OxSxO '08 RESULTS

Ladies and gentlemen, take your hats off for: Mr. Dan Lionberg

Dan, of the Rams Cycling team, took first place in the fixed gear category with an impressive 10 minutes ahead of the second place Colin Pinney, Winter Ralleye veteran.

Very early after the start Dan and David Boerner also from Rams Cycling, broke away drawing a 1/4 of a mile and eventually 1/2 mile gap... no one could catch 'em; soon enough they were out of sight.

Unfortunately, David flatted lacking a pump and it was over for him... (that was too bad! i had all my money on him for second place )

In the morning, people didn't know what to think when Dan showed up sporting TT bars and helmet mixed with some sort of cowboy shirt... but apparently that combo worked, since he put 7 out of the 10 minutes ahead of second place in the last stretch of the course, 10 straight miles back to town.

Doctor Tim Anderson took first place in the single speed category.
Tim,president of the Fort Collins Velodrome Association, proved that he practices what he preaches and gave many youngsters a run for their money !

John Taggart, member of the Bicycle Salvaging Brigade, got second place for the second year in a row.

Big thanks to all the sponsors and all who came out to support this good cause.

Countless hills,headwind and loose bumpy roads is the combo most cyclists fear.
Specially on a one speed... Good Job everybody !

Special thanks to my friends who helped with the registration, marking the course, moving gear, delivering the coffee and the T-shirts, driving the "sag wagon" etc. >> Nathan Elder, Kevin Buecher, Laura Lorenzen, Jaime Thomson, Claire Mechtly, Zach,Coleman and Julian Beldotti.

Thanks also to the Rad Vibes for playing the afterparty.

Hope to see you all next year, until then, keep the rubber side down.

Peas.

O x S x O '08 Saturday June 14th

Hi there, welcome to the "Bear's" brand spankin' new thingy on the "interwebs" ...

I'm hoping this blog will not only serve to inform those interested in the race but also as a way to connect all folks in the Fort that have a passion for "single gear and fixed speed" warponys.

So please post all and any info and links on all things gearless.

The race is 30 miles long and it goes out East ( usually ) but it changes every year. The route is not released until after you register and get your map, then you have about 20-30 minutes to study it prior to departure.
Nothing gnarly, just dirt roads and a few small hills, registration is at 9:AM @ the Bike Co-op,(222 LaPorte Ave.)
$15 gets you snacks, coffee in the morning, beer afterwards, and the chance to win additional raffle goodies. it used to be $12 but is a fundraiser dammit.

T-shirts are $12 and they're non-sweatshop, or so they say... who knows, really ?
i'm just trying to do the right thing.

ALL proceeds from both, registration and T-shirts goes to the organization benefiting from the race.

Oh yeah, there's single speed and fixed gear categories with expert / begginer subcategories.

This year the money is going to the Great Plains Restoration Council

Let's help protect prairies and bring wild Buffalo back in different areas of Colorado,Texas and South Dakota; also check: ghetto plains man

Every Year, half the riders do the race for the pure sake of racing and others just to ride and support a good cause while having fun.

Goal for this year:

I'm hoping we'll raise enough money to adopt 2 0r 3 acres of land that will belong to all of the participants !

They have many different programs going on (some of these are Youth oriented ) so the final fate of the $ is still to be confirmed since i'd like to put it where they need it the most.

BBQ @ the finish line; TBA

Check back soon as i will be updating very often between now and then and uploading some of the old art.
Feedback and questions welcome.

Thanks to our sponsors who make it possible for people to take home more than just the glory of being some of the fastest people on one-speed bikes here in the Fort; hugs and kisses go out to our friends @:

VeloX Cycles

Brave New Wheel

Road 34

The Cycologist

Surfside 7

The Bean Cycle

- Thank you -

O x S x O '07

Last year, it was really fun as it was crazy; we had great weather, better organization, more prizes and a good turn out but everybody got punished by one guy nobody knew:

Dusty Labarr.

You had to be there to believe it...

- He's one FAST MoFo -

10 or so minutes into the race he was out of sight, the rest of the pack kept battling between themselves in search of second place...

