Bike Carson – Looking Back on 2008

The end of year is upon us, and it’s time to reflect back on all the memories of 2008! I went through the archives and selected some of the best events, posts, pictures, and memories from each season. There were so many good things to pick from, and I was amazed at what we all did this year. We were busy! I must also admit that I had a brief wave of anxiety as I realized how quickly the year went by.

Bike Carson is not only the name of this blog, but also a good theme name for 2008.  Local Riding.  Most of the riding I did this year was local, rides I did from the house.   I seldom had the bicycle on the car roof rack, which is a big contrast to 2007, a year of many road trips.

But what a great year! I look back fondly on 2008. It was a great year for bicycling in Carson City, and I met and rode with many wonderful people.  We saw big development on the west side trails, and there were many more people out on bikes than in previous years, both out on the trails and around the city.

I’d like to give a BIG thank you to all the friends, bicycle shops, fellow riders, the Lunch Time Bike Riding Crew, fellow blog contributors, and blog readers that have made great subjects to photograph and write about.  Thank you everyone for reading and leaving your comments.  I look forward to more of the same next year!

Rather than writing a lot about the content that follows, I invite you to click on the link below each picture to visit the original story with more pictures.

Enjoy!

-Jeff

JANUARY

Jeff P interviews Anne Macquarie, president of Muscle Powered

Bike Path

January Riding

FEBRUARY

Kristy on Franktown Road

February Riding

Jeff P and the Iron Mountain Boys

Pecos Potter and the Iron Mountain Boys

MARCH

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Lumpy Gravy

Baldy Green Trail
March Riding

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Carson BMX

Fighting Predator

Fighting Predator

APRIL

Kill Zone

Return of Scott R

Riders on the Ridge
April Riding

Ash Canyon
Bike Carson and TBS Ride

Counting Sheep

Lamb Chops with Garlic Please

Black Diamond Walking

Walk Carson

MAY

Jeff P with NewsCarsonCity

Bike to Work Week Begins

Me and James

Visit to Veltec

End of BTWW Party

Bike to Work Week Wrap Up

Tour of Carson

Tour of Carson

JUNE

Vance Harper
Going Big in Ash Canyon

Jared

At the Pump Track

Looking Towards Carson Valley

Kings Canyon to Ash Canyon Loop

We Made It!

Flume Trail by Tandem

JULY

Tour de Fat 2008

Tour de Fat 2008

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Water Fall Fire – Four Years Later

AUGUST

Tahoe Rim Trail / Flume Trail Loop

Tahoe Rim Trail – Flume Trail Loop

Bike Carson in the NV Appeal

Bike Carson in the Nevada Appeal

Farmers Market

Farmers Market Bicycle Valet

Clif Bar 2 Mile Challenge Tour

Clif Bar 2 Mile Challenge

SEPTEMBER

Kids Bike Safety Rodeo

Kids Bike Safety Rodeo

Trip to Oakland

Visit to Oakland

Harvest Moon Ride

Harvest Moon Ride

Commuter Convoy

Commuter Convoy

OCTOBER

El Dorado Canyon

Expedition into El Dorado Canyon

NOVEMBER

Baldy Green Trail
November Riding

Jesse
Pushing Single Speeds

DECEMBER

Kristy

Night Riding in December

Scott R, Jesse, Jon

Winter Bicycling is Here

Carson City’s Chinatown

There is a fantastic article over on the Around Carson Blog about Carson City’s Chinatown. According to the article, Chinatown used to sit along Third Street east of Stewart Street, but was finally torn down in the 1950′s. This is of particular interest to me, since this is right where I’ve worked for the last thirteen years! For all I know, my basement cubicle may have once been someone’s root cellar.

Now although Scott Schrantz provided excellent information and pictures from the era, he neglected to mention that there were also Chinese BMX gangs in Carson City. Here is some action packed footage from the day:

Ok, not really. I saw this video over on HTATBL!

At the Pump Track

We visited Marcus’s Pump Track On Memorial Day, and I’m here to say that the track is evolving nicely! You can now ride the track either direction and keep pretty good momentum.  You can go around the track several times without even pedaling!  The only thing that’ll stop you is exhaustion.  It’s a great workout.

I brought my 20″ BMX this time, and the bike’s shorter wheelbase was very conducive to the tight track. Kristy is looking forward to bringing her 24″ Redline for the next session.

The next phase is in the works, an “S” turn that will allow you to cut across the track to reverse directions. Can’t wait to try it! Here’s some of the action…

Kristy
Kristy


Riding the Track to POTUSA’s “Volcano”

Elaina
Elaina

Jared
Jared

Carson City BMX Open House

My son and I went and checked out the track yesterday. As usual, it was very windy out there!

The track has been redesigned a bit. It follows the same path as last year, but some of the obstacles are different. The difficultly level has increased somewhat. It will be a little harder for the little ones to get up the steeper jump faces, but the track is still safe for beginners. I’m thinking of gearing my son’s bike down to make it easier for him to attack the hills.

At the Track

The more technical track will be welcomed by the advanced riders. Last year you could ignore the obstacles, and pedal as hard as you could the whole way. This year will require more strategy to negotiate the track. The berms felt great. They seemed to have improved them over last year.

Carson City BMX Open House

The BMX season is near.

Carson City BMX will be having an Open House on the weekend of April 5th and 6th, from 1:00 – 3:00 PM. There is no racing on these days, but the track will be open for bikes. This will be a great time to bring the kids (boys and girls) down to the track for some introductory BMX riding.

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My family gave it a try last year and had a blast. It’s a great way to get some fun riding in with your kids. Even if you decide not to race, you can just show up for practice and ride the track.

If you need to get geared up for the BMX season, go see Dan at the Bicycle Authority. The Bicycle Authority has a wide selection of BMX race bikes, parts, and all the safety gear. Speaking of safety gear, you’ll want to bring a helmet, gloves, long pants, and a long sleeve jersey to the track if you want to ride.

Racing begins Sunday, April 13th.

For more information, check out the Carson City BMX site HERE.