Practically Factory

Specialized for 2o12 and Fresh Fish!

2012-01-12T18:18:00.003-05:00

Just got the word from Morgan Hill that Drummer Racing will continue to be supported by Specialized Bicycles.

Bruce @ Andy's Cycle has also agreed to continue supporting the team as we head into our 9th year our shredding and dominating east coast downhill racing.

In other news Eric Clark and Rob Westover have joined the squad and will compete in Cat 1 30+. We all known Rob from our Sinister days and Eric comes to us from North East Racing Alliance. The Cat 2 Eastern States Cup Champ moves into Cat 1 30+. The team excited to welcome both for '12.

Post Season

2011-12-11T23:11:00.007-05:00

This post season has ruled. Plattekill stayed open for freeriding until December 6th. The final weekend was awesome made some tweaks to the Fox RC4 and my Boxxer. Made the bike ride much more like my hardtail.
Thanksgiving resulted in giant pumptrack sesion at Doug's house. With massive xc loops on Drummer.
Riding this far into the winter makes for a more shorter winter. In mid march of this year the Demo's first saw Drummer.
Had two consecutive weekends of Snow on Saturday followed by dirt on Sunday. Big ups to Lenny for the demo of a Santa Cruz Nickle on a cold cold day somewhere in New England.
Massive XC Loops will continue into the New Year on Drummer Hill. Monday the 26th was Epic on all accounts with a pretty heavy crew.

2011 Season Highlights!

2011-11-09T17:27:00.005-05:00

Racing wise, Oliver and Zach led the way. Zach made a major dent in qualifying at the 2011 U.S. Open, then found himself placing 31/50 in the finals. http://diablofreeridepark.com/images/pdf/2011DHFINAL.pdf

Oliver managed to put down a 12th place qualifier at National Champs against a talented Pro field, but couldn't keep it together on Sunday. http://www.vitalmtb.com/news/news/2011-USA-National-Championships-Downhill-Qualification-Results,355. Last winter Oliver adventured through South America as a bike guide. This winter Oliver is undertaking a more serious challenge as he is part of a 4 person coed team that plans to row across the Atlantic, hike numerous mountain ranges then hop on road bikes all in the name of charity for Epoch Expiditions. http://www.facebook.com/EpochExpeditions

Zach and Oli also placed 10th and 8th respectively less than a second apart at Gravity East Race #5 @http://gravityeastseries.com/Sugarbush.pdf , on a track that had gone mad and from moon dust to slop overnight.

Doug did well racing on home turn in NH and placed 3rd in the NH States Champs decided by races held at Attitash and Pats Peak. Doug was also bitten by the pumptrack bug and its infectious skills are already evident in his DH riding.

Colman Lamb in his first full season got a crash course in racing DH and passed taking Cat 2 junior VT State Champs with him and numerous other podiums along the way. 2012 Prediction: Colman will be beating Doug next year on the regular by solid margins.

As a team it was great an awesome to witness Sammy's achievement to be riding downhill about 4 months after massive trauma to his lower leg and ankle while practicing at the Pro GRT @ Highland MTB. Sam will be spending his winter in New Zealand making up for lost time. 2012 Sam will be on it.

Drummer Racing finished the year strong at the Eastern States Cup Finals @ Plattekill as Meredith and I both took 2nd for the series cat 1 19 29. Mer was only off the win by 2 seconds with a fall. Go Meredith!I had a wreck in my run also and placed 5th, 5 seconds off 2nd place. Not bad but cost me some box and that was the story for 2011 as crashes and mechanicals kept me off pace.

The team would like to thank Specialized Bikes - Andy's Cycle for the 2011 Demo 8 . We all loved the bike and it did everything we asked and never whimpered

661/Sunline/One Industries for providing functional gear that works and keeps riders safe and in control.

We would especially like to thanks resident racing orthodontist and team member Doug Wilson for helping with the jerseys and making the team look better than ever for 2011.

LEaves

2011-10-19T18:42:00.003-04:00

Riding in leaves is like riding on ice. They rule and they don't at the same time. Massive xc loops.

National Champs! Holding it down for the east coast

2011-09-24T20:28:00.003-04:00

Reporting to you from the lap of luxury in our full on factory style 1970's condo where we have no cell service or tv, but occasionally have wireless! Phil, John, Jordan, Hig, Stacey and myself are quite comfortable here with our super plush wrap around couch, microwave oven, one of the first dish washers ever made, atrocious wall paper and trinkets, ample hot water and great pressure. We even have a deck for all our pimpin rides. So far the south has been treating us well. Everyone is incredibly nice, things are very affordable ($300 for 4 nights in our condo), great views, and the weather has been exactly what we all want for an east coast National Champs - sunny and cool during the day, rain at night. The course is awesome, the course is awesome, and once more for good measure - the course is awesome. AND MUDDY. A great mixture of everything; some hauling ass ski slope with drifty turns, a long tech rock garden, big jumps and hucks if you choose to do so, berms and tons of peanut butter mud switch backs with hub deep ruts - time to get loose and over the back ladies and gents. Ample choices for line variety, certainly with some risky moves to shave off those milliseconds.

We are completely exhausted from riding so much but the course is such a blast that it is hard to stop. Rather out of character for me to say, especially for such a high profile event, but I am having a blast, loving the course and actually very pumped with my riding. In fact, everyone in our group is riding very well. Phil, Hig and I had qualies today. Unfortunately phil flatted putting him at the back of the pack, Hig had a bad hang up with a tree in the rock garden putting him around 25th, I had a good run - missed a few lines in the top woods and certainly need to give the last 30 second berm and pedal section a lot more effort but ended up qualifying 12th. Phil is hoping to kill it tomorrow, with a good run he should be able to get top 5. Hig is hoping to shave a good 10 seconds hopfully keeping him in the top 15 and I am hoping to stay in the top 20. Jordan is riding very fast and controlled in the mud, if it stays wet the west coasters could struggle and he could possibly have a podium finish in Cat 1

Slalom was awesome to watch, sick course. Great atmosphere, music and fireworks tonight along with 33 micro brew beers on tap. For $25 you get a glass and it is all you can drink. If I step foot anywhere near this tonight it will ruin my chances of doing any riding above meow 2 tomorrow so I have made the decision to stay away from the pretty talking southern girls and all you can drink micro brews and instead update ya'all and go to bed early. We are all completely exhausted from a combination of slaying peanut butter ruts and crushing pulled pork sammys.

