Author Archive for mark brent

US National Championships - Results

Published
by
mark brent
on July 22, 2009
in 3rd Party Content, News and Info, Race Results and Video
. 3 Comments

USNC32.jpg

As many of you know, Miles and I are working on a DVD called Women Of Dirt. We came down to Solvista Bike Park to cover the women of mountain biking going after the national jersey for our movie. We are also shooting a scene in Boulder, CO.  with the Operations Manager of IMBA Tammy Donahugh. She’s  a great dirt jumper. We’ll get this scene for the DVD and a Quickshot video from PUSH before heading back to the NW.

I had a great time at Solvista. The Bike Park staff were the best and helped us have a great experience whenever they could. There were a ton of great riding stories. Many of the racers I ride and race with back home in the Northwest came down to Colorado and killed it. Chelsey Stevens, Darrell Jamieson, Chase Jamieson, and Colin Tobin all took home the National Champion title and jersey.

Jill Kintner got Milissa Buhl back for her Sea Otter win at Dual Slalom and beat her at National Championships at 4x. You’ll see all of this in the Women Of Dirt DVD. Melissa Buhl edged out Kathy Pruitt by .07 in USNC Pro Women downhill. Lisa Myklak in third, then Jacqueline Harmony and Katie Holden. Aaron Gwin got a flat at last year’s National Championships, but this year he won.

This event will be in the same place next year. Put it on your calendar. If you qualify for National Championships you need to go. There were over 1800 race starts. If you were not here, you should have been. Ride On!

Pro Men DH Race and Lifestyle Stuff

Pro Men Results
1 Aaron Gwin 02:11.7 Yeti Fox Factory
2 Duncan Riffle 02:13.9 DRR / Giantnerd
3 John Swanguen 02:15.7 Intnese/Troy Lee Designs/ODI/Fox Racing
4 Cody Warren 02:16.9 Specialized Team America
5 Joey Schusler 02:16.9 Yeti Fox National
6 Geritt Beytagh 02:16.9 Morewood Bikes USA
7 Luke Strobel 02:17.6 Maxxis / Rocky Mountain
8 Kyle Strait 02:18.0 Specialized Team America
9 Michael Sylvestri 02:18.0 Santa Cruz Allride Academy
10 Curtis Keene 02:18.5 Specialized / Sram
11 Scott Papola 02:19.0
12 Shaun Palmer 02:19.9 Intense/SRAM/Monster
13 Cole Bangert 02:21.6 Sram / Specialized
14 Mark Clemens 02:22.3
15 Jason Memmelaar 02:22.7
16 Will Collins 02:23.0 Jett MTB
17 Kain Leonard 02:23.5 Crested Butte Mountain Sports Team/TLD
18 Mike Kreger 02:24.0 Sol Vista Bike Park
19 Ryan Sutton 02:24.1 Me
20 Sean McClendon 02:24.1 X-Fusion/Intense

Full Event Results Here.

Pro Women Results:
1 Melissa Buhl 02:41.1 KHS Bicycles
2 Kathy Pruitt 02:41.2 Jamis
3 Lisa Myklak 02:47.8 Fox Racing Shox
4 Jacqueline Harmony 02:52.6 Vixen Racing/Loeka/All Mountain Cyclery/
5 Katie Holden 02:55.3 Specialized
6 Darian Harvey 02:59.9 Cannondale Factory Racing
7 Rachel Bauer 03:01.1 Banshee / Poison Spider Bikes
8 Jennifer Wolf 03:19.0 Vixen Racing
9 Jennifer Whalen 03:19.3 Jenxracer.com
10 Stephanie Leonard 03:21.7 Crested Butte Mountain Sports Team
11 Julie Olsen 03:53.1 Recycle Ski and Sport / Standard Process
12 Connie Misket 03:58.7 Velo Bella Ellsworth
13 C Michelle Rivera 04:11.9 Steven K Sports and Design

Gallery By Mark Brent

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Video OF DH Course by Matt Patterson of Dirt Corps

         

US National Championships - Early Thoughts

Published
by
mark brent
on July 18, 2009
in 3rd Party Content, News and Info, Race Results and Video
. 1 Comment

The mood at Sol Vista has been one of camaraderie and sun. Carnage is the word of the day. The 3 Amigos are clamming their victims and bikes. They are the most moto type of jump I have seen on a DH course. The 4x course is like a Supercross course with moto woops, channels and deep dirt. Watch this video of Mike Kreger running the Pro DH course.

