We have had our fair share of pro mountain bikers of all disciplines fighting it out on the pump track. When the riders battle there is rarely bloodshed or hard feelings. Not the case for these bucks. Fighting for the right to pass their seed is a battle of survival. Like pro mountain bikers their sculls are also thick, but instead of helmets these bucks get the added bonus of having some hardened spears on their heads.

I had chance to see these two in full combat. The outcome would determine the rights to use Old Blue (turn two) as his own inspiration point. For lovers only, these two bucks had about seven doe watching and waiting to see who came out on top. As luck would have it, I just happened to be walking around with my POV.1 from V.I.O on my head and captured the whole thing.

Later that day I also watched the passing of the buck: Mr. Romance pinning his doe against Old Blue. I think she may press charges, but who knows? Some like it rough…~Mark Weir

There is a reason most of us will never get paid to ride bikes. It takes incredible commitment and dedication just to get a common pro license. And unfortunately those laminated cards don’t entitle their owners a red cent. The individuals actually able to earn a living racing bikes, to receive regular paychecks, possess extraordinary genetic makeup and exceptional reflexes. Seriously.

Take this photo (pictured above) for example. These are the sorts of problems associated with office workers going on training rides with professional athletes. I managed to weasel away from the cubicle this morning for an epic mountain bike ride with Mark Weir, his usual caveman training buddies and a special guest: Levi Leipheimer. For those of you who somehow don’t recognize that name, Levi is America’s strongest road racer. He’s our national champion, he won the prestigious Tour of California and placed third overall in the 2007 Tour de France. Turns out he’s damn quick on a mountain bike too.

When I ducked out of the office this morning, I expected to be suffering on the climbs—Weir likes to lead riders up the steepest terrain imaginable—but I figured that because Levi makes his living on skinny-tire bikes, team WTB would be waiting around for him on the descents. I thought I might even have time to pull the camera out and take some photos of him dropping down the tight singletrack. While I picked the dirt out of my teeth, dazed on the side of the trail, I realized I was mistaken about Levi. I was instantly reminded that I am, after all, only an office worker.

Caption: Levi pinning it on singletrack. WTB’s marketing coordinator spits the gravel out. Weir owns these trails. All photos by Yuri Hauswald.

WTB-sponsored rider Katie Compton recently stormed to victory in the third Cyclocross World Cup race of the season. The 29-year-old Colorado Springs-native spent the summer dominating the domestic XC race circuit, now she’s leading the international cyclocross circuit. This World Cup win—Compton’s first—came in Pijnacker, Netherlands, in her third ever World Cup race. This is a big result for Compton and a big result for the U.S., in a sport that’s historically been dominated by Belgians and Dutch.

Compton races and trains exclusively on WTB Silverado saddles. She is also fond of WTB’s mountain bike tires. During this season’s mountain bike campaign Compton rode a mix of WTB 29er tires, including the Nano Raptor, as well as WTB LaserDisc Lite hubs.

Last winter Compton scored a silver medal at the Cyclocross World Championships and won the U.S. Cyclocross National Championships. This season we’re betting that she’ll bring home the rainbow jersey from the Cyclocross World Championships on January 26, 2008 in Treviso, Italy.

Check out Compton’s Primus Mootry race bike on cyclingnews.com.

The possibility of a public-use pump track received a major boost last week. On Thursday, November 1, WTB employee Mark Weir and Rob Howard, director of Bikeskills, met with the Novato City Council / Parks and Recreation to discuss the potential for a public pump track.

The meeting went extremely well. By the end of Thursday’s discussion, city council officials had one major concern: That one pump track would not be enough for the city’s population of 50,000 (Novato is California’s 153rd largest city). The very next day city commissioners visited Weir’s house to witness his backyard pump track first hand. City officials seemed impressed during their Friday afternoon visit, watching Weir’s neighbors—aged 5 to 65—enjoying the dirt playground of bumps and berms. One of the councilmen even threw a leg over one of Weir’s Santa Cruz Jackals and gave it a go. By the end of the afternoon the group was all smiles and talk turned to the possibility of building as many as three public pump tracks within Novato’s city limits.

This is obviously great news for the communities of the north bay area. But don’t be jealous of Novato. Last week’s events legitimize pump tracks for all of us. If the city of Novato is this fired up on pump tracks than your town could be next.

Caption: Novato city officials watched as people of all ages enjoyed the pumptrack. All photos by Sam Neff

Trips for Kids celebrated its 20th Anniversary this past Saturday with a celebratory gala. The evening included a silent auction, a benefit dinner and a live auction. The event was by all means a success, with more than 200 guests attending, including Robin Williams and Gary Fisher. Items purchased in the auction included a new Maverick Matic bike, a weeklong Trek Travel cycling trip through Italy and a four-day Western Spirit-guided mountain bike trip in Utah.

All proceeds from the evening go directly to Trips for Kids—a program that leads disadvantaged youth on mountain bike rides. Over the past 20 years, more than 36,000 kids have participated in the program, and the organization has grown to encompass 58 chapters nationwide. The inspiration for the organization came to Marilyn Price while she was on a mountain bike ride in Marin County, California. Price was pedaling up Mount Tam, looking across the bay at San Francisco, thinking of all the disadvantaged kids confined to the city. Price created Trips for Kids to get these children out of the concrete jungle and away from the constant exposure to drugs and violence.

Marilyn Price still plays an integral role in the organization, operating as director. Price also operates a bicycle-based thrift store called the Re-Cyclery in San Rafael, which now funds 55-percent of the program’s costs.

From left to right: Patricia Gallery, Robin Williams, Marilyn Price and Richard Idell

Trips for Kids is an organization that’s making a tangible difference and Marilyn’s story is truly inspiring. To find out how to donate, volunteer or learn more, visit TripsforKids.org.

Caption: Gary Fisher and friends. The dinner setting. QBP’s director of advocacy, Gary Sjoquist addressing Marilyn Price. All photos by Jayson Lorenzen, unless otherwise noted.

From a story on mbaction.com:

“WTB’s Mark Weir, the seven-time champion of the Downieville Downhill and the godfather of the pump track, reports that the miniature mountain park courses that he helped popularize are going mainstream, with at least three municipalities taking steps to add them to their public park systems.

“Pump tracks are tiny mountain bike trail systems that are commonly built in mountain biker’s backyards. They can be built in an area as small as 10 feet by 30 feet, on level ground, using nothing more than shovels. The pump tracks offer steeply banked turns and small roller jumps that riders can use to generate speed by “pumping” their bikes with their arms and legs, alternately pulling up and pushing down on the handlebars (as dictated by the terrain), rather than pedaling. Top riders, such as Brian Lopes, the reigning world 4X mountain bike champion, can reportedly accelerate to speeds in excess of 25 mph by doing repeated laps on a pump track, without any pedaling. Riders like Weir, Lopes and others have found that riding pump tracks helps them to improve their bike-handling skills, get a good full-body workout and have fun all at the same time.”

Read the rest of John Ker’s story on mbaction.com.

A note from the web editor: Mark Weir is meeting with the Novato City Council / Parks and Recreation tonight (November 1, 2007) to discuss three potential sites for public pump tracks in Novato, California.