New Fox Ad

Fox Racing decided to run one of their month's ads with a photo I did of Giant pro Andrew Neethling. The shot was the same day I did the images for the Fox mountain bike catalog. This particular action shot was done by setting up a couple of small strobes under the trees at the bottom of “Telonics” in Laguna Beach.

"Needles" is a really fast pro from South Africa and is hitting his stride on the World Cup circuit. He and Duncan Riffle were just railing this berm and getting their bikes nice and flat. The light was a bit tricky since it was scattered and broken up by the leaves and branches, so I needed to get a bit creative. I opted to use a straight lens in order to avoid the distortion created by using something a bit wider.

I always love shooting talented athletes and these guys really made it look easy. They hiked the same turn a few times until we got the shot I was looking for.

Giant Pros

I recently had the opportunity to work at Fox Racing on their 2012 Mountain Bike Catalog. During the process, we found that we were still missing a few key action shots that could show off their new pads/armor, along with some apparel. Fox has a sponsorship agreement with Giant bikes and it worked out that 2 of their top factory downhill team riders were available to shoot. With my background in photography, I put in an accepted bid and geared up for the shoot. Shooting mountain biking is no easy task and getting my gear to spots on the trails is always a challenge. As you can imagine, carrying around a full load of DSLR equipment, along with water and other essential items can really weigh you down. I feel like a pack mule chasing elite athletes with crazy VO2 max.

The riders were Duncan Riffle from Santa Barbara and Andrew "Needles" Needling from South Africa. After a few handshakes, I started to hike down one of the trails to scope out some areas along with the Team Manager of Fox and the main Senior Graphic Designer on the project. We chose to shoot in Laguna Beach for convenience with time and scenery. Since it was more about product, the background wasn't as important, although it couldn't hurt.

After setting up some shots with my camera along with some strobes I had set up, I started clicking away. These guys are young and fit with skills to back it up. It's amazing to see their comfort level and bike handling that just plain humbled me. These guys ride fast and look at things much different than the rest of us. They are also acutely aware of their gear and bike set up. They just carry so much speed and have such a smooth flow to their riding that is on a completely different level. I was also stoked to see their professionalism shine through and they never complained or had any attitude. It really was a joy to work with them. It's been a while since I've shot with downhill pros, and I can say I miss it. Oh, and these shots were just some of the ones we didn't use and are pretty raw without the retouching that is usually done with photos destined for use in advertising and marketing. An awesome shoot and some new friends made.

XC Racing

XC mountain bike racing is brutal. You crush yourself at the gun and never look back. Unlike road where you can draft, rest on long descents, etc., mountain bike racing is a different kind of hell and redlines your heart almost the whole time without much strategy or planning. This shot was taken at the Over the Hump Series at Irvine Lake a couple of summers ago. I race sportsman and do okay and fortunately I'm improving. Every once in a while, you get a good dose of humble pie. You'll be going flat out, heart about to jump out of your chest with a mouth full of dirty gym socks when you get passed like you're standing still by someone 15 years your elder. It happens all the time.

I like to race (well it's a different kind of enjoyment), and it's good for the challenge of testing my limits that tell you more about yourself than any class in college. It's one hour (+/- a few minutes) of serious, no bullshit, screaming body agony. No one to blame but yourself, and everyone sees right through your excuses. Man up.

Road Rash

Crashing on the road sucks. You wear nothing more than lycra, which is about as much as walking out to grab the newspaper in your underwear. Non-cyclists look puzzled when I explain that our outfits aren't some high tech protective gear. Sure they are modern, breath well and have great comfort, but offer no protection whatsoever when it comes to falls on asphalt. SPF 50 is about all they are good for. This particular crash really took off some skin. I was going a zillion downhill and tried to make a 90 degree right turn. I've ridden that stretch a ton before and know it really well, but this time I was a bit overconfident.

I wish I had a better story of heroism or some great clash during a race, but the reality was that I was in the corner by myself with just one other rider following and laid it out going too fast. I was deep in the drops, knee out, whole bit, when the tires just slowly let loose. I was pretty leaned, so I didn't really fall or tumble, but slid - far! When things like this happen, I  go in to slow mo. Time expands and everything is hyper acute. At least I had the sense to know that I was sliding way too long on my hip and tried to get to my feet. Unfortunately, I wasn't wearing gloves and the process of pushing up to my feet took my lower palm off too.

