World Cup leader Julie Bresset (BH Suntour) navigates one of the rock gardens on the 2012 Olympic mountain bike course.
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Cycling discipline features for fifth time in 2012 Olympics
Mountain biking is a relatively young Olympic sport. First included in 1996 in Atlanta, it has also been part of the 2000 Games in Sydney, the 2004 Games in Athens and the 2008 Games in Beijing. Although the ever-evolving sport encompasses a variety of disciplines, only cross country racing is part of the Olympic mountain bike experience. Those who favor marathon, short track or gravity racing are out of luck. Read the rest of this entry
There are moments in time when you find an unexpected gem. For me, it was 1:00 AM in the morning editing photos for the California State Championship Mountain Bike Race at Bonelli Park in San Dimas.
It was a moment when time stood still and I pondered the photograph before me. It was not perfectly sharp or composed just right. It’s not easy when MTB riders are flying by you at 20 MPH and you’re lying on the side of a hill with a loud rattlesnake 15 yards away playing the tune, “Get Off My Hill.” Read the rest of this entry
You couldn’t have asked for a better day to drop over a thousand feet on your mountain bike. Big blue skies, a mid 70 degree temperature, and plenty of single track trails welcomed the socal mountain bike riders to the Big Bear Shoot Out #2 mountain bike race in Big Bear City, CA.
It was my 3rd time shooting this race, but today I decided to leave the still camera at home in favor of the video camera. Sometimes you need some live fast footage to inspire your day and I knew these socal mountain bike riders would serve up plenty.
Climbing about a mile up the mountain trail I found my shooting area. This year I tried to stay away from the shadows as there are plenty up here as the single track trails twist around pine trees in and out of midday sunlight.
I gazed at the pale gray sky and thought I was back on the east coast. I asked some local hikers what happened to the Santa Barbara sky. June glum they answered; a reference to the fog that permeates most of the California skyline during the month of June.
Today, the beneficiaries of June glum were the Cat 3 riders at the Elings Park mountain bike race. The cool weather was sure to keep dehydration problems to a minimum. For the late Cat 1 starters, that was not the case as the sun pierced the morning fog by midday.
