Well well, well, the holiday season is here!!! hard to believe I know. As we get ready for another "Super-Size" Thanksgiving extravaganza I wanted cover a few things...

1. I'm pretty certain although last winter here in Upstate NY was non existent...it's going to be a "Snow" filled season. Here's a link to my local mountain rip. Yes I said the "S" Word. Of course there's no guarantees but at least with the crazy early season storms Sandy brought to the East Coast this might be "The Year". If you do not believe me then head up to New England...already talked to a few folks that said the riding and sliding is excellent.

2. Skip, Black Friday...in stead shop on SMALL BUSINESS Sat. yes I said it, there's plenty of opportunity to find the quality gift ideas and such that your looking for with out the added kaos and stress. We all have enough garbage going on in our lives why on our day off do we succumb ourselves to this self inflicted insanity. Beside the big box stores really don't need your money it's the local business around the corner that count. Small Biz keeps things going from a local economic perspective..they go away we all will have more economic fall out.

So there's a few gems to keep your brain going...also on another note the mountain biking in Upstate NY has been excellent. looking for place to rip check out;Rochester Mtb Club / Meetup.com , Genesse Regional Outdoor Cyclist  Locally the trail systems seem to be relatively dry etc...leaves can be slippery so watch yourself. Planning on getting out on a Surly "Pugsley" from my Tryon Bike peeps in the next week or so...please stay tuned for my blog review etc. I'm always looking for more feedback from you folks as well..This platform for me works pretty well...it's often difficult to know what you as an audience are really looking for content wise. I'm not you nor do I claim to be thank goodness right?

Until then I wish all of you safe travels, and a Happy Thanksgiving!!!


PS - I leave you with this amazing remote controlled helicopter that Elevated Productions used to film an epic video in Moab baby...whoo~hoo !!!

Bike Guy!! ~Jonah D.
Follow: @TheHoggle

Cold weather cycling gear

As the weather locally here on the east coast starts to become more "seasonably" cooler it's time to re-focus. Hanging up the bike before the season really gets going in my book is not the answer. What is the answer??? Simple offer up a few "smart buys" as I call them to weather proof your riding. Here are some examples of what I like to call riding "necessaries" Hope these help you to keep on riding !!!

Arm Skins / Coolers

 Well what ever you call them recently hooked up with a pair of these. Not so durable from a thrash test perspective. What I can tell you is that these things have worked pretty well in those hard to layer warm to cool am  & evening ride temps (48 - 50degrees etc) Now you most certainly can wear these in warmer temps as a sunscreen barrier as well. I really like this particular prduct as it offers super light wieght packability. Fits nicely in a jersey pocket, stores well in you seat bag, or camel back etc.

www.cooltacinc.com



 Cycling Caps -

It's all about the look the feel the image or the "steez" as I like to call it. You loose a fair amount of heat via your head...go figure. At any rate I regularly rock a cycling cap through out the year. Nice fashion add-on for those of you going for style points. But seriously though...from a warm perspect cycling caps make a difference. One quick story I will share...first time riding this season with out a cycling cap and would'nt you know it a bee lfies into my helmet and stings me!!! #toughluck right? Oh well...

 

Gloves -

 

Let's face it cool hands suck, nothing worse that wishing that those short finger trail glove fingers were "longer". Of for that matter your glove had some insulation / wind blocking capabilites. This particular pair shown below I have spent a season riding and love them. They ar ethe Giro / Ambient glove!! Big fan this glove can take you down to some suprisingly cold temps (if your really keeping active that is). Take it from me course everyone wants to be a tough guy, but wearing the wrong gloves on a cold weather ride pretty much makes you a jackass. The only person that's hating the ride is YOU !!! So with that said do yourself and you hands a favor..invest in a pair of cold weather riding gloves.

