The Story of Ned

There he was. Ned. Deadly Nedly. World Champion. Gentleman Mountain Biker.

Even though mountain biking and its stars have always been approachable, I was about to nervously ask one of the world’s most accomplished mountain bikers for a huge favor. Me, about to talk to Ned Overend. Just some young kid from Indiana who needed a bike to race since some ne'er-do-well had stolen mine the previous day. So I took a breath under the warm northern Michigan sun, calmed down and managed to eek out “uhhh hey Ned”.

The story begins with my older brother, Kris, and I road tripping from southern Indiana to Traverse City, Michigan to compete in our first big mountain bike race. It was the mid 90’s, the heyday of cross country racing and our first NORBA National with names like Ned Overend, Julie Furtado and John Tomac dominating the scene. Since mountain bike culture has always, thankfully, been laid back, it was our first chance to rub elbows with the pros and have a rad time seeing how we could stack up against other racers from across the country.

Long drive complete we grab our cash and head over to race HQ so we can get registered, grab our number plates and pre-ride the course. Once we have our race numbers and the now extinct bag of free race schwag in hand we head back to the truck to grab our bikes. As we near the truck we seem to notice one less pair of handlebars sticking out above the black cab of my bro’s Ford Ranger. Oh shit.

My bike was gone. Like any other race we had driven to, we hauled our bikes in the back of my brother’s truck and didn’t give a second thought about locking our bikes to the rack. Some lessons you learn the hard way. The ironic part being the thief took the ‘wrong’ bike. Kris had a brand new carbon fiber Gary Fisher with a stealthy look that had titanium this and XTR that. A true lightweight and expensive race machine. Conversely my older steel ParkPre rig had a mishmash of parts with lots of Rastafarian anodized bling (hey it was the 90’s) so at least the universe was somewhat balanced with my bike serving as a cheaper, albeit solid decoy.

After stewing for the night and my bro graciously putting up with an ultra pissed little brother we decided to comb the pits the next day for help. Hopefully we’d find someone willing to swing me a loaner so at least I’d be able race. After hitting up a few smaller teams and coming up empty my brother needed to get warmed up for his race and wished me luck. I decide to head over to the big teams and approached the massive semi rig that was Team Specialized’s pit area. At first there didn’t seem to be anyone official around but suddenly out pops none other than Ned Overend from the team trailer. He was dressed in his race kit seemingly about to head out for a ride. I didn’t want to interrupt but I was a desperate kid with time winding down before the start of my own race.

“Uhhh hey Ned”, I said as he turned around with a smile. “I was wondering if you guys might be able to help me out as my bike was stolen yesterday and I’m hoping to still race today”.

“No way that sucks man!”, he said. “Let’s see what we can find for you!”.

I was stunned. Here I was talking to an actual hero of mine and he was about to take his personal time to help me find a bike to ride. Specialized didn’t have any spare bikes they could part with so he walked me to a few other team trucks until we found someone who could help out. When Ned Overend comes knocking people listen. We made small talk walking around the pits and I probably asked some dumb questions that I can’t recall now. It was awesome. Finally we got hooked up with the guys from Pro-Flex and I had a bike to race! So after making sure I was good to go Ned bid me adieu and went off to finish his own pre-race prep.

Ultimately I finished around mid-pack in juniors and even managed to wow the crowd on my borrowed bike over the infamous water gap double jump. After throwing down some mediocre style over the inflated rubber alligator I managed to pop something loose on the unfortunate Girvin suspension fork that adorned Pro-Flex bikes in those days. I lost some places on the way toward the finish line nursing the bike hoping I didn’t actually break it (I didn’t) but I was still having a blast. With a huge grin on my face I crossed the finish line having competed in my first big race thanks to the unselfish efforts of a World Champion.

Thanks Ned.

[a revised version of this story was published in Issue 70 of Mountain Flyer magazine, pick up a copy today!]

Ned Overend wearing the World Champion stripes - photo credit singletrackworld.com

Ned Overend wearing the World Champion stripes - photo credit singletrackworld.com

A little Fruita MTB video action!

My producing of the 'happy snaps' has been slow as of late, so I wanted to share an early attempt at working with my new GoPro.  My wife and I headed out to Fruita, Colorado recently for some mountain biking action along the 18 Road trail system.  I'm just learning the in's & out's of working with video, both shooting and editing so I hope you enjoy this early attempt! https://vimeo.com/53995901

 

Morning View

So I've been riding my bikes a whole more than taking photos as of late.  Which is kind of hard to complain about since cycling is number one life-long passion over pretty much everything else.  I'm hoping to get back to more blogging and taking photos soon (actually have a backlog of stuff to edit) but for now enjoying the summer weather and my riding my bike nearly everyday will suffice.

Road 2 Victory 2012

This past week I once again had the pleasure of taking part in the Road 2 Victory charity bike ride that benefits the Davis Phinney Foundation.  Although this time around my 'part' was slightly different as I had a previous personal commitment that I needed to attend.  I was fretting about the scheduling conflict until I phoned fellow photographer Ed Graham.  He quickly agreed to step up and take the reigns for me this year to capture the behind the lens action.  Ed's creativity and easy-going style were a natural match for the event and I knew the ride would get the coverage it needed and deserved. As I suspected, Ed didn't let down.  As I've been combing through the photos this week, I truly felt as if I attended the ride this year.  He did a stellar job capturing the emotion and importance of the Road 2 Victory.  Being a part of such a great event is a true honor.  Watching so many fellow cyclists turn out each year is amazing and the event is only getting bigger.

This year was made even more special by several pro cyclists joining the ride.  Recent US Pro Championship winner Timmy Duggan, BMC rider Taylor Phinney and Garmin riders Christian Vande Velde and Alex Howes were in attendance!  It was great seeing so much support from the pro ranks and also seeing the Phinney family ride together again.

Prints and digital downloads are available for purchase at my website - nicklasurephotography.com.  15% of all sales will be donated to the Davis Phinney foundation!

Taylor Phinney

Victory lap for riders with Parkinson's.

Colterra is a yearly sponsor and caterer. Yum!

The Phinney's ride again!

The family that rides together, stays together!

Post ride refreshments courtesy of Boulder Beer!

Thanks for another great year and don't forget to check Ed's gorgeous work - Ed Graham Photography.