As promised late last week, we've finalized details of our Pinkbike/Joyride/Sun Peaks Resort VIP giveaway. One lucky entrant will get 2 VIP passes to the event and its party, running July 10th, 2004. Also included is deluxe accomodation from the Delta Sun Peaks Resort for Friday and Saturday nights, lift tickets for all 3 days, dinner for 2 at Masa's Bar and Grill and $200 spending money from Pinkbike.com. To win all you've got to do is...

On Canada’s Birthday, say goodbye to mountain bike lift lines. July 1st, Mount Washington Alpine Resort will offer a partial opening of its Mountain Bike Park. New trails and a new summer lift that will be the exclusive domain of bikers is what's in store.

The Whistler Mountain Bike Park, the international leader in downhill mountain bike parks and trails, will launch an additional 2,200 vertical feet of terrain on Whistler Mountain this Saturday, June 26. The [L=http://www.whistlerblackcomb.com/bike/garbanzo/]“Garbanzo Zone”[/L] features four new hand-built single-track trails and extends the park into the Whistler Mountain subalpine. Expansion in the Garbanzo Zone is a response to rapid growth in the popularity of the Whistler Mountain Bike Park where visits have increased by 500% since 1999. Increased terrain will mean shorter lift lines, more space on-hill for riders of all ability levels, and access to a greater diversity of trails.

Team Honda/Turner Bike Stolen: Small Turner DHR w/ PUSH Rear shock and 1 1/8 Headtube (1 of 2 DHRs w/ this) this bike was a Turner/Honda Team Bike Stolen from Mt Ste Anne, Quebec from a 2nd story balcony during a rainstorm last night...PLEASE be on the lookout.

Sun Peaks Resort near Kamloops BC boasts a World Class Bike Park with great riding and facilities. The park here opened 8 years ago and is renowned for it's long single-track descents. This year a new Bikercross track built by Joyride and a fresh machine built trail will take the park to the next level and everyone should check it out. Some of cycling biggest names have confirmed their entry to this years event including '03 defending champion Gracia, and '02 champion Lopes going head to head continuing to put Joyride on the annual calendar of "big" bike events. We're still ironing out details, but stay tuned in the coming days for information on how to win the Pinkbike/Joyride/Sun Peaks Resort VIP package including accomodation, lift passes, $200 spending money, dinner for two and VIP passes for the event.

After their busiest trail construction season to date, Sun Peaks Resort and it's spectacular network of trails each boasting over 2000 feet of adrenalized descending opens for the 2004 season. From the sweet ribbon called Sugar to the gnarly steeps of Insanity One and the sweet flow of Barn Burner, there's something for riders of all abilities. This year there's plenty new to be found including Smooth Smoothie and the new Biker Cross course built by none other than Paddy Kaye, Joyride's founder and chief. Sun Peaks Resort is known for it’s Candy Sweet Singletrack and on Saturday, you can sample all 26 pieces of Candy that make up the park for just a Toonie - that's $2!

This Thursday, the Globe Cinema located at 617 8th Avenue SW plays host to the Calgary premiere of "The Collective". By all accounts this is certainly one of the most anticipated films productions of the year. With performances by Andrew Shandro, Dave Watson, Darren Berrecloth, Steve Romaniuk, Tyler Morland, Tyler Klassen and many others, by all accounts this is one hell of a show. Still not convinced?
As usual there will be a bag 'o swag for each of the 2 showings. Again, that's this Thursday, June 24th, show times are 7:00 and 8:15pm, tickets are just $8 and are only available at the door - see you there!
Get there early for tickets, even if you're hitting the second showing as the theatre fills fast.

The Padden Mountain Pedal a cornerstone of mountain bike racing in the Pacific NW will anchor the newly created Bellingham based mountain bike festival, WHIMP Fest held on June 26th & 27th, 2004. The Festival is aptly named for the Whatcom Independent Mountain Pedalers a.k.a the WHIMPs who have been the driving force in making the mountain biking in Bellingham and Whatcom County what it is today. The full story of the WHIMPs can be viewed at www.whimpsmtb.com but suffice to say that the 1500 hours of volunteer trail work hours per year for over a decade is just part of what they do.

The Mad Trapper BC Cup Mountain Bike Race is set to go off at Panorama on Saturday June 26 and Sunday June 27.
Panorama's BC Cup line-up features cross-country, downhill and 4-cross events. The diversity of the terrain and the calibre of the athletes make this one of the hottest adventure events taking place at Panorama this summer and cash prizes will make the action even hotter.

We’re here at Silver Star Mountain Resort in Vernon, B.C. to show you the all new 2011 Specialized Demo 8 with Specialized/SRAM team rider Curtis Keene. Curtis has been on various revisions of the new frame since early April, so who better to show you the new bike than a team rider with lots of R&D on the project?

