|| Cyclocross is a sub genre of the bike racing world with a culture entirely its own. Here, a cyclocross rider climbs a hill during a UTCX cyclocross race at Soldier Hollow in Salt Lake City, Utah. I’d like to attend more of these events, heckle more actively, and maybe race for a lap or five. All the local celebrities were out, including Mr. Tommy Chandler. Tommy made a short video of the event that can be found here. ||
Tag: Utah
Stormy Singletrack
And down came the rain. Sometimes you get lucky in Brian Head, and sometimes it just pours. According to the locals it had been raining since the first week in July, and this was simply a continuation. Shaun Raskin, Weston D, Re Wikstrom, and I rode for three days, through mud, cow turds, and across wet, slippery roots. Singletrack had turned to rutty ditches and fast, technical downhills turned into a two-wheel slip’n slide punctuated by trees.
The Location: Bunker Creek
Here Shaun and Weston pedal up a hill during a Bunker Creek shuttle ride. Later in the day we were treated to sun, just enough to turn the mud on our bikes to cement.
Want some beta on the area? Leave a comment.
Forest for the Trees
|| The Dark Hollow and Bunker Creek trails ribbon through the forest above Brian Head, Utah. Drive to the top of the mountain, unload your bikes, pedal a few hundred vertical, and you’re treated to an hour of screaming-fast riding across well-traveled single track, rock gardens and roots that bite at your feet, and views that give you more than a moment of pause. Mud was the order of the day for this particular ride with photographer Re Wikstrom and riders Shaun Raskin and Weston Deutschlander. Our grins caked with mud and our bikes soaked, we skidded up to the shuttle truck at the bottom well after darkness fell. Two more days of riding to go, and it only rained more. ||
Powered by Pedals
|| A Yeti, a Genius, a Jekyll, and a Kona went for a ride at Brian Head. Pictured here are the feet, bikes, and tires of Weston Deutschlander and Shaun Raskin on the trails outside Brian Head, Utah. Although you can’t see the mud in this particular photo, it was omnipresent during our trip. Once you’ve driven four hours and put in the time to park to trucks there’s no turning back, so we rode regardless of the weather. Fast, slick, and fun, it’s like playing in puddles for no good reason when you’re a kid. The best part is that it makes for some amazing photos.||
Headed to Brian
Ridges like this make the mountain biking in Brian Head, Utah truly amazing. Re Wikstrom, Shaun Raskin, Weston D., and I shuttled our bikes to the peak intersection of trails in Brian Head, and made lap after lap over a long weekend. Muddy mountain biking is fun (although we try to avoid it) but sunny moments like this are always nice when you’re shooting photos outside.
Unspoiled Singletrack
The singletrack in and around Brian Head is some of the best in Utah and also some of the least crowded. Places like Moab and Virgin get much more attention and far more coverage in statewide tourist marketing and venue selection but Brian Head has its own gems—not the least of which is a stop on the Utah Gravity Series of DH races.
Special thanks to the all of the locals and trail builders in the area who put in countless hours to make these trails so we all can ride them.
The Inroads
|| Rock and sand are the skeleton of Utah. Highways wind in and out of this skeleton like arteries, delivering life to various cities and towns. Travel these highways enough and you’ll have an opportunity to snag some amazing photos of the landscape. Above are two bits of road that stretch between Salt Lake City and Moab. ||
Must Go Faster
|| The green dinosaur stands guard between Idaho and Utah. This particular breed is located at the Ice Caves stop, somewhere in the middle of nowhere. ||
Road Tripping
Casting Call
|| Brandon tosses a line into the chilly water of the Provo River on an early summer night. Fly fishing seems to hold a certain zen for some and I can appreciate that. ||