Chrome, a domestic bag and clothing manufacturer located in the South of Market district of San Francisco, has pushed the limits of design with indestructible messenger bags and bike related clothing for the past 12 years.

Chrome has returned to the technical clothing arena with its launch of a line of bike related clothing with a raw urban edge. The designs by president Mark Falvai, bring a style other wise left out of the bicycle market or lacking when related to urban technical clothes.

Nuremberg was the centre of the world in September last year with over 40,000 spectators witnessing the making of the first Red Bull District Ride. This year the Urban Freeride event will be in two great locations, Red Bull District Ride in Catania (Sicily/Italy) and in Nuremberg (Germany)! First up is Catania July 15-16th with 35 of the best riders invited from around the world. The second event in Nuremberg August 4-5th will be taking along 25 of the world’s finest athletes in the freeride sport.

After just receiving a bunch of bikes from KHS here at C-Team headquarters - and after several cans of Boddingtons cream ale (and some minor arguments) - we got the new DH200 built up and headed out to the shore for some good old-fashioned playing in the dirt. Here are our first impressions of the bike.

The third Island Cup DH was held in Port Alberni last weekend and what a weekend for a race, blue sky, 20 degrees, a nicely groomed course and lots of good people to enjoy it. Everybody was super enthusiastic mostly due to amazing course Mike, Lee and the rest of Port crew put together. The top of the course is pretty tech with lots that would challenge any rider. And then once you cross the tracks it all changes, all of a sudden you're lettin it all hang out, high speed with sweet burmed corners, oh yah baby!

Hugo Martins, a former BMX Racer, won last Saturday the first event of Portugal Down Town Series. The first venue was in northern Portugal, in Vila Pouca de Aguiar, and the weather took an important roll in decision. Due to some heavy showers that kept falling during all day, some racers had the luck to do their runs with an almost dry track. Hugo Martins was one of those riders.

I think we all had some doubts as we embarked on what would be a little more complicated trip then all the rest. Mike Kinrade and myself spent about a month planning the first episode production of STUND down in Utah. Fulfilling the roll as producers together we found out what it is like to run 7 dirt bags! It is a good thing we have the help of some very special friend along the way! Tyler Klassen picking up the slack as well as Harookz and Tam behind the lens the stage was set. STUND is a 5-episode web show that will be released to you, the viewers for free! In a full quality download such as the one you will be watching in a few minutes! This is our present to you! To the riders, Produced by the riders!

Video
Stuned Teaser.mov

e.thirteen is moving! In the interest of improved quality, customer service, and innovation, we have moved shop from Portland, Maine back to our roots in the Boston area of Massachusetts. Effective immediately, our addresses are as follows:

So once again Mother Nature came through and shined her pretty face on everyone that came out to participate in the third Redneck Rumble at Vedder Mountain this past sunday. 69 riders from all over the lower mainland and Fraser Valley came together for another greatly successful event. Thanks to all the great volunteers that made things go off with out a hitch.

April 6 – 9, 2006, the largest cycling fair of North America, the Sea Otter Classic ran in Monterey, California for I think the 16th time. The events ran after and during near record rainfalls for the San Francisco area, so all the off road events, DH, XC, 4X and dirt jumps, were more than a little mucky, to say the least. It definitely wasn’t the nice mud, if there is such a thing, but the sandy, soupy mud that proceeds to find its way into every moving part on a bike and produce that hideous grinding sound when the part in question moves. Local shops must have enjoyed the business as riders scrambled after every ride to find new brake pads, cables, frames, you name it, and it probably broke this weekend. Not to mention the comfy feeling as you exfoliate your unmentionables as the sand found its way into your bike shorts and socks. So before I head out and try to put my poor bike back together, I’ll give you a quick run down of the Pro Omnium XC races of the weekend, that were despite the mud and my grumbling, awesome as usual.

Check out the Cow Trail Classic event this upcoming weekend! This race is a great event for beginners and recreational racers alike. Expect top racers participating, as well as families and weekend warriors, just for the fun of it. Register Now for this awesome race!

