Tim Grahl

I’m the lucky one that gets to head up the Crooked Cog Network. I love bikes and the bike industry so this is what I do to be a part of both.

If it’s a bike, I love it and I’ll give anything new a try. The number of bikes in my basement is in the double digits and I can’t imagine parting with any of them. Each one is different and has a special place in my heart.

I make contributions to all the Crooked Cog sites from time to time, but focus mainly on Blue Collar and the Podcast.

Mark Stevenson a.k.a. Guitar Ted

I got my start in bicycles back in the Sting Ray age and was drawn to wrenching by hacking up old cruisers into choppers and “jump” bikes. Eventually this led me to wrenching on bikes for money and the latest in annodized aluminum bits. Especially purple ones.

Starting in 2001, I started reading up on these “29 inch wheels” and came to decide that this was the proper way for me to go. Once the Karate Monkey was introduced at the 2002 Interbike trade show, I knew I had to have one. The rest, as they say, is history.

Today I am a contributor to Twenty Nine Inches, a blogger, and still wrenching on bicycles. A self proclaimed “Twenty Niner Nutcase”, I am a well known proponent of the big wheels, but respect anyone that rides a bicycle.

Mike Queen

My name is Michael Queen and I am the co-founder of BlueCollarMTB.com. I have a full time job as a technical coordinator at conferences for a Christian Counseling organization. I recently had my first child, Brayden, and I’ve been married for two years now to my wonderful wife Keisha.

Mountain biking is an escape for me. I love being in the woods concentrating on picking a good line or making it over the occasional log. I’m a middle of the road rider. I’m not too crazy and I don’t like to think of myself as timid. If I think I can do something without being hauled off on a stretcher I’m gonna try it. Being a part of BlueCollarMTB.com has been amazing. Not only do I get to ride, I get to ride and test many different types of bikes, clothing and gear and at the same time I’m spreading the word about the wonderful sport that is mountain biking. We understand, because we live in the “blue collar” world, that not everyone has the money to spend on the best gear and bikes. That is why we are testing and reviewing products that are affordable. We want to tell you about products that are worth your hard earned money and time.

Jessi Pacetti a. k. a Bitch Kittie

I got cranked about cycling in 2000, when I fell in love with my husband, Billy Biker Boy. I found his personal cycling story very endearing. I too caught the fever and got hooked on following the sport. I started watching the Tour de France religiously and quickly learned the basics of the sport. I also read a great book by Bob Roll entitled The Tour de France Companion. It was through this book I began to appreciate the history and determination the sport of cycling represented. I always wanted to meet Bob Roll and on a snowy day in 2005, I had the privilege of getting to know him over New Glarus Spotted Cow beer and White Russians. Soon thereafter, I began representing him and this is how I became the cycling agent extraordinaire that I am today.

I am also known in cycling circles for launching www.bitchkittie.com, where I talk about all things cycling and all things completely unrelated in the off season. I currently represent Bob and cycling filmmaker, Scott Coady of the Tour Baby! fame. I have a lot of amazing upcoming projects for me on the cycling horizon, so stay tuned!

When I’m not babysitting Bob Roll, I spend my time rearing two awesome gals who are mad about cycling. Some kids get up and watch Sesame Street, in July, my girls get up and watch the Tour. At the age of four, my daughter can pick out star riders when she’s checking out the stack of cycling magazines that arrive monthly at our house. Besides, anyone on a bike in a yellow shirt is Lance. She learned to ride this last summer and is on her way to being a future shredder.

It’s an honor to be the female voice of the Crooked Cog Network. I believe that cycling is a sincere sport and I’m proud to be a part of this intriguing industry.

Warren Tobaben

I live in Overland Park, KS with my wife, five children and two dogs. I’ve been in the Kansas City area all my life, save my four year stint at KSU in Manhattan, KS. I’ve been commuting by bike now and then for years - the last two years I’ve commuted on the bike about 80% of the time. During those last two years I’ve also become a Bike Blogger - most recently at http://warren-t.blogspot.com - as a means of performing a brain dump after the ride into work. I’m thrilled to become part of the crooked cog team.

I’ve spent my entire adult life in the radio industry and currently work for Google in their recently acquired broadcast automation arm. I’m not a bike pro so you’ll be getting a man on the street type perspective from me.

Sara Best

In 1989 I was 14 years old and my dad convinced me to watch part of that summer’s Tour de France with him on TV. My dad was an avid amateur cyclist at the time and had recently completed the Seattle to Portland bike trip with a friend (two back-to-back Centuries).

I watched as Greg Lemond beat Laurent Fignon on the Champs d’Elysee by eight seconds. Fignon collapsed from his bike onto the cobbles, sobbing at the heartbreaking loss. It was the closest Tour de France in history and right there, I was hooked.

I grew up in a rural community where paved roads were hard to come by and the only way to get to my nearest friend’s house was on my mountain bike. I grew up riding trails and summer days were basically spent on my bike from sunrise to sunset, but watching my first Tour showed me that there was a whole other side to cycling - a level of dedication and determination on the
part of the pros - that I had never been aware of.

I forgot about cycling for a while when I moved out on my own and into the city. I hated riding around all those cars and just couldn’t find the enjoyment in it that I once had. But in the last few years I have rediscovered this beautiful sport. I now follow pro cycling closely, write about the sport whenever I get the chance, and do my best to get out on some kind of bike as often as I possibly can. The world of cycling has become a huge part of my life.

Now, I write for the Daily Peloton and contribute daily to my blog http://sarabest.typepad.com/ and I am thrilled to join the Crooked Cog team to work on the Pink MTB site.

I live just outside of Toronto, Canada with my wonderful husband and two sweet-as-pie kids (four and two).