HW: MIKE HOPKINS QUALIFIES FOR RAMPAGE 2013

Mike had a bad year last year but seems to be coming back to rampage in fine form. Check out his return to the jump that got him last year.

HW: SEVEN SUMMITS OUT AND BACK......FUN......FUN

Honestly, I have been avoiding the Seven Summits Trail like the plague because I hate taking my bike for a walk. I also have no need to put a notch in my belt saying that I have done something. The Seven Summits Trail is a B-Movie for me because of my lack of talent, I guess. That means that I will be off the bike and pushing it more than I will be riding. You know, kind of like a movie that has you in the kitchen getting snacks more than watching. Just too many breaks.

So, when it was suggested that the Holy Wow Gang ride out the Seven Summits Trail on our Tuesday night  ride, I was less than excited. Well, it was going to be an out and back, and there was cold refreshments after the ride, so I guess I will go.

The ride starts out quite nicely and the single track is fabulous. Even the pitches are well done and the climbing is very grunty but tolerable. Maybe this will be OK. Ooops, spoke too soon. Here comes the just too steep, loose rock, too tight switch backs that, people who have ridden the whole thing, try to downplay but just can`t help mentioning. Guess I am just old and grumpy, but I like to ride my bike not walk it. If I wanted to walk something I would get a dog and take it for a walk. At least the dog could make it`s way under it`s own power. A bike will just lie there unless you push it. HIKE A BIKES ARE JUST NOT FOR ME.

Oh well, I am out here with my friends, let`s just make the best of it. The downhill could be really good. Pretend you are a younger rider, with a heavy downhill bike, who never rides up anything anyway, and is only interested in the downhill. YES, that`s it!!!! Got it.

Made it to the turn around spot with four trips to the kitchen(or four commercials), and prepared for the down. The downhill was great fun. The rocks, that made the up miserable, flew by quite smoothly. Still a few too tight switch backs but they are soon forgotten, erased by the smoothish undulating single track. WOW, back at the trucks already. SUPER downhill ride. We will have to do that again.

Don`t get me wrong`I will NOT be doing the Seven Summits Trail any time soon, nor will I be getting a dog. Might go up there for a hike or a ski or some hunting, but my bike will not be coming along for the walk. Out and back, YOU BET. Thanks Holy Wow Gang.

HW: NEW TRAILS AT RED RESORT

New trails and resurrected old trails are appearing at Red Mt.A fella named Nate is working really hard to establish a trail network at Red Mountain. Some years ago the Mountain tried to run lift access mountain biking. It was not a profitable proposition. There are some remnants of these trails still around. Nate is working at rejuvenating and adding to this network. No lift access yet, but the ride up will do you good.

Check out his work. His blog, pictures and info is http://trailsatred.blogspot.ca/

HW: FUTURE TRAIL RIDE

See if you can guess where this is located.

   

HW: DANNY MACASKILL AT IT AGAIN

This is definitely worth watching. Especially if you are 12 years old at heart.

HW: GREENER'S BIRTHDAY RIDE

The Holy Wow Gang is getting older. I guess time just does that to us. One of our founding members turned 60 years old yesterday and guess what he wanted to do? Yup, let's get the gang together and ride.

So, ride we did. We had the biggest turn out of the season. Fifteen riders showed up to celebrate the Green Man's birthday. The birthday guy got to pick the ride. "How about we ride up Red until 7:30PM and then turn around wherever we are and ride down" says Rick. "Good idea", says the Gang.

Off we pedaled. Up Mo's to Larry's to Miners and on to the gas line. From there it got a bit creative. Knowing we were headed for the Top of Red we traversed the St Elmo mine road and skittered our way up the the Red Mt haul road. Still not 7:30, OK, just keep going up. On to the Red Top trail and the turn around point. Awe, we are so close to the top, just keep going. Pretty soon we are at the top.

The wind is cold and nippley, but the view is out of this world. Just the way Greener wanted it. Perfect birthday celebration. AND THEN CAME THE DOWN. FABULOUS !!!!!!!! THE BEER. GOLDEN!!! THE FOOD. DELICIOUS!!!!

THE FRIENDSHIP. PRICELESS!!!!!!!

HW: ANDRE NUTINI AND LEGS OF STEEL RELEASE "LOSt" TRAILER

Not often do I make two posts in a day but there are big things worth talking about. Young folks, with strong ties to the Holy Wow Gang, are doing great things.

"Legs of Steel" ski group, has released their trailer for their new feature film called "LOSt".  Andre Nutini, is one of the main cinematographers for the group. Over the last few years Andre has been a part of some very progressive efforts in the sport film making industry.

These guys are continuously pushing the envelope. The use of technology and plain old hard work has produced some stunning video.  These videos are actually becoming the new art work that you should hang on the wall. Have a look at this teaser.

HW: MIKE HOPKINS IS STILL DOING NEW THINGS

Local boy Mike Hopkins and his friend Matt Miles use their bikes like skis, and ride some really neat stuff. For my part, the heli ride and the camping would be exciting enough.

These guys are exploring the Bendor Range in British Columbia. Looks like it should be somewhere in the Kamloops Chilcotin area but I am not sure. I will have to check the location out. In the mean time, enjoy the video.

