We’ve had an exceptionally mild winter (so far) here in the Mid-Atlantic. And our crew has been taking full advantage. From hitting private riding spots in Pennsylvania, to tucked away freeride trails here in Maryland, it’s been about keeping the progression moving forward as much as possible during the colder part of the riding season. Here are some of the better shots that came from some of these sessions.

Me on the Commencal...Tucked Away Freeride Trail, MD

8" of Travel in Full Use

Gary Lessner Dropping In

Me, Small Gap on Drugs Trail in Patapsco State Park

Gary on Drugs, Patapsco State Park

Me, Private Land Near Maryland Line

Photo Courtesy of VitalMTB.com

There are a ton of bullshit MTB talkers these days.

These blowhards are busy filling our ears with nonsense about a bike’s ability to “roll over stuff.” They’re also talking shit about how much a bike needs to weight, what few gears it needs, and what the ideal tire size is. I wonder if these talkers realize that there are guys like Mark Weir who can pedal a 30+ pound enduro bike right up their asses – both uphill and down. And Mark ain’t alone. There are plenty of non-pros that maintain the same ability and mindset.

Meet Justin Frey – an in-house guy over at Fox Racing. Justin inspired me to write this post. Why? Cause we think alike. And it isn’t often I read an article where someone is answering questions the very same way I would.

VitalMTB: Break down your personal trail bike and downhill bike setups.

Justin Frey: My DH bike is a balanced, smooth operator, dialed (I can’t stand if something isn’t working the way it should), and QUIET. Anybody that knows me knows how particular I am about this, it’s a straight up fact that a quiet bike is faster and WAY more fun to ride! My trail bike is balanced, quiet and set up to rally the downhills even if it means suffering a bit more on the climbs. One ring up front, full chain guide (thanks Gamut), dropper post, 50 or 55mm stem and at least 711mm wide bars.

Music to my ears. Especially those last two sentences. My bikes and my maintenance approach follow this set up to a tee.

VitalMTB: How many bikes do you actually have set up at home and around the office for testing?

Justin Frey: ….. a 160mm trail-slaying machine. If I could only have one bike it would definitely be this one…..Ride it all day and smash down hills with a grip of confidence…..[no] 29er fully rigid single speeds.

Ditto.

VitalMTB: Can you believe that full-rigid carbon mountain bikes exist in 2012?

Justin Frey: I wish I didn’t because it’s kind of like a bad nightmare that won’t go away. At that point, isn’t that just a road bike with knobby tires and straight bars? I really think that XC race venues need to make their tracks more technical and challenging so that racers actually feel that riding a bike with 100mm or 120mm of travel is an advantage. After all it is MOUNTAIN BIKING not fire road biking.

Nuff said. Thanks VitalMTB for the interview.

What do you think? Is this chick shredding or is the vid lame?

Cannot believe this fool has the audacity to walk.

Photo Credits: Sven Martin

Damn Lopes. You dropped that shit mad early. Crazy news but it’s the way things go. Really admire these three riders and look forward to where they land, what color paint they rock, and what the podiums looks like with their new garb. Gotta say, with that Atherton / Animal name tatted on the side of my bike, I’ll be a bit sad to see em on a new brand and new colors but fuck it. The world’s gotta keep changing to evolve and get better, right?

Read the complete article here….

BLAOW. The Green Machine Arrives.

Building this one up for my girl. That’s right. She’s been riding downhill. Amazing, really, considering she never really rode before. Her first mountain was Highland. What a way to start. Then Diablo. Took me 8 years of riding to gear up for these places and she just starts there. I have friends who are XC machines that own AM builds and haven’t even been to these places. You know who you are. Yeah, I’m talking to you.

Anyway, my girlie’s been riding a Santa Cruz Superlight on these DH trails. Yeah that bike. Not safe. So she gets this Nomad. Build pics to follow, bitches. Thanks to Garen @SantaCruzBikes on the prodeal.

Great riding, horrible commercial. How do you get lost while being followed by a helicopter anyway? You could tell from the clip his wheel blew up. But that wasn’t part of the vid…..cause it’s a commercial.

Photo Credits: Howie Zink, TheSensus.com

Need More Proof Shit’s Getting Retarded?

Mike “Hucker” Clark’s Hang 5 to Front Flip during the 2011 Vital BMX Game of BIKE – More BMX Videos

And your pansy ass is worried about some gap jump or ladder drop maiming you….

Pump Track Grand Opening

Drug myself outta bed to go see the grand opening of the pump track that marks the first stage of the new skills park in Rockburn Park;  a smaller park butting right up to Patapsco State Park here in Maryland. It was mad boring but really great to see happen. Lots of families out there; a good thing for our sport. Marla Streb was present as was Jeff Lenosky for a trails demo.

M.O.R.E and Howard County Parks and Rec. have been terrific about seeing this project through. It’s the first of its kind in the mid-Atlantic and everyone, IMBA included, plans to use this skills park as a benchmark to show other communities what can be done to bring families together in nature doing something healthy, safe and physical.

———> Read first two comments at bottom for a correction on this next paragraph….

Shocking, really, that Parks and Rec. got behind this, seeing as they used chain saws and bobcats to tear down the (rogue) skills section that organically found its way into the Patapsco / Avalon trail system. There were families hanging out there too…..and they damned up a natural flowing stream with that bobcat. BAH. Whatever. We have the start of something really cool here so I’m behind it all the way. Planning on donating cash to the effort as well. For those that are interested, the plans are here. There will be three skills lines added between now and June. Word on the street is that the berms will be three times what is seen on the pump track. Sounds really awesome. I hope the difficult line requires a full face. : )

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