I just got word from Douglas Johnson at GFRA that Mt. Hood Meadows Ski Resort is having a freestyle bike jump comp on Saturday, April 29. The Gorge Freeride Assocation (http://www.gfra.org/) in Hood River, Oregon, is building the jump and are running the competition. They expect between 50 and 100 competitors, based on the number of freestylers who frequent the Gorge, and pulling from the Portland market.

Back at the start of April, a large group of riders all came together for what is best described as grass roots DH (Paris' Suburbs Championship) and Slopestyle (in Cormeilles) events in France. This whole event was put on without any outside financial help and it was a great success.

Welcome to the show! This ain't your average show though. Not your conventional producers and not your conventional broadcasting. This is a rider made show produced specifically for the web to bring the action of the big screen to your home computer. Brought to you by the instinctive and creative minds of Steve Romaniuk, and Mike Kinrade and with the help of other bro riders such as Tyler "Super T" Klassen. We all decided to get together over a few rides and think about something different to do for the
2006 season. Guys like us spend a lot of time moving around from place to place, sort of like transients, We wanted to make a journal of our travels but make it a little more entertaining than just text and photos so we decided to make an online video journal for everyone to see. From there the idea of STUND was born.

A couple of weekends ago me and my girl had to go to the big city. We don't do it too often as we live on a big rock in the ocean (Van Isle). Taking the ferry sucks and now I'm not sure if it's going to sink or not (haha but not really).

Hukk Bikes was having an open house and having known the guys for a while I figured we should check it out. Walking into the shop it had such a good vibe, you can tell these are people who love bikes. Talking to the boys a bit, Danu and Arthur showed me their new Saint specific swing arm and explained the minor changes to the bike for 2006. Then they decided to offer up their rides. The shop is based at the bottom of the North Shore mountains so it was the perfect opportunity to try out a Hukk bike.

Hey all you Kamloops riders, we need your hands tonight to help out at The Ranch with some more trail maintainance and work. And then you all can go home sleep and return as one giant mass and converge upon the Urban Couch for the ALL AGES showing of the ROAM premiere on Wednesday night.

The all new Juicy Ultimate is just what it says. The new brake was designed to incorporate all the benefits of the Juicy 7 optimized for the ultra weight conscious XC rider.

ASHVILLE, NC—What happens when you take a couple of bike-geek engineers accustomed to making precision robotics, high-end golf clubs and medical equipment in a multi-million-dollar manufacturing facility and set them loose designing bike components? In the case of Industry Nine, a new Asheville, North Carolina, based components company, those engineers took a modest shot at reinventing the wheel.

It’s time for the 2006 Mt. Wilson Pancake Breakfast! Now in its 17th year, the Pancake Breakfast is the oldest annual MTB celebration and fundraiser in existence. After a hiatus, Save the Trails, working in conjunction with the Mt. Wilson Bicycle Association and Pasadena Cyclery, brought the breakfast back in 2005 with much success. Over 250 people came out to eat breakfast, talk bikes, and win some of the 100-plus prizes raffled off, raising over $3000 for trail maintenance and advocacy in the Angeles National Forest. This year, we’re stepping it up a notch, with more prizes and a special appearance by MTB legend Keith Bontrager, who will be on hand to lead a ride after the event is over.

Having never ridden in Victoria, visions of "the dump" were not exactly inspiring. I always wondered where the mountains were to ride in Victoria, well now I know that Victoria's Hartland Bike Park (aka the dump) has some sweet single track, very worthy of a DH race. Being my first race of the season, we got to Vic on Saturday afternoon in time for some training on the old Kung Fu Downhill. The climb up was pretty mellow and part way up we realized that there was going to be a huge climb half way down the course, I was stoked! The top half of the course featured some crazzzy switch back action then some steep rock faces and out onto the fire road for some gut wrenching pedaling. The last part of the course was back into single track and finished up with a short steep section which claimed a few riders including our buddy Sean who took out the whole timing setup and almost tore his arm off, oops.

Argyle provides everything a dirt jumper needs – strength, function and style! Argyle is available in three different models: the 302, 318, and the top of the line 409. How big is your engine? The bigger the engine, the better. The model designators are simple, the higher the number, the bigger the features.

