Wednesday, Feb. 18th 2009. " THIRTEEN "

This evening we celebrated 2 birthdays. Mike Tretter(34) and Michael Boyd(20) Thanks to Tracy for the cupcakes and cards, we sang Happy birthday with guitar background noise and had a great time.

Mt and MiniMike are two of our veteran players. Michael started playing bike polo at 10 years old. WOW how time flies. Happy birthday Boys !!

Thirteen freekin players. With 7 on 6, it gets a little rugged around the edges. 26 wheels, 13 sticks and one ball. Jim said it best. " With so many players, I kinda hold back to be safe ". I agree. It really gets crazy. If it continues to grow, maybe we should consider smaller teams and lower total points.

MiniMike flatted again. Broken valve stem. Tracy had the crash of the evening. Troy took out our only female player. Last I saw was her in a Superman pose coming off the bike. Photo op?

Our young guys were amazing too. They played hard, scored, defended and yet safe. Difficult to do with so many bikes.

Team#1: Tommy,Troy, MT, Piranha#1, Eric and Mooky

Team#2: Jay, Jim, MiniMike, Piranha#2, Tracy, Marco, and Me.

Whew !

Only played two games. Long games. Tiring games. Felt good games.

Probably gonna play this Sunday at 1pm

Photos: Tracy and Thomas, MiniMike and MT

JB

Wednesday, Feb.11th " NINE "

A little late on my post, but here we go.

For those of you who read this, friends, past players, current players, you know why we play, and play hard. What is it about our game that keeps us together. I think Mike Tretter summed it up when he finished 5 laps of the 24 hour 'Ol Pueblo MTB race last weekend. "Polo is more dangerous I think". So there you go ! Life on the edge. A bike, stick and a ball. How simple.

3 games played. 9 players. All close again. MiniMike is wearing us out. Adam calls it a "Juke" . A move that Michael does that completely destroys your brain.

Team#1: Jay, Piranha#2, MT, Jim and Me

Team#2: Troy, MiniMike, Piranha#1 and Mooky.

See you all next Wed. the 18th at 7pm sharp.

Peace....JB

Results:

http://fawcetts.us/liveresults/results/TeamPages/400.html
Troy, Mike and Bill results from the 24hour race

Mountain Bike Racing Alive and Well in Arizona

Saturday, Feb. 7th at McDowell Mountain Park, Sport Track, I was pleasantly surprised that mountain bike racing is alive and doing well. Watching the 10 and 12 year olds and then the 40/49 year olds was awesome. That look in their eyes, and their body language tells the story. Pain is gain ! I overheard one little boy ask if he could do it again. No race was less than 13 miles. And the pro's did 29.

Wednesday, Jan. 28th 2009 "ELEVEN"

One of these times, I am going to do Biographies on each Veteran player. Really! Probably would make a pretty good book. You would have all the right ingredients; sports, athletes, scoreboard, trash talk, drama, action, and injury. Jeeze. Sounds like super bowl 43.

This evening was no different. Non-stop action. Matt contributed tonight. Great defensive moves. Mooky(Adam) was out of the saddle, bearing down on the ball. But of course, MiniMike was the bike polo god of the night. I think his team won all three games.

I wonder if Tom Osborn reads our blog ? One of our founding fathers of our game as it is today. Give us a shout if you do.

Team #1: Jay, Troy, Matt, Piranha#1, Piranha#3 and Me

Team#2: Mike T. Piranha#2, Mooky, Big Tim and MiniMike

There is talk again of Sunday games. There is no question, daylight games are better, and I for one am in favor of it.

See you next Wed. Feb 4th, at 7pm sharp.

JB

Wed. Jan. 21st. 2009 "TWELVE"

Unbelievable. How can you have nine adults(one female) and 3 pre-teen players, 12 bikes, 12 sticks, 24 wheels, one lighted ball, a monty python start, and only knocked out one tooth!!! We are really good ! Sorry Tommy you had to be the one to suffer a broken anything. Teeth don't grow back. A direct mallet hit to the lower front teeth, and not draw blood, hurts. Bad ! And yet he played on. Thanks for the sacrifice.

Another new guy showed up. Tommy's friend Eric. Hope we didn't scare him off. It would be nice to see him again.

3 games played. Unfortunately, Jay The Mailman's team won all three. MiniMike and the Piranha were on again. I know Troy. It was the new bike.

Team#1: Jay, MT, Piranha#1, Piranha#2, MiniMike and me.

Team#2: Troy, Mr. and Mrs. Lyons(Tommy,Tracy) Adam, Jim and Eric

If you are reading this and live within a 25 mi. radius, you are missing out on some great cycling fun. Not to mention 20 yard wind sprints for a couple hours.

Next Wed. at 7pm sharp !

Peace...JB

Pics: Poor Tommy !

Piranha in a tree

MT and Mailman Jay

Wednesday, Jan. 14th Unexpected Numbers

Way too much fun. The days emails indicated that 6 confirmed players would show up. No baby sitter, injured reserve, funerals, grounded, all things that keep the most hardcore from playing. In the parking lot though, people kept coming. It was great. 5 on 4. Three games, nine players !!

Again..It doesn't matter how we split, it usually is fairly even. Team #1 won the first. Team #2 won the second. Team #1 won the 3rd. All close games. And some amazing things too. Jacob(Piranha #1) stopped a goal by knocking down a high shot backwards ! Totally mind blowing. And ya got to love MT's front brake action. Makes for some great cycling acrobatics. Believe it or not , I had the only mechanical. Chain locked-up behind cassette. Thanks Jim, Mike and Tommy for you expertise.

Nice to see Marco, Matt and Mooky able to be there...Thanks !

Team #1: Jay, Jim, Marco and Me

Team #2: Mt, Tommy, Matt, Piranha #1 and Mooky

Next Wednesday at 7

JB

Wednesday, Jan. 7th 2009 Polo and a Guest

A cool evening, 9 polo players, no repairs, no blood, an experienced guest player, and 3 games played. Even with a late start, we managed to get our school aged boys home by 10:30 or so. MT and MiniMike ruled the night. Skill and lucky rebound shots helped them to a 2 game to 1 win.

Marco showed up via the internet. An experienced guy originaly from Arizona, tried bike messenger in the east, polo on hard court, and grass polo elsewhere. Sounds like he is in transition back to Az. He was a welcome addition to our style of play. We all hope he comes back.

Team #1: MT, MiniMike, Piranha#2, and Tracy

Team#2: Jay, Marco, Tommy, Piranha#1, and Me

We are trying for another day game. Super fun. I will keep ya posted.

Missed: Troy, Jim, Adam, and Big Tim. Next time.

See you all Wed. the 14th at 7pm sharp.

JB

Happy New Year 2009

Daytime play is the best. January 1st. 2009, 8 players showed up and 4 games were played. Great stuff.

Video is Troy scoring.

Team #1: Jay, MT, Piranha #3(Leo) and Mooky(Adam)

Team #2: Troy, Piranha#2(Jacob) Jim and Me

See ya next Wed. January 7th at 7pm...Hope your new year is the best !

JB