FORTY FOR 10?

Its almost 2010. really? seriously? how the heck did that happen?
anyway, the Darkhorse 40 is only 8 months away! start your prep now! race registration is up and live on bikereg.

we have made a few changes this year. first of all weather permitting we are going back to two twenty mile laps. 90 percent singletrack goodness. course details will be released when the mayor see's fit. trust that it will be as sweet as ever!

we have changed the categories a bit. maybe changed isn't the right word, condensed. we have streamlined them to better align with other endurance events. we feel this will only enhance the competitive aspect of the event.

we will be paying cash to the top five in all categories! thats right, american money! we will be giving swag to placings below 5th as deep as registration in those categories permits.

more details to come as they are available!

feel free to leave comments. we welcome your feedback!

2010 Singlespeed-a-palooza!!

now with 100% more Niner Bikes sponsorship!!!
that's right people! the good folks at Niner Bikes have decided to help us throw down the 2nd annual Singlespeed-a-polooza!

date and time info up on bikereg.

more details to follow soon!

some notes.....

capped at 250 riders
pre-reg only
$5.00 from each entry goes to benefit local humane society. help the kitty's and puppies!
14 mile lap
free refreshments (beer) and hotdogs

stay tuned.......

2009? dead and buried?

for me? i would have to say yes.
the boys had a great run down in the mountains of Virginia.
they will also be heading out to moab for the 24hrs of debauchery or some little race thing.....
yes bail money has been set aside. whats the moab area code? i should block it from my phone now....

so the 2009 racing season is in the books pretty much for the boys at the horse.
we had the first ever ss-apolooza and that was a smashing success. good times had by all.
we ran a h2h race in the worst conditions i have ever been witness too. it was ugly....
we had a huge turnout for the 4x10 forty, arguably the hardest course yet and obviously the most difficult to score.
we learned some lessons and will be making some changes for 2010.
thats right we will be back. whether i have to hop the mayor up on a few dozen cans of Dale's to get him to commit or not. we will be back!

so stay tuned kiddo's! same bat time same bat channel. event dates coming soon and some surprises as well.

photo eveidence!

cdubs says..."my fork is full of fairy dust! i can ride over anything!!! WEEEEEEEEE!!!!!"

want pics like this of yourself?
check out the link below for photos from GTLUKE!
this guys action shots are all pro! so check em out and hook the bro up!

click me for photos of the suffering!!

lucky seven?

when i got home late sunday night i had that look on my face. my wife saw it. it was similar to look i had after racing the cohutta 100 and driving 2 hours back to her relatives house. the 1000 yard stare. i was a beaten man.

our day started around 4:00am. i say around because i was up most of the night or at best sleeping fitfully. we were ready as we could be. we had spent the better portion of the afternoon and early evening prepping everything we could. it was on, one way or another.

things started to turn ugly when i realized i had no cable for the microphone for the pa system. argh. we would have used it at the start to make announcements and set the starting order. we would now have to make due with a aging megaphone.

we lined up nearly 400 racers at the shale pits, made some announcements and tried to contain the chaos. 15 minutes later and everybody is off and out on the trail. controlled chaos is the only way to describe the start. it was not pretty.......

from there it starts to all blend together. running water to the aid station by truck and by bike. dealing with injuries and heat related trauma, solving little issues as they arose, etc.....

did i fail to mention that it was a trillion degrees out? yeah it got real hot real fast!! i had soaked my Hawaiian shirt by about 9:00am. i apologize if i stood up wind of you!! yikes it was gross!

riders started to drop like flies after the second lap. we usually have some attrition but never like this. it was brutal out there. the heat, the course, the pace, it was kicking people right square in the mouth!

1st place pro Jason Sager finished in a little over 3hours. the course and the heat proved to add a bIt of time to everyone's laps. riders began trickling in for the next 3 hours or so. many doing all they could just to get to the finish line. others motivated by the "sirens of stewart" offering up salvation in a ice cold can of PBR! i will admit to sampling 1, for the racers sake of course!

the BBQ was off the hook! those guys did a fantastic job and we got nothing but kudos on the chicken and pasta salad! big props to the darkhorse kitchen contingent!!

the 4 lap format proved to be good, bad and ugly........
the good......
the course was freakin awesome! it was dry, fast, and damn challenging!

the bad......
4 laps meant tighter quarters for the racers, which didn't seem to be much of an issue actually. it also meant more traffic thru the scoring transition area. this was tough. with spectators, dnf's, racers, etc.....it got a bit congested.

