Getting geared up for winter and Christmas

The snow is falling (lightly) and Christmas is creeping up on us all. At the shop we have been getting all the great winter stuff out and we are seeing the early Christmas shoppers already. This season we are selling and renting Rossignol Skis so you can get you and yours out there on some of the fantastic groomed trails in the area or break your own trail on your favorite chunk of "private". We are also selling and renting Snowshoes to go explore the beautiful corners af Vernon County. And what better to wear while doing those things but Ibex wool clothes. We can outfit you in comfy, warm, wool, from head to toe.
Stop in, beat the rush, and pick up some winter gear for you and your favorite outdoor loving friend.

They're Hunting in them Woods!!

We just wanted to throw a reminder out there to all of our friends and trail users. Deer hunting is happening right now in a lot of our favorite woods. There are some fun places we can still safely play, like Hubbard Hills where there is NO HUNTING. But if you must go out in the battlefield please be very careful. Wear your brightest, most obnoxious colors, and pay attention.
Best of luck to all you hunters.

                            Our boy Eric W. slayin' it on the Pug

P.U.K.E. is Cancelled!!

The trails at the Kickapoo Valley Reserve are closed due to snow cover and wet conditions. We will reschedule in 2012.

P.U.K.E. at the Reserve this Weekend!!

Hey y'all,

If'n you're reading this, we'll bet it's because you're fun to be with, like to ride bikes through the woods, and perfectly capable of p.u.k.e.ing all over the Kickapoo Valley Reserve this Sunday.

History- For years the core group of trail builders and riders in the area have talked about getting together for a big, big ride at the Reserve. One where we would start at the southern trailhead (maintenance building off Seelyburg Rd. in La Farge) and riding trail all the way up to the northern most edge of it all (Hay Valley Road) and back!

Current- It's a go! With the Reserve closing their trails on the 15th, and the Packers not playing till Monday night, we decided it's on this weekend.

Details- We will be meeting at the maintenance building just off Seelyburg Road at 10am on Sunday the 13th. Important, this is NOT the same as the Visitor Center. I'm attaching a map for y'all who aren't sure where this is going down. You will need a trail pass if you don't have one (per the KVR rules) and day passes can be purchased right at the trail at a "self registration" box. We may stop at the Rockton Bar for some vittles along the way so cash is king, bring some. There are 20-something spring fed wells along the way that pour great water but it is "untested" so if you don't trust mother earth, bring lots of water to keep you alive. Bring some food too. The forecast is lookin' good but it is November so think smart about your clothes.

The Route- The plan is to hit a variety of trails and head from far south to far north and back! This is a BIG ride. Stats for those who dig that kind of shit are- 30ish miles and 3000+ feet of climbing. But the beauty of this ride is all the "bail outs" that present themselves. There are several ways of shortening this ride if you don't have the juice or you need to get home to do your nails. On that note it wouldn't hurt to print and bring the attached map so you don't end up spending the night alone in the Reserve in the cold with nothing but hungry wolverines.

If you think you might be jumping train midway through, we will be rippin' through Rockton between 11:30 and 12:00.

Rain Date Stuff- There's a crew that is going to show up no matter what IF the Reserve has the trails "open" on the web page (link below). But if ya just don't know what to do, check back here on gameday for the scoop.

So start stretching, checking your steed over, and saying your goodbyes to the loved ones, cuz' on Sunday we're gonna p.u.k.e. all day.

Oh yeah- for those who don't know how much we love acronyms, it's a

Pedaling  Up the Kickapoo Epic

http://kvr.state.wi.us/

November Update

Well,It's been six weeks now since a post and it snowed today making me feel like it's a new season.
On a quick side note, I've already started writing the season summary post but it ain't next year yet so you'll all have to wait for the month by month. But I promise it will be lengthy and mildly interesting.
But for now we have to let y'all know what's important.

BIKES ARE ON SALE!!!
Yep, everything in house from 2011 is 20-40% off , and there is still some great riding to be had so hurry up and get in here so you can get out there.

SKIS have shipped and SNOWSHOES have shipped!!!
We'll be seeing them soon and N.O.A.A. is calling for a big, big  snow year. Bring It!!

IBEX Wool season is here!!!
We love dressing in comfy, warm wool form head to toe, and can help you be as happy and stylish as us. We are slinging IBEX again this year and as always, we're offering it at 20% off with no shipping charges. That's even better than the inter-web.

The diamond has landed!!!
We are positioning and dialing the skate sharpening machine this weekend and will be tuning blades starting next week. As always we will also be carrying some of the essentials for you Hockey Families so you don't have to drive to LAX or Madison.

Brewdog is smelling better than ever!!!
Yo, Kait ain't going to Central America this winter, she's sticking around to get her snowshoe stomp and Nordic glide on, and while she's here she's pulling the best espresso shots in town. 

These are a couple of the things we're jazzed on, and we're looking forward to a new season of fun. 
Stop in, grab a cup, and tell us about your next big adventure outside. We can help make it epic.
 

Kona Luau Launch

It’s been a couple of weeks now since I returned from Kona-world’s Luau Launch (or Bellingham, Washington as it’s know to most) but I had to throw a few words on the web page about how fantastic it was.

