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.

Tonight I closed shop, layered up some Ibex wool, and went for the first snow ride of the year. Now, I recognize that we only got a skiff of snow today but as some of you know when it snows, it collects on the trail first making a most spectacular ribbon of white flowing through the woods. It’s getting dark quite early these days so this was a lighted ride. It was beautiful to see the snow falling in the light of the super bright headlight as it fired up the night. I rode over to Hubbard Hills with a bottle of Stout to enjoy, and an extra layer to wear while sitting on one of the many Leopold benches scattered around the woods. If you haven’t been to this great trail network in awhile, you’ve got to get out there. A hearty crew of trail workers has been diligently pluggin’ away for the past couple months to open up a new section of singletrack that is riding great and going to snowshoe wonderfully. In fact, just yesterday we finally connected the brand new stuff to the existing and now there’s about a mile of twisty fun that highlights some of the rock features and some great sinkholes. Sitting on the bench enjoying my reward, as cozy as could be, I had one of those “Life is real good” moments and wished that there was a way of capturing it all in photos or something. Of course there was not. I hope that some of you can read this though and think about your last trip into the snowy woods and how special it was and embrace what is about to happen to our local paradise.
The snow is coming.

Staff Picks- Bar Mitts

I just got back from one of the best trail rides I've taken this year. It was so special that I also wrote an entry about it, but this is all about the new product that I've been testing and think that you should all know about. I first heard about Bar Mitts when I was checkin' out some of the Iditabike reports. If you're not familiar with this event, here's the scoop. Folks who are way more dedicated than myself will head up to Alaska every winter to race mountain bikes across the frozen landscape some 1000+ miles and endure 40 below temps. Beyond the obvious question of "Why", the next question is "How"? How do they stay warm (and alive)? Introducing Bar Mitts. These groovy handlebar covers of sorts are the warmest answer to cold weather riding I've found yet. I've had mine now for about a month. And while we haven't had sub zero temps, we have had teens and we've had freezing rain. I've been out on the Pugsley in both and my hands have been toasty warm. In fact, just the other morning I headed out for a pre-work ride. The temperature was in the teens and I ended up having to stop and take my lobster mitts off cuz my hands were sweaty hot. Bar Mitts attach to any standard mountain bike or road bike handlebar easily and can be used with or without gloves. Come on in to the shop, check mine out and pick up a set for yourself and the rider on your Christmas list. 

Coffee, Super Sales, and Parades!!

We’re planning a big week here at Bluedog Cycles and here’s the scoop.

It’s official!!! Brewdog is open. The coffee shop has been under construction for some time now and we are finally opening the doors. We have been licensed, trained by the pros at Kickapoo Coffee. We put together a menu, and Kait, Alycann, and Bryn are ready to pour it on.

Stop by this week and enjoy a cup of coffee while you do your Christmas shopping, or just belly up to the coffee bar, grab a fancy espresso drink, and hang out with some friends. We will be open late on Friday for the Twinkle Fest Parade so you can warm up before the fun event.

Bluedog will be open this Friday on the “big shopping day”. We will open our doors at noon (we need to ride off the Thanksgiving turkey first) and stay open through the Twinkle Fest Parade. For the big sale we’re blowing everything out. Everything is on sale on Friday and Saturday. All items are 20-50% off including 2011 bikes, Ibex wool, Atlas snowshoes, Rossignol Nordic skis, and Vernon Trails’ garb. Some of last years bikes, clothes, bags, and accessories will be marked down as low as 50% off. Come by and do your Christmas shopping locally for your favorite outdoor player.

And finally, Bluedog Cycles will be participating again in the Twinkle Fest Parade. This year we will be meeting in the large parking lot behind Nelson’s Agri-Center right next to the Warehouse (look for the Bluedog Cycles white van) at 6:45pm for the short, but super fun parade. Afterwards we will be partying at the shop. Prizes will be given to the best decorated rider and/or bike.

We look forward to seeing you this week and hope to play with you all soon.

Twinkle Fest Parade

Calling all riders and parade lovers!

The Twinkle Fest Parade is quickly approaching the town of Viroqua, and Bluedog Cycles is looking for parade riders. Every year, on the Friday night after Thanksgiving we decorate our bikes, don our warm wears, and ride our trusted two-wheeled steeds through the streets of Viroqua as the most enthusiastic group in the Twinkle Fest Parade. This year we will be meeting in the large parking lot behind Nelson’s Agri-Center right next to the Warehouse (look for the Bluedog Cycles white van) at 6:45pm to do our pre-ride warm-ups and practice our choreographed riding tricks. As always, the best decorated rider/bike will be rewarded with a gift certificate from your favorite local bike shop. After the parade, we will head to the shop for a little party. Please pass this along to anyone that you think might enjoy being in a parade, and we’ll see you on Friday night.

Happy Thanksgiving from our staff and please eat responsibly.