This is awesome. Dirt jumping on a  290′ barge in the San Francisco Bay.  They’ve taken things to whole new level of free riding with this one.  Well done.

Mountain biking in Iowa? I was born and raised in the midwest.. Chicago area to be more precise and when someone says Iowa the first thing that comes to mind is corn and what never comes to mind is mountain biking.  Much to my surprise Iowa has a plethora of mountain biking trails.

Heres a short list of some of the better know areas.

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Thi past Wednesday I bought a new pair of mountain biking gloves, the DAKINE Cross X Bike Gloves. I was getting my gear ready for a ride and my old Fox Gloves turned up missing. On my way out I stopped at one of our local bike shops and more or less picked based on price and durability.

Unfortunately my only color choice was black and being a warm night I figured for sure the material was going to bleed and turn my hands black from persperation.. to my surprise this wasn’t the case.

After riding with my new DAKINE Cross X Bike Gloves… I love them. They fit really well… I really like the extra padding on the outer palm. The index and second fingers have a great sticky coding on them which is nice.. no slippage on the brake levers.

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Trail building and trail maintenance is a lot of fun and very rewarding but all trail work needs to be sanctioned.   Meaning you have to go through the proper channels and do things the right way.  I bring this up because I came across an article via the Associated Press about illegal trail building in Lake Tahoe. The article has since popped up with weak attempts of  casting a local spin on it.  I found the original article via Las Vegas Review Journal.

The illegal trails are laced with stunts and jumps which points the finger at free riders. But casts a very negative shadow on the entire mountain biking community.

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Altrec.com is having their 3rd annual garage sale with discounts from 50%-80% off name brands like The North Face, Columbia, Marmot and more.

But you better hurry because the Altrec Garage Sale ends today. I picked up a sweet Marmot Precip for winter mountain biking.

Visit the Garage Sale – Up to 80% off

Kinda late notice but better than none at all… the California Golden State Mountain Bike Championships are happening right now in Mammoth. The event runs through Sunday September 6th. Read more…

This ain’t mountain biking but a sick video none the less. As I mentioned once or twice before that I just simply love bicycles and I have great admiration for those who huck themselves in the air spinning in multiple directions like Mike Spinner as you will see in this video. Thanks PinkBike.com.

The 18th Annual Kernville Fat Tire Festival is taking place October 16-18, 2009. This years theme.. Monster Mash. The great thing about The Kernville Fat Tire Festival is it has something for all levels of mountain bikers from beginner to extreme.

Complete festival details and how to register can be found on the Mtn River Website.

Good info to remember:

• First to sign up, first to receive guaranteed shuttle -
• Pick-up event packet at MRA Campground (Thursday, Friday, Saturday, Only)
• Weather is unpredictable! Be ready for rain, shine or snow!
• Elevation ranges from 2,650′ to 9,000′. Be ready to ride and make sure your bike is checked over.
• Ride and event schedules are subject to change – check with MRA Registration.
• Caravan shuttle for some rides.
• Be at ride departure location 30 minutes early for loading.
• Bikes can get scratched when being shuttled.
• NO WHINING! Just Ride! Enjoy!

I promised my friend Lou I would put this work out together. I’ve had a bad back for years… herniated disc to be exact. To avoid flare ups, surgery and to keep me riding my mountain bike, I have a back workout that keeps me healthy.

First I recommend buying these 2 books: Treat Your Own Back & Pain Free. Treat Your Own Back has a strategy to treat your back while a flare up occurs.  Pain Free has threapy options for multiple injuries including the lower back. I’ve incorporated some of these exercises into my DAILY routine. Some of these exercises came out of the books and others come via a friends brother who practices sports medicine.

I recommend buying the books so you can learn about the theory of the workouts and so on. Please read the books, read through the exercises below and consult your physician before proceeding. I’m only sharing what works for me… you know your body so proceed at your own risk. Just saying.. I have NEVER been prescribed theses movements by a doctor or sports therapist. I’m simply treating my own back and sharing what I do so it might help others.

Ok onto the workout.

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Whistler BC Kicks Ass. This is a sweet little video. Thanks PinkBike.com