5 things mountain bikers like besides mountain biking

1. Beer

2. Burritos (already established in my last post)

3. Subaru

4. Talking

5. Internet

Its true - these are the 5 things mountain bikers like almost as much as mountain biking.

If you ride bikes then you love Burritos.

It has been the slowest off season... probably because i'm waiting on my Legend and Health Insurance. Once I get both I'll be shredding every weekend for sure. Until then I'm going to do my best to track down the best burrito in my region (Portland to Salem) So far Northern Lights Theater and Pub is topping the list with the SantaFe Streak Burrito.

• Santa Fe Steak Burrito
• Stuffed with steak, corn, black beans, sour cream, tomato, salsa, ranch dressing, and cheeses.

If you live in my area and know of a killer place for a burrito let me know.

GoPro Hero HD camera

Yesterday I went out to Bridgeport Village to pick up a GoPro Hero HD Camera for the season.

Initial impressions have been great, the camera is really easy set up and use. The packaged mounting system is ok. The mounts that will work on my fullface helmets use 3m adhesive.. which is cool but I don't want it to become a permanent fixture to my helmet. So i'm going to invest in their chest mount and the handlebar/seatpost mount. This camera will make a great addition to my season for sure and will definitely help with sharing my days on the trail. I'm going to talk to roger about fabricating some different mounts to give some really cool angles. The angle i'm really thinking about trying to get is a "Third" person view... like from video games. All we'd need to do is get a pole.. attach it to the back of my bike somehow. I was thinking about it and a curved pole will be the way to go because i think the camera will capture a minimum about of the mounting system.

If anyone has any ideas on how to create some creative angles... please let me know.

Stoked for Life Cycles.

Since New World Disorder finished up with Dust n' Bones and nothing announced from The Collective, the MTB film spotlight is on the boys from Life Cycles. I haven't been this stoked for a MTB film in a long time. There has been a lot of behind the scenes footage & teasers out there and from what i've seen we're in for an awesome experience.

Hopefully Fat Tire Farm in Portland or Santiam down in Salem will do a premier. Also what about a blu-ray release? That'd be awesome!

Life Cycles Behind the Scenes Part 1 from Life Cycles on Vimeo.

Not a whole lot going on in the world of Mountain biking....

Wait yes there is. Intrawest (hotel management company) is in hella debt and they are ditching a bunch of resorts including the one in Whister aka gravity riding capitol of the world. So this totally has something to do with mountain biking....

also pictures of the Legend in the Team paint were finally released... on sicklines.com. Just so you know I did the Top Tube Sticker... this wasn't my concept but i made it ready to become a decal.

new short teaser from Life Cycles - caution... rad'alert for sure. (might I say their website has a rad color scheme... great choice guys)

I can't wait for winter to end and mountain bike season to start.. a couple weeks and i'll have my health insurance! Blackrock YEAH!

This video is just on here for good measure.... awesome

It doesn't feel like winter... at all

I woke up this morning on MLK Jr. Day to warm sunny skies. If I had my health insurance I'd be heading to Blackrock without a doubt! To keep myself busy I decided to head out and set up my rack since i just went and picked up my 2nd Yakima King Cobra from my parents house. It turned out well and is really easy to pull on and off without taking the entire thing apart.. It looks nice with my Wildcard up there huh?

*Keep in mind when I put my bike up i realized that the knobs on the from clamps need to be below the rack instead of on top so the bit holding the front wheel in place can full extend. I fixed this after i took the pictures.

Check it out, nice sunny warm day huh?

Stay tuned because here soon I will probably go pick up my GoPro Hero HD cam to get even more ramped up for the season. Expect plenty of HD video content, especially after I get my Health Insurance.

The 10 Step Guide on How to Save your $$$$ to afford a DH/FR bike

Yes we all know it. Cost of entry into the Mountain biking world is a lot. So I have devised 10 clever ways to put money aside without having to make significant lifestyle changes.

*disclaimer* some suggestions may make significant changes to your lifestyle

1. Bum rides off your buddies and when they start asking for gas money, just tell them you'll get it next time. You'll at least get 8 to 10 more rides before they kick you out. Then just move onto a new friend. Repeat until out of friends.

2. Poop at work or on the go, toilet paper can really add up... if you schedule your trips around your bowel movements you can have the Starbucks' and Wal*Marts of the world front your monthly toilet paper bill.

