Papa Wolf Supply Co. 1st Annual Moto Show

It had been a busy few weeks and I have been trying to get some good miles in on the bike before the winter hits as well as catch up on editing from some of the events I have recently been to. A few weeks back I stopped over at my buddy’s event his company was hosting, it was the first ever “Welcome East” Community Motorcycle Show and let me tell you it was a super rad time. So many awesome motorcycles and mopeds, stuff I honestly didnt even knew existed. You could tell how much love went into each and every bike, lots of hours of blood, sweat, and hard work making each bike into a work of art. I had a camera with me so I figured I would take a few shots, check them out below!!

2014 Rapha Gran Prix

So I decided to do something different this year, instead of grabbing all my camera this year I really wanted to enjoy the Rapha Gran Prix as much as possible. So I grabbed my d700 and 50 mm lens and headed to the races. Talk about a crazy race this year, it should have been the Rapha Dust Bowl. Per usual Mr. Powers was in optimal form taking first place both days. Take a look at some of the madness captured from the day.

The days Main sponsor

I always take this shot.. I think its because I love super-x’s so much

a soft sandy day

everyones friends before the race

finally it starts

The men are awaiting the start

Tims our local hero

fans at this race are the best!!

face of determination

waiting for his post race interview

all smiles after two days of being #1

2014 Portsmouth Criterium

Man do I love crit racing!!! everything about it is awesome, all the flashy expensive bike and wheels, the different teams all kitted out looking pro, the racers working together and yelling at each other, the fans, and the races themselves. Probably the most exciting thing of this years bicycle season is the return of the Portsmouth Criterium. I love this town, I have solid roots imbedded there and any event is close to the heart. After a one year hiatus Mr. Thompson Riley was able to work some magic (with lots of help from his racing teammates) to bring the crit back to the lovely streets of Portsmouth. I ran around for the day and captured everything I could. Take a look at the pictures below. (THANKS TO THOMPSON AND ALL THE VOLUNTEERS FOR SUCH AN AMAZING EVENT THIS YEAR!!!!)

Nothing like bike racing in downtown Portsmouth.

Ryan Kelley the instagram/twitter king

the big wigs line up

the man the myth the legend!! the guy that made it all happen this year.

And they are off!!

Cal Giant rider Ben Wolfe set the extremely fast pace right off the line.

the speed riders were coming around turn two was insane!!

the portsmouth natives working together to try and close some of Bens huge break

This guy is on another level this year!!

sprint for 2nd

sprint for 3rd

Ben thanking his team for all the hard work

The best Park of the day is everyone is friends before and after there race

Highland OverMountain Enduro

I shot these photos a few weeks ago but have been slammed with some editing and other events so I haven’t yet got them onto the world wide web. Highland Overmountain was a super fun event to witness and photograph this year, talk about a NARLY course!! I honestly can’t believe the capabilities of trails bikes these days, guys and gals are now riding things that 5 years ago was only ridden on full on Downhill bikes. Check out the photos below and keep your eyes open for another update on another event later this afternoon.

Happy Monday everyone!!!

Cars were extending for what seamed like forever down the access road

Vendors out in full force with tons of new “enduro specify” offerings

lots of bike porn!!

the wheels that keep the mountain running

rider sit and await their start times

the first rock drop on stage one

it could have gone way worse for this guy

putting the pedal stroke in on the second part of stage one

loamy goodness on stage 2

the top of stage two seemed to be all steep loamy shoots

transfer stage from 2-3 saw a lot of riders walking instead of pedaling

stage 3 separated the men from the boys!!

Marin rider Kyle Warner was so fast through most of stage three!

