The secret lives of downhillers

I got to thinking this morning as I was scrolling through Google Maps terrain feature. And it came to me that DH'ers are maniacal in their obsession and dedicated beyond reason. We own rigs that can't be ridden out the front door to anywhere unless you live on the slopes of Whistler, Vars or Snowshoe! We scan topo maps to find ridgelines and fire roads.

I've been driving home on backroads, poking my nose in private communities and pouring over "Trail Centres" in the UK and how the access has been negotiated with landowners and the Forestry Commission. It's inspired me to make a go of it here in my area.

I've been cherry picking secret shuttles for years now, getting permission to access private land, but never giving away the locations to the masses. But I really yearn to disclose one of these gems, get us all access to share it, shape it and grow it. Wish me luck in my obsession.

I figure that the worst case scenario is I find a place that will allow me to lease the property for a weekend like a farmer leases a field and go from there. Anyone with ideas or resource materials for me to read on how to get it done, please shoot me links, mail me books, or have an interested land owner call me.

Now...for some riding inspiration head over to http://www.damianbreach.com/ and check the photos of one of bikings greats!

Blacksnake Moan

Ever wonder what a blacksnake eats? Me too!!! I really wanted to cut this guy open to see just how big his meal was, but hoped it was one of many rodents it will eat in it's lifetime.

My house was a epi-center of wildlife 2 days ago. First this guy showed up & my dog went postal on it. Then that night I heard something I heard months ago....coyotes! To say they were viscious sounding is an understatement. This wasn't a pack of dogs fighting over a female in heat. It was feral animals on the hunt snapping, snarling & howling furiously only a few 100 feet from my back door. I ran them off but never saw one. Conservative estimate...8? Next morning, a Coopers Hawk dug around in my backyard like a robin looking for worms. Hawks are my favorite creature on God's green earth, bar none!

Anyway, been riding a ton and Ryane (wifey) has been helping me eat right and this morning I hit 188.4lbs! Less is more for me. If you've ever wanted to lose weight and not get bored...search for the Bodyweight 200 or Spartan 300. On YouTube, look up Turbulence Training exercises & routines. Call me when you can do 10 1 legged squats!
http://www.youtube.com/results?search_query=turbulence+training&search_type=&aq=0&oq=turbulence+train">


Last of all, I got some real inspiration from an awesome DH video on Dirt Mag's website. Check out the tractors lined up at 6 seconds & 25 seconds, not to mention the AWESOME step ups & step downs:

More Mountain Biking Videos >>