The Mud Blog

Railing Velocity at Mammoth Mountain

2009-05-30T15:01:00.000-07:00

Mammoth Mountain Bike Park opens June 20th!
Here's a teaser from Bike Magazine to get you pumped up. Brian Enciso flying down the Velocity Trail:

Freedom Riders

2009-04-06T21:11:00.000-07:00

Looks like good flick.

Freedomridersthemovie.com
"Freedom Riders, a core group of riders who evolved to creating a precedent setting relationship with the Forest Service and in doing so created the first freeride specific trails on public lands in the lower 48. Freedom Riders a look at the evolution of the sport, the progression of trail users, and an inside story of a group of riders that would never see their passion die. They are the Freedom Riders..."

Banff Mountain Film Festival Highlights

2009-03-16T21:25:00.000-07:00

If you love the outdoors and extreme sports, this will get you amped!

Get more info on the Banff Mountain Film Festival World Tour here.

The Soul Ride

2008-10-11T12:18:00.000-07:00

There are elements to riding a bike on a trail through unspoiled nature that cannot escape notice or possibly, at a deeper level, a feeling. Could it be the realization of accomplishment when the trail becomes a little bit easier, a little faster, a bit smoother and more effortless than ever before? Could it be the stress relieving effect of being immersed in nature that our genes cry out for when too much time is spent in a human clad world? Could it be the satisfaction of knowing that muscle, organs, joints, and blood are growing more resilient with every pedal stroke, every great breath that we take propelling ourselves through the pristine environment?

Of course it is a combination of all these and more. The bike lets us transcend and elevate our outdoor experience in ways far beyond a simple walk, hike or run. It merges skills learned in the past with the incentive to push beyond what has been done before. It extends the range far past the bounds of our natural body allowing us to escape further into the wild. It elevates us into a higher dimension where fluid movement forces space and time to be connected. A rider can find that place where focus on the trail and body awareness combine to create the highest state of clarity. Words cannot describe the sense that is felt deep inside when riding a bike down a trail with perfect surface, pitch, and flow. The soul yearns to laugh out loud, causing that unceasing - unmistakable grin at the end of the trail.

Interbike 2008 & Bootleg Canyon

2008-09-27T17:11:00.000-07:00

Just got back from the Interbike show... The OutDoor Demo at Bootleg Canyon was a highlight for us, as we were able to test and compare bikes on both downhill and cross country trails.

Cam McCaul enjoying the Italian Gelatto that Fi’zi:k Saddles generously dished out:

The indoor show was a bit overwhelming: with everyone, and everything related to biking, everywhere. One of our favorite booths was PowerBar, who celebrated with kegs of Fat Tire Ale.

Lance Armstrong made a suprise appearance at the cyclocross race (Katie Compton and Ryan Trebon win)!

Brian Lopes, along with a few others, were inducted into the Mountain Bike Hall of Fame on day 3. USA Today has called Brian Lopes "undisputedly the best all around world class cycling athlete".

Doing some soul riding at Bootleg Canyon after the show:

Bootleg Canyon was an impressive example of how fun trails can be - when they are created by mountain bikers.

Photos from the Interbike Blog, Photo John (John Shafer), Pink Bike , Extremeline.com, BootlegCanyon.org.

Twilight Zone goes off The Deep End

2008-09-02T15:12:00.000-07:00

Mammoth Mountain Bike Park has opened its newest freeride trail, Twilight Zone. The highlight of this newest trail is “The Deep End”, a nine-foot tall, 50-foot wide, elevated, banked wooden bowl structure.

The Mammoth website says: "To get there, take a right off Chain Smoke and fly through a series of dirt jumps and turns leading into "The Deep End"... The Mammoth Mountain Bike Park is 100% open with over 100 miles of trails and 3,100 feet of vertical descent."

