20Six Big Bikes

Happy xmas from work

2011-12-23T08:04:00.001-08:00

Personalize funny videos and birthday eCards at JibJab!

4 Raven's Ridge Videos

2011-08-21T20:14:00.000-07:00

Pumped, Silverstar vacation.... yes

2011-07-09T21:49:00.001-07:00

Day at Sandy Ridge

2011-07-09T20:17:00.000-07:00

The weather guy said to brace for some of the hottest weather of the year. he was right, we hit 75 today and it looks like it'll be around the low 80's for awhile. This type of weather makes our NW winters a breeze. Had an awesome ride with Laurie, Evan, Amy and Dennis today. Laurie is really progressing after only her 3rd time on her new bike. Here are some pictures and short vids from the day. (Don't all you million readers worry, i'll have my GoPro back up and running for our Whistler trip this year.) Oh some of the pictures are kind of weird because i only had the iPhone... and forgot to turn off HDR.

Wild Raspberry's were popping up everywhere.

Me

Sandy Ridge - More Mountain Bike Videos

Evan

Sandy RIdge - More Mountain Bike Videos

Amy and Dennis

Sandy Ridge - Amy & Dennis - More Mountain Bike Videos

Killer day at Post Canyon

2011-06-25T23:09:00.001-07:00

2 shuttles up and some good sessioning, here is a video of the day.

Ryan H giving a tour of Post Canyon on pinkbike.com

Lots of climbing + jumping + descending = Riding Post Canyon.

2011-06-07T19:24:00.000-07:00

Saturday is the day to get out to Post Canyon in Hood River.

Temps hit the mid 80's... the bugs were crazy thick and the dirt was starting to get dry. Finally feels like summer.

It was a pretty busy day at Post. A lot of people there and a lot of kids. Its god to see parents out there with their kids so they can ride Family Man, Middle School and Pump Track.

One of my favorite things about riding there are the views of many cascade volcanoes. Here is Mt. Rainier, Mt. Adams and St. Helens.

Look to the right and you have Mt. Hood.

Here is a short video of our climb up. Everytime we ran into a FR area we decided to stop and do some riding.

Post Canyon with Dan - More Mountain Bike Videos

awesome day out there.. can't wait to go back out. Hopefully this next weekend.

A tale of two ridges

2011-05-26T18:33:00.000-07:00

Took the opportunity to go out and ride Sandy Ridge with Evan and his wife Amy on Saturday and then hit up Raven's Ridge on Sunday with Todd and a few guys.

Saturday was awesome, great weather, great dirt and Amy and I took our new bikes out for the first time. She rides a Santa Cruz Butcher with a very custom spec. Evan kills at getting color matched components without it getting stupid.

Amy killed it on the ride, we did 3 laps, pedaled up the road and hit the trails down. The weather and scenery was so nice that i should have taken my GoPro... next time.

The hardtail I decided to build (banshee paradox) was in a ridable state so i couldn't wait to take it out. Not only have i not owned a hardtail for a long time but i've never owned a 29'r. In fact the only time i've ridden a 29'r was in a parking lot so i didn't know what to expect. Needless to say it ripped. I now know why people ride trail with big wheels.

Amy and Evan hit this turn hard then it was time to head back down to the car to go grab some chow at Island Teriyaki

Amy and Evan at Sandy - More Mountain Bike Videos

Sunday came around and it was time to get out the big bike and head to Raven's Ridge. I have never been on this trail so i didn't have a lot to expect. Needless to say it was rad, even if it decided to start raining a bit early on.

No photos but i did edit a short video of the day. Thanks to Travis for supplying the truck to shuttle full laps all day.

Raven's Ridge - More Mountain Bike Videos

Photo Credits go to Evan (the nice pictures) the other ones are by me.

Good February Ride

2011-02-26T17:39:00.000-08:00

David and I went out to do some riding at Blackrock during a nice day in February.

David is a shredder so keeping up with him all day (and by all day, i mean ALL DAY) made me feel like i got better and faster. we did a ton of laps, dodged a lot of falling debris, cleared a tree from the trail, did a ton of laps and ate at Paula's.

