Ritchey Blog

Ritchey is a proud member of the Plus 3 Network, where we are pleased to donate to Project Rwanda or Trips for Kids for every Activity you log on the site. Our customers are pony expressing money and awareness to each cause simply by riding their bikes (or walking, or doing yoga, or spinning…)!

Over the next 6-months (February - July 2010), we're throwing out a challenge to all.  This should be pretty fun and motivating for everyone...and we expect to get the donations flowing!

Here are the details as posted on the Plus 3 Network:

“Top the Ritchey Crew” Road Biking Challenge

The Ritchey Crew think they ride a lot. Collectively, they train, race, product test, commute, do lunch rides, weekend sessions, road trips, etc… But can they log more than you? Each month we’ll highlight a new member of the Ritchey Logic crew as the High Bar that has to be crossed. Everybody who logs miles more than the High Bar is entered into a drawing for one of 15 pairs of Ritchey Socks.

At the end of the six months, all the winners will be entered into a drawing for a SuperLogic Logic II Road Handlebar.

High Bars: February is Angelo, March is Nate, April is Nick, May is David, June is Jesse, July is TBD…

To Play, Tag your Activities “Ritchey Rides”. These Challenges won’t exactly show up on the Counter, but we will track here on the Plus 3 Blog.

Here are our real time donations:

• This Challenge is based on the Road Bike miles you log compared to those logged by the Ritchey Crew member that month.
• Progress won’t exactly be tracked on the Plus 3 counter, but instead tracked here in the Blog.
• If you have won during one month, you are eligible to win again one more month. We want to spread the love around.
• Your miles logged must be equal to or greater than the Ritchey Crew member that month.
• At the end of the Challenge, we will take all the members who won during the six months and enter them into the drawing for the grand prize.
• Cutoff dates for each month will be one week past the month’s end, to give people some time to upload or hand enter that last couple days.

If you are a regular reader of our Ritchey Blog, you'll know that we've recently helped Amy Dombroski in the cross scene with a couple WCS Carbon Cross Forks for her current cross season.  She's been ripping it up and is now on a European tour where she is mixing it up with some of the world's greatest women cross racers.  Here's her most recent recap from the World Cup race in Zolder.


World Cup…the two words bring about those same butterflies as that angry “Boy Sets Fire” song, the same fizziness of a hard espresso shot, the similar uneasiness of the scent of warming gel. It sounds like a big deal, eh, but it’s just another gun shot, whistle blown, or red light changing green. But this time, girls with names bigger than the word cyclocross are chomping at the bit beside me, speaking different languages, every multi-colored kit is a new view, the scent of cigar smoke and copious amounts of beer lingers in the nerve-filled air, pre-race instructions, call-ups, and numbers are all in some jibberish that I try to decipher. And the spectators! The 2.89km course is frosted with people 6-8 deep and they’ve all forked 15 euro to yell while we drool on ourselves and bleed out of our eyes…just another Boxing Day in Belgium.

Melted into my bed with a heavy head last week, I missed the Kalmthout World Cup, which while deserving of the words epic and mega, I watched on TV with a lovely cup of tea. I was content to be warm, but still jonesing to race. The weather remained grim the entire week, begging for some quality trainer time. Pretty sure the past week was the most bonding time with a trainer I have ever done, and I’d like to keep it that way. So when I woke yesterday to a balmy morning with clear skies I was right chuffed!

My wonderful Brit turned Belge hosts, Jos and Tim and I rallied to Heusten – Zolder. My first lap recon of the course went fine – just rolling slowly inspecting things out – riding it all at a leisure pace. The second lap was similar, made interesting with multiple over-the-bar faceplants and tuck-and-roll tumbles. The U23s were due to start, so with those crashified memories I went to the car to reflect. Later, the 2nd inspection was smoother and I was content with my lines. The course offered galactic acid forming climbs and back-that-arse-back willy-nilly descents, teeth gritting power straights, slick corners, enchanting mossy green forest lines, tight switchbacks on loose sand. The hardest part for me and my tree-stump legs was a nearly vertical wall to run, er, claw up.

