Vegas, the kick off race of the season is a unique event as it doesn’t just have pro men and women’s races, it has a wheelers and dealers category which allows industry professionals to race together.  This year four people from Big Bear competed including Casey, Cameron and Evan Williams, and Paul Romero.  The oldest two Williams brothers Casey and Cameron recently signed on with a new team for Cyclocross season: team SDG Felt presented by iRT, while younger brother Evan competed in his first Cross Vegas race for Bear Valley Bikes. Casey Williams started towards the back of the pack in the race and had to pass close to 100 people to get to the front of the pack.  Casey, who is 17 years old, put up a strong fight against other industry riders, and came in 4^th overall.  Cross Vegas is such a popular and well attended event every year as it happens the same week as Interbike- the biggest bicycle convention in the United States, showcasing new product lines from thousands of companies.

Left to right: Casey, Nate, Cameron, and Evan Williams – the brothers celebrate after the three oldest competed at Cross Vegas. Nate the youngest Williams boy told KBHR he is going to do the race when he is older!

The Effects of Fish Oil on Exercise-Induced Asthma

Both asthmatics and non-asthmatics can experience exercise induced asthma.  Traditionally, wheezing has only been treated with prescription medications. However, newer research shows that dietary modification can decrease the severity of wheezing as well…

Read the remainder of this post at The Natural Athlete’s Clinic

Thank You Dr. Barker for sharing your knowledge with the team and athletes of all types.

Team reporter Sven Albert checked in with SDG Rider Jason Siegle (Gaviota) at the MTB National Championships in Sun Valley, Idaho.

Sven: Jason what is Sun Valley like?

Gaviota: Well it doesn’t get much more beautiful than the scenery here in Sun Valley. The first thing you notice though when you get the race venue is how steep the mountain is and the course is painfully steep.

Sven: So are you saying the course is too tough?

Gaviota: Not too tough just demanding. The altitude
and 15% + grades of the climb force you into your granny. Ouch! The
descent is difficult as well but not overly technical. Its mainly because you
can never see more than 20ft in front of you and if you aren’t on the trail
you are off a cliff. It will be a mentally tough 15 minutes of descending.

Sven: You are enjoying the riding and town?

Gaviota: Yes, the last couple of days I have been riding the Amateur course with a junior I coach Kyle Bloesser (aka Beaver) and playing at the pump track in town. Today is the first day of racing and I’ll be doing a fat tire crit tonight. It should be a great way to see how the body is feeling.

Sven: Well thanks for checking in. I look forward to hearing more and good luck in the fat crit.

We are very excited to announce our partnership with iRT or INERTIA RACING TECHNOLOGY for those of you who haven’t heard the buzz about this new company based in Burbank, CA. iRT has rolled onto the Local and National road racing scene with their support of Southern California’s best Elite Men’s Road Team, Cash Call Cycling.

SDG Felt pres. by iRT is proud to provide another opportunity for iRT to get its name out there and it’s racers on the podium.

Inertia Racing Technology is our primary cyclocross race wheel provider. In 2012, we will continue to use their products as they widened their product line to include new MTB products. For cyclocross We will rely on their super light 38 mm and 50 mm carbon tubular wheels when we are between the tape. Looks for us at local SCPS races and nationally at USGP events.

SDG Felt pb. iRT racer and team director David Sheek has been testing the 38mm tubulars on some local mtb trails. He’s found the “super smooth rolling” hubs to be top notch and exclaimed that the braking surface was “the best he’s ridden.” Knowing Dave’s quiver of wheels over recent seasons this is high marks for the iRT rim construction (Dave has recently raced Easton carbon tubulars and Silk carbon tubulars).

Inertia Racing Technology was formed in early 2010 with the goal of reinventing the riding experiences of everyone from world-class athletes to the casual rider. The IRT team spent countless hours evaluating and field testing almost every wheelset in the market and determined that there must be a more cost-effective way to own a wheelset for any event or riding style without compromising quality.

Each of the components that make up an IRT wheelset is meticulously selected to provide the best riding quality. We believe you’ll notice the difference.

Check iRT out at www.irtwheels.com