martis

"Sir this is Pinkbike, we don't do that here"

Rain/wind/etc is going to keep going through at least tomorrow here. This is just my guess, but I would assume that inking a massive land use deal with a federal agency months in advance isn't one of those things where you say "Oh hey can we just scratch off the dates on the permits and change them? Thanks bro" if the weather hits. It's also everything else. Camera crews, course marshals, medical, infrastructure, catering tents, parking, porta-potties, all of the general staff, not to mention the headaches that come with this venue having a public road passing directly through it. all of this would have to be done over again on the makeup day, with basically zero notice. The majority of the people involved are from out of town, so everyone would need to book last-minute flights, accommodations, transportation... And even then assuming you're even able to pull this off, you get to roll the dice with the weather again on makeup day. Even a scaled-back skeleton crew "Athletes and crew only" operation would still be a colossal undertaking with such short notice.

Having now spent several years riding in Virgin, I can say that this wasn't a matter of "if" but a matter of "when". I'm shocked it took this long to have the event called off entirely. Wind is a constant factor here, and the unique landscape is shaped the way it is due in no small part to wind erosion. It's just part of life in Southern Utah, like it or not. I was at the venue on Saturday and there wasn't a single person I spoke with, be it crowd member, staff, athlete, whatever, who wanted to see anyone drop in under questionable conditions. There's just way too much at stake. Getting blown off your line, especially as huge as these guys are going... I mean it might very well be the difference between life and death. So when the call was made, yeah, we were all disappointed but the tone amongst everyone there was "This was absolutely the right decision". I watched a bunch of video afterwards and nothing I saw was really capable of showing what the conditions were truly like out on the hill on Saturday, so I understand why people watching the stream weren't too happy about it. As much as I don't want to encourage crowds of people to show up in Virgin, I can say with full confidence, from firsthand experience that it's completely impossible to TRULY wrap your head around this place, or any of the other Rampage venues until you've walked around and seen it with your own two eyes. The scale, the depth, the steepness, the weather... it's all so much more than any camera could ever capture.

I'm on a 170mm Collosus N9 and it really is the best bike I've ever owned. Better in the park than my old DH bike. Better on the trails than my old trail bike. Climbs amazingly well considering the suspension travel and weight. Full XT, Fox Performance Series... thing is truly astonishing, especially for the price point. Adding a Zink Vacay to the lineup and pretty much will ride both bikes until the wheels fall off or I die.

I had an 05 Session 77, new old stock that I bought in 2008 when the local mountain built a bike park. It had its share of issues. I couldn't dial in the the Sherman Breakout Plus to feel even remotely good, so I put a Domain on it, and the bike felt instantly better. The geometry was weird, with a steep head tube angle. Just sort of felt like a big travel XC bike. But most notably the rear end was unbelievably flexy. I got used to it, but man, that bike rode like a wet noodle when you pushed it. Upgraded to a Session 88 in 2011 which was a massive leap forward in every imaginable way.

Remember, this is 2024, fun is prohibited.

Rumors were really swirling out on the hill yesterday and without going into detail, I'll just say that I'm glad they turned out to not be true. Healing vibes to Zink.

@warmerdamj: OK cool, thanks Mom. Mountain biking used to be cool, now it's filled with humorless pussies who cry over a fucking legend posting a thumbs up picture in the hospital. "waaaah it's dangerous and he's glorifying injury and passing it off as cool" Absolute soy comment.

Yeah maybe they should just cancel it because it's dangerous.