Source: Bryson Racing Clan

Pro Podium The Clan 1st and 3rd

It was dry, dusty, drifty, loose, wet, muddy, yucky, gross, sliding, high speed, messy laundry filled, brush and washer good fun of a race. The weather over the weekend was absolutely brilliant, too bad someone forgot to remind the mountain and it’s continuous source of spring water for our wonderful race track. Yep that’s right, despite the 20+C degrees and beautiful sunshine the track got pretty knarley because of the running water on the lower portion of the track. Now I'm not complaining what so ever…it was such a good track, such a mix of everything you’d ever want on a track…Ok, maybe a few Big booters here or there would be a nice touch to things, but hey this was pretty damn good.

The Nuke Proof Warhead DC (Deep Cup) headset is build to take a beating and keep you turning smoothly for years to come. The Deep Cups go 21mm into your head tube, making HT flaring next to impossible. We set this up on Sam's dirt jumper as we know that he's going to front wheel case something while doing a flip whip or 50/50 a landing on a 360 T-whip. Yep Sam is our go to guy when it comes to seeing how something will last in an abusive environment.

Check out more pics, videos and details inside,

Park Cycle along with Rabbit Hill, Sonic Radio 102.9, Pinkbike.com, Brodie Bikes, and Red Bull, are excited to announce the 3rd race of the Alberta DH circuit will be held at Rabbit Hill on July 18th and 19th hosted by Park Cycle.

Learn more inside,

Source: Knolly Bikes

To Support our new On-Line Dealer and Demo Dealers we are offering Delirium Days – The First Ever Knolly Frame Sale. This is an opportunity to finally get that dream frame you have been searching for. There are savings of up to $1000 on Delirium Frames.

San Diego's JD Swanguen and Colo-RAD-ian Lisa Myklak smoke the Mt Hood Ski Bowl DH Track that dropped you 1600' vertical in 4 to 5 mins depending on nerves, brakes, line choice, tire pressure and your sole determination.

A huge field of racers from all over the west coast attended the Fluidride Cup #3 race...Enjoy the video!

Source: Goat Style

*Registration is now full except for Junior and Senior Advanced riders

When you have a vision, it doesn’t matter if it’s going to the moon in a rocket ship you built in your backyard, it’s simply a matter of going balls to the wall until you either make it a reality or crash trying.

Ben, Ali and Adam over at Just Reid Racing have been a busy crew so far this race season and we've been enjoying their travels via their blog. John Lawlor is great friends with the crew and pretty talented behind a camera too.

Here are a couple videos that he's put together for the crew from La Bresse, France and over at Fort William in Scotland:

Source: Gamut USA

Gamut is pleased to announce the release of its new line of Race Rings. The Race Rings utilize a unique tooth profile with wider and deeper teeth, creating increased chain engagement. The deeper tooth profile and wider teeth reduce the distance a chain can slip, increasing chain retention and ring longevity.

Source: SRAM

SRAM Sponsors Latest Release from Radical Films Kranked Revolve

SRAM proudly continues their support of Radical Films by sponsoring their latest release, Kranked Revolve. Radical Films has been capturing the best mountain bikers in the world, riding the best trails in the world, since the original Kranked was released in 1997.

Source: BC Bike Race

BC Bike Race - The “Ultimate Singletrack Experience” Ready for Year Three

“The Ultimate Singletrack Experience”, is set to launch its third year this Sunday June 28 to July 4, 2009 and will host over 400 riders from around the world. This year’s edition of the 7-day mountain bike adventure offers a revised course featuring a North Vancouver start–taking in the legendary North Shore trails–and two new stages to cement the BC Bike Race as the greatest singletrack adventure on the planet.

Source: Dilys Concept

I wanted to share with you my impressions of the road trip I did in Spain last February. I left Nancy at 8p.m. with Loris Vincent and his pal Loic, beginning our long and joyful trip. The closer we got to the Spanish frontier, the more we could see Red Bull cans in the shops of the rest areas.

Follow our trip in photos, videos and words inside!

A lot of people have been wondering about the new Karpiels, some of you didn't know they came back, and probably quite of few of you are asking what Karpiel is. They are a DH bike company based out of Poland.

Here's some background info, and a rundown of their bikes, and how they handle.

Source: Ride Guide

The most memorable Ride Guide trip of the season is airing on on OLN on Sunday, June 28, 2009 at 12:30 pm Eastern (9:30 am Pacific). Norco Factory team riders Darcy Turenne and Jay Hoots explored the sun, surf, and amazing freeride trails in Maui, Hawaii this spring and while the rest of the world was dealing with rain, mud, and snow.

Source: Brodie Bikes

You can find this young gun out in the small town of Nelson BC. His name is Michael Parenteau and he is 17 years old. He has been riding bikes for about two years now and makes it look like he has been riding longer than most.

Check out his video and pics inside,

Source: Redraven

Speedview - The world's most advanced roll-off system: Safety - Vision - Control

Redraven is proud to announce a revolution in roll-off system design. For over twenty years riders have been forced to remove their hands from the handlebars to use pull cord roll-offs and tear-offs to clear their vision. Times have changed!

