Gibt es hier einen Tattoo-Künstler auf IBC? Ich glaub wir brauchen doch einen für die WM!
Neulich in der Zeitung ...
The Daily Republic
Faifield CA
29/11/2003
Local cyclist leaves her mark on the competition
By Angela Borchert
FAIRFIELD -- Linda Eckhart wanted the win, but she wanted the tattoo a little more.
After coming in third the year before, Eckhart had her sights set on the grand prize. The man and woman who crossed the finish line in first place at the Single Speed World Championships in Australia won a tattoo signifying they won the race.
Considering the event has only been in existence for five years, Eckhart - a Fairfield High graduate - considers herself in good company.
"It is a bragging rights race," she said. "It is a well-known fact in Australia that the winner of the race has to get a tattoo. If the person in the lead doesn't want to get a tattoo, they lag back and let someone else win."
But Eckhart was in it to win. Then she had the tattoo, which features the race logo, put on her lower back.
The Single Speed World Championships was a 28-kilometer (about 20 miles) criterium. Each lap was five miles with a LeMans style start, where the riders run about 50 yards, pick up their bike and start. A 2-km climb welcomed them as they started.
Approximately 200 riders from all across the world participated in the race riding for the right to bear a tattoo.
Racers were allowed only to compete with single-speed bicycles, though Eckhart rides her single-speed in geared bike races. Any bike can be made into a single-speed, but the most popular are mountain bikes and BMX bikes.
"People say we are crazy to do what we do," said Eckhart, who has been riding single-speeds for almost three years. "It is extreme and difficult."
The course in Australia was hilly and with just one gear, riders are forced to pedal the entire time - uphill and down.
"That is why the race is so prestigious," she said. "You have to pedal going up and you can't put it in a bigger gear going down. It is hard core."
Eckhart has a full resume of achievements.
She won British Columbia's 24 Hours of Adrenaline race in August, which she considers a big accomplishment.
"The object of that race is to do more laps than your competitor," Eckhart explained. "I did three more laps than anyone in my category."
The athletic Eckhart, who played softball at Fairfield High until graduating in 1986, started riding mountain bikes and was "hooked" right away. She purchased a used bike and shortly upgraded to a downhill bike. When she realized she was struggling to compete, she bought a single speed to become stronger and faster.
"It is so much fun," she said. "Very well-known cyclists and Olympians have won the World Championships. Those are elite riders. I am not there yet, but I am trying."
Eckhard's training is extensive. She takes a weekly mountain bike ride, commutes to work on her bike, does some road riding - though she hasn't competed in any road races - lifts weights and runs.
On the weekends, she goes for long bike rides.
"Mostly I work out every day," she said. "It is pretty intense."
Next year figures to be busier for Eckhart. She plans on defending her title at the World Championships in Germany while also competing in a coast-to-coast race in Costa Rica, as well as races in Oregon and California.
But she doesn't mind all the traveling and strain on her body, after all, she started doing this as a hobby.
"I enjoy it so much," Eckhart said. "And I do well at it, I want to see how far I can take it.
"If I start wondering why I am out here, I just remind myself that I am here to have fun. I will pop a wheelie or jump over a rock and put the fun back into it. I don't want to take it so serious."
) Nokon, Avocet 02 Air 40, Rennreifen (wie breit sind denn die?) , Ritchey WCS-Road Kurbel + passendes Ti-Innenlager..... 
Aber das hat nun gar nichts mit MTB zu tun.
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