For the remainder of this week, riders can get hooked up with the bro deal on SponsorHouse.com! Bike Companies are still accepting rider resumes for the 2005 season. If you don’t have all your sponsors lined up, SponsorHouse is the fastest way to send out your sponsorship requests, and be able to order the product you need to go racing! For those of you not familiar with SponsorHouse.com, it's the newest and fastest way to get you connected with the resources and tools you need to land those hard to find sponsorship deals. More than 150,000 deals have been made on SponsorHouse since they launched in 2001. There are more than 65 companies in the bicycle industry looking for riders to fill their programs right now.

Got an e-mail from Stikman a while back informing me that he has hung up all his wrenches in order to spend more quality time with his lovely wife Leigh Donovan. I for one will miss his great articles, which gave us the inside news before anyone else - but rest assure he hasn't unplugged his computer! He's been working hard on an online store front for Shop Tangerine, a clothing boutique that Leigh and partner Jennifer Gabrielli started 2 years go.

Wishing Stikman best of luck in his future endeavor!

After killing Christchurch the season 1 - International crew travelled south to Twizel near the base of New Zealand's tallest mountain - Mt. Cook. The tour is going better than planned with tonnes of amazing footage and riding, no injuries (besides the producer - dumb ass), and ahead of schedule hitting the road towards the places where all the pictures on the travel brochure's are taken and where they shot a lot of the Lord Of The Rings.

FOX Racing Shox announces Video Contest. Send FOX your best 36 second video to enter to win a new FOX 36 Fork. One male and one female winner will be awarded on May 13th. The winning videos will be featured on the new FOX website.

Vegas?
Well the bus made it as far as the rampage site in Utah so why not just go another 10 hours to hit the biggest event in biking - Interbike in Las Vegas. Episode 12 is technically the last episode of the tour so things kind of get wrapped up for the year in this episode but there's still episode 13 which sums everything up and rounds out season 3.

SRAM’s second Ride Camp was held in beautiful San Luis Obispo – although Mother Nature decided to have her way by sending us dark clouds and a lot of rain. The Ride Camp was a full two days of 2006 product overview, riding, tech seminars and most importantly, good times!

Ferndale, Washington (March 16, 2005) – Throwing fuel on the debate over whether it’s possible to improve upon perfection, Kona’s World Championship winning Stab Supreme downhill bike is getting a facelift for the final production run of the ’04-’05 season.

Time to dust of the ol’ steed, throw on that new fork, polish up that new bike you got last week but haven’t had a chance to ride yet because winter in Alberta never seems to leave. The time has come once again for the season kicker. The Advil Outdoor Adventure Show is the perfect spot to come hang out and get in some quality ride time. This year’s format is plain and simple….its a bike park open for the weekend. No racing, no timing, no points, just time to shred.

Well after hanging out on MSN to get the results and talking to numerous riders about the evening, I can say it was a good time had by all. Well except that one spectator who wasn’t where spectators were supposed to be….but that’s another story for another time. The evening could not have happened with out the help of all the volunteers, Calgary Cycle, Santa Cruz, Block 8 and of course Canada Olympic Park.

Sunday, March 20 saw several different groups of recreational users come together to put their collective back’s into cleaning up Vedder Mountain. Every year the dirt bike, trail running, hiking, horseback riding and mountain biking groups have organized their own “trail days” to deal with the illegal dumping abuses that are reeked upon this area that we love so much. This year the various groups co-ordinated their focus. The result was a cumulative effort that yielded some 500 man hours of volunteer labour of which the mountain bike community contributed nearly half.

Well the long weekend has begun and what better way to enjoy it then packing up the bikes, kids and making your way to Chilliwack B.C. and the runs on Vedder Mountain!!! This is what was going through the minds of Harry Widdowson, Max Austin and Ken Austin as they left Alberta at 4am friday morning and headed west to the city of Chilliwack. Little did they now what was instore for them........

We’re now officially at the halfway point of the fourth annual Ultimate Freeride Challenge. The 3rd round of voting has come to an end with Matt Brooks and Jared Gatzka taking the win.

I am very sad to announce that Whiteface Mountain has decided to close its doors to mountain bikers for the summer of 2005. This is terribly disappointing for many riders throughout the Northeast. As one of the highest of New York State's world-renowned Adirondack high peaks, Whiteface Mountain in Wilmington offered some of the best most challenging terrain previously offered for downhill biking.

