| |
|
|
Support Stevens Pass Bike Park
|
|
|
Stevens Pass, only an hours drive east of Seattle is in the planning phases of Mountain Bike Park which could potentially open in 2010 if the plans are approved by the U.S. Forest Service.
There is presently an open public comment period until the 3rd of July and the Dirt Corps have expressed there support of the plans and are encouraging others to do so too.
You can find out more information about the project at the USFS website and also participate in a discussion forum here on Ridemonkey.
|
|
|
|
|
Beacon Blastoff 2008 - Spokane WA
|
|
|
This year's annual Beacon Blowout race in Spokane WA, while smaller than past years, was still a ton of fun and a good opportunity to get some racing in on new bikes against old rivals.
Dan Saimo on his freshly built Transition Blindside, affectionately known as 'Tighty Whitey' was ripping it up in the Expert 40 class, with his second run being good enough for a bronze medal. Brian "The Gooseman" Guse was pinning it in both his race runs, so much so that he made a few mistakes in each one costing him time and places in the Open category... that's right, he was racing for money at this event and between the Semi-Pro an open racers had the 8th fastest time of the day!
Matt Patterson had his good mate, and arch rival, Khristian Hansen from Olympia WA to race for honors in the Expert 30 group. Khristian posted times within a few 10ths of second of Matt's each run but wasn't able to get the edge he needed this weekend and it was Matt who took the win. More Dirt Corps gold for 2008.
John Henry, good friend of the Dirt Corps and active east-side rider and trail builder rolled out the red carpet and invited our whole crew to eat and lodge at his home. Many thanks Henry! Your hospitality is second to none!
All in all it was an outstanding weekend and we look forward to future events in Spokane!
|
|
|
|
|
BENT 3: Wolfman Gets the Goose!
|
|
|
BENT 3, the annual Dirt Corps organized ride was a huge sucess this year with over 60 riders showing up for the fun and frivolity of a ride through Blue Bucket and S-Line. Points were awarded for riding clealy through the north shore style skinnies and ladder bridges in Blue Bucket with dabs or falls costing 10 points in each section. Riding skills were really put to the test on the slick wood and the new Gooseneck feature with it's tough technical turns.
In the DH portion of the race local Pro and Semi-Pro racers pulled down the fastest time, with 1:04.43 by Boe McGee being the new course record. Conditions were perfect for pinning it!
A new addition to this years event was a Jump Jam comp. Huckers need only apply as the jumps were setup to throw big tricks and most chose to watch the show. Trevor, Damien, and Matt took 1st - 3rd respectively.
Overall results were Matt Patterson 1st, Brian Guse 2nd, Tevor Louvier 3rd. More detailed results are here.
|
|
|
|
|
Solid showing at First Ever Fluidride Cup, Port Angeles WA
|
|
|
The Dirt Corps had an outstanding time at the first ever Fluidride Cup race held in Port Angeles WA April 5-6 2008. Among the weekends highlights were seeing the enormous rider turnout, heralding a revival of gravity bike racing in the Pacific Northwest.
For the Dirt Corps race team a solid showing saw (from left to right) Jennifer Tell, Tristyn Duerr, Andre Ciabattari, Brian Guse, Chase Schmidt, Jim McCracken, Graham Barry, and Matt Patterson. We picked up 4 podiums total; 2 first and 2 second places. Matt picked up a win in Expert 30, Chase got the other gold in Sport 15-18, and Jim McCracken came 2nd in his very first DH race at the beginner 40 level (Look out Saimo!)
Brian Guse had a solid start to the season having just moved up to the expert level in the highly competitive Jnr category. He came within a 8/10ths of a second of winning and his time was competitive with the Semi-Pro (Elite) men. Way to go Goose!
It was also terrific to watch, and participate in, the Dual Slalom event on Saturday, as well as hang out for a bit of Chinese Downhill with the Olympic Dirt Society guys after the DH race wrapped up on Sunday.
For the the full results see the Fluidride website
For more event coverage check out Mike Este's writeup for PinkBike.com
|
|
|
|
The team got together, prior to the opening downhill event for 2008, the Fluidride Cup in Port Angeles WA, to put on some fresh new parts.
Tyler from Twenty6 Products provided us with some sweet custom engraved bar ends and brake levers as well as the amazingly light 6foe platform pedal.
Deity has completely redefined their line of products for 2008 to include some lighter, more DH oriented components. We're super stoked to have them as a sponsor! Check out the pics of the DirtyThirty bars. These things weigh next to nothing and are wiiide at 30", great for the high-speed lines on Dry Hill at PA. They also use 7075 T6 aluminum so are strong as always. Looking forward to running the newly designed Vendetta cranks shortly too. Cheers Eric!
