The cycling blog is done, but blogging about cycling will continue.

Where?

Good Question.

The new Adventure Guys blog.

In this new blog, Adventure editor Jeffrey P. Mayor and I will write about our adventures, misadventures and insights in the outdoors, keep you up to date on the latest news and answer your questions.

Talk to you over there,
Craig Hill

If you haven't noticed, this blog has been retired. The plan was for this cycling blog to run for the duration of our STP Project, which painfully concluded in July.

But stay tuned. A new blog from the Adventure team is coming soon.

Thanks for reading,
Craig Hill

Two days to go and we're putting our bikes away until the big ride.
If there is anything else we need to do physically to get ready for the 203-mile STP, it's way too late.
As Rick Beitelspacher says, "The hay is in the barn."
Everybody on the team seems confident. Considering they've all done this before, this is good to see.
I, on the other hand, am not so sure.
While the team insists that I'm ready, I just looked at my training log. In three months I've pedaled 1,000 miles. That might sound like a lot, but that's less than 100 miles per week. Throw in another 500 miles on the trainer and the stationary bike and I'm still about 500 miles short of the mileage I'd hoped to amass during training.
That said, I know the first 100 miles won't be a problem. And I ought to be able to make it the last 20, with the finish line so close. It's miles 110-180 that make the most nervous.
A 10-day vacation in late June didn't help my training any and ensured that I will suffer for long stretches on Saturday.
But whenever I get too nervous, I remember the only other time I rode the STP. I did it in two days, however my training included less than 200 miles and I did the ride on a 43-pound, full-suspension mountain bike. The guy at the REI bike shop actually called me a moron for doing this. I averaged about 14-15 mph, and spent about 8 hours in the saddle each day. Talk about painful.
Maybe this year's ride will actually be easier.

If you are, don't cross at the Peace Arch. The crossing is closed for the Hands Across the Border celebration.

Of course, if you are Whistler regular you know better than to cross there any time of year.

Banner Forest near Port Orchard is a great place to spend a few hours on your mountain bike - if you can find the place.
The web of trails is well known among locals, but if you've never been there getting good directions can be tough. First timers who get their directions from the web natoriously get lost on their first trip.
I found this out the hard way earlier this week when I visited the trail three friends. We followed the bad directions from usually dependable DirtWorld.com. Apparently, these faulty directions have made their way to other mountain biking websites. We ended up driving past Trophy Lake Golf Course about half way to the Pacific Ocean, before we realized we were heading in the wrong direction. After s stop at the golf course for updated directions and we finally found the trailhead.
We rode for about 90 minutes on trails with names ranging from the inviting ("Donald Duck") to the intimidating ("Pulverizer") before an injury to the youngest member of our party - 14-year-old Luigi Devereux of Puyallup - forced us to call it a day.
The trails are well worth the drive from Tacoma or Puyallup, even though you won't find much that is super technical.
IF YOU GO, USE THE DIRECTIONS BELOW REGARDLESS OF WHAT ELSE YOU READ.

DIRECTIONS TO BANNER FOREST
- From Highway 16 take the Sedgwick Exit.
- Drive EAST on Sedgwick for six miles.
- Turn RIGHT on Banner Road.
- The trailhead is marked on your right after about a mile.

Moab, Utah, has a reputation as a mountain biking Mecca and I learned earlier this week it is well deserved. The highlight of my two days in Moab was the Slickrock Trail. The 10.2-mile trail is over steep red rock formations with some sandy stretches thrown in to spice things up. Slickrock is the trail that put Moab on the mountain biking map.

Here's a picture of John Osmundson of Boise riding Slickrock. Check out The News Tribune Adventure section in June for much more on Moab.

I’m taking a few days off from the blog to get in some crosstraining on a mountain bike in Moab, Utah. Check back in Thursday when I’ll be back to updating the blog on a regular basis.
And check The News Tribune Adventure section on Thursday for the next installment of The STP Project.

If you're ready to hit Skookum Flats with your mountain bike, check out this post on our neighborhood blog.

