Crankworx may not be Interbike, but with an event of this proportion there is a guarantee that you'll find new parts, prototype parts, retro bits, and cool people in the pits and on the trails.

Here is a look at some of the bits that caught my eye last week and some of the folks that are riding them:

I was at the top of the course early for once in my life, as the old balls men straggled up to the top of the course I detected a slight stale beer smell and some bleary eyes, indicators of some well deserved partying the night before.

It's no lie when I say that for me, the most anticipated event at this year's Crankworx was the SRAM and Cove Bikes Wiffle Golf Invitational. I patiently awaited my invite in the mail and once it arrived I knew that it was gonna be a good time!

Once again SRAM stepped it up for the Thursday night Loonie race to co-sponsor it with the folks at Behind the Grind restaurant. The Loonie race still costs a Twoonie, and despite inflation folks came by the hundreds.

The 16th annual Frontier Fat Tire Festival will be held August 4 – 6, 2007 at Frontier Lodge near Nordegg, Alberta. This popular festival is a great weekend of exciting biking events and competitions with great prizes. All are invited, whether beginner or advanced, to enjoy some of the best downhill, cross country, trials, slalom and north shore courses in western Canada. The huge, new “Get-er-Done” single-track downhill trail will be ready for this year’s festival, and heli-biking is also offered for those looking for an extra thrill.

A lot of you may not have heard, but the Trail Crew has been going off at the Kicking Horse Bike Park this year. When there is almost 4000 feet of vertical it is no small “feet” to get trails built. Before opening there were five pieces of machinery working hard to establish some new trails and features, and now that the season is rolling there is still a Bobcat working six days a week. With the trail network getting pretty dialed, much focus has shifted to enhancing what’s already there with both dirt and wood features.

I have a confession to make. I’ve grappled with an affliction for most of my life, starting with my first Schwinn BMX at 6 years old and on through decades of cyclelogical obsession. The truth is, I’m a bona fide Gearhead.

I’m not only on the eternal quest for stuff that works and won’t break. In my opinion, that’s the baseline for any company touting itself as a purveyor of “freeride” quality today. To the point, I’m a stickler for the nuances of high performance and – I must admit – a sucker for bike bling.

Slopestyle is perhaps the most exciting new cycling discipline seen in years. When creating the König, our goal was to channel the energy of a great run into the engineering and style of our slopestyle frame. Getting off the ground, landing in one piece (at any angle) and getting the bike where you need it to be in a split second all require that a bike be light, strong and maneuverable - three things that define the König.

Crankworx is a great event for the Santa Cruz Syndicate athletes to regroup mid-season to race and play together. Santa Cruz sponsored rider, Bobby McMullen has joined the Syndicate for the week and has been thoroughly entertained so far by the characters in the house. He can't see them, as he is legally blind, but he sure can laugh at their stories. The Crankworx competitions have brought this crew together this week and they all rode the mountain today.

Womens Worx - The Gala went off yesterday with 40 ladies participating in the event that saw them wind their way down the mountain from the Garbanzo zone all the way to the Bone Yard.

The evening was filled with parties through out the village, but the two to be at were the Dirty Girls Gala at Merlins and NWD Films film shoot in Function Junction. It was Mexican Wrestling with a Freeride Twist!

The world premiere for "Have you seen it?" will take place at the Longhorn Saloon in Whistler on Thursday July 26th (during Crankworx). The fine folks from NWD Films will also be airing the NWD 8 Smack Down teaser. Be there tomorrow night!

Finish your Crankworx week off with a party for a good cause. While rockin’ the night away at the GLC Sunday July 29th, you will be helping Claire Buchar and Katrina Strand, two of the worlds best female mountain bike athletes, get to the World Championships and World Cup Finals.

Last weekend, (July 13th – 15th) the crew from Loeka Clothing headed up to Sun Peaks to host the 1st Annual Loeka Clothing/Sun Peaks Resort Women’s Adventure Weekend. It was an adventure all right, from beginning to end.

Transition Bikes has signed Dylan Tremblay to their factory team for the remaining 07 season and upcoming 2008 season. Dylan has long been know as one of the original Dirtbag riders that everyone can relate to. Dylan’s style is very diverse but he specializes in park and dirt jumping but also has a love for trail building and big mountain riding. For this year Dylan’s main ride will be a baby blue Trail-or-Park hardtail but he will also be running the full suspension dirt jump bike the Double and the short travel freeride bike the Preston FR.