When I did come to a rest, I quickly grabbed my bike and walked over to the curb to get out of the way of possible cars and to check my body. The adrenaline was flowing and I was worried that more serious issues hadn't been felt yet. Things were in order and my bike had only suffered a scrape on the outside of the rear derailler and the tops of the brake hoods; pretty much cosmetic. Time for recovery.

As I was helped in the shower with a bottle of hydrogen peroxide, a good towel and a lot of scrubbing, I also got a new introduction to Tegaderm. If you've never heard of this stuff before, take a special note. Apparently this stuff was developed for burn victims, and works wonders on road rash. It's like a big sticker, but what it really is, is an artificial skin. It's sort of transparent and breaths, allowing the wound to heal without scabbing up and getting all gnarly. It speeds up the recovery and makes things much easier along the way. I highly recommend it.

Beer Signs

I was in San Luis Obispo photographing a car show when I came across this booth selling metal signs. I think they were trying to sell to the garage geeks at the show, but it definitely caught my attention. I should have bought one.I'm not sure what the hell I would have done with it, since there is no way in hell my girl would let me put it up, but if I had a man cave, that's where it would go. ...then reality hits.

Eastern Block

I was lucky enough to spend a couple of days in Moscow a few years ago. The place is such a culture shock. It's hard to describe, but you can really feel the history and iron lock the government had on everything. People are on edge and everyone looks or acts on authority. I had this beer from the corner store and tried to relax. It was a nice day and I took a long stroll with camera in hand.

Everything is huge in Moscow. The cold war years were a time for grand acts of power and chest thumping. The buildings and monuments are on a grand scale. It's intimidating as hell, and I'm sure that's the point. Unfortunately, you can sense the money being stretched and even the nice things all have an unfinished feel. Hallways in the hotels slant, wires come out of walls exposed, sidewalks have big cracks and are uneven, and most things take a slightly cold demeanor. I was truly in a land far from home that I didn't understand and alien to. I can't say my experience in visiting Moscow was the best, but at least I'm glad I had the chance to go. Red Square can give you the chills. You feel like you need to walk around with eyes in the back of your head, and it's not the same kind of eyes you want when you are in a sketchy part of Compton, or East Long Beach. It was as though faces had hard eyes, but also an innocence.

As I strolled around, I took a map and did the tourist thing. It was hard to find a smile or warm feeling anywhere. I ducked in for a beer, even though it was pretty early in the day. I have no idea what kind of beer I was drinking, and it didn't really make any kind of impression. It was just a standard lager, and chances are we'll never see it imported over here.

One really weird thing was to see a McDonald's. I guess I shouldn't be surprised, after all western influence is taking hold deeper and deeper, but even though it is still the golden arches, there seems to be missing something.

It's a Lifestyle

I was on tour with DC Shoes a few years back and brought my camera with me. One of our stops was in Zurich. I saw this sculpture incorporated in to a drinking fountain with a couple of bikes and snapped the shot. Nothing spectacular and nothing overly fascinating. It was just one of those days of leisure strolling while drinking a beer. The nice thing about areas like this in Europe, is that they have embraced the bike as a legitimate form of transportation. People everywhere use the bike to get around. This is such a huge contrast to Southern California where you either are a fanatic cyclist, or get honked at and viewed as nothing more than just a kid who never outgrew his toy. There seems to be no in between and cyclists here have to fight for every square inch of real estate with often horrible outcome.

Shopaholic

When it comes to shopping, I'm sort of an average dude. Most of the time, it's all about getting in and out as quick as possible and only going with the intent of making a purchase of something I need. No frivolous browsing or lazy strolls through the designer isles. It drives my fiance crazy and I really have to put on the gameface to spend that "quality" time with her. She loves to shop and spend time just browsing, chatting and striking up conversations about the newest fashions, gossip, and some weird Italian fabric for the new pillows we certainly don't need on our living room sofa. 

