Whoa, it's that time of year already. Monster Park is right around the corner and what better way to get you all stoked on the event, then to give you a sweet video of last year's event!!! Check it out and we'll see you all there on August 18-20, 2006 at Snowshoe Resort in West Virginia.

View 2005 Monster Park Video here.

Do you want to ride faster, smoother and with more confidence? MMR Camps present their first major Canadian Camp of 2006 at SilverStar Resorts bike park on July 7th – 9th.

MMR Camps were founded by Shaums March to provide hands on coaching and skills instruction for mountain bikers who want to reach their potential. Shaums will be coaching with Mike Jones 2003 National Downhill Champion.

The Iron Horse Yakuza hardtail is still up for grabs since it didn't get awarded during the last OTB. Go place your prediction for the Brazil World Cup men's downhill race now: BRAZIL Litter OTB

Freeride legend and Summer Gravity Camps operator, Andrew Shandro is teaming up with his long time sponsor, Smith Optics, to raise the stakes at his three, weeklong kid camp sessions this summer, ultimately awarding a young rider with a spot on Smith’s developmental team.

With three one week youth sessions on offer over the summer (July 16-23, July 23-20 and July 30-August 6), SGC will select a top camper from each week to a final competition, ultimately pitting camper against camper vying for a spot on Smith Optics Farm Team.

The good people at Highland View Farm in Victoria are offering a series of Youth Freeride Summer Camps this July and August. Each session will be open to eight lucky young riders between the ages of 10 and 16. To ensure a truly personal camp experience, our student/coach ratio is 4 to 1.

Through out the week a few people were talking about the usual “Hey let’s check out some trails in another town!!” and “Well where can we go?” and then “OK let’s go day trippin!!” A few of the usual spots were mentioned, but the one that caught us was – Merritt. What the hell is in Merritt to ride? We all knew they have a music festival every year, but can the cowboys have a bike trail network too?

Diablo Freeride Park would like to invite you to join us this weekend in a fundraising effort to assist Sergio Acevedo, a local rider recently injured while riding in New York. Diablo Freeride Park will be raffling-off nearly $2,000 in mountain bike product in an effort to raise funds for www.sergiosfund.org.

Shimano's new XTR comes through!

Monte-Ste-Anne was the site of a thrilling victory for Canada’s Olympic Silver Medalist and Château-Richer native, Marie-Hélène Prémont (Team Rocky Mountain/Business Objects) who rode to gold on Sunday, June 25.

THURSDAY JUNE 29th.........

Kona Demo Day in Kamloops


From 2pm to 8pm at the Kamloops Bike Ranch join The staff of the Bicycle Cafe and the Kona Demo team to try new 2006 Kona models.

Try an XC bike. Try a road bike. Try a Dh bike. Try a cyclecross bike. Try a Jump Bike........

For directions, information, questions...250-828-BIKE.

The first week of August is set for the 4th annual Mayhem Festival, in Åre Sweden. Located in the heart of Scandinavia, the Mayhem Festival is the largest freeride mountain bike event in the Nordics.

The event program for Mayhem includes an open 4Cross competition, open Slopestyle comp, plus the Eric Wållberg Street Jam. There are masses of prizes to be won in all competition categories. Both adidas eyewear and Gazza Tyres are awarding product sponsorship contracts for those competing in Slopestyle and 4Cross, which will be a one-year product sponsorship deal.

Jill Kintner and Michal Prokop headline star-studded line-up for JEEP King of the Mountain 2006 World Professional mountain biking championships.

Race Sites Include San Luis Obispo, Calif., Elhart Lake, Wis., & Beaver Creek, Colo

As if reading from a listing of who’s who in the sport of professional mountain bike racing, ranging from American Jill Kintner to the Czec Republic’s Michal Prokop, the Jeep® King of the Mountain Series (www.jeepsports.com) today unveiled a star-studded line-up of athletes set to compete for the industry’s richest prize purse at the 2006 World Professional Mountain Biking Championships.

I had the honor to sit down with the winner of some of the major women’s only slopestyle events of last year. She has a great outlook and serious skills with the personality of a pro. I expect her to be pushing the limits for ladies freeride in the next couple years and her outgoing and smiley demeanor should make it a fun ride along the way.

We are a boutique, U.S. manufacturer out of Anaheim, CA.(www.chumbaracing.com) Most of our research, design, prototyping, and manufacturing are done in-house. That being said, we would like to have some Southern California residents review our products, especially the all new six inch trail bike, the EVO.