         

Fluidride Cup #4 Results

Published
by
mark brent
on July 13, 2009
in News and Info and Race Results
. 1 Comment

mountain bike 2009The Skibowl track at Mt Hood, Oregon is by far the gnarliest track I have both raced and covered. This weekend we all saw this track at its best. Best for a DH racer meaning worse for the rest. It was blown out, chunky, and constantly changing. My bike cursed me and yet carried me on. On Sunday the heavy clouds pushed in and closed up around the mountain. The rain wasn’t heavy, but moisture did collect on the rock and when it got through the trees on the roots. This made for a fast, yet variable course. While traction was good, a tire tracked wrong across a barely wet root would cause the bike to dart onto a new and often undesirable track. A rock turned under tread would propel bike and rider off the course. The result, those who stayed up, won.

Fluidride Cup 4 Results

I saw more crashes than I have ever seen at a race and heard about many many more. This was true for Pros and Joes alike. But there were three Pros that stood out from the rest. Bryn Atkinson, Luke Strobel and Mikey Sylvestri all showed why they are World Cup Athletes. They were 22 to 16 seconds in front of the fourth place pro. This doesn’t mean that the other Pros were not capable, but most didn’t stay on their bikes. I watched at least six pros crash in one 20 yard section in the woods.

Pro Men's Podium Fluidride Cup 4

Every rider I talked to had a tale of how the mountain beat them. They retold their story with delight, not as an excuse. We had come to best the mountain, knowing full well that this track at the Skibowl was one of the toughest. If we lost the fight, at least we were one to have fought. Those who stayed home, or chose to race elsewhere lost out.
- words by Mark Brent

Photos By Carl Warren

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Video By Andy Tran

         

Hood River Super D

Published
by
mark brent
on July 3, 2009
in News and Info, Quick Shot, Race Results, Shovelpick and Video
. 0 Comments

Last weekend we attended two events. I got to Mt Hood early so I could run the DH course for Sunday on Friday. This freed me up to help Miles shoot the Super D in Post Canyon on Saturday. The national Super D champion Adam Craig won this event. However, from my observations there was something more important than who won. For the more than 100 racers, It was how much fun were people having. Unlike most DH competitions that I have been too, the Super D crowd seemed excited to just be out on their bikes having fun. Continue reading ‘Hood River Super D’

         

Video From Are, Sweden

Published
by
mark brent
on June 24, 2009
in 3rd Party Content and Video
. 1 Comment

When I saw this video, I was really pumped to go ride. It made me want to buy a ticket to Are, Sweden tomorrow. According to Nolltid.se Niklas Byström video blogs from Åre in both winter and summer season, this is his first bike blog for the year. Video with Jonny “Mr Race” Johansson.

Byssa’s tv-åre blogg #9 from Niklas Byström on Vimeo.

         

Blackrock Flowcup 09

Published
by
mark brent
on June 2, 2009
in Mark Brent and Race Results
. 2 Comments

WhatsMyLine2.jpgThe riders from the Santian Bike Shop and BRMBA have put on their first race at the Blackrock, OR. freeride area. Putting all the first time issues out of mind, and they were not too many or too problematic, I was just blown away by the creativity of the course and the good nature of this grassroots racing event. These promoters deserve our thanks.

The course had it all. Right out of the start gate you had 50 yards of a rock garden. No one rode it the same each time. The majority of this five minute course was fast berms with natural jumps and rollers. There however was a road gap, two sets of whoops, numerous other small rock garden moments, a very long ladder bridge that you jumped onto and off of, a twenty foot double, a peddally section, a really high speed section, and two different blown out fall-line descents. Top to bottom this course asked a lot of the rider. And everyone had a grin when they got to the bottom. The general feeling of how great this track was reinforced the notion that it’s not about the racing, but the riding.

Kevin Walsh of Evil Bikes broke his leg in a freak accident on the high speed section. I want to send him healing vibes. It was really good to see him out there and to have this happen is just not right.

Kyle Tomas took the top time of 4:25. He was followed closely by Phil Wiering and Charlie Sponsel. In all about 80 riders showed.