I do have an inner secret though. I can get lost in an interesting bike shop. Unfortunately, the cool ones are far and few between. Most have caved in to the economic woes that have turned Mom and Pop shops in to big WalMart retailers with about as much soul as Celine Dion. But, once in a while you can still stumble on a cool boutique shop like the one in Sausalito. The town is located across the Golden Gate Bridge in Marin County and has a strong bike culture with liberal thinking. On weekends you'll see bikes all over the place and the local affluent cyclists tend to gravitate toward the exotic. 

Owner Tony Tom opened A Bicycle Odyssey in 1975, when he was 19 years old. The original shop was at 2001 Bridgeway in Sausalito, and was named after the movie 2001: A Space Odyssey. That original location was formerly "Mom's Apple Bikes," where Marin bike legends Joe Breeze and Otis Guy had worked in the early 1970s. Now the shop is packed to the gills with every imaginable frame, part and accessory you could ever drool over. No you wont see Giant, Trek, or Specialized (unless it is some crazy collector's piece), but instead find true craftsmanship in products you have only seen in a picture or some pixilated image on the internet. They are best known for their road bikes; their stock includes bikes by Ron Cooper, Bernie Mikkelsen, and local builder Paul Taylor. You can also find those exotic carbon fiber Italian offerings from Colnago, Pinarello, and Bianchi. It doesn't stop there either, they have racks of cool Wool jerseys and every imaginable memorabilia from the Giro de Italia, to a 1984 Coors Classic. I could get lost in here for hours.

Ronny Chalk

Ronny Chalk is one of those athletes I had the privilege to work with. He has that talent that makes everything look easy. You hang out with him and before you know it, you look back and realize that the trick he did was something special. I'm not discounting his efforts, just explaining how his natural touch makes things look so easy. Just click on the photo and analyze how much extension he is getting in this trick. It's retarded.

I shot this photo on some tombstone jumps that make you cringe when you look at them. He had a few tricks, but this one had full extension and style. Luckily, I've stayed in touch with him over the years and he's evolved in to road and mountain biking. I guess we all have to grow up some time. Okay, maybe not. His stories about X-games and training shed light on how difficult riding at that level can be. I love to listen to his stories and dream about what it would be like to learn some of the crazy stuff he and others like him did before foam pits took over. A classic guy and fun to be around. BTW, Ronny was very instrumental in getting me past my hang ups about 29ers. He is an advocate for the big wheels and rides a full suspension all-mountain rig himself. He's recently opened up his own bike shop in Corona called B-Rad and he seems to be once again doing what he knows and loves. How many of us can claim that?

Colnago and Campy Record 11 Speed

This is my Colnago CX-1. I race it, group ride with it, and take in a lot of solo miles. There are a few issues with the geometry that takes a bit of time to get a "feel" for, but I think overall it's pretty good. I believe with any bike, there are always compromises that you have to make, and I think the balance this bike has is about right. I recently upgraded my entire groupo to Campagnolo Record in 11-speed. I was holding on to my older Shimano mix of Dura Ace 7700 and 7800, but it was 9 speed and getting a bit obsolete. But, the ol' Dura Ace just worked awesome, so I was having a hard time parting with it. I came across a smoking deal and pulled the trigger. The shifting mechanics are a bit different, and you have a lever for climbing the cassette and a thumb lever that sends it down. The lever underneath the brake lever actually does the opposite of the Shimano one, so a bit of retraining of the brain needed to happen.

Over time, I grew to really appreciate this new groupo. I see why people love this stuff. I'm not a total fanatic about it, but my appreciation is growing, just like my relationship with Italian design. It may not be quite as crisp and snappy as newer Shimano Dura Ace, but it still works plenty good and I believe superior in the back. Also, technology has kicked in since my old stuff was state-of-the-art and my new groupo has helped me shed a few grams overall off my bike that I can feel. As far as comfort goes, the hoods are a definite improvement. The shape and ergonomics are top notch and they seem to mold to my hands. Digging it.

Skid Marks- No Not That Kind.

One of my favorite places to ride road bikes is in the Santa Cruz mountains. It's like another sport. The place is littered with curvy roads and most of the time you are riding in the canopy of redwoods. The place just blows me away.

