We have come to expect that the off-road racing scene has a more lax atmosphere, thereby, making it a more accessible arena to get up close and personal with our cycling heroes. In spite of the meteoric rise of the cyclocross sport across the country, the pro level has remained consistently approachable and eager to share the excitement with their fans. There is even a spectacular showing of the younger elite crowd that were once overshadowed by the masters elite group and now forcefully taking the front of the group and perhaps the reins of the sport.

This younger generation is the next bastion of fun and vigor that are taking the sport into new depths of skill and speed. We are confident that soon riders such as Zach McDonald, from the prolific Rapha-Focus Cyclocross squad, will become the bane of the elite Euro cyclocross racer. There is an energy that exists in cyclocross that is greatly exemplified by the youthful spirt and talent from Rapha-Focus, and it is indeed why we line the barriers, toll The Bonebell, and devote our personal lives to the sport – for the glimpse of talents that blow by in front of us in the mud-ladened courses could be the talents we speak of for generations to come.

Zach McDonald - Nationals Race Face

Thanks to the humbleness and grassroots approach of the cyclocross sport – we were fortunate to have been introduced to Zach McDonald through his team management at Rapha-Focus. They had sparked our immediate interest via our love of the elan-inducing Rapha name and its association with a jubilant star and incredible pro talent of Jeremy Powers onboard the Focus rockets that have become a fashion signature in the cyclocross US scene. Zach is not just a young gun on the squad, but an integral team member that showed style with his winning attitude as a U23 class rider, and as a veteran-smashing elite racer when it counted most. Zach is the future of the US cyclocross elite and we asked a few questions to see what is behind it all. Here is the excerpt from a set of interview questions we posed specifically to Zach – we have more questions we will be publishing on a separate date in conjunction with an interview with his teammate.

Tearing into the lead at the start!

After your roller-coaster start in the Elite race at Nats, you torched laps 2-4. Did you think you were going to catch that lead group and be a major factor in the race like you did?
I wasn’t really sure what was going to happen. I knew my legs felt good so I more or less just went hard and tried to see how long I could hold the pace for and how far I could move up. At that point in the race I really had nothing to lose so I put all of my cards on the table and just let it unfold.

You are known to be one of the best bike handlers on the North American cross circuit. Where did those skills come from? Where did you learn the wheelie that is quickly becoming your trademark? And do you have barrier hopping in your bag of tricks?
I think a lot of my handling comes from when I was just getting into cycling. I loved downhill and really wanted to race but we didn’t have too many races in the northwest at that point. I tried to ride as much as possible and got a chunk of days in cruising runs at whistler on a 5 and 5 trail bike. I never really thought twice about running the hardest runs on the mountain with the bike which made me pay close attention to line choice, especially since I’ve always loved going fast. When you’re ripping through a rock garden and make a mistake on a 5 inch bike, you pay for it more than a full blown downhill bike. I was always riding over my head and pushing myself to go faster and be smoother. I think helped a ton with line choice, speed and confidence. Now I’ve mellowed out on the downhill bike a bit but I still get out there and it definitely helps with line selection and just being confident going into corners at speed and nailing braking points. As far as the wheelie goes, my buddy and I always tried to see who could wheelie the furthest when we were kids, and he usually came out on top; I can get him now though, and yes, barrier hopping is in my bag of tricks but I rarely use it, it’s rarely fast enough to justify the risk.

How familiar with a course do you need to be before you can really let go and brake late in the right lines? Do you need a few runs on the course to dial in the tough sections, or is it mostly a fly by wire thing for you?
You just need to be comfortable with the conditions and the corner. How long that takes varies for everyone including myself, if there is solid traction and fairly basic corners than just a lap usually works. The more I’ve raced the less prep time on courses I’ve needed to get them more or less dialed. That being said, there are always places where you can corner faster, the possibilities are endless.

Zach - powering in the back half.

