one speed open

UPDATE

2011-08-03T01:25:00.000-07:00

Registration ($15) will take place @ the tennis courts parking lot in Lee Martinez Park @ 9:am Look for the Brave New Wheel bright yellow van.
you can get there by heading north on Sherwood St. to the end ( Lee Martinez farm ) and turning right to the parking lot between the tennis courts and the baseball field. Location is right about here -> http://tinyurl.com/2dt9b8u

Extra maps will be available for non-racing friends / peeps in gral who'd like to go find a spot on the course to witness the carnage.

Come prepared with plenty of water / food for the pedaling part as none is available along the course; we're working on having a mid point station but no guarantee ! Camelback is of course a good idea.

If at any point in the race you or your bicycle become un-awesome, the Brave New Wheel support van will be following behind offering a ride to the finish and will carry a first aid kit too.

If this is your first time racing the OxSxOx : expect gravel, lots of it. hills: usually not very steep but long, some washboards, sandy double track, (maybe a little muddy...) length: 30 or so miles. take a look at some of the pics from past year's to get an idea.

We'll finish and party at the same place from last year east of town: 4616 E. Co rd 52 past the golf course on the North side; party starts as soon as the winner crosses the finish line, if not racing, come watch / hang out, invite your friends !
we'll have cold drinks, snacks and the legendary OxSxOx T-shirts with badass art for sale:

The new shirts are hot-hot !
make sure to save $15 dallah from going into your cochinito.
apologies to the peeps that have been asking about pre-ordering, can't do.
perhaps a prepaid second run if necessary.

Remember:
all proceeds from T's sales also go to the chosen local Non-profit !

Some of this year's rad sponsors include:

Velo-Solo ( baller singlespeed Co. from the UK ! ), La Luz Grill, Origin 8, Kansas City Kitty, Velocity, and of course, Brave New Wheel !

(buy Nathan a beer if you run into him @ the Trailhead or the Crown Pub, not only the BNW Is the raddest bicycle shop in town but it has sponsored the OxSxO 7 year's in a row !!!

Helmets are cheaper than medical bills... just sayin'

-word

The 7th annual OxSxOx is coming to a gravel road near you !

2011-08-02T16:10:00.000-07:00

Back for another round of good ol' one speed fun Colorado style, as customary, a new, different course awaits your legs, lungs and rubber, burning, yearning to make the finish line where good, cold beer patiently sits.

Registration is $15 and starts @ 9 :am to 9:30 then we'll take off around 9:45 for a short warm up group ride to the official start. Coffee will be provided by the Bean Cycle Coffee House, we'll have cake too !

All proceeds will go to local grassroots-D.I.Y powerhouse: Hammer Time ! check out all the cool and important work they do in our community and if inspired, think about volunteering !

Here's more info on their story, community space and educational programs.

In the meantime please take a moment to check out the story of the OxSxOx to learn why it exists and how it all started, dang, can't believe it's been 6 years.

-Raf

RESULTS, PICS AND THANKS

2010-08-30T14:12:00.001-07:00

What the hell ? for the THIRD year in a row Dan "Dad's " Lionberg of 400 Smith racing took the "gold " in the coasting-free division.

According to witness's accounts Dan dropped the few hanging on to his wheel in the most demoralizing, punishing way: attacking up the steepest hill any OxSxOx course has ever seen, pushing a 52-16 to then disappear shooting down the other side rocking the TT bars through the entire gravel 'n' sand 'n' washboards combo.

I don't know but, next year more of the fast locals that have until now been too busy, intimidated or too cool to race the OxSxOx better come out and give Dan a run for his money !

(namely all those who said: " see you there ! " and slept in hungover, chickened out or just went for some excuservals )

The other top finisher's:

2nd place non-coasting ---------- Steve Burns (400 Smith racing )

1st place coasting ---------------- Logan Garey ( Rio Grande )

2nd place coasting --------------- Adam Wisseman ( Colorado state )

Top gal -------------------------- Claire Mechtly (400 Smith racing )

What a fine day ! no casualties, everyone finished with a smile, had a cold one ( or six ) hung out and moved on to party elsewhere.

Check out the first couple batches o' photos here

and here

Thanks to all participants, sponsors and volunteers, tomorrow, a little over $1000 will be delivered to the Animal house in the name of singlespeeders of the Fort and elsewhere ( Berthoud, Portland,Boulder,etc ) to help them keep unwanted pets alive until they become wanted, by someone.

If you've been looking to adopt a pet Animal House is the place you wanna check out !

This is who did what: ( Thank you dear peeps ! )

400 Smith Racing dawg sportiff David Boerner for coming up with such a baller course !

Curtis Heideman designed the poster, then Go West printed them for free !

Charly Bar and the Bean Cycle for the breakfast

Teresa Garcia for marking the course

Brenna Wozniak for the yummy muffins

Randy Leija for the freakin' awesome OxSxOx salsa

Adam for lending his finish-line-house again

Ian for driving the Brave New Wagon

Leanne C, Nora P and John R for running registration

Mr Rick Price for the Photos

Kevin Buecher for picking up the course markers

Ben Gannon for his overall unconditional badass support.

and finally the Sheriff for going the other way after seeing us roll by Vern's allowing us to have some good clean fun.

If you know of a Local non-profit fighting the good fight ( or one of them ) that could use a little dough, e-mail me suggestions for next year ( as well as questions, comments, critiques, etc) to bikeagainst@gmail.com

Thank you and stay tuned for the David Cross CX series this coming winter, a production of 400 Smith racing.

We'll see you next year over more gravel and uni-gear bikes under the sun.

-Rafael

FINAL DETAILS !!!

2010-08-25T22:13:00.000-07:00

We'll meet at Lee Martinez park parking lot / pavilion, registration ($15) is from 9-9:30am and we'll roll out at 9:45am. The race will take most people 1.5-2hrs - so figure ending some time around noon... party starts whenever the winner crosses the finish line ... The park is just west of College ave on the Poudre river bike trail, OR get there by heading north on Sherwood St. to the end and turning right to the parking lot by the tennis courts. Look for the big yellow Brave New Wheel delivery van. Location is right about here -> http://tinyurl.com/2dt9b8u

As usual we'll have coffee from the Bean Cycle and snacks, come prepared with plenty of water / food for the pedaling part as none is available along the course.

After registration we will ride neutral from the meeting spot to the start location just north of town. Maps are handed out at registration and the course will be well marked with signs.

If you have friends who'd like to go out on the course and cheer you up or throw eggs, H2O balloons or dirty sex toys at you, we'll have extra maps @ registration, just ask.

If at any point in the race you or your bicycle become un-awesome, the Brave New Wheel big yellow van will be following behind offering a ride to the finish and will carry a first aid kit too.

We'll finish and party at the same place from last year east of town: 4616 E. Co rd 52 past the golf course on the North side; shortly after registration volunteers will move on to set up at the finish line where we'll have a metal drum full of cold dizzy waters,snacks,prizes & schwag,T-shirts for sale for $15 (organic,free range,Non GMO and all that )as well as some of the awesome custom silkscreened posters.

YOUR BIKE: Ride your singlespeed or fixie commuter, MTB, track bike - whatever - as long as it's got only ONE (functional) GEAR. If you wanna race but only have at this time a geared bike,come on out, just make it unshiftable.
( we can help with that if you don't feel too creative )

What gearing to run? Answering that question is part of the fun! The course basically stays down on "the flats" and doesn't climb up into the foothills at all - so you don't need a small gear for sustained climbing. In general a gear that is comfortable around town or a bit bigger should be good. Fast MTB tires or cyclocross tires will give good traction on the rougher stuff but be a bit slower on the smooth stuff, with the opposite said about slick road tires. Choose your poison/weapon.

We will honor "spoke cards" from last year; good hippies re-use right ?

Please make sure to check out all the great products and services that our sponsors this year offer; these companies allow for this much fun to be unleashed !

Go West T-shirt Co.

Chrome Messenger Bags

All City Cycles

New Belgium brewing

The Charly bar

Urban Velo

Brave New Wheel

Your group ride

The Bicycle Co-op

WEAR A HELMET AND FOLLOW THE RULES OF THE ROAD !

One Speed Open Course Preview

2010-08-09T00:05:00.000-07:00

David from 400 Smith Racing just mapped out the 2010 OxSxO course. He can't tell you what it is, but he will tell you how the Bike Gods hucked down from on high to deliver this beautiful course unto him.

Check it out!

Gravel and prairie on a one speed again

2010-07-31T16:20:00.000-07:00

The sixth edition of the One Speed Open is ready to kick in full effect this coming August the 28th, a Saturday.

This year to benefit Animal House no-kill shelter. http://www.animalhousehelp.org/index.php

What's the OxSxOx like ?...

a minimum 30 miles of mostly road-rage-free and road-kill-free county roads, hardpacked and loose dirt, washboardie some years, always plenty of up-down, up-down to keep things interesting. Passing thru old farms, oil fields, ponds and lakes one don't often get to see while doing the dams, rist or carter lake 'n' masonville style riding.

Who races the OxSxOx ?

anyone ! all one-gear-heads come together for this one; from casual or dedicated commuters to former state, national and world champs.

It's as serious as you wanna make it, some peeps come out looking to clean and punish, others just to see how they do against their weekend riding crew.

In any case, the one common goal always present is to show that FoCo cyclists care above and beyond "two abreast" issues only, by giving all of the proceeds to local charities that don't get massive funding.

Helmets are recommended, flip flops are not...

( brain armor is cheaper than health insurance! )

More details soon, Y'alls stay tuned.

OxSxOx '09 Results & pics +

2009-07-26T01:04:00.000-07:00

Thanks to everyone who participated, sponsored or helped in any fashion to make the race a big success !

Special thanks to Darren and Lisa @ Summit studios and Mr. Rick Price for all the awesome pictures, to Erin Hamilton for marking the course, to Claire for delivering the Coffee, to Leanne and John for running the registration booth, to Sarita Uhl for donating da keg and to Adam for letting us finish @ his place.

This year's turn out was the best ever and we were able to donate a total of $700 to " The Growing project."

Also more ladies than ever before raced ! Badass !

Make sure to check out all of the great pics HERE and HERE

We'll make the OxSxOx bigger and better in 2010, see you then !

Final details

2009-07-08T21:23:00.000-07:00

For those not familiar with the OxSxO format, expect plenty of dirt roads; every year is a different course and no one knows where it's going until you get your map upon registration.

Memorize the turns or tape 'em or sharpie 'em to your arm.

I'm pretty sure this year's course is goathead free so no Armadillos are required... however running 25c slicks may be a bad idea... ( David ? ) you'd prolly be better off with some 28-32 hybrids set to 90 psi or so... bigger gears are recommended, unless your legs are really trained to spin if you're riding coastin' free.

What else ? oh, yeah the finish will be @ Adam's farm @ #4616 East County Rd. 52 about a mile east from I-25 , first house past the golf course.

Tell your friends to come out and bear witness ! The fast dudes will be rolling in around 11:30am

Sounds like this will be the first time we'll have two OxSxO winners from previous years at it.

and it sounds like there will be lots 'o Ladies competing this year too, right on !

There will be a vehicle assisting those faced with mechanical hardships, those in a hungover attempt to hang 'n' ride and those that couldn't keep the rubber side down...

Please patronize these fine establishments from our friends that are makin' it all happen:

Brave New Wheel

Velox Cycles

Meetsauce Cycles

Lucile's

The Bean Cycle

Remember, registration starts @ 8:30am under the Poudre river bridge @ Linden st.

One Speed Open 2009, Sundi July 12th

2009-06-25T00:46:00.000-07:00

The OxSxO is coming around again, going in it's fifth year !
Registration fee is 15 Washingtons, that gets you coffee and snacks in the morning and beer afterwards along with the chance to win sweet prizes and perhaps the Glory of being the 09
focomonocogmofo

Registration will take place by the river under the bridge at the intersection of Linden and the Poudre trail @ 8:30am departing @ 9:30am

30 mile loop approx. ( ...or out 'n' back ? )

Coasting and non-coasting categories.

Special awards will be created for those who somehow " earn it "

As usual there will be T-s for sale and new for 2009, all-custom locally handmade and fabricated with recycled materials OxSxO bike hats !

All proceeds this year will go to " The Growing Project " http://groprofoco.wordpress.com/

More details soon, meantime, talk that buddy of yours into racing that rig with the cool Deep V's and all the anodized stuff.

Stay tuned.

OxSxO '08 RESULTS

2008-06-17T08:57:00.000-07:00

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.

Latest update

2008-06-10T04:06:00.000-07:00

CSU is requiring us liability insurance just so we can congregate on their lawn, register, drink coffee and roll... all in just about an hour or so...

So registration will take place @ The Bike Co-op at 222 LaPorte Ave. same time, 9:AM

Who needs the oval anyways ? That's what we get for trying to be nice and do things by the book; i should 've never told 'em what we're up to....

The Co-op is a better location anyway, we'll have freshly brewed coffee, tools and supplies available for final quick adjustments, bathroom, etc.

Beware: this coming weekend is the taste of Fort Collins, so to get to the Co-op you'll have to ride among many early set-up people, be careful and don't run'em over... Let's be respectful so they won't run US over when driving !

This year's course will be by far the most fun in all 4 years of the OxSxO , scenic, low traffic, diverse terrain and lots of wildlife.
Last Saturday,while figuring out the final loop i saw a PIKA !

I'd say the bike best suited for this one will be one with hybrid tires 25-30c with a 44-46/16
combo give or take. There are many hills; not one steep but mile long. There are two sections of
"unofficial rural double track" bring a comfy saddle.

BBQ After party @ the finish line. Have your partner/ friend / lover /relative come out to bear witness,
there will be free beer for racers, others please bring drinks and grill items to share.
Ask around for the location, or wait until Saturday to find out; we need to keep it bike geeks only...

Party will start around 12:Noon and go on until about 4-ish
If feasible, we'll have the mandatory track stand / skid / tricks contest. just to dork around.

We should take off between 10-10:30 and from there it'll take a couple hours to do the loop.

Check back soon for more updates.

A good road rage-free week to all.

O x S x O '08 Saturday June 14th

2008-06-04T12:50:00.000-07:00

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

2008-06-01T23:10:00.000-07:00

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

2008-05-24T02:20:00.000-07:00

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

2008-05-22T22:09:00.000-07:00

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

2008-05-16T05:43:00.000-07:00

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

2008-05-14T01:18:00.000-07:00

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

2008-05-12T20:32:00.000-07:00

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.