2014 Beverly Gran Prix

I love bicycle racing, LOVE LOVE LOVE LOVE IT!!!! Whether it is road bikes, cross bikes, or mountain bikes I can’t get enough of it. My most favorite kind of racing is Criterium races. For those of you who don’t know what a “Crit” (the slang term for a criterium race) is let me explain. Take 50 or so cyclist put them on a closed mile or so flat course with four or more corners and let them ride as fast as they can for an hour. What a crit really is an hour of calculated chaos. Its guys and gals rubbing elbows and bumping tires trying to get to the front, the most safe part of the peloton. Crits are an absolute blast to watch, if I have nails let by the end of the race I am lucky. Watching the riders barrel themselves into turns at 25+ miles an hour with the chance of going down and strapping carbon and skin across the pavement definitely lends for some anxiousness. Not only are crits fun to watch but they are a blast to photograph, luckily living in New England there is a pretty good series of crit races all summer long. After work on Wednesday I grabbed my camera and shot down to Beverly, MA for the annual Beverly Gran Prix. After taking a few wrong turns and dealing with slow moving traffic 55 mins later I finally made it to the race venue. As I made my way to the track I could hear the sounds of shifting derailleurs and carbon aero wheels cutting through the air. I knew it was going to be a fun evening. The Beverly track was one of the more crazy crits I have been to. With some very fast and very narrow 90 degree turns there would be a high chance for some crashes. Sure enough on the second lap of the pro mens race there was a big crash in turn one. As a cyclist the sound of carbon/aluminum grinding across the pavement is never a good sound to hear, all you can do is cross your fingers and hope whomever it is makes it out alright.

Interms of photos this place was epic. The light was so perfect! the setting sun was back lighting one fast stretch of road allowing me to capture the athletes in perfect last light conditions. Beverly Gran Prix was and amazing race to both watch and capture, I can’t wait for next year. Check out the photos below and let me know what you think.

Ford Murphy From BOLOCO

Adam Myerson setting the pace through corner one.

Perfect Ligth!!

Moto out front clearing the way for the field

Three man break

Heads up for that man hole!!

nothing like the fans

pure speed!!

Christian Page went down early in turn one, got back up quickly and hammered the rest of the race

with one lap to go the suffering was high

Mavic Nascar Event

Man what an AMAZING weekend!!!! as many of you may know I have really two loves in life, photography and bikes. Along with owning my own photography business I work for Mavic Inc, one of the worlds largest bicycle wheel manufacturers (We do a lot of other cool stuff too, but wheels are kind of our thing). Early in the week we were contacted by Marty Allen. Marty runs Riverside Race team one New England premier cycling racing teams. Marty was interested in Mavic traveling up to Loudon during the weekend of Sprint Cup race and providing neutral support as well as riding with some of the crew and racers during their annual cycling ride. As soon as I heard the request , I was game. Nascar racing has always had a soft spot in my heart. As a young boy up until the age of about ten, my father and I went to all the major races at Loudon. I have some great memories from there and I was excited for embarking on a new adventure. Dave, a fellow employee and one of Mavic’s marketing team, came along and Saturday morning we met bright and early and headed to Loudon.

Upon arrival we met up with both Marty, Billy (one of Riversides elite racers), Mike, and Sarah (Mike and Sarah are part of the Mavic neutral support team). Marty provided us with our entrance passes into the infield of New England Motor Speedway, we crossed our fingers and hoped we wouldn’t have any problems. After making it past security and finding a prime parking spot for the Mavic car, we got to roam around the pits and garages before preparing for our ride. You can not even imagine how much science goes into dialing each of the drivers cars in, it was truly amazing and unbelievable. I tip my cap to all the crew members. As amazing as the drivers are, without those guys none of it would be possible. The amount of work that goes into dialing each car in for each track is truly amazing.

After the practice and the open stock class finished racing we were ready to embark on a ride in which neither Dave or myself had any idea about. All we knew is when we asked Marty what to expect he said it was “extremely” hilly. After a quick meet and greet we rolled out on our 50 mile ride. Did I mention we had a quick cameo on ESPN while leaving the track, I guess that makes us kind of famous. Marty didn’t lie the route was “EXTREMELY” hilly and I was in the pain cave for much of it but I was happy I held on.

I don’t think if I wasn’t with the group I was with a would have honestly made it all the way, I haven’t been on a ride in my cycling career with over 2000 ft of climbing this ride had close to 5000 ft. It was a big personal challenge but riding with the crew and having Aric Almirola (car #43) join us was a huge confidence boost. Let me take a second to mention Aric is probably one of the most down to earth coolest guys I have met. You never know what to expect when meet a famous athlete but I can tell you this Aric is a total class act!!!