the ugly.....
this made the results very difficult to compose and things got a bit turned upside down for a while.
first of all our scoring VOLUNTEERS are top notch. they devote their entire day to making sure that the results go smooth and over the course of 7 years and many races beside the 40 we have had very few issues. ICANNOT THANK THEM ENOUGH!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
it got ugly. people got a little cranky and the results got a bit wonky.
thanks to everyone for their patience, thanks for the input on who was ahead of who and helping to sort out your categories.
this is not our standard operating procedure! we are usually very smooth with results.

this process crushed me. it took way longer than it usually does. it just drained me down below my reserves. shattered. i suffered a promoter bonk! for this i apologize.

other than that we gave away a pile of great stuff! preems, swag, etc........

i need to send a huge thank you out to all our volunteers! without them none of this would be possible.

and of course last but not least thanks to all the racers who came out in support of our crazy little event! it was great to see all your faces! new friends, old friends, etc! its a wild bunch and we are stoked that you came out to enjoy our little party with a race thrown in for good measure!!!

thanks again to all!!!!

do we have to start planning for next year already?..............

SUNDAY SUNDAY SUNDAY!!

See you all on sunday!

4X10 course map leaked!!

here it is kiddies! the '09 4x10 forty course! she may only be 10miles but she aint easy!

FORTY IS AS FORTY DOES?

its official, monsoon season doesn't want to let up and mother nature continues to pee on our parade!
the 40 will now be 4 10mile laps! we have handpicked the best singletrack to ensure that the course will be rideable and super fun. 98% of the course is singletrack. we are pulling out some secret stashes and adding a few special trails.
we always put rider safety first and feel that this will ensure a safe and fun event for all.
have no fear we will return to the 20 mile format next year!

"fork me? no fork u!"

fastest overall singlespeed racer goes home with a voucher for a niner carbon fork in the flavor of their choice!
just pick a color and niner will ship in to darkhorse headquarters for you!!!

sweet sweet fork!!!

monsoon season?

apparently monsoon season is upon us. we have been graced with a bit of a damp summer so far and the trails at stewart are showing it. have no fear. the darkhorse crew has been doing recon and reconstruction.

stay tuned!

Top reasons why the 7th annual Darkhorse 40 will rule the universe!!!

1.August weather rocks!(fingers crossed) after a great ss race in May on some stellar singletrack the gods of thunder decided to water the lawn at stewart for 24 days in June!! so all that sweet singletrack was a bit "submerged!" but don't fret! we are calling in some favors and crossing our fingers for super sweet summer singletrack goodness!!

2.Harpoon you like? no not the implements of whale death, the fine craft beer from Beantown. thru a bizzarre 12 degrees of seperation we have hooked up with the good people at Harpoon brewing and we will be providing frosty cold Harpoon beverages to wash away that singletrack thirst!

3. singletrack? same great 40 course returns! back by popular demand. after a few years of shifting and swapping and swooping the consensus is that we have it dialed. barring any more acts of weather related calamity the same sweet 40 course returns!!

4. need a economic stimulus? are you a pro or cat 1 racer? well win the pro category and go home 300 richer!! win your expert category and go home 200 richer!!! yes american dollars! big payouts deep into the classes! come on out, go fast and get paid! hoorah!

5. t-shirt, BBQ, great medals, swag? yup, all back again! all included in your entry fee!

6. hidden preems? yup they are back! look for the numbered index cards hidden along the trails. collect one and bring it to the awards ceremony for cool cool prizes including more american dollars!!!!!!!!!!

7. great vibe! chill festival atmospehere! come out and race or come on out and challenge yourself just to finish the 40 miles. or team up with a guy or gal pal and do it team style! but most of all come on out and have fun!!!!

8. 3 fully stocked aid stations on the course. water, heed, banana's, cookies, etc..... keeping you topped off on fluids and food for your 40 mile adventure!

hmmm, so lets see...... great singletrack, sweet t-shirts, and big ass free chicken BBQ, FREE HARPOON BEER, cash money, great prizes, fun festival atmospere, man where do i sign up?

RIGHT HERE!!!!!! and do it now! DO IT NOW!!! PRE-REG ONLY this year! yup no day of registration!!!

come on, you know you want to! all the cool kids are doing it! here kids, sign up and ride you'll be back for more!!!!!

Skills to pay the bills!

You got the skills to pay the bills? well at this years 40 you can put it on the line!

$300.00 1st place pro!

$200.00 1st place expert!

plus the hidden cash preems!!

cash money baby!

The 2009 Darkhorse 40 nears..........

Duffman has some Darkhorse 40 updates for ya!

1. this years race is August 16th

2. this years race is PRE-REGISTRATION ONLY!!!!!!
there will be no day of registration!!
registration closes Wednesday August 12th!

3. we are capping registration at 400 riders
we want to continue to make the 40 a quality event and don't want to sacrifice quality for
quantity!

