Ashland Enduro 2012

Last weekend was the 2012 Ashland Enduro, the 2nd stop in the Oregon Enduro series. Ashland is one of my favorite places to ride, so I was stoked to have another reason to head up north for a weekend of shredding some of Oregon's finest. Wild Bill Roussell is the man behind the scenes, making shit happen like you wouldn't believe all weekend. Check him out if you ever head to Ashland, and he'll set you up, drive you to the top, and show you where to go.

Emigrant Lake Campground is a great spot to stay in Ashland

EPIC VAN SHOT!

We camped at Emigrant lake, only a few miles southeast of town on hwy 66. It's pretty nice there, and there are hot showers for 50 cents, so you don't have to have smelly balls all weekend. Sweet!

Wilson and Todd Toth, the man behind the scenes at Vital, looking stoked!

Friday was filled with rainy weather, which made it tough to get any practice in, and the visibility was the hardest part of it all. And the shit weather means I didn't pack the camera with me, so no epic riding shots, sorry.

Steam coming out of the hills as the storm breaks

I was stoked to get new suspension from John at X fusion just in time for the weekend's race! The Velvet fork and O2 shock were an awesome upgrade that kept me riding smooth all weekend.

Eddie McDonald, Felt's marketing genius

Mt. Ashland Ski park, the start of day 2

I also scored some sweet new Bont Vaypor XC shoes last week too! These things are fully heat moldable, so they fit like a glove. The soles are full carbon, and unbelievably stiff, letting me lay  down the power. Thanks Pete!

My beautiful new race van, thanks Dad!

Awesome view of Mt. Shasta, the home of the Lemurians

The race was a new format, 2 runs on 2 trails on Saturday, and then the same thing again on Sunday on 2 more trails. The big uphill sections aren't timed anymore! Pretty bad ass! The weather was pretty shitty Friday and Saturday, with steady rain making racing conditions a bit sketchy.

Ready to drop in for a post race run

Looking at the finish of stage 3

 With only one practice run on Saturday's trails, I had a tough time opening it up. Well, except for the switchback turn I went straight through on stage 1 (shit!). I was in 36th after day one, and not too happy about it.

"Well hey there, fella!"

Missing link trail, the best ever!

The sun shone through Sunday morning, and we were to race on trails that I'm pretty familiar with, so I was happy. But first I met up with Tim Zimmerman, the most bad ass pro photographer I've ever worked with, for a Vital MTB bike check on my Virtue LTD, and a quick action shoot, which went RAD! You'll see it on Vital soon.

Waiting for a van ride back to the top, finally some sunshine!

Sunday's race included a pretty lame fire road section, which made me wish I had a 50 tooth chainring. The final stage was by far the longest, and the dirt conditions were perfect, after the good 2 day soaking we received. I hammered my brains out on the pedaling sections of stage 4, and rode the descents well enough to move myself up to 22nd overall for the weekend! I'm pretty stoked to move up 14 spots over Saturday's placings, and can't wait for the next Enduro in Hood River in a few weeks!

Mt. Shasta could kick your ass

The drive home is pretty amazing with the evening light making Mt. Shasta look unreal! 14000+ feet of bad ass Norcal rock!

Make sure you don't miss out on the Ashland Enduro next year!