Canada Olympic Park's mountain bike program has risen to the forefront of newscasts over the past week as a result of rumors circulating about its closure in the future.

Mountain biking is seen as a core component to the long-term vision of transforming Canada Olympic Park into the Canadian Centre of Sport Excellence.

This past year has been one of the best on record for the mountain bike program with season passess increasing 35 per cent, and the hosting of the Mountain Bike World Cup for the first time in the Park's history. CODA is excited about this increase in participation, and the future of the program into next season.

It was just 2 days ago that I took my 8 year old daughter for her first real mountain bike ride. It was a shuttled descent down a long decommissioned mining road known as Silver King. On the ride she jumped rocks, crossed creeks, stopped to view the flora, fauna, waterfalls and old mining remnants. She even had a crash that may have been worth at least a stitch or two. I can't believe it took us this long to finally hit the trails. Like me, she can't wait to get out and do it again on Saturday, National Take a Kid Mountain Biking Day. That's my little girl...

Having gained invaluable experience during the making of "True North", Jon_e is bringing us his latest video project "Going Native", which is to be released shortly.

Jon_e has been quite busy shooting top riders riding in their native surroundings as well as on their race tracks.

As the winter quickly creeps up on us - maybe it time to start thinking about bike decorations for the holiday season! Ya I know, there are still a few more months let before Christmas, but before you know it you’ll be struggling with last minute gift shopping again. Here are a few items that would definitely make perfect stocking stuffers – hope you’ve been good this year!

From the most enigmatic director in the mountain bike world today comes THE NEW WORLD OF MOUNTAIN BIKING.

Milkman captures the roots of mountain biking, where it is at, and where it is about to go!
Whenever you need to get pumped for a ride, learn a new move, or just chill to some sweet beats throw in this vid and it will deliver.

Watch Genesis Teaser video

Wheel, component and suspension maker Cane Creek Cycling Components has been collaborating with Swedish suspension company Öhlins Racing AB on bicycle suspension parts that will debut at Interbike. Öhlins suspension has netted more than 100 world championships across a variety of motor sports disciplines such as motocross, Enduro, Moto GP, Formula One, CART and NASCAR racing.

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In early 2004, Evil Bikes teamed up with Canadian born riding icon Chris Donahue. Soon after, Chris began working with the Evil engineering team to develop a signature model frame that would be fitting of the Donahue and Evil names. Recently, Chris has been shredding the streets and trails of his native B.C. Canada on a new Evil prototype. This prototype is named for Chris Donahue’s love of riding. Riding, and the energy associated with it is Chris’ Drug Of Choice.

Think you've got what it takes to climb well over 8500 feet in a day? How about if there's some sweet technical singletrack descents thrown in to make it worth your while? This Sunday, October 3rd, NRG Enterprises in Nelson, BC is hosting the upteenth annual Triple Crown. Riding on 3 of Nelson's best trails, each an epic in its own right, this year's Triple Crown is a poker ride.

Royal Racing’s Steve Peat led a 5th Element® sweep of the top three positions in the final standings for the 2004 Elite Men’s UCI World Cup Downhill Championships. For the second year in a row the 5th Element® shock has topped the Men’s standings with Nathan Rennie taking the 2003 World Cup Championship.

For freeriders and downhillers, climbing is an annoyance to be endured only if there’s a sweet, technical or high speed descent as the payoff. With that in mind, using our all-new FreeDrive platform we created the Mongoose Black Diamond FR series.

Canton, MA September 22, 2004 – Kryptonite today announced that the company is offering free product exchanges to all consumers who are concerned about the security of their current Kryptonite tubular cylinder locks.

For more information about this exchange program, visit their web site at www.kryptonitelock.com

SRAM Corporation and Truvativ are pleased to announce that SRAM has signed a Definitive Agreement to purchase Truvativ. The transaction is expected to close by mid October.

Stan Day, the President of SRAM said, "Truvativ is a great company with a remarkable track record of growth and innovation. SRAM is excited to bring the Truvativ Team and products into our organization. Cranksets and bottom brackets complete SRAM's drivetrain product line."

Editing is well under way for MTBFilms’ upcoming mountain bike movie “Halfway to Nowhere” and we’ve got a sneak peak ready for public consumption! It’s short, its sweet, and it’s quick to download. Check it out and spread the word! We’ll have more news soon about when it will be in stores.

Go To The Teaser Page

Now I’d be lying if I said Expocycle was just about walking the isles of a trade show floor. Like Interbike, the annual Canadian cycling industry trade show also holds a demo day, and this year it was held at Kelso Conservation Area in Milton, Ontario. Boulder City, Nevada, this is not, but with a lift-accessed downhill run, and ample cross country trails with varying terrain, it was a great place to try out some of latest offerings from various manufacturers.

