SinisterBikes

Sinister Representing at the Mt. Snow Nationals

Results and pictures are funneling in from the 2008 Nationals at Mount Snow.  For a complete list of results CLICK HERE. 

Matt (GrnBkr), for a great finish on his Mustang.  Matt is having a great season and on top of this finish this weekend (11/30 in Expert Men 19-24) here is a list of his accomplishments including 3 Podiums!!!

Hop brook dam, 8th place
Winsted woods, 4th place
Fat tire classic, 7th place
Brialee Ramblin Rumble, 14th place
Coyote Hill short track, 5th place
Coyote Hill hill climb, 2nd place
Coyote Hill classic, 9th place
Chanel three, 10th place
Apple blaster short track, 1st place
Apple blaster hill climb, 2nd place
Putney/west hill race, 7th place

Also with a great finish in the Downhill Expert Men 25-29 class was Dave Custer.   Custer's time of 5:45.48 puts him as one of the fastest times of the day.

Enjoy some pictures from The Kid and we'll update this post with more results (Max and the rest of the crew) later on.

Congrats to all of you guys!!

   

Sinister Bikes/Fast-Times Training

Sinister Bikes/Fast-Times-Training Elite MTB Team is here to put the hurt on the competition! Sinister Bikes is proud to support this team of riders/racers who as a group comprise some of the best talents in the nation.  Watch OUT!  Also check out their photo gallery on the blog!

Here is their team profile for you all to check out!

Fast-Times-Training (www.fast-times-training.com) is an organization that provides training, technical and logistical support to bicycle racers of all types. Mickey Denoncourt, the owner of Fast-Times-Training, is a USAC licensed coach and a trained exercise physiologist. He also has worked in R+D and product development for several bike companies. Mickey has raced at a high level on and off the road, and has a nearly terminal commitment to bicycle racers.

Additional supporters include

Rogue Mtb Clothing, Michelin, Chromag, E.13, Industry Nine, Atomlab, and Hutch Hats

 

Our program has a primarily Northeastern focus with a smattering of international and national events planned. We anticipate having at least three team members at every race on our schedule, even weekends with multiple events. This equates to over 25 race weekends and more than 175 starts for the team as a whole for 2007. Our riders are capable of winning every race they enter, and the support we provide them with makes that task easier.

The high level of technical and logistical support offered to this team is unique in this age of ever-declining race budgets, and it is solely a labor of love. Our commitment to the sport is bone deep.

Our commitment to exposure is also unprecedented on the east coast. We have committed to an extensive still and video shooting schedule that will provide exclusive professional-quality product for use in advertising and marketing materials, Bi-weekly direct to media press release, daily team blog posting starting 5/1 on the Fast-Times site, and a full length team video that we will release in December of ’07.

Included below is a team roster, 2006 results highlights and highlights of our 2007 schedule

TEAM ROSTER

 

Pro:

• James Ford: 20, Chappaqua, NY. DH, Slalom

Jamie was the most successful pro DH racer in the Northeast last season, and with more support and better preparation we believe he will be able to make the transition to one of the best racers nationally.

• Walter Dunn: 23, Meriden, CT. Slalom, BMX

Walter Dominated the NBL national series this year in 19+ expert, winning two number 1 plates. He is planning on a nearly MTB only season in ‘07

• Garson Fields: 20, Northampton, MA.  ProFreeride, expert DH, Slalom

Garson is regarded as one of the most technical riders in mountain biking, and his love of freestyle BMX is evident every time he gets on any bike. 2006 was spent filming for video parts and recovering from racing injures. On fully dialed 26” gear Garson is ready to bring some big moves into the woods!

With training support and the encouragement of the team Garson will be ready for Semi-Pro DH by the middle of the season.

Semi-Pro:

• Mickey Denoncourt: 26, Northampton, MA. DH, Slalom, XC, BMX

At 26 Mickey has been racing bikes of all kinds for 13 years and has numerous XC, Road, DH and ‘cross titles under his belt. His experience and professional training keep the team together.

• Adam Haddad Morse: 21, Needham, MA. DH, Slalom

Adam is relatively new to the gravity scene, but in ’06 he claimed the VT state champs in expert and the Eastern Collegiate championships in A.