LA TIMES discusses the making of this trail:
"Perhaps the most unique aspect of Twilight Zone is the extensive use of recycled and reclaimed materials to build multiple aspects of the trail. Wood from old snow fences was used to create a series of retaining walls etched into the steep hillside, allowing riders to traverse otherwise unrideable terrain. Wooden support beams for around 100 feet of bridging were reclaimed from old Mammoth Mountain properties. “The Deep End” uses several large, steel beams reclaimed from local businesses to help support and frame the massive structure and is covered in a decking material made from reclaimed wood and recycled plastic. This undoubtedly will be a welcome addition among park regulars — especially those who make the 350-mile drive from the Los Angeles area. As for the new wooden bowl, it looks like a real gas." (From LA TIMES by Pete Thomas)

Photo courtesy of Mammoth Mountain Ski AreaCaption: "The Deep End" is an elevated, banked wooden bowl sure to enhance the expansive trail system at Mammoth Mountain Bike Park.

The Essence of Trails

2008-08-07T17:27:00.000-07:00

Trails represent the essence of mountain biking. The trail is our sacred pathway through nature. Double tracks and dusty dirt roads are ok for some, but the singletrack trail is where the essence of mountain biking is truly found. Every well designed trail that weaves through the forests and meadows of our land holds unquantifiable value to our biking community. These are assets, gems, and there aren’t enough of them.

They are the way to escape the motorized craziness of our society. It gives us the ability to get out and actively participate with nature in a way that hiking or jogging never could. A biker engaged on a singletrack trail is harnessing skills and gaining more with every revolution of the wheel. A bike extends the capabilities of the body, allowing fluid movement in every respect. The heart pounds as the blood pumps fast through every muscle of the body. The mind is focused and acutely aware of every movement, as the trail curves and dips to the shape of the land. The right to bike in nature becomes more precious with every passing year.

There is a bill being presented to congress called HR 6156 “Wilderness Heritage Act”. On the surface, it seems like a great idea to “preserve” public lands for “future generations”, until you dig a little deeper and figure out the implications of designating current multi-use lands “Wilderness”. Essentially, it closes all trails on current multi-use public lands to “mechanized” use. This includes many trails that are now enjoyed by mountain bikers everywhere. The wilderness advocates are trying to ban mountain bikers and other mechanized users from an ever decreasing area of public lands (see wilderness acts over the last 30 years).

The latest bill is being pitched as “Bipartisan” since it has Congressman Buck McKeon on board with Barbara Boxer. Unfortunately, their plan affects some trails in “Mountain Biking Mammoth”. We are sad to see Mr McKeon supporting a bill that will limit our use of public land. He says that he is looking out for the interests of the user groups who use these lands, but seems to only think that some dirt roads are important while ignoring multi-use trails. I wonder if he has ever ridden a mountain bike?

Maps of the proposed Wilderness areas can be found at; http://mckeon.house.gov/eastern_sierra_maps.aspx

Congressman McKeon can be contacted at:
Congressman Buck McKeon
26650 The Old Rd., Suite #203
Santa Clarita, CA 91381

Click here for further discussion on Wilderness and mountain bikes. The above pictures of Yost Meadow Trail and Coyote Flat Rides will both be affected by Wilderness closures.

New Film by The Collective! "Seasons"

2008-04-16T17:09:00.001-07:00

We've all been looking forward to the new film by The Collective: Seasons. This is the follow up flick to The Collective and Roam. Its currently playing this month in theaters in cool towns across America! The DVD will be in bike shops in May.

Check out the trailer:

Here's the Collective's website.

From the website:
"Seasons is a film that follows seven of the world’s top mountain bikers through the course of four seasons of one year. The film explores what it means to be a full time rider as told through the lives of downhill racers, slopestyle competitors, and big mountain freeriders."

The seven riders featured in the film are: Darren Berrecloth, Matt Hunter, Cam McCaul, Steve Peat, Andrew Shandro, Steve Smith, and Thomas Vanderham.

San Diego's Mt Laguna: New Singletrack

2008-03-01T18:50:00.000-08:00

There's some great biking east of San Diego, in the Alpine and Laguna Mountains. Noble Canyon is an IMBA Epic and the Big Laguna Trail is another favorite.

The exciting news is this:

The San Diego Mountain Biking Association is teaming up with IMBA to open up 10 miles of singletrack that were previously closed to mountain bikes! Last weekend members of these groups practiced state of the art trailbuilding techniques in the Chico Ravine/Big Laguna Trail System at Mt. Laguna. Information about the event is here.

Soon, thanks to volunteers, there will be world class biking options just outside of San Diego.

Photo from IMBA website here.

