2012

Sometimes it's good to get to know the people behind the products you buy. Sometimes it's not, but this is not one of those times.

Today, we want you to meet the amazing Heather. That's her on the right, next to her dog Surly.

Chances are, if you buy something from our online store or, in the unlikely event of a warranty, you'll have the pleasure of dealing with Heather. Well in the case of the online store, you'll have the pleasure of not dealing with her because your shipment will arrive perfectly, and on time, and since you bought it online, there's no human interaction. In the case of a warranty, you'll no doubt end up having a pleasant experience.

Heather came to us by way of Calfee bikes, where she was the carbon repair manager. She started riding bikes in high school back east, then in college after that. During college, she got a job at College Park Bikes, followed by another several year stint as a mechanic at a shop in DC. When she moved out west, she landed a job at Freewheel bike shop in San Francisco.

Racing

Last week when we were all monday morning quarterbacking around the water cooler, or whatever the cycling equivalent of that is, we coaxed a bit of info out of the soft-spoken Heather, and found out that she had won both races she entered that weekend. Here's a picture of Heather the badass, all business, game face on, in one of the races.

Heather races for Team Tibco II, a local women's team of mostly road, and some track and cross racers. In her words:

I mostly race crits and track. I do some road races if there isn't too much climbing! But mostly avoid them - I like to cut out all that boring stuff, and just skip to a sprint finish. On the track I ride mostly points and scratch races, and might do some team pursuiting this year. I tend to do pretty well at crits with short, punchy climbs where I can use my leg speed up the climbs as recovery...or flat, non-technical flat crits that come down to just putting yourself in the right position for the sprint.

We asked Heather about her racing goals and highlights. Again, in her words:

I hope I will be getting my Cat 1 upgrade on the road! I'm at 24 out of 30 points, so hopefully soon. I don't focus much on each individual race result, more of being able to finish in a solid place consistently. With some more experience in big fields, I'm looking forward to winning a Cat1/2 race with a strong field one day. So my goals include improving on the road to be able to hold my own in some NRC level crits, while learning how to climb to keep up for stage races. All while keeping my track legs up to compete at Hellyer's Velodrome Challenge, Portland's Alpenrose Challenge and Nationals.

And she does this racing while maintaining a full time job here at Ibis.

Speaking of maintaining, Heather has one of the cooler race vehicles we've ever seen (when she can afford the gas to get it to a race). It's a 1974 Cadillac Miller Meteor Hearse painted flat black with gloss black flames. I know we said this once already, but we'll say it again, Badass!

I guess there's no need for bike racks when you've got all that room inside.

5 Acres and a sheep and a rescue

As if working all the time and racing wasn't enough to keep Heather busy, she's got 5 acres in the Santa Cruz mountains, "so I could have sheep and run my own dog rescue". Surly likes to herd the sheep, and the sheep keep the 5 acres mowed down. "Fixing up my property and house take up all my off the bike time". It sounds like she still has time for more though, as she also runs Redwood Animal Rescue, "a small rescue but we do what we can to help pull dogs (and sometimes livestock) from shelters, rehab their health/behavior, and find them new homes". She's also got a German Shepherd named Hobart.

When she's not racing, training, working at Ibis, rescuing dogs, painting her house, training Surly to herd or shearing her sheep, she also finds time to model for Title Nine (the shot with Surly at the top is stolen from a Title Nine catalog). Here's a little mini interview and picture of her in the latest Title Nine catalog.

Need a break from writing

Phew, we're getting tired just thinking about all that work that Heather needs to do. Heather, if you're reading this, get off that computer and go mend a fence or something, will you?

Two Wheeled Drive Posted on: 04/26/2012

Did you know that May is both National Barbecue Month AND National Salad Month? It also happens to be National Hamburger Month, National Egg Month and National Fungal Infection Awareness Month (!).

There are many important single dates in May too. For example, May 3 is Lumpy Rug Day, and the very next day is National Candied Orange Peel Day. Who knew? We all know that cinco de mayo is an important day, but what about siete de mayo? Not only is it National Roast Leg of Lamb Day, it's also International Tuba Day.

More importantly, May is National Bike Month.

TWO WHEELED DRIVE

During the entire month of May, we are participaing in a Two Wheeled Drive which is a "commute-a-thon" with some serious prizes (including a pimped out Ibis Hakkalugi CX bike, above) for the top participants. The goal is simply to get more people on bikes, whether it be commuting, to the store or school.

The funds raised will go to a high school program called Bike Tech, which has provided Ibis with two stellar employee/graduates in recent years. Proceeds will also go to an elementary program called Bike Smart! and a middle school program called Bike Club. While these are local Santa Cruz charities, the fundraising (and thus the prizes) are open to anyone, anywhere. And while we think that

In a nutshell, it works like this:

Participants set commute or riding goals, create a pledge page and ask for nominal donations.
It's open to anyone, anywhere. Prizes are awarded based on your fundraising. And once again, the top prize is an Ibis Hakkalugi, in your choice of size and color.

Click on the poster below, to go to the Two Wheeled Drive page and learn more.

Watch the Sprint Eliminator World Cup Live Posted on: 04/24/2012

Insomniacs and early risers, we've got a little treat for you.

Tomorrow morning, (Friday May 11th) Red Bull TV is broadcasting live the second round of the Sprint Eliminator World Cup from the Czech Republic. It comes on at 5AM Pacific time, so if you happen to be up then, check it out. We watched it last time and it was very cool. Especially since Brian Lopes qualified first and won every single heat including the final aboard his Ibis Tranny.

Speaking of Brian and his Tranny, Matt Pacocha over at Bike Radar just published a story about Brian, his bike and the World Cup Sprint Eliminator.

Click on the image below for a link to the Red Bull TV website.

Come to think of it, we never announced in this news section that Brian Lopes is leading the World Cup Sprint Eliminator. Here's the story on Brian's website: http://www.brianlopes.com/archives/000483.html

Here are a couple screen grabs from the first eliminator in Belgium. As mentioned above, Brian won every heat.

Something other than Maximus Posted on: 04/24/2012

UPDATE: Thanks everybody, the auction is now over, and the SL-R raised more $ for Wheels4Life than any other dreambike over the last two years.

We've been all Maximus all the time for the last few days, so let's shift gears over to Mojo SL-R.

One of the great friends of Ibis is none other than Hans Rey. Hans has a wonderful charity called Wheels4Life that he started and runs with his wife Carmen. We have teamed up with crankbrothers and Hans to create the dreambikes program. We donate a frame, crankbrothers donates components and we build a beautiful 'dream bike' and auction it on eBay. Today is the final day of the final dreambikes auction, and we're proud to say that it's a Mojo SL-R, which will be delivered in the winners choice of size and color.

If you've been contemplating getting a Mojo SL-R, this is your chance to grab one while at the same time doing good for some people who are not as priveledged as many of us. Head on over to the dreambikes site and learn more, or head straight to the auction on ebay.

http://crankbrothers.com/dreambikes/