I'm kind of partial to UCSB (since I go there). We do have Tunnel trail which is way badass and molds some really good DH riders. The team has absolutely no racing or recreational riding going on outside of their spandex-laden road crap or the occasional xc event (DS VERY rarely, and the people who race DH for us just do it for fun on their xc rigs). So basically no cool stuff going on. One guy who races for them occasionaly won the NORBA State Champs (I think) on his hardtail xc rig, but he's pretty crazy and kind of does it individually. I'd go to SLO if you wanted to compete since their team goes to every race and is about ten times the size of everyone elses, but as far as riding goes SB sounds like it has the most fun trails I'd say. Just "watch out" for hikers...he he.
Help with DH College Choice
- Thread starter 420oztofreedom
- Start date
Honestly Sanjay is right, if I really wanted to get unreal good at the highly lucrative and prosperous sport of DH mountain biking, I'd be in Cali, no doubt. Ride year long, shuttleable trails...fast riders.
Then I have to stop and consider
A) WHY am I in college?
B) Can I afford college in CA?
C) Is it worth going to college out of state when in state is argueably just as good?
I love it here in Boulder, I think there is not a better place to go to school FOR ME. Seriously, I love it here. If any of you future college bound peeps want to follow me around for a day or come live at my place and don't mind sleeping on a couch (or some chicks bed if you're lucky) PM me.
Then I have to stop and consider
A) WHY am I in college?
B) Can I afford college in CA?
C) Is it worth going to college out of state when in state is argueably just as good?
I love it here in Boulder, I think there is not a better place to go to school FOR ME. Seriously, I love it here. If any of you future college bound peeps want to follow me around for a day or come live at my place and don't mind sleeping on a couch (or some chicks bed if you're lucky) PM me.
Go to virginia tech. We have a freeride/dh/mtx team. The school pays for our races. an we are workin on some grass roots sponsorhips, an i think we just got a deal with michelin tires. We rip it up on a weekly if not daily basis ridin campus. We also race in the maxxis south east series. I htink the team has like 25 to 30 members. Plus virginia tech is a great science/enginerin school. Some of the guys in engineerin are goin to be doin projects dealin with dh bikes.
It's actually about $15 and you dont have to go to ubc to stay there. http://www.ams.ubc.ca/businesses/whistler_lodge/dromond said:
Im currently in my first year at UBC and i really like it. To get in as an americanyou need a decent GPA. They dont even require SATs or essays or anything.... admission is almost purely gpa based. As far as price i think it ends up being about $18k us a year although the exchange rate is going down. If anyone has more UBC questions PM me and i can try and help.mtnbkr4235 said:
Also, if your only educational goal is good dh riding you might want to look at simon fraser university in vancouver. It reminds me of a prison and has a really high suicide rate, but there are dh trails leaving right from the school that you can shuttle with the bus and its about 30 minutes from all the shore mountains and maybe an hour from whistler... you can't beat that for riding.
You should come race at UW, i'm lonely. Think we had like 3 DHers at a race max. If you go to CU, FLC, or any of those i'll probably be racing with ya next fall. You probably shouldn't pick your college by biking if your trying to get a degree. .02
That's the best idea yet.... Seriously though, The CU team will have at least 8 downhillers next year, finally getting to the same kind of depth Fort Lewis has. This year unfortunately we were somewhat plauged by injuries(me and dave camp both broke our hands). That 8 includes 4 semi pros, maybe 5 if mike buell is moving up, and two very fast junior experts, it will be a good crowd and theres alot to learn here. Have to drive to summit county to do lift runs but its really not that bad and we have enough local dirt jumps to keep just about anyone occupied (Mavericks, Gunbarrel, Arbor). There are alos some local shuttling opporutnities if you know the right people. Hopefully next year we can get our team organized early and have some DH practice days with the everybody. I came here as a trials and XC rider last year and thanks to the CU DH team, I will be riding semi pro DH this year.
Hey the CO boyz (Neversummer, Beast, ect), how's the scene in Golden? Is CSM even on the radar or is it too big of a geek farm w/ no time to ride? Do all the Golden DHers go to Boulder to play or is there something local (w/in 10 min bike ride).
I'm up in Steamboat, getting ready to head down there for school. I know there's always Vail and Keystone...?
I'm up in Steamboat, getting ready to head down there for school. I know there's always Vail and Keystone...?