IMBA to Design New Trails in Mammoth

2008-02-03T18:06:00.000-08:00

Good news for Mammoth!
This is from the IMBA website:

"Trails Solutions Selected to Design Trails at Mammoth Resort"
IMBA's Trail Solutions has been selected as the consultant for natural-surface trails at Mammoth resort. Professionals on the Trail Solutions team will work closely with ALTA Planning and Design, who is providing planning services for paved pathways and road systems. According to IMBA's Cimarron Chacon, Mammoth has plans to become a "premier year-round resort community." The planning includes a multi-jurisdictional partnership with the town of Mammoth Lakes and the US Forest Service. Additional partners include Mammoth Mountain resort and the MLTPA, a local non-profit."

IMBA Trail Solutions Services

MLTPA Action Plan They want to "establish a vision for a comprehensive system of trails and public
access for Mammoth Lakes and the surrounding region."

Survey Here's a Trail-Use survey for the Town of Mammoth Lakes. You can tell them that you like to mountain bike and want more singletrack opened up!

The photos above are from the Mammoth Mountain Bike Park website here.

Build Your Own Pump Track!

2008-01-15T12:02:00.000-08:00

Pump tracks are the new rage in mountain biking, as they can be built right in your back yard. Everyone is talking about building them, so here's how to do it! LeeLikesBikes is a website that has great information and sells an e-book called Pump Track Nation.

Check out what Lee says:

"Pump track mania is sweeping the globe. Mountain bikers everywhere are building endless loops of rollers and berms, and the riders are getting smoother, fitter and faster.

These mini tracks teach you to maintain speed â€” no, gain speed â€” over bumps and through tight corners. Almost anyone can ride a pump track. Beginners fumble, jumble and stumble, while experts manual, jump and rip. On pump tracks the speed, fear and risk are low, but the effort, fun and improvement are high.

Legend has it that Mick Hannah trained extensively on a pump track before he demolished the 2004 Sea Otter Classic. Knowing the fastest Aussies pump on a regular basis, pro downhiller Steve Wentz built a track at The Fix in Boulder, Colo. last fall. At first, his L-shaped loop was barely rideable, but within a week the lines were grooved and the riders were grooving.

When I posted a story and videos on this site, pump track reports poured in. The kids in Whistler, BC started building them. The guys at Riding High in Taichung, Taiwan built one. And Ray Petro of Rayâ€™s MTB, the indoor bike park in Cincinnatti, made an awesome one out of wood. Pump tracks are superfun, and theyâ€™re good for you, so you might as well build one of your own.

Pick a spot. You can have plenty of fun in as little as 40 x 20 feet. Yes, thatâ€™s the size of your basement. More space means wider turns, bigger rollers and greater speeds. Flat land is best, but you can always rail some downhill berms then pump back uphill on a roller staircase. Oof.

Lay it out. Start with the turns. Make them tight enough to pump but not so tight you struggle to make them. A radius of about 75 inches works well. The 38-inch turn at The Fix creates champions but robs speed. Make sure your berms have constant arcs, and build them gradually from flat to vertical. When you get the hang of your track, youâ€™ll be pulling almost three Gs and leaning 70 degrees.

Fill in the spaces. Build rollers or doubles between your turns. Avoid flat spots. Every square inch on your track should tilt upward, downward or sideways. No time for coasting!"

You can get more info and support Lee Likes Bikes here!

Top pic is Nathan Rennie on Mountainzone.com. Next 2 pics are on Leelikesbikes.com.

New Fresno Freeride Mountain Bike Park!

2007-11-18T22:08:00.000-08:00

The FresnoBee reports that Woodward Park in Fresno, CA is developing into a world class mountain bike park. The article states that the 57 acre bike jump park, bmx track, and mountain bike park will certainly be the most progressive in the state of california. The BMX track is nearly complete, and the freeride jump park is on its way!

One excerpt from the article says, "Highlights of the L-shaped park, which overlooks Highway 41 and the San Joaquin River, include a downhill jumping course, multiple cross-country trails and an elevated section where riders will have to balance themselves while riding over logs and narrow lumber."

Sweeeeeeet!

Extremeline dot com

2007-11-14T13:25:00.000-08:00

Phase 1 of the website updates for Extremeline.com are complete. Check it out!