GRAND JUNCTION, CO -- MRP, the long time pioneer in chain guide design has raised the bar for 2008 with the planned October release of the patented G2 chain guide system. The G2 will be the first model to go into production utilizing MRP’s patented integrated chainguide/bash guard technology.

It’s no secret that the SRAM RockShox lineup has been tearing up the downhill and freeride scene with the Boxxer and Totem series, but what about the lowly dirt jump fork, intended for bikes that get ridden hard every day on all types of terrain from dirt jumps, to street, to skate parks, to pump tracks?

SRAM’s offering for this market segment is the Argyle series. At the top of this lineup for 2007 is the Argyle 409, an air sprung fork with a sweet “punishmint” color scheme, burly mechanicals, intelligent design, and useful technology to keep you rolling.

Well we all know that there are several events for the racers at Crankworx and that the slopestyle boys have their moment on Saturday. But did you know that in about 12 hours time the Ladies Only event-The Gala will begin?

I spent the better part of my morning on Monday getting covered in mud as I followed event co-ordinators Katrina Strand and Lisa Lefroy around the mountain setting up signage for each Station for the Gala. Here's a brief look at Monday in Whistler:

Sunday the Garbanzo went off in all its glory. I rode the gondola with my bikepark pass (that hasn't even seen dirt yet due to my broken elbow) all the way to the peak because the efficient lifties wouldn't let me off at mid without a bike! Lets just say I got a lot of hiking for my money. It took me a good three and a half hours to get to mid station, but I got to see lots of carnage and amazing riding on the way down.

Littermag.com has teamed up with Santa Cruz Bicycles to bring you LitterOTB for Crankworx. Place your bet by July 28th and get a chance to win a Santa Cruz Jackal Frame.

We have a few choice parts being put to the test over the next few warm summer months here in B.C. Call it what you want but I like to think of it as the "fillet mignon" of our Fresh Meat articles if you will. This is just to wet your appetite for now but expect full length pieces later in the summer on the super trick Industry Nine DH wheelset, White Brother's 5.2lb DH fork and the much anticipated Cane Creek DoubleBarrel shock.

Read on...

Here is your chance at the Ultimate VIP Bash at the Kokanee Crankworx in Whistler Friday, July 27, 2007.

What’s going on? How about free beer and booze as well as BBQ and music in the roped off VIP section of EL Furniture warehouse. While everyone else is worrying about keeping track of their drink tickets, you will slide right through the crowd and slip into the VIP section where you will be embraced by industry and media big dogs who matter like Creig Hart of DT Swiss, the Pinkbike.com guys, West Coast Freeride Guides and of course athletes galore.

SPS Events can now announce round three at Rugog will be re-scheduled to Innerleithen and a different track from that used at round 1. The new date will be Saturday and Sunday the 13th and 14th of October 2007.

Well we all know that the weather sucks so I won't talk about it. I hiked half way up the John Cowan designed biker cross course and met some new kiwi friends, Hamish & Brent, who held my umbrella for me and fed me beer, good start. I managed to catch the finals for the junior men, pro men and pro women. I have to hand it to them all, they ripped down that course as if it was dry, obviously there were some good bails but that is par for the course. I spoke briefly with Lynn, fourth place finisher for the pro women, she is a funny girl, her comment was "Two girls bailed in front of me in the semi final so I blew past them and then realized oh crap now I am gonna be in the gate with with Jill and Fionn!" Good work Lynn, you are a ripper! Watching both pro men and women's events there was no doubt at any time who the winners were going to be, nice work Jill & Cedric.

The course was in magnificant shape until the rain hit, good old Mount Washington style. That's ok, it just makes things more interesting, like I heard, the 2006 National Champ, Andrew Mitchell, cracked his helmet in two in a practice run.

Here's a the rundown on my crash from Colorado...

I took it pretty hard in Winterpark and Crankworx Colorado on my first qualifying run. While hitting the last part of the tree ladder bridge section my front wheel missed the landing ramp and went into a shallow ravine causing me to slam face and shoulder first into the rocky ground. I dislocated my shoulder, broke my nose and needed 30 stitches to close the gash over my eye. I'm very greatful to the 7 Mile emergency room for taking good care of me and for Nate Adams, Foote and the rest of the folks in our condo for helping and being there for me. I'm healing up good and hopefully won't need surgery. One thing is for sure, I'll never ride a slopestyle again without a fullface.

