The Dirty RIM is back in your bedroom for 2016, I know right, not soon enough either! I’ve finally been able to cobble together enough random action to get Monday cranking, on an extra exciting Monday as well given its the final countdown to the next Dirty Mission… But more on that in due course.
I recently dropped a guest post on the Pioneer race in NZ where some of the Rivet boys were ripping it up (going UP massively seemed to be the theme for the week). However I was remiss to not only mention that GV was killing it on a Santa Cruz Tallboy (Dirty review coming soon), but I didn’t include a single riding shot, nor did I actually round out the story very well. Time to make amends on all counts.
First, lets bust out a scenery stiffy with this Southern Alps action here:
The clenched teeth indicate zero fucks are being handed out to that back drop
In a few quick pics we can not only do Tourism NZ’s job for them, but also get to show the excellent Santa Cruz Tallboy in its natural environment – Dominating real mountains.
30+ Degs and MTB climbs that go for over an hour? Deep, deep burn
Its not all Italian & Santa Cruz man crush though, don’t worry… I’ve managed to slip in a photo of Mr Road Porn here to make podium girls blush more than a Peter Sagan bum tickle. After finishing up 10th overall for the 7 day Epic in Open class (that’s 31 hours of MTB saddle time just quietly… Fart noise), Mr Road Porn will be applying for a name change to: Mr General Cycling Porn, seen here representing like fuck in the Rivet Racing kit, enjoying some sweet Italian draft
The vista here indicates this possibly may not be a coffee spin
But to round out the real story, most of what you can see above was done by GV with a Fractured Scapula Blade sustained early on in the race. I think in the end GV soldiered on for 4 days, but ultimately not even the sweet Santa Cruz VPP suspension on the Tallboy can help take the edge of the kind of torture going through here, especially if you double tap that bad boy on Day 6. I would have pulled out 4 minutes after breaking my shoulder, not 4 days later:
Actually just a normal photo of GV at race weight
Fuck me, he rode for 4 days with that shit fucked up… Baller! No, like literally, balls so big that they needed constant adjustment, even when you’re riding the world’s greatest 29er:
“Fucken knew these things would get in the way”
Speaking of wheel sizes… Its time to farewell the Dirty Demo from the fleet this week, a significant moment not only because I’m now Big S free, but more importantly because its the first time in 25 years that I haven’t owned a 26 inch wheeled bike… Holy fuck, the reports are true… It really is dying a gruesome death.
Whilst it only made it on two missions, they were pretty massive ones in their own right. The radness of #R14QT and then the BIG DH overload on Shredpocalypse II, what it lacked in quantity it made up for in quality:
Big bike, even bigger trips
I worked out through the sales process that I hadn’t actually ridden this stealth beast since July 2014… Which felt like a crime in its own right. With the Nomad 3 so massively capable and trips being as ENDURO as fuck, having a depreciating DH bike sitting around felt excessive. Technically however, does feel like there is now room in my life for another Santa Cruz…
Just on the Queenstown references in this post, its appropriate to acknowledge the very sad news with the recent passing of Kelly McGarry, a legend of the sport and from what you can read on line, just a generally awesome person. I didn’t know McGazza, but he you could tell in a brief meeting that he was a laid back and happy dude, who didn’t mind being interrupted for a quick stalker photo request in Queenstown a few years ago now.
RIP McGazza and condolences to his family… His radness will be missed by many… After all, 28 million people have now enjoyed watching this amazing footage:
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