Heading into the weekend it had been sunny and in the 60′s for three days, and my planned ski trip with my daughter was derailed by a birthday parry and a youth activity. As a result I was looking forward to sneaking some time in the saddle, until either a touch of the flu or food poisoning sidelined me to the couch nearest the bathroom. I know this happens to everybody from time to time, so here are some ideas to help preserve your sanity and hopefully keep you from annoying the crap out of your family or roommates.

Stay Hydrated

This is the most important thing you can do, and it turns out those electrolyte drinks we enjoy on the trail are just the thing when you’re under the weather. Depending on how much of a standoff you’re at with your stomach, you can sip them at room temperature, pour one into a tall glass over ice or, if you’re up to the task, drag out the blender and incorporate it into a slushy or smoothie. Whatever the delivery method, keep it coming and hydrate!

Reading

I’ll bet you a pint of Fat Tire* that there are sections of Singletracks.com that you haven’t fully explored. If you only ever read the blog, head over to the forums for some entertaining and informative conversations. The gear review section has a wealth of information, and of course you can add some reviews for the stuff you own. New videos and photos are added every day, and you could finally take the time to edit and upload all the pics and helmet cam footage accumulating on your hard drive. Take a look at your trail wishlist. There are bound to be new videos and pics since you tagged them, and you can tick off any you have ridden. Finally, open up your calendar and the trail locator page and start planning that next bike trip. Maybe instead of going to an obvious destination like Moab, pick a semi-random locale and look for trails within a set mileage radius from there. Get creative and see what you can put together.

As another option, Barnes and Noble offers their Nook app for PC and most smartphones and tablets. The app is free and most books have a generous preview sample, so you only have to buy it if you’re really into it and want to finish. (I’m currently reading 11/23/63 by Stephen King and it is AWESOME)

They also have a huge selection of eMagazine subscriptions. (eMagazines + tablet or iPad = bathroom reading for the 21st century!)

Movies

Here are some great MTB movies for some vicarious mountain biking:

• 24 Solo
• Life Cycles
• Anything by ‘The Collective‘
• Klunkerz

Most of these should be available electronically, otherwise you’ll need to guilt your significant other into running out to Blockbuster for you. (Hey, you need more Powerade anyway, right?)

Video Games

If you have the energy, and a Wii, Wii Sports Resort has a bike racing game that’s a hoot. You ‘pedal’ with your hands via a Wiimote and Nunchuk. Some clever manipulation of the remotes will let you pull wheelies and jump stuff, and you can even huck a 10′ drop on one course. You can also draft off other riders and throw some elbows to gain track position. It supports 1-4 players so you can get the family into your virtual mountain bike stage racing career.

Writing

If you are good at story telling or technical presentation, and you have an idea bouncing around in your head, try writing a blog post for Singletracks.com. Seriously, send trek7k a PM and pitch your idea, submit a sample paragraph or even a complete post. You may become a published guest author!

The bottom line is, if you’re sick, I mean really sick, get some rest, let your body recover, and you’ll get back on the trails that much sooner.

*For your free pint of Fat Tire, you’ll need to prove you’ve browsed the entire site, and come out to Colorado and complete a ride with me!

I remember seeing these trails signs this summer and thinking “What’s with that guy’s feet?”

Those of you in the northern parts of the US and in Canada know, right about now the opportunities for good, quality mountain-style bike riding are few. The days are short, the temperatures are forbidding, the ground is frozen and unless you’ve got a Pugsley (or other flavor of fat bike) you’re not getting very far in the snow. I for one like to take advantage of this season to drink more beer, eat whatever the hell I want and put on some ‘insulation’. But moderation in all things, right? So I’ve got to find some active things to do when there’s no riding to be done: trail, road, cyclocross or otherwise. I could get my exercise fix indoors at the fitness center my workplace so generously provides, but I’ve always had an aversion to working out. The term itself is not for me. When I’m out riding, working up a sweat, burning serious calories I consider it ‘play’. The ‘work’ in ‘working out’ is what doesn’t make sense to me. Wouldn’t you rather do something fun? Speaking of fun…

Step 1: Put these weird things on your feet. Think of it as clipping in to SPDs

I had mountain biked the trails at Blue Mounds State Park in the summer. I only went once this year due to many factors, #1 being I had mega-rad trails I could ride to in 5 minutes during my lunch break. But during my Blue Mounds visit two things stood out in my mind: the first being “Holy shit, there are climbs and descents!!” (Wisconsin is a very flat place) and the second being “Who’s that little fella on all the mountain bike trail markers?” I would have to wait 5 months to find out that he is a snow shoe-er. Once the white stuff started to fall I got desperate for things to do outdoors. For the first time in my life I tried downhill (emphasis on hill) skiing a few weeks ago, and when I heard that Blue Mounds was a good place for snowshoeing I made arrangements to try it out. A quick call to my local member-owned outdoor supply cooperative and I secured a pair of rental foot paddles.