What advice do you give the juniors who look up to you and want to go down the path of professional cyclocross racing?
Well, I wouldn’t really say that I’ve quite made it down the path of “professional cyclocross racing” yet since I’m still a student, but make sure it’s fun and keep an open mind. If you aren’t having fun at some point of it then why bother. It’s important to remember that everyone is different and others might approach their racing and just life in general differently than you, if their approach doesn’t sit well with you and takes the fun out of it then keep doing it your way. The whole time I’ve been racing everyone has told me that my approach to racing won’t work or I need to do this or not do this and yeah, some of it might make me a little faster here and there (and the rest are old myths and the like) but it’s important to be able to be able to decipher what works for you as a rider. What works for one person doesn’t always work for another. I can’t even count how many times people have told me that a line I want to take in a corner or through a rough patch will be slow or impossible until I hit it and they realized it was faster. Sometimes you try it though and it doesn’t work out, but if you never tried you wouldn’t know. That and stay in school, seriously, cycling won’t last your whole life. It never hurts to plan for the future.

We see you are studying Aeronautical Engineering at the University of Washington. How do you balance racing and studies?
I’m currently (possibly only temporarily) out of the Aero program and into the business program due to a handful of reasons. The school and cycling balance is a delicate one but a good one. They each can hurt each other at times but it keeps me balanced and it keeps me on track. If I did just one or the other I would have to fill the void left by the absence of the other with something anyway. Training is no problem as well, the only thing that can get in the way is travelling. In my ten week quarter this year I flew roughly 45000 miles and was on the road 30 of the 70 days and didn’t miss a single class. So far I’m happy with how I’ve balanced it, the only thing that gets me is that I can’t get myself to work on plane flights, I can’t retain anything I read on a plane. More or less any poor grades can be put on my shoulders since for me it’s more of a question right now of finding something to study that I’m motivated to learn about. I’ve pulled 4.0’s in race seasons and I’ve pulled 3.5’s for me it’s really just about being engaged in the subjects I’m learning about.

Here at the Bonebell we are dirtbags – a name we coined for those who prefer to ride off-road. Can you tell me a little about how you think a roadie approaches cyclocross differently than a dirtbag? Does that difference even matter?
A roadie is like a drag racer, tons of power but hard to turn where the mountain biker tends to be more like a rally car where it has the handling but might need a bit of engine work to keep up with the drag racer on the straights.

What is your favorite MTB trail?
I don’t get on the mountain bike too often anymore but I used to run this sequence of trails at Whistler all day when I had my season pass: Original Sin to Goats Gully to In Deep to D1 to Upper Whistler Downhill to Lower Joyride to Heart of Darkness.

What are 5 tracks that you have been listening to recently on your iPod?
5? I tried to narrow it down to 5 and got to around 15ish…it rotates quite a bit depending on how quickly I’m bringing in new stuff but here’s what it’s been recently in no particular order:
I.D.G.A.F.O.S. – Dillon Francis
Blood Theme – DatA
Off to the Races & Video Games (DSTRYD Moombahton Edit) & Blue Jeans (Club Clique ‘Nothing Is Real’ Remix) Lana Del Rey
Fire Hive – Knife Party
Lofticries – Purity Ring
Not So Funny (Indo Silver Club Remix) – Sawgood
Novacane/Nostalgia Ultra – Frank Ocean
Make it Nasty & Rack City – Tyga
Sonata Rabidus III – b.hantoot
Smile Back & Donald Trump – Mac Miller
Dance Yrself Clean – LCD Soundsystem
Mr. Me Too – Clipse
Last Man Standing – Asher Roth
Trouble On My Mind – Pusha T

Zach McDonald - U23 National Champion 2012!

It was apparent that Zach gets into a groove musically as much as he found the groove on the race course ruts of the CX Nationals course – he won the U23 category on Saturday, January 7th in a commanding lead. Zach brings the prowess of downhill mountain bike handler to the powerful speed of CX racing in his own physical mash-up of a pro athlete on a bike. Speaking of which, his team manager made it a point to tell us about his off-racing activity of doing exactly ‘that’ with the music he loves.

We look forward to publishing the next interview finishing up Zach’s input from the CX Nationals course along with his team compatriot and Men’s Elite National Champion Jeremy Powers – Coming Soon!