Return of the most unconventional and most fun orientated freeride competition in mountain biking

The one and only ANTI Days of Thunder is back for 2009 - from June 29th to July 4th. The unique mountain bike comp unites some of world’s best-recommended riders in easygoing sessions – dirt, slopestyle and “race relay”. The Hafjell Bike Park provides not only high class downhill tracks, but will also be pimped especially for the contest with huge obstacles to launch the pros into the Norwegian sky. The list of riders that will join the ANTI Days of thunder feature big names like: Cameron Zink, Cameron McCaul, Alex Reveles, Andrew Taylor, Ben Boyko Thomas Vanderham, Jordie Lunn, Timo Pritzel, Benny Korthaus, Kelly McGarry, Grant Fielder, Andreu and Lluis Lacondeguy, Yannick Graniery, Pierre Eduard Ferry, Trond Hansen, Mads Andre Haugen and Martin Soderstrom.

Good dirt, epic people, sick trails and sunshine – Kamloops always calls us back for more.

What better way to start our new film than with one of our best buds Matt Hunter and a new addition to the crew Kurt Sorge...

Check out the pics and video inside!

Just read this on Nathan Rennie's site that he's returned home for the remainder of the 2009 World Cup season to train and get mentally prepared for the Championships in his home country. After some big crashes early on, he's decided to step back from the circuit and focus on healing.

Read his letter inside,

Source: Bike Parks BC

Bike Parks BC, a marketing consortium of lift accessed bike parks (Whistler-Blackcomb, Mount Washington, Silver Star, Sun Peaks, and Tourism Fernie) is pleased to announce its sponsorship of Anthill Films’ new movie, FOLLOW ME... Made of up key members the award winning film crew The Collective, the film features some of the best mountain bikers in the world, including: Sam Hill, Gee Atherton, Brandon Semenuk, Cam McCaul, Thomas Vanderham, Matt Hunter, Ben Boyko, Kurt Sorge, Steve Smith, and Geoff Gulevich.

Nitehawk Recreation Area

July 4th and 5th, 2009

The Bikehawks Gravity Bike Club in conjunction with Nitehawk Recreation Area and Nitehawk gravity bike park, are proud to present the first annual Race to the river, an Alberta Bicycle Association sanctioned event.

I have seen a few pics of Whitefish Montana's Katie Hayes in action lately and a few days ago she uploaded a promo video of herself from the end of last season and some of her early season riding to the site. Have a look at what this girl has been up to so far and hopefully it inspires more of you ladies out there to hop on your rides and push your limits too.

Check out her video inside!

With the warmer weather we have been getting lately, it seems the riding season may have finally arrived! What better way to start a new season, than with a new ride! Specialized has worked hard to improve their SX Trail line-up, and this is what they have come up with.

So the question is, how does one take an already accomplished bike, and make it better? Well for starters, why not make it lighter? Stiffer rear end? And why not throw some all new 2009 parts onto it? If this doesn't get your heart going, you may want to see a doctor. Click here to get all the details on the new generation of SX Trail bikes.

Read on for more information...

Gravity East Series to Debut the New World Cup Gravity Courses Next Week

Rick “Hodgie” Hodge, Special Events Director for New York’s Windham Mountain, announced this afternoon that the UCI has officially designated New York’s Windham Mountain as the host of 2010 UCI Downhill, 4cross and Cross Country World Cup Finals on August 28-29. Gravity racers won’t have to wait long to get a preview, as the newly completed World Cup downhill and 4cross courses will officially debut for competition next weekend June 27-28 during the Gravity East at Windham Mountain.

Source: Cam Sorensen and Silver Star Bike Park

It is upon us! The Bike Park at Silver Star opens June 25 and I must say, I'm jacked! The snow is off the trails, they're tacky, buffed, and just waiting for the Comet Express Six-Pack to start turning. The Trail Crew are busy putting the finishing touches on all the new sections of trail, including new sections on Rock Star and Double Dog. Once that's done, they're re-walking all the trails to make sure the heavy rain last weekend didn't leave any puddles to get your toes wet. As with every opening there may be the odd muddy spot, but for the most part, it's going to be an amazing weekend!

ReJeK+ is a behind the scenes webisode about the making of Kranked-REVOLVE. Episode 5 featured some recent news in the industry, and shooting in France with Rene Wildhaber.

Video inside:

Mavic has been in the wheel game for a while now. Everything from XC, to Enduro, to DH wheels have been manufactured in Mavic's factory, and they all seem to include some pretty cool technologies. Recently we picked up a pair of the Mavic CrossMax SX wheels. They feature some previous, along with some new technologies from Mavic that make them a unique wheelset.

Read on for more information...

After some ruthless criminals ran sacked Lavan head quarters at the end of 2008 and countless production errors, the fresh Lavan produce has finally arrived. This year’s line sees some fresh new designs as well as a few popular carry over designs from last year.

We’ve also introduced the use of water based inks on a lot of our designs this year, which helps keep mother Earth happy.

Bike trials is often thought of as navigating your bike over objects such with out putting your feet down, but can be ridden on something as simple as a curb. The ever growing UK trial's scene has mainly departed from its traditional “comp” style riding as the majority has moved to “street” and “TGS” (tap gap sidehop) style riding.

