With the World Cup season all wrapped up, the Atherton clan head to Brazil where they hit up the Desafio no Morro downtown race in the slums of Rio. Returning home to hit up their local trails and tracks, the Athertons go out with a bang with an epic quarry session.

Head to the official You Tube channel to watch the final installment in the series now:

Don’t forget to join the Atherton Facebook fan page to keep up to date with all the latest Atherton news!

http://www.facebook.com/pages/Atherton-Racing/120544638652

source: Lauren Archer

Introducing the ‘Johnny Waddell Beacon Award’

The Cape to Cape is a 4 day mountain bike (MTB) stage event, this year held from the 15-18th October starting at Cape Leeuwin Lighthouse and finishing at Cape Naturalist 222 kilometres away. The inaugural Cape to Cape event held in 2008 provided organizers with plenty of feedback from participants and supporters which meant an improved, more exciting and enjoyable experience for 2009. Participants ranged from the MTB enthusiast (Weekend Warrior) to the Elite racer. In the Elite category we didn’t necessarily have our race face on as we were all just having a good time in an awesome place with old friends and newly made friends.

Every evening a function is held for officials, participants, supporters and volunteers who come together to have dinner and talk about the tall tales of the day’s trails. Officials also describe what is in stall for us in the upcoming stages. At this function everyone is told about the event’s awards including the ‘Johnny Waddell Beacon Award’. http://www.capetocapemtb.com/en/Ride+Information/Prizes/Prizes.htm Nominations are announced each evening then the award is presented to the recipient after the final stage is completed. Each night I spoke about my nominees and the stories behind each nomination.

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Due to the fact that the Side Flight Champs has had an explosion of hype and exposure we were forced to take it to the next level. We no longer will be holding it at the Pine Valley Jumps, but now we will have custom jumps built for us at San Diego Offroad Park. These guys are giving us control of their tractors and telling us to make it as nasty and massive as we want! Kyle Strait, Cody Warren and Griz will begin construction next week. We now also can provide all you spectators with food and drinks. Don’t worry about having to drive because there is camping on location for only $10 a vehicle.

We are thankful that all of you have shown so much interest and this is why we are making it more spectator friendly! Also huge thanks to Ben at San Diego Offroad Park for all his help. He is the reason we are able to throw such a rad event and invite all our friends.

www.sandiegooffroadpark.com

X-Fusion is proud to announce the first ever Side Flight Championships. This contest is unique as it brings together riders from both the racing and freeriding side of our industry. No tricks required to win this contest, just the biggest, nastiest whips they can throw for our enjoyment and our cameras. The contest will be jam format to keep the natural vibe of this local jump spot while riders will be competing for $1000.00 cash and the Side Flight Champ Whip Trophy. The contest is invite only with riders such as Cam Zink, Kyle Straight, Cody Warren, Tyler McCaul, Andrew Taylor, JD Swanguen, Lars Sternberg, Sean “Griz” McClendon, Ryan Howard, Kevin Aiello, and many more battling it out for the title. We will be welcoming spectators so please come out and support your favorite riders at the  San Diego Offroad Park December 4/5th, 2009.

After Party will be Saturday night starting at 9pm at Mediterraneo in Alpine, CA. Everybody is welcome to come meet riders, enjoy drinks and hang out.

For contest invite request please email John@x-fusion-shox.com

source: John Hauer

Off Road Trails
We’ve featured 31 mountain bike trail systems from around Knoxville, Chattanooga, Nashville and the Tri-Cities. Our full-colored, fold-out topographic maps make it easy to navigate any of the trail systems featured. The radius around each city is color-coded for easy reference. Each section offers driving directions to the trailheads, introductory summaries of each trail system, suggested routes with detailed trail maps and descriptions, plus a gallery of pictures. Trailhead parking, visitor and nature centers, restrooms, campgrounds and points of interests are highlighted. This is an excellent reference book that can be enjoyed by trail runners and day hikers as well.

Below are links to our website and blog where you can preview samplings from our book. Since we’re self-published - we’re also self-marketed, we would greatly appreciate any promotional help. Off Road Trails is available at bike shops and various other retail outlets around the featured cities or online on our website.

Ellsworth Bicycles Gives Customers Holiday Discount for Donating
Bikes to Trips for Kids

Through December, Ellsworth Bicycles customers are eligible for a $500 discount with the donation of a bike to Trips for Kids

SAN RAFAEL, Calif. - Nov. 11, 2009 - For the second year, Ellsworth Handcrafted Bicycles Inc. of Ramona, Calif., is sponsoring a Trade-In Program to help Trips for Kids (TFK) fund more mountain bike rides for disadvantaged youth around the world. Ellsworth customers who donate complete bicycles to TFK by December 31, 2009 are eligible for a $500 discount on an Ellsworth full-suspension bike or frame.

“The bikes Ellsworth customers donate to Trips for Kids will be sold through our Re-Cyclery Bike Thrift Shop, giving them another life,” said Marilyn Price, founding director of TFK. “The proceeds from the Thrift Shop sales help fund the Trips for Kids chapters around the world, helping them serve more young people in their communities. We are very grateful that Ellsworth has joined with us to make the most of this season of giving.”