3. They make "man cans" for a reason. Man up and get yourself some Steel Reserve instead of that yuppie crap that actually tastes good. Spend a buck or less on your all the refreshments you'll need for the evening.

4. Stop buying crap! We all buy useless garbage. I once bought a plastic lens on eBay that was supposed to turn a 15 inch tv to a 120" projection. Needless to say I got jipped. Hell, my brother bought a Terry Cloth T-shirt that was wider than it was long. I'm sure he wish he could go back on that transaction.

5. Sell the crap you used to buy. It is amazing how people will buy your garbage from you.

6. There is a reason I eat burritos every day. They are cheap. Be sure to make them.. not buy them.. otherwise you're just screwing yourself out of money that could go towards your bike.

7. Get a part time job at a bike shop.

8. Move in with your parents.

9. Use one credit card to pay off another, it will get so confusing that you'll forget all about your debt.

10. Steal

*disclaimer, I don't endorse stealing but you have to admit it could potentially save you a lot of money that you could put towards your bike.

The DH Race short list of 2010.

*disclaimer - I by no means am a quality DH rider - I just spend a lot of time on the internet reading so i know what i'm talking about.

Always on MTBR people ask What DH bike should I get for racing? Then you get the response form some jerk saying "well whats your budget? Where do you ride? Do you have a lift or do you have to pedal up? Do you mean Freeride because since you are asking for a dh RACE bike I'm sure you have no idea what you're talking about".... yeah we've all seen that guy.

I've ran into this question a few times this off-season and each time i pretty much copy paste my same answer. First of all I assume if someone is asking what race bike they should get then they're going to probably race the bike. If they're going to race they probably have enough money to get a legit race bike... and lastly, i actually think they mean what frame should i get.. make sense right?

Here is my short list for everyone to reference until the 2011 bikes start to leak out.. I promise this will help you.

FIRST Banshee Legend - This bike will win. Keep in mind, you didn't win... it did. By the way, "Legend" = sickest name ever.

SECOND Turner DHR - When Dave Turner says "It will be ready when it is ready" then you know we're in for a treat.

THIRD Evil Revolt - another DW linkage design so it can't be bad, plus one of their owners (kevin if i remember right) can draw pictures out of his backside. I can't wait to pick up a t-shirt when they're up and ready.

FORTH Intense 951 - Its Californian.

Those are definitely my top 4. There are others that I think are going to be or are great bikes.. .but they just don't come as quickly to mind when i hear DH Race. However they do need mentioned.

Transition TR450 - These guys come from good stock and their bikes are legit

Morewood Makulu - simple and clean and i hear the geo is spot on.

Yeti 303rdh - Yeti goes out on a limb all the time with their DH Bikes and they constantly solid.

Santa Cruz V10 - Its proven, thats for sure. but still feels a bit bland to me.

Of course there are the big box bikes as well, like the Specialized Demo 8, Giant Glory, Trek Session 88... All of these are quality bikes but they just don't stand out to me.

Well there you have it, your pre-season words of wisdom on purchasing a new DH race frame.

Rerack of PDX saves the day and me a lot of $$$$$.

Recently as none of you know I bought a new car - I went from a Subaru Forester with factory rails and crossbars to a Subaru Impreza with some inlayed rails. I already had a Yakima King Cobra so I figured easy swap right? Get some crossbars and whatever i need to connect it to the rails right? I also thought this would be a great opportunity to pick up another Yakima King Cobra so I can throw another bike on top, since I didn't have the ability to jam one in the back of the car like I did with the forester.

No big deal right? Couple hundred bucks well worth the investment. WRONG. Yakima sells these little plastic pads and these pretty creative little "control towers" for A LOT of money. I got a quote a on the Yakima site using their "Fit my car" feature and was unpleasantly surprised when i got a quote twice as much as i wanted to pay. I was super stoked but i figured I've gotta get it otherwise how am i going to get my bike to the trails this summer. Well Roger told me awhile back about a place in Portland called Rerack. They sell new and used Yakima and Thule rack systems. I emailed them and within a business day I got a quote for exactly what I wanted for what I was budgeting. Not only that but he let me know that they'll even install it for me at no extra cost.