All Photo Credits: Amy Dykema

There’s a great deal of dedication to any activity that you want to do well at. We simply don’t believe in participating in off-road cycling without the notion of improving your cycling skills in every way that you can. People can say they’re just in it to have fun – but we profess that you can have even more fun when your more fit, and definitely more skilled. The Bonebell Crew is made up of seasoned race veterans who have been racing for well over a decade. We are not all seasoned pros though some of our crew like Dave Norton, Greg Heck, Brian Parker, and Julia Daher have given the best of the best a run for their money and placed well on good old homegrown effort in the local racing scene.

We love to race and we love our bikes even more. Racing to us is nothing more than our ability to see how far we can push ourselves to our limits and witness the outcome, not matter what it is. It is there for public viewing amongst the small crowds of friends and fans. We say small, because even at our largest races that we’ll attend, we number in the low thousands compared to the running sport which can command tens of thousands of participants. We would love to see the sport grow into these numbers, and it starts with a little nugget of motivation to get folks to ride their bikes. Not necessarily race – but ride their bikes in epic fashion. Racing isn’t for everyone, and is usually unnecessary if all you want to do is get better at riding your bike. In 2012, we want to help you do that and get motivated to meet the greater challenge of riding and exploring more with the benefit of getting stronger and faster by reaching new limits, with or without, racing goals. There is a trail system that everyone wishes they could rip through faster. There is a farm road that inspires you to pedal into bliss. There is an epic ride that demands your greatest fitness to enjoy. Will you rise to meet those challenges?

Starting in January 2012 – we will provide you with a distinct riding plan to get you motivated to ride more, get healthier, change your perspective in long distance riding, and all at a homegrown and low cost effort. If you are new to exploring off-road cycling, this will be key to you gaining an understanding of how to approach the summer months at some great trail systems. If you are a seasoned rider, it can provide a fresh perspective to base training and skills focus to get you in gear for a summer of racing. This plan will be available for everyone who reads this site – free of charge and cataloged for easy reference. The plan will include phases of riding from beginning of the year through the end of the year with focus on riding points, skills building, and even nutrition options. It will be intended to motivate you to consider a different riding approach while meeting your riding goals in the summer whether they be an epic gravel grinding effort, a weekend trip at a trail system to blow your buddies away, or to enter the cyclocross season in top form. The options provided in the plan will also include some group rides with The Bonebell crew at various locations throughout the midwest to explore the off-road journey. If you follow the plan – every group ride will have its reward as you find yourself more confident and fit and we’d love to see your success along your journey.

There is no mystique about getting faster and stronger on a bike – it’s about putting the time in and enjoying the time you do put on your bike.

Be stronger, be fit, be epic in 2012. We hope you rise to the challenge and join the program.

All weekend long the Bicycle Film Festival has activities planned for your viewing and participation pleasure! Friday night kicks off with a ride from West Town Bikes before arriving at the Logan Square Auditorium (2539 N Kedzie) for the first two screenings, and will be topped off by the Goldsprints Party hosted by Johnny Sprockets which will start at 11PM. Saturday brings three additional screenings, starting at 5PM.

According to the BFF promoters who responded to my email:

The BFF has a big mix of films this year. The program does not have as many cyclocross or mountain biking movies as years past, but includes some relevant shorts sprinkled in there (see list below).

Brian Vernor who directed PURE SWEET HELL and the CYCLOCROSS MEETING contributed the TRANS ANDES CHALLENGE. This is a beautiful race and we are very proud to have this short film at the BFF. WITH MY OWN TWO WHEELS is also listed. It is not a mountain bike or cyclocross film but I think your readers will enjoy it and be inspired.

Off-road relevant shorts: Friday November 4 Program 1 – 7PM BILENKY JUNKYARD CROSS Dir. Bill Schieken TRANS ANDES CHALLENGE Dir. Brian Vernor Saturday November 5 Program 3 – 5PM WITH MY OWN TWO WHEELS Dir. Jacob & Issac Seigel-Boettner Program 4 – 7PM DOWNHILL IN A SUIT Dir. Mateus Arauj

Each screening is $10 and BFF recommends buying tickets online because some shows sell out. The weekend long pass is $25 and is a good deal if you plan to attend 3 or more of the screenings. Here is the Facebook event.