Those interested in participating in the trade-in program can donate any fully-built bikes to TFK through any authorized Ellsworth Bicycles dealer. They can redeem their trade-in credit at the dealer location to use towards the purchase of an Ellsworth Bicycles full-suspension bike or frame, including the Truth, Epiphany, Glimpse, Evolve, Moment, Rogue and Dare. Visit ellsworthbikes.com for product details. Authorized dealers will receive credit for the traded-in bikes once TFK receives them.

TFK will sell the trade-in bikes at its Re-Cyclery Bike Thrift Shop in San Rafael, Calif. The proceeds from these sales will help fund future youth mountain bike rides through TFK’s 66 chapters across the United States, Canada and Israel.

“Ellsworth’s trade-in program was a huge success last year and drew a lot of support for Trips for Kids,” said John McPartlan, Ellsworth Bicycles sales and marketing manager. “We’re excited that in the first few weeks of this year’s Trips for Kids holiday promotion we are experiencing such an overwhelming response from our customers. They are as eager to support Trips for Kids as we are!”

More than 65,000 disadvantaged young people have participated in TFK’s day-long cycling adventures that take them through nearby parks and outdoor recreation areas. In addition to vigorous outdoor activity, they also enjoy the encouragement of caring adults who teach them about the environment, the importance of healthy choices and satisfaction of accomplishing their goals.

For more information about the Ellsworth Bicycles holiday trade-in program, please call John McPartlan at 760.788.7500 or email johnm@ellsworthbikes.com.

About Ellsworth Handcrafted Bicycles Inc.
Ellsworth Handcrafted Bicycles Inc. designs and manufactures some of the highest quality mountain, road and recreational bicycles in the world. Ellsworth Bicycles is a Commercial Resource Sustainable company and USA manufacturer. The company is known for its craftsman-style approach to bike design and manufacturing. It holds many design and utility patents worldwide.

About Trips for Kids
Trips for Kids (www.tripsforkids.org) is a nonprofit 501(c)3 organization based in Marin County, California. With 60-plus chapters operating in the United States, Canada and Israel, Trips for Kids opens the world of cycling to at-risk youth through mountain bike rides and Earn-A-Bike programs. Trips for Kids started in 1988 as a grass roots effort by avid mountain biker, environmentalist and Mountain Bike Hall of Fame inductee Marilyn Price to provide inner-city youth a way to enjoy the outdoors and gain much-needed life skills.

Fueled by success in the San Francisco Bay Area, the national organization was launched in 1999 with the expanded mission to open as many chapters as possible in order to provide kids with lessons in personal responsibility, achievement and environmental awareness through the development of practical skills and the simple act of having fun through mountain biking.

source: Elizabeth O. Hurst, for Trips for Kids

The Debut of the EPIC Action Video Cam Wide Angle to Provide Action/ Motor/ Adventure Enthusiasts with a Wider POV Perspective

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KONA

They’re beastly both in size and ability. And even though we pay them to race and ride the bejesus out of our XC mountain bikes, they still love them. US National XC Championships tell you that. In the first two installments of Kona’s new series of Pro Bike Talks, produced by Freeride Entertainment, we get Trebon and Wicks to articulate that love with brains rather than brawn. No, this is not paid for affection. Well, kind of. Rest assured, we didn’t tell them what to say, we merely asked them what they thought. We caught up with the Timbers last summer in the oddly familiar woods of Vancouver’s North Shore as the two prepared to beat down the field in the BC Bike Race. Got to www.konaworld.com to see Barry wax poetic on his Hei Hei 2-9 Deluxe and Ryan give up the goods on his 2-9 King Kahuna. Look for more Kona pro bike talks in December featuring Paul Basgoitia & Graham Aggasiz.

source: Kona Bike Company

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The OC Bicycle Swap Meet is happening again Saturday December 5, 2009 8am-Noon at Serfas headquarters in Rancho Santa Margarita. This is your chance to Buy, Sell, or Trade anything and everything about Bicycles. With savings of 30-80% off retail prices, you can’t afford to miss this event. Just in time to buy the perfect Christmas gift for the cyclist in your life. Open to the public, admission and parking are FREE.

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The 2009 Moab Ho-Down Mountain Bike Festival was once again a huge success and good fun had by all! The races were injury free, dirt jump jam saw a bigger turnout of riders with a 100 plus crowd to show off their bag of tricks to, the townie tour had over 80 people cruizin’ and the movie had a close to packed house. Oh yeah….and the party….350 people shakin’ their booties to DJ Slacker Zach’s tunes in some crazy costumes. If you missed it then start planning for next October ‘cuz we’re doin’ it again! Per the words of Nick Simcik (rider for Transition out of Boulder, CO and one of our dj contest riders and DH racers) said: ‘The weekend was all about fun and bikes. The usual stresses and attitude that generally revolves around a race were completely absent. The weekend was super fun.’ Check out Nick’s pics from the weekend at http://www.nicksimcik.com/_/About_Me/Entries/2009/11/5_Moab_Ho-Down.html.

But here are a few pics of our own from the weekend….enjoy! See you in 2010.

for more photos visit here

source: Tracy Reed