on wheel size

by Tanja on May 21, 2013 in general news with No comments

Last weekend the first Worldcup Enduro races was ridden and the winners are… 650b (Canyon) in the mens and 29′er (Trek) in the womens. Today Trek announced the Remedy 29′er (140mm, see Tracy’s ride here) and Fuel ex 29′er (120mm) stating their firm believe in the wheel-size. While Canyon is still silent about their 650b prototype that Barel steered to the first place in the first Worldcup race. I’ve postponed choosing a wheel-size sticking to 26″ for now as I eagerly await the presentations of the 2014 rides. At this moment… I lean toward 650b but… I’m floating ;-)

Check this post on Pinkbike: 24 Bikes of the Enduro World Series

Sweet edit for Enduro Treuchtlingen

by Tanja on April 30, 2013 in Video with No comments

Dutch filmmaker and downhill rider Lars Veenstra (https://vimeo.com/larsveenstra and http://www.weridebikes.nl/) has made this great video at the first Specialized enduro series of 2013.

Specialized SRAM Enduro Series #1 – Treuchtlingen from Lars Veenstra on Vimeo.

Filme von Draussen workshop this summer

by Tanja on April 19, 2013 in Video with No comments

I’m a big fan of Filme von Draussen, not because it’s a cool name… Well… any name with “von” in it sounds cool, I think should rename myself Tanja von Bie.

Anyway… he make movies that make you smile and grab your bike to go for a ride. If you can read German (or have a nifty translate plugin) you should read this interview here: http://www.mtb-news.de/news/2013/04/08/haute-route/

My top 3 (no particular order):

10 Things I have learned about Mountainbiking from Filme von Draussen on Vimeo.

32 [S]Miles per Hour from Filme von Draussen on Vimeo.

Haute Route – Das Leben ist ein Pass von teecee – mehr Mountainbike-Videos

That last one I love because I’ve never done a trip like that and now want to plan a ride like that. But that’s not my point, Filme von Draussen will organise a workshop this summer, how to make captivating bike movies:

Do you want to learn the secrets of creating a mountain bike film that people will love to watch? We’ve got you covered! In this one week workshop, organized in cooperation with Inspired Mountain Bike Adventures, you will learn loads of simple techniques that allow you to make extraordinary videos with simple equipment. Tom Malecha, the guy behind «Filme von Draussen», will teach you everything he knows about mountainbike filmmaking. From our basecamp, a high-class chalet close to Sion (Valais, Switzerland), we will venture out to capture beautiful footage while riding some of the Alps best singletrack, e.g. The Brazilian”.

It’s from juli 27th till august 3rd in a group of 7 participants max. And you’ll learn stuff like: The Essential Kit: What Equipment do you really need and what is nice to have? The Secret of Great Movies: Developing Ideas & Stories, The Rule of Threes: How to shoot a story, What You Ought to Know About Exposure, Lenses and Focus, Going Pro: Using Advanced Camera Gear like Microcopters, Sliders, Steadycams and Cranes, How to Build and Set-up a Cablecam, Into the Action: Get the Best out for your Gopro, The Art of Timelapse Photography, Making the right choices: The Basics of Video Editing, Spicing up the Edit: Film Burns, Twitches and other Editing SFX, Let your footage shine: An Introduction into Colour Correction, How to Create Titles that Look Great.

Good news for likers of Evoc (in the Netherlands)

by Tanja on April 18, 2013 in general news with No comments

Gino from www.bagsforaction.nl pointed out his Evoc webshop to me and I like Evoc a lot and want to give Gino’s website some extra promotion, give them a visit, see if any of the bags for action catch your eye. Wondering what you’ll like, the Enduro-protector with internal back-protection or one of the very colorful other bag packs. If you’re into travel by air, my friend has the Evoc Bike Travel Bag and says it’s fantastic!

What’s going on for 2013

by Tanja on February 13, 2013 in Personal with No comments

You know me, I like to sleep under a rock during winter. Come out for an occasional ride and sleep more. So here’s an update. Cold is lousy for immune ailments, so it’s been crappy. Until december I was doing great, 2 rides a week and going strong. Then January cold came and I had to take a few steps back. Last weekend I did a ride on one of our islands, Texel, and it wasn’t too bad. I had expected total drama. Just chose the wrong gearing on the singlespeed for the ultimate mud fest it became so I cut my ride short.

But I’m sure the sun is coming very soon, I have some great events planned. Probably in modus tourismus, but I don’t care anymore, riding all day in the Alpes is a gift no matter how well I ride. So I will be showing my face:

Esneux and Neupré for the Easyphone enduro’s
Twice in France: Roc des Alpes and Passportes du Soleil, yes can’t stay away.
Another Swiss expedition you might have guessed: Trek Bike Attack!