Sunday afternoon the BFF concludes with a scavenger hunt at 1PM (Wicker Park start), and BMX, Fixed Gear Freestyle & Flat Land contests at the Logan Square Skatepark (under the Kennedy at Western & Logan) from 2-5PM, which should be sick.

Also on Saturday evening, CAMBr is hosting the Chicago premier of From The Inside Out, the latest film from Anthill and SecondBase Films. The fun runs from 6-9PM and also includes free appetizers and a raffle. Screening is at the Cobra Lounge (235 N Ashland); you can register online until 11/3 for $15 or pay $20 at the door the day of the event. Here is the Facebook event.

Whoa!!! Just watching this trailer makes me want to go shred immediately!!!  Get some!!!

Click here to view the embedded video.

Over 4,000 miles driven across the U.S.
4 Year Old daughter has ridden more off-road miles than I did.
New infant daughter is now a crawling tiger.
I got a new job that is ironically devoid of internet connectivity given my status in Information Technology.
Got hit be a tri/path-lete at over 25MPH which tore my knees open and messed up my wrist.
Built a new bike – again.
Built a training program with Warren Cycling to achvieve some lofty goals for Nationals.
Still continually humbled at human kindness and friendship in every dirt endeavor I have attended to date.

The Bonebell has been quiet – but fear not. It will clang once again and the steam is building, the races are targeted, in total there will be over 60 races raced between the whole lot of The Bonebell Crew from now through January. We love all of you for continuing to hang on our words and our experiences, to provide you the human view of our dirty world. Sitting in-between cross races at the first official throwdown of the Chicago Cross Cup yesterday at Jackson Park, it was evident that The Bonebell must bring the human back into the race; and obliterate the pansy driven whine that should have stayed on the pave with drafting principles. Dirtbags thrive in the most disparate conditions, challenging the course, the weather, and themselves to acheieve a personal victory – actually winning a race is just the icing on the cake.

Everyone wins. That is not a cop out answer or a relegation into ‘try your best attitude’. Everyone hurts in a race, and nearly 700 souls suffered together on one Sunday in the rain while at least 500 times that amount sat on a couch eating chips. This year could be pivotal in raising the bar for talent to represent Chicago in a big way at the national races. That talent will naturally rise from the categories, dodging crashes, finessing corners, and powering to victories – no matter their start position. With that talent we wish great camaraderie and respect to be shared among the ranks.

Let Chicago be represented by the positive attitude and hard workers of the race scene who know that – aggressive racing can be as fluid and artful as it is dominant, and that words are spared for heckling efforts after the race and perhaps even during a race.

“Hold your line” will now officially be the phrase to be ignored during this CX season.

Have a problem with that? Attend CX practices to fix your problem.

US CX Nationals – Chicago is coming for you.

Remember: Everyone will crash.

But wait just a minute.  The mountain bike season isn’t over just yet.

WORS

The Treadfest is coming up and it’s the closest Wors race to Chicago. Treadfest is just outside of Lake Geneva on a small ski hill that has a really great course with plenty of great singletrack sections and viewing spots for spectators too. Don’t forget to bring your A game when you cross the Cheddar Curtain, we gotta represent.

Homegrown Series

Also on the 11th, the Illinois Homegrown Series is sporting race #10 . Mud, Sweat, and Gears is at the Comlara Park in Hudson, Il. If you are chasing the points in the series this the second to last race so get over there and grab em.

And back to ‘cross…

Also on the 11th,Patriot Cross, in Kankakee, IL. It’s a short drive for some barriers and skinny knobs.  

And our friends in Michigan at the KISS Cross Series are hosting their season opener in Grand Rapids, MI. It’s not so close, but if you are, it is. The Bonebell Crew will be tolling at this race, just in case you are itching to get in the car and throw down a road trip.

The theme here is that if you are not getting dirty on the 11th then you are doing it wrong. And if you are not at Palos this weekend shredding the gnar gnar on the best string of weekends all year for riding off road you have issues. See your therapist, they might be able to help.