Check out the all new 2011 Demo 8 inside as Curtis gets rad for Jordan’s cameras and then takes us all through the new chassis,

Silver Star Mountain Resort opens its doors again for mountain biking beginning June 26, 2004. Former host of many great BC Cup & Canada Cup events Silver Star is a great place to come and ride. With over 60kms of trails, it is definitely worth a visit. The trail crew has been hard at work repairing the trails and have their sites on a new skills area and some new trails before opening weekend June 26th - 27th. The chairlift will be free for everyone on Sunday June 27th.

Just go to our website at www.skisilverstar.com for more information. Come and ride your favourites like Dag's Downhill, Double Dog and Flow. See you on the trails... if you can keep up.

The Calgary World Cup is only 2 weeks away. Weekend passes or daily tickets for the inaugural Bike Calgary Festival, July 2-4, 2004, featuring three World Cup mountain bike events – cross-country, Mac’s Froster four-cross and downhill – can be purchased at Canada Olympic Park or Mac’s Convenience Stores in Calgary. Weekend passes for spectators 10 years of age and older are available for $30 (incl. GST) at Canada Olympic Park, while day tickets are available for $12 at Mac’s. Spectators purchasing day tickets at Mac’s will also receive a free 550 ml Froster. Children under 10 years old are admitted free for the entire weekend. Check out the BikeCalgary website for more.

It was a big weekend for the gravity circuit with stops in both Mt Snow (NORBA) and Schladming, Austria (World Cup). The UK's Gee Atherton picked up his first World Cup win in Schladming, Austria, while his fellow countryman Steve Peat stays at the top of the WC standings with a 4th place finish. In the women's field it was Marielle Saner besting 4X winner, Sabrina Jonnier by just under a second keeping them 1 and 2 in the standings, with Jonnier in top spot overall. In Mt Snow, it was current NMBS leader Greg Minnaar over Canada's Dustin Adams and John Kircaldie on the men's podium while it was Kathy Pruitt, Bernadita Pizaro Lazo and Lisa Sher on the women's side.

I have to admit, I was a little disappointed when my wife informed me I'd be spending the Psychosis weekend at a swim meet in Trail. Not that she usually plans my weekends, especially during riding season, but who could blame her after I've spent the last 6 months (excluding weekends) a 7 hour drive from my family wrapping up some loose ends with a former employer. After spending so little time with my 2 (wonderful) children these past months, how could I plan a Father's Day excursion without them?

Despite the lousy weather the 2004 Bear Mountain Challenge was definitely worth checking out. I was under the clouds that brought the intermittent rain showers for three days taking photos and I can’t say that I was disappointed; after a weekend of rain the race day riders ripped it up and checked in with amazing times regardless of the fact that the super slick clay based mud was five inches deep in places.

August 17-20, 2004, North Vancouver, BC, Canada


Join IMBA and other mountain biking leaders for three days of education, networking and discussion covering the environmental, social and economic issues surrounding mountain biking.

After the most successful opening month ever for the Whistler Mountain Bike Park (WMBP), and the Garbanzo Expansion happening in less than a month, it’s safe to say the Bike Park trail builders have been busy. And with all of the new trails and features under construction, you’d think our resources would be tapped, wouldn’t you? Think again. We’ve hired one of the most innovative stunt builders in the business to create four masterpiece features for the Whistler Mountain Bike Park and we need help naming them. Submit a name by June 27, and put yourself in the running for a 2004 Whistler Mountain Bike Park season pass and a pair of Marzocchi ‘Monster T’ forks

NME Tours offers freeride/downhill mountain biking tours in the Golden and Invermere B.C. area. We have existed for only one year, but the dream has been pursued for several seasons. The lifestyles of our guides has been developed into a business so that we can share our experiences and passion for the sport with those who might not otherwise have the opportunity to see what our beautiful area has to offer.

First comes the chit chat..."So when's the race this year?". " I don't know but it'll be fun.". Then comes the first few trail days..." The course is lookin good for this early in the season!". "No doubt, it looks good to go!". The riders start to get a couple good ones under their belt and feel a slight glimpse of the love.

I’ve always admired unique bicycle designs and the “crazy scientists” who piece them together. I still remember back to my early days in the sport and the likes of John Castellano, Horst Leitner, and Jim Busby and their (then) revolutionary suspension designs. To the mainstream cycling world, these guys were on the fringe – but arguably, each brought new ideas to the sport that would ultimately change it forever. In Ryan Carroll, chief designer at Astrix Sports, I see many of those same traits admired in the other “crazies”. Unique, likes to think outside the box and he certainly has an obsession with building a better bike.

The Bear Mountain Challenge 2004 came to a close on a sunny Sunday evening after a weekend of mud and rain. Almost 500 competitors participated in the event making this one of the largest races in the country. The organization, presentation and the course, as in previous years, were impeccable with the lead roles from Corey Adsit, Darren Butler, Brian Eller, Gavin and many others.

Just recently got an e-mail from Marc Landry at Fast Times Inc. informing me about the launch of his new site. Fast Times Inc. just released ES2 Fully loaded., which can be purchased from our online store.