Laurie and I showed up .. walked in and told him exactly what I was looking for.. Mike (the guy that helped us) got everything together really quick.. helped me save some extra money by finding some quality used crossbars and got it all ready for my bike.. he even took me through how to take it on and off... its literally a snap. Great work by the guys at Rerack.. i'm super stoked and will definitely go back anytime I need anything rack related.

They saved my summer.

Dang - This frame makes me want to actually ride uphill

I popped onto the Banshee Blog a moment ago and saw that Jay posted up some Spitfire frames.... the only reason i'm poaching his shots and throwing them on here is because I designed the Spitfire Icon - Yes that little circle thing. I'm stoked on it because it looks super good on the bike.. Can anyone guess what the icon is supposed to be?

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I'm not Canadian - but I can draw a pretty good leaf.

Jay posted up shots of Banshee's DJ/Park/4x/Street Hardtail today and it just happens to display some of my design handy work. First of all i did the Canadian Leaf Sticker he uses to mark a product ready to ship and then I also did the name AMP on the top tube!

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P90x Day 1 (back at it) with chest and back

Day 1 is all about pull ups and push ups.. my pull ups are still ok but my push ups are a mess.. Winter has really had its toll on me.. back at it now.. you know you had a good workout today when you have a tough time showering afterward.

through facebook and general conversation i've found a bunch of people starting P90x for the 1st time. That was the real motivator for me to jumping back on it. Really the biggest motivation is making sure i still fit into my riding shorts.. HA.

Legend Paint - Decisions

My Legend will be here in the coming weeks.. probably around 4 or 5 i'd assume. Given that it is winter still and that this bike is what it is, I want to do a custom paint job.

I have a lot of ideas for sure. first is my Zebra idea - I drew this up.. it is a lot for me but I thought it'd be nice to have something that turns heads.

Otherwise I thought just a raw set up would be really nice with black links or white links.. If Banshee Anos the links then i'll decide when I see them in person if I want to paint them or not... i'm not sure how hard or how much paining ano will be. I'll draw up some new concepts and put them up here so share.

Jay gave everyone an update on the production of the Legend over on his blog

Jay and Keith call this the canoe - i like to think of it as the shock basket.

Front Triangle...

Canoe before machining.

video from Jay.

Reflection on last season

This last season I rode more than I ever have. I was fortunate to get my Wildcard from the guys at Banshee for developing their 2009 catalog and it was the perfect bike for the season. I rode mostly a blackrock & post canyon with my dad and my buddy roger. I got faster, rode bigger (not big) stunts and had more fun in the hills than I have before. I even got to ride with a couple of guys California that are regulars on MTBR.com. Below are some pictures and a short video or two of the year.

Dads Rune Frame and my Wildcard

Fork and Frame

New helmet for the season

my wildcard all built

Riding Drop Out at Post Canyon

riding at Basic Training at Blackrock

Same Drop at Basic

Small Gap drop at basic

drop again at basic

Extended Play at Post Canyon

still extended play

Roger

At blackrock

This is my Dads Rune before we put a new Lyrik and atlas FR cranks.

at Blackrock

Dad at Post canyon check out the new wall ride being built.

Pushing back up basic

2009 was a great season.. I'm looking forward to 2010.

My first race season

I haven't decided how many races I want to compete in this year but I do know that I will ride in at least the Blackrock Flowcup


For 2010 I'll be riding a BansheeLegend MrkII.

For the most part this is what the build kit will look like. Frame: Legend, raw - black links Medium

Fork: Boxxer Team Coil, black lowers
Shock: Cane Creek DB
Bars: Atlas FR Red
Headset: Cane Creek XXc Flush II
Stem: TBC Temple Lite Direct Mount 50mm
Grips: Diety Classic
Shifter: X-0
Cable Housing: Jagwire Ripcord Red
Brake Levers: Elixir CR
Brakes: Elixir CR
Derailleur: X-9 short
Wheel Set: DT Swiss/Banshee to 729's
Tires: Minion DHF & High roller
Cranks: Atlas Freeride Red 170mm 36 tooth
Pedals: Straitline, Black
Guide: e13 SRS+ black
Saddle: Thomas Vanderham Pro Saddle
Cassette: SRAM
Chain: Wipperman or SRAM

I should have it at the end of the month and i'll be sure to share.

Tomorrow I begin my Cardio before my main exercise routine starts on Monday with P90x. I've done it once so i'm sure I can do it again.