Ahhh yes- Terlingua, TX.  Making more great memories out in the desert along with a great group of fellow riders. Well, speaking of memories- does anybody really even remember just what the heck happened during all those dayz of haze spent in the desolate beauty of The Bend of West Texas?!  Well, the best I can figure, being a few tall dogs deep after our most recent TGIF ride seems to be exactly the right circumstance for me to recollect. Soo…as I recall it…

Roadtrippin’

As always, we meet up at Eddie’s. I bring plenty’o’tie wraps and other assorted accoutrements- heaven knows what kinda mess we’re gonna encounter whilst gettin’ our bevy of bikes all strapped down for the loooong haul and whatnot (what, my solid thru-axle fork doesn’t fit one of those lil’ regular ol’ bikerack thingymajiggies?). But hell, meeting in deep South Austin @ the love shack means we’re practically already there and about to pull into our customized Terlingua campsite, right?…yeah, RIGHT…Keep telling yourself that while you’re getting yourself an 8 hour highway tour of the vast Texas countryside’s varied geology. Now if you’ve never had the pleasure, then please indulge me and try to picture it in your minds eye while I give you the 411:

We depart from the farm rich soils of the Blackland Praires, through the Central Texas Uplift (if you’re wondering, yes, this would indeed be synonymous in our local vernacular to “The Hill Country”), the Edwards Plateau blending into the historic Llano Estacado (translation: “Palisaded Plains”). Historic you say?, as our Official OMW Historian Dr. Chuck’s ears perk. Well, I hope you’re ready for a quick tutorial on the Native American history of the area. Yes, this would be the very same Llano Estacado wherein the Conquistadors’ introduction of the modern equine into the American Plains allowed the indigenous tribes to later expand their territories- Much as the Apache were displaced by the expanding Comanche, who then made the Llano part of their Comancheria (a Comanche stronghold), only to be later transplanted by the U.S Army. But, that would not be the end of the Native American’s story in these lands, as later in the 19th Century the Llano was a refuge for the bands of Kiowa and Comanche alike who could not abide their captivity in present day Oklahoma reservations. (I mean, can anyone blame them- It is OKLAHOMA for God’s sake!!!). The Indians used the natural landscape to elude the U.S. Calvary, and could easily disappear into the slight draws of the seemingly featureless expanse, or into the labyrinths of canyons such as the Palo Duro.

Ahh, how I love the history and expanse of these lands- so please do excuse my indulgence into historical digression and allow me to get back to present day geographical digression…So, Palo Duro Canyons, you say?  Yes, I’ve heard tell that they’ve got some prime mountain biking trail scenery out there for us to explore- but that will have to wait until another day, as we now continue down the Geographical Tour Highway, on our left you’ve got the Pecos Canyonlands while on the right, The Stockton Plateau.  Just when you think this trip to the West won’t end til we hit The Pacific, we turn this train to the South, coming up just shy of Ryan “The El Paso Kid” Cody’s Eastbound path of travel through these lands- The Glass Mts, Toyah Basin, Rustler Hills, Apache Mts, and the Salt Basin.  I think you’re beginning to get the idea here: Texas’ lands are wide-ranging and far-flung to say the least…

Long though this road trip may be, getting there is half the fun- esp when you can just sit back, chillax and enjoy the ride with a set of chauffeurs like El Jefe and ol’Leadfoot Lance pulling this train of pop-up campers to the promised land.  Ahhh, yes. That brings me to ol’Leadfoot’s freshly refurbished Green Manalishi…what’s all that squalkin’ and chirpin’ you say?  Well, that’s called character, son. That’s pure, old fashioned American steel speakin’ up and lettin’ you know that she’s all wound up and ready to roll, Yo! Not to mention the squalkin’ does kinda double as a Quasi-Audio Tachometer…but you wouldn’t know nuthin’bout that, now wouldya son!?

Where’s the BEEF?!

Now Eddie’s a highly industrious fellow- and we’re all more than happy to have him in charge of packing up this caravan, but I’ll never forget the look on Eddie’s face as he realized his earlier packing faux pas. There we are cruisin’ along in a semi-hypnotic state as the The Green Manalishi churns on down the highway, when Eddie’s eyes get as big as saucers and he bolts upright out of his slouch and yells, “Oh Shit!! I forgot to pack the meat.”