A little of this, a little of that to keep warm

So with proper gear acquired, I set out to inspect the trails I knew during the summer in a completely different context. One good thing to this whole endeavor was that much of the warm stuff I needed was simply bike stuff re-purposed. The goal was the same: layer appropriately so that once under way I didn’t get too warm, while retaining the freedom of movement required for the activity. I had a great merino wool base layer that would go on under my riding clothes on the coldest days. No ski pants, but my trekking pants and over that my packable rain pants made a good substitute. A Fox rain jacket over all of my torso layers kept the wind out just like it does on chilly trail rides. Add to all that a little liquid warmth in coffee and whiskey form (see above) and I was good to go.

It’s a pretty amazing thing to explore the same trails you first knew as speeding blurs of green and brown at a completely different speed, in a completely different season. You recognize features, spot alternate lines, understand the terrain on a whole new level. This side gets wind from the south, easy to see from the drifts. This big bowl fills with snow – it would fill with water in the spring/summer – better to divert the trail around the area. Plus, with no leaves there are sight lines for miles and it’s a great way to envision the entire picture and think out the flow of things. If you’re active in building and maintaining your local trails I highly recommend you check out the trails in the off-season – you’ll gain a great insight when they’re covered snow. Plus, they look cool…

I was able to take my time in the tranquility of the afternoon to stop, look around, take pictures whenever I saw something I felt should be captured. How many times have you finished a ride and felt exhilarated at going full bore the entire time, but still wishing you stopped to snap a few pics to show your buddies the ride as you saw it? By intentionally shifting gears, taking my time and absorbing every sensory input the park had to offer I felt that I got to experience the trails in a richer way. It was a good foil to the full throttle, go-fast, shred-it-and-forget-it attitude I usually take when I roll wheels through the singletrack.

So if you, like me, are not going to be turning a crank in anger for a while, try out your trails with new eyes. Strap on some shoes, fill up you flask, bring your camera and see the track in a new light. Your riding will be better for it come spring, and it’s 100 times better than the Stairmaster.

Sadly, it seems the local bike shop may be on the verge becoming irrelevant to many mountain bikers – and that’s a shame. Aside from dispensing the gear you need to get on the trail, bike shops can offer a wealth of local trail knowledge and in some cases, even just dropping in can make you cooler. Here are our picks for eight of the most iconic mountain bike shops around the US – be sure to visit if you’re in ever in town!

Mike’s Bikes (San Rafael, CA)

Mike opened his first bike shop in Marin County in 1964 selling Schwinn bikes. If you know your MTB history, you can see where this story is going… Turns out mountain biking as a sport was born close by and many of the pioneers rode old Schwinn bikes. Today, Mike’s Bikes operates 9 shops and is well known throughout northern California, selling a wide selection of Specialized, Cannondale, and Diamondback mountain bikes. Mike’s used to rent mountain bikes at their San Rafael location, though it’s still a great basecamp for a pilgrimage to the birthplace of mountain biking.

Absolute Bikes (Salida, CO)

Salida sits at the intersection of two epic mountain biking routes, the Continental Divide trail and the Colorado Trail, so mountain bikers are always stopping in town for supplies. And when they do, they invariably end up at Absolute Bikes to swap stories, get updates on trail conditions, and make repairs. The shop also provides guided rides along the well known Monarch Crest trail for day trippers.

The original Absolute Bikes started in 1989 in Flagstaff, AZ and in 1999, Absolute partner Shawn Gillis opened the doors in Salida. Today there’s a third location, in Sedona, AZ and all three are dedicated to helping mountain bikers get on the trail.  The Salida shop also boasts a growing collection of vintage mountain bikes from the 1980s and 90s.

First Flight Bikes (Statesville, NC)

On the surface, First Flight Bikes in Statesville, NC is your typical small-town bike shop, selling Trek and Surly mountain bikes. But look closer and you’ll find the Museum of Mountain Bike Art and Technology (MOMBAT) co-located with the shop and sporting a collection of about 100 vintage mountain bikes, some from as early as the 1960s. I haven’t had a chance to visit MOMBAT but thankfully their website has great photos and the history of each bike in the collection.