I arrived back in Canada after this years World Championships feeling incredibly good about the state of racing and our sport. The race was held in Les Gets France, a small ski resort located in the French Alps, about 60km out of Geneva.

Starting in Whistler and ending in Edmonton, Freeride Entertainment is proud to announce our preliminary BC & Alberta tour schedule for NWD V – Disorderly Conduct.

With the Livigno, Italy World Cup event a done deal, the 2004 UCI World Cup season is all but a distant memory. In the men's DH standings, it was 2004 World Champion, Fabien Barel winning the battle, but Steve Peat taking home the overall title. For the ladies, it was Celine Gros winning both the race and the overall, overtaking an injured Sabrina Jonnier at the last event of the season. On the 4X side of the gravity set, it was last year's World Champion, Michal Prokop taking the win and the overall beating Brian Lopes, Cedric Gracia and Dale Holmes in the final. For the women, it was Jill Kintner on top, followed by Tara Llanes, Katrina Miller and Anneke Beerten.

It’s not quite Interbike, but Expocycle 2004 went off without a hitch last weekend.
The annual trade show for the Canadian cycling industry was held at the Toronto Congress Centre Sunday, Sept. 12 to Tuesday, Sept. 14.

Narrowly avoiding Hurricane Ivan, the third annual Red Bull Bike Battle took Baltimore’s inner harbor by storm today. Thirty-two of the world’s most progressive urban freeriders faced off in head to head competition on a mind-blowing course designed by BMX great Nate Wessel. A hybrid of both natural and man-made obstacles, the
course included jumps (dirt & wood), rails, ramps, ledges, wall rides, a BC ladder bridge, and even a car.

Well it’s been a while since I did a review about bike movies. Recently Robbie Davidson of Privateer Racing sent me a copy of his debut movie The Descent, which I really like! The Descent is jam pack with racing footage from various 2003 races in Eastern Canada.

Own a Krypotonite lock with the round, cylindrical key? Use caution when securing your bike as some videos have recently surfaced online showing the locks being opened with a Bic pen. Kryptonite has replied to these allegations in an official press release and promises their new disc-style cylinder, in use in their high end New York series since 2000, will be introduced in their Evolution and KryptoLok lines in the coming weeks.

See the video here.

Yakuza is Iron Horse's new freeride series for riders looking to go big on limited funds. Whether you're a grom getting into the sport or a seasoned rider on a budget, these huck-worthy 6061 alloy hardtail and dual suspension frames are engineered for performance on the most demanding trails, downhill courses, and urban riding. All Yakuza frames feature 1.5" headtubes for the ultimate combination of durability and compatibility, massive tire clearance, and rider tuned geometries. The Yakuza dual suspension models feature a tuned singlepivot design for plush suspension and crisp pedaling.

RIDE TO THE LAKE 2004 - the countdown has begun
In less than two weeks time, Meersburg will open its historic old town for the international freeride elite who will meet in the small town at Lake Constance between September 24th and 26th for the first ever RIDE TO THE LAKE CONTEST. Meanwhile most obstacles have been built and Competition Manager Cory Moore is dying to see the riders from around the world fly over his massive constructions.

With another World Championships in the bag, there are now 4 new gravity riders who will don the rainbow jerseys for 2005. In front of an estimated 25,000 screaming fans, cheerleaders, flame jugglers and pyrotechnics, it was Eric Carter crossing the finish line in front of Mickael Deldycke, last year's world champion Michal Prokop and Swiss rider Rinderknecht. It was Carter's first World Championship in the 4X.

Tomorrow, my favorite little mountain town, and the place I call home, hosts the Nelson Fat Tire Festival on Morning Mountain. Events include the sane and insane cross country races (8:30am start), kids races (10am start), downhill (11am practise - 1pm start) and speed trials (begins after DH final). Registration is tonight from 6-8 pm in front of the Sacred Ride on Baker St. For those of you unfamiliar with the area, Nelson's the home of Freeride Entertainment and such pro riders as Mike Kinrade, Robbie Bourdon, Shawn Denny and Derek Chambers. Come out and get a glimpse of what makes this riding community so special. While you're here, check out some of the many trails that have been buffed this season by the Nelson Cycling Club's trail crew, you won't be disappointed!

Still awaiting the final tally on the UCI web site, but for now here's who stood on the podium at the Downhill World Championships in Les Gets, France. Top men's qualifier Steve Peat led by a full second at the split only to tumble ass over tea kettle less than 5 seconds from the finish line. Perennial favorite on the women's side, Anne-Caroline Chausson did not start the race due to a torn rotator cuff, giving the rest of the field a chance to don the rainbow jersey for a season.

Does the idea of 2 weeks of every day bombing down 10,000ft vertical decents on crazy single tracks, in the South American Andes appeal to you? how about finishing off those two weeks with a Meagavalanche race (mass start downhill )? How about if this was some of best trails in the world and almost undiscovered?