Our event gallery has more photos from this event:

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More pics by Dirk Morhmann

         

On Any Day In Hood River

Published
by
mark brent
on May 28, 2009
in Mark Brent, Quick Shot, Ride Spots, Shovelpick and Video
. 0 Comments

Lately my ride life has been tainted with what I want to call life’s little momentum vampires. These little soul suckers come in all varieties. And they are unique to each individual. And contagious for sure…

Mine are too many to list, but have something to do with Unemployment and a site that seems to be popular, but no known EFFECTIVE  way to monitize it. So, in search for a solution to these mental parasites, I called up Miles ‘Shovelpick’ Sullivan in Hood River and told him that Kim Sturts and I are coming down. You’ll know Miles from his work on Bones Over Metal (see video on this post.)

We showed up late morning and meet Miles who’d already been riding with some of the Transition Bike community down from Bellingham, WA. Miles is always good for a ride in and around Hood River. After a quick rip around the yard on Miles’ 50, we joined Anna from IMBA and headed up to the top of Post Canyon. By the time we were bouncing our way up the shuttle road my malaise was already drifting away. As long as the wheels are going round, it’s difficult for me to have a frown.

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Post Canyon has it all. When you start well above Two Chairs you even get a fair amount of Downhilling. So, you’re nice and warm by the time you hit the jump lines. This works great for me, since I am just getting instinctive with jumping. That being said, Post Canyon is one place besides Whistler where you can learn to get your jump on. It’s all there. It was late afternoon, by the time we had sessioned all the way down to the bottom of Post Canyon. That’s more than 12 linking trails. Enough to call it a day? No.


This video is from a similar trip two weeks earlier.

For the evening romp, we meet up with Mike Estes, Steve Pinner and more for a couple shuttle runs down from Nestor’s Peak. This run is on the Washington side of the Columbia. It’s like Syncline, but better. By this time, my problems only existed deep inside me and all I wanted was vertical. Their was no limit.

This last run dropped 3,000 feet over six miles and is fast. FAST,  I tell you. Old school singletrack that can be ripped as fast as your nerves will allow. The kind of fast that has you yelping and hollering to the guy up in front. We even got Carl Warren to put his camera down and join us. (This is why you see very few action shots in the following photos.) It was good to see Carl have fun.

By the time, we sat down for beer and pizza in Hood River it was dark. My soul was put back together. I felt that inner glow that we all know as our relationship with the bike and the dirt. The perfect threesome. But, just to make sure that it would stay that way for awhile, we did it all again the next day. Yeah!!!!

Check out Carl Warren’s Main Gallery for more from around Hood River.
Carl lives on the Washington side of the river.

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Welcome Our New Sponsors

Published
by
mark brent
on March 26, 2009
in News and Info and Our Sponsors
. 0 Comments

I want to welcome the Port Angeles, WA Super 8 and Tiger Tail as new sponsors of Bones Over Metal.com

This new sponsorship and the support of Fluidride, The Exercise Space, and GHY Bikes help us to continue bringing you great content. Please Check them out and give them your support. The Port Angeles Super 8 is a bike friendly hotel. The Tiger Tail is a great sports massage therapy tool. A tool that I use. Continue reading ‘Welcome Our New Sponsors’

         

Wade Simmons @ Colonnade - Quick Shot

Published
by
mark brent
on March 17, 2009
in Mark Brent, Quick Shot, The Colonnade and Video
. 1 Comment

So I got a text from Pip saying, “Wade Simmons is shredding the Colonnade.” 

Wade was at the Colonnade doing a shoot for his helmet sponsor- Bell. It’s always cool when a top rider visits your local ride spot. By the time I got down there the shoot was winding down. But I got to shoot Pip leading Wade down the line he’d taken the lead on developing. It was great to see Pip beam from the positive comments Wade directed toward the trail work of Pip and his friends. For video: Continue reading ‘Wade Simmons @ Colonnade - Quick Shot’

         

Maxxis Cup

Published
by
mark brent
on March 11, 2009
in 3rd Party Content, Events, News and Info, Outside The USA, Race Schedules and Video
. 1 Comment

The Maxxis Cup starts this March 15th in Gouveia (Portugal).