Phil, just so we're streight, TJ and Brendon are both semi even though they are 17 Camp will move to pro this season. Buell is up to semi, and who knows what I'll end up doing.
It'll be a team of semi and above. I wasn't kidding when I said our guys team will beat FLC's guys team in 05.
Riding scene in boulder...uhhh...will vill has some stair gaps, there are some sick DJs a few blocks from campus and there is a skatepark. Other than that, be prepared to do something very illegal or go a long ways from Boulder to ride.
On the contrary the drinking scene here is very good, something any pro DHer must be able to do well.
It'll be a team of semi and above. I wasn't kidding when I said our guys team will beat FLC's guys team in 05.
Riding scene in boulder...uhhh...will vill has some stair gaps, there are some sick DJs a few blocks from campus and there is a skatepark. Other than that, be prepared to do something very illegal or go a long ways from Boulder to ride.
On the contrary the drinking scene here is very good, something any pro DHer must be able to do well.
Would you guys be interested in a DHer who is good but currently not superduper good?neversummersnow said:
I was in sport last summer and will probably be in sport this summer and move up to JX by the end. I still have a few years left in high school though. But CU is definitely high in my list as far as in state, good place, decent party life, and good riding.
Well just wait and see about thatneversummersnow said:
Just for the heads up FLC has got
Chris Heath (#3 semi pro- going pro)
Tommy Tokarczyk (Pro)
Paul Smith (Pro)
Will Corry (UCI Elite-Pro) should be back for collegiate season 05?
Leanna Gerrard (Pro)
Greg Vogt (Semi Pro)
Justin Biser (Semi Pro)
Me(Semi Pro-maybe upgrade to Pro for 05?)
And I know a couple other new Semi Pro guys showed up this year but I dont know their names as I wasnt at school this semester. And from what Ive heard there could be a good number of super quick freshmen and transfers joining the squad in '05.
It will be a good season, and a good competition, for sure. Jeff, yeah I know brendan and TJ will be riding semi-pro locally but will being doing junior X at nationals. But youre right, for all practical purposes, they're semi pro. I didnt know Camp was going pro. My goals for this season have become alot more ambititious now that I have team support, hope to be one of the top semi pros by late season. 
Remember last year when nationals team selection was easy and we had Jung riding dual?
And Heikki, while we're roster bragging....
Dave Camp (Pro)
Jeff Brines (Semi, maybe moving up?)
Mike House (Ditto)
Me, Phil Wheeler (Semi)
Mike Buell (Semi)
TJ sharp (Semi, fast and freshman)
Brendan Newton(Same, also a killer mtn-x rider)
We sure coulda used that depth this year, next season we will stop punching rocks and trees. Jeff, any word on possible female DHers for next year?
Heikki, you forgot Cody Wilderman right?
Conference racing is goign to be awesome next year, cant wait. Its gonna suck how many good riders wont be able to do nationals.
Remember last year when nationals team selection was easy and we had Jung riding dual?And Heikki, while we're roster bragging....
Dave Camp (Pro)
Jeff Brines (Semi, maybe moving up?)
Mike House (Ditto)
Me, Phil Wheeler (Semi)
Mike Buell (Semi)
TJ sharp (Semi, fast and freshman)
Brendan Newton(Same, also a killer mtn-x rider)
We sure coulda used that depth this year, next season we will stop punching rocks and trees. Jeff, any word on possible female DHers for next year?
Heikki, you forgot Cody Wilderman right?
Conference racing is goign to be awesome next year, cant wait. Its gonna suck how many good riders wont be able to do nationals.
mtnbkr4235 said:Would you guys be interested in a DHer who is good but currently not superduper good?
All are welcome, anyone can be on the team, the only difference is that the top four only get to go to nationals. We need more riders to challenge Fort Lewis in the conference championship, since theres no limit to the number fo riders than can race at conference races. If you are going junior X and still have a few years of high school left, you should be fine if you stick with it. Jeff, Myself, Wylie, and House are all sophmores, and Mike Buell is a junior. Of course I'm on the 6 year plan, so dont count on me getting out of the way...
They have one downhiller as far as I know, but hes good. His name is escaping me at the moment, he was junior X this year and rides a canfield F1. CSM is not far from dirt jumps, dont know about anything in riding distance but if you have a car you will be fine.Pau11y said:
Im pissed I missed out on the collegiate season this year 
I cant wait to get back for next. It is deffinately going to be a good time!