 

 

www.giro.com

Shoes -

 

Again right up there with cold feet...no question the next ride killer is frozen feet. Quite a while back when I got the riding bug....kept riding into the fall. The one day the temps really dropped like below 40. WOW was suprise to find out that my vented summer mtn shoe had NO warmth to them at all !!! I tried rocking toe covers which kinda did ok...but still was having major issues on longer rides. Finally discovered the Lake brand winter shoes....Yeah warm feet !!! What a difference, these are meant for COLD weather riding period! Nice, beefy sole & leather uppers, 3M insulate boot, yep Game On!!! When the temps really dip down...all I need to do id throw a heavey weight cycling shoe cover over it and I'm good to go!!!

www.lakecycling.com

 

Hope these help, in the mean time, happy trails & don't forget to take time to stop and enjoy the ride !!! Any other question, comment's, ideas or suggest please feel free to drop me a line dipasquale.jonah@gmail.com I would love to hear from you !!!

 

Bike Guy !!!

 

 

 



Bike Review: 2012 Kona Hei Hei Deluxe Review

2012 Kona Hei Hei Deluxe

 This bike right out of the box with minimal tweaks and suspension adjustments was spot on. Really loved how fast and nimble it rode. Geometry wise I test rode an 18," I'm 5'8" weight 185lb, my riding style; is of  race, x/c, epic ride nature. I generally find my self on the more rocky, rooty "technical" sections of single track...dig the up as well as rippin the down !!!

 This particular build utilized Rock Shox Reba RL's "q-thru" style  "maxel" which if you have yet to ride a bike with this is a HUGE difference.  Front end performance wise the steering was very effortless and predictable in pretty much ever case scenario of riding. Adjustable wise the Fox rear shock offered up enough "passive lock out" option good for those quick punchy type climbs. Long haul grind wise the rear triangle was stiff enough to get you the top and ready to crush the down. Another key to the Hei Hei's stiff front end can be attribute to the robust head tube. Was not a big fan of the stock rise bar...probably would swap out for a straight bar for quicker front end handling.

I found the Easton OEM spec xc wheels to be surprisingly fast & responsive. Even was able to handle a few of those "surprise" drops on the trail. Quality level wheel set...I felt was evenly matched with the price of the bike for certain.

In terms of shifting...Kona did it right by specing SRAM X9. This drive train was non stoppable, offered up pin point precision shifting even under some not so favorable shift scenarios. Big fan of the 2 X 10 set up makes riding and shifting effortless. From a braking stand point the Elixr offerings get the job done, great out of the box spec all day long. Another nice touch...over size front rotor for beefy stopping precision.

Even the Maxxis tire spec was a nice touch, just enough rolling resistant to keep the hammer going, but enough tread to crush the climbs and those gnarly hair pin corners.

Bottom line...buy this bike of your a long time rider of everything. I can say hands down in terms of the "Ginsu" of bikes in the race / light trail category this is my choice.

P.S. - I would also like to thank my friends at Tryon Bike for allowing me to test ride the bike...now good luck getting it back ;o)

Hope to see you on the trails...

Jonah D.
Follow;  @TheHoggle

Beefy Head tube

Easton XC wheel spec & Maxxis Tire

Rock Shox "Q-thur" Axle

SRAM X9

Elixir's

Fox Float rear shock

Road Trip: Ray's Mountain Bike Park

Note to self....if your an avid single track junkie such as myself...then deff consider a trip to Ray's mountain bike park (Located @ 4 & 1/2 hours south of Rochester, NY.)

It's only $21 bucks to get in...they even have rentals. Not much food outside of vending machine snacks etc. I was all about brown baggin it on the picnic table areas provided.

Great vibe super chill environment. Deff. Recommend hitting the place up during the week to avoid the "mega" crowds etc. Monday was pretty much a ghost town. Anyways here's a fun clip taken in the "expert" section of the park. 5 see-saw's !!! Enjoy.

Watch "Ray's Mountain Bike Park road trip 2012" on YouTube

Jonah D.

1440 Triple Cork 2012 Winter X Games

Ok, I don't know about you but this pretty much takes snowboarding to another level....2012 Winter X Games winning run:1440 Triple Cork. Nicely done.

Thank goodness for slow-mo. Enjoy.

YouTube

Bend your ankles, bend your knees...

If your like many of the riders I encounter out on the trails then this is excellent #411.