Enjoy the videos and a few pics inside depicting the newer TGS style of trials,

This past weekend was the 3rd annual Arduum Challenge in Mission BC and after 22 days of sunshine, the word "Challenge" came heavily into play once the skies opened up and let the rain fall. 200 racers braved the toughest course on the BC Cup circuit and despite the mud, there were a ton of big smiles during the awards.

Read on for results and pictures,

In the past if you wanted a top spec’d DH race bike you had to go out of your way to build it up with competitive parts that would help you win races. Quite a few companies were making nice complete bikes, but no one was making a no holds barred, spec’d to the max “stock” bike. This meant that you would have to buy the bike that was closest to what you wanted or go buy the frame of your choice and build it up from there. The process of spec’ing your DH race bike is the most costly thing you can do when getting ready for the season. What if you could buy a whole bike that was fully race ready and no spec had been over looked? Just drop the cash, roll out and pin it!

This is where the new Norco Team DH comes into its own. Learn more about this WC DH Spec’d race machine inside…

The Cool New Trail Building Tool

Here in the Pacific Northwest we have all kinds of issues to overcome when it comes to building our legendary singletrack. Any builder that has the hours of swinging axe, a pulaski or macleod knows they can reap the excitement when they gander at the Trail-Tools Trailblazer AN1. This multi use forestry tool is making allot of jobs easier out on a trail build.

Come see why...

With yesterdays rain delay, both qualification and finals were held in the same day, check out the footage!

On the weekend of May 30th and 31st of 2009, The Black Rock Mountain Bike Association and Santiam Bikes put out a few flyers to 'test' the waters by hosting a DH on 'Sicter Gnar' a trail that descends from the top of Black Rock Mountain. With over 40+ berms, jumps and pumps, moto bumps, road gaps and some balls to the wall speed sections that ends with a bang, made this the summer's best DH race so far!

Scope the pictures and videos after the jump!

Source: MTB Cut

I should be warming up at the top of the hill right now nervously waiting for my Qualifying run at the 5th round of the UCI world cup; instead I'm chilling out in a warm hotel room overlooking the Maribor race track. The mighty one above us (not Cathro) decided to unleash some mammoth lightning bolts towards the track this morning as well as a month's amount of rain over night. Hence the gondola closed and the decision to postpone qualifying until tomorrow was made.

Thankfully this meant we could go swimming in the rain!

Nissan UCI World Cup Maribor, Slovenia - 4cross qualifications

It's that time of year again and we are hosting some of the world's best mountain bikers here in Slovenia. Welcome to the 5th round of DH and 4X on the World Cup Circuit.

Dhpengland.com rider Josh Wales, takes a few new helmet cam angles down Upper Schleyer to various lower trails in the Whistler Bike Park. Four awesome angles down one amazing trail. The Unicorn titled cam, giving you the awesome backwards view was provided by www.Whistleractioncams.com, big thanks guys.

In the next few days we'll post up Dirt Merchant to A-line...

Source: MTB Cut and Chris Hutchens

A quick weekend's racing at Dunkeld and then we were planning to set off on Sunday night...that turned into Monday afternoon from Oban and we were on our way south towards Slovenia. - It’s only a 3 day drive there.

We went for the good old channel crossing from Dover and then drove to Germany where Ben, Joe and I were welcomed and put up for the night by Harriet. We had some good quality meats from the farm, minus Joe and rode around on some classic German bikes. Harriet’s friends were also very pleasing on the eye.

Just a month ago rumors were abound of Dunkeld being flattened and us not being able to race there this year. Whilst it’s not to say that there won’t be issues in the future, riders were certainly thankful that the SDA had managed to circumvent them on this occasion to keep it all running smoothly in the style to which we’ve become accustomed over the years.

Read on for more on the weekends happenings:

Renthall have landed on the MTB scene.

I know nothing about motorbikes. I'll prove it: I used to have a Honda Vison back in 1988 that flat out went 25mph. It even took 2 star petrol which back then was under 50p a liter. A full tank cost £2 and lasted me all week to Birmingham Wheels and back to skate Dickers Bowl.

What I do know about is Renthall, not a lot except that they are famous for their moto-x bars and sprockets..

The straight goods on Kicking Horse Bike Park, straight from the trail crew's fingertips.

Kicking Horse had one of its best season openers ever on the weekend of June 12. The rain stayed away, the sun was shining and I saw nothing but smiles on a lot of new and familiar faces. Buckets of snow melted and things are looking good for opening the top of the mountain soon.

Downhilling in Switzerland with Joe Schwartz, Wade Simmons and Big Mountain Adventures

Each year around this time we start to feel the craving to board a plane with our DH bikes and touch down in Geneva, in the foothills to the Alps. Just down the lake from Geneva lies very big mountains and a network of lifts, roads and trains like nowhere else on the planet that link up an endless web of barely ridden DH trails. Not just any trails, big-ass descents that each range from 4000 to 6000 vertical feet – long and fast and super fun. And at the end of it all you get to sit back and soak up the European culture in one of the most beautiful mountain countries in the world, Switzerland.

Chicopee is back for the 2009 season with a brand new bike park, in a brand new location. And this time - we made it bigger and better!