I cant wait to get back for next. It is deffinately going to be a good time!
there is a college in WA that has a freeride team Western Washington University maybe
heikkihall said:Well just wait and see about that
Just for the heads up FLC has got
Chris Heath (#3 semi pro- going pro)
Tommy Tokarczyk (Pro)
Paul Smith (Pro)
Will Corry (UCI Elite-Pro) should be back for collegiate season 05?
Leanna Gerrard (Pro)
Greg Vogt (Semi Pro)
Justin Biser (Semi Pro)
Me(Semi Pro-maybe upgrade to Pro for 05?)
And I know a couple other new Semi Pro guys showed up this year but I dont know their names as I wasnt at school this semester. And from what Ive heard there could be a good number of super quick freshmen and transfers joining the squad in '05.
and those crazy kids back east at UVM aren't geting anyslower. . . not naming them all but a few collegiate national champs, 6 time podium finisher, and the '04 bike battle champ would be on the list. and we owned the podium with FLC this year, not a CU rider in sight :eviltongu
and don't even ask how much wine, vodka, and beer was consumed daily. . . . we didn't get the cowboy hat back for good behavior. i think we're gonna keep it until another hard partying division 2 school races in the div. 1 class with no coach or support staff, only 3 women, an xc guy who raced shirtless for 2hrs in the mud becasue he was using his jersey to replace the seat that fell off, a dh guy who dislocates his hip 100 feet into the course, pops it in and rides the rest of the course anyway just to be hardcore. . . . etc, etc. and gets 3rd at nationals :nuts:
ps. . . i'm just kidding around
Pau11y said:
Yep, that lone kid at CSM would be me - well, I'm the only one that raced this year, but we've got about 5 guys that ride DH/DJ's altogether. Most of 'em should be racing next year, so we should be able to pull some nice results at nats for the first time ever - and we've got a few other kids that we're jr. x this year that may come to mines as well. The club is super supportive and covers close to all expenses and will be including nats in the budget for next year.
As far as riding, well, we've got the 'ol standby just across the street and up the hill (lookout mountain), that we shuttle occasionally - lake arbor is nearby, and trips up to Boulder/Denver happen pretty often for urban and more dj's - we've also got a killer indoor park about 5 minutes away. A few other key spots here and there - come to Mines and we'll show you what's up.
Are you coming down for the spring semester ot next year?
O, and the geek farm thing . . . hell, I do actual school work one night a week and I'm pulling good grades - this school isn't hard, it's mostly hype, but what the heck, the school's reputation for being a hard one is gonna pay off
Hey Heikki.. just out of curiosity, do you stay in durango for the summers now or go back to lake placid?? Im trying to decide if I really wanna stay in colorado all year from now on.
Ive been in Lake Placid for the majority of the past two summers. I would really love to stay in durango but Im on the road racing so much I am never in one place long enough to hold a job and therefore be able to pay rent. So basically in the summers I try to use Lake Placid as the home base as that is where living expenses are the least for me. If it was financially feesible to be in Durango year round I would be there for sure.TheInedibleHulk said:
And Lee just so you know. Paul Smith the collegiate National DH champ from this year drinks more and rides his bike less than anyone else I know. And he still killed everyone by over 20 seconds.
I'm going to make this interestin. I have a friend who works for Brek brewery beer distributer... get him to donate 5 cases for our cause.
Winner of the mens DH NCCA at nats takes all. It'll make things interesting.
Winner of the mens DH NCCA at nats takes all. It'll make things interesting.
heikkihall said:And Lee just so you know. Paul Smith the collegiate National DH champ from this year drinks more and rides his bike less than anyone else I know. And he still killed everyone by over 20 seconds.
And you want to know why he won in the first place? It's because I was stuck here in California and couldn't make it out to Nats.
Hopefully the race will be out west this year where it will be warm, dry, and less than a days drive away.
I'll agree Sanjay. You would have put another 20 seconds on Paul...
And I wasnt there... lol. Is Paul gonna maybe think about GRADUATING one of these years from that high school you all call a college?
hes done this spring if all goes to plan. Hes on the 5 year plan.TheInedibleHulk said:
Superking, I think its clear you were beyond pinned. See the new litter mr. picture boy? When are you going to start living like a rockstar DHer and get drunk and bang hot chicks?