Oh man what a great day for a ride in the woods. The previous days rain threatened to take away the singletrack, but a crew of dedicated trail surgeons polished off the rough edges and gave us a diamond of a day. Temperatures in the high 70′s to 80′s compared with the heat we have been treated to lately was an amazing relief. Once we got on the trail it was on, earlier races had quite a few slippery sections to deal with, but nothing to awful. By the time the expert/comp race toed the line, the course was almost perfect. Traction everywhere, big heaping spoonfuls of traction where ever you needed it. There was the usually easy corner on turf with just a little bit of gravel in it, every lap a white knuckle skin crawler. Other than that, wow just hang and go ahead and giv’r eh. Stiggity and El Maya both had a great race. For four years there has been meltdowns of one sort or another, mental, physical, mechanical, you name it. But this year we both hung tough were able to leave the trails with a smile, really that was all the victory I needed. Congrats to Mike Sherer, and Rachael Gatto winners of the Expert race. We already can’t wait for next year. But wait there’s more, the Homegrown Series goes late into September so stay on point there are still some really great races ahead. And don’t forget about the trails, they stay open even though the Meltdown is over. With all the TLC that they got before the race, they are according to current conditions, ‘Never Been Better’. Get out there and enjoy.

xXx Racing-Athletico Cyclocross RELAY Race

Polish those elboes, get ready to balance on the top rope, practice those high fives. The season opener is creeping up fast. The main event, the Coed Open race is full. Grab a buddy, spots are filling quickly. There really is no race we can think of that cranks out the fun like this one does. All the way to eleven.

Really the only news this week is the Palos Meltdown. We know you signed up, but why didn’t the rest of your crew. Pre reg has been down this year. For all the two wheeled dirt riders out there that know how great the Meltdown is, get out there and twist the throttle. For those that have never ridden the Meltdown course at full speed, this is your chance. Check in starts at 7:30. The course has not been officially released yet. Expect a short grassy loop to begin to string out the field before the singletrack. As we enter the singletrack it should remain that way for most of the rest of the course. Hurray, mas singletrack. Get that big ring spinnig though, you don’t want to loose any positions heading into the first section of trail. The bonebell crew will be out there bonebell in hand reminding you how much fun you are having.

IMAGINATION GLEN

It started all nice and hot, but the rain came halfway into the first lap and turned the perfect conditions into a slip and slide bonanza. No one was able to purchase any traction anywhere. The rain subsided almost as soon as it began, but the damage was done. For the remaining two laps the trail dried out amazingly well. But not well enough to keep the average falls per lap to around 5 times on the ground. I plowed through a corner at about 20mph and slide on the gravel for real nice patch on my calf. No real harm. Hopefully the junk in the cables and brake pads will be gone by next Sunday for the main event. A fifth place finish was a great reward in a race that was quite a victory in itself to even finish.

World Cup History

Aaron Gwin has ridden his way into the history books by becoming the first American to win the World Cup DH Title. There is one more race left on the calendar. However, his performances have been so rockin’, that his lead is insurmountable. The bonebell tolls for Aaron Gwin, he has blasted through the World Cups this year. Here’s to 2011 and many more to come. Check out Universal Sports Channel  or .com if you don’t have the channel. They have a lot of great coverage of most of these races so far. Really cool to watch those guys tear it up in my living room.

The fifth and final Chicago Women’s Dirt Day is Saturday, August 6 at the Palos Forest Preserve. This is a great way for women to get out and enjoy some trails in a non competitive, relaxed atmosphere. The meeting spot is the Wolf Road Woods Parking Lot. Bring your own lunch for a picnic after the ride. And get this, if you attended three or more of the events, you get a free entry into the Palos Meltdown.  That’s Awesome. 

Tour de France

I know, I know this is a dirtbag site. We don’t need no stinking road bike races… Wrong, the Tour is simply the greatest sporting event on the planet. All kinds of former pro mtn bike racers are now competing in the race, and as I write one is on the attack attempting a solo breakaway to the line. Kick back with a frosty beverage and enjoy the final 500 miles. This year’s edition is shaping up to be a spectacular show, with at least eight riders still vying for the yellow jersey. The Bonebell crew has been glued to the tube for the past 16 days, and we will for just a few more. After the race, we will hit the trails, during the race, we will also hit the trails. Don’t forget the trails are in great shape right now. Get out there and turn some pedals. Don’t forget some extra water for your friend that never brings enough.

