Tales from the Trails
I dove into the jagged and rocky descent. Bombing over large obstacles and cleaning the some sketchy switchbacks. I stopped to make sure they were following. One rider caught up but we didn't see the second rider until we looked up and saw him face down on the rocks. Then, he got up but bent over reeling in pain. Finally, he yells that he'll need help as he held his hand. The first thing that went through my mind was that we would not be out until dark.
On one of the last sweeping corners, Brad's Panaracer Smoke tire slid off some wet roots, dumping him off the downhill side of the trail. I only saw his arms extend as he flew a short distance. I laughed at the irony of him crashing so close to the bottom, but Brad wasn’t getting up so fast. As I approached, Brad raised himself up slowly. His face had...
I stood for a moment in the sunshine, heart slamming against each individual rib as I tried to get myself back under control.
My senses abnormally sharp with adrenaline, I slowly came back to the present moment. The creek splashed merrily at my side, fiery paintbrush and wild tiger lilies leaning over the sparkling water. Trilling birdsong from the forest laid a comforting hand on my cheek.
It was hot and dusty and I was out of water at this point. The one thing I will remember from this ride is that Nason keeps going, and going, and going, and going. Then it keeps going again.
A contest to tell the best mountain bike story from the PNW High Country. Your tale must be based on an actual experience, but we encourage creativity. Submissions due by May 15, 2024.
Here we go for the last round of Tales from the Trails for the year, this time for the ultimate winter riding spot, Tokul Creek. Get your tale in to us by November 19 to enter.
A contest to tell the craziest story from the riding zone we specify, this time for Raging River. The winner will receive a prize package from PNW Components, Abit Gear and Dirco. Congrats to our winner, Xuân Mai Võ! Read her winning tale, Raging Against the Machine: Down in the Dirt
A contest to tell the craziest story from the riding zone we specify, starting with Tiger Mountain. Congratulations to our winner, José Ramírez! Read his winning tale: Against the Odds, Against the Beast.
...get the hell off his land and don’t come back. Eric told him we weren’t on his land and bugger off. He said he was coming back with a gun tomorrow and we had better not show up. Dave said, see you tomorrow. By midnight our trail had a name.
Everyone stopped, lined the trail and cheered Colin on as he made those fun swoopy middle turns on Bobsled. It was one of those moments that you carry with you forever and motivate you to get that extra lap or even just get out for a short one.
a bit later we were sitting in the Last Frontier having some nice local Snoqualmie Wild Cat IPA and famous Last Frontier fries, thinking how satisfying it is to share your creation and have people like those guys truly and totally stoked about It, and wondering what happened to them
He stopped, I stopped. We were both on a collision course at the turn on that trail if I had not caught that movement. There was nothing but 20 feet of ferns between us. I lifted my bike up in the air and starting yelling.