Ryan Denehy and the crew at Eastern Front are getting ready for the release of The Big Deal, this years follow-up to The New Deal. This past season saw the crew switch completely over to the Hi-Definition format and the use of more 16mm film. This years movie promises more personality and more insight into the lives of the riders, along with World Cup DH footage and complete coverage of the Atomlab SoCal Super Sessions. It has also just been confirmed that "The Big Deal" will be the opening film for the Roam premiere in Montreal on April 21st. Stay tuned to the-eastern-front.com for more premiere dates and new products.

If you think you are the next mountain biking pro... we want you to prove it. This event is for all Fortress die hard riders and skiers that trade their winter gear for a bike. Together with a few of our own enthusiastic bikers we decided to turn our runs into trails... With spring in full bloom and the best Pow Wow conditions you will test your strengths on all kinds of terrain.

With Fortress having acres of land to play on we created different categories to satisfy all tastes. Test your endurance, balance skills and team work…

It all started six years ago, with a single event that gathered some of the best DH riders in the world and once a year they still head their bikes to Lisbon. During these six years, events like this one started to pop-up all over the world. Brazil, Canada, USA and some eastern countries all have tried to have an event with such a success as the Portuguese one.

Damn it feels like Christmas! I received the call from Greyhound; quickly I became light headed, and then I was off to the depot to pick up my new ride.

6 Stella tall cans later the bike was built, polished and tuned. Everything went together like clockwork. Fresh from the box this bike feels like a dream. If you have never ridden a Santa Cruz bike, then find your closest dealer, and test ride one of these beauties. I can guarantee that you won’t want to give it back.

Well the big show is wrapping up today and by the end of the afternoon, all the overall titles will have been decided. Once again Mother Nature is in a BAD mood and has decided that we are not yet WET enough down here in Monterey. The Gravity riders slog through the slop, while the XC racers put their best foot forward to get the jobs done. Most with the same goal, get through today and I'll be home tomorrow.

BC mountainbike Holidays, consists of West Coast Freeride Guides & Bear Back Biking, has been chosen by one of the industries front runners in mountain bike development to ride their bike frames, Scott USA. We have been chosen to represent Scott USA’s progressive line of bikes in Whistler and the surrounding area. All of our guides will be riding the Scott High Octane and new, much talked about, Scott Ransom.

Five riders rolled into the grassy field tucked in the trees high in the mountains and most didn’t even bother to lean their bikes up against the fence, but instead flopped down on the grass and layed out like limp starfish. The acrid smell of burning brakes wafted in the air as the posse relished in their own euphoric mid-ride buzz. Some just shook their heads in disbelief at the over the top descent that they’d just ridden while others replayed moments with the accuracy and passion of high school boys recalling their first sexual exploits. “That one section after the church…it went on forever! Then, I nearly lost it on those tight switchbacks, but held it together, barely. Jesus!” Then like a freight train, the rest of the group arrived, whooping and hollering and freaking out. “Holy shit. That is some of the best action I’ve ever ridden. By far!” said Trent from Southern California.

Well winter seems to be leaving us and that means that it is time to do a little maintainance on our trails and jumps at the Ranch. They were ridden a lot in the rain this spring and "Fist Full of Dollars" is showing some serious signs of wear. Lets get out there and make it smooth again. Details below,

Thursday April 6, 2006-The sun was out and it was a beautiful day at the Sea Otter Classic. The boys from the Calgary Cycle Jr. DH team are stoked on their yellow Santa Cruz V-10s, and making all the necessary adjustments to make each one fit the rider-trim bars, adjust brake reach etc. But they are all teeth with their ear to ear smiles.

This coming Sunday, April 23rd, the third installment of the Red Neck Rumble series will go down on Vedder Mtn. The last R-N-R saw a few Vancouverites pop out to sample the fine Vedder soil and give the locals a run for their money. Darren Butler came out of retirement and took home the winnings. Will you be next?

The FVMBA has three upcoming fund-raising events this week. The first will be a one day only Whistler Bike Park Pass Sale at Lifecycles in Abbotsford on April 22nd. The second is the ROAM premiere in Chilliwack at "Good Times" on the evening on April 22nd. And the third place you'll be able to pick up your discounted FVMBA membership will be at the Red Neck Rumble on Sunday April 23rd.