Spandex vs Baggies

2007-11-07T12:02:00.000-08:00

Guest writer, posted by mtndjd;
This post is purely Satirical and not intended to offend fans of Spandex. Its still ok for women.

If no one else is going to speak out, then the MudBlog is here to set some things straight;

There seems to be a grey area when it comes to the appropriateness of biking attire. Somewhere in our rough, gun slinging, cowboy, western cultural history; an embarrassing rift has occurred. The rift is sometimes as jolting and horrifying as scenes from a bad European beach movie where male stars run around in speedos, thongs, and G-strings (aka. marble bags). A naive observer might be inclined to ask, 'whats in your pocket?' the obvious problem being, there is no pocket. John Wayne will continue to turn in his grave until men in Spandex are outlawed in public.

The fashion trends among bikers have undoubtedly become commonplace due to road riding heroes such as Lance Armstrong, and Greg LeMond. These guys did it for the money, not because they liked publicly exhibiting their packs. Repetitious motion to the extent experienced during the Tour De France and the likes, gives some credence to the uniform. Unfortunately for early mountain bikers, like a Canadian without a mullet, if you weren't sporting tight spandex and shaved legs, you just weren't a serious biker. Luckily, the times have changed....but unfortunately, confusion still exists.

A shift to the more rugged, traditional American 'manly' style of attire has influenced mountain bikers of late. Durable 'baggie' shorts with crash padding and less revealing styling have brought the much needed coolness factor back to biking. The baggies incorporate spandex, or other non-chafing technologies, all without compromising the manliness factor. Since this change in styling has occurred mountain biking has exploded in America. One can only speculate that this is not a coincidence. Men everywhere are now proudly riding their bikes without having to leave their masculinity in the garage.

We would love to get some comments from all of you out there that still wear spandex in public.
1. How often do you wear Spandex in public?
2. Do you ever wear Spandex when not biking?
3. Do you ever notice people staring at you/yours when in public?
4. If you are a man, do you shave your legs?
5. Would you be comfortable wearing a speedo on the beach in America?
6. Do you realize that 'show-through' is accentuated when viewed from the side?

Post contributed by mtndjd.

Dreamin' of Whistler

2007-10-31T15:24:00.000-07:00

For all the other dreamers out there, here's some eye candy!

These videos are on Pink Bike.com. The video above is from summer 2007 at the Whistler Bike Park, and below is a helmet cam's view of A-Line.

Gooseberry Mesa & Little Creek

2007-10-20T22:38:00.000-07:00

While imagery of Moab pops into mind when talking about Utah bike trails, Gooseberry Mesa is another amazing gem in the Utah mountain biking world. The surrounding area, near St. George in southwestern Utah, is filled with singletrack and slickrock trails. With Zion National Park as the backdrop, high quality trails weave along the mesa cliffs of both Gooseberry Mesa or Little Creek Mesa at about 5,000 feet above sea level.

Much of the riding is technical and challenging - more so on Gooseberry - but, there are several different loop options for all levels of riding. From 20+ mile loops to short slickrock practice loops, most riders will find something they love. Also, the nearby JEM Trail, which starts below Gooseberry and drops down to the town of Hurricane, can be shuttled or ridden as an out and back.

In the above picture, Gooseberry Mesa is on the left, Little Creek in the rear right, and the top of JEM trail in the lower right.

For GPS users, here's a GPX File (right click to save) that includes Gooseberry Mesa Trails, a shorter 10 mile version of Little Creek, and the beggining of JEM Trail. For more information and guided tours, check out Rim Tours.

Colonnade Bike Park Grand Opening!

2007-10-03T13:08:00.000-07:00

Last month a great new asset for mountain bikers was opened to the public!! Hopefully this park sets a precedent for the rest of the country.

This is from the BBTC website:

I-5 Colonnade is the first ever urban mountain bike skills park. It's part of a City of Seattle park, but was funded and constructed by the BBTC (Backcountry Bicycle Trails Club).

The Novice Area (Phase 1) is complete and offers a 1/2-mile tight'n'twisty Cross Country loop trail with several intermediate to advanced options.

It's a great place to work on key skills be sessioning:

Ladder bridges, log rides and skinnies
Tight switchbacks
Steep rock chutes and technical rock rolls
Teeter totters
Rock step-ups
A long ladder bridge roller coaster ride (be careful to keep your speed waaaay down... she bucks!)