• Sebastian (Sparky) Boyington: 19, Orono, ME. DH, Slalom XC

The outgoing Mainer steadily climbed through the Expert ranks last season, and with a 2^nd full season of DH under his belt and the support of his teammates he will come out swinging in 2007.

Expert:

• Matt Tenure: 21, Sudbury, MA. DH, Slalom, XC

Tenure is a giant, both in physical stature and his abilities as a salesman. This outgoing rider is an asset to any team, and his 2^nd place in expert DH at the Sugar Mtn NMBS proves that he is no slouch as a racer.

• Darrel Szalchetka: 40, West Hartford, CT. DH, Super D

Daryl dominated age group expert in the northeast this season. He is a dedicated and knowledgeable trail builder, and an excellent representative of his sponsors, that’s why we chose him!

Jr. Expert

Converse Fields: 16, Northampton, MA. DH, Slalom, XC, Road, Snowboard

Converse is a talent in any kind of racing that is put in front of him. His aggression, maturity and tolerance for pain is unusual for a rider his age.

Converse is a talent in any kind of racing that is put in front of him. His aggression, maturity and tolerance for pain is unusual for a rider his age.

2006 Results Highlights:

• 1^st Diablo Series- Pro
• 3^rd Snowshoe DH series-Pro
• 1^st Whiteface 5k DH-Pro
• NBL National 19+ Expert and Cruiser champion
• 7 individual NBL national victories
• 5 NMBS podiums in Expert
• 3 NMBS podiums in Semi-Pro
• 4 race wins in Expert
• 2 race wins in Semi-Pro
• 5 race wins in Pro

Planned Events for 2007:

· NMBS race at Sugar Mountain, NC.

· NMBS National Championship race at Mount Snow, VT.

· Snowshoe, WV series.

· Mid-Atlantic Championship series.

· Proposed NORBA northeastern series

· U.S. Open at Diablo Freeride Park, NJ.

· Whiteface series.

· New York State Championship Series at Plattekill.

· UCI race at Mont-Sainte-Anne, QC.

· Vermont State Championship Series at Mount Snow, VT.

· Various other small local races in the Northeast such as Highland, Arrowhead and the Diablo Domination series in NJ.

· At least 2 3 day Elite Skills training Camps at Whiteface Mtn in Lake Placid.

Sinister/Fast-Times in brief;

q The best riders in the Northeast.

q The best training and preparation available

q The best bikes in the world.

q Over 175 2007, starts.

Stowe Jump Jam

the gang assembled Oct 15th up in Vermont for some serious dirt jump and park action. Johnson VT was first to go down and the layout was sick! outdoor park with fun quarters and spines and the dirt jumps had something for everyone. the cold weather didn't hold anyone back as everyone riding was throwing down. good to see all the Sinister's too.they were everywhere!  here's a few pics I took  of the Johnson action.
clint macmahon             
dane berke                                                                     

   

derek stevens

sasha
               

knight

after that sesh, the crew headed over to the Stowe jumps and oh my gawd! the work that Irie Cycle head honch Hardy and his loyal crew have done is amazing! the place has a little bit of everything and it's all legit with the town! the weather was cold but the riders persevered!  Local legend Kyle Ebbet showed up from nearby and ripped the trails alongside the rest. He was amazed at the talent and they way guys like Clint Macmahon were throwing. "Clint's like Cam McCaul, he's a giver" Kyle commented after Clint flowed through tricking the big line where everyone else was initially happy to just hit.

clint

well, they kept pushing and the way the Sinister crew threw down that day could bring a tear to my eye. Sasha Yakovleff was just floating over the huge gaps while throwing in his signature tricks.

sasha

Knight Ide was amazing as well, despite him being 10-15 years older than most the riders(except Kyle and Hardy), Dane Berke was relentless, tricking and absolutely killing it, even throwing supermans over the big line. Derek Stevens despite being a little more of a park specialist really shined. he was smoother than ever and boosted so high! him, Sasha , Dane and Zach Fauklner were throwing cool tricks off the 8 foot ladder drop too.

derek            dane    
                     

sasha                  

Speaking of Zach, little DH shredder seriously stepped it up tricking the big jumps and pushing himself hard!