Eddie, say it aint so man!  Did you OR did you NOT pack your meat in Lance’s cubbyhole for safe keeping?…  Okay, no worries- we can always buy more meat- not to mention, all the mileage we’re gonna get outta teasing Eddie about not taking proper care of his meat… But now more importantly, think REAL hard here Eddie. The Million Dollar question on everybody’s mind is- Did you OR did you NOT pack those ever soo tasty, moist and delicious homegrown brownies?…  “Shooo”, as you hear a collective sigh of relief as he answers in the affirmative. Now we don’t hafta string Eddie up, and even more importantly- we don’t hafta backtrack in order to regain our sweet, Beloved Brownies… Now, the next question on our tour is what kind of causalities will we encounter while enduring the exasperating entrapment’s of the local Sub shop’s finest Retardo Montalbans rendering asstacularly poor service at seemingly every conceivable opportunity…Ooops- Forgive me…Momma always said, if ya ain’t got nuthin’ nice to say… That ain’t right, Lord I apologize for that right
there and be with the starving pygmies down there in New Guinea there, Amen.

Pitchin’ a tent…

Under the cover of night, we pull into our annual OMW Customized camp site, only to discover that someone’s pulled a Goldilocks and has already set up shop in our lil’ slice’o’desert heaven haven. But Goldilocks has never traveled in such over-the-top rugged style. None of us have ever seen ANYTHING quite like this before. This vehicle before us looks as though it’s straight outta some kinda Sci-Fi 4×4 version of a Mad Max/Road Warrior flick- ON ‘ROIDS!! The dang thing’s got a full sized dirt bike strapped onto the back, like your average SUV would a spare tire for Pete’s sake. The eeriness of the moonlight, headlights, and flashlights sweeping erratically off this unfamiliar monstrosity, all mixed with our road weary minds and bleary eyes
make this thing seem just that much more otherworldly and unnerving. Well that, and the possibility that someone might just pop outta the top of this thing with an A-K pointed down at us spitting and screaming unknown commands in Arabic….

But I digress- let’s just ignore the elephant in the campsite for now (and it’s possible A-K) and go ahead and set up shop (pop’em-up’s) and get some shut eye, aye? Okay, so there’s only one tent being pitched (no comment), but Dr. Chuckie does make use of his amazingly functional and surprisingly comfortable cross between a Cot and a Cacoon (Cotcoon?). As versatile as it is, the one-man Cotcoon is NOT soundproof, as demonstrated by the good doctor’s mind-boggling snoring echoing throughout the hillside. Well, there’s never ANY doubt as to when Chuck’s sleeping soundly. Maybe we oughta re-name that Cotcoon the “Iron-Lung”.  But, on the other hand, there’s also not a Coyote in its right mind that would come anywhere near whatever it is that makes THAT unnatural cacophony…So, at least we got that going for us…

Starlight Theater

There’s no better way to end a good days ride through the desert than to stop by the Ghost Town of Terlingua’s famous Starlight Theater (est. 1931).  Pardon me, did you say $1 Margaritas?! Well, just how many of those tasty little things can you manage to fit on a serving tray for me to dish out to my peeps?  12?  Well, how ‘bout two rounds of twelve…for now. But don’t you go wandering off now…

…Well, after our umpteenth marga-daiqui-screw-aloda-on the beach, its time to stumble on down to the other local landmark, the smoke damaged School Bus- or as I like to call it, The Dew Drop Inn. This thing continues to fail its emissions test more and more miserably one year after the next…but I guess a ghost town’s really not much in need of a fully functioning school bus now is it?

 **Thank you Channo for that cunning recollection, all nostalgic n shit**

Its a new year people. With the new year there are new people in our world and we have renewed plans to make it a great year of racing our bikes all over the Great State of Texas. We have some new racers for OMW this year and we have some of the usual suspects reinvigorated for the race season. All said we have 15 racers ready to get on that line this year.

We want to welcome Jay Lopez, Gregg Colvin, and Don Schwieters to the team for 2012, all are 1st time racers and have been spending some time riding with us over the winter in preparation for the 2012 Spring Championship series.

OMW racing has new kits in production and we plan to make a big splash on the Championship Series. Everyone knows mountain biking is half style. We plan to represent in loud and proud OMW racing style just like we always have. We had 4 racers in the top 10 last year and plan to better that in 2012. We are also sporting a new OMW racing logo for 2012.

Everyone is getting fired up for our annual winter training camp in Terlingua, Texas. We will be making the annual pilgrimage to the Chihuahuan Desert Dirt Fest February 16th-18th over Presidents Day weekend. This will be OMW racings’ 15th year in the Desert!! Is that any good? We have a whole crew going to represent and ride the awesome desert trails. I bet we’ll find a little time for Margaritas over at the Starlight Theater for happy half hour. (we tend to get there a lil early and stay a lil bit late). Dont forget the party bus!! We got the Godfather and chef Brian Stubbs in the house and will be having some good eats while we’re there. We’ll see you there!

