You may have heard that Miles and I are making a bike film called “Women Of Dirt.” Miles and I met through collaborating on Bones Over Metal.com. I was a fan of Miles’ work on Pink Bike. Over time our work started to be more coordinated. We started talking about wanting to produce a title. That’s when the idea of a bike culture movie that came from the POV of the women in the sport developed.
Miles grew up in Tahoe and The Big Island of Hawaii. He now resides in Hood River, Oregon. If you’ve ridden in Post Canyon, then you probably have run into Miles. The following video of Miles riding and building in Post Canyon shows Miles the way most of us know him.
Mike, you’ve been freeriding for several years. How old are you now?
I am 24 now. Still young, but I have been riding mountain bikes enough to see it progress from lycra and water bottles, to full face helmets and flip whips.
What was the first video you starred in? What year was that?
The first video that I had a starring roll in was called “Nine to Five” and I was around 17. My buddy Grant and I made our first trip to Whistler and met the owners of Gamma Light Productions. Grant kind of has a big mouth, so they said that he should walk the walk. They took us to some pretty major sized stunts and we filmed on all of them that day. It was a break though trip for both Grant and myself. Continue reading ‘Interview With Mike Metzger’
What were your major considerations when designing this year’s course?
Well, there are lots of things to consider when designing a course such as how technical, how big, how well do you want the lines to flow together, way too many things to think about, glad that part’s over.
Sterling and I were chatting about how the course was not only rider-friendly, but really great from a photographer’s perspective, in terms of easy access to multiple sick shots. Did this factor into your course design for this year or was it just an added benefit to a course designed for the best rider experience?
Jamie Goldman was stoked to offer some thoughts about this year’s comp on Vancouver Island:
What were the best things about this years’ course?
I really like how the course is all gravity fed and that there is not much braking or pedaling. The course starts out small and tech and moves gradually into the bigger faster lines. I love how it has everything.
How did you like it better — or worse — than last year’s Bearclaw Invitational course?
Last year was a similar course but it had 2 lines. I liked it equally but this year had a bit of mud. Continue reading ‘Bearclaw Invitational Winner: Jamie Goldman’
I recently had the opportunity to go for a sweet ride up in Bellingham with Brad Walton (Spectrum Techwear), his wife, and a few other local characters. These guys are probably more passionate about their riding and riding community than any I have met. Brad having been such an influence on myself where riding and attitude is concerned, I thought that I would see if I could squeeze a little interview out of him for you all to enjoy and get to know the man behind the amazing clothes a bit better …
How did you come to be known as Wild Willy? Well, I grew up XC, then started jumping stuff on my XC bike because XC got boring. The whole ‘freeride’ thing just happens to have started at this same time, and I started seeing movies pop up about hard core mountain biking. Continue reading ‘The Brad Walton Interview’
Update: Lars has made it to the US Worlds team as a discretionary selection. In fact, all of the DH riders were chosen in this manner. Get the full story on PinnedMTB.com
Congratulations to Lars Sternberg of Port Angeles, WA and Fluidride on his 4th place finish at Angel Fire. Now he’s off on the next two legs of a World Cup trip that hopefully gives him the points he needs to compete in DH at Worlds in Italy. In 2006, Lars placed 13th in MX at the Worlds in Rotorua. This was his only other time competing at the World level. Lars has been dominating in regional races and he got a top 25 at this years Sea Otter which sees the majority of the World Cup racers. I have a lot of hope and expectation that it is now Lars’ time. I wanted to know what Lars had to say for himself and about his journey.
It actually snowed in Angel Fire, NM during the practice days. How did this affect you when it later dried up for qualifying and the finals?
It didn’t bother me at all really. I’ve done a ton of riding all winter so it wasn’t a shock to have to ride in the snow. As soon as I heard it would be bad conditions I tried to prepare myself mentally as much as possible. Then getting to race in bone dry conditions was just a bonus.Continue reading ‘Interview With Lars Sternberg’
The 2008 Qashqai Challenge has seen the world’s top freeriders hucking on courses in the core of major European cities — Milan, Madrid, Munich, Paris and London.
UPDATE: Northwest rider Phil Sundbaum ended up in the fourth spot in London and sixth overall in the Challenge after several weeks of solid runs — including two 360 tailwhips in London — landed him ahead of some of the usual suspects typically found on slopestyle podiums.
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.
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.
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