L
Lightninleana
Guest
Sorry I'm late on writing... but FLC's the only place to go if you want to race Downhill. Ya the education isn't anything to brag about but if you want to major in business or chemistry we have great programs. As far as other teams beating us next year, there is no way. Ya CU may have some fast downhill guys, but they don't have an all around team, they need some more girls too. This year FLC got first and second in both the dual and downhill womens races.
As far as scholarships go, our school does offer some. Tom Danielson (Discovery team road racer) decided to start a fund to help some racers out.
And training and riding wise, usually once a week (when its not snowing) we go do shuttling with the entire team and help eachother out.
The party scene... ya can't compete with any major university, we are a small college. But I've been to some pretty fun ones this year. The only bad part for guys is that the guy to girl ratio here is about 3 to 1, so at the parties (at least the ones I've been to) there's been a lot of guys there (not that I'm complaining).
Anyways, Fort Lewis has got it's act together, we have great coaches that help us out a lot. We have some pretty sweet team meetings with guest speakers like Miles Rockwell, Bob Roll, Ned Overend...
I definatly suggest looking into FLC.
As far as scholarships go, our school does offer some. Tom Danielson (Discovery team road racer) decided to start a fund to help some racers out.
And training and riding wise, usually once a week (when its not snowing) we go do shuttling with the entire team and help eachother out.
The party scene... ya can't compete with any major university, we are a small college. But I've been to some pretty fun ones this year. The only bad part for guys is that the guy to girl ratio here is about 3 to 1, so at the parties (at least the ones I've been to) there's been a lot of guys there (not that I'm complaining).
Anyways, Fort Lewis has got it's act together, we have great coaches that help us out a lot. We have some pretty sweet team meetings with guest speakers like Miles Rockwell, Bob Roll, Ned Overend...
I definatly suggest looking into FLC.
Yeah, and who goes to college for the education...pshhh...way overrated...(insert rolleyes smiley here)
Nice shameless plug leana 
it's true we need some girls... although we already have a few that usually decide either not to race or to get so smashed that they dont make it to their qualifier races... 
So yeah we could use a little work in that department but we are finally getting to the point where we do have the kind of depth that FLC has as far as DH, and next year I promise we will have unified team practice, both DH runs and more of the BMX track days that Jeff got started this year.
Theres in one other benefit to going to FLC though.... Leana Gerrard goes there :love: :love: :love:
it's true we need some girls... although we already have a few that usually decide either not to race or to get so smashed that they dont make it to their qualifier races... So yeah we could use a little work in that department but we are finally getting to the point where we do have the kind of depth that FLC has as far as DH, and next year I promise we will have unified team practice, both DH runs and more of the BMX track days that Jeff got started this year.Theres in one other benefit to going to FLC though.... Leana Gerrard goes there :love: :love: :love:
oh and how do you like that, two CU posts in like 12 seconds showing we also dominate eBiking
Fo sheezy, OWNED FLC!!
Hey, It was stated that in general Fort Lewis doesent get a good wrap for their education. Theres a couple reasons to that but in reality the Bussiness and Science Departments are actually pretty good. Durango gets alot of retired professors from your so called "prestigious" schools who love the area and love to teach and they do so at Fort Lewis. Take it for what its worth. I think this is going to make for an even greater rivalry between the two schools in the coming years.neversummersnow said:
neaky: God I cant wait to get back!
Yea we suck at ebikingneversummersnow said:
I try and make up for it though.
I'll be in durango tommorow night, then shredding the gnarly pow at Silverton, its gonna sick sick sauce.
Also- you guys may have the national champion, but get a load of who has the STICK FIGHTER champion........ thats right chumps.
Also- you guys may have the national champion, but get a load of who has the STICK FIGHTER champion........ thats right chumps.
I went to the U of M and Missoula rocks. Missoula was rated #5 party school and in the top 10 towns for mountain biking. There are tons of trails and DH. It is truely an undiscovered mountain bike meca. There are many shuttles in the area. DHs ranging from 14-25 miles within 2 hours. Might just check it out. I think the school almost hit 20K students last year. Fernie is super close and Whistler is 9-10hours away. Silver Mountain has some riding by Spokane but not real great. Beacon in Spokane rocks. Rumor has it that Blacktail Ski Area might start building trails soon. Blacktail is about 1.5 hours from Missoula. There is sort of a DJ area up Deer Creek by the gravel pit and CWs place. Missoula is in the middle of it all plus it Montana.....dexter said:
neversummersnow and dexterq20, I will definitly be talking to you guys soon... UCSB... surfing... yummy.