On this particular trip, my brother Robert and I were really looking forward to the experience and were ready to embrace it. The weather was playing tricks on us and kept threatening to make our weekend a couch tour. We found a window of, somewhat clear, weather and headed out with some extra gear in case we got caught by Mother Nature. After about an hour of climbing it was time to descend. If you don't know much about construction and geometry on a road bike, you quickly learn every small flex, degree of angle, and slight variations on your bike on these roads. You have to know your bike- well. Some of these roads are extremely technical and cornering and braking skill is paramount. It isn't common to see cars on these roads, but when you do, it is also common to try and outrun them or overtake them and leave them in your dust. You can go as fast as your skill and balls will allow.

After swooping in and out of corner after corner, I went in pretty hot to an off-camber turn that got progressively tighter. As I leaned harder on the front tire and tried to mimic Valentino Rossi, I pushed a bit wide, took a deep breath and looked back just in time to see Robert in "oh shit" mode. Robert wasn't quite as lucky and grabbed a bit more rear brake than I had and skidded- hard! He pumped the brakes a few times in a mad attempt at human ABS, but the wet roads weren't being too kind to his SRAM Force brakes and traction was fickle. He did recover however, and we laughed more out of relief.

After a few miles we pulled over to recoup and take inventory. That's when I noticed his rear tire. He had literally skidded through the layers of rubber, and was staring at the inner casing. The tire was hanging on for dear life and bulging in all the wrong directions. Unfortunately, we were miles from our home base and in these parts it's not like you can call AAA. Since we survived a few miles of riding in the tire's condition, we decided to risk it and ride as much as we could in cautious tempo and see how far we could get. It didn't last and it quickly blew, so we were forced to think of backup plans. Would I ride back solo and grab a car and pick him back up? There were a few options, none which seemed that great. We were a solid couple of hours from any sort of resolution.

I then decided to give the old dollar-in-the-sidewall trick a try. I had learned this years ago mountain biking and figured it couldn't hurt to give it a go. The theory is that USA currency isn't paper, but rather a pretty strong cloth that we might be able to use as an improvised patch between the tire and the inner tube. After a few basic Origami folds to increase the dollar's strength, we got everything back together and crossed our fingers. We blew the tire up with enough pressure to ride gingerly and head toward a bike shop I knew about that was roughly within 7 miles.

We made it about 6 miles when it blew through the dollar bill. He started walking and being so close to the shop, I rode ahead to see if they had a tire to help fix our problem. Shortly after I found he shop and as fate would have it, I found a perfect match; same brand and exactly what he had been riding. A cell phone call and about 15 minutes later Robert showed up and set to fixing this set back. A credit card later and a bit of wrenching and it was time to head home. Lesson learned, and an issue I wouldn't have believed if I hadn't witnessed it myself. By the way, it started pouring 5 minutes after we walked in the door. Someone was looking after us that day.

Hello Kitty Tires?

I was at the bike shop the other day and saw these tires sitting in the mechanic's area. The mechanic was working on the bike and had set these aside. Yep, they are Hello Kitty tires. They are cartoonish and meant for beachcruisers and such, but I couldn't help checking them out and admiring them. They are basically slicks, but the cuteness is something I have to embarrassingly admit I kind of dug. I would inspect them, then make some other testosterone induced comment to divert any attention someone may have noticed in my fascination of these wonders. The fact is, they are probably only one step above a Happy Meal, but it's the little things in life... I guess. Someone please slug me as hard as you can in the neck.

Nobel Canyon

This is one of my favorite trail systems anywhere. I started riding on these trails in the early 90s and can't get enough of it. I have heaps of stories and the place still surprises me. It's in the far east part of San Diego County and one of the last set of mountains that overlook Anza Borrego desert. You can climb up the trail, go around via sunshine highway, or take the access road up. The best way to do it is to shuttle with trucks. This gives you many more loop options and you can save your energy for more riding. No worries, even with the shuttle, there is tons of climbing, and lots of terrain to cover. The main trail is just awesome and goes from fast, flowing single track in the forest, to rocky, loose, desert environment in a matter of a few miles. With the saved energy from the shuttle, you can do a bunch of offshoots, including Big Laguna or cross over from Indian Creak trail and do a big loop that puts you back up at the trailhead. There is even a trail that cuts over to Cuyamaca, but I've never done it since it is a big ride and shuttling would be a big project.