SQUAMISH, BC, MARCH 24, 2005 The Be One Canada Mountain Bike Team is happy to announce its roster for the 2005 season. Claire Buchar and Fraser Vaage will be joining team veteran Ted Tempany to make up the three-person freeride and race crew. The team is set to make a big impression in 2005 with key movie segments, editorial coverage, and competition appearances.

Sure, there might be over 160 centimetres of snow still piled up on the mountain. Yes, it might only be the second week in March, and God knows that in these parts, the powder can fall way into late May. But Rusty and Roanz are stoked.

SRAM Corporation has announced the availability of the new Rear Maxle standard for bicycle frames. This new rear axle mounting system follows the release of the successful front Maxle system, featured on the 2005 RockShox Pike Fork. The rear Maxle will Offer the same ease of use for the rear wheel with similar ride benefits including improved handling precision.

Endless Biking (EB) is pleased to announce that it will be offering a full range of mountain bike services to the public, beginning in March of the 2005 season. These services include Camps, Clinics, Tours as well as Private and Custom sessions throughout the year.

Things are starting to get a little jumbled up in the old brain. I'm in New Zealand working on episode 4 of season four and I'm trying to remember some highlights from episode 11 which airs this weekend back home in Canada... Here goes.

I bet you’re all wondering how the International season 1 tour is going... I’ve taken some time away from the crew to sit here in an internet cafe in Queenstown so that I can quench your thirst for information about the biggest adventure in mountain biking yet.

The 2nd round of the Race Face Ultimate Freeride Challenge has come to an end with 16 year old Kurt Sorge taking the win by the narrowest of margins over Derek Peltzer. When all votes were tallied, less than 200 votes separated the two riders.

I just got this hot bit of information for all you out there that are thinking about taking in the Alberta Freeride Awards and Biker Cross at Canada Olympic Park this Sunday. The first year, one lucky snow racer went home with a new Santa Cruz Chameleon frame from the fine folks at Calgary Cycle and Santa Cruz Bicycles. Last year another fine individual won a Chameleon frame in the evening draws that followed that Biker Cross. Well this year, both Santa Cruz and Calgary Cycle decided to step it up big time!!!! What could it be?????

Watsonville, CA - March 17, 2005 FOX Racing Shox is pleased to announce its sponsorship of the NORBA National Mountain Bike Series and the USA Cycling National Mountain Bike Championships. A large portion of the sponsorship money provided to the Series by FOX will go towards prize money for the Professional Downhill and Mountain Cross events.

Rich Houseman has been putting in the miles and training hard. This is evident from his results this past weekend. After talking with him yesterday about the past weekend I knew he was stoked on his new ride and the Fontana race series at Southridge Park. Here's what he had to say.

We've been outta touch for a little while over the holiday season, but fear not, Freeride has not been sleeping on the job. Here's a little catch up on what we've been up to and what's in the works for '05.

Have you enjoyed riding the sweet trails of Vedder Mountain? Well these trails and the surrounding area need some love.

The good people at Jack’s Cycle in Vedder Crossing are once again hosting a spring Vedder Mountain Trails Day, Sunday March 20. Meeting time is at 10 am at Jack’s Cycle (45735 Thomas Road). Following a little light duty, there will be mass trail riding followed by “eats” back at Jack’s Cycle. The last trail day featured plenty of free swag and the hope is that come trail day there will some more goods to distribute.

That's right! If you are looking to do some professionally guided riding in B.C. this year, you have but one number you need to contact. The fine folks with Freeride Tours and Ticket2Ride have joined forces to bring you the best of what B.C. has to offer.

What is "Air Miles And Bigger Smiles"?
It's some of the best riders in the mountain bike world banding together in Kamloops - a city within canyons, cliff faces, huge booters, and GAPS.

This is by far my favourite episode from all 3 seasons

This past Monday I finally received my copy of “Mastering Mountain Bike Skills”, an instructional book written by Lee McCormack & Brian Lopes. This book pretty much covers every type of riding. From cross country to Downhill, Mastering Mountain Bike Skills will teach you how to get better, faster and smoother using extensive photos, graphics and step by step techniques.

For the thousands of people who ride mountain bikes in this great province, there are surprisingly few who have tried racing. Many see it as only for elite world class riders, and many see it as just a way to injure yourself and do horrific bicycle damage in exotic locals. Neither is true (except maybe the second one).

Who is Tyson McCrea? Tyson is a member of THE BIKE TEAM and is a very accomplished rider. He is currently the Canadian National BMX Champ and has a shot at being on the Canadian Olympic BMX team. So why is he part of [L=http://www.ironhorsebikes.com]Iron Horse’s [/L]new freeride team? Lets find out?