Bluedog was recognized as a top Kona dealer and I was flown out to the “PNW” to spend three days with the gang from Kona. While there I rode some amazing bikes on amazing trails, ate like a king, drank like a very very thirsty person, and checked out the 2012 line-up.
Kona is a bike line that we at the shop have always been excited about, but now we’re ready to take the excitement to the next level. It was great to learn about the Kona philosophies and how tight the crew is. Kona is more like a big bike shop than a company, and if you’ve ever worked at a bike shop before or witnessed some of the antics you’ll appreciate that statement even more.
I learned a lot about product design, manufacturing, and changes we’re about to see. We were encouraged to think of questions for the owners and designers and spent couple of hours getting answers. Some design decisions were made in that very room based on what the dealers wanted. The business part of the trip was great.
The play part of the trip however was better than I had even hoped it would be. Each day after the business part wrapped up, we hit the trails. Day one I rode a Hei Hei 29er, and day two a King Kahuna. Both days we rode for several hours on Galbraith Mountain. The trails on “Galby” are off the hook with super flowy, bermed out corners, doubles everywhere, and wooden features that challenged everyone. From the top of the mountain we had huge views of a snow covered Mt Baker to the east, the San Juans to the west, and Canada to the north, and the downhills took at least an hour each to rip. Fantastic.
At the risk of dispelling the myth that working at a bike shop is always fun and never work, sometimes we can get a little burnt out by the end of a busy season, but this trip got me so fired up again that I can’t wait to finish typing this so I can go for a ride.

Follow the link below to check out the write up and the crazy photos on the Kona page.

http://cog.konaworld.com/archives/8746

2011 Camp Bluedog another Huge Success!!

This past weekend the shop closed and we held our fifth annual Camp Bluedog Mountain Bike Experience for Kids. And again, more than 50 young mountain bikers came out to Sugar Creek to ride, play, learn, laugh and teach for a weekend full of memories.

The weekend began with the weekend campers (8-15 year olds) rolling in on Friday night. The storm clouds rumbled as the mechanics did the bike check-overs and the kids met their cabin counselors. While the rain fell we watched a great mountain biking movie that got everyone excited.  Right after breakfast on Saturday morning, the day campers (4.5-8 year olds) fired up camp with their arrival and then we were in full swing.

The rains had fallen lightly all night on Friday and Saturday brought some greasy trail conditions, but it didn’t stop anybody from having fun. Campers were sent to various stations throughout the day which included Ascending and Descending, The Skills Course, Bike Games, Trail Building, On and Off Road Rules, Stretching, and the highly acclaimed Free Period (which means swimming). After dinner, we all played some volleyball and then headed to the bonfire, and again Dallas made a towering inferno. We pounded s'mores like they were energy food and turned in.

Sunday brought hot, hot, hot temps, drier trails, and another day of fun. The fabled Epic Ride did not disappoint. Some of the kids rode farther than they had ever ridden and accomplished more on a bike than they thought possible. We rode “The Wall”, “The Gnar”, the brand new trail section that we ALL built the day before, “Pedal Faster Fool”, and the creek bed as a team and everybody finished strong.

Year five brought 28 new faces to camp and again with over 25 staff, we boasted better than a 1:3 ratio of staff to camper. Yep, our riding friends sure love to spend their weekends at camp just as much as the kids. Campers came from Wisconsin, Minnesota, and Illinois this year.

Camp Bluedog is the biggest Mountain Bike Camp in the Midwest, and next year we are looking to grow!

A million thanks to all of our continued supporters, our tireless friends, and mostly to the wonderful group of kids that came and spent the weekend with us. We learn so much from you all and you make us all feel like kids again.        

Trail work with Brandon

Teeter Totter Time

Camp Bluedog is coming!

Happy Spring all!!
We're ramping up here at the shop. The mechanics are buried underneath tune-ups and lots of folks are wheeling new bikes out the door. We have already sent out lots of kids bikes and that makes us very happy. And on that note, it's time to really start thinking about Camp Bluedog 2011. This year marks our 5th mountain bike camp for kids and we are excited about it. Very important to note is that the dates have changed. Due to a schedule change, Camp Bluedog has been bumped back one week. The new dates for the camp are July 15, 16, and 17th. We will cap the camp again this year at 60 riders and we will fill it, so don't wait till the last moment to sign up your favorite junior mountain biker. Do it now!!

BLUEDOG NAMED SHOP OF THE WEEK!!

While it's been a great "Snow Season", and we've had some of the best skiing and snowshoeing in the last decade, spring is showing herself. It's right around the corner and we're already bringing in bike tune-ups. In fact the repair board is filling up. We've been selling some bikes here and there and plenty more folks are stopping by to look at the new stuff (and there are some beautiful new bikes coming in all the time).
The staff just returned from Frostbike (Industry trade show) where we go every year to see the cool new stuff, talk to other shop folks, and get excited about what we do best, BIKES.
Just in case you didn't realize how good we are at what we do down here at Bluedog, follow the link and see what Kona thinks of us.

http://cog.konaworld.com/?s=bluedog+cycles

Come on down, grab a cup of coffee, check out the cool new stuff and let us get you ready for the season, we're looking forward to meeting you.