[gemini2k]

after having lived in Cali for the last 13 years and moved to the midwest I can say im enjoying the east coast/midwest action way more.

Far more technical rock and root sections and people actually build big jumps and bike parks (which are seemingly non existant in so cali.) Cali is great for XC/AM kinda riding. I do miss Aliso Woods, Laguna Canyon and The San Juan trail, however just riding all the vertically challenged areas here in Ohio and PA I can say that ive had sooo much more fun. Jumping, table tops and stepups and big mossy, greasy rocks kill the loamy, less technical terrain that is most of Socals riding.

Clearly you didn't find the good trails in socal. Having ridden BOTH coasts AND the midwest (IL, WI, OH, MI), and some NZ and OZ, nothing comes anywhere near close to some of the trail in Socal, not even in the same league. Neither in length or physical difficulty, or technical difficulty. Although you are right on the xc/am of socal, f-ing sick AM trails too.

 

[bullcrew]

Clearly you didn't find the good trails in socal. Having ridden BOTH coasts AND the midwest (IL, WI, OH, MI), and some NZ and OZ, nothing comes anywhere near close to some of the trail in Socal, not even in the same league. Neither in length or physical difficulty, or technical difficulty. Although you are right on the xc/am of socal, f-ing sick AM trails too.

Agread! Theres some SICK stuff to be had!

 

[WBC]

.....

Meng, Cheeeese, I've got some photos that are way more glorious than those two!!

Not even bringing up the epic opera singer, this is one that comes to mind:

 

[gemini2k]

Agread! Theres some SICK stuff to be had!

wow uhhhhh, someone agreed with me, wtf.

 

[thad]

 

[supercow]

that's me surfing..

Apart from the amazing tits and ass of the quality I will never again taste (married FTL), I can't quite figure out where that shot was taken. I was going to say it must be the North Shore at first glance, but it seems way too uncrowded and doesn't quite look like it on closer inspection.

Sick shot dude, I have massive respect for guys who can ride their backhand in waves of any consequence...having grown up in J-Bay I never got to ride my backhand and got my ass handed to me in Indo!

 

[karpi]

didnt have to many pics this season, but here is my favorite

 

[bizutch]

(yeah yeah, I know... it's not a photo of me, but is of my son... and it's the best bike related photo I've taken all year, and am most proud of)

Bring it!

 

[dklopp]

 

[Dox]

Bizutch, now i see why you are hiding from your daughters under the bed!

 

[PatBranch]

Port Angeles Pro Grt #1 '09
P: Mark Brent - http://bonesovermetal.com

Fontana Annual Challenge '09
P: Stephanie Wolf - http://stephaniewolfphoto.com/

 

[Calid0wnhiller]

4:25, 4:38, 5:20 in the Black and white NEMA gear.

 

[demo 9]

changed my mind last minute when i found this 1, photo cred to nickprophoto

 

[Ian Collins]

My buddy Deider crushing another corner . . .

ted williams?

 

[Total Heckler]

teenstache?

 

[Beast]

ted williams?

bingo

 

[Daz]

This was a fun section on the NCS course in Deer Valley UT called Barney Rubble. I had never ridden it before. Rode into it the first time and bailed. My friends hammered on me to nut up and hit it again. Nailed it once I got over my mind.

 

[igz-]

Some photos from riding yesterday that I'm freakin AMPED on!!

 

[Total Heckler]

Some photos from riding yesterday that I'm freakin AMPED on!!

Nice man. I cant wait to be back on my dh bike.

 

[ROTFLMAO]

My favorite shot of me from this year taken by Mark Poore of Hotshots-Photos.com.

Bikeshop Drops at Snowshoe. Not the gnarliest action shot of me riding this season but by far the highest quality and my favorite.

 

[Shenzi]

Just some FR off some XC trails in WI. Just a cool pic my buddy took.

 

[Leppah]

the Shiek and I, US Open

You should've gotten a picture of him doing the camel clutch to you.

 

[Dox]

The only one i got. and is from last year fall .

 

[ivanfiestas]

Not the best drop ever, but pretty good for me ('been riding for only 6 months now)

 

[5150dhbiker]

Proud of all of mine really, but this is from the first day of practice and the second run down our course at Sol Vista. I look like a scared little bunny but whatever, lol. Still can't get over how FUN those jumps were!!!

 

[igz-]

Nice man. I cant wait to be back on my dh bike.

Hell yeah dude!!! How much more recovery time?

 

[PepperJester]

Best pic I can find of me from this year.

 

[boogenman]

I have not seen any pics of me on the DH bike from this past season so I have this DH action from April in Colorado....

I'm not good at editing pics.

