flagstaff, arizona....

this town is so calm, we had to join the atmosphere, by going to cofee shops every day, and reading some local papers... you know, blend in.
this is dave. he is one fast dude. he works in a bike shop downtown, and he showed us around some wicked trails. cheers...
the altitude here is about 7000 feet, but climbing out of town takes you to about 9000 feet (almost 3000 meters), and in the begining of the ride, we were huffing and puffing, almost going sideways... the climb was worth the fast and technical downhill, and the snow patches we rode through. swwweeeeettt!

all of which R american dreams...

yo, yo, you know i am right yo... this is me, on the long ride from moab to flagstaff, arizona. i was tired, and keren played all photographer on me... so i had to give her the "move"...
what can i say? is there anything more american than this?
or this?

she works hard for the money...

and finally she spends it right... other than two days, when i was driving 1200 miles, and she was losing her mind, keren just doesn't stop smiling!! i wonder why... maybe its the rides.
maybe its the views and the hard workouts...
or maybe she just likes the rest and recovery she needed so much. either way, it will be hard to get the smile off her face. (i guess a week back in israel will do the trick...).

moab!!

yesterday we got to moab. the weather is unbelieveble, and the trails are great. i took keren out for her first slickrock experience, and the smile on her face said it all... every rider has to visit moab, at least once in his life time.
the views from the top of slick rock. today we did porcupine rim, and the down hill section is 20 kilometers long. that was amazing.
this week end was car weekend in moab, and the town was littered with old hot rods, and modified american V8s. it was noisy, and funny...

single. in more ways than one...

in the end of august there is a stage race in brian head, utah. 4 stages, lots of miles, around 3500 meters above sea level. i decided i am going to do it. but not on my regular bike... gears is for the weak!! i am turning my 9.9 into a single speed (!), and racing single speed category. here goes nothing...

where ever you are...

it is all about the ride. wake up in the morning, eat your cereal, wear your spendex, and go ride your bike. i am working on re-discovering my passion for biking, and i am really in the right place to do so... today we are leaving fruita, and by the afternoon we will be riding in moab, utah. the mecca of bike riding. this will be my 4th time in moab. i love it!!
spy shot!!
this is next year's yeti asr 7. it is amazing. all big burly carbon swing arm, lots of tire clearance, 7 inches of travel, 31 pounds- 14 kilograms. it is so well made...

for all you bike lovers...

this is a one of a kind intense M1 tandem bike, with shimano air gearing system, and two(!!) discs up front. it was specially made for a father and son, by the intense guys, and was recently sold on Ebay, for 18,000 dollars. here it is, in one of the coolest bike shops i have ever seen. its called- over the edge, and its located in fruita, colorado. the trails here are sick!! we ride as much as we can, and have fun as much as we can... ohhh, life is hard!

nature has its way...

somtimes the sights around me just take my breath away. literally. a few times in the last few days my breath was taken. first- on the way to lake tahoe, driving through the falling snow, ending up at the crystal clear waters of the lake. the sun was out, yet little pieces of snow silently fell all around us, creating little dimples and circles on the lake surface.
second- driving highway 50- the most deserted road in the states. straight stretches of road, as far as the eye can see, and mountain passes full of snow. it almost made me cry. really... nature can do this to me, and i seldom cry.
crazy americans #3: this is a gate. made of moose horns. really. hundreds of them. this family work is making furniture out of dead animals. couches, tables, you name it. yuck!

the road ahead....

my recent poor experience in races, and just the way i feel, led me to a decision... back off a little bit. just ride my bike, have fun, and not worry. actually, the decision runs deeper. for the first time in years, i want to try and do somthing else... it does not mean i quit. i will keep on racing elite level, but start living more... i mean, living outside the biking arena. i want to start playing the drums again, seriously, and even have a band waiting for me to come back from the states. this week, and the weeks to come, i will ride without any training plan. just ride. see where it leads me. we are here in fruita, colorado, for a bike festival. and everybody is here- just to ride... i might as well join the party.
from now on, this is a trip, with some races in the middle. what a trip.

here's to good food...

this is whatever you think it is... but worse. much worse... as always, i went straight into chinatown. i wanted to eat where the "real chinese" people eat. this is what i ate. pig's lips. yep, you heard it right. it was not as great as it sounds. it was horrible. it gave me gas. again...

san francisco.

yes. this is the golden gate. it is an amazing monument, and it was alot of fun riding it with my bike. the weather was perfect, and we rode all over town for the whole day.
we went to the famous places, like pier 39 and fishermans warf...
and saw lots and lots of crabs, waiting to be eaten.
and here i am, eating a clam chowder, that probably contains plenty of crabs!! it was awesome and gave me gas...

crazy americans #2

at first it looks like a toy car. but take a better look, say, at the regular size car infront of it, and you start to understand...
you need a ladder to climb into it. and it goes on the street, legally.
thats how it looks compared to a full size chevy silverado... the chevy is 6.5 meters long, and its big. this thing... well this thing is crazy.

yet another guest...

yesterday, after the race, we took dror pekatch, gary fisher pro rider, and an israeli friend, to santa cruz, where he stayed in the last 2 weeks.
this is the house he stayed in... its keith bontrager's house! yes, the same bontrager you think of right now. we parked infront of the house for the night...
and took keith's town bikes for a night ride... (sorry for the offside shot). dror did his best in trying to look like an old man riding the bike. it was funny as hell.

internet!!

the race went alright... actually, it was hard, and went pretty bad. i finished 61st, and was far behind the winner- an olimpic medalist, miguel martinez. anyway, this is another crazy american idea- race withyour dog.
the dog seems to like it, and they even have a website.
and stickers... crazy americans.

WIND...

yesterday the wind began. 50-60 km an hour of wind. it just does not stop...
and it is so cold. today is my short track race, and i am freezing!!
this is our new resident in the camper parking area. victor. he is six years old, and his father races cross country.
my xc race will be l-o-n-g, cold and windy. wish me luck.

haunted forest...

the amazing course goes through long stretches of shaded singletracks, within trees that look like theyr'e out of a movie or somthing.
the trees have this mangroves hanging off them. it is so cool looking.
the venue is probably the biggest in the bike industry, with new bikes being introduced even before they get to the big exhabitions, like eurobike and such.

FUCK!!

i broke my tooth!! it was an old fracture that was broken again... since my dentist is in israel (ae rides better than he fixes teeth, i guess...), it will take 5 months till i fix it.
here it is... now i look like a hobo homeless dude. FUCK.

sea otter classic!!

we arrived to the sea otter classic venue yesterday, parked our motorhome, and rode a lap on the course. what a course it is!! its like a marathon...
30 kilometers for a lap!! it has everything: long climbs, short climbs, sand, super fast single track... and haunted trees. you'll see the pictures after i post them...

the journey continues...

wild life along the coast is amazing. from wild flowers...
to seals bathing in the morning sun, all stinky and noisy!
to cute little squirrel eating a melon. its all here.

i know, i know...

i havn't been around. sorry. no internet connection. anyway, keren's bike showed up, but not in a very good shape. its scratched really bad. nevermind, its all about the ride, right?
and what a ride it was... driving and riding the wind swept mountains of the pacific coast highway (route 1) is a trip of epic proportions. the green cliffs fall all the way down to the sea, and the waves break over rocks, sprinkling salty water over the greenest trees you have ever seen.
the road winds and turns, following the exact contour of the mountains and cliffs, making the drive a bit challanging.