North Okanagan Cycling Assn. is holding a movie premier night at Silver Star Mountain Resort on Friday June 30th. Videos showing are Red Bull Elevation, the sick and twisted BMX dirt jump comp in Whistler, and Chlorophilla, the italians' answer to the new breed of video filming steez. Tix are $8 and available at Vernon's finest bike shops, Olympia Cycle on 48th ave, Olympia's Shop On Top at Silver Star mountain, and Sun Country Cycle on Kal lake road and at the door.

Sun Peaks’ Bike Park and Chairlift Opens this Saturday June 24th

Sun Peaks, B.C. - Mountain bikers and hikers can ride the Sunburst Chairlift on opening day for $2 this Saturday. The opening day promotion launches the mountain bike and alpine hiking season and is a charity fundraiser event for the local health association.

A solid friend, great rider and outstanding IT pro Wade will be sorely missed by all who knew, worked, rode or partied with him.

Garbanzo Express Chair will open additional 2,200 vertical feet to ride

The Garbanzo Express Chair will open for the 2006 downhill mountain biking season on June 24. With an additional 2,200 vertical feet to ride, the Whistler Mountain Bike Park just keeps getting sweeter and sweeter.

On Friday, June 23rd, a handful of endurance racers will leave from Port of Roosville, Montana headed for the Mexican border at Antelope Wells, New Mexico. It's called the Great Divide Race, as it follows the Continental Divide. The GDR is a self-supported, solo competition following the 2,490-mile Adventure Cycling Association's Great Divide Mountain Bike Route. Traversing Montana, Idaho, Wyoming, Colorado, and New Mexico, the route demands over 200,000 feet of climbing along it's length of 85% dirt, gravel, two-track, or fire road, with 14% paved and 1% singletrack. Competitors carry all equipment necessary to negotiate the backcountry, restocking on food and other supplies from the small towns along the route.

Do you care about World Cup downhill racing? Even if you don't, you probably care about winning an Iron Horse Yakuza hardtail bicycle. Go place your prediction for the Mont Sainte Anne men's downhill race and you could win products from e.13, Troy Lee Designs, Iron Horse Bicycles and Santa Cruz Bicycles.

Well it's not very often that I get a letter here at the office that I really feel I should share with the riding community, but below is one from a fellow rider. Angie is asking the Calgary and area riding community to band together a bit and voice your concerns in a proper manner. Have a read and do your part.

There’s just a little over six weeks until the start of the 5th annual TransRockies Challenge and Tyler and I are getting psyched up for the epic 600 km mountain bike trek from Fernie to Panorama, BC from August 6-12. Now that we’re spending more time in the saddle than any normal person should, we thought we’d drop a line to all our supporters to say Thank You for helping to make our warped little dream a reality.

Vancouver, BC – Mace Clothing & Armour is proud to announce that its 2006 website: Macegear.com was recognized this spring for excellence of design by the American Design Awards. The entry by Mace was among 79 sites chosen from a pool of 1,179 entries in April.

“My goal with the macegear.com project was to create a website that would showcase such a dynamic brand,” comments macegear.com’s web designer, Devin Legget, “I have to thank Martin Tammik and Rob Gill for trusting me with their online representation, and I give full props to Rob Gill for creating such cutting edge designs. He has created a look like no other in the cycling industry, and I hoped to capture that in the site.”

LAKE PLACID, N.Y. – The New York Olympic Regional Development Authority (ORDA) and High Peaks Cyclery are teaming up once again to bring mountain biking to Whiteface in Wilmington and the Verizon Sports Complex in Lake Placid for the summer and fall season.

Come out for the final COP DH event of this series and stick around for a screening of Earthed 3: Europa the latest film in the Earthed series by Alex Rankin.

Saalbach Hinterglemm, Austria

Race Face team rider and freeride legend, Darren Bearclaw has pulled out all the stops again at this years Adidas Slopestyle, defending his title and collecting a check for 4,000 euros after thrilling the crowd by launching One-Footers, 360s, No Foot Can Cans and his trademark Superman Seat Grabs.

Deadline to win $2000 Kokanee Crankworx contract is June 22


A Canada-wide search for Kokanee Crankworx’s event photographer has been unleashed with “Capture” - the Kokanee Crankworx Photographer Challenge.” Submissions are now being taken for the challenge and the winner will be awarded a $2,000 Kokanee Crankworx photography contract plus a week’s stay at the new Adara Hotel, a designer boutique hotel, during the festival.