For all Canadian Drop In TV fans; you'll be excited to know that A-Channel and MTV Canada will begin airing Drop In TV, from the beginning, on it's local Networks across Canada. A-Channel Alberta and Manitoba have scheduled Drop In to begin airing this Saturday, and every Saturday, at 3:00PM. A-Channels Toronto network, Toronto-1, airs Drop In Sundays at 1:30PM. MTV Canada will be airing Drop In a number of times through out it's weekly schedule.

As usual I'm a week late, but this time I've got at least somewhat of an excuse. We were waiting on the tie breaker judge to cast his vote. It was a tough call as we received many great tales of road trips gone good, bad and everything in between. In the coming weeks, look for some of those road trippin' stories written by riders just like you. Adrian Bergles took home top spot with his tale titled "Gone Riding". Adrian's effort gets him and a friend one week's stay at the sweet Ticket2RideBC.com chalet and lift passes from the Whistler Bike Park. Enjoy...

More often than not, my bike resort related trips involve me and (possibly) a few friends ripping up the slopes and living large, while my wife and kids stay home taking care of the real world stuff that families do. When I got an email from Michelle Leroux at Panorama Mountain Resort inviting not just me, but my family as well, we jumped at the chance to join them mountainside!

Whistler B.C. September 8, 2004 – The Collective, a recently released 16mm mountain bike film, has just received a perfect 10 overall rating from Bike Magazine. This marks the first time that the magazine has ever awarded such a score. The review gives The Collective 10 out of 10 in the categories of Cinematography, Editing, Music and Originality. “Seen through the eyes of The Collective,” the review states, “freeride mountain biking becomes sacred and beautiful, rather than competitive and egotistical”. Other praises for the film include “perfect terrain”, “exotic locations” and “surprisingly artistic”.

Check out teaser and BUY The Collective on Pinkbike.

Push Industries of California announced today it’s partnership with world renowned TF Tuned Shox located in the United Kingdom. Consumers can expect to start seeing Push products in the UK later this month.

Just like every year, one week before the Eurobike, at the 27th and 28th of August, the Nicolai Open House took place. At the moment, I am a student apprentice here at Nicolai. I just thought that I could give some short impressions of the trade fair and the new products to everybody who could not get here. Unfortunately the weather wasn’t quite as expected. Despite that, many interested customers and bike dealers came to Lübbrechtsen.

Panorama Mountain Village, B.C. — Nintendo presents The Panorama Cup Downhill Race at Panorama Mountain Village, BC on September 11-12 with on-mountain guests MTV Canada and the Columbia Brewery!

Pinkbike leaked this teaser last week, but we took it down as the Freeride boys wanted to debut it at Eurobike. Now it's ready for the masses.

Coming from the producers of the acclaimed New World Disorder Movie series. Freeride Entertainment takes you behind the scenes and into the life of Cedric Gracia.

This is the biggest Gong Show on the planet. See what it's like to live the life of the craziest, fastest and funniest rider.

Download the teaser here. Graciagongshow.mov

Mountain biking thrives where riders have developed four things: convenient access to appealing trails, trailbuilding expertise, a positive image and political influence. To help Canadian riders in these crucial areas, the International Mountain Bicycling Association (IMBA) is opening an office this summer near Toronto.

For just $200 CAD, Iguana Ranch is offering a full weekend, exclusive “spa-like” Get-Away for women who would like to polish their over-all technique, improve their confidence, learn new skills and try new tricks! This clinic will be instructed by awesome certified cycling coach Tracey Buckley.

Laguna Beach, CA – www.crankbrothers.com introduces a new addition to their line of multi tools: the multi-19. This super-functional tool comes with a waterproof stainless steel and polymer “flask” for portability, storage and protection.

I know, I know, we promised announcement of the winner of our Ticket2RideBC.com week long accommodation giveaway on August 31st, but a crashed computer and the large number of entries has put us somewhat behind schedule. While we finish going through the entries, please bear with us, I promise we'll have a winner and runner's up announced in the very near future!

SRAM, the second largest manufacturer in the bike biz, has put all the members of its family under one roof. Along with Avid Brake and Rockshox, SRAM's entire product line can be found at www.sram.com. On the site you'll see information about their new for 2005 offerings, including the Avid Juicy 5's and the RockShox Boxxer, Pike and Reba forks. With Eurobike just days away and Interbike not far behind, here's your chance to see the latest greatest before they make the headlines!

This is the last weekend to ride the Horse. If you have not checked out our new trails and Biker-X, now is the time! Take the gondola to the top and ride North America’s longest lift accessed vertical (3,700 feet). The last day to ride will be Monday, September 6th. Thanks to everyone for a great season!