If I had my way I’ll be going to The Blast in Juli, but work is crazy at the moment and I should bask in this rush as most of my colleagues are struggling to get by and… well something has to pay for this expensive but awesome hobby.

I hope you are all doing fine, eagerly awaiting summertime. Hapy and in good health. I can’t wait to see you all again soon. Now go out and ride some more!

Trek Bike Attack video edit

by Tanja on September 3, 2012 in Video with No comments

My friend Ernestine choose the Trek Bike Attack as her first enduro downhill race. We trained together and raced some easier enduro races to get into it, as well as the Passportes du Soleil. She finished the race in 1:44 and was greeted by René Wildhaber at the finish: first and last of the race rode a Trek Bike.

LIC: Liquid Image EGO full HD sports cam with wifi

by Tanja on August 29, 2012 in Gear with No comments

I’m excited about this new gadget my friend Nigel bought, he sells it at Fietsshop Uitgeest, and online www.downhillsport.nl. It’s cute and has great specs. We’re going to take some footage at races this weekend, but here are the specs for all you gadget-junkies.

The Liquid Image EGO is a mountable Full HD Sports Camera that is also Wi-Fi enabled to work with Android and IOS iPhone platforms through downloadable Apps. The camera contains a 136 degree wide angle lens to capture the action on the go and can transmit live view and playback to handheld devices. The Ego can also be controlled by the smartphone for on/off/recording features as well as to change of settings on the camera. The hands free unit has a 12.0MP (4000 x 3000) still images camera mode and a video mode that records HD1080P Video (1920×1080) at a rate up to 30 frames per second as well as the High Action mode of HD720P video (1280×720) at a rate up to 60 frames per second. The Ego features a continuous shot photo mode and can hold a Micro SDHC Card up to 32 GB to record thousands of photos or hours of HD video. The product includes a tripod mount as well as a multi-directional Flat Mount, 1 extra adhesive pad, Protective Face Plate, USB Cable, and an internal 1030mAh rechargeable battery. The battery can record approximately 1.5-2 hours of video and be recharged through the USB cable. Files may be downloaded to a computer through the High Speed USB cable or through a Micro SDHC card. The MicroSDHC Card Required is a 8GB+ Class 6 MicroSD card (card sold separately). The approximate video recording time for both the 1080P Full HD at 30fps and 720P HD at 60fps on a 8GB card is 89 minutes.

Color: Black, White, Blue, Yellow, Red

Dimensions: 3.5 x 2.9 x 8.25 H in Weight: .8 lbs

More images: flickr.com/photos/liquidimageco/sets/72157628765221063/

Thank you Lenzerheide, Trek Bike Attack

by Tanja on August 16, 2012 in Personal with No comments

Last weekend we went to the Trek Bike Attack in Lenzerheide Switzerland. With phenomenal weather we had so much fun, we didn’t want to go home and had a big smile throughout the weekend. Team-rider Eline Nijhuis took 7th in the qualli and 19th in the race. And our friend Iris ten Kaaten took 9th in the qualli, 2 dutch girls in the top 10 on the qualli, how about that!

For me the race was great, lately I’ve been feeling excellent. Even though I wasn’t fully fit, my endurance-level was not up to par, I could ride! And rode with fun. Marginally slower than last year, so I was pretty stoked… that’s not that bad! I crashed in the qually and in the race. In the race I had to take two pauses to catch my breath and cool down, switched to AM helmet on the bottom (I hid my full face lid and thankfully it was still there after) and had a great time in the bottom part. I could do all climbs on the bike, wasn’t as overheated as last year, and highfived and thanked all volunteers along the way. These guys are so enthusiastic, cheering us on and making it possible for us to have the best time possible. THANK YOU!

I came across the finish line with a little tear of happiness, a few months ago I thought I would have to stay home. But no pain, no ugliness… just pure riding fun. Blessed me!

My friend Ernies had trained to ride her first ever enduro downhillrace and finished as last participant while being welcomed by winner René Wildhaber, she did so well and the highfive of this hero was the best thing!

All Trek 2013 posts on Bikeblog.nl

by Tanja on August 6, 2012 in general news with No comments

Cool new gadget: the Marsh Guard

by Tanja on August 5, 2012 in Gear, general news with No comments

Greg Minnaars mechanic Jason Marsh had developed a mudguard/fender fit for worldcup racers to use. And since Ft. William most of them have been using them, in the wet or in the dry (check it out: www.facebook.com/MarshGuard/photos).

You might have spotted them on my Trek Slash in Morzine here:

I liked them so much, I’ve contacted Jason so I can sell the Marsh Guard on enduro-mtb.nl. They’re dead-cheap and easy by envelope-mail to ship. Let me know what you think about them!

Bikeblog.nl

Epic rides, friends an my mountain bike