By the way, Hopkins does a great job of narrating. Might be a future profession in there somewhere. Not too soon though. He can still rip on a bike.

HW: GUESS WHERE THIS IS

The gang went back to an old school trail. Can you guess where this is? I have a couple of ideas but I am not  quite sure. I think vegetation is getting in the way of the memory.

HW RIDE RED HEAD TRAIL

Ridership is still low, only 6 riders out for this regular Tuesday night ride. Despite the lack of interest, the trail conditions are absolutely excellent. Red Head was in perfect shape and the climb yielded it's usual spring pain. Surprisingly there was no snow on the trail.

The decent was beautifully buffed and as smooth as it gets. Smiles were shared all around.

Over refreshments after the ride, there was talk of the Double Downhill venues and Holy Wow venues. I found a video that I thought might fuel the dreams of future rides. Enjoy.

HW RIDES AN OLD STANDARD "THE COFFEE RUN"

It has been a slow start to the riding season. People are holidaying in the south, hanging out at the beach in the South Pacific, doing spring construction projects, and waiting for the snow to melt. In spite of that, we mustered up about six members of the gang and held our first circle ride of the season.

For those of you who do not know what a circle ride is, just imagine 6 guys on mountain bikes riding in a circle until one rider leads us out to a ride of his choice. This always leads to some of our greatest rides.

Three circles and we were off. The decision was the Coffee Run. The Coffee Run is an old school trail that goes back to the first days of mountain biking in the Rossland area. It was used more for cross country skiing previous to the outbreak of fat tire bicycles. The trail surface ranges from tacky soil to boulder strewn. The rocks seem to grow up from the ground a little more each year. Bit of a technical challenge. OH YEAH, what about the SNOW.

We actually expected to be slogging through the snow but there was very little. The trail was in great shape. Trails seem to be smoother and tackier just after the snow leaves.The Coffee Run provided it's usual test and brought back a wave of great memories.

Up Milky way to the Saddle of Kootenay Columbia and a ripping decent back down Upper Pale Ale to KC  Connector and the bottom of Snake and the thoughts of a cold one had infiltrated our minds.

First circle ride of the season in the books and the birthday boy was missing. Happy 60th Birthday Norm. Showing your age already. Had to skip Thursday night ride so you could ride on Friday. What's with that?

WE COULD USE SOME FLOW LIKE THIS AROUND HERE

Thought I would post this because I liked the caption that went along with it.

Arguably the best groomed trail I have seen in a long while, not a braking bump in sight, obviously they can all ride in New Zealand! Matt Walker flows his way along ‘The Dipper’ track in the Redwood Forest aboard his Pivot 5.7 Carbon.

This film presented by Kingpin bikes.. www.kingpinbikes.co.nz

HW MOAB NEW TRAIL- CAPTAIN AHAB

Another mountain bike season is upon us and the bikes are starting to show up here and there.  Just about time for the Holy Wow Gang to start their regular rides around the Rossland area.

Moab has been one of our destinations over the years (2001,2006,2011) and we have found some good new trails each time we have visited. But, we still get excited when we hear of new trails in the Moab area. It gives us something to look forward to for our next trip down to the desert.

So here it is, the latest offering from our Sister City Moab. One of our members is going to Moab for the month of May and we are commissioning him to check this new trail out. Just in case he doesn't shoot any video, here is the latest release. Enjoy.



Captain Ahab Trail from Tyson Swasey on Vimeo.
NOW GO RIDE!!!!

HW HEADLIGHT RIDING?

Snow blankets the ground in Rossland. The last ride on the Rossland trails is most likely done. Got to use the lights quite a few times. Don't put them away, cause there may be a use for them in the near future.

THE PAST BECOMES THE FUTURE-KLUNKING

The Prez mentioned this video and we watched Klunking 2 after our ride on Thursday night. Klunking really reminded me of what it was like riding when we first started back in the early 1990s.  These guys take it back a lot further than rim brakes and no suspension. They are running coaster brakes.

The riding is awesome.  You can see the influence of full suspension on their riding styles. The trails that they ride are also highly evolved from the first days of mountain biking.

The trails in Bellingham look pretty neat, can you say HOLY WOW.

Enjoy the film.

Lars N Bars gets Klunking from Transition Bikes on Vimeo.

HW RIDES IN BEND OREGON...Summary

Hard to believe that it has been almost a month since Holy Wow 21. The riding in Bend was so good that it remains fresh in my mind. The movie below is a compilation of my camera on the whole trip and the Go Pro on the last day.

Some things to watch for in the footage. Another appearance of a famous politician. An close call for the Italian nation. A frustrated but happy organizer at the bar. Miles of joyous single track.

Does it make you want to ride?

RAMPAGE BUILD PICTURES

Check out these pictures from Rampage 2012.

Holy Wow member Norm Hopkins is down in Utah with his son Mike. Mike is preparing to try and qualify for the Red Bull Rampage event on Sunday Oct 7.

