"LITTLE WHEELS MAKE ME FLY"

Jeff Linder, Bike Friday evangelist and Boeing 777 pilot has packed his candy apple red Air Friday in its suitcase over 500 times.

He also has taken his tikit to Sea Otter, and his Air Llama to Fort Ord for some racing.

He is one hardcore mountain biking champ at age 60+, as evidenced by his numerous wins on regular mountain bikes.

In 2009, he decided to put Bike Friday's Air Llama to the test against "bigger wheel" bikes.

His account:

Even though I've always felt that the Air Llama is more of an expedition bike than a race bike, I decided to check that out.

The result? Check out the photo of me on the podium after winning the CCCX (Central Coast Cyclocross) Race #3 event held March 15, 2009 on Ft Ord.

I won or came second in all nine races I competed in. The first two wins were on a Specialized Stumpjumper FSR.

My times on the course were a touch slower on the Llama, but only a touch (see below) much of that can be attributed to getting used to the bike under race stress and that yesterday's course was much more of a climbing course than the first two were.

CCCX #2 2/28/09
Total Time: 02:08:58
Distance (miles): 24.99
Average Pace (time/mile): 00:05:09
Average Speed (mph): 11.6
Maximum Speed (mph): 23.6
Calories (cal): 1947
Average Heart Rate BPM:167
Maximum Heart Rate BPM: 181

CCCX #3 3/15/09

Total Time: 02:11:50
Distance (miles): 24.73
Average Pace (time/mile): 00:05:19
Average Speed (mph): 11.3
Maximum Speed (mph): 30.8
Calories (cal): 1704
Average Heart Rate BPM: 159
Maximum Heart Rate BPM: 178