I’d say it was a solid race, some good, some bad as is racing. While the race was sharp, I felt a bit dull. I had some bobbles – but was able to ride the technical stuff with calm, put my head down and power, and I made it up the wall without getting too much dirt in my nails. Half way through I had moved within the top 10, but lost some of those spots again by the finish, taking a lucky 13th. So with that potential I am sitting passenger seat in a packed-to-the-gills Alpha en route to England for afternoon tea and a couple weeks of training in the pain cave known as Elm Croft.

The Canadian Track team posted some great results at the third World Cup in Cali, Colombia, including the Canadian Women’s Team Pursuit posting a new Canadian record to qualify for the finals with the fastest time. They went on to better their time in the final and win the gold medal!

Photos courtesy of Canadian Cycling Association

The Ritchey sponsored, Scott-Swisspower team are racing on some serious cyclocross bikes this year.  We've fully equipped them with Ritchey parts, which helps land the weight of these bikes at a mere 14.55 lbs (6.6 kilos)!

The below photos showcase the following Ritchey parts:
- WCS 4-Axis Stem
- WCS Logic II Bar
- WCS Carbon Streem Saddle
- WCS Seatmast Topper
- WCS Cross Headset
- WCS Carbon Cross Fork
- Prototype Carbon 20mm Tubular wheelset (~1,100 grams!)

The NorCal High School Mountain Bike League had it's annual fundraiser just last weekend:  Cycle Fest 2009.  We are very supportive of the league and were happy to donate product for the gift bags and silent auction. 

The event kicked off with a cocktail party on Friday night, dinner banquet on Saturday night and we topped off the weekend with a police escorted ride in Marin County on Sunday.  The entire event was a blast and very successful for the league.

Ritchey's Nick Hanni, Dave Pasewark and myself met up with the league for the ride on Sunday.  Here are a few snapshots from the day.

Ride announcements and introductions (Steven Cozza, Lucas Euser & Jonathan Vaughters - Team Garmin-Slipstream)

Getting serious before the start

Quick stop to let some traffic flow by

Rest stop supported by The Bovine Bakery, Pt. Reyes, CA




Ritchey Design group shot.  Dave P., Nick H. and Angelo D.

We are proud to say that we've recently been contacted by Amy Dombroski to help sponsor her cyclocross season and the building of her dream bikes.  Amy's been tearing it up in the Boulder, CO cyclocross scene and we are thrilled that she contacted us and that we were able to work her into our sponsored rider list.

"In a matter of a couple hours following my decision to put together my dream bikes for the remainder of the cyclocross season, generous sponsors stepped in with unbelievable support to ensure that my season's plans will not be hindered. I've been very lucky to have so much support in my rushed time of need and I am excited to have Ritchey's WCS Cyclocross Fork on my dream steeds. It is difficult for companies to offer support half-way through the season, when their sponsorship accounts are closed. I intend to repay the trust Ritchey has placed in me with such support by continuing to improve my performances and give them the exposure they surely deserve."

She's off to a great start!  Just last weekend was her first race on the new equipment.  This local cyclocross race was held in Longmont, CO.  Amy attacked her break-away partner and went on to win the Women's Open...not bad, considering she rolled in a top 10 in the Men's 35+ just an hour earlier!

Don Leet of Sunnyside Sports - Bend, OR fame, is a big time supporter of Ritchey Break Away bikes. He took several Bend comrades, his wife Kathy and Barb (mechanic extraordinaire) to France for a two week trip (7 BA's in the group). They had a great time and he reports, "The Break Away bikes made traveling with a full size bike super easy."

Here are a few photos from the trip.

Phillip Gilbert of the Ritchey sponsored Silence-Lotto Team has won 3 fall classics in just 8 days.  One of these wins was the recent Paris Tour, which is one of the top 10 World Cup races.

Soon after Cadel Evans' World Championship Road Race win, Canyon Bikes supplied him with this new World Champion theme frame/fork.  We think it meshes very well with our WCS components.

Olympian, Christine Thorburn debuted the SuperLogic Carbon Clinchers recently at the Arthritis Foundation Charity ride.  The ride started in the Bay Area and finished up in Los Angeles.