So this is what happens with some time and some money… A sub 24 lB super beast of a race bike. Proper tires, dropper post 34mm fork, XL frame….yep.

Thanks to @biketherapy for the creative Di2 routing,

Parts	Brand	Model	Additional info
Frame	Yeti	ASR Turq Series	XL
Rear Shock	Fox	Float
Fork	Fox	34 29er Factory Series	120mm
Headset	Chris King	Inset
Handlebar	RaceFace	Next35	760mm
Stem	Race Face	Turbine35	60mm
Grips	ESI	Racers Edge	Turquoise
Brakes	Shimano	XTR Race M9000	180/160mm c/lock
Brake Levers	Shimano
Shifters	Shimano	XTR Di2	11 Spd
Rear Derailleur	Shimano	XTR Di2	11 Spd
Cranks	Raceface	Next SL G4	175mm
Chainrings / Sprocket	Race Face	Cinch
Bottom Bracket	Raceface	PF30
Chain	Shimano	XTR	11 Spd
Cassette / Rear Cog	SRAM	XG 1199	10-42
Pedals	Crank Bros	Egg Beater Ti
Front Rim	Light Bike Carbon	XC923
Rear Rim	Light Bike Carbon	XC923
Hubs	DT Swiss	240s c/lock
Spokes	Sapim	Cxray
Front Tire	Maxxis	Forekaster	2.35 dual/exo/tr
Rear Tire	Maxxis	Ardent Race	2.2 3c/exo/tr
Saddle	Specialized	Romin Sworks	143mm
Seatpost	Fox	Transfer 125mm	30.9
Seatpost Clamp	Carbon Ti

General Info
Model Year	2017
Riding Type	XC/Trail
Weight	23.94 lbs

With the rare occurrence that Eric and myself had the same days off over a long weekend, we decided to make the best of it and get the heck out of town!!!! With the upcoming CNES race in Rossland it seemed like there was no better reason to go de-virginize Eric to the trails there.

We packed up the Mazda Speed 3 as tight as we could and headed to the Kootneys!!

We started our riding in Rossland with some help from the awesome local shuttle service run by Ian and Tash, The Seven Summits Shuttle service. They had all the trails teed up for an epic time. We started with some BS and Monticola laps followed by the super fast and fun Oasis burn down into Trail.

After that as a sick warm up we sessioned a couple trails on  Red Mtn Resort, Red Head and Pay dirt.

The next day was checking out the race course for some practice laps on Whisky, Cherry poppins and Crown Point despite the 35deg temps outside.

All 3 are epic trails that each have their own flavour.

Cherry poppins had lots of rock on it and had some of the steepest sections including a gnarly waterfall section followed up by chunder with a hint of bull dust.

After a solid session on the local trails we took the monday after the race to check out the epic 7 summits. Maybe a bad idea as we were all fairly gassed from the weekend of racing. But as they say…when in Rossland.

Weirdly we found the climbing quite tiring….views were ok though…blew our shoes clean off!

Views for miles.

Tandem bird flipping.

cant wait to get back…thank you Rossland!

 

This past spring we got screwed on snow!!!!Really screwed!!

But on the BRIGHT side… that meant that we got to ride bikes really early. So with the suggestion by Bill, why not start it off with a rip on Blackrock mountain in Kananaskis, Ab.

Black rock is a great ride/hike to experience any time let alone to start the season off. An out and back epic that showcases some of the best there is in the Rockies.

Andy sampling some scree.

Approaching fundom with some fun riverbed cruising.

Eyes on the prize.

Bill, Aiden and Al making their way into the alpine.

Getting there.

Radbike!!

Aiden throwing some dirt around

The wind can blow you off this one certain days like this day.

Epic views

The push

 

I wound up bored one day this spring ad took a fatbike out to Minniwanka for a rip. beauty day for a bike ride. it was beautiful out on the ice riding around.