It's usually the big towns and big resorts that get all the attention.
It's the big names that make the mags the movies and get the girls. But not this time. Nestled in the kootenays lays a small town by the name of Creston. And on June 3rd of this year, this small town played host to a little taste of history.

What better place to hold a product launch ride camp than one of the most popular mountain bike destinations in the world. Especially to showcase some new all-mountain and freeride componentry! Moab is the destination and the goal is to experience SRAM's new 2007 freeride products.

For 2007 Avid wanted to focus on three main areas – High end lightweight cross country, Freeride/DH and entry level OE hydro.

Lighter, Stronger and tougher is what Truvativ had in mind when developing their OCT crank system. Combining structural theory, finite element analysis, and extensive testing is how they made it happen.

Do you want to ride faster, smoother and with more confidence? MMR offers world class coaching in world class locations. Check out our online schedule for a camp close to you this summer at www.mmrcamps.com.

MMR Camps were founded by Shaums March to provide hands on coaching and skills instruction for mountain bikers who want to reach their potential. For 2006 Shaums has joined forces with Mike Jones, who along with a host of top riders and coaches will deliver some of the most comprehensive skills, ride and race camps in North America this season.

KONA Out of Bounds Weekend
Leogang, Austria

Indoor Comp:

“The jumps were looking pretty bad early in the day but in the end turned out to be a bit more trickable than we had thought to begin with. John Cowan worked some magic in the last minutes before the comp and made the jumps good enough to ride."

There is a proposal in place to clear-cut log a large portion of West Bragg Creek/Kananaskis, and to use Highway 66 as the logging road. Proposed logging areas will impact many of the commonly used recreational trails. There is an open-house style meeting on this issue tonight at 8:00 in Bragg Creek. Come out and show your support in opposing this extensive logging.

See the link below for more information about the proposal, and full details about the meeting.

www.braggcreek.ca/forest

The World Mountain Bike Conference film and slideshow night hosts the world premiere "teaser" of Kranked 6-Progression and ROAM, the latest film from the Collective.

On June 23, 2006, the World Mountain Bike Conference Film + Slideshow Night will be hosting an exciting interactive multimedia event for all ages at the Telus Whistler Conference Centre.

Port Coquitlam, BC — After a very successful trial run last year, Norco has decided to once again offer pre-registering Norco-ites the chance to 'Ride in Style'.

When you pre-register for any of the three 2006 VPS-Fest events, you will automatically be entered to win the chance to ride a 2006 VPS Team DH, take home $1000 in head-to-toe Mace riding gear, spend some one-on-one coaching time with one of our Factory Team riders, hang in the pits, and party like a Rock Star all day long!

Sugar Mountain, N.C. (June 10 and 11) - Absent bikes and crazy weather cranked up the drama, but the Yeti-FOX Racing Factory Team worked together and got the job done.

"It was quite the stressful weekend," said team manager Damion Smith. "We got in from the airport (after two months in Europe), and the bikes didn't show up." No downhill bikes, no slalom bikes: No bikes.

Canadian National series event.

There must have been a lot of people camping at Mont Ste Anne, Quebec on the weekend, because it always rains on tents. Rainstorms will travel thousands of miles, against prevailing winds for the opportunity to rain on a tent. It was no exception this weekend as heavy rains plagued the mountain all week!

So it turns out that Oli is a mutant and his hand, despite being twice the size of the other, is not broken. Well let’s get on the road boys as dinner and dirt jumps are waiting for us at KBC. KBC is located at the Quaaout Lodge and right on the sands of the little Shuswap Lake.

Burly Girls Clothing has recently added downhill biker Jaymie Mart from the UK to their team. The Burly Girls are excited to have her as a team rider.

Jaymie is stoked on the clothing and joining a team owned and operated by girl riders. “In the depths of the Scottish winter just past, a friend pointed me in the direction of Burly Girls Clothing. I am on the road loads when I am racing and being away from home it is important that I have clothes that I am not only comfortable in, but look stylish, and don't fall apart.
Burly Girls clothes are just ideal. They are individual and fresh, they have attracted a lot of attention not only from girls but the guys on and off the national and international race circuit. The designs, colors and cut of the clothes are practical yet flattering. I really love the story behind the company and I believe there is room for the brand within the mountain biking market, as there are always more women falling in love with the sport. It is great that the company is owned and operated by female riders.”