With the excitement of Crankworx just around the corner, Three/Sixty Sports Group and Eastern Front Visual are proud to announce an addition to the Crankworx Nightlife, The White Hot Summer Party, hosted by Aaron Chase.

Get decked out in your finest white apparel and be ready to party with the top dogs in the mountain bike industry in a true summer environment.

The Ultimate Road Trip is officially a go! After months of prep and thousands of contest entries from around the World four lucky winners arrived in Vancouver on July 15th for the Ultimate 8 day BC mountain bike park adventure.

Marie-Helen and her boyfriend Francois Lapointe of Sherbrooke Quebec joined Chris Jones and his brother in-law John Galvin of San Francisco, California on an adrenaline fueled trip to three of the 6 Bike Parks BC resorts.

Come out to Station Flats on Sunday! Ride with Santa Cruz Syndicate rider Kirt Voreis with the All Ride Tour and Calgary Cycle. Calgary Cycle will be shuttling riders up Moose Mountain from 10am to 4pm. You can test ride bikes on true single track instead of the parking lot. The Calgary Cycle trailer will be set up at Station Flats. We’ll have the Santa Cruz V-10, Bullit, VP Free, Nomad, Blur LT, Blur XC and Superlights on hand for you to ride.

If you have any questions call Calgary Cycle at 403-277-3430 . Please bring proper ID (Drivers License and Credit Card(VISA-M/C) and your helmet.

We've been planning this road trip for a couple of months now and we want you to come and meet us in Whistler, from July 25th to the 29th. We're bringing our welding equipment and you'll be able to witness a true frame builder at work.

The first international mountain-biking event, mixing freeride and slopestyle disciplines in the same run, the Châtel Mountain Style Contest, organised by the resort of Châtel and endorsed by Pierre-Edouard Ferry, took place from 5 to 8 July 2007, despite the changeable weather. This one obliged the organisers to change the program of the event. Actually, the rain which fell in abundance until the middle of Friday made difficult the necessary practice run forecast on Thursday and Friday.

Team WTB scored a clean sweep of wins in the Downieville Classic, July 14-15, 2007. When the dust finally settled, the team had clenched victory in each and every one of the weekend’s elite races.

I’m sad to announce that by the time you read this, the Utopia Optics mountain bike & bmx program will be no more. Due to internal circumstances, Utopia Optics has decided to cut its funding to many of its departments and programs, most notably the bike department. I’ve therefore elected to resign my position as bike team manager.

Do-It-Yourself, DIY, were all at it, you can’t get a space in an IKEA car park let alone a set of Belkin Shelves! What about your bike though, could you build one? Well I know a man who has, here’s one he prepared earlier..

Get ready for RVC dirt jam III on Aug 4th, we have teamed up with rabbit hill, kona bikes, Sombrio clothing & Molsons to bring you a great event where all riders can show their skills & win some killer prizes. All ages & abilities are welcome. Just remember to register early to win the $250 Sombrio clothing package! bring your bike & your appetite as we will have the BBQ going to raise money for future trail development. Registration is $15 and you need a parent on site Aug 4th to sign the event waiver. Go online to www.rivervalleycycle.com to download the forms.

This event has been CANCELED.

Ok, I saw this on digg and thought it was fitting.
Read on to get the complete picture.

Suspension is a lot more complicated and important than we may think. Thanks to modern technology, however, every aspect of mountain bike suspension can be broken down, analyzed and tweaked to give us the best ride possible. Littermag.com takes you inside PUSH Industries to see why they are the leading custom mountain bike suspension tuners on the planet.

As a bike company KHS has been around since the mid 70’s. In recent years they have developed a line of DH and FR bikes. The DH has been available as a complete bike for 2 seasons. The new 2008 FR Lucky 7 is to be unveiled at this year’s Crankworx.

This Ninth Annual Mount Seven Psychosis race at Golden B.C. proved to be one of the most challenging years for the race course to date. Due to the extremely dry conditions, riders found it particularly hard to control speed on the steep sections of the “Dead Dog” and “RTC” pitches. “There were a lot of high speed crashes this year” said Paul Taylor, course official “riders just couldn’t control their speed”.