And the creator himself, the often controversial Hardy was easily one of the smoothest riders of the day and it made us proud he was on his DNA. you see, he can ride whatever bike he wants and he loves his DNA.

hardy

other members of the "Sinister Family", like Lyndon Ide were not to be outdone. He snapped a chain yet still rode the whole pack chainless!

Matty was going for it too          

and the other half of the Stevens clan was out there, Jarrod Stevens. New Sinister team manager, Doug Falbusch was pushing himself to get the "dirt jump thing" and improved greatly.
Production manager,  Rob Westover was on the DL with a broken wrist but drove kids up and helped organize everything while he rode the jumps in his mind. you'll be back soon robbie!
We also added a new rider to the jump squad, "ragin Rocco" so keep your eyes peeled for him aboard a DNA real soon! 

a big thank you to Hardy and everyone else who made all this possible! we can't thank you enough!  Check out the photos here and in the new photo gallery!
peace
skye

24 hour racing the Ridge by Dane Berke

On September 16/17^th the Harpoon Brewery “Churn & Burn” 24-hour mountain bike race was held in Ashford, CT. The course was a 5-mile death march consisting of mud, sticky mud, muddy rocks, muddy root fields, sloppy mud, deep mud, funny smelling mud, and good old fashioned mud mud. Undaunted, I and teammates Graham Wellman, Abe Rodas, and Kelly Gazzano attacked the slippery mess with determination. After a long, hard battle, physical weakness was vanquished and mental endurance prevailed – our team (soulfibre) took home 3rd place, adding 24-hour racing to the growing list of Sinister podium appearances. In addition, this demonstrates that my trusty Ridge is not only a great jump bike, but also a damn fine xc rig when it needs to be.  late  Dane

Whiteface!

well the time has come to get up to the longest DH'ing in the east up at Whiteface Mtn in the Lake Placid area of New York. We will be at Elevate Cycles on Friday PM doing a demo and then over to the hill for a couple days of riding and racing.
great training for this years Peru Megavalanche! the DH course at Whiteface will have pro winning times around 8 minutes! alright, not quite the 2 30 minute runs in Peru but long enough!
if you haven't been up there yet, this may be the weekend!
peace
skye

notes from the road, by Jackie Baker

Here's a road trip story from Jackie Baker!

. I'm back from a hectic road trip. Went to Downieville, then straight to MT for a wedding, then to SLC for 2 days, then to Snowmass.

Whilel in MT, Dain, the groom--Joe, and I went to Big Sky to check out the DH trails there. I had both the DNA and the R9 on the car since I'm in full travel mode. This crazy-looking dude rode up on a Splinter to ask about the bikes on the car. It was Dan Diaz. He was riding lifts for the first time. It was kinda crazy to randomly meet him, especially after running into Zeph at Downieville. Sinister's everywhere!

In SLC I rode with my friend Re who's a ski photographer. We went to Alta and the wildflowers were going off. I rode the DNA since we had to push up most of the trail anyway. She got some sweet photos, so hopefully something shows up in print next year.

The Snowmass DS course was awesome. It was the techiest course I've been on yet. I made it to the final, but ended up 4th. I was hoping for a little better, but got a bit squirrly at the end. Nonetheless, I took 3rd for the overall NORBA Series in All-Women's Expert MX/DS.

In DH, I was so gunning for the win. The top of the course was super fast and brake-bumpy. The R9 was riding like butter. I've never ridden a course where you could just let go, and it was so fun! There were two little tricky sections, but the whole thing was super fast. It got really dusty by Saturday morning's pro practice. Our race was at 4pm and it started downpouring at about 2:30. My practice run was crazy. It wasn't muddy yet, but the wet dirt on top was flying everywhere and sticking to everything. Luckily I brought extra goggles, but had no fender, no mud tires, and probably should have been on flat pedals. Anywho, I gunned it out of the gate on my race run and realized I was riding way to fast for the conditions. About 5 crashes and several drifting close calls later I was 4th. Although it wasn't the race I wanted, I certainly learned a lot about being prepared for anything. That put me 8th overall in the DH Expert Women's 19-29 Series.

