South Africa’s Greg Minnaar won the Sea Otter 2008 Pro Men’s Dual Slalom on Saturday and then woke up and won the Downhill on Sunday. Watching him practice I was impressed with the strength that he showed. His riding was smooth and aggressive, but there was also a raw display of power in the more pedaly sections that many other pro riders lacked. Greg Minnaar is new this year to the Santa Cruz Syndicate.
How did it feel doubling up at Sea Otter?
Twice as happy….. No just kidding, I didn’t expect it at all. I felt good on the Slalom and things went my way. The downhill is super padaly and I didn’t think I had the legs, it must have been the cliff protein bar.
Continue reading ‘Interview With Greg Minnaar’
Simon Lawton hired me to produce Fluidride: Like A Pro. Through this collaboration, I got to know Simon as a man with many “irons in the fire.” He’s a consummate pro rider, a shop owner, and a pro instructor. Even after spending the time with him to learn his ways while producing his DVD, I knew there were a lot of things that I still wanted to ask him. The following interview his born of respect and knowing that there is a ton more I can learn from Simon.
Simon, what is your definition of fast?
Being comfortable using the power of the hill to give you speed. This requires the confidence that comes with absolute control.
Continue reading ‘Interview With Simon Lawton’
Greg Minnaar got the win by nearly a second. I’ll put his 2:11.21 in context. 50th place was only ten seconds out of 1st. The course at Sea Otter lived up to its reputation of being a course that requires pedaling between features in order to put down the good time. There was little advantage to line choice. The greatest gains came from precise cornering, body position and making sure that a single, required pedal stroke was not missed. Basically, perfect execution was rewarded over balls out risk. Continue reading ‘Sea Otter DH Results And Video’
Tuesday and Wednesday: Hood River, OR.
So, I crawled into Hood River, Oregon and met up with Mike Estes, Miles Sullivan and Carl Warren for a little ride and shoot among Bike Media types. You would have seen Carl Warren’s stuff here, as well as, on Pink Bike with Mike Estes and Miles Sullivan. Kim Sturts, Karen Johanson, and Leif Olson all came down from Seattle to ride with us. By the time we all got together and got up to Post Canyon it was getting a little late. Plus the rain just continued to come down on us. We all ended up riding some quick lines on Middle School and then taking the Super D line 7 Streams out to the bottom pick up. It was a great run out in the rain, but my legs were rebelling by the end of the trail. After Sea Otter they didn’t need to ride another long pedally course on a downhill bike.
Continue reading ‘Sea Otter Classic Road Trip’
Due to the snowfall on Mt. Hood the race for May 10th and 11th is moved to Port Angeles. Make sure you check out the full info on the schedule at Fluidride.com
Continue reading ‘Fluidride Cup #2 Location Change’
Today dawned cold and overcast just like countless northwest days before it. The only difference was that there were six inches of snow blanketing South Everett on this particular April morning. Needless to say this unexpected little bit of precipitation put a damper on our plans to sample the best of Bellingham. But fear not, there was still some GnarlBurl to be had…
Continue reading ‘April ‘Snowers’ bring May flowers’
The 08 Sea Otter Classic Dual Slalom went down to the last pedal stroke and lived up to expectations. There wasn’t a dry eye in the spectator gallery. That’s because the wind blew perpendicular to the course all day – through practice, qualifying and the finals. By the end of the event, my eyes were glued together with dust, okay, maybe not glued, but there was way more sand in my eyes than there needed to be. While, every non-goggled spectator and shooter suffered, the riders burned the course up. They seemed to not be affected by the wind. As if their own momentum was more tumultuous then the wind. Continue reading ‘Sea Otter Dual Slalom Results’
After Watching the Video, check out the full post on the event for results and photos.
Download large format version (Apple TV .m4v - right click and save)
So, we have decided to build a collection of the best photos of mountain biking. To do this we are running a Picture of the Day, a.k.a. POD, contest. We have invited the public and photographers to submit their PODs. Each winning POD is considered for the Month’s Best POD. The photographer of that Top POD gets swag and notoriety.
Submit your photos here. April’s winner will snag a Fluidride: Like A Pro DVD and a Bones Over Metal T-shirt.
Continue reading ‘March Picture Of The Day Winner’
Boop, beep, beep, beep, beeep!
Racer brain takes over on that last high pitch beep and like a snapped rubber band the racer is pushed toward the finish line. The weekend began for some riders on Friday the early practice day. The rain was coming down when we arrived, and after the first practice run every hole and crevice of bike and rider was covered and packed in mud and water. But, then the rain stopped as practice ended. The blue sky portended of the great weekend to come. By the time the rain came again, Luke Strobel and Katrina Strand had taken the top spot in the podium for the pros. Continue reading ‘Fluidride Cup DH/DS #1 Results’
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