Western Spirit Cycling

Our multi talented bike guide, Eric Proano, just put together a video of our Colorado Singletrack Mountain Bike trip.
Check it out!

Check out this video from a recent Telluride to Moab mountain bike trip.

Thanks Brad!

One of our fabulous Western Spirit Cycling guides, Tim Bateman, is also a 29er shock poster boy!
Click here to check it out.

Reporting in from the 2009 BC BIKE RACE.

Did the first edition of this back in 07 with my teamate Kip Mikler from BIKE magazine. Our only goals then we’re to finish and still be friends after the seven days. This time around I’m racing solo, so in theory, it should be a little easier for me - right? We’ll, not so sure about that.

So I’ve made it through five stages and finally rolled into beautiful Squamish this afternoon where we’ll be for the next two nights. The 08 S-works Stumpy is running well, except for a blown rear shock on yesterdays stage. I milked it through today w/ mostly smooth steady seated climbing, but after checking in w/ bike tech this afternoon, I learned that for $30 I could get a brand spankin new one! Schwing! That’s easier than if I was back home in Moab. Hope it’s as easy as it sounds. Hmmm…

Today’s stage was 65K w/ let’s just say, thousands of feet of climbing. The singletrack today, and all week for that matter was truly world class. While the mileage may not be what LaRuta or TransRockies is, riding very technical singletrack for 4 hrs at race pace can certainly make you a little blury eyed. Currently I’ve managed to climb into 3rd place in the G.C. for my group (over 40 solo male). Some blistering fast guy name Roger from NorCal Bike Shop in Santa Rosa is kicking our arses. (Thanks Glen -he’s probably your shop ringer!). Everyone here is super casual though. No attitudes and just a great vibe around the camp and in the pits. The staff that Deane Payne has put together is unbelievable in every way and it really shows what a great promoter he is. Thanks Deane and thanks BCBR staff! Just one more big stage left here in Squamish tomorrow, then our finale in Whister on the 4th of July, then, well, you know what Americans do on the 4th - right?

heh heh heh

So after a heinous flight from Moab to DIA with the “bag at the ready” and an aborted landing, I finally made it to Canada. Only problem was my bike & gear ended up in San Fran. WTF?! United… I guess the measly $30 charge for my oversize XL bike was too good to be true, so I had to pay up somehow.

Thankfully the good folk at Vancouver International tracked it down and got it to me here at the host hotel in time for a quick build and short shakedown ride in Stanley Park before handing it off again to be “checked in”. After transferring gear from one Dakine bag to the new Dakine BCBR bag I was ready to exhale and go find some grub. Unlike most other race venues, the BC Bike Race is one host city you can comfortly indulge in the freshest sushi the night before a big race and still sleep soundly. With a few pints of Stella to wash things down and a fat dessert to top it off I’m finally ready to tackle the north Shore course of Day # 1 tomorrow.

Not sure if I’ll get any other chances to blog during the week, but rest assured, the fine folks at bcbikerace.com will have you covered with race results and beautiful photos of this special part of Canada. By next Sunday, 4th of July, we’ll be up in Whistler toasting another journey complete. The forecast looks good, the legs are (over)rested and the S-works Stumpy is GTG. The rest is up to me.

Wish me luck. Over & out

sevy

Happy 2nd day of summer !

Can’t believe it’s been so long since any posts! WTF?!!! I guess we’ve all been super busy around Western Spirit World HQ’S. Ain’t that the truth. Late May into June has been a whirlwind of wrapping up Canyonlands season and getting everything in place for our busy summer season.

Take last week for example. Three different rigs getting ready to leave Moab for almost 3 months. Besides the obvious rig with tents, coolers stoves, groovers, etc. we need to rig for our satellite locations spread out over the west. That means getting hundreds of water bottles, Western Spirit Cycling tee shirts & of course our lovely Western Spirit coffee mugs into the trucks, vans & trailers getting set to go. Not to mention any number of our 80 plus strong fleet of rental bikes. Logistics…. that’s the name of the game these days.

To make it even a little more fun, I’m prepping to leave town for three weeks myself. I’ll be flying out of tiny Canyonlands airport this Friday for Vancouver, Canada and the 3rd edition of the BC Bike Race. My friends Deane Payne & Andreas Hestler made it possible to trade a Western Spirit Cycling trip for a free number plate in their race. I raced it in their 1st edition and had the best time so I’ve wanted to go back ever since. Turning 40 this September was just the catalyst I needed to make it happen, so now that I’m four days from leaving, it’s really sunk in. The training and miles are in the bag - too late for any more fitness at this point. Really I just need to dial in the Stumpjumper, pack the bags and make sure I’ve got enough chamois butter to get me through 35 hours of racing.

After that I’ll be roadtripping with Dre from Whistler down the coast to Ashland, OR and the start of our annual BIKE Week trip with the fine folks from Bike Magazine and some of their best friends & advertisers. That will be a super fun trip I get to help guide and it’s turned into a reunion of sorts now that we’ve done it for so many years. This years edition is on the Umpqua River Trail which just happens to be some of the sweetest track anywhere. After 11 of 12 days riding singletrack I’ll be ready for a little R&R on the beach with family, so a trip out to CT will wrap up the three weeks before coming home to Moab in late July. Whew! Kinda tired just thinking about it, but can’t wait! More to come on the race if I get a Internet connection.?