I've shown this trail system to quite a few people now and every single one of them has been impressed.  I've ridden Moab, Park City, Oregon, etc., and I can honestly say this rates right up there as one of the best- in the world! The scale of the terrain is amazing and what makes it even more inviting is that it is so close to our backyard. Top it off with a nice cooler full of tasty brews at the end of the ride and you just put your ride over the top. This is what mountain bike riding is all about.

29er!

I had heard a bunch of stuff about 29er bikes over the last few years and wondered what all the hype was about. It seemed a bit counter intuitive, since mountain biking has a lot of bike handling, and I thought the larger wheels would handicap that aspect. Maybe it would be fine for fireroads, long flat sections, etc., but that's not the kind of riding I do anyways. I prefer singletrack and technical riding where throwing around the bike is critical and you are always on your toes testing your limits. I love that adrenaline fix of riding on edge and the big endorphin rush of pulling off a critical section. I was actually pretty headstrong about it, and thought it was just a trend for casual riding or a weird offshoot that tends to happen in cycling. Kind of like the fixie trend.

Anyways, as I talked shop with various riders, I was noticing that more and more of them whom I respected for their bike handling skills were giving a lot of credit to the merits of the 29" wheel. It was actual first hand experience, not just theories. Results were starting to pile up at races all over and it wasn't limited to XC racing. Slopestyle, dual slalom, and even credible companies were coming out with downhill 29ers. The theory, was that the larger wheels simply skimmed over the choppy stuff better and the larger diameter meant that it wouldn't hit holes and rocks so abruptly.

Then things took a turn. As I rode with friends, technology in 29" and 26" wheeled bikes was changing- as it always does. My trusty Intense 5.5 all-mountain bike just seemed more and more like a pig. I hopped on various other bikes like the Pivot Mach 5, Yeti ASR 5, Specialized Stumpjumper Expert, etc., and they all seemed to ride circles around my bike. Okay, maybe not that drastic, but a noticeable difference.

At that point a lot of my riding friends were talking about entering some XC races. I race on the road sometimes, but mountain is a totally different thing and there was no way my current bike was going to keep up. I decided to live with my all-mountain bike and go in a totally different direction. There was no point in building up another all-mountain bike or anything similar since it wouldn't be good for racing.

The biggest hurdle is that I was broke. When I open my wallet, moths come flying out. A race worthy bike will set you back a ton of money. I figured the cheapest and best bang for my buck was to go hardtail, and heck I might as well experiment and go 29er since this bike would be purely for XC racing. I still had my other bike for when things got a bit more technical and the clock wasn't ticking. I also feel that my downhill skills could overcome the handicap a hardtail might give me compared with other riders and the tradeoff for lightweight at cheap cost and uphill efficiency was going to be worth it.

I decided to make this a process of research and to work on trades with stuff in my garage to make this happen. Heh, I was in no rush and I was going to wait for the smoking deals to make the bike come together. Those boxes in the garage with various old bike parts, snowboarding product, etc., was either going to be brought up in conversations for possible trades, or going straight to eBay. I also had to live with the fact that I was going to have to find a mainstream brand since the prices of boutique or exotic frames was just too prohibitive.

Time ticked and months past, and I was starting to assemble some key ingredients. I found a Giant Talon 2 frame with a price tag that was equal to skipping a night of drinking. It doesn't have the greatest geometry, and it flexes like crazy in all the wrong places, but good enough for intended purpose. Hell, how good does it have to be for XC racing? Just peddle the shit out of it until your lungs explode. It has hydroformed aluminum tubing, and the weight difference between it and a carbon fiber one is within reason. This frame had been parted out and the components removed, so I was able to buy it when normally it could only be found as a complete bike. I was also able to track down a used set of Shimano XT cranks, Avid BB7 mechanical disc brakes (lightweight and work okay- after all, I'm not stopping a 36 lb. downhill rig), used XTR rear derailler from a not-so-long-ago era (it looked like it had been used once and was in awesome condition), Specialized tubeless ready wheels with DT-Swiss hubs (a little research on the internet found them new for around $500 so I was getting them for less than half of that), and decided to go with XC racing tubed tires that I would convert to tubeless.