Just a quick FYI to let you know that I have added an e-mag section to compliment the existing portal sections at revolution freeride: revFRmagazine. The primary focus of revFRmagazine content will be hardtail bikes, components and riding with some secondary emphasis on lifestyle. The idea is to not only provide fresh informational content, but a vehicle that provides equal exposure to all companies/products from big to the very small.

A few weeks ago I had the pleasure of getting my ass handed to me on Cypress while riding with Dan of On Top bike shop and Steve Mitchell of Banshee bikes. Through out the day we rode trails like Pre-Reaper, Paul Hogan, Fire Hose and Family Guy. The beauty of these trails is the lack of, man made stunts, but the abundance of natural, sick terrain that kept you on your toes and over your bars. (well me at least).

NewUnion event brings top Canadian band, Finger Eleven, plus skiers, snowboarders, mountain bikers, and cross-country skiers to Calgary for Spring Break 2005 Outdoor Festival.

The first round of the fourth annual Race Face Ultimate Freeride Challenge has been completed. The votes have been tallied and congratulations go out to Dustin Bryant who advanced to the semi-finals with a convincing win over second place winner, Dave McLaughlin.

The Iron Horse 7Point series bikes all share a common custom butted frame based on the proven DW linkage, formerly only available on the Hollowpoint. Many Hollowpoint fans have been asking for a burly longer travel frame to handle light DH and Freeride trails, and Iron Horse has delivered.

Do you live in Calgary, Alberta and need to get in shape for bike season? Check out the new outdoor drop-in fitness program located near the University of Calgary. Watch for quick postings Sunday mornings as to whether or not the weather is cooperating and the sessions are on. Starting Monday, March 14th (this monday) at 6pm - 8pm. Drop-in within these two hours and follow the workout station "guidelines" for a wicked complete workout!

We spent as long as we could in Prince George and there was a lot we could have stayed to do still but it started raining again... Hard, and after a 'team meeting', we unanimously decided that we couldn't wait out more rain when we knew what lay ahead south on hwy 97...
Williams Lake.

The Alberta Freeride Awards came about just over 3 years ago and is the brain child of Derek Lee of Calgary Cycle. The AFA's give the riders the opportunity to vote for who they feel is the best Alberta rider in a given category. Calgary Cycle along with co-sponsors Canada Olympic Park, Santa Cruz Bicycles and Block 8 are proud to bring you the 3rd Annual AFA's, now go and vote.

Turner Bikes goes Streamline with SponsorHouse.com:

2005 marked the first year that So Cal based Turner Bikes enlisted the services of SponsorHouse.com. Turner has seen steady growth over the past few years, and with that comes more sponsorship requests. Turner Bikes accepted 2005 rider resumes this year, exclusively through SponsorHouse.com. After watching the team grow, and paper work vanish, we thought we'd ask Turner TM Casey Spangler, how their first year of SponsorHouse service was?

Program that started six years ago at Whistler expands to include 9 bike park resorts around the world

Leveraging the experience gained during its six years as the official bike supplier of the Whistler Mountain Bike Park, the Kona Bicycle Company today announced that they have expanded their 2005 “Groove Approved” bike park program to include 8 of the world’s leading mountain bike park resort destinations

I can’t tell you how many times I hear people ask “what are the grippiest pedals out there?”. I agree that nothing beats the feel of a good platform pedal – but what makes it or kills it is the SHOE you’re using. No matter how grippy the pedal is, if you’re not using a shoe with a good proper sole the pedal won’t feel grippy.

Monterey, Calif., — The Sea Otter Classic is all about enjoying life, especially life on two wheels and this year, the most celebrated cycling festival and exposition in North America, celebrates 15 years. Road and Mountain Bike tours, tailgate parties, a wedding ceremony, the world’s largest cycling outdoor tradeshow, kids carnival, Sea Otter Village, thousands of campers, bike clinics, and more will be on tap this year at Sea Otter. The festivities run April 14-17, 2005, at the Laguna Seca Recreation Area, Monterey, California.

Temecula, Ca- March 8,2005: The Intense Cycles Factory Race Team is excited to announce that they will be using e.thirteen chainguides and chainrings for the 2005 season. The team is excited to be using the new products, and e.thirteens winning track record is consistent with Intense Factory riders Chris Kovarik and Sabrina Jonnier’s race winning reputation.