Then last, but not least, Dan Saimo worked with McKenzie Spoor of the Ideation Design Group to come up with some brand new frame "deckles" in an eye-popping red which are simply awesome looking on the Transition bikes. Way to go guys!
A huge thanks goes out to all the Dirt Corps sponsors for 2008. We're stoked to be kicking off the season in so much style and we really appreciate all your support!
|
|
|
|
|
The Friends of Capital Forest Super D
|
|
|
The FOCF held a fun Super D in mid-March to dust off the cobwebs and jump start the race season. The Dirt Corps did really well for our first race of the season: Matt got 3rd in Expert Men, Jim got 3rd in Beginner Men 36+, Chase got 1st in Youth, Jennifer got first in sport women 19-35 (see above photo of Jen and Courtney sharing the podium for first). Pretty cool! Our friends the High Life Crew did really well also: Kevmo got 3rd in Sport 36+, Courtney got 1st in Sport Women 19-35 (tying Jennifer with the exact same time) and Eric Brown came third in sport men 19-35 (but we think he actually came in second due to a mix up with Grambo at the finish line). After the awards, they handed out a bunch of swag and pretty much everyone got something. Super cool event and we hope to return in September for their season closer.
Photo by Dan Saimo. See more of the event photos here.
|
|
|
|
|
Dirt Corps Rides Wallie's World
|
|
|
Imagine having 15 acres of sloped woods on Puget Sound and then digging some of the biggest gaps, tables, stepdowns and wood features imaginable. Well, that’s Gregg Wall’s house - basically a bigger (in size and total area) version of SST.
At first, it was all a bit much to take in and serious stimulation overload. Khristian and Gregg were throwing serious style over these crazy sized gaps. Matt and Chase were also hitting everything with style right out of the gate as they had been down there a month or so ago. Graham and I were trying to knock some of the jumps off of our list and we both got a few, but left a bunch for another time. Courtney decided to take pics vs. trying to hit some of the stuff there. Thankfully, no tumbles other than one scary moment when Graham cased a HUGE gap on his Bottle Rocket (which broke his non SDG seat), but he was able to just barely ride it out. At the end of the day, we sessioned a big mulch jump and Matt tried a couple of Supermans (breaking his non SDG seat as well. Are we detecting a theme here?) and Chase was throwing crazy moto-whips and dropping all the big lines. From there, we had beers in the yard and hung out for a bit. We got a reasonably early night as we were racing the next day at the Capital Forest Super D.
Words by Eric Brown. Photo by Courtney Nash. See more of her photos here. Good times!
|
|
|
|
Dirt Corps is very happy to announce that all of our 2007 sponsors are back on board for this year with their continued support for our growing team and projects. We have a few new sponsors in the mix that we're excited to work with this year as well.
SDG saddles make the most comfortable and lightest seats and post combos in the industry. Matt has been running the IBeam system for a few years now on his race bike and everyone on the team is excited to get their rigs upgraded.
Renton Coil Springs have been making titanium after market springs for quite some time and we're stoked to be running their gear not only for their high quality product but also the fact that they are a local company based out of Renton, Washington. We're got a few more companies that we're talking for '08 and we're close to locking down the final list. Stay tuned for more news here.
|
|
|
|
|
Sponsor Snowflake Shirts Now Available For Purchase
|
|
|
Dirt Corps Sponsor Snowflake T-Shirts are now available for purchase. This special edition t-shirt was designed by Dan Saimo as a thank you to our sponsors for all their amazing help in 2007. We have a couple of different sizes still available so if you're interested please contact Dan Saimo and he'll get you hooked up. Shirts are $20 and all proceeds go directly to supplies for new Dirt Corp trails in 2008. Special thanks to Brad Walton at Spectrum Techwear in Bellingham for the excellent printing! Photo Matt Patterson.
|
|
|
|
|
Dirt Corps Disciples To Build Larger Jumps in Utah
|
|
|
We met the guy that started the Bike Park at Wolf Mountain and it sounds like he wants to buy a few Mcleods and Berm rakes. Melissa and I are thinking about volunteering to either design or dig on one of their new "Whistler-like" trails. If we end up helping out I'll see if we can get the trail to be named after the Dirt Corps. Photo Bones
|
|
|
|
|
Snoqualmie Bike Park Phase 1 Complete
|
|
|
The Dirt Corps, along with the City of Snoqualmie Parks Board, invite you to attend the Grand Opening Ceremonies on Saturday July 14th at 10am. The bike skills park is located on the upper lot of Fisher Creek Park and is designed for all ages to learn the fun skill of riding bicycles on all terrains. Helmets are required and are recommended. Photo Dan Saimo
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|