Edmonton has long been called the city of champions for its bout of numerous sports victories during the 1980’s. A few decades later, the city is reveling in its glory once again. The Oilers have again made the Stanley cup and the city is on fire with hockey glee. However amongst the chaos ensuing the city there is another sport which will engulf Edmontonians this summer and many summers to come. We’ve had the chance to spend quite a bit of time there this year helping the folks at Rabbit Hill get their new bike park up and rolling for the middle of June.

Tuesday, June 13, 2006 @ 7pm PST

If you’re looking to find out more about Summer Gravity Camps in the Whistler Mountain Bike Park, be sure to check out our Interactive Online session on June 13th. Andrew Shandro (camp director) and Thomas Vanderham (coach) will be leading the sessions which will allow you to ask questions live via telephone and online messaging. They will talk about the camps, what’s included and where campers stay. They will also be able to answer questions about the much-hyped Air Dome facility that has been designed with Summer Gravity Camps in mind. More info can be found at: www.summergravitycamps.com

The call of the road trip has been barking at my heels all winter. I got a little taste back at Easter when I hit up Rose Hill in Kamloops for an afternoon with some buddies. And the hunger has been insane ever since. Well what do you do with a big hunger? You feed it like an all you can eat buffet!!!

Shimano Issues Voluntary Recall in Conjunction with the U.S. Consumer Product Safety Commission

Shimano Canada Ltd. announces a voluntary recall for select front quick releases.


Shimano has identified a potential safety issue concerning the ‘quick release’ that is fitted to front wheels of certain road and off-road bicycles. As all Shimano products should meet the highest industry standards, as a precautionary measure, and in the interests of putting the safety of its consumers first, Shimano has decided to undertake a voluntary recall of all affected quick releases.

Three camps in July see April Lawyer, Lisa Sher and Rebecca Rusch on the coaching roster and FOX Racing Shox giving away a premiere fork.

The Sugoi Dirt Series is unique among instructional programs in the distance it travels to give women new skills and confidence on their bikes. From its home base in Whistler, BC they have already travelled to California and Alberta for sold-out camps, and July sees them back on the road for three more incredible weekends in the Northwestern US.

In this installment of fresh meat we take a look at some bomb proof cranks, a racer hydration pack, some new tires, gloves and the latest DVD on the market. Enjoy the new offerings for the BBQ season.

SORCE mountain bike club (Surrey Off-Road Cycling Enthusiasts Society) in cooperation with the City of Surrey, is proud to present their fifth annual Surrey Bike Fest. This festival is the only one of its kind in the South Fraser Region and is part of BC Bike Month. All ages welcome – it’s Saturday, June 24th, from 11 am-3 pm at the South Surrey Bike Park – 24th Ave. & 148th St., beside Softball City.

The Yeti-FOX Factory Race Team had its best weekend yet. Jared Graves had a near-flawless 4X, and Justin Leov is regaining his speed after hurting his shoulder in Vigo, Spain.

The 4X course was long with huge jumps -- German style. Jared Graves qualified 4th and reached the final with a trio of BMX powerhouses: Michal Prokop, Joost Wichman and Roger Rinderknecht. Since Graves qualified slowest of the four, he started from the far outside. Oh well, no matter. He snapped all those guys, pulled around the outside and led from there.

On May 13th, Canada Olympic Park held its season opener, which included the 2006 John Cowan Dirt Jump Jam. There were 23 riders competing in the Jump Jam competition, including two Calgary Cycle Team members; Robert McPhalen and myself.

Also there are a few last minute cancellation seat sales so if you’re into hopping on a trip last minute contact us for some super huge amazing sales on a few seats!!! These are stupid huge savings so if you have a flexible schedule and had your eye on a trip in June contact us ASAP.

Alberta Provincial DH Championships and Return of the Fury III (double or quad Baseline Enduro) – July 8-9, Rocky Mountain House

The summer of 2005 flooding was devastating for the Baseline area which saw bridges washed out and roads destroyed. Reclamation efforts have been successful and we are returning to the Alberta race circuit with a technically and physically challenging course. Rocky Mtn Bike N’ Board Cycling Club is pleased to announce the 2006 dates for the Return of the Fury III. Downhill and cross-country courses are scheduled for July 8th and 9th respectively. We plan on making 2006 a season to remember! Visit www.rmbnb.com for more info (info to be posted shortly – disregard the part about the race being cancelled – that was last year).