Stop by one of these events and support the FVMBA and all that it's doing to keep the trails open and maintained.

Well now that the world premiere has happened, the ball is set in motion for all the premieres to go off. The schedule below lists most of the North American venues, but be sure to check out www.thecollectivefilm.com/roam for updates.

Riders in the Fraser Valley, have a look at the poster on the next page for details to your premiere.

Not only did the Santa Cruz Syndicate team add a big name to their 2006 roster, but they also added a few new sponsors. One of them is Push Industries who is responsible for dialing-in their rear Suspension. Team riders will be utilizing PUSH Tuned FOX DHX and FLOAT units equipped with PUSH Factory Components. I caught up with Darren Murphy, President of Push Industries, and asked him if he’d be willing to give us the low down as to what goes into these pro-edition dampers.

Invitational Jump Jam in Parksville B.C. on April 21st and 22nd.

Jordie Lunn and Ryder Kasprick welcome you to an afternoon in the sun.
*Best Trick into the foam
*Peanut butter and jam sandwiches
*Iscream for the kids
*Arm wrestling

Visit www.blackboxlabs.net for more details.

It’s been a whirlwind of a season opener for the Santa Cruz Syndicate. Two podiums at the Sea Otter Classic held this past weekend in Monterey, California top off the past three weeks. Steve Peat placed 5th in the
Pro Men’s Downhill, and John Waddell placed 2nd in the Expert Men 25-29 cross-country category. Waddell raced strong in the rain to come second, as he made his North American racing debut since suffering a major head injury in 2003.

After a sensational ‘05 season, the Utopia Optics mountain bike teams continues their dominance in 2006! Under adverse conditions, the world’s fastest racers battled in mud-fested tracks at the Laguna Seca Raceway in Monterey, California.

In a mountain bike version of a motocross mudder, Monster Energy/Iron Horse/Mad Catz Racing’s Sabrina Jonnier battled some of the world’s best to finish 2nd overall in the Gravity Omnium competition of the annual Sea Otter Classic this past weekend in Monterey, CA.

FLY Racing is proud to announce their extended support of the Pacific Cycle team for 2006. The GT race team will once again be in FLY Race gear and we are excited to add the Mongoose team for this season. There are several great riders from both teams and we can't wait to see what they can do this year.

I didn’t get to spend much time at this year’s Sea Otter Classic but I did get a chance to snap a few pics while scouring the pits. The Sea Otter Classic is not only the season opener for most race teams, but it’s a great place to see next year’s products – either mounted on some pro bikes or simply on display for everyone to see. It’s almost like an early Interbike show.

On Sunday April 9th we had the annual Vedder Mountain clean up. Yet again it was a huge success. Even though it was a wet rainy day we had a terrific turn out. The FVMBA would like to thank all the volunteers for coming out and spending the morning picking up garbage and dumped refuse along the main road up Vedder Mountain. We also had the outdoors club, trail runners and motor bike club show up and help. We also would like send a big thanx to Jacks Cycle for purchasing all the food for the bbq that followed the clean up. We would finally like to thank Norco, Kona and Freeride Dawgs for donating prizes to give away. To anyone else that we have missed thanx for your help.

Keep the rubber down and the shiny side up, ride hard, ride smart.

The 1st Island Cup Downhill race of 2006 was held in Nanaimo on April 9 with record numbers attending. With over 125 racers including a number of competitors from the mainland - Team Squamish, a core group from Rocky Mountain, and even an entourage from south of the border, 2006 is looking like a promising year for Island racers.

First on the agenda at Sea Otter this year for the Rocky Mountain Business Objects Team was the team photo shoot. It seems that every year, in spite of planning to do photos in warm sunny climates, the team hits foul weather. This year was no different. This is one great reason to have legendary Canadian MTB photographer,Sterling Lorence do the photos. He’s the master of bad weather photography. There were sweeping rain storms throughout the first days, everyone got ready knowing they’d just have to deal. There were some small windows in the clouds and rain and some great shots were taken by Sterling the master shooter.