4. registration is open on BIKEREG

5. all the same great features of the 40 return!
t-shirt and BBQ for all entrants
kegs of fine adult refreshment!
cooler full of icepops!
fully stocked aid stations
great singletrack course!!
hidden preem cards for great prizes!

ss-apolooza action shots

all shots courtesy of gtluke!

monte feels the flow

jesse chases in his new team kit!

parsons fueled by insomnia and caffeine

cdubs chases the carrot

cdubs off into the sunset

norm whistles while we works his way to first

rossi lives in the pain cave

bobby feels it

walt chasing bobby

waters laying the power down

dan killing it on a borrowed bike!

in the zone baby just like bmx back in the day!!

uni!!

ss-apolooza in pics.......

all photos courtesy of gt luke. go here to find them all. buy a few from him!!

results are here. actually they have been there since about 3hrs after the race finished!!

Singlespeed-a-polooza is in the books...

ok, its monday morning and i'm still trying to get my head around the weekend's events!
when we brewed up this "little" race we expected about a 100 kooks would come out and have some fun. well needless to say when reg closed at 204 we were a bit shocked!!

the short version is that the race went off smooth, besides a few minor bruises and bumps, everybody made it out of the woods unscathed. the course was a huge success. super fun. the weather could not have been better. the course dried out and was just tacky in some spots. it made for super fast racing!

huge props go out to Mike Montalbano smoking the course in 1:25:50!!!!! holy fast batman!

we need to send out a huge thank you to all our volunteers. we have tons of people behind the scenes. they have been helping us with this since the cold dark winter! thanks guys and gals!!
thanks to our EMT's as well!! thankfully they had a pretty relaxing day!

thanks to everyone who came out. looks like we are going to have to do this again next year!!!

if you are looking for pics check the link below!! thanks gt luke!!
http://gtluke.smugmug.com/biking/798708

Everything you want to know about Singlespeed-a-polooza but were afraid to ask

ok folks. the great day approaches. many have registered, some are still holding out. GET ON IT PEOPLE! you need to be there. this is the first annual and you never know what could happen. when they turn it into a made for tv movie they will surely leave out all the nasty bits so be there to see it for yourself!!
couple thing yuo may want to know....

1. you can camp in stewart. but you will be on your own. if we are in there working on saturday the gate might be open. otherwise you will have to park in the lot and ride in with your gear. there are no running water facilities. we will have port-o-jons there for the race but you will need to pack in your water. no open fires! camp stoves are ok.

2. alcohol is permittted as it is a state forest. you of course must be 21! the park rangers are nice guys and we like them. we have a good relationship with them. if it comes down to you or them well we will choose them and they have the final say. use a little common sense and we can all have a lot of fun. that said we will have a bunch of beer. will it be enough? maybe? maybe you should bring some too? that way when the kegs are dry you can bust out your cooler and offer a cold beer to the promoters! that would be COOL!

3. we have split up the sport mens category. it will be New York and North and Jersey and South. it will be based on your registration address. i dont care if your mom's cousin's aunt's sister's cat's next door neighbor is from kentucky. if you get your mail in conneticut, well thats where your from. and if you are to ashamed to say you live in jersey. well its better than canada... all other categories remain the same.

4. we are not starting in the usual place.

5. no you will not be climbing the gravel hill

6. yes the gear that you have on your bike is perfect

7. the course is 2 10 mile laps. there will be a table at the entrance to "major mike", basicly the start of lap 2. we will have jugs of water and HEED. we will also have a KEG there. if these are not you optimum fueling choices you may drop what you need there. please keep it neat and out of the way.

8. all categories 1st thru 3rd place will receive sweet handmade tropies. in the larger categories we will go deeper than 3 with prizes of our discrestion. don't worry its cool stuff!!!

9. there will be hidden PREEM cards out on the course. they will be numbered. if you collect one, and please take only one, you will need to redeem it at the awards ceremony for your prize. many of these prizes will be CASH!!

10. we want this to be a fun event. bunch of like minded weirdo's riding really fast, or not, thru the woods. use some common sense. if you are about to do something that sucks or might make someone else's day suck, please don't!! if you feel the need to cheat, cut the course, etc...you are sucking. we may not catch you but you will always know that you sucked!! don't be that guy/gal. cool?

11. packet pick up opens at 6:30 and closes at 8:30. race starts promptly at 9:00am!

12. with your race number you will get a raffle ticket. we will draw at the awards ceremony for a 29'r wheelset!! wtb laserdisc lite hubs laced to stans arch rims!! you must be present to win.

i'm sure there are other things and i may add to this post later, or maybe not.

hope to see you all on sunday!!

