At what point to grown men grow up? As the horizon called 40 approaches, I have no idea when that will occur…or is supposed to occur by normal ‘adult’ standards. I am fitter than ever and the good news is that the SAME exact feelings I had when riding on my GT as a kid still rush through me to this day when I turn the cranks. All of us make the little braaap moto sounds, pull wheelies, table every possible lip…and of course case stuff when we don't get it right and laugh about it. Or in my case, cringe and bleed…but more on that in a bit.

The boys and I got our game on and headed out due west on the 70 to Fruita CO. A city that has some SUPER interesting history and how the mountain bike LITERALLY has changed the game for that town and its growth. The crew: Ward Baker, Rob Batey, Bobby Noyes, John Guillaume, Paul Luger, Rich Zirk, and our man, “Mr. GPS”, Dave Weber. We drove out Thursday AM and headed back Sunday and our rides took us over some absolutely amazing terrain in both Grand Junction and Fruita proper. We nailed out The Monument in Grand Junction, a mad swing into Utah via Zion’s and linked up basically 3 rides into a 6 hour epic and finally wrapped things up with some of the faves in Fruita via 18 Road.

The Grand Junction stop was rad…save for a blown spoke 1/2 hour into my ride. The boys and I were railing some crazy sandy and rocky singletrack in a desert like landscape when a rock flew into my wheel and I heard a ‘ping!’. I looked down to see that I’d cracked the solid aluminum spoke on my Mavic Crossmax 29’er rear wheel. I split up from the crew and flew down the highway to Grand Junction calling 411 on T-Mobile to find out where the shops were. I was able to get a great guy on the line from ‘The Bike Shop’ where he told me to bring ‘er on in and he’d get me riding. The crew there was SUPER helpful and 15 minutes later and only $4 bucks lighter, I was dialed in with a Ksyrium spoke to hold me over until I could see the Mavic guys at the Fruita Festival who were there for support. I was able to get back to the Monument trail system and put another hour of riding in so the day was not blown out.

Day 2 was THE epic. We cruised west on the 70 until we hit the Rabbit Valley exit near the Utah border.

Click to read more ...

a) It's about having fun.

b) It's about beer and champagne.

c) It's about mountain biking.

d) It's about...facial hair.

e) It's about Red Bull doing something interesting in the 'cross world this season.

From CyclingDirt.org

And check out Lyne's interview too! Ladies, look the hell out. You're about to get trounced.

Broken bikes, wheels...and bodies. We're drilling it and I'll post soon. Just a teaser of my hamburger-ized, stem...

More details soon!

Watch Danny MacAskill closely. This is the next wave of freeriding and it is so far advanced it's hard to conteemplate riding getting any better or more advanced. But it does. We evolve. This, to me is all of the smoothness slopestyle and BMX has to offer combined with the best of the ballsiest huck-style freeriding....all with skills so far beyond it's breathtaking.

And yes, that's Band of Horses.

I've always been enamored with this cherub like son of Flanders, Wim Jacobs. Former Belgian Worlds selection, former Fidea rider and most recently with Morgan Blue, home boy got blasted with a positive and requisite suspension recently. The kid looks like a brick house and I'd specifically pick him out over the years to watch his style and technique. He's a mudder for sure.

I got to see Wim every weekend we raced in Belgium, warming up with him on the courses, saying hello. An absolutely nice guy. But aren't they all? Which leads me to that age old question: Why? I don't want this to turn into a messy rant but in the case of Wim, it must be desperation. Let's face it, Wim's face isn't seen on the pointy end of races at the GVA's or SP's. He's a mini celeb in the smaller local races, still dwarfed by Geert Wellens or Arnie Dahlmans if they were there, but at races of substance (read: coverd by sporza n the boob tube) that really have the cash purses, he's fodder.  So I guess to maintain the ability to stay out of the factories or paving streets, I suspect these kids have to keep the results flowing in to keep those minor contracts alive. And thus to the butt comes the needle.

But I digress. I'm just sick and tired of the joke the sport has become. I'd hope that 'cross was somehow going to side step the doping drama but I'm a fool for thinking that.

There was a moment last week of indescribable lightness. The kind of bliss that occurs when everything just dissipates and you're left with a sense of joy that comes very infrequently as an adult. Most days, I turn to the bike to erase the noise and static of the world into my own snow filled-channel zero. Last week with the family in Mexico, however, it was the sound of the breaking surf intermixed with the screams of joy of my children and the feeling of soft sand between the toes that created an even better channel zero. One that needed no suffering to generate. And when I realized what I felt like at that moment lying there on the beach, it was like the biggest sigh of relief I've ever had.

The next stage is happening. It's a massive career shift after 12 long years of building and growth at my last gig. I'm in between...and for the first time in a long time so excited for what lies ahead. New paths that will create new memories with new compatriots...along with all the required challenges. Lots has been brewing and there is so much work to be done...so much to innovate, create and renew belief in, this whole nation should be crushing it as far as I am concerned.

But first, some mountain biking to be done before the next decade push.

Onward.