It all came together on this cold Sunday afternoon for Steve Peat. His race run was flawless as usual. But the funny thing about his run was that every other rider in the top ten aired the inside line on the big gap… except Peaty. He managed to drop 1.17 seconds off Minnaar’s solid second place finish. (hmm-staying on the ground may be faster-or its just Peaty kicking ass!) On a 2-minute course that is a whole lot of time. It’s mind boggling really, but I’m going to give the credit to the unstoppable V10.

Just over a week ago, Giant Canada’s downhill team made the trip North of Montreal, Quebec to the resort town of Mont Tremblant. After the previous weeks rain of near biblical proportions, it was a welcome site to see sunshine and warmer temperatures… not to mention some traction on the course.

Golden Cycling Club's 8th Annual Mt. 7 PSYCHOSIS

Get ready for the weekend of July 14th-16th 2006 when the Golden Cycling Club and the Town of Golden, British-Columbia come alive to host the most demented downhill mountain bike race on the planet. Back for its 8th season, many consider this to be North America’s and even the world's, premier downhill mountain bike race. This year's 8th annual MT.7 Psychosis will continue to reign the world of endurance downhill racing with the longest all single track DH course and a dash of Red Bull colors.

All riders are invited to come out and measure themselves up against the “big guns”

The third annual Kokanee Crankworx Mountain Bike Festival, one of the world’s largest freeriding events, has announced an open format competition in their signature event - the Boneyard Slopestyle Expression Session. All athletes will be required to qualify on Thursday, July 27 in order to compete in the finals on Saturday, July 29.

With only a few weeks remaining until the first ever IMBA Summit and World Mountain Bike Conference in Whistler, B.C., the schedule is progressing with exciting programs featuring interesting and innovative speakers and activities. Our location is Whistler; a model resort for every kind of riding. Offering paved bike paths, the best run and maintained beginner trails, epic cross-country riding, and of course, the world famous #1 rated Whistler Mountain Bike Park.

Steve Peat (Santa Cruz Syndicate/SRAM/Rock Shox) comes out on top and Nathan Rennie joins him on the downhill podium in fourth position at the UCI World Cup Downhill in Willingen, Germany.

After two and a half weeks of rain everyday, the team enjoyed their first dry day with bits of sunshine when they arrived in the quaint German town of Willingen found nestled in a green valley surrounded by pine covered hills. Even still, the downhill track was muddy, as it had rained for weeks here, too, and the grassy off camber turns sent riders tumbling.

I must say that I have mixed feelings about this course. I’ve heard it described as a BMX track on steroids. Big gaps, man made and oddly placed boulders and more jumps. Please don’t take this as being negative. It is just a very unnatural DH course. And with that being said, racers at this level (myself included) should be able to deal with whatever is presented to them.

Author factory rider Michal Prokop from the Czech Republic needed just one month to collect five big wins! World Champion, World Cup Winner, European Champion, National Champion and Czech 4X Cup winner. Dominating all the biggest fourcross events, bringing the crowds amazing battles with his long time rival Brian Lopes and all the other fast 4X and BMX riders.

It is really cold, windy as all hell and if I haven’t mentioned it yet, well it rains a lot. It’s a good thing I really enjoy riding in the mud…heck I feel like a pig in sh#t out there. Training on the great Fort William track started yesterday. It’s always fun on a virgin course. I might admit that it’s one of the best things about DH racing. Lap after lap of getting to know what is around the corner and trying to go faster and faster. There aren’t any speed limits, just you and your bike getting to know the terrain.

In a series of aggressive moves to change the scope of its business while still maintaining some of the most cutting edge bike technologies, Ellsworth has acquired several new, high end dealers in its nationwide expansion drive.

Specialized has announced that Magura will supply its entire World Cup team with hydraulic disc brakes. Team Specialized will contest all the 2006 UCI events, as well as selected other events. Team riders will be equipped with custom red anodized Magura Marta SL hydraulic disc brakes, the lightest disc brake on the market today. The Marta SLs, with the sweet looking carbon fiber lever blade, weigh in at just 324 grams. This year, consumers will also have the option to run 180mm and 203mm rotors with Marta's adding even more power to their renowned braking performance.

It’s been approximately one year since Push Industries moved from southern California to beautiful Loveland, Colorado. Two weekends ago they held their first open house at their new R&D facility. Tons of avid, or should I say hungry and thirsty, mountain bikers showed up for the occasion.

Bike and skate jam in Creston BC Sat June 3rd. We are building some big dirt jumps and a 25 ft table top and at the end of the day having a best trick comp for some rad prizes. If you're in the area check it out: www.skatejam.ca