MTB

Summer is here. Even if it’s raining outside right now. Winter is finished. And spring? It’s a short season in Utah. And with the arrival of summertime, I’m starting to sense the annual urgency that comes with peak racing season. The events that seemed so far off when I registered or committed to them, are now almost reality. Training cycles are no longer about getting fit. They’re about being ready to race specific events. Finally! And of course, the event that has dominated my energy is the Colorado Trail Race. It’s bigger than anything I’ve ever done. A lot bigger. I have no idea if I’l be prepared for July 21. There’s only one way to truly find out. But until then, I’ll keep pedaling, packing, reading, and scheming. The turning of calendar pages has brought doubt, questions, and introspection. Am I really qualified to try something like the CTR? Pfft. Is anyone, really? Probably not, and yet…. After all, it is just a bike race. In fact, it’s almost not even that. It’s just bike riding. And I do that almost every day. Easy, right? Resistance is a predictable, but devious, force. It creeps through the shadows, waiting for the right moment to start whispering imminent demise. “You will fail.” “Why bother at all?” “Be happy with what you have.” I’ve let Resistance beat me before. I’ve let it talk me out of doing, and being, more of the things I’ve always wanted to do, and to be. But I’ve also beat Resistance. I wouldn’t be writing these words, and I wouldn’t be planning to race my bike all summer long if Resistance and I did not fight with each other so regularly, and if I did not also win so regularly. But that doesn’t mean that beating it back gets any easier. I’m about to embark on something new, different, and uncertain. And like the Colorado Trail Race, I really don’t know if it’s something I’m ready to do. I have no idea if I will succeed. But I do know that the closer I get, Resistance has more to say. “You will fail.” “You will fail.” “You will fail.” Maybe. But so what? When did failure become so poisonous? Why are we so afraid to fail? There isn’t any way to (eventually) succeed that doesn’t involve failure. So fail away. “But! People will laugh. And scorn. And mock.” Yes, they will. Misery loves company. And so do people who have never fought, let alone defeated, Resistance. I’m going to keep getting ready for the Colorado Trail Race. I’m going to keep riding my bicycle over big mountains. And I’m going to keep ignoring the persistent whispers that delight in things that never were, or will be. “You will fail.” No, it’s too late for that. I’ve already won. The post It’s Too Late For Failure appeared first on Grizzly Adam.net.Related posts: Late Fall Late Afternoon: Moab Refocus Colorado Ambitions Recalibration

If you're were into mountain bikes in the late '90s there's no doubt the Kranked series of freeride films got your heart racing like nothing else. We caught up with filmmaker Bjørn Enga to see what he's been working on lately. http://goo.gl/jpj6W

The RedBull Phenom contest is going on currently and the winner gets a spot in the invite-only XGames MTB slopstyle this summer. There have been a bunch of great entries from all over the world but here is the first local submission from DJ Brandt. Killer edit from Tim DaCosta as always!

The Ergon sponsored Canyon Enduro Team won at the opening round of the Enduro World Cup in Italy.  Riding the BA3 SuperEnduro pack, GA1 grips, and SM3 saddle, Fabien Barel turned in the fastest times of the weekend!  Check out the highlight video!

PinkBike.com recently sat down with Ergon factory rider, Richie Schley.  Get all the juicy details on sponsorship, wheel size, girls, partying, etc.  Click the image to access the full article on PinkBike.com

For a long time I identified myself as a bike racer. I rode my bike to get strong and powerful for bike racing. If there was a road race, criterium or cyclo-cross race I was there. I lined up a lot and race a lot. I liked it. I loved it. This racing fuelled me. I saw the world thanks to bike racing and I met so many fantastic people thanks to bike racing. I did things I never imagined I would ever do. Last year, I decided to quit bike racing. It had been a rocky few years with this darn ulcerative colitis and a scary injury to my back and then getting sick again last May. That was it – I was done. I needed to get healthy and just ride my bike for fun. No more racing. No more training plans. No more race stress. No more self-imposed expectations. I would ride if I wanted and if not well, I wouldn’t ride. I felt content about this decision. Then September rolled around – the local cyclo-cross season was starting and thanks to modern medicine, I found myself in a remission. Hmm, why not race? It will be fun and get me out riding. Oh man, I was freaked out and nervous. I wasn’t even sure I could get around the course – zero fitness and little to no energy. But I went. I lined up. I pedaled. I smiled. I had fun. In fact the most fun I’d had in a very long time at a bike race. I was simply riding and doing what I could. I didn’t worry about who was ahead of me or behind me. I just rode. I had nothing to lose but so much to gain. Admittedly it was hard to not be at the front duking it out with fast Ottawa girls. But I learned so much more about myself from racing with the very limited tools I had. But what made it so much more than I could have ever expected were the people – people cheering me on, the other women who I raced against hugging me after the race, the encouragement from others, seeing the young teenage girls learning and thriving, and just being so welcomed into such a community of people. In years past, I would never have experienced this – doing a serious pre-race warm-up, racing and then quickly changing and zipping off for a long cool down ride. And now here I sit. Last week was a rough week. I was tired. Really tired. For the first time ever, I didn’t do my planned work-outs. In fact I didn’t even feel like riding my bike. On Wednesday I tried really hard to convince Marc that I was ready to quit. That I didn’t want to race anymore. That I hated the scheduling and programming of my life around work-outs. That I was missing out on so many other things. Luckily Marc is a very strong and steady voice of reason and calm… On Friday I did feel a bit better and after a good talk with my coach, I felt even better. Plain and simple – I was tired. It had been a big training block and it was natural to feel so tired. We’d continue with the planned work-outs and take a rest week this week. Perfect. The riding this weekend went really well. And there was proof positive that I’m learning – on Sunday I started to get quite tired at around the four hour mark of my planned five hour ride. My legs felt heavy. I was starting to feel a bit cold (some kind of weird temperature shift happened). My work-out plan was four to five hours – so in an uncharacteristic move, I elected to cut the ride short and ride for 4.5 hours. I recognized that I was tired and that forcing out the extra 30 minutes wouldn’t really give me anything. And now I’m thinking about racing. I registered for the eQuinelle Grand Prix – a criterium that promises to have some very fast ladies lining up. I have no idea what to expect. I haven’t raced my road bike in a very long time. I used to love racing my road bike. I used to really love racing criteriums. So I’ll go and see what happens. So am I a racer again? Yes, yes I am a racer again. But I’m not the same racer I was. Instead of being compelled to race every race possible a

Jordan Dwan is a giant APE, doing it canadian style with FBM, 1664 BMX and BMX Fu crew, (who’s trailer below, blew my mind). Not too often to I find photos waiting for me of wild men drinking with samurai swords. I like this! Rock Over london, Rock over Chicago! FU666 Movie Trailer from Charlie Crumlish on Vimeo. Jordan Dwan Is Losing Control from Charlie Crumlish on Vimeo. Steady Rollin – Jordan Dwan from TiogaBMX on Vimeo.

I got to swim in the dark cold waters of the swimming hole that has preoccupied my mind since I first heard about it months ago. It's on my neighbors land and they are gracious in allowing me to use it. It's got WW written all over it. The trail from the cabin to go swimming

@bythehive guys MADE me ride my Bronson here today!!! santacruzbicycles