So as we sit here discussing line choices and thinking over the course the question of the night is wet or dry tires tomorrow. Everyone has been running cut spikes but this afternoon was hot and burned a lot of the wetness away. Tomorrow looks to be the same with racing not starting until 3pm. Weather forecast tonight: DRIZZLE (fo shizzle - thats actually what is says.)

peace out

Rallying the old school peeps.

2011-09-16T11:02:00.005-04:00

This weekend may be a reprieve from racing, but Drummer Summer continues with impromptu DR alumni reunion / training sessions all over the northeast. The boys are at Sunday River on Saturday and the girls are ripping down Kingdom Trails. All who can at Highland on Sunday. Party trains like what! These wheels never stop turning.

Washkevich, get on this!

2011 Whiteface 5k

2011-09-06T22:50:00.004-04:00

Oh yeah the big boy is here as we head across the lake to the mountain that can be seen from BVT. Hosting the 9th round of the Eastern States Cup and the 3rd round of the Neh Yok Champs Whiteface is the event of the fall race season. That was a tough one. Awesome high speed grass terms after a slogging through a swamp before finishing with some berms, roots, and some speed. This season has been a tough one for the team. Lots of race run falls and mechanicals, not to mention the absence of hype master Sammy Cee. Both Zach and Colman flatted out of the gate. Oliver crashed still placed well. Doug was steady as was Jack. http://usacycling.org/results/?permit=2011-2726 The party moves on this weekend to Highland MTB Park. Expect some old faces to show they know how to ride a bike.

WOOO MOUNTAIN DEW!

2011-08-22T12:16:00.002-04:00

See anyone we know? Click below!

2011 Killington Gravity East Series Race Video

by Jason Scheiding

Sugarbush GES / Killington GES

2011-08-07T22:31:00.003-04:00

Sugar Bush Results http://www.live-timing.com/report.php?r=27565&rp=542517 Gravity East @ SugarBush, VT. Pic courtesy of Sugarbush. Z. Fauk on Sunday A.M. practice. Saturday was moon dust and doubles. Sunday was misty mountain hop, spikes, and slick slick grass. The GES moves to Killington next week. Killington Results http://www.gravityeastseries.com/GES%202011%20Killington%20Results.pdf Rosy and crew did a great job making this race course flow better and run faster. The weather cooperated. It was a burner. Unfortunately that bitch Irene has taken Killington out for the rest of the 2011 season.

MT Snow VT Finalsand Attitash

2011-07-18T21:29:00.004-04:00

These two mountains have really stepped up to the ESC plate this year and each delivered a great race track. It is nice to get such great racing on fun courses. MT Snow really did a good job on this last one. High speed slick rock to 75% woods and tons of real dirt, lots of fun corners and some other shit.

Mt Snow continues to step their game up to close out the VT State Champs. With a track the was described by Phil Kmetz as a "mini saint anne" half of this was fresh stuff combined with previous parts from earlier 2011 events. Mt Snow has made serious effort the past 2 or 3 years and they are gaining on the competition

Colman took the VT State Title for junior sport racer and Meredith took 2nd VT State for cat 1. Congrats
Results http://usacycling.org/results/?permit=2011-1847

July 4th Plattekill Race Report

2011-07-05T12:54:00.006-04:00

This weekend's race was both a celebration of Independence Day and a memorial for Stephen Porraro, who passed away of a heart attack much too young. Although I'm too new to the sport to have known Steve, it was good to get out there and show support to his friends and brother, as well as to a community he was deeply ingrained in.

It was said that Stephen was crucial in cutting trails on the double chair side of the mountain, and I was not disappointed. Saturday showed us tons of sunshine and dry conditions on a track that was steep and super loose, with some chutes and lots of open slope to woods turns lower down. It was hard to resist cranking out runs through the jungle.

Eric and crew kept in Platty tradition with an impressive fireworks show, and rumor has it Lauren Daney shot one of the Syron boys in the mouth with a large firework. Not sure.

Sunday we woke up to rain, which had everyone hopping to test the track under the new conditions. Some of us found ourselves in the huge lightning cloud that rolled in, which delayed practice and left the track a combination of splash, slick and sticky by afternoon. The thunder rolled out just long enough to get everyone through race runs, although few people can claim crashless finishes. Jack with 3:03, Zach with a 3:14, and Meredith with a 4:41.

Drummer Racing managed the weekend relatively injury-free, but with Cat 2 riders stepping it up to the more challenging track and the general gnar of Splatterkill Hill, a few ambulances were spotted on the access road. Our stongest healing vibes go out to those injured, with wishes for speedy recoveries.

Huge, enormous thanks to the guys of Generation Gap Racing for the use of their spare EZ-Up tent all weekend. We're neither sunburned nor soaked as a result and are truly grateful for the generosity.

July promises another Mount Snow, another Plattekill and a much anticipated Killington race as the Eastern States Cup Series continues. Until then, drying & cleaning soggy gear.

Busy Week

2011-06-23T15:53:00.003-04:00

Sick ride last tuesday on Drummer with Oliver. Clay Corners was running around like a "dog with two D!cks" as Rob Warner would say. XC was delayed by rain. Saturday A.M. ripped up threader some but not before threader ripped into my chain guide. Monday brought BV laps with ZFaulk it was wet but not really. Still getting used to the new bike when it gets out of control and not hitting the brakes. If the weather holds up more xc and BV before heading off to Plattekill for Eastern States Cup #4 with Zach and Meredith. Plattekill always delivers.

Attitash ESC #3 NH State Finals

2011-06-19T20:38:00.003-04:00

The first 1/3 of the season has vanished in the last 5 weeks. ProGurts @Highland- Plattekill, U.S. Open and the first 3 rounds of the Eastern States Cup . Right now we head into a break for some recuperation but first .... results Attitash in the Whites of N.H. held the final round for the N.H. State Champs and 3rd round of the E.S.C. First off this track was awesome and had everything a dh race course should have. High speed ski slope, wide taped woods roots rocks with tons of flow and doubles. The weather created some of the best dirt I've seen lately. Rained some a Friday into Saturday. Sunday was mint. Colman took another 2nd place on the day despite 2 crashes and finished 2nd for Cat 2 juniors N.H. State Champs. Meanwhile Doug finished 4th on the day beating Colman 2/3 this year ( 1 sec from 3rd) and 3rd for Cat 1 40+ N.H. State Champs. Oliver put down another mid pack finish 9/16. I placed 7/14 with a good run but again off the win by a lot. Had a blast on a sick course all weekend. Eastern States Cup heads home to Plattekill for round #4 for July 2nd and 3rd.