We've moved the park to a location where it can stay and not have to be torn down every year before ski season. Because of this, we knew we had to make a park that everyone would love and most importantly, make a park for all abilities; early beginners to seasoned advanced.

(Vids & LOTS of Pics inside!)

Source: Mountain States Cup

Taking you from amateur to professional, in one season flat!

The Mountain States Cup Photo Contest has officially begun and our first winner has already been chosen and entered as a finalist for the grand prize. Long Nguygen’s captured 4X action at the Chile Challenge, submitted it to the MSC gallery on Pinkbike.com and is hooked with Rooly Eyewear and a Camelbak for his pro shot.

Source: The Saratogian

Nearly 400 pounds of marijuana were seized in a drug bust on Preserve Way Tuesday.

The U.S. Drug Enforcement Administration along with the Capital District Drug Enforcement Task Force conducted the bust at 22 Preserve Way Tuesday afternoon. Eric Canori, 30, of that address, and Melissa Giove, 37, of Chesapeake, Va. were both arrested on charges they conspired to posses and distribute more than 100 kilograms of marijuana.

The Whistler Mountain Bike Park has announced that the highly anticipated Garbanzo Zone trails will open one week earlier than planned, this Saturday, June 20.

“Weather has definitely been on our side this spring with lots of sunshine and warm temperatures melting away snow and drying up the trails,” says Rob McSkimming, vice president of business development at Whistler Blackcomb. “We’re very pleased that the Garbanzo trails are good to go so early. There is minimal snow up there and crews expect to get most of the trails open for the weekend. Although some sections of some trails are still a bit wet and soft from the snow melt, the overall conditions are excellent for this time of year.”

Vancouver Island Revolve Premiere!

An amazing movie on a big screen with the opportunity to win loads of free swag. You will have a hard time finding something better to do on Saturday June 27 at 7pm.

Source: Knolly Bikes

Here is “The People of Knolly Part 2” featuring Knolly Downhill racer Alan Crisp training and testing product in Kamloops during the off-season.

Gamut USA is a San Jose based chain guide company that has been making a large splash on the market. Gamut's chainguides are very minimalist, and designed to work correctly with limited adjustments. Gamut has gone as far as to design chain guides specifically for chain ring tooth counts, not only to work perfectly, but to be as light as possible too.

Gamut designed the P30 guide to work specifically with 36 tooth chain rings, and that's what our team riders are running, so check out the CUSTOM Pinkbike.com guides we're rocking this season!

Click here for more info on the Gamut P30...

Straight from BMC Productions is Pinned, a relatively new DVD covering loads of North American action (along with a few foreigners thrown in for good measure). Shredders include Steve Wentz - Ian Odom - David K - and Chris Kovarik, among lots of others. Pinned has been in and out of my DVD player too many times to count throughout our terrible winter/spring so I'll let you know what I thought!

Does the world need another MTB DVD, and if so should Pinned be on your to-get list?

Read On And Watch The Trailer Inside...

The ambitious Danish bike company Pronghorn Racing organized a season kickoff in spring 2009. Time to check the single track trails in Silkeborg/Denmark.

Kenneth Dalsgaard means what he says: "We wanted to build the fastest bike for racing!" The result is really impressive: During the last season their fresh high performance bikes got a lot of great results in test reviews. So I was really looking forward to check my new ride for 2009. And to be honest: "I didn't expect, that there would be such cool single track in Denmark."

Source: Radical Films

ReJeK+ is a behind the scenes webisode about the making of Kranked-REVOLVE. Episode 2 featured Farwell Canyon, and shooting for James Doerfling's segment, along with others.

Check out Reject Episode 3 inside.

Our Rocky Mountain Flatline Pro test bike has been with us for many months now and has seen nearly every sort of terrain one could imagine. From moonscape rock, to cold and wet B.C. forests, the Flatline has both saved me and punished me on too many occasions to count. No matter where I brought it, attention was sure to follow. With it's unique lines and personality I was questioned at nearly every trailhead and parking lot. No more need for questions though, read the review and watch the videos to see what we thought of Rocky's flagship DH bike!

2 HD videos inside!

Read on...

The Ashland 12 Mile Super D took place this past weekend in scenic Ashland Oregon. Riders from all over converged to take part in this event and to challenge themselves and their bike to the 12 miles of trails that begin on Mt.Ashland and end in Lithia park back in central Ashland. Break Away Events and SRAM partnered up this year to really get the word out there and let it be known that this is one mountain bike event not to be missed. I was fortunate enough to be able to tag along on this journey.

Check out tons of video clips, pics and my story from the event inside!

The last few years have been a struggle, trying to set up a space to store and work on my bikes. Constantly moving around from basement suite, to basement suite, nothing quite worked. So in 2009 my girlfriend and I stepped up to the plate and bought a house. A big step financially and in our relationship.

But it also means I finally get to build a shop just for my bikes.

Calling all Fluidride Racers, heed no more rumors as the official word has come into Pinkbike Intelligence- The next race is on from the top of the mountain. Petr Kakes of Hurricane Racing has assured everyone that the track from the top will be clear and open for the June 26th, 27th and 28th DH event.

Registration is open and you're welcome to sign up!

You may not have heard or seen much from Aaron LaRocque in the past several months, that's because he's been working on something bigger; a full length movie. Coming this summer is Aaron LaRocque's first full length movie, WHAT'S NEXT?

