Journal

  As we prep for our upcoming season we decided last minute to take a drive to Phoenix AZ for their annual Suffer cat race hosted by our friends over at @TheHeavyPedal & @TrackOrDieNYC . We packed our bags, bikes and took on the 6 hour drive forgetting about the change in Time Zone, but lucky for us we got their just in time even thought we made some pit stops along the way in the middle of nowhere. Felt great to get out of our city for a couple days. We went into the event not knowing the city or what to expect for the alleycat race, all we knew we had to keep up with the fastest locals of the city and make sure our google maps location was on.

   With over 45+ racers attending this event we were stoked to get rolling and of course staying safe on those streets! The suffer cat consisted of 5 checkpoints scattered all over the city with an easy concept: For each checkpoint you went to you had too come back to the start line, There was no order. So as they made us line up our bikes across the streets we knew we had to be one of the first ones out and head to the furthest checkpoint on the manifest. As the rest of the party stayed watching who was coming in, it was hard to tell who was in the lead since everyone scattered and hit different checkpoints making it a close race. 43 miles in and there was one last checkpoint remaining for Rios and Barra along with 2 other athletes. After a couple hours, a few beers and the sun finally setting we saw a White Lazer Helmet sprinting for the finish. RIOS! with all 5 cards from his checkpoints and not far back Barra as well. We were so stoked to get 1st and 2nd for the Annual SufferCat and wouldn't have been possible without the help of some locals and organizers. This was definitely a suffer fest and most importantly a fun race. It is always good to be reminded that its not all serious and about racing crits. We grew up with the love of fixedgear racing in the streets whether it was a checkpoint race or a open course traffic crit, we live this lifestyle and as more pro retired athletes take adaptation of the brakeless track bike only the true riders own it out there on the streets! So if you're one of them keep crushing! Thank you Phoenix for being welcoming and letting us check out your city. Special Thanks to Jesse and the crew at @theheavypedal and @trackordieNYC for the goods times, rad hangs, and keeping us safe out there.

Cover photo by @boostamantefotos Check out more of his coverage here.

This past weekend we headed east towards the Lone Star State, San Antonio TX for the second installment of the Redbull Last Stand. We landed Friday night and headed straight to our dudes at @Bottom Bracket to get our bikes dialed up and join them for a mosey ride trough some of SATX downtown landmarks. As we prepared for Race Day we saw the final line up and knew it was going to be a battle till the end! With some of fastest riders lined up we had one goal in mind, don't be last.

   The Qualifiers started with the Track Category with Heat 1 (us) going up first. With big names in that heat like Colin and Addison we aimed to lay down a fast lap to position a grid spot on the front line. It worked, all 3 of our top riders advanced to the finals landing a spot in the top 15. As we watched the rest of the heats go up we saw some gnarly crashes on turn 1 that made officials widen up the course and not have it too narrow. A good move by the officials and keeping the course as safe as possible. As the qualifiers came to an end we got back on the rollers and started warming up for the Final race of the season for us.

   Out of 92 athletes only 50 qualified for the finals, out of those 50 we were sitting in top 15. As officials called each of us to the start line you can feel the intensity in the air and a sense of relief that this was the final moments before they start gunning down the course at a 28mph average speed. Just like that, BOOM! The race had started and we were moving! With 15 laps in you can see the front field gaining up on the last riders remaining which made things a bit difficult since officials said they weren't going to pull any riders that got lapped so the front pack was unsure if they should go around them. Officials had no choice but to pull just about 10 riders or so from the race and let them keep racing without pulling anyone for about 7 laps, things got sketchy and the race got faster! After a few more laps you could see who was in the top 20 field with all of our 3 riders still in the battle. One by one they started getting picked off as the race grew more intense and everyone with the same state of mind of not being the last one. Overall we came here with one goal and we definitely left it all in the field. We came close and are stoked for the lineup for our 2018 roster. Our San Antonio local James came in at a solid 9th place with our newest team member Barra coming in 11th place. Jerry came close to the top 15 pay out and landed a 16th place finish. We were so stoked at the amount of support we got from everyone specially the locals that kept us going hard, non of this would have been possible with out our supporters. We closed that chapter and headed to @BBSC for the Unofficial Official After Party / Alleycat we were hosting with our friends at Bottom Bracket and the experience was unforgettable. We had a great time with everyone and too many lone stars as we should have. If you appreciate good photography check out some awesome actions shots by our friend @txtroublemaker and give him a follow.