Fat Tire Farm (Portland, OR)

Sure, Portland is known as the most bike-friendly city in the US, but mountain biking? Not so much. Still, I was stoked to find Fat Tire Farm, a mountain bike-only shop located on the west side of town, offering a huge selection of MTB gear and service. The shop rents mountain bikes to shred places like Sandy Ridge to the east and they’re super active in supporting local trail building efforts.

Mountain Bike Specialists (Durango, CO)

photo: mountainbikespecialists.com.

With a name like Mountain Bike Specialists, how could this shop be anything but? The shop has been a Durango fixture for decades and owner Ed Zink has helped organize several national mountain bike events in the region over the years. Word is mountain bikers like Ned Overend, Travis Brown, and Todd Wells are shop regulars so you never know who you’ll bump into!

Poison Spider (Moab, UT)

photo: poisonspiderbicycles.com.

It’s the first bike shop most folks see when they cruise into Moab, making Poison Spider perhaps the most recognizable of the half dozen plus shops in town. Count on finding just about every thing-a-ma-jigger you could possibly need for your mountain bike at Poison Spider and expert service for your rig. The shop even runs tours and shuttle services, making the shop a great resource for the latest trail info.

Mellow Johnny’s (Austin, TX)

photo: mellowjohnnys.com.

This is what I imagine everyone’s local bike shop would look like if the shop had a ton of money and didn’t have to worry about turning a profit. All kidding aside, Mellow Johnny’s is owned by Lance Armstrong, and although there’s no strong mountain bike connection to be made, you can bet they have the latest and great mountain bikes available (that is, as long as those bikes have the word Trek painted on them).

Over The Edge (Fruita, CO)

photo: otesports.com.

Over the Edge (OTE) has been in Fruita since 1995 and is perhaps best known for hosting the epic Fruita Fat Tire Festival every April. But it turns out the epic singletrack in town exists, thanks in no small part, to the folks at OTE. Today you can find OTE locations in Hurricane, UT (near Gooseberry Mesa), Sedona, AZ, and even in Australia. OTE also organizes international mountain bike tours and offers rentals at the Fruita location.

Of course there are plenty of other great shops out there we didn’t get to mention. Where is the best mountain bike shop you’ve visited?

Road Tripping to Seven Springs

element22

I have to say my highlight of the year was a road trip with some of my closest friends to Seven Springs. Seven Springs is a resort with runs that last about 3 minutes or so and are a good mix of man-made features with the natural terrain. The funny thing is, the trip wasn’t really about the location as much as it was about the time spent with a bunch of like-minded guys. We spent the entire 7-hour drive talking bikes, reading about bikes, and watching videos on our handheld devices.

When we did arrive in town we spent a few more hours unpacking and watching more video. Needless to say we were more stoked than a blacksmith’s fire to get on the bike! On the trails at Seven Springs we barely stopped for food, hitting all the runs, getting faster and faster on the well groomed (and hard) berms, and going farther and farther on all the jumps. Despite a few minor glitches with the bikes, the perfect weather, picturesque location, and great runs made it a very memorial couple of days.

Thurmond Epic, Racing with Singletracks, and Cyclocross

dgaddis

I’ve had a bunch of really good times on my mountain bike this year, so it’s hard to pick just one as my favorite. Between fun rides with friends and going deep into the pain cave at various races, I’ve experienced a lot this year. Here are a few of my top highlights, in no particular order:

• I finally rode the entire Thurmond Epic. I rode all 67 miles solo, and it took just over seven hours. I wasn’t the first person to ride it though, my buddy Ted beat me to it. As far as I know we’re the only two who have ridden it all at once.
• I had an awesome time racing with Jeff and Greg at the Baker’s Dozen this fall. The fact that we made the podium is icing on the cake. Thanks for making me do that last lap fellas!
• In late October we had a big unofficial group ride – 17 people started, and 11 of us rode the entire 52 miles. No major crashes, no mechanicals, we all stuck together for the most part, and the fall colors were at their peak. It was a really great day out in the woods.
• I did my first cyclecross race in early December and it was a total blast – I’m definitely doing more of those in 2012!