Check out the trailer.

Anodization is coming back and it's not all purple!

Back in the days of spandex and skin suits anodization was the thing, but it was slowly fazed out just like the other two items. Recently we have been seeing more and more anodization coming back into the market, and it's actually refreshing to see, especially as it's not all purple! Companies are mixing it up with some crazy colors, and some neat designs, while still providing a shout out to those days that only some of us remember. Race Face recently launched their anodized lineup in a plethora of colors, 7 to be exact, and all of them are separately unique looking.

Read on for more info on the Atlas Freeride Bars...

Source: Panorama Bike Park

Panorama Bike Park Opens on June 26th

Panorama’s Bike Park opens for the season on June 26th. Two days later, the Mad Trapper B.C. Cup Downhill Race heats up the summer as riders take on Insanity once again.

Darcy Turenne and Wendy Robinson host the Ladies Session at COC. It's the first week of camp, June 20 - 27th. It's going to be a really fun week with a lot of riding.

Get what feels like an extra season of riding in just one week of coaching.

Chainless racing is all about braking technique or should I say no braking at all! One rider was heard saying "If you touch your brakes, you're pretty much just asking to lose." And really that's what it boils down too. You want to carry your momentum as far as you can on any flat sections and keep those itchy fingers on the bars while pointing it down hill.

Read on about today's race that Myles Rockwell and Dawn Lambert took the wins in.

Check out the footage from the first day at the Teva Mountain Games, in Vail Colorado. GT riders Andrew Cho, Tyler McCaul and friends train for slopestyle.

Check out the webisode inside:

Today was all about set up, be it the hours it takes to assemble the trailer and get it ready for an event or just going over and prepping your bike for a weekend of All Mountain action! That was today's theme for sure. A race is a big event to pull off and the crew at Breakaway Events seems to have all their ducks in a row for this weekend when 230 All Mountain racers converge on Mount Ashland and descend back to town in the Ashland 12 Mile Super D race.

Read more about our day inside,

Racing has been away from the Central Okanagan mountain biking scene for way too long. So for 2009, we decided to fix all that shizazz.

Back with a vengeance, supported by Kelowna Cycle and Kona, we bring you the K-Town Kamikaze Super-D.

Come on out to Port Alberni this weekend for the finals of the 2009 Island Cup DH Race Series. The Drop Zone DH!

The course has been worked on and is sicker than ever. There will be a shuttle day on Saturday starting early and ending late so you can get in some practice laps. The race will start at high noon on Sunday.

Source: Radical Films

ReJeK+ is a behind the scenes webisode about the making of Kranked-REVOLVE. Episode 2 features Farwell Canyon, and shooting with James Doerfling's segment, along with others.

Check out Reject Episode 2 inside.

So we got the new 2010 just over a month ago and the first thing we thought we needed to do was to test the S%&t out of them out. So we put a set of the World Cups in the hands of our top rider, Canadian National champ, Drew Mitchell. I figured, if anyone can push them to failure, it's this guy. Most people avoid large boulders on the trails, he seeks out the gnarliest lines possible, just to see if it can be done!

Here is what he has to say about the 2010 World Cup Boxxers. Two Videos inside - check out the Boxxer in ACTION!

Holy crap I just finished a run with Eric Carter and Myles Rockwell! Growing up, these guys were in my magazines and I thought they were so bad ass racing DH on 60mm forks and repping skin suits. Man I’m glad the fashion has changed and the bikes are better, but these two still rip hard and it’s events like the Ashland 12 Mile Super D that bring us all together. Ok let’s rewind a few weeks to how this story starts and gets to today’s point in time.

Read on to hear about our trip so far,

Summer is almost here and we're ready to celebrate with our biggest sale event of the season!

June 11-13, 2009 come down to Calgary Cycle for crazy deals, hot dogs, tunes supplied by X-92.9 and Happy Hour specials not once but twice a day - absolute madness!

ZEPtechniques' PMBI Instructor Training Courses now at COP

ZEPtechniques is proud to announce a new venue for our Professional Mountain Bike Instructor Training Courses this June - the awesome bike park at Canada Olympic Park! With the ever increasing number of Mountain Bike Camps popping up everywhere, being able to offer quality training to prospective mountain bike instructors is more important than ever. Developed from over 10 years experience coaching and training instructors in both the Mountain Bike and Snowboard Industries, our PMBI courses train instructors how to safely and effectively teach clients in a fun, relaxed atmosphere.

The Subaru IMBA trail care crew is coming to Edmonton as one of four Canadian visits.

They are being brought here by the Edmonton Mountain Bike Alliance. More information and Registration is available online at the EMBA Website.

Having never traveled out to the eastern USA for an event before, we weren't sure of what to expect from the US Open at Diablo Freeride Park in Vernon New Jersey. But having talked to folks and listening to the organizers, we knew that it would be an event that we simply could not miss. Everyone was right, the US Open is one great race weekend.

Read on for our recap of the week, as well as unseen pictures and videos from the trip:

It happened again!

Another successful jam! Some "epic" stuff went down, and some awesome prizes were given away! Another great turn out! Continue on reading to see what went down! Prepare for a photo overload!

