Hello Mountain Bike Families!
October was a good month to be a mountain biker on campus! We saw some of the best conditions while home in Oregon with just enough rain and sun to create some hero dirt conditions. October also featured two action packed trips, the slopestyle/freeride trip to Highland MTB park and a team wide trip up north to Coast Gravity park.
Highland- The team was blown away with the amount of trails, features, and jumps that highland had to offer. We were able to make great use out of their indoor facility as well with students learning new things with their flatdrop to foam setup. This is a dream setup for a free rider as flat drop tricks are very intimidating to try without having a foam pit to train in. The rest of the park was great as well, with a jump every 50 feet across the entire hill. Some of the kids were intimidated by the big jumps and we took a few days of riding and thinking to get them through the main slopestyle line. We initially traveled out to highland for the slopestyle contest they were hosting, but unfortunately the comp was rained out and we had to improvise. Instead of the comp, we spent the rainy day inside of their state of the art indoor training facility. The rest of the trip was relatively smooth with lots of ride time in the park. We saw lots of progression with the kids who went, especially mentally, and I am super stoked we were able to make this trip happen. On our way back to the Boston airport, we stopped by MIT for a quick peek of a world much different than ours. The kids got to listen in on some passing tours being given, as well as stand in front of "The Great Dome". All and all it was a success.
Coast Gravity Park- Our team training camp up at the legendary Coast Gravity Park was also an epic trip. We stayed in Halfmoon Bay, British Columbia right on a bluff overlooking the bay, with islands in the distance. We had some pretty awesome sunrises and sunsets while at home. The team also enjoyed the hot tub in between school sessions once we were back from the park. While at the park, we were able to ride all together on most laps because of the small size of the park, and the fact that everyone was on the same shuttle every lap. This led to quality coaching time, great group riding, and plenty of student videos. The conditions up there were world class as well. We saw 3 sunny (but chilly) days with wet, grippy dirt. I've personally been up here about 5 or so times and have never seen it this good! The kids had a blast, and the progression was unreal. We had students work on getting through the big jump line for 3 days, and finally on the last day they were able to clear the entire line! This is a tough task not just because of the jumps but the corners as well. In order to clear the jumps, the rider must perfectly execute the exit speed of the corner to get the speed for them.
Stoked for what November brings!
Asa Howe and Alejandro Bolio