Ticket2Ride, the leading provider of tailored mountain bike holiday packages to Whistler, British Columbia, have chosen to equip all their guides with Giant’s acclaimed new Reign’s and Faith’s for the 2006 season.

With each of the guides riding over 3000km of gruelling terrain during a summer season, it should be a good test for each of the new model’s longevity.

Aptos Productions along with Family Cycling Center and Gamut USA present Top Soil 2.

Thursday April 13th at 7pm in the Santa Cruz Cinema 9
-1405 Pacific Ave. 95060

Tickets are $5 at the door or buy it in advance at the Family Cycling Center. The price of admission includes a raffle ticket.

Check out www.aptosproductions.com for more info.

Since there was no expert or pro DH racing today the crews that I am here with all took their time getting to the venue, so we all got a little (much needed) extra sleep. The weather is beautiful and really holding out nicely. The crowds are huge too-with everyone coming out of the wood work to take in a nice day in Monterey. Smiles can be seen on everyone's faces.

The second annual Megavalanche endurance downhill race was held in Peru on March 26th. The event attracted South America’s top gravity racers as well as a many seasoned World Cup pros. The Peru event was a stop on the Avalanche Cup series which features mass start hour long downhill events in Europe and around the World.

We were greeted with great weather this morning, so we knew that it wasn’t going to last. The courses were trying to dry out and riders were getting eager to ride lines that were finally becoming rideable. DH practice ran through out the day and 4X qualifers were to begin at 4 pm, so the gravity events were finally getting under way. But for a lot of us, the day was spent waiting eagerly for night time to arrive and the ROAM premier.

The big launch for SRAM was their new FORCE road gruppo collection. SRAM made a huge commitment entering the road market, but rest assure as they haven’t forgotten or left any of the mountain bike segments behind. This past weekend during the Sea Otter classic, SRAM launched some new 2007 MTB products and I was there to get the full scoop..

SRAM welcomed the throngs of international press attending Sea Otter by hosting them for a mountain bike product introduction. New gear from SRAM, RockShox, Avid and Truvativ was revealed to the media in the expo space on Friday afternoon.

As tradition for many of us, DHRACER.COM is once again, hosting a Montreal movie premiere party to start off this season the right way! The movie premiere party will be held April 14th at the Cage aux Sports located in the Bell Center downtown Montreal. Doors open around 7:30.

That's right this weekend you and your bike can go out to Golden B.C. and take in a little snow race action. On Saturday April 15, Kicking Horse Mountain Resort is holding the second annual dual slalom mountain bike race on snow called the Melt-Freeze Cup.

Entry fee is $25 (includes lunch and lift ticket), $15 for season pass holders. Men’s and Women’s Senior(16+) and Junior catagories. Registration by 10:00 am and race starts at 11:00 am. Lots of great prizes to be had, so grab your bike and get out here!!

Wednesday at the Sea Otter is kinda like being at the circus early-you get to see all the big tents getting set up. Just days before Sea Otter was to begin, the whole venue area was pretty much under water. The organizers have been flying around draining areas for the circus to set up and its working.

On March 22, 2006, Ken Schneider, the owner of Schneider's Bike Shop in Cleveland, Ohio, was robbed, beaten and left for dead in his store. The assailant had robbed Ken two times previously and when he came back a third time, Ken sprayed him with mace and tried to get away, but instead was attacked and assaulted with a hammer, causing massive head injuries. When Ken didn't return home from the shop at the end of the work day, his wife became worried and went to the shop to find him unconscious on the floor.

After "Drop In New Zealand" I spent some time to make a cool area for people to get a little Action Sports fix. It's called the "Milkman Minis Series" showcasing a new short episode every month. This first episode features some insane footage from my first TV series "The Milk Men". Remember to check back each month for a little fix.

Watch Right Now: www.milkmanminis.com

Sea Otter Classic and the boys from Calgary Cycle's Junior Development team are here in California ready to start the 2006 race season. It’s been a long ass, although mild, winter in Calgary, but the bikes have been put away for months now it seems. The whole team has been training hard at the Talisman Center under the guidance of Jack VanDyke and Paul. The training is really starting to show and the boys are so happy to get a chance to see the results of all their hours spent at the gym. It has really helped bring them together as a team too.