David and I saw a cool line before the Road Gap on Sicktar Gnar so we decided to session it a few times. Its a small transfer into a berm... very fun. Here is a video.

David:

Blackrock Shorts - More Mountain Bike Videos

Me:

third try on a new line. - More Mountain Bike Videos

Also we ran into Patrick who took a video of David and I training the Airplane Hanger.

David and I at BR riding the Airplane Hanger - More Mountain Bike Videos

Good Day.

Holy crap i'm lazy.. i haven't put anything on here in a long time. Here's a video from racing karts w/ Laurie

2011-02-12T21:03:00.000-08:00

Karts with Laurie at Sykat! - More Mountain Bike Videos

Winter is slow and boring

2010-12-22T15:14:00.000-08:00

My schedule is now work, exercise, sleep with some video games thrown in. At least i have a few bike things on my mind.... Vital and PB have been doing a great job keeping content flowing PLUS i bought a new lid for the season. I snagged a TLD Love/Hate carbon lid for a great deal on BikeBling of course i just found an even better deal here. Oh well, missed out on a savings of $20.00. Regardless i got to use their HOLIDAY10 coupon code and it'll arrive tomorrow.

I was thinking about getting the beta blue or the SuperStar Red/Blue TLD D2 helmet but everyone has one now and every time i had either added to my cart.. i just couldn't pull the trigger.

you won't see a lot of love/hates anymore because they are being closed out and according to the TLD site the D2 Carbon = on a hiatus.. maybe permanently... i don't know. Anyway here is the lid that will be on my doorstep tomorrow. I think the name of this helmet is great because you either love it or hate it :)

Anyway other good MTB things to look forward to: 17 questions by Steve Peat will be out on Xmas Eve... be sure to check it on Vital. Life Cycles BluRay has supposedly been shipped by PB That should be in my mailbox soon and I'm going to start stockpiling parts of a new Rune Build.... stay tuned for that as i'm just about done putting together my preliminary build list. Will share when i'm done. Have a Merry Xmas and I hope everyone gets a lot of rad bike related gifts.

"I Ride for Nick's Eyes" No Pity Party, just rider's wanting to help out a fellow rider and all around good dude.

2010-10-27T17:46:00.000-07:00

I don't know Nick but i like to think the mountain bike community (especially the gravity part of it) is pretty tight knit and we're always keen to help out a fellow rider. Well Nick's eyes aren't doing so hot and long story short... health insurance doesn't have his back and no one wants nick to go blind so Demon Dirt, Banshee and others are trying to help Nick foot the bill for his surgery. Simply by purchasing a shirt, stickers or jersey will help Nick out. So reach into your wallet, don't be a pussy and buy something. Go to their store here: DEMON DIRT STORE

Straight from Nick -

Looks like a rad trail and some solid riding.

2010-10-26T16:51:00.000-07:00

Quick ride in Hood RIver, love Post Canyon.

2010-09-26T09:09:00.000-07:00

Short Post Canyon, Drop Out - More Mountain Bike Videos

PG kills it at Pacific.

2010-09-21T20:21:00.000-07:00

Not a whole lot has to be said here, the polish legend w/ black links is sweet. Big props to PG, Robs says if you have a banshee, PG probably built it.

www.bansheebikes.com.
awesome

Life Cycles

2010-09-01T22:24:00.000-07:00

I've watched this about 100 times and i pre-ordered my copy. I knew it would be better than Suspect... but this much better.. i couldn't have predicted.

Listen to what Clay Porter has to say...

Breakfast with Clay Porter: Life Cycles - More Mountain Bike Videos

Good Old Fashion Family Vacation

2010-08-27T22:01:00.000-07:00

Family Vacation to Whistler - More Mountain Bike Videos

I miss Whistler

2010-08-25T21:12:00.001-07:00

Summer Gravity Camps 2010 - Week 5 - Adult Week from Summer Gravity Camps on Vimeo.

So you want your girlfriend or spouse to ride mountain bikes with you....