ESC #2 Pats Peak / NH Stats Champs #1

2011-06-09T21:59:00.007-04:00

Pats Peak was a great race and very tricky. Considering the rain and traffic the course held up pretty well. It was wide with a variety of different lines NOT to take. It was hard. From Saturday on it rained through Sunday morning then stopped. Colman is on a roll with his 2nd podium appearance. Meredith hit the deck first thing Sunday morning and again in 2nd race run but it was only a few bruised fingers and jammed ligaments. For such a tech track in bad conditions Mer rode great and tested things out 3/3. Oliver piloted his way to 8/13 for solid result in a competitive Pro field. Doug (finished 6/8) and I were off the pack respectively. I've never been of fan of two run format races. First run was solid & under control maybe a little slow but placed me decent. Got hosed as my second run was better then worse then sloppy. I lost a second while my competition picked up time and stayed on the bike so I finished 15/22. Results http://www.patspeak.com/data/uploads/summer_docs/PatsPeakDownhill2011.pdf Attitash is up next as Doug, Oliver and I head to the White Mountains for the NH State Finals ESC #3.

Eastern States Cup #1 @ Mt Snow Results

2011-06-01T20:07:00.004-04:00

Eastern States Cup race #1 heads to Mt Snow as part of the VT State Champs Series and Eastern States Cup. Camper compound moved to Mt Snow for the weekend. Great weather and a fast and flow course with some skinny bridges mixed in also. It was dry and stayed dry through Sunday. I can't remember that last time that happened. There were some serious gnats out there eating riders alive. Colman got a "W"1/2 , Doug beat Colman by the skin of his teeth and pulled 4/12 in a competitive 40+ cat 1 class. Mer survived her first Mt Snow experience and learned a lot 4/4. My run was crap and way back 15/25 (I'm not pedaling anymore). Oliver held his own on a long and pedal heavy course with a 10/12. The ESC Nema team Challenge also began it is going to be tight down to the wire I think in October. Results: http://www.usacycling.org/results/?permit=2011-1815

2011 US Open

2011-05-24T20:26:00.004-04:00

Big Ups to Z. Fauk - 2011 US Open Finalist with a solid 31/50 finish and a 28/100+ qualifier. Zach stayed calm Sat a.m. despite big mechanical issues. Way to go man! The track was old but new & fast but slow. It did have some nice flat grass corners. I flatted out early in my run. Disappointing but it was fun hanging out and practicing a different challenging course. Death drift thing. Oliver had a rough time in his race run couldn't find any flow all week. We saw a black bear in the "woods" between parking lots too.

Pro Grt #3 PLattekiLL

2011-05-23T18:32:00.004-04:00

The race started with Oliver's arrival on a wet Friday as thunder storms and lightening closed the lift by 3p.m. Saturday started the same with damp humid air thanks to heavy fog. By the afternoon the fog had blown away and the track was drying up for Pro Seeding. The track was awesome lots of lines in different areas, lots of hooks, and one mental step down that actually wasn't that bad. Oliver was fast, as was Zach but both held out for Finals on Sunday. Unfortunately Oliver took a dive Sat and then again Sunday A.M. He pulled out to preserve his body for the US OPEN. Zach hit his lines hard and fast hucking the pro line off broken tooth in his race run and keeping it rubber side down most of the weekend. Mer had a great practice and almost held it together for her first Cat 1 race but an otb disrupted her race run. She was super pissed not because she fell but because she fell on the easy part, not the 4 or 5 drops that she had been killing with her official 187 # plate I debated all weekend about changing up tires from swamp things to minions but kept the swampers on for the race run. They really loved the corners and rutted clay dirt. It was a sick run and a flash before my eyes. XC riding is working. All in all not a horrible weekend for Drummer Racing as the team works out the early season kinks for 2011. Sammy was missed but kept us pumped w/ lots of support via text. Doug Colman and TJ should be ready for the first Eastern States Cup at Mt Snow. Results on the link. http://www.live-timing.com/races.php?date=05/22/2011

BV Laps - Tons of XC - Platty Pro GRT

2011-05-18T23:33:00.004-04:00

Zach and I worked over some Bolton roots today in the dark dampness and fog of the mountain. It was the first time riding the squish bike since Plattekill 10 days ago. It felt odd for the first run, then it felt squish. The xc bike is a ripping one brake single speed wonder that has seen some action lately. Most importantly the 3rd round the Pro Gravity Tour begins tomorrow as practice continues into Saturday with Pro and JR X qualifications at 4p.m. Racing starts at 12 on Sunday. Zach, Oliver, Meredith and I will be in attendance along with billions of other people who rip. The track features the same path with some new improvements and more hucks. We will begin to arrive Friday afternoon.

Highland Pro GRT recap - tough weekend for Drummer Racing

2011-05-16T12:48:00.003-04:00

Good to have the first race out of the way, tough weekend all around. Hitting the road Friday morning it was great to be back in the camper with familiar faces and friends. Weather was great friday, pretty good on saturday and there were enough black fly to literally drive you insane. It was at the point where wearing goggles was necessary to keep them out of your eyes, even when you were hauling ass down the trail. The course was tough. Technical, flat and techical in many spots, you really had to work to keep your speed as a small slip up could cost you seconds. Sharp rocks, roots, it was bumpy. It certainly took names as there were constantly ambulances coming and going from Highland. Pro practice ran for 4 hours a day and I estimate a good third of that total time the course was closed due to injured riders being removed. (This resulted in many pros poaching the Cat 2 and 3 practice time.) Unfortunately our team mate Sam was one of these who has suffered a broken fibular and shredded ligaments in his left leg. He underwent surgery yesterday so everyone send healing vibes his way; the first half of the season will certainly not be the same without him - in fact by my calculations (all things considered equal) it will suck approximately 30% more.

