by Mike Gin
Staff Writer
Walnut Creek, CA. It's been in the making since 1992, when a fork in the trail changed the lives of many riders. Go right? Go left? Instinctively, I went left, screaming down the hill for close to a mile. I was at one with the trail. I was leaving my competitors in the dust. Then, all of a sudden to my surprise, I had caught up with the Expert category racers - yes!. No. They were riding their bikes back up the hill. "You're going the wrong way dude" replied an angry rider. The rest is history.
Team Wrong Way was founded with one thing in mind - to con, I mean get enough friends to buy into the idea of two fanatical mountain bicyclists - to have their very own custom designed jerseys.
You will become a member of Team Wrong Way with the purchase of our jersey. These jerseys were designed to be cool, and yet more affordable than those hideous $60-$70 Italian thangs. At only $45 sans tax, you'll want to buy two. Tell friends. They'll make great Christmas gifts.
Some of you are probably asking, "45 bucks, is that some kind of joke?" No it isn't. These jerseys are made through a process called sublimation - that's the actual dying, not silk screening of the material. Therefore, the material does not lose any of it's important properties such as breathability, wickability, and dryability. Whew!
The entire jersey making process is a tedious one. Calling companies to ask permission to use their logos and receiving photo-ready artwork. Making changes to the design when a company says, "No, we'd rather not" or "please submit a written proposal and we'll get back to you in six months".
So for those of you who think that we're trying to make a profit on this whole deal, guess again. This idea was not a good investment. But who really cares - this is all in good fun.
United Press International
Durango, CO. As an added bonus for becoming a Team Wrong Way member (in Top 40 radio DJ voice), you will receive a monthly newsletter featuring hard hitting, highly opinionated commentary, race news, tech and fitness tips, product reviews, classified ads, and trail issues. Golly gee willickers - all for one low price!
So if you haven't already paid Ron Chai, please send a check for $55 to the above address, by 11/14/94, made payable to: Mike Gin. Please include your size. We expect to have the jerseys by early December and to you soon thereafter.
Here comes the sales pitch: Since we are giving you the jerseys at cost and your first year's membership to Team Wrong Way free, any donation would be greatly appreciated. Things like IMBA (see below) club membership dues ($30 annually) and postage add up pretty quickly. So to keep Team Wrong Way going strong, please--no, we beg you to give an extra $5.
Associated Press
Boulder, CO. Now some serious stuff. Team Wrong Way is a member club of the International Mountain Bicycling Association (IMBA). So we ask that you follow IMBA's rules of the trail:
Ride on open trails only. Respect trail and road closures.
Leave no trace. Be sensitive to the dirt beneath you.
Control your bicycle.
Always yield the trail. Make known your approach well in advance.
Never spook animals.
Plan ahead. Know your equipment, your ability, and the area
in which you are riding - and prepare accordingly.
Please respect other trail users. Show courtesy and respect to all trail users, at all times. We're all members of the trail family -- we must learn to share. If you choose not to follow these rules, we kindly ask you to NOT EVEN BOTHER SENDING IN YOUR CASH FOR THE JERSEY. We don't want you and neither does the sport of mountain bicycling (I told you hard hitting and highly opinionated). We all have a responsibility, not just to our team, but to our gracious sponsors who allowed us to use their logos, and mountain bicycling as a whole. If you feel as though I'm preaching, well, I am. We all need to do our part to ensure that uneducated extremists do not close ALL trails to mountain bikes. Plus we don't want to piss off our sponsors. That wouldn't be cool.
For you girlie-men, err, I mean roadies, in the group, we're still waiting for you to use the force and come over from the dark side. Don't forget these rules when you come over.
Associated Press
Moab, UT. Initially, fun was our intention for this team/club. However, more and more we felt that we should become involved in the very important issue of trail access. I recently spoke with the Executive Director of IMBA, Tim Blumenthal, and he was excited to hear about our team wanting to support IMBA. We agreed that Team Wrong Way should commit to performing trail maintenance. Don't panic, I haven't signed up each member for 1,000 hours of service. Tim suggested that each member try their best to commit 20 hours per year to trail maintenance. That's it - less that 2 hours per month. With as much enjoyment as the sport gives us, we should all give something back to it so that we will have fun on mountain bikes for many years to come. Right?!
This section will address trail issues (hence the title), including maintenance and education info, and projects underway. I may also include a running tally of the time spent by each member on trail maintenance (unless our numbers are really lame). So once you start performing trail maintenance, either write, phone, or E-mail me with your time spent. I will also attempt to coordinate group trail maintenance projects throughout the year. For those of you out of the area, I will try to provide you with information applicable to your area.
None. The season is over for the sane riders. Good luck in the upcoming season to the 'cross dudes (any out there?).
Here is the first fitness tip, tech tip, and product review. Enjoy.
Fitness Tip #1 - Wipe the dust and cobwebs from your bike and ride it.
Tech Tip #1 - Keep your chain clean and lubed - that doesn't mean a spray of Tri Flow once per year Pete.
Product Review #1 - Onza Aggro and Honch tires - Killer Dude. Enough said. (Actually after riding them for awhile - THEY SUCK!!!)
(In the future, these sections will be a little bit more detailed).
None at this time. Please send a description of the item(s) for sale, including the price.
If everyone gave just a little ...
I welcome ANY feedback from team members, be it good, bad, or ugly. For those of you who would like to contribute in any way (fitness/tech tips/product reviews, stories, items for sale, trail news, $$$), please do so. I'll do my best to include it in the newsletter (of course, any stuff deemed "pretty weenie" will not be included). I'll set up group rides and monthly/ quarterly meetings throughout the year (schedule and format to be determined). I don't expect everyone to be as gung-ho about this as I am (except the other person who helped concoct this crazy idea, who will remain nameless - his initials however are Ron Chai), but I think we can have a lot of fun doing this.