We will have already started the Spring Championship Series at that point as the Warda race will be the previous weekend, 02/11-02/12/12. Then we go to Terlingua, Tx. 02/15-02/19/12. The Next weekend will be Race #2 in Comfort, Tx. 02/25-02/26/12, The very next weekend is Race #3 in Dripping Springs, Tx. 03/03-03/04/12. I sure hope its gonna be at Flat Creek Crossing, I have been missing riding those trails and its been a long time. In case you were keeping track thats 4 weekends of racing and riding all over this great state of Texas in February and the beginning of March and there are still 5 races to go for the Texas State Championship Series. Are you ready for this??? The deposits have been made and its almost time to start making the withdrawals. Lets get this party started people!!!

OMW Bitches!!

Its that time of year again, the summer was nice and fun and hot!! But now its time to step things up a notch and get prepared for great things in 2012. It starts now. We know the schedule for the Spring Championship series. We know it starts in mid February in Warda Texas. We know that we ride the sweet desert trails of west Texas the very next weekend (just for fun). We know that Flat Rock ranch in Comfort is the very next weekend. Thats 3 big weekends in a row, 2 series races and we are still in February. That just gets things started. 5 more races over the next 3 months will fill out the 8 race Texas State Championship Series. Then we will see who put in the effort during the winter and made it count on race day.

Its time to think about the upcoming season and get mentally prepared. Its time to make plans. Its time to get people involved and fired up. Its time to get your miles in so you can make a huge OMW racing splash on the 2012 race circuit!! A friend used to tell me “the mental commitment for this type of training is great, but the reward is equally great”. Its true and it feels good when you can put 5 people in the top 10 overall in their individual categories.

That was a good result last spring and we represented in loud and proud OMW racing style. But 2012 is a new year. OMW racing has the commitment of the same group of racers from 2011 and we’ve added to the crew for 2012. Greg Colvin is set to join us and represent in the singlespeed division and Jay Lopez is all hopped up for his debut in Cat 3.  New race kits and new sponsorships are in the works.  We’re gonna take things to a whole….nutha……level!!!  OMW continues to grow and continues to evolve yet manages to stay true to our roots. We’re still just a group of friends who like to ride our bikes all over the Great State of Texas and have a good time doing it. Does that sound like something you wanna do?? Come join us anytime. You know where and you know when. You cant miss us and if you do, thats too bad…. for you.

CONGRATULATIONS Tom on a great victory at Pando Ski Area to wrap up the MMBA State MTB Championships!!

Oh it goes by so fast, doesn’t it Tom? One day you’re preparing for race day, gettin your miles in, and then the next minute the race season is over. 9 Races already? I just got here! It becomes a blur if it happens to you like it did to Tom. Just when you move to Grand Rapids, Michigan, the MMBA (Michigan Mountain Bike Association) Championship series begins on April 17, 2011. Yes! Gonna get to race all over Michigan. Race #1 is at the Yankee Springs Time trial, Tom opens up with a 12th place finish. Oh but wait, you have to be registered with the MMBA officially or they don’t count your finish towards the overall series. What? That’s not automatic when you sign up for a race?? What are we paying for? Sorry Tom that doesn’t happen in Texas!

I digress. So no points for Tom on that day (loss of 20 points for 12th place). Now fully registered to race and get points, he was off to The Fort Custer Stampede 05/01/11. The course must have been tricky cause Tom managed to go off course leading his competitors as well but gets straightened out and brings home 8th place. Now Tom is on the board with 18 points after 2 races! Here’s where things get ugly. It seems that even as smooth on the bike as Tom is, those scandium frames break under extreme pressure. Oh what a pain it is to not have a race bike and have to wait on a new frame from the factory. Its only worse if they send the wrong replacement and it has to be sent back. Tom was able to get things back in safe, working order but only after missing races #3, #4, and #5! Now, with 4 races to go and Tom only officially logging one race in the series, he will have to race the final 4 races to qualify for the overall.
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Oh My Goodness !!! Tom has gone and done it again. August 20, 2011 was MMBA Race #7, The Maybury Time Trial Benefit Race. Tom, finally getting a chance to get his race legs under him, gets on the podium in back to back races with ANOTHER 3rd place finish over the weekend. Is that any good?? Hells yes it it! The results from this race put Tom in 3rd place overall for the series with 2 races to go. To qualify for the overall series standings a racer has to race in at least 5 races, Tom has done only 3 qualifying races so far. (He wasnt registered at the time of his 8th place finish at Race #2- The Fort Custer Stampede). There are only 2 races left in the series, Race #8- The Addison Oaks Fall Classic on 09/11/11, and Race #9- The Pando Challenge on 09/25/11 . Good luck Tom!! We know you can do it. Go ahead and podium out the series and respresent in LOUD, PROUD, OMW RACING STYLE !! Can we please get some podium picks in your race kit. Its for the people Tom !!