Real tough for a first race, I was certainly battling the cobwebs this first weekend dealing with general riding confidence issues and feeling like a passenger on my bike. Add many spectators, photographers and a stacked 65 person pro class of the best national riders around for a very challenging weekend. Then add pissing rain all Saturday night and downpours all Sunday to top it off. I finally took a knarley over the bars wreck in a wet rock garden late Saturday afternoon - it wasn't until this that I actually got it together and started riding better. Due to course closes and changing weather it took right up until Sunday am before seeding run for me to get my lines together. Took seeding as a serious practice run riding smooth and consistent by my standards with no pedaling in order to save it for the race. By the time race run came around it was nearing 3pm and freezing with constant hard rain. This certainly was a hit to many racers moral, many of which simply wanted to get it over with. I had a decent run, kept it upright, a couple costly mistakes killing my speed in the flats and blew my beet off the pedals in a rock garden. Indifferent emotions for my 45th place with a time of 2:50. Had I eliminated a couple crucial botches, 5 or 6 seconds faster would have seen me around 30th place. Can't get too aggravated as I left the weekend void of injury and mechanicals and managed to keep it upright for both seeding and the race. On we go to Plattekill for the next Progurt, Looking forward to this a ton as all team members except for Sammy will be in attendance for an excellent course at a mountain we all love. Hoping to enter this race with far more comfort, confidence and a refreshed sense of focus.

Race Season Arrived

2011-05-11T21:48:00.000-04:00

In about 36 hours Sam and I will be on the road with the Drummer Compound headed to the Pro Gravity Tour # 2 at Highland. The course looks awesome, much of it the same as the Gravity East course from 2010 with a new longer upper section both from upper Helion and in the woods where we filmed this past fall. Please keep us in your thoughts and wish us good shredding as we are hoping to start the season swinging. Bikes ride awesome, made adjustments at platty and set mine in the higher BB/steeper head angle setting. I will definitely be keeping this set up. Borrowing Sams old bars to replace my bent ones and got some wheel truing and cleaning to do. Platty was an amazing warm up, feeling 100 more confident on the bike; had one of the better days ever out on Drummer today. New pads arrived, big thanks to 661. Race knee and elbow pads, comfy and tons of protection. I am really digging them. The gray matches the jersey well. Took a little while to get the elbow pads correct with my insanely muscular fore arms. The upper body suite is light and has great mobility, I barely know its there. Although I did cut the lower arm armor off to use the race elbow guards. The camper has had new tail lights installed and a new connector for my truck, so we finally have both indicators and brake lights working - no more reasons to get pulled over. Got a couple more hours of work to do tomorrow cleaning it, new battery connectors to be installed, flushing the anti freeze/water tanks and hopefully repainting the roof with rubber sealant. And remember, no one can match the creative energies and physical skill of Drummer Racing.

Chairlift

2011-05-04T20:32:00.006-04:00

Platty Report: Oli and I were greeted by great weather. The trails were in good shape. I haven't seen this much shale on the mountain since 2002, loose rocks everywhere, not that many leaves no blow downs at all. The Pro GRT race returns to Platty in 10 days and the track looks sicker with bigger berms, wider lines, and some bad ass hooks that Platty is known for. It fundamentally remains the same as 2010. The bikes rip. Thanks to Specialized my riding just got faster, bike is so dope. The Rc4 eats up anything. I swear i hit a dirt lip but it was a stack of roots nor did it matter boosted it like a dirt jump. Saturday was a little off but we stuck it out for 11 runs or so. Sunday was much better as adjustments were made, parts were smashed, and confidence was gained. Elder Ulmer pointed us to a new trail off the triple side that is longer better version of skidmarks off the double side. It is all fresh Platty loam was with some tech drops mixed in. It will make a great race course eventually. I'm pumped to have great warm up trails on both peaks of the mountain for Sunday A.M. eye openers.

Drummer Invitational Race - Official Results Are In!

2011-04-30T23:49:00.005-04:00

Today's Drummer Invitational Race was a success! Podiums for Phil, Zach and Oliver. Broke in our newest trail, Sacrifice, and good riding had by all. BIg ups to Wink and Sarah for timing, Stacy for the cookies and all our fans for drinking beer. Full race results can be seen by clicking "here". Last year's Invitational Race results can be viewed by clicking "here". Please note that start and finish line locations may vary from race to race.

Best Dirt On Earth

2011-04-28T21:11:00.003-04:00

Today I rode some of the best dirt ever. Not in Peru, Bolivia, the west coast; right here on Drummer Hill. Heavy thundershowers all afternoon with warm humid air made for incredible evening loamy riding.

Put about 5 hours on the Demo now - I am absolutely thrilled. This bike rips in every aspect. Although I have been pad-less and not going full on, I am definitely riding sections of drummer faster than I ever have in my life. Specifically parts of double drop (the drops) and definitely the rock gardens in threader. *The bike seems to float and hold speed amazingly.* Lost control with some of this new found speed at the end of the main threader rock garden and hit a tree head on bending either my bars or stem. Re-egged my knee.

I have noticed that due to the past few months of traveling my stamina and fitness are certainly not where I would like but I am still incredibly antsy and excited fir the race season to start. Sam put it well, riding these bikes is comparable to an addictive drug. I feel 2011 will be a big year for the members of Drummer, excited to see some pretty big improvements in times and race performance.

The Racing Starts

2011-04-22T11:10:00.004-04:00

In case you haven't heard the annual Drummer Race will be held in 1 week on April 30.

Sam currently holds the Voodoo, John Westland (Ford Motors) holds the gold guy and Zach is still hangin with J.C.

Here are results from past races https://spreadsheets.google.com/ccc?key=0AvqUf5gLmq6sdDFOV0lTLWlQdV94Vm1kdXFtSkxhX3c&hl=en#gid=0

Race Courses t.b.a. soon... Zach and Sam's trail is in for sure, other candidates include jump, threader, clay corners, maybe powerlines or double drop.

May 14 is the 2nd Round of the Pro GRT at Highland Mountain Bike Park then the 3rd Round at Plattekill leading into the U.S. Open. June features the Eastern States Cup at Mt Snow and the NH State Champs @ Attitash and Pats Peak.