Race Face and Cycles Lambert are pleased to announce their exclusive distribution partnership, making Race Face’s hard and soft goods available to bike dealers across Canada.

The 2007 hard good line will be available for ordering at the beginning of August. In addition, dealers can order all of Race Face’s 2008 hard and soft goods at the upcoming booking season. Race Face products will be shown at ExpoCycle, from September 9-11 at Cycles Lambert’s booth (#100).

Do you own a Kona? Will you be in Whistler for Crankworx Festivities? Do you want a chance to ride with and learn from the best?

Former 2 Time Downhill World Champion Fabien Barel and 2006 Overall World Cup Downhill Champion Tracy Moseley will be sharing their secrets of success with a select few winners.

For the last 8 years I have made the pilgrimage to Golden BC for the Mt.7 Psychosis. Ya I missed year one as I was too busy trying to ride XC before discovering the joys of Gravity assisted riding. Each year since that momentus introduction to Dead Dog I have been stoked to return and eager to see the looks on the faces of the riders that are now experiencing it for their first time. This year I rolled out with fellow pilgrims Rich Jarman, Amber Zirnhelt, Kat Duffels and Ryan Potma. The road was long but as always it was a great time!

Last Saturday, myself and the rest of the Calgary Cycle crew packed up the trailer (bikes, beer and gear) and a few trucks and headed out for the promise land… Silverstar. The crew ended up gathering a few extra friends and totalled 17 (13 hurtin' Albertans, 3 BC transplants and a Yankee) by the time we got there. It seems as though the mid-summer burnout had set in at the shop and there was only one thing that could relieve it… a few days of riding!!!!

The cross-country and downhill courses are ready, the racers are stoked, and the doughnuts are fresh. The Tim Hortons National Mountain Bike Championships are ready to roll from July 18th to the 22nd at Mount Washington Alpine Resort on Vancouver Island.

On the weekend of the 28th and 29th of July, mountain bikes from all over the south west of England will be competing in the second round of the Ukbikepark/ Torico Downhill mountain bike race series. A new course has been made specifically for the event at the Ukbikepark venue near Blandford Forum.

As you all have probably heard, I had a little accident at the weekend and as I know how rumours spread I thought it was time to let you all know the real story.

SPS Events has taken the tough decision to cancel the next round of the Chain Reaction Cycles NPS this weekend on the 21st and 22nd of July 2007.

With the wettest June on record and July almost looking the same, this has left the pit fields at Rugog inaccessible along with our two back up courses at Caersws and Moelfre.

Following the huge success of the inaugural BRAKE BURNER RACE at Coronet Peak, Queenstown, in February this year, Greg McIntyre of Fat tyre Adventures is pleased to announce the next BRAKE BURNER RACE will be held on 2 Feb, 2008. “Coronet Peak has thrown its full support behind the event once again and I’ve already had lots of interest from riders so I’m expecting the race to be even bigger and better next year”.

After four years of high intensity action, spirited competition and aerial dynamics at breakneck speeds, cycling fans have come to expect the highest caliber of mountain bike racing from the Jeep® King of the Mountain Series (www.jeepsports.com). With the announcement of its most decorated field of athletes in event history, the 2007 Mountain Biking World Professional Championship will no doubt maintain its status as one of the most highly sought after crowns on the mountain biking circuit.

The Wham Bam Photo Scavenger Hunt went down this past Saturday in Bend, Oregon. Riders arrived in Bend and raced through the city snapping photos in order to get their hands on thousands of dollars in money and prizes.

After a one year hiatus to make way for the construction efforts of new condo facilities, Northstar at Tahoe has reopened the mountain to mountain bikes and reinstated its summer race series. Not only has Northstar brought back mtb, they have made some major upgrades which include:
• Five new trail segments
• Two full new trails
• Increased lift access with the addition of the Tahoe Zephyr Express
• Skills development areas, allowing those who want to get started with log and ladder rides to learn in less intimidating fashion as the features are much closer to the ground
• Saturday hours extended to 5:00 p.m.

e.thirteen athletes turned in another amazing performance in Schladming, Austria: Sam Hill won the men’s DH and retained his leader’s jersey, Ruareidh Cunningham placed 17th and regained the junior leader’s jersey.

For the Final Chapter of ‘Vicious Circle’, I decided to drive toward the interior, destination “Kamloops”.