My Dream Bike Build: S&S-coupled Breezer Lightning

Luke_E

2011 was a rad year. In terms of the mountain bike, it was – without hyperbole – the best year I’ve ever had. A quick survey of the opportunities I’ve had this year yields the following chunks of gnar in no particular order: I landed the gig here bragging writing about one of my favorite topics, I started a new job in the bike industry that included among its perks access to employee-maintained trails on a daily basis, I traveled to Michigan for said job and got a week of insane Upper Peninsula shredding, Utah’s White Rim Trail chewed me up and spit me out during a week of rocky, sandy adventure, and I even hung it out at an indoor mountain bike park while the snow fell outside.

Even with all these memories fresh in my mind it only took me 30 seconds to pick my #1 mountain bike moment of 2011: the first ride on my S&S coupled Breezer Lightning travel hardtail. It’s more than a bike to me; it’s a physical embodiment of the whirlwind that was my first three years in the bike business. I went from a frustrated electrical engineer dreaming of my next weekend ride to working directly with a legend in the history of mountain bikes, bringing to market his first new trail-worthy design in a decade.

I met the guys who cast the dropouts, the ones who would butt the tubing. I saw where the frames were welded, painted, boxed and shipped. I thrashed the prototypes in local races. I was there in the desert when the bikes were introduced to the US dealers. I rode them in the mountains above Park City, Utah with my good friends and co-workers. But I never bought one. I had bigger plans than pulling one out of the box, airing up the tires, and hitting the trails.

I finally made one last trip to Taiwan with a pair of gleaming stainless steel coupling lugs in my carry on. The frame builder said “no problem,” my #1 man at the factory got it boxed up once complete, and after a multi-continent odyssey it landed in my sweaty paws to build from the ground up. After all the efforts of the great people I’ve come in contact with in this amazing business, the first time I got air on the Breezer I felt like I’d never come back to the ground.

Racing the Baker’s Dozen

mtbgreg1

After reflecting back upon all of the things I’ve done on a mountain bike this year, it is going to be so tough to choose just one highlight! From the Sea Otter Classic in April to a week in Crested Butte, Colorado shredding high-alpine singletrack with friends, and from my first race with some of my bros from Singletracks to my first 2,000 MTB mile year, it is one tough decision!

Since I already talked about my mileage goals this year in another blog post, I think for this highlight I’d have to choose the Baker’s Dozen race with trek7k and dgaddis. Yeah, I know… a race in South Carolina beats out an epic week of singletrack in Colorado and the Sea Otter Classic? OK, maybe not… Colorado was pretty awesome. Like I said, it’s tough having all of these awesome experiences to choose from, give me a break!

But hear me out: I’ve been mountain biking for 6 years now, and this was my first race ever. It was an awesome experience to get competitive against other riders and myself, to get out on the course and push myself as fast as possible, and to get to share the experience with a couple of like-minded riders. For more of my experiences from that race, be sure to read my blog post entitled “10 Thoughts From My First Mountain Bike Race.”

29 Trails in 29 Days

trek7k

It already seems like a lifetime ago but my highlight from this year was (just barely) riding 29 mountain bike trails in 29 days in January and February in between the first and second Snake Creek Gap time trial races. Now that the leaves are down and the weather is turning colder, I find myself wishing I was starting the 29 trail challenge all over again. The funny thing is, none of the trails I rode during my challenge would make my top 5 for the year but just the fact that I got to ride so much singletrack in such a short period of time (in the middle of winter!) made it oh so sweet.

A related highlight: completing all three Snake Creek Gap races and earning a coveted belt buckle which I wear proudly every day. That’s not to say my MTB accomplishments ended in March; trips to Oregon and Colorado rounded out the summer and this fall I put together my first FS mountain bike – a Santa Cruz Tallboy carbon 29er. I’m still in the planning stages for 2012 trips and challenges but let’s just say next year should give 2011 a run for its money!

Your turn: What were your MTB highlights from 2011? Which singletracks articles did you enjoy the most this year?

Goals.

We all have them, whether we’ve written them down, spoken them aloud, made a pact with some friends, or just thought about them to ourselves… we all have goals for most everything we do in life.

Over the past two years, I have been trying to reach a goal of riding 2,000 mountain bike miles in a single year. Unfortunately last year (2010), I didn’t meet my goal, mostly due to a physical injury that I had little control over (you can read more about it here if you’d like). So when January 2011 rolled around, I knew that I had to give it my all and go for the 2,000 mile year!

I know that to some of you riding 2,000 miles in a year seems like chump change. With groups of crazies doing epic bike races like the Tour Divide, 2,000 in one year is pretty insignificant. But for me, this was a huge goal.