Phase 2 is under construction and scheduled to be completed by Oct'08. Phase 2 will focus on more flowy advanced trails and offer features like jumps, berms, wall rides, progressive drops, rock chutes, skinnies, pump track, trials area, etc. and a couple of sessionable practice areas.

More info: Colonnade Project Page and Colonnade Phase 2 Page.

Mountain Bike Guide Books at less than 1/2 price!

2007-09-17T14:57:00.000-07:00

Extremeline Productions is now selling "damaged" books for less than half of the cover price. These books might have blemishes, dents, dings, folds, marks, and/or be tweaked in some way. Nothing major! Just some surface damage - which happens the second you toss the book into your dirty camelbak anyway.

These slightly damaged copies of Mountain Biking Santa Cruz are $6.95; and Mountain Biking Mammoth are $7.65. Happy Trails!

South Lake Tahoe Bike Trails

2007-09-16T08:14:00.000-07:00

Below is a blog post featured on Sierra Sojourner blog. See original here.

Most people have heard of the great mountain biking available in South Lake Tahoe. Toads, Christmas Valley, and The Flume are "must-do" trails for most visiting bikers. (Toads is our favorite! ...and CV rules too! Ah but the Flume trail is unrivaled in beauty!) Anyways, on our last trip up there, we decided expand our horizons and check out 2 new trails (new to us, that is).

One day we rode one section of the Tahoe Rim Trail is called 'The Bench', a great out & back ride on the southeastern side of the lake. The Google Earth view of the ride is shown above (you are looking southwest.)

This trail had a little of everything fun in mountain biking; some smooth fast sections, plenty of technical challenges, a great view of the lake at the end.... I think it was about 12 miles long with around 1200 feet of cumulative climbing. Although, it seemed a bit longer than that. Maybe because we went with our local friends that have superhuman lungs and technical skills. No time to sit and enjoy the scenery - we were jamming!!

Later we stumbled upon a trail called Corral Creek near the bottom of Toads. We didn't expect too much since its an OHV trail, but we believe in serendipity. This trail rocked! Lots of back to back banked turns with little natural hits all over the place gave this trail great rhythm. Even our dog looked like he was carving turns as he sprinted the entire way down. It was way too short though, less than 3 miles, but there were many offshoots that we didn't have time to explore. We'll be back.....

Here's another views of the ride looking southeast over Heavenly ski resort. We made a loop by riding up a parallel dirt road. It appears that many people do shuttle runs on the singletrack section though.

Freeridin' Black Rock Trails in Falls City

2007-09-12T15:17:00.001-07:00

Awhile ago, we wrote about the IMBA article on the legally sanctioned Black Rock Trails. Sooo, we decided to go up and check it out for ourselves! This is what we found:

This place rocks! Trails like Ganny's Kitchen are almost unbelievable in terms of flow and air time. Being from California (where rides with stunts are quite limited), it just seemed like it couldn't actually be an "open" trail. Throughout the 1200 feet of vertical drop, the amount of high-quality stunts, jumps, gaps, drops, and skinnies was amazing. The park also included a 'practice/skills area' with an excellent variety of features for every level of rider.

The weather was great in July, cool enough to self-shuttle/climb a few laps on the smooth low-dust trails. Black Rock bike park is a 'must hit' destination on the freeride route north. (Just a couple hours north is Post Canyon, on the way to Whistler!) Sept 15-16 2007 is the first annual Black Rock Bike Fest, which includes shuttles and camping.

Download the GPX file of our rides here.

Logistics:
Falls City is in northern Oregon west of Salem. The only bummer about the area is the lack of accessible public land and camping. Luckily, we ended up finding private land to camp on. If interested call Dawn or Bruce, 503-787-1010, for reservations for tent camping and RV parking. They are super nice people with a great chunk of property only minutes from the riding area.
Another place to stay is the newly opened Black Rock Inn with 3 units.

Mammoth Opens 2 New Freeride Trails!

