Throwback Thursday: 5 Videos From the 2003 Race Face Ultimate Freeride Challenge

Aug 31, 2023 at 12:10
by Mike Kazimer  
It still blows my mind that it's been 20 years since the Race Face Ultimate Freeride Challenge III, and I'm sure plenty of the riders featured here feel the same way. Unearthed from the archives, here are the entries from Dylan Tremblay, Geoff Gulevich, David Davies, Katrina Strand, and Mike Kinrade in all their 480p glory. Enjoy the skinnies, stair gaps, and steeps, and then get out for a freeride session of your own - bonus points if you still have a bike from this era, especially one that's in working order.


Geoff Gulevich

Geoff Gulevich - Race Face UFC

by mikekazimer
Views: 5,740    Faves: 4    Comments: 1



Dylan Tremblay

Dylan Tremblay - Race Face UFC

by mikekazimer
Views: 4,019    Faves: 3    Comments: 0


Katrina Strand

Katrina Strand - Race Face UFC

by mikekazimer
Views: 4,571    Faves: 2    Comments: 0



David Davies

David Davies UFC 2003

by mikekazimer
Views: 2,085    Faves: 3    Comments: 2



Mike Kinrade

Mike Kinrade - Race Face UFC

by mikekazimer
Views: 2,893    Faves: 1    Comments: 1


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80 Comments
  • 86 0
 Omg this is just too good!! What a memory!!
  • 23 0
 Your video kicked ass. Even by today's standards, those were till some gnarly ass rock lines to ride on a Cove Stiffee.
  • 2 0
 Ohhhhh the music. But still rad.
  • 1 0
 Oh those bikes! Pemberton on those bikes
  • 1 0
 your vid is so rad!
  • 2 0
 How did you ride like that at 12 years old?Wink
  • 1 0
 @sunshinetalus: if the profile age was correct, she would have been 3yo.
  • 25 0
 Sometimes 2003 seems so long ago - 20 years, but other times it doesn't. Watching how far freeride has come, seems like a lifetime....but when I put it in perspective to jobs and careers it doesn't seem as far away.....probably just getting old.

First time I rode up on the N Shore was ~2001(ish) in college, and yup, had baggy cargo shorts and Roach knee/shin pads with a huge baggy t-shirt....best time of my life, drove up from Oregon.

I still go to Whistler for a yearly trip but the energy around freeriding at the time was incredible.
  • 6 0
 All this stuff was SO COOL! I was a relatively quick ferry/drive away from the Shore and Whistler, but it still felt like a holy pilgrimage to make those trips. Those places had a massive aura around them (Kamloops too), largely because of videos and publications like this, and it felt so exciting. This type of riding and these types of bikes were so foreign to what had been the norm leading up to the 2000's, and it was such an exciting time.

As a 43yo, it's the music that puts the most distance between the Then and the Now.
  • 2 0
 @mammal: sim age here and I agree about the music. It makes me realize how old I am when I think back to my parents music and how old it sounded back then....I guess kids these days feel like that about music of our era? I'd hope not....
  • 3 0
 @RadBartTaylor: I appreciate todays edits but the lack of heavy metal is real bummer at times. For me in those days the bike was a tool for expressing latent aggression and that was reflected in the music. Oh wait, it’s still an instrument of latent aggression. Long live Freeride.
  • 20 0
 Dylan Trembley! Loved his segments. He was always more stylish than magnitude. Saw him at a bike show in either Calgary or Vancouver. Humble, chill guy. Hope he's still out there rockin' life!
  • 6 0
 Just saw a pic of him and Tippie recently!
  • 11 0
 The entire Drop In series is available on Youtube, I suggest you binge that. I know I have been.
  • 3 0
 @mammal: No way! This era was so pivotal for me. Time to binge. I haven't seen this in decades.
  • 1 0
 yup, bumped into him at crankworks 2007 when the drop in bus was there. somewhere there must be a party pic from the Rocky Mountain VIP party.
  • 19 0
 Sandy Cliff ✓
Old Crusty School ✓
Random Fence ✓
Huck off roof ✓
Skinnies, Skinnies and More skinnines ✓

