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Last week, I opened an email to learn that the Washington State DNR (Department of Natural Resources) would be having a public hearing that evening to educate trail users about new rules in the WAC . Rumor had it that access to virtually all DNR lands would be prohibited and unsanctioned trail work would be considered criminal. The reality was not as daunting — yet there were many doubts from speakers about whether vague wording in the new rules would protect their rights to use public land — or eliminate those rights.
Among the mountain bikers who showed up were Matt Patterson and Graham Barry and several others from Dirt Corps; Justin Vander Pol from BBTC; my husband; and myself. (more…)

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.

Seattle’s Pro Parks Levy was just the first income source that helped the Colonnade concept become a reality. The levy, approved by Seattle voters in November 2000, freed up $198.2 million for more than a hundred projects and programs, including $1.8 million for the project officially named I-5 Colonnade.

Other funding came from REI, Starbucks, Vulcan, Bikes Belong, King County (for a Youth Sports Facilities Grant) and the City of Seattle, as well as private donors.
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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. (more…)

The reception was conducted by Justin Vanderpool and the new BBTC Director John Lang. King County, Various Local Bike Shops and many concerned riders were in attendance for this first look at the what will be King County’s Newiest Bike Park. Building on the ongoing success of The Colonnade, BBTC and King County have begun the work on this 120 acre park off the Issaquah-Fall City Road. King County has given a total of $150,000 in grants and further funding is being sought to complete work on this park that is scheduled to open December of 09. (more…)

Andy and Pip are ride buddies. I have the privilege to ride with them and consider myself one of their friends. From this vantage point I have witnessed the bond that these two riders have. So, when Andy told me that he was editing together a couple years worth of personal cam footage of he had shot of Pip, I knew that this was going to be interesting. A regular festival of Pipness!

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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. (more…)

No excuses…

April’s Picture Of The Day Winner: We gave the April POD to Carl Warren for his piece “Blind Ambition.”
	This is a shot of Mike Estes on his new Brodie out at Syncline, WA. The great thing about this photo is how the contrast of the shot brings out the gradation of drab colors, as if it was a painting. These colors also help to bring the viewer into the rider’s mind space. It seems forbidding, yet some how alright. Check out Carl’s galleries on this site: Main Gallery FR Cup#1 Fr Cup#2
May’s Picture Of The Day Winner: There were a lot of similarly good photos for the month of May.
	We can’t overlook this picture that Karen Johanson took of Darren Berrecloth at the BearClaw Invitational. More than any other dirt jump or freeride related photo that I’ve seen, this photo shows us that moment when it all comes together. The perfect exposure and focus are the reason we can view the photo ins this way. We see shots like this a lot in trail riding, were the photographer is right in the cockpit with the rider. The photos of the rider nearer to the ground are easier to get. But, in all these kind of shots we can see that “Moment” at it’s finest.Check out Karen Johanson’s portfolio site.

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.

Here are the overall results for 2008:

1. Lance McDermott
2. Benny Korthaus
3. Trond Hansen
4. Paul Basagoitia
5. Sam Pilgrim
6. Phil Sundbaum
7. Jamie Goldman
8. Martin Soederstrom
9. Brandon Semenuk
10. Kurtis Sorge
11. Adam Hauck
12. Andreu Lacondeguy

And here are a few thoughts from Sundbaum about the Qashqai Challenge, Europe and the rest of 2008: (more…)

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 (more…)

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… (more…)

Ladders, skinnies, drops, swooping berms and fast downhill were the focus of the day. In the first event, riders trying to conquer Shore-style stunts were dinged 10 points for every dab. But in the downhill event, a number of racers bypassed big hits, including several ladder drops, in the interest of shaving seconds off their time. A jump jam on a few of the bigger stunts concluded the comp.

At the end of the day, Matt Patterson, Brian Guse and Trevor Louvier ascended the podium for best overall male rider and Caryn Cantu, Kat Sweet and Deb Hutton were determined the top overall female riders. Damien and Trevor won spots one and two on the jump jam podium, joined by Matt P. (more…)

GRANTSVILLE, Utah (April 30, 2008) – Blue Wolf Events is pleased to announce
Brian Head, Utah, as the replacement venue for the National Mountain Bike Series
Finals Presented by Trek VW, on August 30 and September 1, after Tamarack
Resort, Idaho, had to remove itself from the schedule. Get full press release.

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.

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