Race is over, the last few riders came in and Dusty is just sitting there all fresh, wearing clean clothes and riding a different bike...

He'd finished so far ahead of everyone else that he had time to go home and come back just as second place and Co. were arriving !! WTF ???

Folks kept asking: " who's that guy ? " ...

I learned later on that he's a Pro mechanic who's wrenched for TREK and LUNA Teams and he's married to no other than local bad-ass/ Pro racer Georgia Gould who kicked total butt in '07 and is heading to the Olympics.

I guess that explains it.

What a fun time; and Dusty got to take home a true "free range" Trophy...

Joe Bagley from New World Sports took 2nd in the Fixed category.

Chad Chriestensen and John Taggart took 1st and 2nd in the "coast" category.

All proceeds went to the Bike Co-op (formerly the Bike Against ! collective )

O x S x O '06

The second year was fun, we had a fierce battle between Nico "Suave" of XXX racing fame from Chicago and local Andy Stockman with Nico taking first on the final sprint for Fixed Gear category.

Todd Chance took first on Single speed category.

Afterwards we got together for a beer @ the ROAD 34 bar and Nico, who happened to be just
passing thru, picked up his prizes, finish his pitcher and hit the road...

What a way to conquer a town.

All proceeds from registration and T-shirts went to the Riversong Waldorf school of Fort Collins.

O x S x O '05

In 'o5 local Dan Porter won in the fixed gear category; i don't remember much else except his legs
spinning like a dog-chase in a cartoon.

It was quite impressive considering the fact that he was the only one running 26'' wheels V.S. everyone else with 700's and 27'' s .

We ended at Lee Martinez where a BoB trailer arrived with a cooler full of beer.

What a gorgeous day. bike geeks chatting tech, people made new friends, i made enough money for my trip and
"hey, so next year again ? " someone asked, and the first one-gear-only race in the Fort was borned...

About the Art

Every year, lots of folks ask me who made the posters and T-shirts; Jason Cope @ Start the Press has designed and printed all posters and T-s since the second year.

The link to his print shop is here

By the Way, every year there are only 20 or so custom posters made, none for sale, however,there are 3 ways to get one:

A) win the race

B) score one from the Bike shops and coffee shops
(if they let you have it that is) but please wait until the day of the race to take it down.

C) Sponsor the race

A call for input

Starting this blog when the race is already in it's 4th year ,makes it a little difficult to remember all the details from every year, so it will be under construction for a while as i gather more info / pics to post.

Any of you who've participated in any year of the O.S.O and have any valuable info to share,please
leave a comment or contact me; and if you read something here that is not quite how things happened that year, don't hesitate and call me out on it, i have a terrible memory; i can't recall much more besides the main winners...

For now i'm just relying on my chats with those who helped with the organization and the racers that i still run into in the street to get the story straight.

Any help with this fact-arranging task will be very appreciated.

Thanks.

P. S. If you happen to have a Poster from the FIRST year or maps from the first or second year,
please get in touch so i can make copies to post here.

History

Back in '05 i was plain broke and unemployed and trying to figure out a way to go back home to Mexico City to see my dad who at the time was 79 and not doing very well ...

My friend Todd Simmons founder of Wolverine Farm Publishing
suggested: "why don't you organize a bike race ? a fixed gear race... " and since there were no fixed gear or single-speed only races in town and i knew quite a bunch of Onegearheads it seemed like my best option at trying to raise funds for my trip.

I then went to another friend, Jason Shelman local single-speed/fixed guru whose knowledge of the roads in the area i needed to come up with a good course and map; he agreed to help out.

A third friend, Adam Gerry, designed the poster. He also got some T-shirts made so i could sell them "for your ticket to get back" he said.

The race was on.

I had no idea what to expect, but things turned out just fine and i hopped on a south bound bus.

I will forever be grateful to the 20 or so riders that showed up that morning and actually paid way more than the registration fee to get me on my way...

That trip to where i grew up was the last time i saw, talked to, listen to and touched my father.

A year later,right around the time of the second race in May '06 he became one with the earth.

The One Speed Open will always remain a benefit race, a fundraiser for good causes to celebrate the power of bicycles and good people.

Thank you.

-Rafael.