The fourth annual Mission Crit went down in San Francisco, CA and we were stoked to be back in a city full of culture and bikes. This year they had a better system for qualifiers and although our times weren't that great it didn't stop us from shredding with some of the best of the west. We landed a spot in the 30s out of 100 athletes that qualified and only 50 got to participate in the main event.

With top athletes lining up on the start line we knew it wasn't going to be an easy battle and just like that on the first lap the whole field got strung out. We battled to move up spots but with 2 hairpins, each turn the group slowed down, with the front pack gaining every second to get ahead of the chase pack. 

With 7 laps to go the 4 athletes that broke away ended up lapping the field and although it wasn't our best performance we were stoked that the win came back to SoCal, a local and a friend of ours @c.bauke won the race against the heavy hitters. 

The next morning we decided to grab our bikes and explore the city, we ended up doing a 35 mile loop around Golden State Park and across the Golden Gate Bridge. We decided to ride through the city and back towards Mission District to check out Twin Peaks. A local spot for the locals looking for a climb and good views. It was definitely gnarly!

Enjoy these quick recap videos of our team racing along side our friends and the TRKLRD running the streets of the bay! BeyondBrutal x ThroneCycles

While we were stoked to be part of the first ever So Cal Fixed Series we were also stoked that another West Coast race popped up, The Bone Machine Crit in Portland, OR. This was a great opportunity to get the team together and enjoy some fun racing in a different city we have never been too. The last race we all raced together was the Shortline Crit in Long Beach, CA so having this opportunity was great and on the plus side we got to checkout some scenic views. What seemed that most of the locals from Los Angeles made their way up to race it was great to hang out / race with similar faces and of course new ones. We arrived to PDX Friday afternoon hungry of course, so we did a quick scope around the city and got some coffee and food with some locals. We chilled for most of the trip and waited for the big day, Sunday! 

Local LA photographer Julio Boostamante was in town for the race as well and of course he worked his magic behind the lens. With only about 45 registered racers Bone Machine hosted individual time trials for qualifiers and the fastest time having the 1st spot in the grid line up. We qualified in the in the top 15 so we weren't to far behind but that didn't matter because as soon as the race started is full on slayer mode! What seemed to be each lap getting faster the field got strung out and riders started hitting the pavement on the hairpin turns. We tried to play it smart and bridge some gaps and not let a breakaway happen by sitting in the peleton. Maybe running a smaller ratio would have worked better for us but we did what we though was best and with 5 to go it was attack after attack! We went in with one thing in mind, Stay Alive! and we did that! Ha! We came in 10th and 12th in the final race with only 14 or so athletes surviving the carnage, by far one of the best technical courses we have ever raced in. So thanks again Portland, Bone Machine, Grilled Cheese Truck, and all the local coffee shops! See ya soon. For more coverage check out the feeds of @quickdrawdubois , @what_the_heck , @cri.stianmartinez and @thronecycles #CritSLayer

This past weekend was the annual Los Angeles marathon that passes through different cities in the greater LA area including Echo Park, Hollywood, and Santa Monica. There is a bit of history on how the Marathon Crash ride came to be, with the first couple years being a competitive race held by Wolfpack hustle. We are fortunate enough to have such a solid cycling community that attracts riders of all ages and different backgrounds of cycling to come out at 4am to ride bikes. Since the first race we have always been part of this growing culture and glad to have everyone be a part of it. There is no way the city of LA can stop hundreds of cyclist rolling down the marathon course, that's how "The Marathon Crash Ride" came to be. This year we gathered up our team and group of friends to ride with us and try out the new Throne Phantom Limited Edition complete build and the response was remarkable. We started out at Tang's Donuts on Sunset Blvd. and with the help of LAPD escort we rolled west down towards Hollywood. 