Tubed tires aren't as durable as tubeless tires, since they are designed to be run with a tube, but if you use Stan's fluid and convert them and be careful on rides, you will be rewarded with a very light set up that has the benefits of tubeless and the reduced overall weight. I've heard a lot about this from various riders and I was going to risk it, and I already had some experience with this theory on all-mountain bikes. I even decided to go with a triple up front and 9 speed in the back. 2x10 is still fairly new and even used stuff (if you can find it) has decent value, so I went with something that works and because there is so much of it out there, you can find it for pennies.

Anyways, after months of bargaining and letting more expensive trades go bye bye, it was finally all together and time to hit the trails. I did have to make a few compromises here and there, but overall I was pretty confident with what I had assembled. I took some extra time to dial in the position of my bars, seat, stem, etc., and it still felt a bit weird, but I was expecting that. I headed over to my local stomping ground that has a good mix of single track and some pretty technical terrain. I was a bit worried how it would do in the heavier stuff, but I thought back to over 20 years ago when I last had a hardtail and remembered all the gnarly crap I sent that old bike through.

On the trail, it wasn't all that bad. It actually went over holes and ruts much better than I anticipated. It carries tons of momentum up and over things and it handled better than I thought. The only downside is that it doesn't like to be jumped too much- at least from what little testing I had done. In the air it might be fine, but pulling up and flicking it takes a bit more finesse and strength and there just seems to be more mass underneath you. It just feels like it prefers to stay on the ground and skim over things. This is probably fine for what this bike is intended for and I'm not some freeriding, crazy hucker anyways. Maybe a medium gap or chest level launch, but this boy ain't jumping a road or staring down a 40 foot double.

So all in all, a fairly successful experiment and it barely scratched my wallet. Sure, I've already made some changes, and the tubed-to-tubeless experiment didn't work that well, but overall I was pretty close. I love the ride and understand why these bikes have less suspension on other platforms- they simply don't need as much. In fact it almost feels like my hardtail has a bit of suspension, since my point of reference has been a 26" wheel and it "feels" the trail a lot more. Time to grab a beer.

Nice Conditioned One

Every once in a while, I stumble on something unique and perfect for my taste buds. This bottle conditioned ale is just what the doctor ordered. It has a nice hint of spices and has a sharp hit that I like. The bottle conditioning definitely gives it a interesting flavor and the alcohol content is a tiny bit higher than normal, but not over the top. I've never seen this one before and haven't seen it since, but sharing it with some friends was great and an experience I will remember for a while. I like finding these little gems.

On a separate note, this bottle rules. The drawing is sarcastic as hell (in my eyes at least), and I love that. It has that cool "South Park" kind of feel, and it's my kind of sense of humor. Just check out the funky red lipstick. Maybe the owners had a daughter who liked to draw, and my fascination is totally fabricated. I don't care, it's still awesome. Yeah, stupid things like that make me chuckle and I guess I'm the perfect candidate for marketing. I actually doubt an art like this will ever make it on to the bottles of Budweiser or Coors, but for a craft beer I think it is appropriate.

Wooden Velodrome

A while ago I had the opportunity to ride on the wooden Velodrome in Los Angeles. This indoor track is one of the best anywhere and a blast to ride on. If you've never ridden on a Velodrome, you have to try it. First, you will have to go through a class and get certified. They don't want people on the track who don't know the etiquette and rules of this kind of riding. It looks chaotic and crazy, but there is an method to all of it. You have to ride a fixed geared bike with no brakes so that things don't happen too quickly, and you need to be aware of a host of things that keep you and the rest of the riders safe.

The other nice thing, is that you can rent a bike from the facility to give it a go, so no big initial investment is needed. The surface is raw wood with no varnish or other weird coating to affect the grip. The main thing is maintaining sufficient speed when you go around the banks. This keeps you upright and enough angle to keep you from dragging a pedal or sliding down the walls. At 16mph minimum, it's actually fairly easy. Yeah, the first couple of laps are a little intimidating, but it doesn't take long to find that comfort zone. I just followed the guide rider in front of me and in no time I was flowing around the track. Pretty cool.