The National Collegiate MTB Championships are being held this weekend at Northstar resort in Lake Tahoe and the men’s and women’s cross-country races are kicking things off today. Tomorrow it’s short track and mountain cross and on Sunday the long travel bikes make their appearance for the downhill race. This year’s race is being hosted by the University of Nevada Reno and any USA Cycling collegiate-eligible team is welcome to compete.

It’s sad to think we’re already at the end of the racing season here in the US as cool weather and shorter days approach. Want to delay the end of summer riding just a little longer? Check out the Week of the Dead, a Mexican adventure full of mountain biking, surfing, paddling, and drinking set at the Punta San Carlos resort in Baja, California. This resort sounds super sweet with its own 60 mile MTB trail system, private landing strip (for your jet!), and direct access to some killer waves. If you’re looking to blow some coin, this definitely sounds like a fun way to do it!

This week Lance Armstrong signed a 3-year deal to become spokesman for Michelob Ultra.  Here’s what the 1-time Leadville 100 MTB race winner had to say:

“I’m always making decisions that complement my active lifestyle, and this includes my beer choice when I want to enjoy a cold one with friends or when taking a break from training,” said Lance Armstrong.  “I’m excited about my association with Michelob ULTRA, a brand that supports cycling and running communities across the U.S. and is a favorite among active adults.”

Too bad the guys at New Belgium couldn’t afford a deal with Lance - it would have been great to see Armstrong pimping Fat Tire Beer. Oh well, maybe this means we’ll stop seeing so many annoying FRS ads with Lance asking “Tired of being tired?”. I’m just tired of that ad

A few mountain bike news bites to start the week.

Backyard bikepark. Over at ihatebikes.net the author is busy working on a backyard bike park and apparently things are getting pretty serious. Phase II involved using a backhoe / excavator to sculpt a sweet pump track in the woods and we’re anxiously awaiting pics of the next phase. If you’re looking for a somewhat more manageable project for a smaller backyard space, check out this article we posted a couple years ago about building a portable teeter totter or this forum thread about building a backyard skinny. DIY!

Rio Olympics: Mountain biking? So apparently Rio doesn’t have an established mountain bike trail to use for the 2016 Olympics at the moment so they’ll be building a “temporary” trail. Having been to Rio I can tell you there is super gnarly terrain all around the city so it shouldn’t be too much trouble to create a world class route. Downhill as an Olympic sport in 2016? This would be the place to debut it!

In other Olympic news, remember how we told you last week that Trek was really anxious to get the Chicago Olympics and how they helped scout some of the cycling venues (including MTB)? Well, it turns out that may have been a small part of the city’s losing bid:

The IOC praised Chicago’s compact venue plans along the downtown waterfront, and minimum travel time for athletes, but noted that the equestrian, shooting, road cycling and mountain biking venues were relatively far away.

New full HD camera from VHoldR announced. If you read the blog you already know the VHoldR is an amazing helmet camera and now the guys are one-upping themselves with a new full HD (1080p) wearable camera. The new Contour HD 1080 helmet camera has 5 video modes from full 1080p HD to high speed SD and is aimed at the “pro” market - you know, badass mountain bikers and video producers. Don’t worry though, pro doesn’t mean it’s that much more expensive: the “regular” Contour HD price will drop to $279 and the new “pro” Contour will be just $329. Look for the camera in time for the holiday shopping season.

Believe it or not there are things happening in the MTB world that have nothing to do with Interbike this week.

Chris Eatough is retiring. Yep, the man who won six straight 24 Hour Solo championships will call it quits after racing 24 Hours of Moab this month. Eatough has been a professional racer for 10 years and his retirement plans call for working for sponsor Trek doing product testing while offering coaching services on the side. The highly recommended movie 24 Solo features Eatough and his attempt at a 7th straight 24 Hour Solo title that takes place at the 1996 Olympic MTB course outside Atlanta. We’ll miss you Chris!

Trek working on Chicago Olympic bid. President Obama isn’t the only heavy hitter working to bring the Olympics to the Windy City in 2016 - Trek Bikes is doing a little lobbying and planning of its own. Chi-town’s Olympic plans call for cycling events to take place in and around Madison, WI including MTB events at the Tyrol Basin ski area which Trek officials helped scout for the committee. We’ll keep our fingers crossed!