When you break it down, it doesn’t look so bad: assuming there are only 2 weeks in the entire year that I wouldn’t be able to ride, doing 2,000 miles only required me to ride an average of 40 miles a week. During the peak of the season, that really isn’t much, since I was doing single rides that were much longer than that. But when work and school and poor weather and other responsibilities get factored in, as well as the fact that these are all mountain bike miles, it started to look like a more daunting goal.

I definitely didn’t ride 40 miles every week. There were several weeks I could only ride once or not at all, and then there were a couple weeks where I put in well over 100 miles in one week. Somehow, by the beginning of November, I checked my statistics and noticed I was exactly on target to finish 2,000 miles by the end of the year.

But November and December can be two of the hardest months of the year to get miles in, what with school and finals, the lack of daylight, wet winter weather, and family responsibilities over the many holidays.

However, as of the end of a 20 mile ride in the rain last week, I can finally say that I have ridden over 2,000 miles on a mountain bike in one single year! Despite all of the challenges, all of the doubts, I have made it through to the end of this goal, this journey. (Photo above: just finished with my two thousandth mile!)

I’d like to thank my wife for allowing me all this trail time, and I definitely thank the Lord for blessing me with the health and fitness to accomplish this goal. As I found out the hard way last year, being healthy isn’t a right–not by a long shot. Being healthy is truly a gift, and I am so thankful to have had a healthy year full of amazing singletrack!

I had some great company on my last ride of the year!

Goals

But what can you get out of all of this?

Here’s the key takeaway: your goals shouldn’t be imposed upon you by someone else. They should be for you to set and you to attain. I set this goal of riding 2,000 miles in one year, and it was a real challenge for me to complete it. For some people, 2,000 miles in one year is way out of reach. For others, they can ride that in 365 days without even trying.

When you set goals for yourself, focus on you–don’t focus on what everyone else is doing. Set a goal that will push you and challenge you, but something that you are also capable of attaining.

As much as I’d like to, I doubt I’m going to be racing the Tour Divide any time soon…

Your Turn: What is one of your mountain bike goals for next year?

It’s official: we reached our fundraising goal to give 10 kids bikes this Christmas! Late last week JensonUSA came through and put us over the top PLUS they’re hooking us up with a deal on kick-ass helmets for the older kids.

The first two mountain bikes were delivered to Ryder Transportation late last month and are on their way to a needy family sponsored through the Salvation Army. We’re still in the process of purchasing and receiving bikes and helmets but plan to deliver the remaining 8 bikes and 8 helmets on December 18. We can’t wait to see the kids’ faces!

In order to maximize our funds we ended up purchasing some of the bikes from a department store (Black Friday deals were insane!) but rest assured – I tooled around on a couple 26″ bikes after assembling them and they are solid! Helmets will be purchased from a department store and JensonUSA.

Thanks again to everyone who contributed to make this happen and to those who have helped us with discounts on the bikes and helmets. It feels great to be part of a community that’s so generous and I know these bikes will make a lot of kids happy this holiday season!

As promised, we’ll be sending out thank you rewards to all our contributors this week so watch your inbox.

Check out this video of a head-to-head race between a downhill mountain bike and a snowboard. They’ve even got massive jumps and berms thrown in:

I want to know what kind of tires he’s running…

There’s nothing quite like the feeling of catching air and defying gravity on your mountain bike! Whether it’s popping off of a small root drop, unweighting over a roller, or hucking a 15-foot cliff, we all love to take to the air and soar!

In honor of this natural desire, we present to you 7 Gravity-Defying MTB photos!

“Unidentified rider at Santos Fat Tire Festival, 2008. Yes, this is in Florida!” Trail: Santos, Ocala, Florida. Photo: trek7k.

“A bit of air at Kelso.” Trail: Kelso, Milton, Ontario. Photo: element22.

Trail: Seven Springs Resort, Pennsylvania. Photo: element22.

“Diving Board.” Trail: Porcupine Rim, Moab, Utah. Photo: ukraine.

Photo: element22.

“My son at 10 years old jumping the DJ line at Santos.” Photo: Bonsai-CP.

A cheese-wedge booter on the Timeline Trail at the Evolution Bike Park, Crested Butte Mountain Resort, CO. Photo: Greg Heil. Rider: Christian Robertson.

Your turn: Which air shot is your favorite?

It’s 31 degrees at 5 am.  I walk out the door to a clear moonlit sky.  Walking to the car, I see the fiery destruction of a meteorite as it streaks across the upper atmosphere, a shooting star.  I look at the almost full moon which just started waning gibbous a day ago.  Amazing how beautiful it is.