 

[nelsonjm]

Either this one taken by photomom, who was nice enough to take a ton of pictures at the GES races and post all of them on pinkbike (thanks! if you are reading this) :

Or this one taken by a friend:

Prior to this year I had never been to any type of resort before so needless to say this year has been a blast!

 

[DUKESofTAH0E]

West coast, specifically California racing is pretty much shameful given what we have to work with. The sheer number of DH races going on in the NE during the riding season with the number of lift access spots is something we just can't compete with right now. Maybe when Snow Summit was still able to fill their parking lots and their entire village on race weekends, and when National Champs were at Mammoth, and Fontana was something to go and do when you were hungover and didn't feel like driving up the hill to Big Bear and you had the luxury of such an option, but no way we have anything to compare to the racing scene out there.

There is hard terrain out here, believe me. None of it is legal of course, but then again I don't think any legitimate DH spot in California is legal anymore. If someone assumes that California, of all places in the states, doesn't have the terrain to host more challenging trails than anywhere else in the country with the exception of some of the Rocky Mountain states, they weren't looking hard enough.

i hate to thread jack but just want to point out there are still bike parks in cali. northstar is alive and kicking and is still as gnarly as ever. so hardcore in fact USA cycling wouldnt let the collegaint nationals race the DH course we wanted to use due to the fact it was to gnarly. iam not saying one place is better then the other but that cali still has the legit gnar. just ask the racer from the east coast who came down the not so gnar race course and by the time she got to the end was crying in just sheer fear.

 

[ismael]

didnt have to many pics this season, but here is my favorite

i wonder who took that pic

 

[Scurry]

that's me surfing..

haha, puerto escondia? If thats actually you thats awesome, if not its still awesome.

while were at it, im most proud of this this year (hurricane bill NH)

of the DH sort, sunday river DH:

thanks ty foster http://www.flickr.com/photos/tyfoster/

and slalom, first win, close wentworth on wentworth racing, probably at quarter finals:

 

[Kanye West]

i hate to thread jack but just want to point out there are still bike parks in cali. northstar is alive and kicking and is still as gnarly as ever. so hardcore in fact USA cycling wouldnt let the collegaint nationals race the DH course we wanted to use due to the fact it was to gnarly. iam not saying one place is better then the other but that cali still has the legit gnar. just ask the racer from the east coast who came down the not so gnar race course and by the time she got to the end was crying in just sheer fear.

Collegiate racing, sure. There's jack sh*t for nationally recognized gravity racing or NORBA events/UCI point events in California anymore outside of the collegiate races, and that is what is just a joke.

Northstar is rough, no doubt. I've ridden there until my hands bled before, literally. There's only a couple truly "gnarly" spots though.

I never said that California didn't have the nasty stuff, because it does. The racing scene we have (or don't have anymore) is what's just embarrassing.

 

[Steve M]

Proud of all of mine really, but this is from the first day of practice and the second run down our course at Sol Vista. I look like a scared little bunny but whatever, lol. Still can't get over how FUN those jumps were!!!

F**kin DAMN man... how big is that jump!? Might be just a tricky camera angle but to me that looks to be a good 40ft at least. In any case, respect!

Unfortunately I got very few photos of myself, partly because I ride like a bit of a pussy and partly because I hardly ever stop and get photos, so gonna have to go with this one as far as "proud of" goes:

Those who've spent much time at Whistler will know where this is. It's not really that hard to ride (like most things, when you actually hit them), but it's pretty intimidating the first time.

 

[buckoW]

I like this photo because I built the trail with my brother and he took the pic of me riding it.

 

[ciszewski]

Haven't posted on here in a while...

Probably this, Quebec cup at Camp Fortune, photo cred to the awesome guys at Lama Cycles.

OR

My crash at Bromont Canada Cup caught right before I went down making it look like i'm just loose. That race was the biggest leraning experience of my life, thats why I'm proud of this pic, again photo cred to Lama Cycles and Sebastien. and since everybody seems to be dis-obeying the rules i thought i'd throw a second up...

 

[wiscodh]

looking down on that line scares the poop outa me....

 

[Steve M]

looking down on that line scares the poop outa me....

Ditto for me at first, it's pretty sketch looking. As long as you commit it's not actually too difficult to do though.

 

[5150dhbiker]

F**kin DAMN man... how big is that jump!? Might be just a tricky camera angle but to me that looks to be a good 40ft at least. In any case, respect!

Pretty much right on actually. I believe that one was 40ft, the one after 45ft and the final one 50ft. Gotta love the National Champs...they threw in some things I was not expecting this year!

Here's me standing between the first one.

Jumping the second.

 

[karpi]

i wonder who took that pic

cuasi did, hahaa