If you followed our coverage of the Durango to Moab hut-to-hut trip this summer you know we used a SPOT GPS transmitter to plot our position along the route. The SPOT was great – easy to use, reliable, and only sipped battery juice – but it was just one part of the GPS puzzle. Since the SPOT doesn’t include a display screen, we needed another unit on the trail for actual navigation.

Enter the Delorme Earthmate PN-60w handheld GPS. A friend actually mentioned this unit before we left for the trip but at first glance I wasn’t impressed – from the ads it just looks like a SPOT transmitter plus a regular handheld GPS which is exactly what I ended up bringing anyway. But here’s the difference: a standalone SPOT transmitter allows you to send ‘OK’ and ‘Help’ messages with canned responses set up before the trip but the PN-60w allows you to customize each message you send via satellite. It’s like one-way text messaging without cell coverage!

So, instead of the seeing the same OK message I sent each morning (Biking trip is going well, having a blast!), the PN-60w could send a message like “We saw a bear yesterday. Cloudy skies today, hope the rain holds out.” To the wives and girlfriends (and singletracks members) who were glued to the coverage, that makes things much more interesting and helpful.

Help messages work the same way. The SPOT has two levels of help messages – those that are sent to a pre-selected list of recipients and those that are sent to emergency personnel (these are called “911″ messages). With the PN-60w you can use the handheld unit to type out details about your emergency and send them through the SPOT.

The handheld also addresses one of my initial gripes about the SPOT – it’s not always obvious what “mode” you’re in. It took me a lot of trial and error at home before I was confident that the unit was transmitting track points and OK messages. By pairing the SPOT with a handheld GPS you can actually control the SPOT graphically using menus and see detailed feedback right on the device.

Of course one of the only drawbacks at this point is that you’re still stuck carrying around two units but I imagine it’s only a matter of time before they integrate the two into a single unit. Now if they could just add an XM radio and Dish Network into one of these things I’d probably never get off the trail. More info at delorme.com.

Heil Valley Ranch photo by Rebus.

Next week I’m heading out to Colorado for the first of two trips to the state this summer and I’m getting super stoked! Trip #1 takes me to Boulder and the agenda is looking pretty tight so far.

• Mountain biking @ Trestle Mountain Bike Park, Winter Park, CO. On Tuesday morning we’ll be hitting the slopes at the Trestle Mountain Bike Park which just opened for the season last weekend. We’re told all the trails aren’t quite open yet (target July) but I know we’ll still have a blast riding sick DH bikes on the slopes.
• Visit with Spot Brand Bikes in Golden, CO. I got a chance to demo the Spot Longboard 29er mountain bike with carbon drive at Interbike this year and I immediately realized these guys were onto something. With much of their production still taking place in Colorado I’m excited to get a look behind the scenes to see how mountain bikes are made and to learn more about the carbon drive system. Fingers crossed for another demo ride with some of the guys after the tour.
• Singletracks group ride @ Heil Valley Ranch, Boulder, CO. Friday at 5:30 some of us will be meeting up for a group ride at Heil Valley Ranch near Boulder. I’m super stoked because I haven’t ridden here before but the reviews I’ve read sound promising. Give us a shout on the forum if you think you can make it, should be fun to meet offline.

We’re also hoping to hit Boulder Indoor Cycling to check out the indoor mountain bike circuits, though it does seem like a crime to ride outside during the amazing summer in Colorado. There will also be plenty of Colorado beer sampling, including a few delicious mountain bike themed brews.

Our overall summer riding calendar is jammed and the trip to Boulder is just the beginning. In July I’m heading to Northstar Resort at Lake Tahoe for a Beer, Bluegrass, and Biking trip (though not necessarily in that order) where I’ll be checking out the slopes and hopefully picking up some basic DH skills. Then in August it’s back to Colorado for a week-long, hut-to-hut mountain biking trip from Durango to Moab which promises to be epic. Closing out the summer will be Interbike in Las Vegas where I can’t wait to get back out on the trails at Bootleg Canyon.

Look for plenty of pics, videos, and articles covering all our MTB adventures this summer right here on the blog. See you on the trail!

Regular readers know I’m into simple, lightweight XC bikes that just work and today I rode what is perhaps my new favorite: The Spot Longboard. This is a steel frame, 29er (natch), single speed mountain bike with a twist. See that drivetrain? It’s a Gates Carbon Belt system.

We’ve written about the Gates carbon drive belt before but today I got the chance to actually ride the thing and I gotta say it’s pretty incredible. Imagine a conveyor belt powering your bike and you’ll start to get the idea. No slippage, no chain slap, and it’s super lightweight.

My initial concern with the Gates system was mud but check out the close-up of the crank. The back side of the cogs are actually open to allow mud and crud to be pushed out as you pedal. The carbon belt doesn’t have “chain stretch” issues and should get about 2X the lifespan of a regular chain (no lube required). Talk about low maintenance!

Overall the Longboard is perhaps the softest hard tail I’ve ever ridden. The steel frame soaks up vibrations and the 29″ wheels smooth out the bumps.

This bike got the most looks and comments on the trail and not just for the carbon drivetrain – the paint job is pretty sweet too! Spot is located in Golden, CO and while they may not be all that well known yet, it’s only a matter of time…