The straight goods on Kicking Horse Bike Park, straight from the trail crew's fingertips.

June in Golden, BC means many things. But most importantly, it means that Kicking Horse Bike Park is opening for the season (June 12). In anticipation of this earth-shattering event, the trail crew has been shattering the earth, crushing boulders and splintering logs into ribbons of dirt upon which to plant a few thousand tire tracks.

Source: Canada Olympic Park

The Downhill course is ready to go at COP and racing starts this Wednesday night! With the Couloir Ski and Bike Spring Race Series at Canada Olympic Park.

What happens when you combine a bunch of racers hanging out in the pits after a full day of training, a Freelap timing system, a sick mini bmx track, and a Gamut chainguide up for grabs. Oh yah... and a 16" BMX.

Read on and find out

Matt Hunter hails from Kamloops BC and is one of the top freeriders in our sport. He won the Race Face UFC contest years ago and was catapulted into the eyes of riders around the world. Since that time Matt has appeared in numerous videos and appeared in pretty much every mountain bike magazine in print. We were able to talk to him recently about riding and life.

Enjoy the words and pictures inside,

Fionn Griffiths qualified first in the DH by just over 8 seconds at this year's US Open at Diablo Freeride Park in Vernon New Jersey. She said that this was a true race course that tested riders and was loving just how tech it all was. We took a moment to talk to her about how her season has been going thus far and what she's got planned for the rest of this season for herself and her Norco 2 wheelers.

Check out the video interview and pics inside!

Riders of Moose Mountain!

Come one come all to Moose Mountain for a weekend dedicated to bikes, epic trails and awesome times. The Moose Mountain Bike Trail Society(MMBTS) will be playing host to a Riding party and Trail day for the weekend of June 13 - 14th.

This past weekend while racers were getting ready and prepping for their races, thieves were busy too. The second BC Cup race of the season took place at the Kamloops Bike Ranch in Kamloops BC and bike thieves were on hand to do their part too. RCMP have informed us that approximately 10 bikes have been reported stolen so far this past weekend in relation to the race and among those were two Pinkbike.com team bikes. We, just like everyone that has lost a bike, would really appreciate their return.

Please read on for full descriptions of each race bike:

Our next Fresh Meat installment features some unique pieces. A street rider's multi tool of dreams from PDW, Kona's newest thread line up, Jagwire's "Pimp your Cable" setup, POC's storm trooper-esque guards and KHE's super light Mac2 tires and Pyramid grips. Fresh meat is our way of showing you guys the positives and possible negatives of a product. Enjoy the newest cuts.

Read on for some Fresh Meat...

I used to have a hard time sleeping the night before something special. I think many Christmases ago were the most comparable instances where excitement prevented me from sleep. It always takes something great to experience this, and this feeling came back into my life last Friday. Yes, it wasn’t Christmas.

It was something greater; the opening of Whistler Bike Park!

Source: Andrel Reid Enterprises

On June 10 - 11, 2009 the Calgary Freeride Mountain Bike film festival will be screening four of this year's hottest films at the Plaza Theatre. Barred for Life and Break the Cycle are showing on June 10. The Freedom Riders and The Tipping Point are showing on June 11.

Whiteface Mountain Bike park is opening on Friday June 19 with their 1st event of the year, Discover Whiteface Weekend.

The Whiteface Mountain Bike Park opens for the summer season Friday, June 19 with a Discover Whiteface weekend. The weekend boasts riding the trails, a free movie viewing, a pro trials show, the first monthly Pump Track Challenge, live music and more. High Peaks Cyclery, in conjunction the New York State Olympic Regional Development Authority (ORDA) manages and operates the mountain biking facility.

Sunday dawns and, if you’re a downhiller, the day you’ve been waiting for with all else that went on over the weekend merely a prelude. Looking across this morning to the mountain range that Ben Nevis and Aonach Mhor are a part of, we were treated with fantastic blue skies, a snow capped skyline and the beginnings of a fantastic day.

Read on for action from the final day of World Cup round 4 at Fort William in the Scottish Highlands.

Greg and Sabrina took the wins today folks!

Scott and Stu from MTB Cut have put together another great video for everyone to enjoy, so check it out. Full race report to come later on.

Round-up from day two of the fourth World Cup round in Fort William. Inside are results from the downhill qualifying and 4x finals.

Saturday and the day that the carnival starts for real. Famed for being the event with the best spectators and the best atmosphere, Fort William always manage to pull the tricks out year after year. Learning from last year’s mistake of running the 4x finals on the Friday, the ever popular event returned this year to where it belongs; Saturday night.

Scott and Stu from MTB Cut are at the World Cup DH event at Fort William and so far the weather has been pretty good from the pictures and videos floating in.

Check out the Qualifying video inside:

ReJeK+ is a behind the scenes webisode about the making of Kranked-REVOLVE. Episode 1 features the Coastal Crew as they wrap-up the final seggy of James Doerfling. Check out a new episode each week. There are more chute lines, some scrubs and roosting coming your way. To see more of James and the Coastal Crew, be sure to watch Kranked-REVOLVE, coming mid June 2009.

Click here to see some Rejekt'd footage...