It was a great weekend spreading the Mavic love, meeting some great guys, and suffering along their sides. Can’t wait to do it all again in September!!

P.S. Extra Special thanks to Marty and his dad for helping me have a killer Sunday race day at the track with my dad.

Take a look at some photos and videos from the day!!

New England Motor Speedway is huge even from far away!!

Mavic Crew in the Pits!!

The amount of work that goes into dialing one of these cars in is truly amazing. Marty explained to us that there is a specialist for basically every part of the car.

Aric’s car being pushed into his garage for some extra dialing.

Mr. Stewart

View down pit row

Rolling out for our ride. Super excited to have Mr. Almirola (car 43#) joining the group.

Small break after the first climb.

Aric Talking with one of the crew chiefs at our midway stop

Dave refueling at the half way point.

myself suffering in the pain cave!!

What a great crew, by far my favorite ride of the year can’t wait to do it again in September!!

here are a view quick clips from my gopro, sorry for the extreme shakiness and crazy wind noise I forgot my gopro case and stabilizer at the office. If you turn the sound down its not so bad.

 

MTB shoot with Orbea Athlete Ian Herchenroder

I have been itching to shoot some new stuff lately and since last week I had a lens rental from Lens Pro To Go I gave my good friend Ian Herchenroder a call to see if he would be interested in shooting a local spot. Ian is riding for Orbea bikesthis year and had reached out a while back to see if I had any interest in shoot some new material, it just so happened our schedules aligned perfectly for Saturday afternoon. After a brief pre-rain shower the sun finally broke through the clouds and we where able to shoot some of the spots we had in mind. Its always fun combining two things you love specially when you can do it along with good friends. Check out the images below!!!!!!

  

 

What happened to “Made in the U.S.A”

Whatever happened to the “good ole” days when you would turn a product over and see “Made in the U.S.A”? For the most part in today’s world the products we buy on a daily basis are made somewhere else in this world where it is more cost effective and results in companies making more money. I work daily in a industry that revolves around having things made across seas. It actually saddens me to think I have to legitimately go out and search for products that are still made in America by hard working Americans. My good friend and his business partners recently started a business around the whole concept of “Made in the U.S.A” and I must say it is so rad. They have partnered with artists and businesses from across the country that specialize in making amazing hard goods here in the USA, they have amazing product and have had great success thus far in creating something truly special. I made a trip out today to check out some of their new products, I had my camera with me so I took a few snap shots of the space and some of their products. Check them out below and check out the store at http://www.papawolfsupplyco.com .  

    

 

Post Ride Shoot!!!

For cyclist this time of season is the absolute worst!! no longer can we comfortably wear our shorts and t-shirts while we ride through beautiful 90 degree weather, instead we are forced to layer and layer wearing basically wetsuit like materials to keep us both dry and warm while dogging patches of ice and inhaling painful cold air. As miserable as it may seem if you want to be fast you have got to train year round. So with that being said, I jumped in head first buying as much winter clothing as I could and riding as much as I can. I have been a competitive person my entire life so being fast and competing with the fastest riders around is always my goal for the cycling season, O I like to have fun as well. After a very wet, cold and rainy ride on Sunday I thought it was only proper to get a few quick shots of my fellow riding buddy Dan. I made sure it was a super quick shoot because at this point we both had become human bike riding popsicles. Check out the photos below…..

Rye Airfield Fun

So winter is kinda of lame, i mean don’t get me wrong snow is cool but when you like to ride bikes and shoot photos of people riding bikes it somewhat puts a damper on that. My good friend Sasha hit me up the other day and asked if i was interested in shooting some photos at Rye airfield. At first I kind of hesitated, Rye can be a very frustrating place to shoot in dealing with the overall darkness of the environment and the dodging the little scoot kids can be stressful for both you and the 1000’s dollars of equipment you have throughout the park. Because I finally figured out how to get my new flash to work with my pocket wizard tt5 system (its not a nikon flash so it has been kind of a pain figuring out the best mode to use it in) I figured it would be good to start the year off with something a little challenging. Overall it was a bunch of fun!! the park was pretty empty so we had pretty much any and everything to shoot on which was awesome. Take a look at the photos below, they are probably my two personal favorites from the shoot.