This is one of the earliest races in the International Downhill calendar. Last year Gee Atherton started a strong run at the number one spot in the UCI rankings by winning this first race of the Maxxis Cup. The following video shows the family Athertons tearing up this fast and technical course with a crowd pleaser at the finish. Shot by the Athertons and Dan Brown and edited by Richard Cunynghame. Dan got 2nd and Rachel took the top women’s spot.

for video Continue reading ‘Maxxis Cup’

         

Oly International by GHY

Published
by
mark brent
on December 8, 2008
in Events, Mark Brent, Our Sponsors, Race Results and Video
. 0 Comments

The ‘Oly International’ was the second of two friendly DH races put on by the GHY Bike Shop. This is probably the last such event held at South Seatac’s Flowpark. It seems evident that this quasi legal ride area will disappear to development on a jail and a road bypass. When you watch this video think of the ton of time spent by happy riders at this flowpark.


Go Here for Full Size Player Continue reading ‘Oly International by GHY’

         

Capitol Forest Super D

Published
by
mark brent
on September 7, 2008
in Events, Mark Brent, News and Info and Race Results
. 2 Comments

focf_16.jpgNathan Riddle won the Open Men at Sunday’s Super D in the Capitol Forest outside Olympia, Washington. He also won the season overall for the Super Ds held there by the Friends Of Capitol Forest. This was my first Super D and it came with a ton of lessons. First of which is the respect I have for the XC riders who can climb hard and still rail the downhill portions of the track. I was humbled by how I need to be more fit. This brings me back to Nathan Riddle. This year he has placed in the top ten in Pro Downhill, top four in a Pro DS, third at Downieville, and now the overall at the FOCF. He’s truly All Mountain. For pictures and more story Continue reading ‘Capitol Forest Super D’

         

Fluidride Cup #4: Port Angeles

Published
by
mark brent
on August 26, 2008
in Events, Mark Brent, News and Info, Race Results, Shovelpick and Video
. 2 Comments

Sunday’s lesson came in the form of a rain storm. Everything we had practiced seemed doomed to be irrelevant. Saturday was dry and fast, Sunday threatened to be fast and slick. Even if you stuck your line, it seemed that you’d quickly go down. However, the riders who won, ran the same race in the wet as they had practiced in the dry. The word is that Bart McDaniel’s time from the qualifying when it had just begun to rain, was the same for the finals when the course was drenched. So, the lesson is, “Ride the rain just like you ride the dry.” For Video, Photos, and More Story Continue reading ‘Fluidride Cup #4: Port Angeles’

         

Mont-Sainte-Anne World Cup

Published
by
mark brent
on July 25, 2008
in Events, Mark Brent, News and Info, Outside The USA, Race Results and Video
. 1 Comment

Saturday DH Update
Greg Minnaar takes the the Mont-Sainte-Anne Downhill for the men. This is his first win at MSA, even with a foot dab in the rock garden that knocked him sideways, threating to take him down. Minnaar was thrilled as he took the top box in the podium and the series lead in points. In second by 1.73 seconds was Sam Hill. Gee Atherton, Steve Peat and Fabian Barel complete the mens podium. The top USA finisher is the young upstart Aaron Gwin in ten place. He’s definitely a story to watch.

download fullres version

For more story and video Continue reading ‘Mont-Sainte-Anne World Cup’

         

USA National Championships

Published
by
mark brent
on July 17, 2008
in Events, News and Info, Race Results and Video
. 8 Comments

Saturday and Sunday Racing
A small storm came into the area Saturday night and made the course more interesting for the expert racers. As the day went on, between pro and expert practice in the morning, the ruts began to show in the muddiest areas of the course. The flat, slightly up hill root section became even more impossible to navigate (see my comments below to learn how they messed me up in my race). But in the end, the racing was fabulous and the competition was stiff.

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When the pros raced on Sunday, the rain threatened again, but held off and everyone got an equal chance at winning. Well, almost everyone. I counted at least 10 flats. Geritt Beytagh won by two seconds over Cody Warren. They were the only riders to break 5 minute mark. Geritt had a great week, coming in second to Eric Carter in the Dual Slalom. Duncan Riffle was third, Curtis Keene fourth and Ryan Condrashoff came in fifth. Everyone agreed that the course was a brutal mix of gnar and peddling. Kathy Pruitt flatted so she was unable to revenge Melissa Buhl for her loss to Melissa in the dual slalom. Marla Streb got second by only 2.9 seconds. The rest of the pack was way back and included Dawn Bourque, Darian Harvey and Allegra Burch.

Full Results

I’ll follow this up in the next few days with more photos and a video. Off to Mt. Saint Anne for the World Cup.

Continue reading ‘USA National Championships’

         
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