10 day MTB stage race in the Himalaya. The Hercules Mountain Biking Himachal claims to be the third toughest mountain bike race in the world after Trans Alps and Trans Rockies but I’m not sure how official that claim is. Everything is tougher in a third world country where access to simple things like clean drinking water can be a challenge and the fact that only 12 of the 70 competitors are from outside India tells you something about the difficulty of this race.

The route is quite tough and passes through trails on lofty mountains and gurgling streams. The expedition will not only enable the participants to test their skill, strength and spirit but also enable them to enjoy the countryside beauty of the state.

Plus, any race that also bills itself as an “expedition” has gotta be a real challenge

Steve Peat. Photograph: Kathy Sessler / Santa Cruz Syndicate via Guardian.co.uk.

The LA Times just ran a two part article profiling mountain biker turned Tour de France dominator Levi Leipheimer. As you may recall there was some trash talk between Leipheimer and Lance Armstrong before the Leadville 100 this year but Levi crashed during the Tour de France and wasn’t able to compete. Here’s what Levi had to say to the LA Times about Lance and the Leadville 100:

“(The Leadville 100 is) basically a road race. It’s long and not that technical and it’s all above 10,000 feet. I think I need to challenge him (Lance Armstrong) to something more technical.”

That sounds like a throw down. Maybe these two should enter La Ruta to settle things once and for all

The Guardian published a profile of downhiller Steve Peat that’s a good read if you have some time. It seems Peat wants to dispel the myth that downhill mountain bikers are lazy because they rarely climb. Here’s what he had to say:

“You need to be fit to be a downhiller even though it looks as if you don’t do much work. You’re pedalling out of corners, pedalling into your line, the terrain is rough, the bikes are heavy so you need to train and be fit definitely. My bike comes in at around 37lbs and that’s on the lighter side.”

Finally, IMBA needs our help on several trail issues in Colorado including proposed changes at Apex Park in Golden (see this forum thread). There are also changes being proposed to wilderness and roadless areas in Colorado that could impact mountain bikers. Hit IMBA.com to see how you can help!

ITS - or as most people know them, Intense Tire System - recently debuted new tire updates for 2010. The 2010 Edge EXDX comes in two flavors once again - a 1-ply for all-mountain riding and a 2-ply for DH /FR. I got a chance to test the 26″ x 2.35″, single ply version ($50 MSRP) which tips the scale at about 935 grams. These tires are trail-rated for dry to soft surfaces and have a ramped and siped center tread with U-shaped side knobs.

Mounting these tires with a single tire iron on a set of Mavic Crossmax SX rims was a snap. I decided to run these tires with heavy-duty tubes and talcum powder since ITS doesn’t recommend using sealant. Filling the tires up to about 38psi front and 42 psi rear, I was off to the trails at Kelso where the conditions were mixed with both dry hard pack as well as softer sections with some mud spots.

The first bit of my ride I took some time to get used to the profile of the tire. On the ITS Edge, the tread is wider than the side wall which tends to give this tire sort of a “square” profile. This produced small amounts of squirm in flat corners, though in banked turns on berms they offered decent grip and a solid feel.

On rocky and gnarly trails with tons of roots, the Edge found its sweet spot, giving me a good sense of control. At 40psi these tires performed well but I found at lower pressures the tires started to squirm a bit too much.

Climbing and descending with the Edge was a pleasure and I found the tread design was optimal for these conditions. Starting to climb the tread got a firm hold in a variety of terrain conditions - rocks, hardpack, loam, branches and even sand. I found the tires to be just as versatile on the decent as well.

In terms of stopping power the ITS Edge comes out on top. If you’ve ever broken a bone or two on the trail you know how important stopping traction can be. Of course it’s up to you to hit the brakes but fortunately these tires won’t let you down.

All that traction can have its drawbacks: I found small serations on the knobs over just a short period of time. This may indicate a shorter tire life but more testing is needed to confirm.

All in all this is a good tire for those of us who have a long travel bike. If your terrain includes a variety of conditions this may be a good choice for you. And if you’re into climbing without slipping, this tire has your name on it!

My overall impressions:

7 out of 10 for climbing
7 out of 10 for rolling and efficiency
8 out of 10 for loose condidtion
7 out of 10 for hardpack
9 out of 10 for stopping in a straight line

Specs from ITS:

Size: 26″ x 2.35
Weight: 985 grams
Durometer: 55/60D Dual compound
Construction: 1 Ply 72 TPI Aramid Bead

Specialized is going to hook up “a handful” of lucky riders this year with free access to 2010 Stumpjumper FSR bikes and sponsored MTB trips to hot trail locations. All you gotta do is prove you’re master of the Facebook or Twitter (or singletracks.com) and you just might get the gig.