HW RIDES MCKENZIE RIVER TRAIL

While the Holy Wow Gang was down in Bend Oregon, we climbed into our  trucks and road tripped it to Sisters Oregon, to ride the McKenzie River Trail.  The gorgeous scenery, super flowy single track and fabulous water features made this a truly epic trail. The natural hot pool on the side of the river and the cold beer in the middle of the trail(both courtesy of Stewy, thanks Stew) topped off the 25 miles of single track just perfectly.

The only thing that came even close to the riding was the windy road that we took to get back to Bend(thanks Dario). It left me smiling and wanting to run those flowy corners again, only this time in the Audi.

Top notch day. The video says it all, so check it out.

HW RIDES BAR BIKE IN DOWNTOWN BEND

After 35 miles of Bachelor to Bend, the Gang was a touch tired and hungry. Nothing that a couple of Oregon brews and a burger and fries could not cure. Just settling into a recovery phase and Murdog announces that it is time to go riding.

Riding, didn't we just finish. But, being the Holy Wow Gang, we are always up for a bike ride, so let's do it. Out to the garage to get the bike. Murdog yelps, "No not that bike, the Bar Bike".  What Bar Bike? "The one we have rented for the evening" says Murdog. OK!! Into the trucks and downtown we go to meet the Bar Bike and Kevin our driver.

This Bar Bike is exactly what it's name describes.  It is a bar on wheels, that is propelled by the patrons of the bar actually pedaling and drinking. WOW this thing would never fly in Canada. A vehicle full of imbibing cyclists travelling around the streets of town.  Turns out that the Bike Bar is classed as a limousine and drinking is allowed in limousines. There were a lot of rules about bottles and such, which put some serious obstacles on the Bike Bars trail, but the HW Gang managed to clean them all.
 


The Big Bar ride was 2 hours long.  The legs were feeling it, after the day's ride and a few pops. Just when you felt like you were ready to give up, a driver would honk the horn and a serge of adrenalin would motivate you to pedal harder.

Soon we were back at the starting point parking lot. At this point Kevin, the bar driver says, "Now it is time for the race". The last thing we wanted to do was race. Well Kevin marketed this idea well and we bought in to the idea. Turns out that they run this lap around the parking lot and time the lap. The last record has stood up for 6 months or so. Kevin says we should be able to beat it. We agree.

Off we go, pedaling as hard as we can, lactic acid roaring through our legs. Forty-six seconds later we crossed the finish line and set a new record.

Perfect wrap up to a perfect day.

HW RIDES BATCHELOR TO BEND

WOW, Bend left me speechless and tired and busy all at the same time.  I haven't even managed to put up a post on the blog until now. We were so busy riding and enjoying the festivities of Bend Oregon that I failed to post while I was on the road. Enough excuses, here goes.

The Holy Wow Gang arrived in Bend Oregon on Wednesday evening, after a 10 hour journey by truck. We arrived, at our home for the next 4 days, at about 9:00PM. Greeting us on our arrival, were Brett, JT, and Bob along with their Mexican friend Tequi. Tequi commenced to proceed to put the hurt on Brett and Dario, but it did not stop them from answering the ride bell on Thursday morning.

The plan was to take a shuttle to the Mid mountain of Mt. Bachelor and then ride 35 miles of single track back to the city of Bend. The Cog Wild shuttle picked us up at 9:30AM.  Lauren our driver, expertly took us up to our starting point. She then had to wait for a rescue because she left the keys to the van, in the van, and one of us (probably Tequi) pressed the power lock button and locked her out. Hope she didn't get in too much trouble. That Tequi is a real shit disturber.

Off we went on our first ride in Bend. The trail started with a gradual up. It was dusty and there was a bit of smoke in the air from a forest fire near by. The next video should show you what the trail was like.



With the majority of the climbing done, the trail starts to pitch downward. not too steep, in fact you could ajust the speed that you wanted to go just by pedaling. The single track was very sweet. There were many S turns and banked turns that wound their way through the trees. The fun factor was increasing the further we went towards Bend.



I could not believe how uniform this single track was, and it just kept on going and going.  Whoops and hollers could be heard throughout the forest. Tequi was out of the system and the Holy Wow Gang was having a blast.

The whole ride was a sequence of trails that connected together made up the Batchelor to Bend ride. The first trail is called Flagline(it had the climb on it), which connected to Swampy Lakes(lunch spot) that linked to Sector 16(circumnavigate around private land) and then into Whoops.

Whoops was just that, a long series of table tops, gaps and jumps connected together with high speed  banked turns. Very fun. The Contour camera was already full by the time we got to Whoops so the footage below is only the lead up.





Whoops led into Phil's and more jumps and berms. "Is this ever going to end' . We had to do a little map reading to come up with the right connection to make it back to the house.  Marvin Gardens was the pick. Usually a good buy in Monopoly but not so good for the end of a 35 mile day. Just a little too uphill.

On to the highway and a short freewheel exploding pedal(my bike) back to the house.  I needed the equivalent of a bike tow truck to get me back home. The boys pushed me back to wiothin 100 meters of the house. Thanks guys.

Ahh a cool Oregon beer (beer is great in Oregon). A mad search for a free wheel. A burger and then a pedal around Bend in a pedal bar. More about that in my next post.