2010-08-18T09:00:00.000-07:00

For all of us that ski, snowboard and ride mountain bikes there comes a time where we think "Man, Riding is soooo great I bet my girlfriend/spouse would love to do this with me!" This is a prime example of Man's optimistic mindset and His ability to overlook the means to get to his ideal end. The following is synonymous with any action sport we decide to share but since i like bikes more than any anything i'll use it as the base for the following scenario and steps.

Lets look at what we'll cover.

I. Why we think its a great idea to ride with our significant other.

II. How we typically go about teaching them.

III. How it turns out.

IV. Why it fails.

V. How to do it correctly.

Why we think its a great idea:

In our minds this is simple 1 + 1 = 2 Math. Take 1 thing we love, put it with another and wham, you have an awesome combo. Its just like adding chili to Mac n Cheese to make Chili-mac. Make sense?

Not only do you want to share the experience of riding but you also want to show all the cool stuff you can do on a bike. Lets face it pictures/video on the computer never do a feature or terrain justice and if your experiences are like mine your lady of the house starts to roll her eyes the more and more you yell "Hey come check this out!!!!" from the computer room right when she sat down to watch TV with some tea in hand. So how do we think we can solve this dilemma? Easy by bringing our girl along with us, thats how.

How we typically go about teaching:

We have a conflict of interest right away. We want to show off but we need to teach. So what usually happens is we drag our girlfriends/spouses on an "easy" trail that still has some cool stuff for us to ride. Things usually start off well by us giving a few pointers then its time to ride! We start riding until we come to the first corner, decent or whatever where our girlfriend is scared to do it. We try and reassure her that it is really easy but she won't try it. We get a bit frustrated because we "know" she can do it but we still move on down the trail. That is when we encounter the next section of the trail that is a bit over her head. The whole process happens over and over until you get frustrated to the point where she is pissed at you and you're ready to get home.

How it typically turns out:

Bad, she hates riding and thinks its even stupider than before.

Why it fails:

This fails because all we want to do is share the ride. We forget that we need to actually teach how to ride. We're lucky that with Mountain Biking your girlfriend may actually know how to ride a bike.. So this should be easy right? Nope... because mountain biking involves a lot more for just riding the bike. This leads me into my next point though....

How to do it correctly:

The first step is to get to the dirt but don't show up at the trails you like to ride, even many of the "skills areas" at your local trails may be too much. You need to find some dirt that is really really mellow.. so mellow that your student may find it silly. If she does, run her through it and then move on.. otherwise just keep riding in that area and then going on to more dirt that is incrementally more difficult as she gets comfortable. Here is the key that will make this a lot of fun for her, let her ride around without you giving crazy amounts of tips.

It may take a long time for her to get up to the skill level where you guys can go out for an actual ride

BONUS TIPS:

1: If you know someone else that is just learning to ride too have them come along with your girlfriend.. she may really like that.. but make sure you ask her if she is cool with it.

2: Buy her some new Sombrio shorts, socks and gloves. After her 2nd or 3rd time out.

Follow these steps and your chance of having fun riding with your girlfriend will increase.

best SS contest in years..

2010-08-15T19:22:00.001-07:00

Good work to all the riders that came out and heal up to everyone that got hurt.

Rad.

2010-08-15T10:58:00.000-07:00

Rad!

I want to say something about buying bike related stuff

2010-08-09T19:45:00.001-07:00

Now more than ever we have amazing choices for cycling products. Awesome frames, forks, cranks, shocks and so much more... the problem is.. where do begin to decide what to get?

well you can jump on mtbr.com or god forbid pinkbike.com and ask the "experts" but you'll soon find out the only answers you'll get are a bunch of crap biased answers.. even from me. More recently i've been buying from shops and company's directly that have treated like their business depends on my $. I'll name 2 real quick... 1 shop and 1 company.

Shop: Universal Cycles... this name probably rings a bell even if you don't live in Portland. Universal Cycles has a big online shop w/ multiple warehouses. They carry a shit ton of goods at reasonable prices. I've bought many of the finishing touches for my Legend at the shop and Aaron at universal even put the whole thing together for me. Sure the work they do there on my bikes is great and they get me products real quick.. but whats best is that they take the time to answer my questions, they call me by name and they help me out with problems i have w/ certain components *cough..el *cough*..ixers.. uh* even though i didn't buy it from them.