I start the quick 12-mile drive to the Bartram Trail at the Petersburg campground and I’m excited about heading onto the trail so early.  The roads are almost deserted but just a few minutes into the drive, I find myself behind a truck pulling a bass boat.  What crazy person would be going fishing at this time?  Then my mind screams “hypocrite!” as I think about the fact that I’m heading to the same lake with my mountain bike.   The more I think about it, most people would consider me the crazy one, especially if they saw how I was dressed: a pair of tan baggy shorts, a grey skull cap, riding glasses, homemade grey leg warmers, and a bright orange paddle jacket.  I could be the poster child for PeopleOfWalmart.com with this get-up.

On the way in to the trailhead I notice a single truck on the west side of the road, most likely a hunter or two. My plan to ride west on the trail changes – not that I’m afraid of hunters or dislike them, but out of respect for their space.  I believe hunters have as much right to enjoy the forest as I do, or hikers do, or any other group does.  Let them have their time and I’ll go the other way in private solitude.

Finally, I pull into the lot, not surprised to find it empty. The first thing I do is turn on my bike light so I can unload my bike and get geared up.  I guzzle the last of my coffee and jump on my bike.  The forest is quiet.  It takes me a few minutes to get into my rhythm.  My fingers are cold – maybe I should have worn warmer gloves.

All of a sudden my worries of cold fingers disappear when I hear movement in the woods. Then I see three deer running ahead of me across the trail. What an awesome sight! I am energized and continue riding into the dark.

As I ride, I notice the sky ahead is grayish in color but the moon is behind me.  Night is slowly turning to dawn.  As I meander down the Lake Springs loop,  I notice a sliver of dark, crimson red at the horizon – a new day has arrived.  I slow down, not because I’m tired – far from it.  I want to see the birth of a new day.  I find a spot and take a few minutes to enjoy watching the sliver of crimson turning into a chasm of purples, reds and oranges.  Off in the distance I hear, for the first time, motors of boats as fishermen head onto the Lake.  Closer by, the forest is starting to wake up as I hear rustling in the branches and a few birds chirping.

Soon I am on my return trip.  I still need my light under the canopy, but where the trail is in the open I can see the trail meandering ahead.  The leaves are slowly changing from dark shades of grey to their bright autumn colors.  Finally, I reach up and turn off the “tunnel of light” and pick up the pace.  Unlike other times I ride, this type of riding allows me to go all out at the end.  When it is dark I hold a little back, more cautious.

I manage to pull into the trailhead a few minutes late.  Late?  Yes late, I wanted to beat the sunrise.  I load up the car, still alone at the trailhead, no evidence that I’ve even been here.  Another successful Dawn Patrol!

Riding pre-dawn is just another way to do night riding.  Here are a few reasons why I enjoy it.

1.  When you have four  kids, you ride when you can.

2.  You usually get the trails to yourself.

3.  Watching the forest wake up is amazing.

4.  A least for me, I have more energy in the morning.

5.  I am a morning person already. I wake up before dawn most days and I’m not a night owl.

6.  In warmer times of the year, you do a service to other riders by clearing out cobwebs and spiders.  You think they look scary during the day? Check them out in the dark!

7.  If you have a breakdown or bad crash, you won’t have to spend the whole night out in the woods – just a few hours at most.

8.  I get a killer ride and still have the whole day to spend with my wife and kids. In other words, I still get the rest of the day to do whatever I like, maybe even another ride.

9. Can you think of a better way to start the day?  Neither can I.

This holiday season the Singletracks community has the opportunity to give the gift of biking to 10 underprivileged kids through two different groups. Our goal: raise $100 to purchase a bike and helmet for each child by November, 30, 2011.

Belmont Hills Elementary School 3rd Grade Class

A friend of ours teaches 3rd grade at Belmont Hills Elementary school just outside Atlanta and organizes a project each year to bring Christmas to her students and their families. Here’s how she describes the project:

This project began 5 years ago when I had my students make a Christmas List for Santa.  Many of my students just sat doing nothing.  When I began talking with them, I realized why they were just sitting.  As 2nd graders, they looked me in the eyes and said “We know Santa isn’t real. He never brings us anything. Why should we make a list of things we will never get?”

Many of the students wear the same outfit to school every day and take home parts of their school lunch to younger siblings that do not get provided (free meals) by the school.

This year’s Christmas project will touch 19 families with a total of 67 kids. Of those kids, 8 have asked for bikes.

Ryder Transportation / Salvation Army

Ryder Transportation is sponsoring 75 children this holiday season and they reached out to us asking if we could provide 2 new or used bikes for a 10-year-old boy and girl. Ryder can use more bikes if we can raise them but have only asked us to commit to two.

It’s easy for many of us to drop $100 on a single bike upgrade – just imagine how much a $100 bike would mean to a child and a family who has so little!

How to Give

We’ve set up a donation page on Fundly.com where anyone can contribute funds. Our goal is to raise $1,000 to purchase bikes and helmets for the kids, boys and girls, ranging in age from 3 to 14 (though most are 8-10 years old). Donate as much or as little as you can – every bit counts!

If anyone is able to provide kids’ bike and helmets to us at a discount for this project, please email us directly (info@singletracks.com). Or, if you have a new/used kids’ bike that’s in great shape and ready to ride, let us know about that as well! (Just remember we’re located in Atlanta so you’ll need to ship the items to us.)

“Hmm, that doesn’t look good,” I thought to myself as I examined my face in the bathroom mirror. A dark red scrape oozed blood above my right eye, just below the visor of my helmet. My head throbbed a little, but the scrape seemed most important. I prodded it with my finger. It was definitely fresh, and quickly swelling into an intimidating stripe. The rest of my right eye felt a little sore too, but it visibly looked OK.

* * *

I held the tattered piece of damp computer paper in my hands that dictated my life for the week. As I closely examined the schedule, a small twinge of panic started to settle into my chest. I quickly pushed it as far down as I could; freaking out would do no good.

“What day of the week is it?” I thought long and hard but I couldn’t remember what day it was. In fact, I couldn’t remember much of anything. All I knew was that I was at the bike shop, and that I had helped Abbie set up low rappel earlier that morning… and that it was sometime after lunch.

I was working at a Christian camp in Colorado for the summer. As a member of the “Adventure Staff” for Narrow Way Expeditions, and our main job was to counsel and guide groups of kids on weeklong trips into the wilds of Colorado. On weeks when we weren’t out on an expedition, we would stay on camp and facilitate different activities for the “residential” campers. Our activities included rock climbing, rappelling, bouldering, high and low ropes courses, hiking and backpacking, slacklining, sea kayaking, mountain biking and more. At this moment in time, I was standing in our on-camp bike shop.

Despite the throbbing in my head, I was able to figure out the day of the week by process of elimination: Monday. Short thoughts pulsed through my head in sync with the pain. “Where is Summer? I need to find Summer. Something is not right… something is just not right. Summer will know what to do.” I knew that something was wrong and that I needed help, and the only person I wanted to find was this girl named Summer. We had already guided two trips together that year, and had worked on-camp together as well. Less than a week ago, I had asked her out on our first date. I instinctively knew that I could trust her to decide what to do, so I used the schedule and my newly acquired knowledge of the day of the week to figure out what activity she was running. According to the limp paper, she should be over at the high ropes course. That was perfect; it was just up the hill.

* * *

I was halfway up the gravel road, staggering towards the ropes course under the dripping gray sky, clutching at my helmet-less head with my right hand. I didn’t remember leaving the bike shop or walking the first half of the road. In fact, I didn’t remember much of anything. It was finally catching up with me, and my skull was pounding with pain. I finally reached the high ropes course, and Summer was intently belaying a small middle school girl as she attempted to cross a high cable with the aid of a series of hanging rope “vines.” “Hey Summer,” I groaned.

“Hey Greg, how’re you doing?” she responded, still looking up at the girl on the wire. At that point, the bulldozer of understanding plowed me over and I started to lose it. The disorientation, confusion, and pain were just too much, and a little stream of salty water began to mingle with the blood on my face.

“Summer, I think I have a concussion! I can’t remember what I ate for lunch!” Most of my memories from that day were eluding me, but the fact that I couldn’t remember what I had eaten was intensely upsetting. “The last thing I remember is setting up low ropes with Abbie this morning. I think I have a concussion!” She glanced down long enough to see me standing there in full mountain biking gear with dirt coating the front of my jersey and a bloody cut above my swiftly swelling eye. Finally, I had her attention!

My brain was so addled from the crash, or at least what I assumed was a crash, that I knew I needed someone else to figure out what to do. She told me to lie down on the ground, and I was more than happy to get off of my feet. My head was still throbbing incessantly, and just maintaining my balance had been a true accomplishment. Suddenly, everyone else snapped into action, just as we had been trained to do. Summer lowered her camper off of the ropes course while Madison, one of our fellow staff members, ran over to stabilize my head. In my condition, I hadn’t been able to work past my headache and partial amnesia to consider the fact that I might have a neck injury. A minute later, Summer ran over and relieved Madison, holding my head firmly between her knees. I grabbed her hand and pressed it tightly to my grungy cheek, holding on as if it was my sole anchor to the conscious world.

Over the next few minutes, someone had the presence of mind to call 9-1-1. The ambulance drove all the way up the rutted dirt road to where I lay in front of the high ropes course. The paramedics jumped out immediately, working quickly and professionally to lift me onto a backboard and secure my neck with a c-collar. It felt just like a scene out of our Wilderness First Aid training, only I never imagined I’d be the person receiving the aid.

Later, I was told that sometime between hitting the ground and making my way up to the ropes course that I had unlocked the bike shop, carefully hung my mountain bike up on one of the racks, and had neatly lined up my hydration pack, gloves, helmet, and glasses on the work bench. I didn’t remember any of those things. My brain must have gone on autopilot and taken over without me knowing it. Or was I conscious, but I just can’t remember those events? Whatever the case, I find it fascinating that it seemed important to neatly arrange my gear and make sure that everything was in its proper place.

Eventually, I did remember that I had been waiting around to take a group of kids for a ride around camp. The counselor must have decided against bringing them up because of the light drizzle, since no one showed. To pass the time, I was jumping my mountain bike off of an embankment next to the bike shop. I had jumped off of this same embankment before, and I remember making several successful runs before everything went dark. I still don’t remember hitting the ground, which is frustrating, as now I will never be able to learn from my mistake.

But as I lay there on the backboard with my head immobilized by the c-collar, I didn’t remember much, but I did know one thing: I was conscious.

I’ve been a serious mountain biker for a little more than 6 years now. I enjoy exploring new trails, traveling the country, and pushing myself and my bike to the limit. I always try to improve my times and my technical handling skills… but somehow this continual progression has not led me to the competitive realm of mountain bike racing.

Until now.

The Baker’s Dozen 13-hour endurance race this past weekend was the first time I had ever raced my mountain bike competitively. As a serious rider just getting into the racing scene, I thought I’d write up a few random thoughts I had during my first competition (in no specific order):

1. Passing isn’t that difficult. I was surprised to find that passing and being passed on the singletrack wasn’t nearly as difficult as I thought it’d be. In fact, with an endurance race format such as this, there was very little passing taking place in general.
2. You can be competitive without being a jerk. We had some stiff competition with the other teams, but it was easy to be competitive and still joke and laugh at the same time.
3. The right equipment can make your life easier and make you a faster racer, but it is not essential. Riding with the right gear and a lightweight bike was a definite bonus, and I could easily feel the advantages of having certain pieces of high-quality equipment. However, there were many people out on the course with whatever gear they could find… and I think everyone had a great time anyway! The guy who took second place in the solo class rode with flat pedals, shin guards, and a downhill jersey and downhill shorts.
4. Quitting shouldn’t be an option. There were quite a few teams that quit well before the end of the race. What’s the point in coming out if you aren’t going to put your all into it? A direct corollary of this truth: “Just because you’ve raced before doesn’t mean you’re hardcore.”
5. Only ride one lap at a time. As trek7k mentioned in his race report, riding one lap at a time is definitely the way to go in a team race. Even some of the two-man teams were switching off every lap.
6. It’s more fun on a team (misery loves company). Having teammates to cheer you on really bolsters your resolve. Also, hanging out at the pit all day and talking about mountain biking with whichever teammate wasn’t on the bike was just a ton of fun. It’s nice to take a break from the computer, from work and real-life, and just think about riding bikes all day.
7. Small roots can take their toll after 4 hours of riding. During our pre-ride I noticed that the course was pretty bumpy, and I correctly predicted that riding lap after lap on a hardtail would take its toll. Long story short: it did.
8. Small amounts of time add up quickly. We were only an average of one or two minutes per lap behind the first place team in our category, but it quickly added up to a 44 minute deficit by the end of the race.
9. Racing is fun. What’s more fun than getting to hang out with like-minded folks and spending all day riding mountain bikes and eating great food?
10. Endurance racers do it better. After experiencing an endurance race, a regular 10-20 mile cross-country race seems like it would just be anticlimactic. Training for weeks or months beforehand, only to spend an hour or two on the bike? Eh, I’ll pass. Getting to hang out and ride all day from dawn until well after dusk was a lengthy, all-encompassing experience.

What thoughts do you have about mountain bike racing?