Between the warm waters of the Mediterranean Sea that greeted us at the bottom of each run, and a culture in Finale that put an emphasis on living more than simply making a living there was a lot to love about closing out the competitive season in Finale Ligure. But in the end it was the trails that really won me over. From riding past Neolithic Era caves one minute, around medieval castles the next, or down the remnants of old Roman roads, you really were riding through history. In this photo Bryson Martin Jr. threads his way down the thousand year old cobble stone road that makes up the bottom of one of the final EWS stages of the year.