BC, Canada (March 8, 2005) – 2004 Rider of the Year and one of Outside Magazine’s “World’s 25 Coolest People,” Race Face rider Darren “Bear Claw” Berrecloth has been nominated to receive the Best Alternative Sportsperson of the Year Award at the 2005 Laureus World Sports Awards. Recognized as the premier honors for the world’s athletes, a nomination for the Laureus Award gives Bear Claw entry to an elite club of international sports stars, including past nominees Shaun White, Laird Hamilton, Tara Dakides, and past winners Dean Potter and Shaun Palmer.

With the help of The Arrowsmith Mountain Bike Club, the Island Cup Race Series got off to a great start March 6th with a downhill race in Port Alberni. Over 130 eager island racers were in attendance in spite of typical March rain and fog.

Skate Extreme in Newport is hosting the second indoor sk8 park comp in the UK. After last year's showing, this is one comp that you will want to attend on March 26th.

World champion mountain biker, New Zealand’s Scarlett Hagen has been signed to a top international professional team.

The 17-year-old Hyundai-backed rider, holder of the 2004 Junior Women’s World Title and 2005 New Zealand National Series winner announced today she will ride for Team Iron Horse/ Mad Catz.

Jon_e, the man behind www.descent-world.co.uk just recently released his new movie Going Native. Going Native is a bit different from his first movie 'True North', which you can read a review I wrote HERE. After watching True North I felt like going out and racing, but after watching Going Native, I simply felt like going out and riding my bike with my riding buds.

I finally got the okay to release these photos I took at the SRAM Ride Camp last month. This is following my sneak peak of their 2006 X.0 Component lineup . Make sure you have some tissues handy to wipe the drool off your keyboard - ;o) Enjoy!

Race Face Performance Products, along with Giant Bicycles and Manitou Suspension is proud to announce the fourth annual Ultimate Freeride Challenge is officially underway with the first round of rider videos now online!

Just got word from Aaron Lutze they are currently road tripping in Barcelona with Carter Holland, Jim Dechamp, Cameron McCaul, Dave Smutok and Ian Hylands filming for an upcoming title.

You can join them in their journey by reading MatchVidozine's daily journal @ MatchVideozine.com

As a Canadian, biking in January usually involves rain, snow and brutally cold temperatures. This translates to short rides, minimum vertical and lots of clothes to keep warm. This year I said no to the cold and headed South, way south. Imagine riding in 30C weather in the middle of January in Costa Rica! How about 6000 vertical feet in one run! How about not having to worry about any accommodations, food, logistics or even what trail you are riding. "Life is pretty good when all there is to do that day is ride your bike" - Wade Simmons, Pura Vida Costa Rica 2005.

Industry leaders know that the cycling season is upon us and Sportworks responds with the on-time release of the new Transport T2. Sportworks knows a promise is an agreement, an engagement, a guarantee that something will get done. At Interbike 2004 Sportworks announced their release and shipment of their new TranSport T2 to be set for March 1, 2005. On time and on the mark!

Way back about this time last year I met Wayne Goss at the Calgary Outdoor adventure show. The season 2 crew were all there with the bus signing autographs, riding, and just hanging out and catching up. He didn't know it yet but he was about to have the biggest year of his life. He was trying to get on the bus as part of the season 3 crew and after seeing some video and meeting him in person I thought he could be a contender. Turned out in the end that politics prevented it from happening but he still insisted that we visit his sleepy mountain town as part of the tour. The reason for the big Northern B.C. loop... Smithers

SRAM-branded athletes had a phenomenal 2004, which included 76 Olympic, World, World Cup, National and NORBA championship gold medals. The SRAM roster for 2005 will again be loaded with talent as SRAM’s aim remains fixed on the top step of the podium.

This past week I received a new 2005 RockShox Pike Team. The Pike is part of their all-mountain Extreme fork line. It features 32mm Easton EA70 straight wall upper tubes. Through extensive FEA and testing, the upper tube wall thickness has been appropriately 'tuned' with the crown, steerer, and lower leg for optimum weight, stiffness, and durability. Each tube undergoes anodizing, sealing, and polishing prior to installation in the crown.

New East Coast Race Series Offers $25,000 in cash and prizes

Vernon, N.J., March 1, 2005 - The Diablo Freeride Park in Vernon, New Jersey has announced a new east coast downhill series that will offer an unmatched product package & cash purse for the 2005 race season. Building upon the successful U.S. Open of Mountain Biking format, the Diablo Domination Series will utilize an expanded version of the ‘Open’ format featuring 4 events throughout the course of the 2005 season.

Vernon, B.C.: Mountain bikers and summer enthusiasts rejoice! Silver Star Mountain Resort is pleased to announce the Comet Six-Pack Express will be open daily from July 1 – September 5, 2005 for summer operations.