Dain and I were hoping to got to the MSC race in Keystone, CO over Labor Day, but it's way too expensive/complex to get there without driving. It looks like we'll be hitting some local CA races through September and then I'll be at Interbike representing my JayBay team. I'm going to apply for my pro license soon--although I didn't get quite the season I'd imagined, I did podium every race and I'm stoked to take my skills farther.
Jackie

Sinister hits Whaleback!

Sat August 5th marked the second consecutive week that there were Sinister Jump Jams! The guys are going out and throwing down, this time in front of a rock concert featuring 11 local bands, called "Rock the Whale"!  The event was put on by our friends at Whaleback mountain(www.whaleback.com)which is a ski, board, skate, inline, bike training facility run by former Olympic freestyle skiier, Evan Dybig and his amazing crew  Dylan and Miles. Check this place out if you need a place to rip year around!
Some of the usual crew were there of course like Derek Stevens, Clint Mcmahon, Sasha "Yak Attack", Zach Faulkner and Scott Moody while there were a couple new guys helping out the cause from Cape Cod, Chip Morash and Ragin Rocco. To show we are really all about the love, we let those guys rail the jumps despite them riding 2 of our competitors bikes! Anyway, there were lots of mullets, girls in bikinis and plenty of good people watching as everyone seemed to take a step back in time to about 1991 and come and and RAWK!   The crew jumped 3 times  during the event, during set breaks and once again, I acted as MC. Sasha "Yak Attack" says he laughs every time he hears me call out his name, just like I'm announcing a WWF wrestler!

Everyone was going off and pushing their limits and once again, Derek Stevens took a beating despite landing some of the sickest tricks of the jam. Final injury tally after the weekend for old DS....a broken nose, hairline fracture of his ankle and sprained wrist! And he was ripping around the sweet NBL BMX track doing 1 legged races! the kid is a warrior both on bikes and even more so(in his words)on a snowboard! 
A killer time was had by all...i'm truly proud of the whole crew who stepped up again and threw down for the love!
check out some snapshots i took!
peace
skye

pedros fest 2006-see the gallery for more pics!

oh my god! what the hell happened down in Lanesboro Mass? Like tons of people gettin' together in a big field there guy and like, riding bikes there guy, so what?!  it was so much more than that this year and we had our most fun event to date with something for everyone. big jumps with huge crashes, cross-dressing, lots of tequila and PBR's, downhilling, music, and the greatest group of juevenile delinquents  ever assembled to make it all work!  we hosted the Sinister Bikes jump jams throughout the weekend which featured sick riders like Dane Berke, Clint Mcmahon, Sasha "Yak Attack",  Knight Ide, Derek Stevens and others who made it the cool place to be all weekend!  meanwhile up on the hill, our resident DH superstars  were up to the task of making people ride their bikes faster. People were holding down the pits and keeping tabs on our massive amounts of t-shirt sales as they were flyin' out the door.  cameras were flashing and videos were recording every morsel of precious moments, leaving out nary a gory detail. And someone named Chris kept everyone guessing?
FTW was on hand proudly displaying his new invention which will soon be shredding dirt like razor sharp scalpel through warm flesh. if you were there, you'll have stories to tell if you weren't then the legend will be passed down to you and others through the generations.
if you want to see therest of the  pics then check out the gallery cuz we can't fit it all here! check out more pics at www.pedalpushersonline.com and www.pedrosfest.com if you don't believe us! but what do i know, i'm just a lousy MC.
peace
skye and the crew!

photographer

hey there,

just wanted to let everyone know that Rory  Birt took those amazing photos of Shane Wode ripping it up in OZ! big shout out to a talented photog!
peace
s

shane wode

Shane Wode has done it again, tearing up the Austrailian circuit. For those who aren't familiar with "Wodie", he's not only fast but is a world class freerider. check him out in the Red Bulll Rampage from Jindabyne video to see him tearing it up!  Go Shane!

Race Elements Kenilworth Classic

---

Elite Men
1. Shane Wode - Sinister-ftr.com-Atomlab-ITS  3:29.38
2. Lindsay Klein - Santa Cruz-ftr.com-Farkin.net  3:37.12
3. Adam Smithson - GT Bicycles-Fox-Smith Optics  3:41.13
4. Mitch Afflick -  evil-psycho-violence  3:44.37
5. Tim McCullough - ftr.com-Santa Cruz  3:45.68
peace
skye