When asked or approached for snowboarding advice I'm very open to give it.  Alot of times my advice may not necessarily have anything to do with the rider at first but their equipment...

Stance is key in terms of the "where you are" on the board. Meaning are you.... "centered" (in the middle), or are your bindings too far towards the tail of the board?  Not sure then keep reading. These days pretty much every production snowboard is a "twin tip". Twin tip boards hands down are the most user friendly design out there. User friend to a certain extent...... expect when not properly set up. Set up with every new board you buy and even the board your riding is key..

OK... so what is my point you ask, well where I'm going with this is that if your stance is not wide enough then your range of motion will suffer. Please do not mistake what I'm saying here...to those with the ridiculous wide "Trucker Stances" as I call them I'm sorry to offend you. Ideally what your looking for is a stance that in terms of width should be wider than your shoulders. Meaning that if your standing in your binding on your board it doesn't look like your standing tall. To figure what your ideal stance should be take the stance you have and measure from center to center on each base plate. (this is your stance width). I suggest using tape or a grease pencil to mark where your existing stance. After marking your stance here's where you can begin to play with your width. A generally good rule of thumb is to slowly widen your stance try to take at least three or so runs (this give your body time to get used to it). If your not regularly experimenting with your stance then shame on you. For example, it was a season and a half to recently dial in the current set up I have. (Also bear in mind we really even touched on angles etc.)

 More often that not ...riders get into this lazy mode of turning (minimal bending of their ankles and knees). Yes you can ride a board this way...is it the most efficient...NOPE. Riding with your ankles and knees bent allows for a lower center of gravity, which means better board control. The bindings are connected to your feet for a reason...your feet are what steer and control the snowboard. Why not make your life easier right?

Try focusing on staying low as you can while warming up on your favorite green or blue run. At first it might not make any sense, but once you begin to realize how much more stable you are it ill become second nature. Considering any park or air time then bending your ankles and knees is your Alli.

In conclusion if your one of the many intermediate riders stuck in a rut of staleness the give the above listed info a try.

Any questions or comments please send me an e-mail: dipasquale.jonah@gmail.com

Happy Trails !!

Product Review: 2012 Turbine Boardwear

Very psyched to get on the mtn and try out these new threads from the folks at Turbine Boardwear 

After thrash testing the TB products, I'm 100% sold !!! Turbine puts alot of thought in to style and value!!

I have to say that since the Bristol Mountain Freestyle team has switched...we've been getting a ton of positive feedback !!

The Lexington jacket (insulated) offers up more pockets. If your like me and have tons of "widgets" to carry..it's perfect. Plenty of storage space, and a nice handy fold down "pass pocket". In case of a POw-Pow assault there's even a nicely stashed zip out "powder skirt". Hope to get to use this feature more that's for sure!!! ;)

As a coach there's often quite a bit of stand aound time...the Lexingtons insulation if perfect. Excellent warm...plus well placed (easy to operate with gloves) pit zip vents were an added plus on those sunny day half pipe hike sessions.

Removeable (helmet friendly) hood...the weather on the east coast can be so variable, this feature is HUGE. Another nice added touch is the wrist glove sinches. Allows you to rock your glove steezy or practical.

In the pant department we chose the Greenwich. Now this style deff bucks tradition with a fresh looking "jean pant" design. For the team we really felt this was a big deal. Everyone is rocking the plain black pant look. The Greenwich pant offers, front and back zip pockets, velcro front zipper snap. Shredded pant legs are a thing of the past with a nicely tailored rear cuff to avoid "edge shred" I also really like the adjustable inner leg gator, made putting pant on and offer effort free. Warmth is excellent, did'nt really have to bust out any major base layer even on a few of the negative east coast snow seshs. Water repellence...with in reason these pants held up the the dredded east coast "snain" really well. Would I say wear these in a down pour...umm probably not.

If your looking for gear that looks fresh and techy, but will not break the bank...Turbine Board wear is your choice !! Thank you again to the folks at Turbine for all their support of the 2012 Bristol Snowboard Freestyle Team.

Enjoy the snow, hope to see you out on the snow!!!

Like what you've read ? Please let me know!!

Jonah D.