Yep early 2ks MTB Free Ride Video. Love it! ✓
  • 3 0
 and the stairs. don't forget the stairs.
  • 17 0
 Dylan Tremblay doesn't get enough love. One of the most influential riders in MTB history.
  • 3 0
 100%
  • 2 0
 Couldn't agree with this more.
  • 3 0
 And personable too. The guy is a real gem, both the world and bike culture are better because of his existence.
  • 8 0
 Wow! That is a blast from the past. Thanks again to Mike for recovering these videos. I lost the copy of mine years ago and hadn’t seen it for probably 10+ years.
  • 1 0
 Dave, I was stoked to see yours in the mix. If I make it back to Ky anytime soon let's catch up and ride. - Nate
  • 1 0
 @industrynate:
Feel free to reach out if you are ever back in Kentucky.
  • 3 0
 David Davies should have won an award simply for being able to bunny hop an RM with a Monster T on the front! All of these were amazing to watch, I remember sending in video clips in hopes of winning! All these riders are awesome!
  • 6 0
 Thanks, The RM7 and Monster T were a good pair. Everything else I rode back then blew up but I never destroyed that frame or fork.
  • 2 0
 @Duffield: Legend,
Not sure how you didnt break an RM frame, I prolly had a bag full of of busted ones.
That Monster T though, I mean, I'd take one now, and bolt to to my RM-7 frame waiting to be restored!
  • 7 0
 www.pinkbike.com/video/51509 - you're welcome
  • 1 0
 hell yes
  • 1 0
 The glimpses of the handlebar in the chest cam footy are hilarious.
  • 5 0
 That drop holds up today. That's like hardline big
  • 6 0
 I miss people hucking. Off anything.
  • 2 0
 Sick vids - seeing as this is for crusty oldies anyone link the vids from that kid who was ripping in the alps around this time? There was a particularly sick edit with a Saliva - Superstar II soundtrack I seem to remember
  • 1 0
 Man gotta love Lady Venom by Swollen. Still one of my fav groups to this day Would love to see more of these videos from the archive. There was a dude with 1 arm sending huge features in one of the RF challenge rounds...wonder if we could get that group of videos. Great stuff PB
  • 4 0
 These are priceless. Love 'em! Thanks for sharing!
  • 4 0
 2003 = Balfa bb7 such a cool time
  • 2 0
 More UFC Video entrys from this era: www.pinkbike.com/u/Meles/channel/UFC-Video-Challenge - I take the Bonus Points, I still ride my freeride machine from 2003!
  • 3 0
 Kinradical! One of my favorite old-school riders.
  • 4 1
 I miss the real Marzocchi forks !!!!
  • 4 0
 And the calendars, ads, brochures!
  • 2 0
 @woofer2609: The marzocchi calendar where the best LOL
  • 2 0
 I rode a 2007 888 rc2x for 5 seasons straight at various bike parks, including the last 3 of those heavily at Whistler, never changed the oil....... and it was amazing the whole time + never leaked. The stuff was incredible, for what it was. That's what moto-weight on a bike will do, I guess! heheh
  • 4 0
 We need another UFC
  • 1 0
 Riding mountain bikes back then had to of been terrifying with those HTAs... Kudo's to this generation that paved the path for us all
  • 2 0
 Gully! Was this all pre-Rocky Mountain days? Gnar!
  • 1 0
 Definitely pre-Rocky. Banshee hard tail and various full suspension bikes from different brands (he probably rode and broke a lot).
  • 1 0
 To think dudes grind\slide/crook those multi kinked rails on skateboards/ Dope.
  • 1 0
 NORCO Buzz, then a Da Bomb, then a couple Spesh Big Hits, then a Giant DH Comp...and so on and on....
  • 3 0
 So many hardtails!
  • 1 0
 Marzocchi forks, Monster, Super-t, Z1 ahhh the good old days. No shiver in these vids
  • 1 0
 Would love to see Mike kinrads remade on a modern bike/gear.I think the edit would still hold up so dope
  • 1 0
 Kinrade's and Strand's definitely stand out. Seeing Gully THAT young is adorable.
  • 1 0
 Some of Kinrade's drops were nearly Bender drops...... except he landed them. Wonderful madness.
  • 1 0
 The bucket of bolts pre-clutch derailleur days were grand!
  • 1 0
 Were they?Wink
  • 1 0
 Ah, when Gully was just a guppy.
  • 1 0
 I was riding a tricycle, good fun as far as I can't remember.
  • 2 0
 So many cargo shorts.
  • 1 0
 Ripton needs to deviate from high-performance jortswear into a line of MTB-specific cargo shorts.
  • 2 0
 @atourgates, TLD's already on it: troyleedesigns.com/products/sp23-ruckus-cargo-short-shell-mono-dark-canvas. The 90's are back.
  • 2 0
 Put up Norbratens video!
  • 1 0
 Thanks pinkbike. I'm gonna go re watch drop in again
  • 1 0
 Wow, memory lane! That was awesome!
  • 1 1
 I'm just here for the comments...
  • 3 5
 OMG the UCI!!! look at this weather!! The course is flat!!! OMG these poor athletes!!! AAAHHHH! oh wait.... whoops, wrong comments section.
  • 1 0
 You need Truth Social
  • 1 2
 @browner: thanks but I don’t need another social media account that has even more whining, vapid groupthink and mindless speculation as the average PB comments section.
  • 1 0
 good times
  • 1 0
 Bring back the UFC!
  • 1 0
 Tracklist anyone?
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