A 37-year-old pheasant hunter was recently shot in the leg by his dog in Poweshiek County, Iowa. The Hunter set his gun on the ground to retrieve a fallen pheasant and the dog allegedly stepped on the trigger, sending 120 birdshot pellets into its master’s leg.

Even more alarming was a quote from Alan Foster, Iowa’s spokesman of Natural Resources, saying that this sort of animal attack is not uncommon. An investigation into the accident is under way, according to a report on BBC News. At least we can rest easy knowing the local law enforcement is investigating the case.

This is the kind of riding that I dream about. French Alps above tree line, wide open French country side with short green grass as far as you can see. Just when you feel you have had enough is when you get shot into the forest at speed. So fast that your eyes are late to the party. Hoping your eyes will show you some light and correct this dark issue before you slap a tree. The course will continue going down for another two thousand feet. When you are done the fun has just begun you have 9 more runs to go.

Read the rest of Weir’s story on PinkBike.com.

A skeleton crew from Team WTB contested the “NorCal State Championship” this past weekend in Weaverville, California. In case you’re wondering, this fine state also has a “SoCal State Championship”, and depending on who you ask, a “California State Championship”.

The prestigious Northern California DH, XC, Super D and short track XC race took place in a historic Gold Rush town—home to about 3,500 people—that sits at the foot of the Trinity Alps Wilderness. This is real Pacific Northwest wilderness with plenty of mountain lions, black bears, raccoons and, of course, sasquatch. There have been enough eyewitness accounts that the existence of sasquatch is pretty much common knowledge in this part of the world. Vic Armijo, race organizer and founder of Team Bigfoot, is obviously proud of the local fauna. We didn’t have time to chat about any of his personal encounters with sasquatch, but I suspect there’s a great story behind the name Team Bigfoot.

Unfortunately I didn’t catch any photographs of big, hairy bipeds. I didn’t get any action photos of the race either. Or race results, for that matter. But I did manage to get a great photo of an overturned Cessna. That’s the Trinity Alps Wilderness in the background. The downhill course started at the top of that ridge at 5,600 feet and descended to 2,800 feet in about 3 miles. It featured some crazy high speed doubletrack with tall waterbars and deep ruts. The winning times were almost seven minutes.

Caption: The only actual sasquatch sighting. A friendly, fuzzy face. Plenty of mud here in NorCal.

Nothing but excitement here at WTB on Thursday. The day started with a shuttle run at dawn. A crew came out from the East Bay for the ride—including Forrest Arakawa, Ryan Condrashoff and Amado Stachenfeld. We were more fired-up than usual because of the visiting out-of-towners and perfectly tacky soil (thanks to some recent rains). Our group of eight was freight-training down a notoriously steep, loose, rocky and overgrown singletrack. We were laughing, hooting and hollering as the wet rocks and roots contributed to a few multi-person pile-ups. It was all fun and games until one of the crew clipped a rock with his brake caliper so hard that it busted the brake tab right off his fork!

We continued laughing and carrying-on—all of us except for the poor sap stuck riding front-brakeless—all the way back into Mill Valley. We don’t get guys like Forrest around Mill Valley too often. He’s big, he’s loud, he’s disruptive, he sprawled himself out across a busy sidewalk and cried out for help when he got a rear flat. The employees of Whole Foods Market (who were giving out free coffee for Customer Appreciation Day) were awe-struck, the staff here at WTB all abandoned their cubicles and gathered ‘round Uncle Forrest.

Shortly after Forrest left we were once again torn from our telephones and computer screens when an old lady lost control of an orange Bronco II and slammed into the building next store. Apparently the woman was pulling away from the curb and merging into traffic—in reverse! She managed to hop the curb, take out a 3-foot brick wall and a water main. It was quite a sight: the startled old lady, a flowing geyser of water, smoke, police, ambulances, fire trucks and half the town out in the street fired-up on free coffee.

A few more noteworthy facts: Justin, WTB’s graphic designer, saw a foreign Consulate vehicle on the scene moments before the bucking Bronco II backed into the Art Store. He believes the two vehicles are related and suspects a conspiracy. Also, the crayons used in the Bronco II Terror illustration were purchased from the Art Store shortly after the dramatic crash. In an unrelated incident, a Mazda Miata hit me on my ride home from work. The chubby-faced gentleman driving the Miata made a right turn just after passing me. I was uninjured and stayed upright (I just made the turn with him). The driver was visibly shaken and probably hopped-up on free coffee.

Chris Schierholtz was the first on the scene with a camera, he found WTB’s President Patrick Seidler already there helping out. More Bronco II terror. Amado’s fantastic Chevy Savannah, the ultimate shuttle vehicle. More Bronco II facts: here

Andy and Matt exchanged vows on Goosebury Mesa. Matt rode in on his singlespeed, with a rose in his mouth!

WTB would like to congratulate Matt Hebberd and his new wife, Andy, on their Union over the past weekend. Matt was hired in 1986 as our first official employee and continues to be a great supporter of everything WTB. This Mountain Bike Hall of Fame member recommends and uses WTB products on all the cycling tours he runs in the Southwest for his business Rim Tours out of Moab, Utah.

A fun time was had by all on Gooseberry Mesa in Southwestern Utah where many cycling community friends assembled in the high desert for days of dry camping, riding and a fantastic wedding celebration. A fully outdoor catered wedding including a lighted disco dance floor and DJ were brought onto the mesa for the wedding day. This area, located on BLM land outside Zion National Park in Utah, is one of our most scenic and spectacular places to camp and ride. Matt and Andi’s wedding was a one of a kind event and we wish them well in their adventures together.

Enjoy the Ride!

It looks like it’s last call for riding in the high peaks. We just returned from a four day trip to the Sierras where it looked down right wintry. A massive storm front descended out of the Gulf of Alaska and plowed over the western U.S. late last week. The cold front made for some frigid tent camping and epic trail riding. Read more.

Bookmark this one, it’ll be worth checking back at least once a week. We’ll have frequent news, team and component updates as well as detailed information on the extensive 2008 product line and all the minutiae that make this company the living legend that it is today.

We’ve come along way since 1982, when WTB’s founding fathers started out. This advanced new website exemplifies WTB’s commitment to developing leading edge cycling products and serves as a reminder of our dedication to elite and grassroots bike racing.

Thanks for dropping by. While you’re here, click around. Enjoy yourself.

We rolled out a series of new tires at this year’s InterBike tradeshow. Eight for 2008: Wolverine, Graffiti UK, Graffiti SF, Prowler MX 2.1, Prowler SL, Prowler SS, Stout 29 (the world’s most aggressive 29er tire) and Vulpine 29 (possibly the fastest full-bodied 29er tire).

These new tires were mounted up on 24 bitchin’ new demo bikes and let them loose at the Outdoor Demo in Bootleg Canyon, Nevada. The feedback we received about the new tires from dealers, pro riders and journalists was incredible.

Check out some of the response: