NW Cup

Mountain bikers and Down-hillers alike will be happy to know that we are a proud sponsor of the NW Cup! http://www.nwcup.com/ This 2011 season's dates are already posted on our Events page.

We are stoked to see you here before the race for advice, new parts, tune ups and all other needs. We are stoked to see you up on the mountain as well! Good luck to everyone and keep us posted on your NW Cup adventures.

~The Broken Spoke Staff

Rhody Tour on Sunday & Updated Thursday night ride times

Cyclists of Port Townsend, if you haven't registered yet for the Port Townsend Bicycle Association's 19th Annual Rhody Bike tour then you'd better mark your calendar for this Sunday, May 1st.

Port Townsend Pike Association is proud to present its 19th annual Rhody Bike Tour this Sunday May 1st! Our weather is forecasted to be a GREAT day for riding. You can choose your own riding distance for your comfort level; 32, 45, 55, or 62 miles. Come one come all, families can join in on the fun as well for a shorter ride on the Larry Scott Trail.

Start your day with a savory coffee from our local brewers at Undertown. To follow your ride, join us for tasty salmon sandwiches from the fine folks at “Cape Cleare” and homemade ice cream from “Elevated Ice Cream”. PTBA looks forward to seeing you at the start of our ride at 8:00 AM at the Haines Place Park and Ride Lot in Port Townsend (next to Safeway). Our start is open anytime between 8-10 AM. Thanks for joining in on the fun! Find us on line at www.ptbikes.org Any questions please call 385-5979

>Phil Walkden PTBA’s President leading the charge during last year’s Rhody Ride

FYI: The Broken Spoke's Thursday night rides will now start at 6pm. Everything is the same as before, there's just more sunlight so we can start later! See you then.

Successful Women's MTB Ride!

I'm happy to announce that our first women's mountain bike ride was successful. We could definitely grow into a larger group but I'm happy with what we had. Three women pedaled to Fort Worden, worked on a few roots, tight corners, basic switch backs and climbs. Perfect start to a perfect summer.
THANKS Ladies!

See you next month for our second!
~Nicole

19th Annual Rhody Tour preparations

*I hope everyone is enjoying the sunny weather today by getting out and riding your bikes. Speaking of riding, the Rhody Tour is coming up! It's on Sunday, May 1st, 2011.

*Does your bike need a tune up before the Rhody Tour so that you can enjoy the beautiful roads Jefferson County has to offer? If you mention this ad you can receive 5% off of your pre-Rhody Tour Tune up.
*Or is your bike just tired and needs retirement? Now through April 30th, all in-stock road bikes are 20% off.
*And as always we carry a full line of racks, panniers, computers, lights and tubes.

Cheers, and see you out there!
~The Broken Spoke Staff

Broken Spoke Racing

I know that this is no longer new news, and that anyone who gets the PT Leader has already read about Broken Spoke Racing a little. Well for those who don't get the paper here you go.

Broken Spoke Racing participated the NW Cup Series first of five downhill races for this season on April 7th-10th. These races are being put on by N-Dub productions out of Port Angales Washington. The team was there in full force and ready to give it everything they had.

Here are the stats and some pictures from this weekend to wet your appetite:

Cat I Men’s age 19-29:

31. – Richards, Nolan 336 Broken Spoke Racing 00:03:31.31

Cat II Men’s age 15-18:

14. – Davis, Mitch 167 Broken Spoke Racing 00:03:24.05

Cat II Men’s age 30-39:

6. – Schmierer, Paul 245 Broken Spoke Racing 00:03:12.96

10. – Sexton, Pete 107 – Broken Spoke Racing 00:03:16.59

16. – Gourley, Garth 251 Broken Spoke Racing 00:03:24.74

20. – Cardozo, Nate 248 The Broken Spoke 00:03:28.14

Cat II Men’s age 40-49:

12. – Shaver, Jim 252 Broken Spoke Racing 00:03:34.71

Cat II Women’s Open:

13. – Davis, Ann 168 Broken Spoke Racing 00:04:12.42

Cat III Women’s Open:

1. – Sork, Margaret 233 The Broken Spoke 00:04:34.98

You can see more photos and information by checking out these other links.

http://ptleader.com/main.asp?SectionID=16&SubSectionID=16&ArticleID=29030
http://brokenspokeracing.wordpress.com/

Slow Rides on Thursdays!

Thursdays are our weekly shop rides. We meet in the evening at 5:30pm and head out for a 20ish mile slow ride. ... and no it's not a "slow" ride like in this picture!

• As always our rides are group rides, where no one is left behind.

• Extreme weather cancels, but we all love our Pacific Northwest weather so be prepared with all adequate gear and clothing.

• Route and distance are chosen at the start of each ride.
• Ride start time will change to 6pm when it's lighter out later.
  

"I thought this was a slow ride!!?!?!?"

Rides this week

Thursday night is our weekly road ride from the shop. We'll start at 5:30pm and pedal about 20 miles, depending on group and weather.

Saturday, April 16th, is our monthly Women's MTB Ride! Meet at the shop at 6pm for about an hour long easy trail ride. This ride is designed for women of all mountain bike capabilities! Tell your friends, this is going to be fun.

Sunday the 17th is our first FAMILY ride of the season. We'll meet at Fort Worden's Marine Science Center's Natural History Exhibit at 10am, tour around the fort's old bunkers and part ways. What a nice leisurely way to celebrate the beginning of the season. Rain and heavy wind cancels. Children on small bikes, trailers or trail-a-bikes are highly encouraged to join!

Yippee for spring!

Thank you everyone for a wonderful second annual Tour de Tweed! And for those of you that missed it... we missed you and hope that you make it out to other events sponsored by The Broken Spoke! We had some great tweed outfits, some decent weather, and some excellent prizes.

SUMMER HOURS are now in effect:
We are open everyday!
Monday -Saturday are 9am to 6pm
Sunday is 11am-4pm

Cheers,
The Broken Spoke staff

Just Riding Along

On Wednesday the 23rd, Pete and I (Nicole) went on a bike ride. We started at the Longhouse on Highway 20. We loaded a pannier each, with warm weather gear, food, water, and all the other essentials. We cautiously crossed over and started our sunny-day-bike-ride on the Olympic Discovery Trail. It's eight feet wide, paved, mainly car-less (except for a few spots where it joins with a road yet has an eight foot wide shoulder, and a few intersections), and directly sets you in the direction of West. We pedaled through open fields, woods, trestle bridges, rivers, a State Park, the city of Sequim, city parks, past public flushing restrooms, past sani-cans, and up and down little drainage gullies. It was great pedaling on my first long ride of the season and basking in the sun while not having to battle cars! There were a few pedestrians, leashed dogs, other cyclists but nothing abnormal for a sunny afternoon.

We enjoyed our ride and talked a lot about a larger trip to span the entire distance of the ODT. Our goal was the get to Port Angeles and back. Six miles from Port Angeles, we paused to assess how we were doing, and to eat a little snack. After hearing a quiet hiss, I listened more intently to figure out if it was a snake or a flat. Hmmm... definitely a small puncture and a slow leaking flat in my front tire! Rats. I pull out my spare tube and realize I forgot my pump!! Augh! The most beginner of cycling mistakes. I guess it's time to turn around. Pete and I turn and start sprinting back towards the outskirts of Sequim. A few miles later, I feel like I'm running through water and cannot pedal my bike anymore; surely flat tires are not this hard. Oh yes, with a rear wheel going flat, I had managed to double flat! Ha. What a predicament. After filling Pete in on the scenario we keep pedaling as quickly as possible until I can go no further on my beautiful bicycle. Time to stop.

On the horizon, a couple on bikes is pedaling towards us! How lucky we are! We make bets on if they'll have a tire pump. When they get up closer, we ask them and they do. We transfer my pannier to Pete's rack, put my one tube on the back wheel and pump the front as full as we can and I start sprinting once again... We've got to be about six miles from Mike's Bikes. Those few miles go by quickly, yet burn up my fuel reserves. I'm stoked, pedaling a flat front, and exhausted, when we're turning around the corner and see his red roofed building. After fixing the flat, talking with Mike and eating some more food, and drinking some water, Pete and I are finally ready to enjoy the rest of our ride and the sunny afternoon.

We keep pedaling at a nice pace, talking about more touring plans, weekend plans and other goals, and enjoying the weather. We couldn't have asked for a better ride. I had meant to get more photos, but this ride was not the ride to get them. Next time! I definitely recommend the Olympic Discovery Trail to all cyclists.

Next time you're out, have a great ride ...and don't forget your tire pump!

Cheers,
Nicole and The Broken Spoke staff

Oh yeah, I recently heard a good joke:
-Why can't a bicycle stand on it's own?

-It's two-tired!

Welcome, Jacob

The Broken Spoke proudly welcomes Jacob to our staff. Jacob has joined our staff as our newest mechanic.
Jacob brings with him a plethora of mechanical experience.
Now is the time to bring in your hard to fix bicycles and test his knowledge!
We look forward to an adventurous summer of biking, stories, and great mechanic work.