The Chainlink

Oh yeah, and check out our hombre mas derka. El Maya was interviewed by thechainlink.org last week. You can see what he has to say about bikes, bonebells, and all things dirt.

If you didn’t book a flight to Stonehenge to celebrate the longest day of the year, have no fear, the dirt is near. Enjoy the sun it dries the mud.

The Lumberjack 100

Stiggity and the Carbo Rocket cruised to the LBJ100, we came back with two patches. El Maya had to bow out at the last minute, and Nevada was squarely on his way to Pennsylvania. The day could not have been any nicer for a 100 mile race. There were some good showings by Chicago area riders, most notably a 10^th place in the Women’s Open race for Molly Wolf of Crystal Lake.  I suffered from my usual syndrome of a chronic inability to pace myself appropriately in the first lap. My delusions of grandeur were met head first by the wall of reality and a hoped improvement of far beyond my level found myself almost a half hour behind my time from last year. All was good, as a three bottle serving of Carbo Rocket CR333 left me with 35% fewer dark moments*, and may very well be responsible for my staying under the 9 hour mark. Next year I may need a few more than three bottles of the good stuff. I love how 35 mph on a sliver of trail about the width of a single bike lane feels closer to 90mph. That trail is a freakin’ blast, it sells out in under 15 minutes because if you don’t get in, you will miss out on the most fun you can possibly have covering 100 miles in the dirt.

* – Dark moments have no real means of quantification, suffice to say my head was in the game instead of in the woods. All stats and figures used on thebonebell.com reserve the right to be altered, doctored, fudged, or made up on the spot at any given moment.

Except when they are true.

Which is always the case.

Subaru Cup,  WORS

The biggest race of the year for Midwest mountain bikers, other than the Meltdown. This year the event moved up to UCI – C1 status. So even more of the big name pros should be on hand looking for points for World Cup position improvements. With Short Track, Cross Country, and Super D, there is something for everyone up at Nordic Mtn. this weekend. A great preview of the weekends racing is here.

How did we get here from there?

Check minute 1:35, It appears that Nevada Dave’s Uncle Dan was a dirtbag too!

Click here to view the embedded video.

Tonight is the premiere of ‘Ride The Divide’ in Naperville at the Ogden Cinema 6 at 7:30PM. This event is also recently sponsored by CAMBr and will be hosting a Q&A with the director of the film – this should be a great time and hopefully many of you can make it out there.

Sunday Knobbie Rides should be coming back this Sunday! Two reasons why you won’t see Sunday Knobbie Rides posted every weekend are race schedules (we’d prefer you’re out racing at one of the many opportunities on Sundays!) and weather. A lot of miles and hours have been logged at Waterfall Glen lately and with good reason – it withstands the weather better, and provides ample training ground for spinning into good form for the race season. We also sometimes post last minute ride information via Twitter – mostly to avoid logistics and get a quick word out that we’re heading somewhere. Follow us on Facebook and Twitter for up to the minute information.

Kettle Morraine/Ft. Custer – yep, it’s time to start planning bigger trips. We’ll be posting up opportunities to hitch a carpool to get everyone to some really nice destinations and day long singletrack rides. Hopefully you’ve been pedaling all this time because it will matter most on these short epic trips to the trailhead. Are you ready, start by joining us on Sundays.

May is bicycle safety month – check out the various efforts being proposed through Active Transportation Alliance and the United States Department of Transportation. We all head to the trails and notice folks galore without helmets, both adult and children. There are kind ways to remind people to consider using a helmet – a little kind message can go a long way in helping families understand the importance of protecting their noggin, especially when riding with children.

Racing News
Great job by Chicago racers that represented in two states this weekend – especially the Illinois Homegrown MTB Series. We’ll have race reports posted on our Facebook site as we receive comments and read who has them posted.

Coming up next is the WEMS Series Stump Farm 3,6, and 12 Hour Challenge in Green Bay, WI on May 14th, and in Indiana the Warsaw Kenda MTB Race.

Next up for the Illinois series is May 22nd for the Black Partridge Open hosted by PAMBA.

Also on May 22nd is Crystal Lake in Rhinelander, WI for the famed WORS Series.

You still have a few weeks to get those legs into gear!

Nevada Dave This is for You…