Twitter: TheHoggle

Killington 012 Dew Tour Highlights

Incase you missed it here's some of the Killington 2012 Dew Tour stop....YouTube #stoked

Balance Bikes...yes they work !!!

When it came to learning how to ride a bike back in the day for myself....I learned the hard way.

Can not count how many times I flipped the bars or wadded myself up. While working as an account manager with Cannondale Bicycle Corp. a few years back I first ran into FirstBIKE.

Really dig thier down to earth focus...plain simple products that deliver. If your a cycling parent or even simply want to get your child riding safely choose FirstBIKE. The other great thing I wanted to point out...there's such a demand for this product it's almost impossible to find them used. A family buys one moves it up through the ranks...them "passes the savings along". Either way please check em' out really cool folks just dialed in the new Facebook page. I encourage you to take sometime an learn more about the benefits of choosing a FirstBIKE product. Well worth your invesment, time , and satisfaction.

Thanks for stopping by to check my blog, be well !!

FirstBIKE USA Launches US Distribution of a Premium Toddler Balance Bike

Jonah D.

Fresh perspective on #shred

I'm a huge fan of blog reviews. Always nice not only to read "real person" product insights. You get the good, bad , and sometimes even ugly. Which brings me to the Geeks of Shred!. (Not ugly by any means #awakwardmoment)...LOL, Pretty solid crew for sure, pinged them on twitter and was super impressed on their engagment factor. Deff. Worth a follow for you #tweeps out there. Please check out their blog , oh and I even found em on FB as well.

Enjoy the Shred...please feel free to let me know what you think.
Geeks of Shred! | everything snowboarding!

Scott Delforte Jam 2011

SDJ012 it's Getting Closer...are you ready?? Please check out my cameo @ 2:30min !!! #electricpickle #frozenpantyhose

Bristol Mtn remix pix

Some of the sights from the mtn...this past weekend.

It has been a tough winter on the east coast, all things aside my local mountain has been in decent shape. Here's a few pix I took to share....Hope to see you out on there, I also coach the snowboard freestlye team on the weekends. 
www.bristolmountain.com

Awake your winter blues...

No snow in your backyard? Plenty of shred to spare here!!! Watch "Bristol Mountain 2012" on YouTube

Getting the "Mojo"

After I hit the forty-somethings keeping up a regular fitness routine fell way off the back. Let's face life happens plain and simple. The bike ride that you could not live with out goes away. Running even if it's a brisk trot seems worthless. I don't know about you but...if I'm not spendign time working on staying in shape I feel like crap.

Had an excellent phone call with a good friend of mine...I was blown away to find out the we were both in the same boat. Always trying to find time to get a work out in but no time to do it. As I look back on 2011...surrounding my self with the most optimal friends was a feeble effort on my part.

This year I'm going to make my goal to surround myself with those that are like minded. Motivated, disciplined, supportive, determined, passionate...reliable. It's not easy find these folks quite honestly...but if you work hard enough you'll find them. Bottom line get these folks on some kind of call, txt, or e-mail list and go nuts.

Hey, I'm not sayin ditch your old buddies or friends, I'm saying think more wisely about the company you choose to surround yourself daily. Have an excellent day!!

Shaun Palmer Documentary | Snowboarder Magazine

I'm so psyched for this flix...can not wait !!!

Not sure if you've had a chance to follow this "extreme sport" rock star but well worth a watch when this comes out. While annoucning at the 2011 UCI World Cup / Windham, NY. this past summer I witnessed Aaron Gwin capture the first US DH win in a decade. Last person to claim that title was Palmer !!! So insane !!!

Shaun Palmer Documentary Snowboarder Magazine

Enjoy !!!

Jonah D.
Follow me on twitter!!! TheHoggle

Bristol Mountain Freestyle Team 2012

Now this is what it's all about...

Red Hot 2012 !!!

Happy New Year everyone...looks like we've made it out of what seemed like a never ending 2011! I'm very excited about the potential 2012 is going to bring for us all.
Let's make it an "Epic" season for sure. Hoping the cold winter and snow is hittin up your back yards as well. See you on the trails...