Of course you don’t technically get to keep your Stumpjumper FSR - you just get to ride it for a year at which time you can decide to purchase it at a discount (what are they going to do with a used bike otherwise?). No specifics on how many people will be chosen for the crew or how many sponsored MTB trips will be offered but I suppose you can’t look a gift horse in the mouth.

The whole idea of giving bloggers / social network influencers mountain bikes to talk about online isn’t really a new one. In fact I ran my own (unsuccessful) campaign in 2007 to change my singletracks screen name in return for a new mountain bike. No one took me up on my offer which included hundreds of thousands of ad impressions, blog posts, and photos but I guess mountain bike companies hadn’t heard of the internet at that point

If you want to be considered for the program we’d love to help you out. Draft up a post about why you think you’re a good fit for the crew (more details about what Specialized is looking for) and we’ll see about posting your story on the #1 mountain bike blog or our forums. Then send Specialized a link to your post on singletracks.com - how’s that for targeted advertising!

Via bikehugger and cyclelicio.us.

Buffalo Creek is probably my favorite mountain bike trail system in the world and the IMBA Trail Crew will be hitting the trails this weekend, August 13-16, to work and ride. The trails at Buffalo Creek are already some of the best XC trails in the country but they’re about to get some new “black diamond” level terrain. That’s right - steep rollers, drops, and wall rides inside the Pike National Forest!

Things kick off on Thursday, August 13 with a free Trailbuilding School session where participants will be trained as volunteer crew leaders. Trailbuilding school will take place at the American Mountaineering Center in Golden from 6:30-9:30pm.

On Saturday and Sunday work crews will start out at the Miller Gulch trailhead from 8:30-2:00. Word is that beer and food will be provided Saturday evening and camping at the trails is encouraged. And don’t forget to bring your bike for the group ride(s). More details at IMBA.com.

About a year and a half ago I wrote about mountain bikers’ carbon footprints (er, carbon tracks) and a press release from Performance Bike got me thinking about Green MTB once again. For most of us mountain biking wouldn’t be quite as appealing without beautiful, natural places to ride so we really have a vested interest in doing our part to protect the environment. Anyway, here’s a snippet from my first Green MTB post:

Assuming you drive an average of 15 miles each way to the trail and you go riding twice a week that’s more than 3,000 miles of driving per year just to ride your mountain bike! I personally don’t get to ride quite that often but when I do I generally take day trips of up to 100 miles from my home so 3,000 annual miles isn’t much of a stretch for me. Anyway, 3,000 miles of driving releases over 1 ton of carbon dioxide into the atmosphere which you will promptly breathe back in when you finally get on the trail.

I went on to offer 3 tips for reducing carbon emissions associated with driving to trailheads and the good news is that the price of gas and IMBA’s Ride Center concept are helping with #1 and #3 respectively.

Performance Bike has identified another source of pollution associated with biking and it’s one I hadn’t thought of before: used inner tubes (and tires). It’s estimated that 14 tons of discarded bike tubes end up in landfills in the SF Bay Area alone each year - that’s a lot of used rubber! This weekend Performance is offering $5 gift cards to anyone who brings in old tubes to Bay Area stores where the tubes will be recycled and used in Alchemy Goods messenger bags and accessories. Unfortunately gel-filled and thorn resistant tubes can’t be recycled - just one more reason to go tubeless!

Performance Bike seems to be pretty committed to the environment in other ways as well and is offering $20 gift cards to Bay Area commuters to encourage biking to work. Back in 2006 Performance became the first national sports retailer to use 100% wind power for its stores. Nice.

Even if you aren’t in the Bay Area you can still find creative ways to re-use mountain bike tires and tubes. I use old tubes for chain stay guards and I’ve even seen MTB tires turned into bean bag chairs. The same properties that make rubber bad for the environment also make it super durable and almost infinitely reusable.

What are some other ways you’ve found to keep mountain biking green?

Daniel Hume, RIP. Photo from telegraph.co.uk.

Some sad news to report this week:

Daniel Hume, former pro mountain biker from the UK, was killed while on foot patrol in Afghanistan last week. Hume was ranked the #3 downhill rider in the United Kingdom at the age of 15 and in 2007 he joined the Royale Marines. It’s reassuring to know we have tough-as-nails mountain bikers like Hume protecting us overseas - he will truly be missed!