The post is from a hiker - Tracy Lebenzon - but gives a good idea of what kind of shape the trail is in. Plus, the pictures are pretty cool.

Not that there's a shortage of things to do on your bike around here, but a great mountain bike event will be held next week in Spokane.
I attended the national downhill championships a few years back and it's an incredibly entertaining event to watch. There's just something cool about watching guys emerging from the woods with bloody noses and broken arms.

The Beacon Blowout Downhill Mountain Bike Race is May 20 in Spokane and will double as the 2007 National Off Road Bicyling Association state championship.If you are interested in attending call 509-328-7475 for more details.

Whistler's epic mountain bike park opens May 19, the resort announced today.
The resort has become a destination for mountain bikers from all over the world and regular weekend getaway form South Sound cyclists.

Here's the announced from the resort:

Get ready for Angry Pirate, Crack Addict, Karate Monkey and Heart of Darkness. The adrenaline-fueled Whistler Mountain Bike Park opens May 19. Thanks to 46 feet (1409cm) of snow this season and a current base of 310cm (122 inches) of snow, besides biking, mountain warriors can still board and ski the snow-covered runs of Blackcomb Mountain until June 3.

“The Bike Park crew plans on opening up 20 trails for all skill levels this May, including A-Line, Schleyer, and Karate Monkey’s distant relative, Monkey Hands,” says Bike Park Manager, Tom Prochazka. “John Cowan and his crew are hard at work as we speak, building the Boneyard slopestyle park."

Also, rippin’ chicks can stay tuned for the launch of Women’s Wednesdays, which run weekly from 5pm to 8pm. The evening sessions offer lift ticket discounts and free guides to ladies in a fun and supportive environment.

The Triple Play Card is back, offering three days of riding in the Whistler Mountain Bike Park for $109 (US$106) – a $40 savings off regular adult tickets. Riders can save nearly 25per cent off additional days in the park and can go directly to the lift by connecting their Triple Play Card to their credit card. Anyone who purchases a Triple Play Card before May 31 will receive it for $99.

Meanwhile, this season, Whistler Blackcomb asks, “Are you obsessed with the bike park?” Starting May 15, riders are invited to submit their entries demonstrating their obsession with the legendary Whistler Mountain Bike Park through photos, video, animation, or anything else creative. The contest runs to August 30, and each month, particularly obsessed participants will have the opportunity to win prizes from Sram, Mavic, Hayes, Smith, Fox, WTB, and more.

Obsessed participants can enter the contest and vote for their favourite submissions online at www.whistlerbike.com or at one of two kiosks in Whistler Village.

The Whistler Bike Park will be open weekends 9am to 6pm and weekdays 10am to 5pm from May 19 to June 15. Extended Play hours begin June 16, running daily from 10am to 8pm. To stay dialed into events and special offers visit the Whistler Mountain Bike Park website at www.whistlerbike.com.
(Press Release from Whistler Blackcomb)

Here's a glimpse at what mountain biking the Carbon River Road looked like yesterday.
Peter Haley shot this artsy picture of me riding past a huge root wad from a tree taken out by the flood.
See the trail I'm on, that's all that's left of the road after the flood. The road won't be rebuilt until next summer, so grab your bike.

Almost got the answer to this one the hard way during a mountain bike ride today in Mount Rainier National Park.
At the advice of trail foreman Carl Fabiani I wore my hiking boots for a 7.5-mile ride up the Carbon River Road to Ipsut Creek Campground. I no trouble on the ride up. But on the way down, I almost took a nose dive into a stump when my shoe laces got tangled in the chain. Luckily, I was able to stop with no more damage than shredded laces.

If you are looking for a unique biking experience, this might be it. The Carbon River Road is closed to vehicle traffic this summer because of flood damage, so the only access to Ipsut Campground is by foot or bike. The most enjoyable riding are the section of new trailed laid down recently by the WTA to replace washed out sections of the road.

If you ever wanted to ride single track in Mount Rainier National Park, this is as close as you are going to get. The park only allows mountain biking on three sections of dirt road in the park.

The road to Paradise reopens May 5.