Ride reports.
You already know which trail I am talking about because everyone in every area of the world has at least one. The weather is poised to be perfect over the weekend. Your local forum is buzzing with suggestions on where to ride and take advantage of everything the great outdoors has to offer.
For the past 6 weeks, the southeast United States has seen nothing but grey skies and rain. As you can imagine, this…combined with cold weather…makes for less than ideal mountain biking conditions. Like any avid cyclist…you make due. You ride at night when you can and throw a leg over the road bike when things get too messy.
Mountain Biker Turned Roadie The Roadie Group Ride “Have you seen my legs?” It was…
But it was late November, hunters still a week away didn’t pose any real danger now. Tom started slowly to reel in track on his wheel. The area looked different than he was used to. Autumn grabbed whole area into it’s hands, turning green into brown and hiding trails from the eye under deep layer of fallen leaves.
And that’s how it was for many years. Pack up the bike come November, get out the skis, and grin and bear it until the spring thaw. Until recently. I’ve found a way to keep the ‘endless summer’ going, like the surfer-dudes in the 1966 silver screen classic of the same name. I now travel the world every winter, mountain bike in tow, in search of the perfect ride, the two-wheeled equivalent of the perfect wave.
We started off the ride in 38 degree overcast and ended it in 45 degree sunshine and I am extremely glad that we didn’t bail on account of the outside temperature. We were warm the entire ride and it was perfect. Since this was my first extended ride on the road bike, I did have some very distinct observations to share. This ride was a huge eye opener into what I have to look forward to in the ride to come…
Today provided me with a unique look on the true greatness that is the cycling community. We have many different backgrounds, come from all age groups, have different riding abilities and have different riding styles, but when it all comes down to it…we stick together.
With the arrival of the Mountain Cycle Rumble, it was time to get out of my riding comfort zone. For a long time now, I have wanted a hardtail that could double as a dirtjump bike and a freeride machine. This deal hit with Mountain Cycle and I was able to get my dream. The Rumble with a Rock Shox Pike bolted up allows 95mm travel for the dj’s and 140mm for the freeride sections.
For those of us on the east coast of the United States, Asheville, NC is the capital of mountain biking. There may be other areas that have a better downhill, a better cross country race, etc., but no where on the east coast offers the diversity that Asheville and the surrounding areas provide.
Red Bull Rampage, the premier freeride mountain biking competition, held annually from 2001 to 2004, is blasting back onto the scene in 2008, bigger and badder than ever before. From October 2-5, Red Bull Rampage: The Evolution will draw the greatest riders in the world to a new venue just outside Virgin, Utah, offering the most challenging terrain mountain bike competition has ever seen.