2007-08-17T09:22:00.000-07:00

2 of the long awaited freeride trails are now open at Mammoth Mountain Bike Park! Techno Rock and Richter add to the 90 miles of singletrack on the mountain. Here's what the MammothMountain.com has to say:

"Our long anticipated two new trails now open! Techno Rock has a setup similar to popular dual slalom and mountain cross courses, and it starts out with four intense drops that range from four to 15 feet. The trail then plunges in and out of a dirt ditch that is Mammoth's Olympic Size halfpipe in the winter. Richter is for intermediate riders and it rides like a rollercoaster through a tunnel of trees. Wooden features and natural berms round out the trail's assortment of obstacles."

Also, the mountain will be running Chair 2/Stump Alley Express on weekends through labor day.

Lance Armstrong on mountain biking in Santa Cruz!

2007-07-23T11:09:00.000-07:00

Check out this MBOSC (Mountain Bikers of Santa Cruz) blogpost on Lance. This is great PR for the mountain biking movement in Santa Cruz: The original link is here:

Article is originally written by Mark Davidson, president of MBOSC

Lance loves Santa Cruz Trails!

When I went to Washington a few months ago, the American Airways in-flight magazine had a one page fitness article on Lance Armstrong. The sidebar had a bit on "Top Cycling Spots" and I was overjoyed to see that he mentions Santa Cruz as an "absolutely great place for mountain biking" and "frankly, for my money, you can't go wrong."

I had heard rumors of Lance's visit to our town so I contacted a friend at Giro to get the story. A couple of years ago, Lance visited San Francisco to meet with some corporate partners. He paid a visit to Santa Cruz and brought along his mountain bike. He was doing a for an autograph and meet and greet session with Giro employees - who were a major sponsor of Lance. Then he snuck off for a ride with the Senior VP of Marketing at Giro and a couple of other people. According to my source, the pace was brisk on the climbs and Lance was flying on the descents as well.

Lance Armstrong is one of the only nationally recognized cyclists in mainstream America. Having him mention Santa Cruz as a "Top Cycling Spot" for mountain biking is a huge PR win. This little statement from a world renowned cycling champion in a throw away magazine is pure gold.

Rare Faceplant found in Idaho

2007-07-11T13:18:00.000-07:00

This rare faceplant was found on the Payette Lake Trail during a well timed photoshoot. This species of faceplant can be found by 60-year-old-women bikers attempting to pose for the stressful self-timed camera shot. Even tough guys in camo are astonished at such a rare sighting!

Mountain Biking Yosemite

2007-06-25T11:58:00.000-07:00

While mountain biking inside of Yosemite National Parks is not allowed, there are some great options just outside the park boundary. Trails on the Eastern Sierra side, near the Tuolumne Meadows entrance, offer the best scenery and singletrack. Two great biking options are Bennettville Trail and Saddlebag Lake Trail.

Bennettville Trail follows a section of the historic Great Sierra Wagon Road and scenically weaves past the infamous mine, the Great Sierra Tunnel, on its way to the ghost town of Bennettville.

Nearby, the Saddlebag Lake Trail is a mountain bike blessing. Absolutely amazing high sierra scenery surrounds this loop, which is nestled between Hoover Wilderness and Yosemite.

Another ride in the area, Lake Canyon Trail, requires a bit more aerobic exertion. Details and maps of the ride are depicted in Mountain Biking Mammoth. Enjoy!

Santa Cruz and Mammoth in New Bike DVD

2007-06-15T15:29:00.000-07:00

Top Soil 2 is a new mountain bike dvd with footage from Santa Cruz, Mammoth, and other great locations in the West.

This is what people are saying:

Top Soil 2 is the sequel to the Aptos Productions’ Top Soil online video diary, which has been viewed by nearly one million visitors. Top Soil 2 is a recipe of local talent, progression and humour. Watch the young riders of Aptos, California Cameron Mccaul, Evan Turpen, Jamie Goldman, Greg Watts, and many more as they ride their best for the cameras pushing themselves and the sport to a higher level. Top Soil 2 is shot in various parts of North America and places across the globe following the world’s top riders as they compete in contests and races.

Top Soil 2 will only be available on DVD and includes the full length original Top Soil in the bonus features as well as crash section, Red Bull Reezride 03 and more…

Scenes shot in Aptos, Crankworx, Mammoth US Open, Cowan's back yard and many more.

Sick riding from the likes of the McCaul Brothers, Jamie Goldman, the Watts brothers, Ryan Howard and SO MANY MORE!

Here's a preview: