Absence

Time slips by when you're having fun! Haven't posted here in a while. Things have happened. Adventures have been had, life has moved on, beers have been drank. Bikes stolen and new bikes bought. Plans in the works, road trips and new trails.  Anyways, it is my goal to keep up with this blog more, so here it is starting again.

I am on a new (to me) bike now. 2013 Knolly Endorphin.  It's a ripper bike. Really fun and capable, so far, of everything I want.  Getting it set up now for a Reno to Nevada City ride for the first week of June.  I'll be going over that adventure and many more when the time comes. Get out and ride!

Shred with Friends Episode 1

Stoked to be able to say that the first episode of Shred with Friends-Tyrolean is finished!  It took two full days of filming for just over four minutes of footage.  The first day of filming was hot, dusty and loose summer holding strong in the Sierra Nevadas.  The second day the trail and conditions couldn't be more different.  Snow at the top of the mountain lessening with the elevation but just as cold.  The aspens are changing, the days are getting shorter and winter is coming so now it the time to get out there and ride.

The Tyrolean downhill is one of our favorite trails around, which is why we chose to showcase it first.  Anyone can have fun on the trail from pros to beginners. It is fast, loose and different every time we hit it. There are awesome xc trails that offer the best views of Lake Tahoe that surround it or you can shuttle it all day with your buddies.  Click the Vimeo link below the picture to check out the edit!

http://vimeo.com/77531928

Quincy and I have started on Episode 2 blasting through the fall aspens in south Reno. A ghetto GoPro zipline was produced in the wee hours of the morning and we spent the day battling hikers, dusting families, dodging horse shit, puggin PBRs and riding blown out trail to get the best footage. 

Saftey Third!

Drill the pulleys

Add a ziplock bag full of rocks
and you have a GoPro Zipline

Winter is on its way in, so get out and ride! 

Winter creepin

Winter has begun to show its face in the eastern Sierras.  In the past month we have had several dustings of snow in the higher elevations, daytime temperatures have gotten noticeably lower and the daylight hours have gotten shorter.  Soon, the trails around Tahoe will be snowed in and unridable. Quincy and I have been working hard lately to get enough footage collected from the Tyrolean before we have to wait for the spring thaw.

Getting the gear together. 

We were greeted with about 2-3 inches of snow at the top of Mt. Rose to start our day of filming.  Our goal was to refilm specific sections of the trail to juxtapose our footage from the previous week. With the snow up top and the rain in lower elevations the trailed turned out to be perfect.  We spent the day getting the finishing touches, fighting the cold and unpredictable light conditions.  As the sun dipped below the mountains to the west we were just finishing up.  Stoked on how this first video is going to turn out, setting the tone for the rest of the videos.  Having fun and shredding with your friends is the name of the game.  

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Cold day filming. Worth it when the first Shred with Friends edit is finished! #mtb #shredwithfriends #sierraklunker October 09, 2013 at 08:41PM

via Instagram http://instagram.com/p/fRa09krSFY/

Just some good old fashioned mountain bike snake wranglin with @jessedreno #reno #mtb #sierraklunker October 06, 2013 at 03:45PM

via Instagram http://instagram.com/p/fJKkaqLSEJ/

Mind the Video Man

Quincy and I have our first film day for the Shred With Friends video series in the books. We are showcasing one of our favorite trails and one of the most fun trails in north Lake Tahoe: the Tyrolean downhill.

Testing out the shot setup with the steady cam.

Lenses, tripods, helmet.

We got about half of the footage we needed yesterday before we ran out of light.  I'm hoping that next week we'll be able to get the rest of the shots we need and will have something put together soon.  I've never been part of such a legitimate filming process before and am stoked to see what we can get out of it. I'll keep updates coming through here. 

Sneaking in a ride before the storm #mtb #reno #nevada #sierraklunker September 25, 2013 at 05:54PM

via Instagram http://instagram.com/p/etEnO5LSKv/

Smoke, Fires, Filming and Biking

The smoke in Reno is ridiculous right now.  I made my way up to Tahoe to see if I could get above the haze in the valley. However, driving up Mt. Rose yesterday I could see that the smoke was not getting any better as I got closer to Tahoe. Unfortunately, west is inundated with a plume of orange smoke. The mist has taken over everything.  The mountains surrounding the city have disappeared along with anything farther than a half mile. Just the faint green glow of the Silver Legacy making its way through the smoke. Outdoor events have been cancelled and air quality warnings have been issued.  There is no escaping the smell of burnt pine.  It's in every house, car and store in the area.  Living in the high desert we are no strangers to smoke and fire, but in the last seven years of living here I've never seen it this bad for this long with no end in sight.

Anyways, on to the real reason for this post. I'm getting really good at making shitty GoPro videos!

I've been into photography ever since I can remember, but for some reason filming has always escaped me. Turns out making videos is pretty difficult. It's been a slow evolution for me. When I first got my GoPro I would attach it to either myself or my bike, turn it on then go home wand watch the footage. It has been a slow evolution: getting different angles, setting up shots, editing them together.  Most of the time I just want to ride, so setting up shots falls by the wayside.

Since the sierras are going up in flames, I decided to spend some time getting some footage on the Tyrolean downhill in Incline Village.  I've ridden this trail a million and it is one of my favorites close to home.  Fast, flowy single track with plenty of jumps and technical descents mixed in makes for a really fun trail. Still messing around with editing and getting a feel for putting together a cohesive story about the trail.  Trying to put together a real video soon.  Keep shredding

Whistler Whip-off

Every year the bike world drools over the happenings at Crankworx Whistler. I always find myself trolling the highlight videos that come out checking to see what the next big trick or new trend in the mountain bike world is. By far, my favorite part of the week has to be the Whip-off.  There is no trick better in my mind.  It's so simple it's difficult. Everyone has a different way of doing it and different style. 

Don't mind the dh bro in the middle of the video. He has never actually pedaled a bike.  "I only shuttle my downhill bike to the top of the 2 mile downhill near my house."  I've fun into a few people with this mindset around Tahoe.  They refuse to legitimize anything but the 8 inch travel one dimensional downhill bike. Don't get me wrong. The bikes look fun, but they really only provide one type of riding. If I hit  the lotto tomorrow, I'd definitely have a bad dh rig, but I'm poor so I have a bike that can perform in more than one category. People fear change and I guess there is resistance to change in any sport.

Truckee Dirt Jumps Grand Opening

I've been waiting for the new jumps to go in at the Truckee Pump Track ever since the first murmurs about a year ago.  This weekend was the grand opening and my buddy Quincy and I dusted off the dirtjumpers and headed up to check out the new addition.  

It's crazy to think that just a couple months ago the area the jumps were built on was completely flat.  The crew that built this park did an awesome job.  There are multiple lines that can be taken, transfers that can be sought out and progressive jumps to learn on.  Most of the jumps are pretty small, but there is a good sized sender in the middle of the park. 

Navigating through the packs of heckling preteen Truckee shredder kids we were able  to explore the park in it's entirety. It's always a little strange hopping on the dj after not riding it for a while.  The geometry is way different, lower and slacker.  If you mountain bike a lot and want to get more comfortable cornering fast, flying through the air and learning how to use the contours of the land to gain speed you won't regret an investment in an dirtjumper.  Now, the lines through the park aren't the longest ever but they are quick, flowy and fun.  It seemed like every time we hit the staging area someone else was stoked on pointing out a new transfer or line to hit. Even the Sun Valley dirt jump king himself "Hacksaw" showed up to show the kids a thing or two. 

I put together a couple clips I shot with my GoPro from the day.  Check it out and enjoy.  

Stumpy is back

After what seemed like way too long my rig is back and looking fresh. I am so stoked to have my bike back. I bet my girlfriend and friends are stoked as well. Now they don't have to listen to me complain about how I cant ride. You never realize how much you use something until it's gone.  I don't know what it is but ever since I was a kid I've never been content sitting around wasting the day away. Whether it was mountain biking, snowboarding, hockey, swimming, jumping off rocks, catching snakes, or exploring the outdoors I have always been compelled to fill my time with activities.  In fact, for the past couple years I have adopted the motto "All the activities all the time."  Now that my bike is back in working order the summer shred can continue! Just in time too, because, come Sunday I'll be racing the "All Mountain Challenge" at the Kirkwood Mountain Classic.

After the initial parts confusion the guys at the Village Ski Loft dialed the stumpjumper up with a Sram X9 type 2 derailleur,  Raceface single ring, and the new MRP mini g2 (bottom bracket mount) chainguide.  I also threw on a new 10 speed chain and cassette I had bought a while ago for the upgrade.  

Everything came together pretty nicely.  I'm stoked to be back on the bike and have more adventures planned for the near future.  Arcdome, Genoa peak and other Nevada mountain tops are on the radar.  I'll be keeping you posted on the things to come.  The next post will  be about the Kirkwood race. 

Have Fun!

 MRP Chainguide with the Race Face Single Ring

New Cassette, Derailleur and Chain