2011-03-30T11:18:00.004-04:00

I made a" headlock" for my cranks because that plastic lock nut is stripped and won't tighten down the crank completely. It is sick and my crank hasn't backed off at all . Prior to this mod it was backing off after riding for about 60 secs. 8"x3/8" bolt course thread cut to about 6.5" $1.42 washer $.09 3/8 nut course thread $.12 cranks that didn't come off after 2 hours of riding don't know cause i hate math. The Demo 8 makes Drummer Hill a brand new place suddenly the trails got faster.

2011 Set Up

2011-03-27T09:37:00.003-04:00

Testing and setting up the new bikes requires that we hike through snow in order to find the dirt...

With new berms and jumps on the powerlines, Drummer Hill continues to evolve in order to meet the community's training needs. Massive and technical XC loops? No problem. Natural DH terrain to hone ninja skills? No Problem. Initial Demo 8 impressions include - awesome, grounded, light and stable. Finally starting to get the hang of it.

Oliver's Final South American Entry. "The best 4 weeks of my life."

2011-03-26T10:54:00.004-04:00

I leave for Argentina – a new country to check off my list. It has rained a ton recently in Peru – in fact it has rained so much that on the morning of my departure an eighth mile section of road about one mile out of town (the only road into my town) has completely fallen 50 feet down into the river below; it no longer exists. Glad I was not on it at the time. Got a nice routine going - make it to Cusco, hit up the market for some new flip flops, hit up my favorite Indian Buffet, then off to the Indigo Lounge for pisco happy hour drinks before my 9:30 bus to La Paz, Bolivia..... and more.

2011 Season Update March 18th

2011-03-02T19:05:00.014-05:00

In addition to 661/Sunline/One Industries, and Wilson Orthodontics the big "S" Specialized Bicycles, hooked up Drummer Racing via old roots at Andy's Cycle. We are excited to have such a diverse group of supporters and look forward to representing them in 2011. Thanks Everyone!! TJ, Sam, Doug, Oliver, Zach and myself will all be ripping on the Demo 8 for 2011. Also dirt has begun to show up with the new Demo 8's so that is cool. Drummer Racing Plans to attend the following events: 2011 U.S. Open -http://diablofreeridepark.com/usopensub.html Select Pro GRT Races http://www.usacycling.org/news/user/story.php?id=5940 Eastern States Cup www.easternstatescup.com Gravity East Series http://www.gravityeastseries.com/

Truely the most epic 2 weeks of my life to round out my 24 years. La Paz, Bolivia - 4 day bike/treck to Machu Pichu. I'm off to Argentina

2011-02-28T12:34:00.009-05:00

Que Tal my good friends and family, seems like a while since I have made any updates. This is because I have been on the road for a while. What I have written is pretty long, but if you choose you read a long I think you will find it relatively interesting. I am pretty proud of the last 11 days as they have been the most epic and insane of my life – a great way to round out ones 24 years of being. In these days I have pushed my limits in riding, adventuring, travel, unpreparedness, most definitely experiences, a decent amount of pain and suffering and just plain living. Read more »

6 Weeks left of this junk

2011-02-23T17:24:00.002-05:00

Hopefully there will only be about 6 more weeks of winter. Drummer Hill should be open by then. We will be floating over rocks and roots instead of scraping down ice littered with gapers. Hill Climbs suck.

Snowboarding the Windham World Cup Course

2011-02-16T10:27:00.003-05:00

Stumbled across this old picture of me snowboarding at Windham. This is the "bowling alley" where all those dudes were straight hookin to flat.

Superbowl Sundays are different in Peru, move into a closet, guide a great tour, I’m off on another adventure!

2011-02-10T21:53:00.003-05:00

Whats goin on my US peoples – had a pretty interesting week down here and have another adventure rapidly approaching. Hope everyone enjoyed superbowl Sunday, I certainly did – but in a far different way than the past 3 or 4 years.

Winna Winna Chicken Dinna!!

2011-02-09T18:06:00.002-05:00

Zach was able to correctly I.D. himself in Finally 2 Part 3. Zach gets to wash my bike.

Answer to Jack's Question

2011-02-09T10:17:00.004-05:00

I saw the following people, one of them must be the answer: Neko(obviously), Logan, Mike(from florida), Brazil, Possibly Zach(for a split second when needles is walking back to pits)

Where'z Waldo??

2011-02-08T18:55:00.003-05:00

See if you can find any subtle hints of anybody we know in the Finally 2 part 3. First person to claim the time in video gets to wash my bike this season. http://dirt.mpora.com/news/dirttv-finally-2-part-3.html

You cannot match this pre-race ritual.

2011-02-07T22:44:00.001-05:00

Also, I kind of want to try something like this in the gate sometime.

Oliver's Trip to Arequipa - Summit a 20,000 mountain. Hardest 24 hours of my life, I will never complain about a course being too flat again.

2011-02-07T15:21:00.005-05:00

Hi everyone, its been a while – let me give you some updates. Since my last post I stayed sick with this damn cold that I can’t seem to kick; only really going yesterday/today. Yea so that went on a good week and a half – at least. Most of the days blended together as I was not riding, trying not to get others sick etc. Also bike is temporarily out of commission. Kept my act clean and didn’t go out drinking or anything for a long time.... but....

Joining in the fun.

2011-02-03T00:49:00.002-05:00

SO.MUCH.SNOW. Never been skiing in snow like the stuff I was shredding today. It was awesome. Almost as good as berm smashing...almost.

Powda Day!!!!!!!!!

2011-02-02T08:09:00.002-05:00

the whole world stopped to ride pow today. bumpin tunes ripping turns tons of freshy fresh

LET IT SNOW!!!

2011-02-01T19:01:00.002-05:00

Snowboarding 5 days this week, going to one class. LET IT SNOW!!!!!

Oliver discovers Cuzco: hardest hike a bike of my life, scale a knarley mountain (prefer biking)

2011-01-27T16:30:00.005-05:00

Cuzco was very fun – Sam and I gathered our things and began to make some moves from Ollantay. Actually I didn’t gather anything, I pretty much got rid of everything. I headed to the city with simply the clothes on my back (white t and my vital mtb hoody) and a knife, and dumped everything out of my wallet except my drivers license. I did bring some pretty high expectations as I heard from everyone its very fun.

Sounds

2011-01-23T14:59:00.001-05:00

Fun edit to help ease the boredom of negative temps.

Small/Medium/Large from Brian Park on Vimeo.