Fizik, the internationally active, Italian saddle manufacturer, is opening the 2006 mountain bike season true to their motto “Improve the ride experience for all cyclists”. Topping the list of this year’s priorities are innovative saddle designs, sponsoring young athletes, partnering various teams and maintaining close cooperation with Europe’s bike parks.

Hope everyone has been enjoying the first stages of the ride season, I know we have. We have been busy building and getting some more photo shoots wrapped up. We’re trying to keep our site updated as we have been getting lots of hits and have even introduced a new logo. There will definitely be some new trails ready for the season that we hope you’ll enjoy.

So we are officially on the road to southern California to the Sea Otter Classic in Monterey California. Radek Burkat, Toni “The Milkman” Muendel and I all loaded into the van at about noon yesterday (about 6 hours after we wanted to hit the road) and made our way to the border. Well at the border one of us had to mention the fact that a little juvenile vandalism had earned him finger printing. After a brief background check we were good to go, so we pinned it south-30 mins down and 20 hours to go.

The 2005 season was a resounding success for Subaru-Gary Fisher. Team members won National Championship titles in the USA for men’s cross country and men’s 24 hour solo categories, and in the UK for women’s cross country. 48 podium finishes in 2005 helped Subaru-Gary Fisher end the season as the top ranked team in the NORBA National Mountain Bike Series.

Several core team members return from last season, including Jeremy Horgan-Kobelski, Willow Koerber, Cameron Chambers, Nat Ross, Jenny Copnall and Simon Richardson. There are key additions in Matt Kelly, Heather Irmiger, Ken Onodera, Asa Erlandsson and Dror Pekatch.

A few weeks ago, the boys (and gal) at On Top bike shop in North Vancouver celebrated their 10th anniversary. And in true On Top style, they offered up free shuttles to riders for the day. Well that alone was reason enough to leave my bubble and make the drive to see Dan and John and take in the big day. To bring you up to speed, this was only my second adventure to the shore and the last time I was there was the first time and it was 13 months ago. That time I was on a hard tail and had my ass handed to me. (Check out that whole story.) This time, I figured I'd come prepared and bring a big bike and lots of armor!

Just a quick note to let you all on what’s new at Race Face, both on the trail and online. We have been busy with all kinds of projects, from team development to new clothes for you to ride it. Check it all out,

Bikeskills is offering an exclusive Dual Slalom Clinic during next weeks Sea Otter Classic on the actual Race course!!!

Thursday at 2:00 p.m. reining Dual Slalom National Champion and Factory Santa Cruz Syndicate rider Kirt Voreis and former Masters World Champion Joe Lawwill will be offering an exclusive Dual Slalom clinic.

Well if you've been ripping the trails up on Vedder Mountain and wondering who works on them or how you can help? Well now is your chance to meet some builders and do your part to keep the trails minty for the spring.

On Sunday April 9th, meet at Jack's Cycle in Chilliwack at 9:30 am. From here you will break into groups to head out on to the mountain for a few hours of light work. Bring your gloves!

For more info go to www.fvmba.com

Chicago, IL - April 1, 2006: Continuing to push the boundaries of high performance tuning options for the fastest racers in the world, SRAM’s famous BlackBox Racing Program has done it again. Not content to simply adjust and tune existing world-class level products to meet racers lofty expectations, the BlackBox Racing Program has developed a huge advantage for those lucky enough to be chosen as official BlackBox athletes competing for NORBA, World Cup, and World Championship downhill races during 2006.

Rider owned bike company, Transition Bikes announces their new prototype frame called the BottleRocket. Designed for the new evolution of freeriding, the BottleRocket is all about flow and style while riding. The progression of trail building has changed dramatically in the last few years. Long gone are the days of building trails with seven foot drops to flats and ultra steep fall line trails where you lock your brakes up the entire way down. Trails are starting to look more like big mountain slopestyle parks with wall rides, big gap doubles, hips and berms.