05/09/2007 Team
Gary Fisher 29er Crew Race Roundup
The mountain bike season is fully upon us. Riders now have their first
couple races under their wheels. That includes the Gary Fisher 29er
Crew. This group of 29" wheeled riders race exclusively on their
Fishers 29ers. The Fisher 29er Crew called in with some race recaps.
Below is what our big-wheeled lovers have been up to these first couple
weeks of the season.
"Desert" Dan Cain
Hailing from Borrego, CA, Desert Dan benefits from southern
Californias year-round sunshine and early race season. So the
endurance race specialist is already in mid-season form. He kicked
things off with the 12 Hours of Temecula in January. Twelve hours and
eleven laps later, Dan finished third overall.
Fast forward to April and Desert Dan is standing on the podium again.
This time its an overall third place finish at the 80-mile Julian
Death March on April 1. It was also a first place finish within his age
category.
Most recently, Desert Dan stood on the podium again with a second place
finish overall at the 8 Hours of Idyllwild. Even more impressive, he
took the second place finish riding unassisted for the whole race.
For all three races Dan was riding his Fisher 29er hardtails rigid with the Bontrager Race X Lite Switchblade 29er fork.
LaLonde Brothers
Jesse and Mark LaLonde spent the winter pedaling through the snow and
slush of their Madison, WI, home waiting for the race season to begin.
In addition to the winter riding, the two spent the off-season making
their Fisher Ferrous 29ers race-ready, rigid, and single-speed.
The season kicked off with a trip to Rockford, Illinois for the Rock
Cut Race. Jesse and Marko jumped out to a lead with regional Trek
rider, Brian Matter. Jesse finished the 37-mile race second (behind
Brian Matters geared Top Fuel), and Marko rallied after a flat to
finish third. Interesting sidenote: both Jesse and Marko raced their
29er single speeds in the Expert Class against the geared competition.
They both finished faster than the winning time for the Expert Single
Speed class.
Then recently, the LaLonde boys pulled up to the start line for the first race of the popular
Wisconsin Off-Road Series
also sponsored by Gary Fisher. Jesse hit the gas off the line and Marko
pulled it together late for a third and sixth place finish
respectively.
For better recaps and all things bike culture, check out their blogs:
Jesse:
creepyfriendly.typepad.com
Marko:
killthedarkness.typepad.com
TJ Platt and Travis Saeler
TJ and "Stork" are the Eastern duo riding the big wheels for Fisher.
The two often train together and then head out to the races together as
well. Stork spent the early season at some tune-up road races and
bribing industrial engineers buddies to mill out the eccentric bottom
bracket for his new Fisher Ferrous 29. TJ has been hitting the trail
throughout the off-season and chasing his two-year old son around to
get primed for the race season.
The two started the season in the West Virginia Mountain Bike
Association (WVMBA) race series at Big Bear Lake. TJ winded up near the
top of the podium with a second place finish on his Fisher Supercaliber
29. Stork landed a third place finish in the Vet Expert class riding
his Fisher Paragon.
More recently the two raced the Henry Clay 30K, a renowned bike buster
of a course. TJ pulled out a solid ride on his Supercaliber 29 to
finish second. Stork switched it up for the rocky course. He set aside
his Fisher single speed 29er hardtail in favor of his new Supercaliber
29. Despite a bent derailleur and a flat he still managed a fourth
place fourth in the Expert Vet class.
Hot racing recaps on Storks blog:
http://www.travissaeler.com
The one constant from all of our 29er Crew has been increased sightings
of 29ers at the race scene. From Stork, "Both guys finishing in front
of me in the Vets class were on 29ers. I was surprised to see the
amount of big wheels on the West Virginia scene." Jesse LaLonde says,
"Twenty nine's everywhere. I must have lost count after the 15th
paragon. 29 is definitely here to stay." Good to hear.
More updates from Fishers 29er Crew as the season goes on.