Here at calgarycycleonline.com we'd like to thank everyone for the great response to the introduction of our Canadian online store. As our first promotion to celebrate the launch we're giving away some great prizes from Troy Lee Designs, Chromag and Dakine. This contest couldn't be any easier to get in on - simply visit calgarycycleonline.com, create a user profile and BLAM! You’re entered to win! Anyone who already has a profile is automatically entered.

The contest is open to the next 200 people who create a profile with us.

More and more companies are loosening the reigns and letting their riders have a spot to talk and tell stories on the company sites. Yep blogs is what they are called and they are nothing new to the internet, but in the bike world they are only now really taking hold and becoming more popular. Since Race Face Components has so many riders rocking their gear, it only made sense for them to give those riders a voice.

Check out the blogs and maybe learn something about the next UFC inside too:

We do not set out to spoil people's fun and we try to balance the needs of the environment and wildlife against the use and enjoyment of the countryside by the public. However digging up a SSSI to construct trails and jumps, creating pits and large areas of compacted soil and holding competitions that leave large amounts of litter is absolutely unacceptable and against the law. I am sure that no rider seeks to destroy the countryside that you all enjoy and Natural England are not out to spoil anyone's enjoyment of downhill riding but this site now needs to be restored and the habitat protected.

Read on for more info...

In its eighth year on the World Cup DH calendar, Fort William is this year host to the fourth round of the Circus after a long haul trip to the opening round in South Africa and two back to back races in the mainland European venues of La Bresse and Vallnord. As always, things will build up steadily over the weekend here, culminating in the downhill finals on Sunday but between now and then, plenty will be going on to keep you busy.

There is so much to see at the Sea Otter Classic that you can't put it all into one piece, so here are the 2009 lots files from the Sea Otter Classic!

Enjoy the riders, their bikes and all the cool bits inside-plus bonus footage from the trip down and riding in Ashland Oregon:

Source: MTB Cut

Three downhill specialists from Fort William win Benromach 10 Under The Ben Trio Category.

Three downhill specialists from Fort William - Alistair MacLennan (ex Masters Downhill Champion), Joe Barnes (2nd NPS Downhill Series 2008 ) and Liam Moynihan – beat off the strong competition from cross country endurance riders to win the Male Trio category of the Benromach 10 Under The Ben endurance race in style! To keep the riders and spectators entertained, on Saturday 30 May 2009, the ‘Faster than the Shirleys’ team completed their 11 laps of the 10-mile course topless; and enjoyed a deserved dram of Benromach single malt whisky at the finish.

We received over 3,000 photos from the US Open weekend and had to pick 2 as winners for the US Open Photo Contest. The winner of the best DH shot is taking home a Shimano SAINT groupo and the winner of the Giant Slalom photo is picking up a brand new BOS N'dee fork.

Check out the winning shots and honorable mentions inside!

Pinkbike.com's own Casey Groves is now on Geax tires. Casey is stoked to be joining the likes of Cam Zink on the Geax team and will be running their tires on all his Transition bikes this season. His tires of choice are the Saguaro, The Booze Lights and the DHEA, so expect to see him at various comps and riding areas representing the tire brand. Not one to keep rubber side down, Casey has already flipped and tail whipped his way to a victory at Ranch Style in Colorado, so keep your eyes peeled for him at Goat Style next month!

Simple & effective, we have here a bike stand from NoLimits, a UK based company offering products aimed at the racers among us.

Sometimes someone brings a product to your attention which makes you take a second look. I for one frequently want to stand the bike up after a run to do some basic work without dropping it on the ground or having to carry a full work stand around. Something small and simple would be ideal, so when I was offered a stand from NoLimits to use, I immediately grabbed it. The NoLimits stand is very similar to that which you will find in use by most of your local bike stores to display their bikes but this has a few subtle differences.

Source: Knolly Bikes

To enter, complete the entry form from our NAME THE KNOLLY CLAIM THE KNOLLY Contest. To be eligible, entries must be completed and received by the end of June 30th 2009. Incomplete entries will be disqualified. All entries shall become the property of Knolly Bikes. Knolly Bikes is not responsible for lost, misdirected or delayed entries. Entries received by telephone, fax, courier or personal delivery will not be accepted. The winner will be announced online at the 2009 Interbike Tradeshow and the production Downhill Frame prize will be shipped to the winner when it is available sometime after or around Interbike.

Race Face supporting Dirt Series Scholarships with Custom Crank Auction

Along with all the fame and travel, the sickest part of being one of our Race Face team riders is getting fully customized RF components to ride. It’s more than just getting a mother lode of the most killer gear around, you get the most killer gear that’s been made just for you.

Not all of us live close to big mountains where we can build or get lift access. Especially in Ontario we lack vertical to ride DH. Although we have this disadvantage, there are still tons of committed riders, we have a few hills to ride at, and a great racing circuit.

This short documentary shows what we do to practice and improve at the sport that most of us love.

3 Years of glove development in the snow has proven that snow boarding gloves should never be under the mistletoe with mountain biking gloves. The POC Index DH glove provides more protection then one's hands could ever need, or appreciate.

Read on for our thoughts on the Index DH Gloves...