This is a re-cast of Rob Love’s post, owner of Blue Sky Velo in Longmont and Mavic Neutral Support Personality Extraordinaire. They’re in Monterey for The Otter and had this to say…

VBP at Sea Otter

BAM, that number plate just got tagged, Valmont-style!

hey kids:
for those of you lucky enough to be reading this blog from Sea Otter, and for the rest of us that need to live vicariously through pictures showing a little VitaminD, check it out: Mike Eubank of the Valmont Bike Park crew is out at Sea Otter doing his thing along with IMBA getting the word out about the park. Mike is spending his own time and money out there, spreading the gospel! This will definitely get some national attention to the park, and help speed along fundraising and construction.

The IMBA booth is 20x20ft of bike-avocating madness!

The VBP trail map is about as Pro as it gets.

Alright, that's about it for right now--so if you or someone you know is out in Monterrey, give'em a text, tweet, e-mail, or smoke signal and tell 'em to get over to the booth and give Mike and the crew some props!
Rob Love, over&out.

'Old Friend' Businesses Celebrate Children's Day And Earth Day The Pedestrian Shops and Boulder Arts & Crafts Gallery are teaming up for a kids' Crocs-decorating event to benefit the Boulder Mountainbike Alliance designated for the Kids' Learning Loop at the Valmont Bike Park. Parents and kids can purchase a pair of kids' Crocs at the Pedestrian Shops and take them next door to the Boulder Arts & Crafts Gallery to decorate them, 1-3 p.m. April 24, 1400 block of Pearl Street, 303-443-3683 or 303-449-5260

All great industries have well known rivalries. Mac vs PC, Coke vs Pepsi, SRAM vs Shimano....and so on. In the car rack industry, it's traditionally been a Thule and Yakima show. Unless you're in Colorado! And if you're here in CO, cars are awash in COLOR....brought to you by RockyMounts!

Folks invest so much in their bikes, Bobby Noyes, founder and owner of RockyMounts and his crew here in Boulder, allow you to PRO-ify your fossil-fuel burning ride with their array of colored racks, many with insane prints, all to show off your own style. And as Bobby says in his company's motto: "The racks (and thus your car) are for use only if you positively cant ride there." I did a '5 questions with..." episode with Bobby to learn more about this business of his, how it started and where it's going. Have a read of that to understand the company's history, but what needs to be understood is the core cycling focused approach RockyMounts has to its product design and to its own culture. It's about cycling and the lifestyle we all love and lead.

So recently Bobby, after months of engineering work, launched his latest incarnation of a modern roof-mounted bicycle transporter: The Pitch Fork! But with the release of the Pitch Fork, I think Bobby has a game changing product on his hands to turn the screws on the behemoth car rack manufactures and their benign, uninspiring, stove top black approach to market domination. I swung by the shop and Bobby walked me through the product and I was floored. I grabbed two new ones and immediately started to put them on my roof racks. I observed the following...

• Mine were of course white sex powder coated aluminum,but there are plenty of colors to choose from!
• The new trays are built from stout aluminum and combined with the new fork mount torque lever, bike sway was non-existent...and trust me I rallied my grocery getter to see what was going on on hard side to side turns.
• The trays work seamlessly with either Thule® and Yakima® crossbars so there is not this massive re-investment. Just install 'em on the system you have attached to your car now!
• The racks came complete with all hardware for quick and easy installation. It took me less than 5 minutes per rack to get 'em on nice and securely.
• The Pitch Fork includes the new stainless steel, long-throw, lockable quick release is the easiest to use in the rack industry. One sided smooth, positive adjustment, large knob is easy to turn, 12mm of closure (our closest competitor only has 7mm!). There is not a single easier to use mechanism that provides that much torque and security. My wife LOVES this because it's super easy for her to get the bikes on and off securely as she doesn't have the same hands strength I do.
• The new Pitch Fork now has a Nylon ratchet strap is adjustable and easily secures the skinniest road tire, and up to a 2.7” mountain bike tire 
• MSRP $89.95

I was able to snap a couple of photos of the Pitch Fork and I'll walk you through some of the rad details....

Note the profile...incredibly low! LOTS Of reduced noise and  super PRO looking.

This is the new torquing mechanism for the fork mount. Have a look at how it works! Also note the disc brake cut-out, now standard on the tray.

This is a shot demonstrating how my 29'er 2.1" tires fit. The tray is designed to accommodate from a road tire up to a 2.7! A rad feature here is that the straps slide from the SIDE of the tray, not the bottom, which means super small bikes (kids bikes) can be easily accommodated for without having to take the rack apart to slide the strap past the load bar.

Old and New: The Lariat (right) as compared to the Pitch Fork (left).

So who do YOU support? Big Co's stovetop black uninspiring racks, or RockyMount's innovative new product emanating from a company that BLEEDS cycling through and through? I know you know the right choice here...

You can Buy Online, call them or visit "Rocky Mounts world wide HQ" in the flesh to purchase the racks and other carrier supplies.

Awww, yeah! The boys and I are heading due west on the 70 to the Fruita Fat Tire Festival at the end of this month. CAN NOT WAIT! We'll get some big mileage in, invariably drink some adult beverages and laugh lots. I'm going to be testing some new bits sent to me by the good people at SRAM to ensure their new products can meet up to the demands of...me. Ha! That is how serious companies like SRAM are in ensuring what they make works and works well. This will be the second time riding for me in Fruita. The first time, a year ago exactly with a big crew. Good times! Looking forward to some deep milage.