After 5 hours of driving with my jeep overpacked with filming equipment, I stopped at the ‘Bicycle Café’ to pick up Graham Agassiz right after his last exam of grade 11.

We spoke for a bit and discuss about the kind of segment that he would like to have. High speed single track with flowy jumps along the way, was is final words and then we went filming all day.

Beaupré, Thursday July 5th 2007 – DH Mecca Mont-Sainte-Anne is just about to launch its Powerade 4-Cross Series: set on the world cup trail, local riders are expected to get down and dirty in a take no-prisoners race to the bottom! The 3 part series will be held on July 21st, August 25th and September 15th and is open to all.

Chris King Precision Components will announce and release for sale a 150mm rear ISO hub model at this weekend’s Downieville Classic in Downieville, California. Designed for freeride and downhill bikes, the ISO 150 is the latest addition to the renowned line of King ISO disc hubs. The ISO 150 will be a popular choice for pairing with King’s proven front ISO 20mm.

For the eighth time now I have made my way across Canada (Ok…from Ontario to BC, not the whole country, the damn place is too big!), even though I told myself many times that I would never do it again. Luckily this time I had an extremely memorable happy ending.

Not to discourage anyone that hasn’t made the trek, because everyone should do it at least once… but driving through the prairies eight times is 7 times too many.

This past weekend, Ricky Federau took the win at the BC XC Championships, so I got ahold of him for a few questions about his season. Here's a look at what he's been up to and what he has planned for 2007 and beyond.

Ok, the time has come and I’m not going to tell you again. This weekend the ritual is in session and we need you here, for what you ask, What else, human sacrifice!

My last adventure was a 3 week/3 race trip in eastern Canada. It was for a Canada Cup at Hardwood Hills Ontario, then two World Cups in Quebec. The first one was in Mount Ste-Anne and the second WC was at a new venue in a little town called St. Felicien. I would be traveling with a whole new group of people that I know but have never really traveled with before. My fitness was good going into this trip so I was hoping to race well.

This past weekend saw a new organization take over the reigns of the Bear Mountain Challenge in Mission BC. 194 racers came out from all over western Canada, the North West USA and even Chile to race the 11th Annual Bear Mountain Challenge.

Being the first race that the Fraser Valley Mountain Bike Association has been part off, things went well. Here is a look at how the whole weekend went down and full race results too.

The Gala, a freeride contest for the girls during Crankworx, is set to go for July 23rd and 24th. Amateurs and pros are invited to attend what promises to be two days of fun, progression and camaraderie!!

The 2006 Junior World Champ has taken her first World Cup this weekend in Schladming. Tracey has been steadily moving toward the top of the leader board with each race. 6th in Vigo, 5th in Champery and 4th in Monte Sainte Anne.

So a few months back I saw this teaser for a film called "Have you seen it?" and since then I've been following the teasers and wanting to know more. The riders are all top notch and the the riding itself looks great, but what is it all about?

The world premiere for the movie will take place at the Longhorn Saloon in Whistler on Thursday July 26th (during Crankworx), so I'll get my answers there I guess. Looking forward to seeing it-here are a few teasers to keep the rest of you entertained too:

Dirt Tours is Nelson BC’s, newest mountain bike tour company. We have mountain bike guiding and shuttle tours for riders who want the challenges of our steep mountains and long trails. Freeride and DH singletrack cover the area and have made the riding here world famous, but even the odd all-mtn epic pops up nowadays. For our inaugural season, Dirt Tours is pumped to be working with Joe Schwartz’s Nelson Freeride Camps, as well as the legendary Baldface Lodge as they get ready to open their doors for the first time ever to mountain bikers. The riding at the lodge area is sick to say the least, with fresh, new freeride trails built by locals, that drop you 6000ft (1800m) vert from the alpine to the lake!

A few weeks back I had the pleasure of being in Kamloops BC on a Thursday night and had the bigger pleasure of partaking in a shuttle night with the boys from Full Boar Bike Store. The word on the street was anyone who's here at 5:30pm and is ready to go can come on these rides-Sweet!

Now I just needed to change some flat tires and get down there for 5:30 and find out where we were going to rip-rumor was Greenstone or Merritt.

Less than one week remains until the Wham Bam Photo Scavenger Hunt kicks off in Bend, Oregon on July 14th. The scavenger hunt spots are being dialed in and the city of Bend is preparing for an onslaught of the world's best mountain bikers to arrive in their fine city.

