Jo Balls Down and Out for a While

Jo Balls had quite the accident last night and has multiple injuries which will keep him off the bike for a while: a scan revealed 4 broken ribs, bruised T12, bashed lung, lacerations & scrapes. He is in the hopital cantonal in Geneva.

If you want to send him an sms of encouragement and don't have his number, contact me and I will send it to you.

Finally, a huge hats off to every one who helped get Balls off the saléve and to the hospital, especially Old Jo (Papy) who stayed with Balls at the hospital until early this morning.

Meanwhile; everyone ride safe and keep two wheels down!

Lastly, get well soon Balls.

Missile

A souvenir from Zermatt ...

Regardez "What the f!!! with that !" sur YouTube

La Menoge Ride - Pictures

A fabulous Twist & Turn ride with all you need of Climbing effort. Some proof of that ride, points claim in addition of Balls comments:
+ 1 for All for being there early Sunday morning
+ 1 for Boum-Boum for playing flawlessly the Ushuaia guide
+ 0.5  for Balls for his discovering of the Rooster Bakery Open from Dusk to Dawn (cakes, pizza & cokes were good fuel for rest of the ride)
+ 0.5 for Papy providing wise advise to Balls while installing awning under a burning sun after the ride..

La Menoge ride

Boum boum, Papy & Balls enjoyed a beautiful ride up and then down alongside the Menoge river. Great day out.

Cat MTB weekend - update # 3 - Destination: Zermatt!

It's done! Decided! The doodle is closed, and the Jo's have spoken. This year, the Cat MTB weekend will take place on August 3, 4, and 5 in Zermatt.

This is the result of the doodle:

So we will be 9 people in total. I still hope some of the other Jo's will be able to rearrange their calendars to join us. The next step will be to secure accommodation, so we'll start making calls.

Please block your calendars and order the parts you need NOW so the bikes will be in perfect shape for the ride.

In terms of organization:

Balls: thanks a lot for your offer to help! I'll take you up on your offer in the coming days, to help us make calls to the potential bike-friendly hotels.

BoumBoum: should we find a time to go over your list of hotels over a beer? Do you have some time next weekend?

Dopey: can we count on your help to recommend the trails? Do you already have a place in mind for the Friday DH?

Missile: can you confirm your presence to the Friday DH, and to the rest of the weekend? Your answer on the doodle said you needed to double-check with your vacation plans.

All other Jo's: anybody else want to join for the downhill on friday Aug 3rd?

Papy: will give you a call to discuss Caterpillar-specific issues.

Labrico: you now have about 2 months to find a gonzesse in Zermatt...should be plenty of time for you.

3Decis: are you really not coming?!

Nascar: any suggestions for trails are welcome, the sooner we start the discussions, the better.

Alpine: you won't become a real Jo until you join the Cat MTB weekend...

BeauJoeLais: I'm counting you in for the hotel, we will not let you sleep in your car...mainly because we might need it if Simon has a bad snoring night.

Limoncello: we're still waiting to hear from you!

Husky: anybody out there?  Any chance you will join?

Tanya: should you come to realize that this weekend is (a lot) more fun than a triathlon, we'll be delighted to have you with us! Might even warrant a name...

I hope you're all as excited as I am about this weekend...we're going to ride in a truly spectacular place!

Last but not least, I've heard that the Goat is in Zurich so no excuse not to join us. Zulu, if you want to win the most km. traveled award, you'll need to fly in again this year! Bring Honeybadger with you if you do!

That's all for now, folks. To be continued!

Nameless.

Balls & Zulu....in Jo'burg!

Balls & Zulu in Jo'burg. Bikers reunited...next time on the bike please!

Smile...! Good to see that the friendship goes beyond the Petit Saleve.

Ride Report - The Late Show!!

Riders: Joe Balls, Tanya, The Missile
What: Bois de Versoix + Mont Mussy/Mourex
Time: 2 hours, approx 35 km
Incidents: None!!

Points: 1 for all for showing up, 1 for the missile for hosting!!


The Lady's Got Balls Award: (To be clear, Not Balls' Balls!!) Tanya +1 for RTDCI (rapid technical descending capability improvement)
The "Joe Le Taxi" Award: Joe Balls for ferrying Tanya around +0.5
The "I'm too hungry for my friends" award: Dopey for NOT coming to dinner -0.25 !!!

