Not everyone is born to mountain bike. In fact no one is really born knowing how to ride, but the Trek Dirt Series – which enters it 12th season this year – is here to help grow the sport of mountain biking by developing skills and confidence through instruction weekend camps located in the sport’s most popular destinations.
This program offers a coaching staff that includes professionals from the sports, health and wellness industries, and in the past 12 years has helped more than 7,500 riders experience the fun of hitting the trails. Camps are open to beginner, intermediate, and advanced riders. Participants are divided into small groups based on abilities and interests so that every rider will have the opportunity to improve their riding skills while having a fantastic time in the process. The small groups also allow riders to focus on cross-country, downhill, or freeride skills, based on their interest.
“Not only will you become a better rider, but you’ll leave your Trek Dirt Series camp with new friends to ride with and the confidence to continue improving your skills on your own,” said former Trek Dirt Series camper Lacy Kemp. “The coaches teach you how to read trails and select lines while providing you with the tools to ensure that your riding will be more fun.” Video and 2012 Camp Dates After the Jump
Mr. Smith move over, as this week two of the leading bicycle advocacy groups – which for the record are in the process of a merger – have headed to Capitol Hill for the National Bike Summit. This comes as Americans across the nation are bicycling in record numbers, and bicycle sharing is seeing adoption in places that just a few years ago might not have seemed so bike friendly.
We’ve seen bike lights, light up vests and even helmets that can signal, but now we’ve seen the LED Gloves, designed by Irene Posch. Known as the “Early Winter Night Biking Gloves” these could be ideal for late winter and early spring as well. These feature five LEDs in each glove and are powered by just a single cell battery.
There is no denying that being to see well while on a bicycle is crucial. So riders opt for corrective lenses, but what do riders who wear reading glasses do? While obviously seeing the road is the paramount concern, being able to see a heart rate monitor or cycling computer is also a concern.
We’ve seen numerous ways of bringing a laptop when traveling on a bike. Most solutions call for the computer to ride in a bag or side pouch, and last December we saw the 
WTB proves it once again has some serious off-road mojo as it introduces its new line of “Moto” tires, which include open spiked knobs, lower profile tread, DNA rubber and inner peace sidewalls – the latter no doubt helps with some peace of mind when on the trail.
Louis Garneau has made a bit of a name in cycle fashion and cycling solutions, and now the company looks to expand to a new market to help fuel riders with Garneau Nutrition, which will launch with six flavors of energy gels, as well as an electrolyte sports drink. Additional nutritional products to follow in the near future.
Compression and ice are well known treatments for recovery, but also work well for endurance training and events. It’s also difficult to combine the two, though 110% has a line of garments that have a compression layer plus a layer that you can tuck ice packs in for cooling. The newest item in the line is the Kick Back Quad Sleeves.
QT2 Systems has released an app for the iPhone and iPod Touch that works as a calculator to project an individual’s triathlon race performance. In turn, the app helps create personalized training ranges.
If you’ve watched a mountain stage of the Tour de France you’ve probably seen David Mayer, but then again it could be anyone inside that water bottle costume. While Mayer is owner and designer of the Clean Bottle – the water bottle that unscrews from the bottom as well as top for better cleaning— he still actually “suits up” and runs along cyclists dressed as large bottle.
This week at the Taipei Cycle Show in Taipei, Taiwan the JD Group presented its award-winning automatic-shift bicycle gear system, the Automatic Gear Transmission Bike+ (AGT Bike+). This handlebar mounted, computerized unit automatically determines when the rider needs to shift and puts the bike in the proper gear. This system features a maintenance free self-charging Lithium battery that attains ranges of up to 500km.