"...i lost count of the times i was whooping loudly..."

"The three Big Mountain trips I have been on have been incredible and the best trails I have ever ridden anywhere, I lost count of the times I was whooping loudly on this one and I look forward to doing more next year, I'm already dreaming of the Swiss DH trip." Daveid Phillips, UK.
 
View photos from Daveid's recent trip to Maroc....great photos Daveid, thanks!

2010 Dirt Merchant Morocco dates have been confirmed, Sept 19-28. See you in Marrakech!

 

earlier today somewhere in Morocco...

this photo just arrived from today's ride on our Moroccan Dirt Merchant cross-country trip. looks like the trip is going well!

rolling worldwide this week...

Hey, how's it going? Is the riding season winding down in your neck of the woods? Same here really. Whistler's getting cold and the snow line is creeping down the mountains and it's getting wet on Vancouver's North Shore. The Big Mountain office is pumping though...we've got groups off to Marrakech tomorrow on our Dirt Merchant XC trip, a private group later this week heading to Lima Peru on our Incredible Andes all-mountain trip, another private group off to Johannesburg on November 2 for our Rhythm of Africa Safari...and to Copper Canyon Mexico with Ride Guide TV soon after. Talk about some action! Want in? Give us a shout!

Did you know? These Moroccan goats climb Argan trees with incredible ease to eat the nuts which they then leave in their turds that the locals pick out to make oil that is expensive and supposedly makes your skin glow and make ladies look younger. It's true, Argan oil makes you beautiful.

kluane

we decided not to ride the Cottonwood trail yesterday which was probably a smart idea but it was still a tough one. it just means that we'll have to come back. cottonwood is a 12+ hour truly remote adventure in a zone with the highest concentrations of grizzlies in the world...in a gorgeous national park, kluane. our crew is a little punched from the many days of riding so we thought that it'd be best to not attempt this big ride. instead we rode another great and much shorter route and ended up tipping back our first martini around 430pm in a cool cabin with no electricity and in the middle of nowhere. ah...how nice it is to be up here...and the riding rocks!

tour de france in verbier

Wow, what an experience. We left the hotel early, just after 830am, and rolled down to Le Chable and the gondola up to Verbier. From there we rode a series of trails and lifts all over the Verbier network of lifts - 12,500 feet of descending over the day. The highlight was arriving 2 switchbacks from the finish of the Verbier stage of the Tour. We had an hour before the riders came through...time for a beer or two...the spectacle of sponsors and support cars was insane and then the helicopter arrived below us on the mountain and we knew that the riders were coming...Contador had pulled away and was in the lead, followed by a very worked Lance. Killer day of mountain biking with a big ol cherry on top.


Colorful spectators...


Lance, visibly blown and realizing that Contador is a serious threat.

Vegas XC Spring Training Camp...

We just wrapped up our first annual Vegas Spring Training Camp with Andreas Hestler...what a blast! Dre kept us riding and learning all that we could about riding skills, training techniques, nutrition, periodization, rest....and more! Did i mention that we rode more sweet trails that we could have imagined? You have to join us next year...unreal riding and you'll come back fit and very happy! Check out this slideshow on Flickr. Or, some more photos by participant Kathy, here.

Swiss Cloudraker + the Tour de France: what you won't have to do...

We are super excited that our July 17th Swiss Cloudraker all-mountain trip will be happening during this year's Tour de France. Lance is back for another pull and there's some hot new young guns on the start list so it'll be especially fiesty. Can you imagine watching the race go by and then railing a 6000-foot descent? And then checking out the circus after hours that follows the tour? It's about to happen...

Don't worry, you won't have to launch the peleton like Dave Watson did a few years ago.

Photo by Scott Markewitz.

Morocco next month! Let's go!

We've still got a few spaces available on our Moroccan Dirt Merchant trip, November 2-11. What are you waiting for, contact us and start packing!