Race Face Performance Products, along with Giant Bicycles and Manitou Suspension is proud to announce the fourth annual Race Face Ultimate Freeride Challenge is officially underway. Videos are now being accepted for the US$25,000 “winner takes all” contest with the submission deadline set at February 1st, 2005. This gives riders over 7 months to plan, shoot and edit their videos in the hopes of gaining international exposure and ultimately making the short list of Freeriding’s elite.

Stanley Cup Fever isn’t the only thing to happen in Calgary these days. SOLE Custom Footbeds is proud to announce that three of North America’s elite street riders will be heading south of the border, along with 2 representatives from SOLE, including photographer, Ian Hylands, to compete and have fun with the best of the best at Jeff Lenosky’s Backyard Jump Jam, and at the Big Wheels 3 contest at Rye Airfield.

Tour dates have just been announced for the release of the highly anticipated mountain bike film, The Collective. Since the release of the film’s website and trailer earlier this year, The Collective has been making waves in the mountain bike film world with its fresh approach to freeride filmmaking. Many of the sport’s biggest names played an integral part in the direction of the film, including Darren Berrecloth, Geoff Gulevich, Matt Hunter, Tyler Klassen, Ryan Leech, Jordie Lunn, Tyler Morland, Steve Romaniuk, Andrew Shandro, Wade Simmons, Thomas Vanderham, and Dave Watson.

June is here, and that means Bear Mountain Challenge ’04 is ready to go. The eighth annual event is stop number two on the SISU BC Cup calendar and promises to be more fun than ever.

Fernie Alpine Resort continues to expand mountain bike operations. Totally new trails and stunts, extensive rebuilding of existing trails and features, will ensure another great summer at the resort. The Resort will significantly increase uplift capacity for the summer, on the Elk Quad Chair, operating July 1st through September 6th. Both the Elk Quad and the Timber Quad Chair will run August 7th-8th and August 12th – 15th.

Many Pro riders were disappointed when they found out there wasn’t going to be a Freezride this year, but thanks to Snowbird Mountain Resort, Lizard Skins, Invictus Productions, and Red Bull (Salt Lake City), an event called the Bike Board Jib Jam gave them the opportunity to compete on the snow.

Rossland, BC is a known hot spot for great mountain biking, so much so that it has earned the title ‘Mountain Bike Capital of Canada’. This year, the popular trails of Rossland will be the stage for a program of summer bike camps delivered by some of the region, and sport’s, mountain biking stars.

The gate for the Moose Mountain Access Road is soon scheduled to open for the summer and so the time has come for us Albertan’s to ride in our back yard instead of driving to BC to get our shuttle-runs in. So, I am organizing a trail maintenance day for this Sunday June 6th 2004.

The Golden Cycling Club is hosting the 6th Annual Mount 7 Psychosis June 19 & 20, 2004 The Psychosis Downhill is the longest downhill mountain bike race in the world, aptly named for its steep lines, fierce drops and 4000ft of vertical.

This weekend is the World Cup at Fort William. If you are looking for all the latest news and event updates from the 2004 Fort William World Cup, I suggest you keep an eye on these web sites this weekend.

www.descent-world.co.uk
www.fortwilliamworldcup.co.uk
www.mbuk.com

Round 2 of our National DH series took place this past weekend at Mt. Tremblant Quebec. This has been a stop on the Canada Cup circuit for many years now and is regarded as one of the best courses by all the riders.

I can still see the look on Dee’s face when she went over the last little drop at the end of the DH course! How does that Mastercard commercial go? That look = priceless! And YES I was watching because I was hoping she’d make it and she did nicely too!

With a purse of $10,000 on the line, the finals on Sunday, May 30 were fiercely fought. The Diablo Freeride Park, in Vernon, NJ, was swarming with fans from the New York tri-state area and beyond, and Junior World Champion Sam Hill did not disappoint.

Mountain biking, especially in freeride and downhill guise, could easily be considered an inherently dangerous sport. I still remember the first time I "saw Jesus" while descending far too quickly down an unfamiliar section of trail in Yakima, Washington 8 years ago. Granted I was scared - really scared, but you couldn't wipe the grin off my face for days afterward. That fear-iduced adrenaline rush could very well be what draws (and continues to hold) many of us to the sport. While there may be a certain rush that acccompanies fear, there's another not-so-rosy feeling that accompanies being broken. Thankfully, there are manufacturers like Speed Stuff looking out for us.

Topless? Hungry? Willing to sacrifice your time?

Volunteers are needed for various roles at the 2004 UCI World Cup at Canada Olympic Park. Volunteer positions include: pre-event course work, signage and course installations, course maintenance, XC marshals, DH marshals, 4X marshals and various other tasks. It’s a great way to support the sport of mountain biking while also enjoying the World Cup event.

The Norco tech crew and support vehicles typically attend over 60 race and consumer events across the country every year. With tech staff and support vehicles based out of both western and eastern offices that have supplied neutral tech support at almost every provincial, national and world level race here in Canada, it is widely known that Norco puts more back into supporting the sport than virtually any other company out there.

Available exclusively on www.pinkbike.com is the two disc set of the only freeride show on TV. There were a lot of differences from the first season to this season. One thing remained the same - Amazing riding in the best locations in the world.