Ladies, Loeka and Sun Peaks Resort have designed a weekend just for you. July 13-15 come up to Sun Peaks for the women’s adventure getaway weekend. The goal is to getaway with friends, meet other ladies that ride, learn a few skills, and just have some fun!

Have you been a victim of the Friday the 13th prophesy? Well come all yee faithful, this year it will standout in your psychosis.

With a new start carved into the earth, the powers that be reared their heads and lashed out unveiling a monster berm on the first pitch and a hip jump at the last moment of human support before plunging into the belly of Dead Dog, with constant attention to detail the course proves to be in psychosomatic shape.

If you are ready to take your riding to the next level MMR Camps is your answer. Do you want to ride faster, smoother and with more confidence? Do you want to ride some of the best trails in British Colombia with World Class coaching?

There is nothing like our new all inclusive 8 day BC Road Trip Camp. Quality accommodations, breakfast, lunch and snacks taken care of, road trips between resorts, Marin demo bikes provided for free if needed… all this plus you get World class instruction each day and you get to visit some of the best bike parks in the World.

Slopestyle Finals:

The contest came down to the 2nd runs of Cam McCaul and Jamie Goldman, after the first run they were seeded one, two, and clearly were riding at a clip no one else in the field could touch. Goldman started out with a no can on the big mtn step down at the top, Mccaul countered with a lazy barspin. Jamie one foot x-uped onto the step up to ladder bridge, while Mccaul threw another barspin. On the first jump in the 4 pack, Jamie threw a tailwhip, while Mccaul tossed a tilt flip. The 2nd jump went to Mccaul as he threw down a nosed in 360 x-up while jamie just had a standard 3. Jamie flipped the next wood step up, while Mccaul tail whipped it. After this stunt it was clear that it was going to come down to the last stunt for both of the riders. In Goldmans run, he threw down a flip. Cams run was after Jamie's, so he knew he had to step it up with a nosed in 360. He stomped it clean and the judges decided to award the win to the Aptos local. The two riders rode clean all afternoon and never laid a foot on the soil during their runs. This put them ahead of everyone else who had runs filled with dabs and crashes.

On yet another glorious sun-splashed day in British Columbia, the inaugural BC Bike Race: The Pacific Traverse came to an end on July 7, 2007.

Once again top stage honors went to the Trek-Volkswagen duo of Chris Eatough and Jeff Schalk, who after zipping along at 100kph on a Skyline cable ride, zipped around the singletrack-laden Whistler time trial course in 1:29:51.

Transition bikes is proud to announce the launching of their new full length DVD "Will Ride 4 Food." This will be a film featuring all of the transition factory riders including Mike Metzger, Evan Holmgren, Dylan Trembley, "Hacksaw" Jim Severt, Andy Grant, Travis "Crappis" Erikson, Trent Kidd, JS, Zach Hensley, Brad Walton, and Carl Buchanan.

Ryan Nyquist crashes Canada Day Party in Whistler as winner of Red Bull Elevation.

32 of the world’s best BMX dirt-jumpers and indie-rock superstars Metric celebrate Canada’s birthday with 10,000 fans in Whistler

The crew at Fracture Products dust themselves off after laying low to regroup.

After some time hiding in the side lines Fracture is back with some fresh threads for the freeride subculture. We have some new jerseys out now along with shirts, hats and hoodies for all riders. Prototype shorts and pants are out in the hills being tested right freaking now while you read this.

The second day of Crankworx Colorado featured the make up date for the slopestyle qualifications. The day could not have been more perfect, starting out with 19 riders, being cut down to 10 by the end of the afternoon. Highlights for the session included Jamie Goldman flipping the step down at the end of the course in his first run and riding the lower jumps and step down with one shoe in his second.

In every stage race there is a defining day that stands above the rest. In the inaugural BC Bike Race: The Pacific Traverse that day came Friday during the arduous 58-kilometer journey from Squamish to Whistler.

The sheer amount of climbing — over 2500 meters — was daunting enough. But when you added in an extensive menu of technical trails and black diamond descending, it was enough to make some of the event’s 160 hardened riders cry — literally.

Trek-Volkswagen’s Jeff Schalk summed up the feelings of nearly every rider who took the start line for stage 5 of the B.C. Bike Race — The Pacific Traverse with this simple assessment of the 58-kilometer fun ride from Sechelt to the Langdale Ferry Terminal.