I know they might not do this for everyone .. but i was in a bind and needed some work done on a Friday so i could ride on Saturday morning... i can't remember what i needed done but it was probably something time consuming and.. well long story short.. i explained that i needed to ride on Saturday and they had the bike ready Friday afternoon when i dropped it off that morning. These guys do a great job of treating everyone great and staying approachable... if you're in portland .. drop by their shop at 1820 NW 18th Ave. If you're not in Portland go to www.universalcycles.com to check out the massive amounts of inventory they have.

So that leaves us with the company..

Company: Deity - Holy crap, what can i say. Super fast, very personalized experience to say the least. I met Sadie and Eric at Sea Otter in 2010. Ever since i've bought, bars, 2 sets of pedals, 2 sets of grips, a stem, t-shirt and Sadie sent a t-shit out for my girlfriend. Its funny that i've bought all this (and plan to my exponentially more from them) when the first experience i had with their product wasn't the best. I bought some grips from an unnamed retailer and for some reason i only got a couple of screws for the clamps. It was a bitch getting the replacement screws from the retailer.. and they said they weren't accusing me of trying to get free shit but it sure felt like it. .. Well I just about gave up then i ran into Sadie and them at Sea Otter.. i told her about it in more about it and when i got home from the trip she called me at work and got my info to send everything out. In like 2 days i got my grips on and ready to roll. What a great experience (or as we say in my industry.. service recovery). Every purchase since has been rad... did i mention they are fast at sending stuff out... if they have it in stock it'll get to you quick. Beyond their service.. their product is amazing... i saw a guy w/ a mid-20lbs Ibis Mojo at blackrock recently.. and it was equipped with the new Decoy LT pedals.. nice choice if you ask me.

So all in all when you're buying bike gear.. go somewhere that is going to treat you with respect and not make you feel like a you're inconveniencing them. You're spending a lot of money on something you're going to break.. your business is important.

video from the blackrock Shuttle day.

2010-07-25T20:57:00.000-07:00

Here is my video from the BR shuttle day... keep in mind my battery died 1/2 way through the day.

Black Rock Shuttle Day 2010 - More Mountain Bike Videos

why you don't buy Wal*Mart bikes.

2010-07-24T21:22:00.000-07:00

and this is why you wear a helmet and neck brace for that matter.

Fat Kid Bounces Down Steps On His Head - Watch more Funny Videos

Blackrock Shuttle

2010-07-22T22:22:00.000-07:00

Shuttle day this Sunday! We'll get plenty of video and evan told me his buddy Jason will be there to take pictures!

Sictar Gnar - More Mountain Bike Videos

Evan's Post Bonus!

2010-07-20T18:43:00.000-07:00

Here is Evans edit... very nice

Post Canyon Summer 2010 - More Mountain Bike Videos

Riding Post Canyon with 12 guys. Ton of fun.

2010-07-18T08:11:00.000-07:00

Post Canyon - More Mountain Bike Videos

BONUS!!!!!

Three Blind Mice, Post Canyon - More Mountain Bike Videos

Deity goods came in and the Legend is finally finished.

2010-07-15T17:33:00.001-07:00

Holy crap - Sadie sent out the new deity decoy lt's for the my legend to finish the build off... These pedals are super light, very thin and polished off. I could tell the moment i pulled the box the pedals came in out of the brown UPS box that these things were going to be rad. Here is outcome... plus i got the some of the Decoy 2's for the wildcard ... also very awesome.

very respectable

Mike Montgomery - shredding from Bend

2010-07-03T06:16:00.000-07:00

Trail = Rad

2010-07-02T09:52:00.001-07:00

Shellburg Falls Trails

2010-06-29T11:07:00.000-07:00

The main trail we rode was called bullit. It wasn't tough but it was a a lot of fun.

Shellburg Falls OR, Bullit etc - More Mountain Bike Videos

Bryan getting a feel for a small drop, he'll get it next time.

small drop at shellburg - More Mountain Bike Videos

Silver Star Bike Park

2010-06-26T22:52:00.001-07:00

Awesome vid.

Silver Star Bike Park - More Mountain Bike Videos

quick roll down BD2 followed by Raleigh.