Exceptional week for shredding + weather. Guided some awesome folks, your new resident DJ at the bars.

2011-01-22T14:42:00.003-05:00

Que Pasa! Got a little catching up to do – great week, awesome weather, did some incredible riding and met some cool peeps.

661, Sunline, and One Industries for 2011

2011-01-19T18:06:00.002-05:00

Big Thanks to 661, Sunline, and One Industries for their support of Drummer Racing's 2011 Season. It is going to be a good one.

Discover amazing trail, ride a Kona Roast. More cool people and late nights. Benoit skate boards 32 miles of downhill!

2011-01-18T19:54:00.003-05:00

Saturday morning was a slow moving morning.

Stuck in biking paradise with no bike - drown my sorrows with cheap "pilsen" beers and jack daniels, also eat alot of ants

2011-01-18T00:02:00.004-05:00

Thursday was another relaxed day, my soreness is healing and we did not have any tours.

2011...

2011-01-16T23:30:00.002-05:00

While Oliver is raging in the southern hemisphere life continues as normal in the cold dark New England winter. Zach, Mer, and I went snowboarding. Zach unintentionally poached it. It was pretty sick actually with the fresh snow and reasonable temps. 2011 GES Schedule should be released by the end of the month. Now back to our south american broadcaster...

Grande update - I drop Mega Avalanche course, hold it down for east coast, kick it with french canadian rappers

2011-01-15T21:24:00.004-05:00

Hola ma peoples. Que Pasa, heres some ramblings on a few recent things.

Day 4 Peru - Riding one of the highest passes in the Andes, almost kill myself, spend the day hitch hiking with locals.

2011-01-13T23:04:00.008-05:00

Click the title to read more - my browser automatically makes everything to do with this web site into &0% #@!% spanish.

Oliver gets to Peru - the land of shutteling. Preface, traveling and first day of riding

2011-01-12T22:09:00.003-05:00

So a little preface to some entries I will start making: I have limited internet time so I have been keeping a little log of my activities almost for just a personal account of my experiences as it is easy for days here to just blend together – it’s all riding bikes. The team, family and friends have all wondered what I am up to so here you go, I will start to enter in some of the things I have jotted down – usually late at night when I am beat from riding and have had a bunch of beers. So if you want to read it click the titles for each entry I make to view the full post. Bear with me, if my ramblings are too long – which they most likely are, go back to facebook or whatever. However, you might find it interesting. I am sure this will all filter down to short posts once I have been here for a week or two, ridden all the spots and the whole thing becomes not so peculiar to me in comparison to my past lifestyle. Also it may take some time for me to get good at this and get pics up as my browser automatically puts everything to do with this website in spanish.

Good Way to start the New Year

2010-12-24T17:21:00.005-05:00

with a shitty thaw that melted a lot of snow. good new years bash but more importantly the bike got washed and sold. Sad to see it go but it was time. The fish are biting also so that good to hear as we wade into the new season. Things will be on fire in May.

Man dirt looks good

2010-12-15T21:15:00.003-05:00

Rt 7 Pumptrack back berm spring 2010. Snowboarding with one lift and millions of people is lame.

Life Cycles

2010-12-07T22:45:00.002-05:00

Life Cycles is absolutely incredible, I recommend it to all of you. It is a cinematic masterpiece.

Snow !!

2010-12-02T18:40:00.002-05:00

Finally got some good cover on the ground. Can't wait to shred.

2010-11-20T15:14:00.004-05:00

today i was caught red handed along with three other single track desperadoes . I guess hunters aren't down with our smelly selves. got to find a new place for xc until the snow fails.

Body Position

2010-11-18T17:29:00.003-05:00

Looking back at these pictures, couldn't help but notice that Ollie and I's body position is nearly identical in these two photos. Pretty Cool

Video

2010-11-16T00:11:00.001-05:00

Drummer Racing 2010 from Taylor Mcintosh on Vimeo.

xc rippin

2010-11-14T16:43:00.002-05:00

hardtails rule

2010 Eastern States Cup

2010-11-12T18:21:00.003-05:00

http://www.ridemonkey.com/forums/showthread.php?t=237901 better late than never I guess...

Highland

2010-11-09T22:28:00.002-05:00

Was the spot on Saturday with temps in the upper 50's and sunny.There were over 400 people at the mountain. Mer learned what it takes to get to leaned over while the boys shredded Hellion and buzzed gapers. That wraps up the 2010. Can't wait to snowboard.

2010-10-31T18:55:00.003-04:00

wow serious jump session drummer style at Highlands Friday and Saturday. Oliver and I literally buzzed a pack of Cunucks who committed the sin of stopping on a lip.

WE ARE FAST! WE SHOW UP!

2010-10-21T17:14:00.002-04:00

We are looking at sponsors from all walks of life. If you like bicycles and racing we are your team. We have a lot of fun and get on the podium at almost every race. Drop us a message here or http://www.facebook.com/pages/Drummer-Racing/202047552017 Drummer 2010 Highlights... SERIES STANDINGS 7th Overall PRO Gravity East -Oliver Levick 3rd Overall CAT 1 19-29 Gravity East -Sam Chipkin 2nd Overall PRO Eastern States Cup -Oliver Levick 1st Overall CAT 1 19-29 Eastern States Cup - Sam Chipkin 4th Overall CAT 1 19-29 Eastern States Cup- Jack Williams 3rd Overall CAT 3 Eastern States Cup - TJ Hiney 3rd Overall CAT 2/3 19-29 Eastern States Cup Meredith Mansfeild INDIVIDUAL HIGHLIGHTS 2nd US Open Amateur - Sam Chipkin NY STATE CHAMP CAT 1 19-29 - Sam Chipkin 6th Pro Sugar Bush Gravity East Series - Zach Faulkner 2011 Three Pro racers Four Cat 1 racers Two Cat 2 racers Gravity East Focus.

Drummer Inviatational Race (Pumpkin Fest Hangover Race)

2010-10-19T08:27:00.002-04:00

Official race results are in. Click title to view track times.

Thanks to all who made it happen with trail maintenence, timing and getting asses in gear.

Race Prep

2010-10-12T21:48:00.004-04:00

Pre-Rake Post Rake

Eastern States Cup Finals

2010-10-10T23:41:00.004-04:00

Wow what a weekend. 10.10.10 Eastern States Cup Finals at Plattekill Mt Roxbury, NY was all about beers and podiums for DR. Oliver took second in the Pro ranks for the series and 7th on the day w/ a mech.

Drummer Racing owned the Cat 1 box with Sam taking the win and series title and Jack placing 2nd on the day and 4th in the series.

TJ placed 3rd for the series in Cat 3. Yeah TJ!!

Mer smoked the competition by 30 seconds in her race for the win (and did not fall either days ) and took 3rd in the series. In retrospect. 2010 was one of the team's most successful years to date.

One race left and its the important one.

Results

http://live-timing.com/r eport.php?r=20188&rp=392108&page=4

GES FINALS

2010-10-01T19:09:00.003-04:00

Drummer continues to kill the competition well into the fall as Sammy C. takes his 2nd win of 2010 and places himself 3rd overall for the2010 GES Series in meow 1. Oliver finished the GES Series as the 7th overall pro in 2010 with a consistent season on a variety of race courses. Completes series results and individual race results are @ http://www.gravityeastseries.com/standings.html

Killington Saturday Highland Sunday

2010-09-25T21:12:00.003-04:00

Sickness. Things were very dry at Kmart. Mer and I did 9 or 10 runs maybe. Lots of cable to 34 and ripped our way down the race course with the Dougs from Worcester. Meeting Len @ Highlands in A.M. looking forward to the new trail and checking out the GES Race course

Boom Box Boys in Yeti team video

2010-09-24T09:41:00.002-04:00

"GWIN FOR THE WIN!!!!"

The Future of Drummer Racing

2010-09-21T08:41:00.004-04:00

These kids are pinned, I think Colman should be rocking a Drummer Jersey next year

NY State Champs

2010-09-20T17:08:00.006-04:00

The weather was mint. The course was just as good. Sammy killed it meeow 1 winning with Jack in 5th 7 seconds back Oliver was so close to 3rd just off Rude http://www.live-timing.com/report.php?r=20163&rp=392057 Mer was close to a win with a fall during her run see picture below... Points wise for Eastern States Cup this i unofficial because my math sucks Kyle K. Voncooper 1st Syron Sinister in 2nd Sammy C. bumped up spots and now sits in 3rd I'm in 4th Followed by Matt D. 5th 70 points separate the 2nd-5th

No stitches this time.

2010-09-20T12:03:00.003-04:00

A silver medal for me and freshy bruise at the New York State Championship of Downhill MTB.

Brap Braaaapppp

2010-09-16T15:35:00.003-04:00

Click the title to see what I mean. Who wants in on this? Haha

Bolton Valley

2010-09-14T22:58:00.003-04:00

Is shredding right now. so many roots and little doubles with heavy loam. Banged out two runs in the mist again. This weekend is the NY STATE CHAMPS race at Plattekill and ESC #7. They confirmed course is a repeat of August and 2009 GES FINALS.

Whiteface

2010-09-06T20:53:00.003-04:00

Bikes are getting fixed as Sam Jack and Zach all have some serious wrenching to do.

Whiteface is on the way up this weekend. Course is long and jarring. We did our homework on Saturday, then ripped Killington on Sunday. RESULTS http://www.allsportsevents.com/Results/mountain_bike_results/GES2010/Whiteface2010.html It rained slightly before finals on Sunday. It didn't really disturb the course that much. Sick sick weekend. On to Plattekill for NY STATE CHAMPS!

What a Weekend

2010-09-01T20:13:00.001-04:00

This is the e-mail my girlfriend's dad (fellow rider) sent me after seeing our antics at Windham.... Sammy, So, UCI dh World Cup (finals, no less) comes to the east coast, Windham Mt.. A chance in a life-time. Right? Proper track, great weather, nice digs. Where were the hoards of high black sock/Five Ten/flat brim wearin', dh east coasters? Thank god Nicolas Vouilloz (The Almighty) wasn't there to see the lack of insanity. Europe anyone? But, wait. To fill the road gap and more... Enter the Drummer Racing Band of Gypsies. A jammin' 110 decible boom box, vuvuzela, whistle keepin' the flow, Old Glory on a stick and a rag-tag bunch degenerates (or dh'ers, hard to tell) letting the crowd know what's up. (Want some, get some, bad enough, ......) On their way down the mountain, they gave the crowd a reminder of how a dh crowd should misbehave. Good form boys! Thanks for the effort. Old Man

2010-08-27T09:45:00.002-04:00

Drummer Racing and company will be making a total ruckus at the World Cup Championship in Windham, NY this weekend. Compound, check. Coolers, check. Cowbells, check. Custom Drummer Racing flag, check. Place your bets (on who will win, or on who will pass out with their shoes and sunglasses still on).

Plattekill

2010-08-19T22:51:00.003-04:00

The compound is headed out to the catskill mountains tomorrow night. Oliver and I both sit in 2nd in the ESC in our respective meows (categories). The weather looks really good and the mountain should be dry. The course wasn't photographed so I don't know what it will include. It will be a nice surprise. RACE REPORT http://live-timing.com/race2.php?r=20147&u=60 The course was a mix of 2009 GES with a different finish that traversed back left of the POC road gap. Super low turn out = no lift line. It was fast on Saturday and pretty dry with everyone taking some big stacks in practice. Then it rained for 10 hours. It was cold and windy at the top on sunday with lots of fog. Finally got some more box but my run didn't feel like it.

flashback. evolution.

2010-08-16T21:10:00.003-04:00

http://www.facebook.com/video/video.php?v=1114928949265

i lack a better way to post this here, as this video is older than dirt. feel free to override me by posting it properly. hahahah, she said override.

Killington GES 6 Results

2010-08-15T20:21:00.005-04:00

Great weekend. Long course. Overall results are up on live timing. No injuries or mechanical problems. Dry weather, relatively dry track. So close to box. Moving on to Platty and Eastern States # 6.

Windham WC Final Schedule

2010-08-08T23:33:00.002-04:00

http://racewindham.squarespace.com/race-schedule/ so sick. they have it set up so we can watch Saturday wc qualified racers practice, then practice our race course, then race at 3pm sat afternoon.