“It was honestly one of the first times I’ve totally forgotten about the race and just enjoyed the ride,” said Schalk, who along with teammate Chris Eatough won their fifth straight stage and maintained a commanding lead in the overall standings ahead of the Rocky Mountain duo of Andreas Hestler and Kevin Calhoun. “It was just me and a friend bombing through the woods. That’s never happened to me before, so it really says a lot about the course.”

Well another summer is here and Trail Crew Design is proud to bring Alberta it’s 3rd Bike Park to get your shred on. Nite Hawk ski area in Grande Prairie Alberta will become home to Alberta’s largest lift accessed mountain bike destination. Grande Prairie is located in the Peace region 4hrs north west of Edmonton along the banks of the Wapiti river.

Mark July 7th on your calendar because the Sun Peaks Bike Park is going to be getting nuts. The lift will be firing up at 10AM and the High Roller Ride will get started at high noon. It’s a free event for anyone riding the park and we have some sweet prizes to give out. It’s as easy as swinging by the Club MackDaddy’s stage located right at the base of the lift, grab your card and hit as many different stations as you can for a roll of the dice. Feel free to come back and visit us at the main stage for some complimentary Pepsi products and Monster Energy Drinks or just to listed to the tunes DJ SL will be cranking out all day.

Practice and qualifying were scheduled for today, but mother nature had other plans, sending us fork lightning and gnarly storm conditions all afternoon. The day started off at 7 am for us, with most of the riders on the course super early trying to beat out the afternoon winds. It was a gorgeous morning filled with calm winds and a cloudless sky which was misleading considering what the afternoon turned into.

Part 1: DH #3 Race Report:

It was a 10 minute trip into “La Belle Provence” for the 3rd stop on the Ontario Cup DH Series. Camp fortune graced us with another amazing course, this time it was the famous “nationals” course, complete with huge upgrades like new berms and armouring!

Getting out of bed at 5 a.m. is never easy, but the prospect of two spectacular ferry rides made the task a little easier for the riders and staff of the B.C. Bike Race: The Pacific Traverse.

After finishing stage 3 with a thrill ride down the technical trails outside Cumberland, then spending a restful night on the soft patch of grass between the town’s water park and BMX track, stage 4 kicked off at dawn Wednesday, with the entire B.C. Bike Race entourage loading up for the short drive to the BC Ferries terminal at Little River.

Day 1 and 2:

After 6 states, 30 hours of driving and multiple encounters with jack rabbits on the highway, we finally made it to winter park, home of the inaugural Crankworx Colorado. On the trip along with me is Mike Reid shooting photos, and Geoff Gulevich, whose riding in the contest. We left on Monday evening from North Vancouver BC and got here this morning early, the trip was pretty rushed and rough. Hopefully I'll get some solid riding in the bike park to make up for the drive.

World Wide Cycle Supply, home of the Iron Horse, K2 Bike, and Columbia Sportswear bicycle brands, is looking for enthusiastic and passionate cyclists to join our growing organization!

Mountain biking has come a long way since the first swollen frames hit the market in the early 1980s. Fatter tires, better brakes, and full suspension bikes have given birth to Freeride Mountain Biking a sport that Nelson, B.C. has helped to develop and evolve. Baldface Lodge, embracing the evolution of this adrenaline-drenched sport, dares to push the crank a little further. Imagine the dawning of a brand new era: an alpine-based lodge, fresh new trail networks with only a handful of riders, posh accommodations, luxury treatment, qualified guides, and gourmet meals. Return from a mind-blowing day on the trails to a full bar, a massage for the tired muscles, a gourmet feast, and a bonfire under the stars to get you stoked for another day.

RST USA is proud to announce the arrival of a new line of aftermarket forks, spanning all of the riding disciplines: cross country, all-mountain, twenty-niner, dirt jumping, slopestyle and downhill.

The new RST aftermarket line has been developed over the course of the past three years, tested in some of the most rigorous environments, like the Red Bull District Rides and numerous dirt jump/freeride contests worldwide. The forks have been refined to a point where they are finally ready for the North American market.

While hot spots like Whistler, Squamish and the North Shore draw the bulk of the attention when you think mountain biking in British Columbia, the sleepy town of Cumberland is rapidly earning it’s own place among B.C.’s fat tire elite.