We saw a lot of familiar faces and definitely some new ones riding their Throne Cycles builds. The closer we got to the Ocean though the heavier the marine layer got. We estimated about 600 plus riders came out to enjoy this annual ride. It's not everyday you can ride trough the city with no cars on route. The ride ended at Santa Monica beach and we gathered up our crew to hit the pier and enjoy some scenery. We took a stroll along the beach and ended up at Dogtown Cafe for some coffee and breakfast burritos. If you ever plan to visit Los Angeles this would be a great time if you'd like to ride freely on a closed course. Stay posted and check out more pics on our Instagram @thronecycles.

Just like that the series for the Wolfpack Hustle is over. We cant thank Don enough for hosting and holding it down for Los Angeles in the unsanctioned fixedgear races. One thing we enjoy is that it brings out athletes from around the world to showcase their talents. This Crit Finale put our riders to the test. with Red Hook Milan winner and Big Team names like IRDMODENA and Impulse Stage, we knew it was going to be a battle. With the main event being on Saturday Oct. 17th, we packed up our team vehicle and headed east on the 10 fwy on Wednesday night. We drove 1,390 miles towards Texas with a few stops along the way and through one of the craziest Thunder Storms we have ever experienced. We arrived in San Antonio on Thursday night and hung out with some friends and locals of that city. Although it was a bit late it didn't stop us from having a good night, thanks again Bottom Bracket Social Club. Friday morning we woke up and had some delicious breakfast tacos before hitting the road to our main destination, Austin. We hung out that afternoon with some friends that were already in town and relaxed through out the night to be ready for the main event.

9:45am and the alarm clock is ringing as we rush to get ready for the race. We took a quick spin to the Driveway where the race was going to take place, only to find out we were early with enough time to get warmed up. Our team was on Group 4 with a few friends from LA we knew if we stayed close and jammed it as a group we would have a higher chance of getting a good position in the qualifier and that's exactly what we did. With a glitch in the timing chips and what seemed to be a delay while they got that sorted out All 97 racers were allowed to race since the cut was only 15 people. We sat in the 30s so we had a good position. As we calmly waited the Woman track finale was up and that meant our rider Natalie was up. last minute doubts made her run a big ratio that she was not use too and the way these women were riding they didn't hold anything back. With 8 laps to go the front pack caught up to her leaving her no choice but to take a DNF for the first time in the series. 97 racers lined up for the Men Track Finale with our team holding positions in the top 30s. Just as the race started the group was already separated with a few break away attempts, the chase pack, the pelaton, and the stragglers. With 3 laps in riders were already getting pulled and taken off the course because the front pack was coming in hot and for that matter no break away attempts managed to stick. On the 7th lap coming in to the first chicane 2 riders from different teams ended up colliding and falling in the front pack, with no quick choice to be made our team rider Cristian couldn't avoid the crash and in the process ended up going over his bars and resulting in a broken clavicle. We still had Angel and Hector pushing in the front lead working together to crank up the pace. This race was definitely one of the fastest race hosted by Wolfpack Hustle and it came down to the final sprint. With one last attempt to break away from an LA local a 52 year old bridged the gap and went all out on the last sprint winning the Austin Crit. Angel came in at a solid 11th place as he sprinted with Safa from Leader bikes for that top 10 finish. Just behind them was Hector coming in at 16th place. Overall we are stoked on the results of this final race and the achievement our team has accomplished. We have come a long way since we first started and are proud to say that we have established a solid team from the ground up and thanks to our sponsors that continue to support our team. Built not Bought.