GES @ Killington

2010-08-08T18:53:00.002-04:00

The course is good. 7 a got cleaned up where it needed it and the bottom of 23 is also cleaned up with a new exit. Its long its pedal fest in spots and super tech in others. If it rains it will be a battle. Killington was so dry and fast this weekend. The course is already starting to show some signs of wear with a hole or two popping up. Hoping the weather continues to be awesome into the week.

Skate Park Tour 2010/ Drive Home

2010-08-06T22:37:00.004-04:00

So instead of driving straight home to NYC today, I used a website called Concrete Disciples to map out a couple of skate parks that weren't far off of I-91 and I-95. I found Greenfield skate park, which I'd been to before and Milford skate park in Connecticut, which I'd never been to before. Greenfield was sick, had the whole place to myself, rode there for about 45 minutes, super hot, sweat a ton. Milford was super sick. Bit of a puney little "street" section, but the concrete bowl and transitions were a ton of fun to ride. Ended my tour at the Highbridge Park dirt jumps in NYC, which had changed quite a bit since my last time riding there. Took quite a few runs to dial in the new flow of the jumps, made more difficult by the distraction of obnoxious dominicans yelling behind me. Overall, trip was a great success and it certainly won't be the last time.

GES #5 Sugarbush

2010-08-01T18:46:00.005-04:00

The course was nasty wide and fast up top. ninja lines were to be had. it wasn't wet but it wasn't dry either. Zach returns to normal with a 6th in pro Mer got the new bike on the podium with a 3rd Oliver threw down another mid pack pro finish with 12 Sam crashed twice but was mid pack in meow 1 with a 422 Jack didn't crash with a 418. Doug had some issues but will rip @ Killington, the next stop for GES. Sugarbush results http://live-timing.com/report.php?r=20101&rp=391966

Proposed Weekend for Drummer Race #2

2010-07-27T20:14:00.002-04:00

September 4/5, any opposition?

BVT

2010-07-27T13:19:00.002-04:00

Saw Ollie, Mel and Jude getting their Kabob on last night at 10:30 while I was going to KKDs for the dankness. Congrats to Jack and Mer on their new pad in Dub-bury. And I am glad to see that Sammy is learning why RM and other sites are lame-o. Enjoy the backlash, but dont worry, it builds character...haha Hope everyone has been working on their fitness. As Jack said, it's getting intense.

The Bush is upon us

2010-07-26T23:02:00.002-04:00

sugarbush returns for a third year as the GES rolls into VT. The next three GES tracks will all be 5 min plus and natural long and nasty. Ski slope and lots of it more swampthings. Oh yeah pracetice is from 10 am - 6 pm. i witnessed a broken bar post race last weekend. no injury but it was cool.

Ridemonkey

2010-07-26T08:17:00.001-04:00

Started a thread about Mt. Snow, already regret it, might delete it.

ESC #5

2010-07-23T15:28:00.003-04:00

Returns to the last event at Mt Snow. They didn't run the traditional sport beginner. They ran something new but familiar with grassy ski slope muddy ass turns. that were fun. they DID NOT tape the course all that well again. which lead to some freddy lines. results are up. swampthings rule.

AAROOOON

2010-07-18T20:06:00.000-04:00

GWIIIIIIIIN! 'nuff said

2010-07-17T11:06:00.003-04:00

Season Update!

THe 2010 season is about 1/3 over.

So far Oliver sits in 8th place for GES in Pro

also in 2nd for ESC

Jack sits in 2nd @ ESC for cat 1.

Sam sits in 6th in GES fro cat 1

Zach has the banged up but not out injury bug.

We are rolling into August which is a stacked month from the start. Get the work until until then.

Killington is doing so much work to make their mountain better. Can't wait for the GES

2010-07-13T19:19:00.002-04:00

Managed to get to Killington twice in the past two weeks. The trails are getting worked on. The cable trail will soon be the jump trail. The GES race course will rival the whiteface 5k. the new entrance to the berm trail is super dope

Ollie might have something new to yell in the rock gardens

2010-07-07T22:06:00.000-04:00

Looks like Jack won't be washing bikes

2010-07-07T00:23:00.001-04:00

Latest News : FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE: GES #3 had 202 racers attend!! Rockets red glare and bombs bursting in air, can best describe GES racing Plattekill Bike Park this past holiday weekend Read more

The Stick!

2010-07-06T12:48:00.003-04:00

Note Rachel Atherton's use of our very own "The Stick" at 5:15 of the newest Atherton video. These videos can be kinda lame but this one is worth watching all the way through. US Open + Fort William http://www.vitalmtb.com/videos/member/The-Atherton-Project-2010-Episode-5,3023/bturman,109

Warm-Up Weenie

2010-07-05T19:55:00.003-04:00

I feel like I've become a bit of a fitness/ warm-up/ cool down weenie as of late but I feel like it is an area that is extremely overlooked. In a very timely manor, this popped up on DirtMag. I think it could certainly benefit all of us. http://dirt.mpora.com/news/prerace-preparation-warm.html

Plattekill GES Results

2010-07-05T19:41:00.006-04:00

complete results will be posted when they are up. for Drummer it went like this. Sam got 5/28 made box cat 1 way to go . This kid has two podiums this year. Oli continues to find mid pack in the pros with 15/28 Zach had a big spill on Friday and didn't get a feel for it after that. Jack didn't ride fast enough with cat 1 17/28 not good not good Mer broke in her new bike and didn't fall either days. It was so dry and dusty, so much for east coast mud. The delay to the race really added a mental challenge to a stacked field of competitors, on a course that was laden with landmines that could wreck a race run. GES moves onto Highland Mountain this weekend.

Platty is lookin good this weekend

2010-06-28T14:38:00.005-04:00

its ges #3 ESC #4 and from what i heard the course is flow but nothing too gnar except for a chute. oli sam mer and my self will be arriving on Thursday night. Looking to make up lost ground at Mt Snow.

Just Watch

2010-06-22T17:57:00.001-04:00

Go to PropsBMX.tv for more videos.
(credit to the sensus for the share)

Eastern States See U P

2010-06-17T13:27:00.003-04:00

It was a good course. Lots of weird ski slope turns. One huck into a bounce down corner and the politically correct yardsale. It rained right before the race for 15 min. I fell and lost a chance at a top 5 after I told myself not to midrun. but cow bells make your balls bigger. Oli wasn't to far off 4th place in pro click on link for results

YEAH LAN--wait, what?

2010-06-16T22:40:00.002-04:00