Thumbs up for the weather which was the complete reverse of last week!

Finaly, sorry, no photos, Joe paparazzi was at home.....BOOO

Da Boys are back in town...Bord du Rhone

Joe's and Joezette what a fantastic first ride. Top weather, no flats and nobody lost...all big smiles. Thank you for joining.

Here are the ride statistics:

Length: 35km

Average speed: 13 km/h

Meter climbed: 480m

Duration: 2:45 hours

Riders: 12

Newbs: 3

Points recommendations:

- Joe Rno Alpine...stair master: +1 point

- We are back!! Balls and Husky: +1 point...We hope to see you again, we miss your laughter, jokes and "de dieu de dieu's"!

- The Joe's that brought a New bee...+1 point (Please claim your new bee point)

- Eating points / Visiting my friends points, Labrico: +0.5 point

- The quiz: Missile...the only one to give (half) an answer. +0.5 point for getting it half right, -1 point for not adhering to the quiz rules...! The answer: Santa Cruz Tall Boy Long Travel Carbon.

Other point recommendations are welcome, claiming OTB's or blood...to late!

The Pics:

Ready?

The start....

Mine is bigger than yours..!

Limoncello...smile please!

Vroooaaaaming a long the Bord du Rhone.

A light conversation.

Tanya negotiating the wall.

Meat cream!

Up yours...!

A fine evening eating dead & sliced cow...

The best part of the evening...picking dessert.

Da Gay Boyz...!!

Mega Powder Day in Crans-Montana

It all started after Didier Cuche won the Streif for the fifth time...powder snow had piled up the whole night for us to shred...nobody could move across the ski resort but Balls and Papy skis on their shoulders ! The slopes and the sky opened up, powder under our skis to descend on virgin snow amongst the trees and over cliffs...still with me ? Not too shabby huh ? Now enjoying - not the waitress but a Toscanan Nipozzano red wine....Until Balls decides to have a last drink at Senso's bar....where we met Tequila's and Zoef "better" compatriots...

Blizzard in Crans-Montana !

The Mini made it on ice and snow covered roads, overtaking stranded many cars, bringing safely Balls and Papy to Swiss heaven Restaurant Le Mayen where they stuffed their faces - getting ready for magical powder skiing day ! More please !

CHOULEX in the sun ! The pics October 18, 2011

Balls....always smiling!

Dan the man....as guest rider.

Lets go....

Pedal damn it....!

A view from the nightly top (Petit Saleve)

Wine 2 Whales - Go Jo Balls!!!

Go Joe Balls - currently in Zuid Afrika....doing whales whilist drinking wine....??

http://www.wines2whales.co.za/

Last Ride of the "Official" Season!!

I'm back and that means I score points !!.....Yay..

And so do Jo Balls, Papy, Dopey and Labrico!!

So approx 39 km, for 650 metres climbed over 2.15 hours...

Fabulous autumn colours brought out the feminine sifde of us (especially Papy) but it was truly magnificent!

Pointage
The "Host"  - Missile - usual pontage (too few too late to make any difference though...)
The "Tightrope Rider" Award - Dopey - Riding a concrete skinny 3 metres above the stream - 5 points !!
The "Last but not least" Award - Everyone 1 extra point for the last point scoriong ride of the season
The "Depleted Uranium" Award - Missile - No WMD here just a plain old fashioned bonk !!!

No mechs, flat tires (although Missile borrowed a pump) but fun was had by all....

Soup was made with love and care and eaten with much enthusiasm by all - glad you enjoyed it !
Although...much duvet lifting will follow tonight in various households...cabbage was in the soup......!!!

Anyway... a fine season ender and enjoyed by all.

But so long as its nice we keep riding!!!

Looking forward to the winter season of biking, snowshoeing and skiing with all you guys !!

The new Harley

Joe Balls, Papy & I had a surprise in Voirons last September

Introducing Olivier's electric motorcycle, who lives in Veigy and was a mechanic

As you can see, it's a prototype, but it allowed him to climb the road from Saint-Cergues to the forest track at 40km/h! Of course you can also pedal;-)

The engine has 1000 watts and the big ring has 60 teeth, who can do better?

He has even given a nickname to his electric motorcycle, in text ...

... and in picture! Hmm, I still think between the Harley and the electric motorcycle!