2010-06-14T18:26:00.000-07:00

First time i've been actually filmed.

check out Raleigh's other vids

stoked for whistler.

2010-06-06T18:33:00.000-07:00

Coastal Crew Ep.7 - Whistler Opening Weekend from The Coastal Crew on Vimeo.

Rode out at Blackrock... like usual.

2010-06-06T09:46:00.000-07:00

Met some guys on MTBR that wanted to go ride BR - we had a killer day out there.

Riding at Blackrock today. - More Mountain Bike Videos

Great US Open vid from sicklines.com

2010-06-01T21:05:00.000-07:00

Love it.

2010-05-31T13:54:00.001-07:00

Knolly Bikes Team Training at Blackrock from Knolly Bikes on Vimeo.

Details of the Legend -

2010-05-26T21:30:00.000-07:00

Here are some up close shots - Only had the bike on the dirt once but it got dirty..

thats the bike for now... i'll get out on it this memorial weekend, hopefully some legit dh.

The Legend is built and i rode it.

2010-05-24T19:51:00.000-07:00

simple as that.

great work mike and justin

2010-05-20T19:25:00.000-07:00

I met Justin at Sea Otter - he is a pretty cool dude and very talented in capturing visuals. He put this piece that premiered on Vital MTB earlier today about Banshee Rider, Mike Montgomery. This guy kills and he does a great job about representing the brand.

Spotlight: Mike Montgomery - More Mountain Bike Videos

Got out on a ride today at Blackrock with my Dad.

2010-05-15T20:39:00.000-07:00

Got out on a nice sunny day to ride with my Dad at Blackrock. Dirt was great and the bugs were out. I'll definitely bring my deet with me next time.

on a side note, i found out the Blackrock Flow Cup is in 15 DAYS.. I'm hoping to have the rest of my bike here so i can ride the Legend in it.

speaking of the Legend .. i've been wanting to wait until it was fully built to put it on the blog, but it looks too good not to share.

The icing on the cake today though was dad brought down my Raceface Atlas FR cranks that were sent down from Canada last week. Not only are they rad but they came with a pint glass... i totally didn't expect that.

More to come...

Man these are wide bars.

2010-04-20T20:34:00.000-07:00

Yes they are. . . . pink too.

Julian from Race Face hooked me up with the pink bars for my Legend build.

Originally i had decided on the red ones, then I thought i'd go with black. The problem with black is... I already have black for my Wildcard. Well i dropped into the Race Face tent and was super stoked on the pink bars for sure.

Heres Julian talking about all the goods.

Back from Sea Otter

2010-04-19T20:58:00.000-07:00

Great trip down to California for Sea Otter. It started off with an early flight out to San Jose where i picked up a classic American-Made Ford Focus. Drove down to Monterey from there and met Rob, Dalen, Keith from Banshee and the rest of the folks for a few days of fun. We went to the Follow Me premier, hung out with a lot of industry players, went to the Race Face & Pinkbike dinner (tons of fun) and spent some time on the beach. I went to a couple races too. Here are a few pictures from the festivities.

Tada

Timberline Bike Park, awesome.

2010-04-08T22:56:00.000-07:00

Yes - Timberline figured it out and decided to put a bike park on the hill! They decided to do it right too by hiring gravity logic and getting the local riding community input. I'm really stoked to see what comes of it.

Trails are supposed to start opening for the Summer of 2011.

Banshee/Mythic welcomes Adam Brayton

2010-04-06T21:15:00.000-07:00

Adam is a pinner, stoked to have him on the team.

A few favorite trails.

2010-03-21T16:13:00.000-07:00

Here it is, this is a long one. It is a few trails i ride regularly. The editing isn't that great because i was sick of doing it. I think its still worth a watch though.

How could anyone not love mountain biking after watching this.

2010-03-10T22:18:00.001-08:00

Follow Me - the Teaser from Anthill Films on Vimeo.

I love this place

2010-03-09T18:57:00.000-08:00

Grant's Getaways - Black Rock Mountain Biking from Travel Oregon on Vimeo.