NewsFlash: MORE NEW SINGLETRACK IN MOAB !!!

That’s right - this isn’t an April Fools joke, we really do have a whole new trail system that’s entirely legal! It’s called the Intrepid Trail (after Intrepid Potash - one of the trail’s sponsors) and it’s located up off Hwy. # 313 at Dead Horse State Park. 

The trail was a combined effort from Utah State Parks, Moab’s very own Trail Mix and even some generous help from the National Park Service. With many hands on hours from Jeff Van Horn, Trail Mix volunteers and various trail work groups, the trails we’re finally finished this last month. Govenor John Huntsman came down from SLC to officially open the trail on a beautiful Monday morning and rode the entire loop with all the local riders that helped make the trail a reality. 

The trail itself is comprised of one 9 mile outer loop and a shorter 4 mile inner loop. There’s a wonderful trailhead and the system is marked quite well with signs at every intersection showing “you are here”. There’s several world class viewpoints that look down to the Colorado River and far off into Canyonlands National Park. It would not be a stretch to say the views from this trail rival anything, anywhere. I’ve ridden everywhere form the Italian Dolomites to British Columbia Canada to the Grand Canyon, but the view from the Big Chief Overlook crushes them all. How’s three mountain ranges, the Colorado River, Behind the Rocks and Dead horse State Park itself sound for starters.

So all this sounds great right? Well the best thing about these trails is how FUN they are. Unlike pretty much any other trail we have, the Intrepid Trails are pretty easy. That’s right, I said it - easy singletrack in Moab. Sure there’s a few sand pits, and a switchback or two that might make you dab, but 98% is fully rideable by a beginner rider. So next time you have friends in town who may not be quite ready for Porcupine Rim or even the Soverign Trail, send them up to Dead Horse State Park to check out our latest and greatest new offering. And better yet, go along with them. You won’t be sorry.

Thanks to climate change this has been one of the windiest (windy-est?) springs in the Moab valley.  The wind storm last week was the worst in local history and most of the blowing sand ended up over in Colorado.  Having seen some pictures of folks in Crested Butte I’d say their snow pack should be about melted by now.  Our La Sal mountains here have been hit pretty hard.  And now, due to the dirt drop, they are looking as if they are going to melt out fast and early.  From what my intelligent friends tell me (how intelligent can they be to be MY friend?) this is going to be really bad news for the seedlings that will be trying to sprout up in a few weeks.  Another drought here we come.  Thank goodness I live in a 3.2 beer state- at least I know I won’t go thirsty.

Our local river run is starting to come up and we’ve been out kayaking and looking forward to high water…..which is looking like it’s going to come early this year.  I’ll keep you posted.

Just got back from the FOX Shox 2010 Media Launch. While not one of the “official media” I was in charge of catering, shuttles, 1st aid and many other logistics. The darling Miss Elayna Caldwell (FOX Marketing Queen) organized the rest of the event at the beautiful Chamberlain Ranch in Los Olivos, CA from March 31st-April 2nd. In years past Western Spirit has supported the FOX press launch, but only for their mountain bike offerings. This year they stepped it up and brought in all their products from the moto cross world, quads, side X cars and even the awesome new Ford F150 Raptor complete with the coolest FOX shocks I’ve ever seen.

Western Spirit guides have been sponsored by FOX for years now and we can’t imagine riding anything else. Their suspension is just light years ahead of the competition. I’ve said this before, but I’ll say it again, with such reliable product, it takes my mind off the hassles of maintenance and helps me concentrate on my # 1 priority - my guests. The suspension just does what it designed and helps me concentrate on just having fun.

While I did have my top secret belt buckle spy cam, you’ll have to wait a little while longer to see any spy photos. I can assure you though, that if you thought 09 stuff was hot, 2010 will really take it to the next level. Having FOX involved in so many motor sports from snowmobiles & moto cross, all the way up to Trophey truck racing at Baja gives them the upper hand on R & D and consequently what trickles down to the mountain bike lineup. Meeting some of their engineers and hearing how time and energy they put into these designs truly gives you a new appreciation of the product. One of the coolest parts of the week was actually meeting Bob Fox - the man that started it all, and hearing his story of the beginning. Little by little he just kept going and has built the company into the suspension powerhouse that it is today. the other coolest part was the rides in the Raptor with a professional driver behind the wheel - but I leave that story for another time.

Need to do some away from the office team building and bonding?  Not sure what makes a great retreat?  How about a little mix of fresh air, fantastic food, fabulous scenery, and fun mountain biking!  No matter what your biking skills or business budget, Western Spirit Cycling can deliver.  Check us out and give us a call, 800-845-2453, with your questions.  We look forward to helping you to help your business to be the dream team that this world so desperately needs. : )  YES WE CAN!