Tonic Fab is a small bike company from Portland, Oregon that specialize in dialed bikes. Recently I got my hands on a Howie frame, however, Landon sent through some new information on the Howie to stoke you guys out even more. Now this is dialed folks!

Click here for info on the new Howie...

Was Llangollen the shape of things to come or a one off? Did it push the boundaries too far or just show up those who shouldn't be racing at National level? Whatever the answer to those questions, what came about was a superb weekend of racing on the back of the news that Steve and Si of SPS events will still be running the series in 2010, with another planned trip on the cards to this already infamous venue.

But we're getting ahead of ourselves so why don't we have a rundown of what happened on the steep welsh hillside this weekend?

Source: Long Nguyen

With the U.S. Open happening on the East Coast this past weekend, in Angel Fire, New Mexico, you had the 3rd round of the Mountain States Cup series, and 3rd round for the ProGRT (Pro mountain bike Gravity Tour).

I throw on the car stereo and set the iPod at random (consulting the 0rac1e). As if perfectly planned, Zeppelinʼs The Rain Song comes on and the Quathiaski Cove ferry starts moving out of its secluded harbor. Itʼs grey and misty out there, a fine rain making everything seem remote, subdued. My beautiful female consort is on a 4-day exploratory mission around Quadra Island with a whole pod (or is it gaggle?) of other kayak guides, getting to know the territory that theyʼll be paddling over the next 4 months.

Perfect day for a road trip.

Sombrio releases the 2009 Looks Videos and announces online shopping!

Sombrio unveils its full 2009 product line with the release of the Sombrio Looks videos and new online shops. Showcasing a diverse mix of apparel within the LIFE, BIKE and GIRL Collections- the ‘09 Looks expose the definitive styling, subversive graphics, state of the art functionality, and serious day in day out durability of the entire range.

Source: Seven Springs

Seven Springs Mountain Resort will host the third annual Gravity East Series, June 12 – 14, 2009! As the premier gravity series in the United States, the GES event at Seven Springs will be third stop on a circuit of 11 top downhill mountain biking courses on the East Coast.

The 3rd round of the Irish DH NPS for this year was held by the CRC club in Rostrevor, Co. Down on the 23rd and 24th of May. Tipped to be one of the best events of the year, and it didn't disappoint.

Starting at 9:30am on the Saturday, the skies were grey and it looked like the rocky track would soon be extremely slippy. Happily though, the rain kept off until later on, but it wasn't too late to turn the track to a river for later practice.

A few weeks ago we introduced you to the plan for this three way shoot out, now it’s time for part two of the three parter, even if it is a little later than intended!

Of the three bikes, the Sunday and V10 of course require no introduction but, to those of you who perhaps haven’t been paying attention over the last couple of years, the Empire does. As a bare minimum, it’s unique and evolutionary in both the downhill and wider mountain bike market by being made of cast aluminium. Looking at it further, it could even be revolutionary. Why? Well, for starters it’s been designed from day one as a dedicated downhill frame with no carry through of technology from other designs just for the sake of fitting in with previous marketing; many downhill bikes spring to mind there. This meant that when it came to the design, the designers own experiences from many years on the race circuit could easily be incorporated into the end product.

The Havoc lineup from Easton consists of products that work. The products in this line up are strong, reliable, and backed by a good warranty. So far we have talked about the Easton Havoc AM Wheels, Havoc DH Stem, and now we will introduce the Havoc DH bar. Designed around being adapted to any bike setup the Havoc DH bar is offered in a comfortable width, both clamping sizes, and features standard bends, along with some of Easton's patented technologies.

Read here for more info on the Havoc DH Bar...

I've been to Blackrock a couple times now and every time there is always some form of new trail construction and extensive buffing of the existing trails. The trail network is large enough to support a full day worth of riding, mainly due to the fact that you have to pedal your feet to get yourself up the hill. To say that this trip was a bit different than my others is a vast understatement. Rich and Ryan of BRMBA organized a small industry-appreciation-style shuttle day in late April '09 for Transition Bikes and Race Face and had two trucks available to take us to the top. With friends, old and new, we enjoyed a great weekend of shuttle-shredding the minty fresh Oregon goodness!

How to build your very own Ti Gear Box Bike by Alan Hawkes.

O.K where to start, the big question is why? Well why not? I've made downhill frames before using t45 steel so I thought if I was going to build a gearbox DH bike then I may as well do something special. There is probably no advantage in having titanium over alloy but if you're only going to do it once then why not make it different?

Source: Devinci Bikes

After more than two years of filming Life Cycles, the Stance Films crew was heading to northern Quebec (Canada) to the Devinci Cycles factory. The plan was to take some factory shots and they got more than they expected!

Invite Criteria & Event Formats Announced for Flagship Events at Kokanee Crankworx.

While freeride mountain bike pros flocked to balmier climates this winter, renowned course builder and mad professor John Cowan has been working on plans in his never-ending quest to expand the boundaries of two-wheeled recreation. The spring melt is now on and Cowan and his tireless crew of builders have begun to turn the earth to construct the features of the slopestyle and giant slalom courses in the Boneyard at the Whistler Mountain Bike Park. In anticipation of another masterpiece, Kokanee Crankworx, meanwhile, is excited to announce the inside scoop on some juicy details for 2009 including the illustrious invitation list.