The end of the season

The end of the season is here, finally. I'm super tired, more physically than mentally. I'm taking a couple weeks off before starting to train for 2013. I had a really great season, my personal highlights would be from my collegiate racing for the University of Nevada, Reno, in which I was able to win the Gravity Omnium, the Overall Omnium, and place 5th individually in the Omnium at Collegiate Nationals in New Mexico. The team also took home the conference championship in the WCCC conference for the first time since 1997. As President of this student-run club/team, it was great to be a big part of this season with the Wolf Pack.

Looking into the future, big things are on the way for 2013 for me, and I couldn't be more excited to get it all rolling. Stay tuned, as I will let everyone know here as things get finalized.

-Casey

Vital MTB bike check!

Yesterday, Vital mtb posted up my bike check from Ashland! I shot with Tim Zimmerman, and he was so bad ass, I had to step it up and get a sweet bar drag shot on the Jabberwocky trail. Check it, and my bad ass Felt Virtue LTD. Thanks to Tim Zimmerman, and Todd Toth for this rad opportunity!


Pro Bike Check: Casey Coffman's Felt Virtue LTD | Vital MTB

Hood river Enduro, day 1

Just got off the hill from day one of the Hood river Enduro. A little rainshower made things a little interesting today. Trails are still pretty dry, but with the addition of some slick spots on the hard pack corners. The riding here is so bad ass. Trails are awesome, some of the best enduro courses I've ever ran. There is some pedaling, but mostly a lot of really good singletrack. I'd say this is true enduro racing (except for the shuttles that take out the pedaling). Here's a few pics from the trail today.

View of Mt. Hood from the top. Oregon sucks.

Kona's Barry Wicks and Giant's Kelli Emmett at the start of stage 1

Scott Fellers, stoked as always!

Start of stage 1

Kyle Warner's broken frame

Cannondale/ WTB's crippled Ben Cruz, helping with timing and beer drinking

Even the transfer sections are sick!

Blue steel

View of the Columbia river from the end of stage 4

Kyle Warner's fixed frame! He rode all 4 stages like this today. Gnarly!

Trek's Jon Buckell finishing stage 4

Check back for results, and a day 2 post/pics!

The VAN

Yup, I got a new (to me) van. My Dad is the fuckin man, and didn't want to sell this beautiful piece of American muscle to some random dude with a ton of kids that wouldn't appreciate it. But I will, I'll appreciate it all over the West coast, thanks Dad! Plus, I think he wants grandkids (eew) and probably thinks my ownership of said van will help me with the ladies. He's right.

It's a 1989 GMC Vandura 2500, with the custom interior. Fully carpeted interior with curtains, mini blinds, mood lighting, wood trim. All the seats (captain's chairs, how fitting...) swivel 360 degrees, even the driver's seat. The back seat/couch folds down into a bed. The real deal.

You might see me rollin through your town, but only if you have some sick trails. This is a race van. Come on in, have a beer. It's legal in this bad boy, it's a "recreational vehicle". Here's a photo of the van looking sexy to make you jealous. Keep your eyes out for this beast, come say hi.

Headed to the Hood River Enduro this weekend. Then a couple weeks off till Downieville. Stay tuned...

Road ride

Today I rode up Mt. Rose highway to the summit on my cross bike. It's a 4267 foot climb from the fancy new mall at the bottom. It sucks to ride, but it's a good way to kick your own ass into shape. And there's a pretty rad view of Tahoe from the top. Here's a couple pics from the ride.

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!

Mills Peak, Graeagle CA

Today Scotty and I rode the Mills Peak trail in Graeagle, CA, about an hour northwest of Reno. I had heard good things about this trail in the past, and last night, over a PBR, the call was made. We headed out at the buttcrack of noon (thanks to a sleepy Scott) with only a small idea of where we were going.  A stop at the local general store scored us a little map, so we were kinda reassured. We still decided to pack a ton of food and water just in case we ended up lost...We were lucky though. So we headed up the hill.

Looking at Mills Peak from Frazier Ck Road

The climb was long (about 12 miles) but not too hard. It's never really steep, so you're able to cruise up and BS on the way up.

This Bumblebee liked my grips

Frazier Ck Falls, a little detour

Dunking my head in Gold Lake

Near the top, you come by Gold Lake, which was nice to stick our heads in and cool down.

USA

Rad View from the fire lookout

Sierra Buttes from Mills Peak. Packer Saddle (The start of Downieville DH) is at the left edge of the frame

The trail starts just below the Mills Peak fire lookout, which had amazing views of the Sierra Valley, Gold Lakes Basin, and the Sierra Buttes.

SBTS RULES!

Dropping in...

The trail was just completed last fall, and it must have been a ton of work, especially through the rocky upper area. The descent is 3000' total, with just a short flat section in the middle. The trail rips, tons of really good singletrack with plenty of natural rollers you can pump and jump. I'll definitely be back there again soon! Check out the SBTS website for maps and more info.