All About Gravity Mountain Biking: Freeride, Downhill, Dirtjump, Urban and Trials
Fortunately Ignacio Soltero from Brooklyn Bike Riders sent stellar shots of this year’s US Open of Mountain Biking that happened almost in his backyard, at Diablo, because I had the misfortune of missing that comp.
Many of the usual suspects dominated, with Steve Smith, Sam Hill and Bryn Atkinson taking spots one through three on the men’s pro DH podium, and Fionn Griffiths, Kathy Pruitt and Joanna Petterson taking those same spots on the women’s pro DH podium.
Once a year the freeride course on Beacon Hill in Spokane, Washington lends its rock faces and dry eastern forest dirt to a downhill race. Unlike last years race, this race had near perfect conditions, zero scandals, and smiles for everyone. It wasn’t all perfect - let’s see, Saturday was hot and very dry. For those of us not used to sun stroke, dangerous even. But then it rained early Sunday morning and drizzled during the morning’s activities making the dirt perfect! Continue reading ‘Beacon Blowout 08′
This video of the Fluidride Cup #2 Dual Slalom tells that story of grassroots dual slalom. Sure the pros are the stars, but in the local scene, even the fans yelling from the sideline get their 15 minutes. Some may claim that dual slalom is destined for “Friday nights under the lights.” Who really knows. The truth is, it’s fun and it’s making a comeback.
You can watch this low resolution version here, or you can (right click and save) and download an HD quality version here (Apple TV format playable with any updated quicktime player).
Also the podcast is always a better quality than the flash video here.
To See Video Continue reading ‘Long Live Slalom’
Pro Men: 1) Lars Sternberg 2) Andrew Mitchell 3) Bart Mcdaniel
Pro/Expert Women: 1) Katie Holden 2) Leanna Gerrard 3) Dawn Lambert 4) Joy Mutoli
Full Results: DH 2 Results DS 2 Results
This weekend was supposed to rain in Port Angeles, WA for Fluidride Cup Race #2. We got rain. At night while we all slept and dreamed of fast lines. We woke each morning to sunshine and perfect dirt. A perfect weekend for speed. In fact, I heard many racers talking about dealing with the speed of the course. “I feel I’m a little behind my bike.” “I’ve never felt faster” It was fast and the final times showed this. It also is possible that this is why there were so many injuries. But, we won’t dwell on this. Healing Vibes All. Now, there are three things that I must share about this weekend with you all… Continue reading ‘Fluidride Cup #2 Recap’
The 7th annual Spring Thaw Downhill came to Ashland, Oregon last weekend on May 4, 2008. The Downhill ran 1.7 miles down Catwalk to Toothpick Trail. The trail first ran down through a rock garden into a double that led to a balls out speedy highway section. The trail then proceeded to wind its way through a bunch of switchbacks into a hell bent 60 yard uphill climb to the finish. Continue reading ‘Ashland Spring Thaw Results’
Last weekend I got the opportunity to both cover and participate in the Fluidride Race Camp. As many of you know, my love for riding is a two-headed beast. One head is for sure Bones Over Metal and the bike media I work on. The other head is my own riding and racing. Lucky for me, both of these heads want to go in the same direction and attending the Fluidride Race Camp allowed me to exercise both of these interests. Continue reading ‘Fluidride Race Camp’
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.
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’
Olympic Dirt Society sponsored a shuttle day at Dry Hill in Port Angeles on March 8th and 9th. Riders in the PNW have come love these events put on by ODS and think of them as our little Whistler. I hear that over 180 riders registered for this last event. The lines were long, but the trucks kept hauling us up the hill and we never waited longer than one needed for a breather.
It was one of the best girls riding weekends I’ve ever had! The first ever Dirt Rag Women’s Weekend at Ray’s Indoor Mountain Bike Park in Cleveland, OH was a great success. From cross country riders to jumpers to bmx’ers, women of all bike disciplines from all over the US came to Ray’s for some fantastic winter riding.
If you have never been to Ray’s, you are missing out. It is an indoor mountain bike park built inside an old factory building. Instead of the usual dirt trails, everything is built out of wood – ladders, ramps, jumps, log pile crossings, even rock gardens (not built out of wood) create a plethora of trails, stunts and obstacles to improve your biking skills. There is a pump track to practice working the terrain for momentum, a cross country loop with tight turns and short climbs into the rafters, several short trails with a variety of challenges, a beginner room with skills sections low to the ground, a stunt section with a variety of teeter-totters, drops and interesting bridges, 4 different sized box jump rhythm lines with up to 6 jumps in a row, 2 skate park sections, and a foam pit to practice your tricks before trying them on hard ground. No matter what your skill level or preferred type of riding, there is something for you at Ray’s!
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