With a growing network of technical singletrack trails all within a quick pedal of downtown, it’s an ideal destination for anyone looking for a little adventure on the eastern shore of Vancouver Island.

The other weekend at Silver Star resort was a good time for riding and seeing old friends. Some of the best times happened once the lifts had stopped for the day and everyone got together for some apres riding activities.

There was the Red Bull Trail Crew Awards presentation, the closed TOO early Vance Pub-which forced us to go elsewhere for entertainment and late night driving. Read on to see what a guy like Romo gets up to once the lifts stop for the day.

MRP, the maker of the best chain guides in the world, proudly launches an all new website. The new website is much more user friendly, and features better product photos and descriptions, an improved web shop, a simplified fit matrix and a blog. You can check it out at www.mrpbike.com

The premiere of the iXS Middle European Downhill Cup at the Bikepark Leogang last weekend was a big success.

The comp in Austria was the second stop of the series and right on time for the race, the rain stopped so that the 200 riders from 20 nations started under the best possible conditions. Among them was the Honda team with the two riders Matti Lehikoinen and Brendan Fairclough who both managed to secure spots on the podium.

The profile for Monday’s leg of the B.C. Bike Race: The Pacific Traverse resembled a Richter scale graph before and after an earthquake. For 70-plus kilometers everything was reasonably calm, as riders rolled up and down along the logging roads that helped bridge the 118km stage 2 gap between Lake Cowichan and Port Alberni.

Young Whistlerite Alex Pro nails double back flip at 26Trix after training in 8,400 square foot covered training facility

Whistler teen Alex “Pro” Prochazka can vouch for the benefits of training on foam before hitting the hard stuff. Two weeks ago, he nailed a double back flip on dirt after perfecting the trick last summer in the Air Dome, Whistler Mountain Bike Park’s covered training facility, scheduled to open for the summer on July 6.

When my camera was stolen last night it gave me the chance to remember who I am- a rider.

For 2008 Commencal had the vision to introduce a couple new models (namely the Furious and 666) at the same time tweaking their existing fleet to become even lighter and stronger by utilizing better materials and construction techniques. This resulted in some of the best frames in the world (they even have a fully hydroformed hardtail for $1000cdn!) at an affordable price!

SQUAMISH, BC – The epic Squamish singletrack ride is ready to go on Sunday, July 15th, 2007, with a start time of 11:00 am. The course is flagged for pre-riding, and the trails are in great shape.

The GearJammer, presented by G. Stewart Kerr Ltd, Chartered Accountants, is a 47 km cross country point-to-point mountain bike race that starts at Alice Lake Provincial Park, North of Squamish BC, and ends near downtown Squamish. 2007 is the fifth year for the event, which has an entry limit of 500 racers.

Over two months on the road. 27 school presentations. 17 bike shop or festival demonstrations. 17,761 km’s driven (fully offset through Climate-Friendly).

Huge thanks to my official tour sponsor, The Co-operators.

On a day when Canada celebrated its 140th year of nationhood, nearly 200 mountain bikers from all over North America and beyond commemorated a birth — the birth of B.C. Bike Race — The Pacific Traverse.

Indeed, July 1st Canada Day was also day one of the seven-stage mountain bike epic that will see riders cover over 500 kilometers as they make their way from the southern reaches of Vancouver Island all the way to the famed trails of Whistler.

Marzocchi launched their 2008 line this past month in Cortina, Italy, with a fleet of lighter, more nimble forks and shocks for every mountain application. I couldn’t imagine a better place to thrash a new suspension set up than the beautiful Dolomite range in Northern Italy.

This has got to be the easiest chainguide systems I've ever set up. It took me about twenty five minutes to install. If you are used to E-Thirteen Chainguides you shouldn't have any problems! Really simple system and extremely light, even with the 36 tooth E-Thirteen chainring. The chainring itself only weighs 37.26 grams. That’s lighter than a CD.

Mission BC will be home again to the mountain bike classic, the Bear Mtn Challenge, on July 7th and 8th, 2007.

The DH course is in top notch condition, with upgrades to jumps and berms. Look to the younger generation of up and coming pro racers to be setting the bar high with new top times from both the men and women.

Hosted by the Fraser Valley Mountain Bikers Association, who’s goal is for the expansion and legalization of biking trails in the valley. So what ever profit is generated, will be going back where we need it ,”the trails.”