Cash cash baby!

no, not the man in black.

yeah thats right. cold hard cash baby! what's that? how do you get your hands on it? well gather round and listen up children.
seems george (el hefe) wants to try his hand at an economic stimulus plan. they are all the rage! somehow he has come up with a big old wad of cash. yes it is american money. i checked!! and seems he wants to give it away at the singlespeed-a-polooza! yeah man! true!
so, there will be a as yet undetermined number of hidden preems which can be redeemed at the awards ceremony for a as of yet undetermined amount of american dollars!!
so not only do you get a bottle opener, a pint glass, sweet singletrack, frosty beverages, and the good times that come with being in the woods with the darkhorse gang, you also have a chance to come out a few dollars ahead!! sweetness!!

2009 Racing season begins!!

welcome to may 2009 and the start of the racing season! team darkhorse cycles was out in full force at the Waywayanda spring cleaning. check out the team blog for reports, results, pics etc as they filter in.

no more excuses. work should be done and race legs readied! its time once again to strap on the number plate and have at it! welcome back to the pain cave! see ya on the inside!

Singlespeed-a-polooza trophies

if you are fast enough, tough enough, and many even sober enough to come in the top 3 for your class you will go home with this!!

that's one bad ass handmade trophy that just so happens to contain a salsa 32t ring and niner 20t cog!

come get some!!

getting the 411 to the peeps!

here's an event flyer for yall! stay tuned for some info on the unique hand-made "living" trophies the fast boys and girls will get to take home!

print it out and stick it to your wall, give it to your friends and family, spread the word!

singlespeed-a-polooza course leaked!!!

the official course for the singlespeed-a-polooza has been released!!!

10 miles, 98% singletrack, lots of fun stuff! this will be a blast!

strip off those gears and get your ride on, it's gonna be a pissah!

Singlespeedapolooza is right around the corner!

ok folks. ss-polooza is right around the corner. strip off those gears and shine up your rigs cause its gonna be on like donkey kong!

we have a few updates so check it out....

we will now be running 2 10mile laps. we have another group that uses the park and they have an event planned for the same day. so being diplomatic statesmen we were able to come down with a compromise that keeps everybody happy.

the good news about this is it will provide us with a spot to place a "support" tent. you know so you can "refuel"!

check the post below for the cool graphics which will grace your pint glass. sweet eh!!

keep checking back as we get closer. we have set "el hefe" George loose in the spring woods to come up with a course that will make your cranks grind and your thrist rise!

Are you feeling it Evil?

New Year, New Post, Same old........

So the holiday season is behind us, 2008 has come and gone and 2009 has moved in and taken up a spot on the couch beer in hand. this can only mean one thing.................
it time to do the paperwork! yeah that's right, one of the perks to promoting some of the sweetest races around, besides the bonuses which rival those of wall street bankers(shhh don't tell congress!), is the fact that you get to fill out miles of paperwork! paperwork for norba, paperwork for the state of new york, insurance paperwork. yeah its glamorous, yeah its awesome and you know you are jealous!

so all, or most, of the paperwork is in. that means that our dates are firm and just pending approval from the dark lords at the nydec. usa cycling has the 400,000 appropriate forms, blood samples, hair samples, eye of newt, and bag of gold. since the economy is in the tank they are forcing us to pay in hard currency! i offered titanium but they said halliburton cornered that market and they would only accept gold bricks, silver coins, or wampum. lucky for us George has a stash of gold in his basement!

all the races are up on bikereg and you should sign up now while they still accept the American dollar! we like pre-reg. it helps to quell the fear that we will be the only people who show up for our race!

so here's the 411

singlespeedapolooza is May 31st!


campmor H2H race #3, the darkhorse gallop is June 21st


the 7th annual darkhorse 40 is august 16th!

Singlespeedapolooza:
this is as far as i know the first singlespeed only race in NY/NJ. this will be a unique event and a must do for the season. laid back atmosphere, unique prizes, beer, a super fun course, pint glasses, beer, sweet stewart singletrack, great competition, beer......you get the point!
come on out for this. if anything its a great excuse to convert or build a singlespeed bike! "but honey, its for singlespeedapolooza", "oh ok then dear, build up that titanium single speed!"

Darkhorse Gallop
we are back in the H2H race series! Race number 3. the h2h is a great series. awesome venues, top notch promoters, great competition. if you haven't been to one of these races you should come to ours! its the best! i mean its great just like all the other except better........

Darkhorse 40
want to dip your toes into endurance racing? want a friendly atmosphere, fast flowy course, great prizes, hidden preems, a bitchen BBQ, kegs of beer, and that old school mountain bike race atmosphere? you NEED to come to the 40! it really has become a must do event in the area!

so there's a little unbiased info about our events. we hope to see you out there in the spring.
as always if you have any questions or comments don't hesitate to get in touch with us!