Ritchey Blog

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.

Tomorrow is the last race of the season, Tour of Lombardi and is also a World Cup race. Race favorites and also Ritchey sponsored athletes, Cadel Evans (Silence-Lotto) and Damiano Cunego (Lampre) have the best chance to win, which would round out an excellent end of the season for the TR sponsored teams.

 

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.

 

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.

One great report of these wheels came from her husband, Ted Huang.  He told us that these wheels caused him lots of personal misery...he had to sit on her wheel at 30mph for 2-3 mile stretches while she decided to dial them up in order to test them properly!

 

The 6th annual "Ritchey Day" took place on September 13th, 2009 in Teglio-Valtellina (Italy) with the MTB Club Ruote Dentate and Alta Vatellina as organizers of the event.  The ride was held on a spectacular trail in Northern Italy, called the "Tour of the Mills".

Being the owner of a Ritchey Mountain bike, means being part of an exclusive circle of lucky people with a unique bike, differentiating you from the mass of common production bikes. Built with classic, traditional, components (no full suspension forks, no disc brakes) Ritchey Mountain bikes are limited in nature and special to the cult of owners who prize them; just think, only a few hundred bikes were produced annually for a worldwide market! It has been like a treasure hunt to find those who are still engaged in using these “jewellery that moves,” but do not assume these beauties are destined to be museum pieces, only to be deeply revered while they hang stationary on the wall. They are no less than perfect cross country, competitive vehicles, when, in hands of those who know how to handle them, become real high speed, sleek missiles on narrow single-track trails..

The starting point was in S. Eufemia Square – Teglio at 10.00am. After an easy and spectacular ride, the group had lunch at the Restaurant “ Agriturismo Al Vecchio Torchio, in Teglio with delicious local dishes (pizzoccheri and chats) and some fabulous Italian wine.

“Pizzocchero Trail – Tour della valle dei mulini”

Tecnical Features:
- Deaparture/Arrival: Square S. Eufemia -Teglio
- Grade: Easy
- Vertical ascent: 300m
- Maximum altitude: 900m
- Distance: 20km (closed circuit)
- Ridable: 100%

Here are some pictures of the day, unfortunately there are no pictures of the restaurant because the group was so concentrated on eating and talking about Ritchey products and history. You can see the atmosphere and the beauty of this place on www.alvecchiotorchio.it.

 

I recently stumbled upon this photo of a 1987 Ritchey Timber Comp mountain bike.

Excited by the enthusiasm the owner had in his photo caption...along with the praise he received in the photo comments, I reached out to Scott to get the full story on the bike.

Turns out that Scott Seery purchased this mountain bike from Mammoth Sporting Goods while he was at the Worlds in 1987.  He learned the ropes of the sport while on this bike over many years - racing, trail riding, crashing "hard and heavy".  He even took this one out for a loaded tour with a couple friends in the Green Mountains of Vermont in October of 1989.

Around 1992, Scott managed to upgrade the Timber Comp with WCS components as they appeared on the market. He had already converted it to a 2x7-speed in '89.

Recently, Scott dusted this beauty off and got out for a ride at Joaquin Miller and then posted the photo that I found on the web.

Scott talks about this day/ride.  "I had forgotten how well this bike fit me. I even cleaned the sketchy, steep, uphill pitch on Sunset Trail, a great feat in dry conditions. Perhaps it was the audience of hikers that gave me the boost to hang in as the rear Z-Max scratched for traction. Man, I love this bike all over again."

Thanks for sharing your story with us Scott - The bike looks amazing!

 

Gerard Schwartz (owner of Cosmic Sports in Germany) and his crew brought their Ritchey Break Away Single Speed bikes out to Las Vegas for Interbike.  They put them together and rode out to the Cross Vegas cyclocross race.  The race venue is about a 10-mile ride outside of the Las Vegas strip.  Gerard explains the ride as the "most frightening bike ride ever...the night time Las Vegas traffic was crazy!"