Went out to Blackrock with Dad today

2010-03-06T19:56:00.001-08:00

Dad and i drove out to blackrock to do some riding while the weather is awesome. there was a ripper little kid out there... age 8 or so. The footages is pointed down at the bike a bit more to show whats going on.. but i think it was pointed down just a bit too much. i'll find that sweet spot for sure. We rode Bonzai 1 & 2 then rode Sictar Gnar and lower Bonsai to finish out the day.

enjoy.

Day at Blackrock with my dad from ryan daugherty on Vimeo.

Blackrock Awesome

2010-02-21T21:51:00.001-08:00

Rode with Roger and Kyle today. it was sick. Enjoy

Riding with Roger and Kyle at Blackrock Feb 21, 2010 from ryan daugherty on Vimeo.

anti-stoke

2010-02-20T07:40:00.001-08:00

my fav banshee video from Aaron Larocque

2010-02-17T21:59:00.000-08:00

Aaron kills -

Banshee Scythe from Aaron Larocque on Vimeo.

and his demo reel is spot on.

Aaron LaRocque 2009 Demo Reel from Aaron Larocque on Vimeo.

Pictures from yesterdays ride.

2010-02-14T14:13:00.000-08:00

here are some shots from yesterday.. have fun.

not sure what was happening to miguel here.. probably throwing up.

Pizza and Wings.

2010-02-14T08:38:00.000-08:00

Awesome day up at Blackrock this Saturday - went up with Miguel to get the season kicked off early. NO RAIN all day. it was great. Miguel has some pictures from the day so when I get those i'll add them to the video.. Enjoy

Blackrock first day of the season, 2010 from ryan daugherty on Vimeo.

BTW, the blackrock guys were doing some work when we were up there.. and they have some great stuff in the works.... we rode a hodgepodge of trails today since a handful were closed for work... I can't wait to ride sictar from top to bottom once it is 100% polished... and they were building what looks like to be a small wallride on the top section of bonzai.. I have a feeling summer is going to be gooooood.
__________

Season starts on Saturday

2010-02-12T09:11:00.000-08:00

My season officially starts on Saturday - Miguel and I are going to go ride at Blackrock, it will be raining so but it is Feb in the PNW, so it is expected. We'll probably spend the majority of our time at Basic. I want to get the cobwebs brushed out and Miguel is just starting to get on a big bike so hanging out at basic will give him a great opportunity to get comfortable and develop some technique.

I'll have my cam with me and i'm sure miguel will bring his still camera.

should be a good time!

www.bansheebikes.com

2010-02-05T20:31:00.000-08:00

www.bansheebikes.com is up and running. I did the concept designs for this site. It sure was a learning experiences. There are some things I would do differently next time but overall i think it turned out great!

can't wait to work on the next one.

TIme to start thinking about cleaning up the cobwebs

2010-02-02T18:16:00.000-08:00

hopefully we get a early start to the season but if we aren't lucky enough we don't want to find ourselves wasting precious laps getting brushing off the "offseason" Cobwebs. Here are some nice cornering tips from Lars of Transition Bikes new racing team.

Coastal Crew killing it.

2010-02-02T18:02:00.000-08:00

Today was so nice out and I was stuck in a cubical in a concrete building. At least when i made it home, coastal crew brought my level of stoke up for sure. Great edit.

5 things mountain bikers like besides mountain biking

2010-01-31T16:04:00.000-08:00

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.

2010-01-31T11:05:00.000-08:00

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

2010-01-24T12:54:00.000-08:00

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.

2010-01-24T11:08:00.000-08:00

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....

2010-01-21T21:47:00.000-08:00

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

2010-01-18T12:20:00.000-08:00

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

2010-01-14T18:20:00.001-08:00

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.

2010-01-13T21:59:00.000-08:00

*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 $$$$$.

2010-01-12T20:42:00.000-08:00

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

2010-01-11T20:57:00.000-08:00

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?

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

2010-01-11T15:13:00.001-08:00

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!

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

2010-01-10T11:41:00.000-08:00

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

2010-01-08T10:53:00.001-08:00

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

2010-01-02T18:23:00.000-08:00

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

2010-01-01T13:12:00.000-08:00

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.