Rittner “Ritt” Lewis of Everson, WA died after crashing his mountain bike on a popular Telluride Ski Area MTB trail. Ritt died of head trauma even though he was weaing a helmet at the time. Just one more reminder that even with all the right protective gear mountain biking can still be dangerous. Hopefully his family can take some comfort in the fact that Ritt died doing something he loved.

Rest in peace.

A diverse set of mountain bike tidbits for you this morning:

US National Mountain Bike Championships @ Sol Vista (Granby, CO) this weekend. This is the first year Nationals are being held in the state of Colorado and while the XC course may not cover the best trails Colorado has to offer, it will definitely be challenging, especially to those used to riding closer to sea level. Jeremy Horgan-Kobelski is the favorite in the cross-country race after winning the marathon cross-country national race at the Firecracker 50 in Breckenridge earlier this summer. He also has a decent shot at winning short track as well which would make him the first rider to win all 3 titles in a single year.

If you’re heading to the races this weekend give us a shout - we’d love to post your pics and hear about the race!

Trail mediators: Can’t we all just get along? That line was famously spoken by Rodney King during the Los Angeles riots of 1992 and today a mini-riot is brewing among various Los Angeles trail user groups. Back in May the City of Los Angeles hired the Osprey Group from Colorado to mediate a proposal allowing mountain bikes in city parks but it sounds like things didn’t go so well. In fact the final session ended “with hikers and equestrians refusing to give an inch to mountain bikers in city parks.” One local CORBA mountain bike club member had to apologize for losing his temper during the meeting and the mediators packed up and returned to Colorado with little to show for their efforts.

While mountain bikers and other trail groups are finding common ground elsewhere, the opposition is well organized in Los Angeles with the Sierra Club and the National Equestrian groups getting involved in the fight. Let’s just hope this stays civilized…

Bike Shop Ettiquette. Ok, so this one is just for fun and if you’re offended by foul language you may want to skip the link. A Seattle bike shop worker has posted some “tips” for interacting with your local bike shop this summer and these are a few of my favorite lines:

1. So you want a bike that you can ride to work, goes really fast, is good for that triathlon you’re doing this summer (snicker), is good on trails and mud, and costs less than $300. Yeah. Listen, I want a car that can go 200 miles an hour, tow a boat, has room for five adults, is easy to parallel park but can carry plywood, gets 60mpg, and only costs $3,000. (B)ikes can be fast, light, cheap and comfortable. Pick two, and we’re all good.
2. No, I don’t know how much a good bike costs. For some, spending $500 dollars is a kingly sum. For others, $500 won’t buy you one good wheel. You really need to have an idea of what you want, because every one of you raccoons “doesn’t want to spend too much”.
3. I don’t know what size of bike you need. The only thing that I can tell over the phone is that you sound fat. I don’t care how tall you are. I don’t care how long your inseam is. Don’t complain to me that you don’t want to come ALL THE WAY down to the bike shop to get fitted for a bike.

Ha! Sounds like somebody is getting a little stressed dealing with customers this summer. Still, it might be a good idea to treat your LBS workers with a little extra patience - they’d rather be out riding too!

Photos Barry Batchelor/PA Wire via walesonline.co.uk

Mountain biking + Snorkelling = Bad idea. We actually wrote about the World Mountain Bike Bog Snorkelling Championship two years ago but our coverage was missing one important piece of information: photos. It turns out the crazy brits are still MTB bog snorkelling and this year 30 competitors lined up to give it a try. The out-and-back course is 135 feet long, about 6 feet deep at the center, and is filled with water and mud (typical bog ingredients). I’ve ridden through some surprisingly deep puddles before but none that required a snorkel…

Messenger-style Beer Cooler from Timbuk2. While it’s still considered DUI to drink and ride, at least now there’s an easier way to transport beer via bicycle. The Dolores Chiller is insulated and water tight meaning you can carry cold beer under your own power faster and further than ever before! It even comes with a built-in bottle opener, though we already own more than a few bicycle-themed bottle openers like this one from Park Tool. Is that PBR in the photo? But of course, only the best.

via Beer Runner / DRAFT Mag

36-inch Mountain Bike for Yao Ming. If you’re a forum regular you may have seen this last week and admittedly it’s old news by now but this is one big bike! It’s a (fully custom) Gunnar Rockhound with an unusual looking 36-inch frame, 29er wheels, and it only weighs 27 pounds fully loaded. Yao Ming can dunk but can he bunny hop? Watch for low tree branches!