Snowmass is 104 miles from my home in Keystone Colorado. I have been racing there on and off for years with the now defunct, Mountain States Cup. Aspen's natural beauty never gets old and has kept me coming back, year after year. The hospitality in Snowmass is second to none, and I have always felt welcome here. 

This was the second stop of the NAET tour and stop one of the Big Mountain Enduro Series. The two day event had  seven stages, totaling over 9000ft of descending. Sounds like fun, right? The tracks were classic pedal-heavy Snowmass single track through the aspens, with some jumps and a real DH track thrown in to keep us from racing hardtails. Lots of hard turns and sprinting. As it turns out, if you blow every hard turn, you have to work even harder in the pedaly bits. Finding that balance was the key to success. 

Yup, its completely safe, traveling in excess of thirty miles per hour through the woods wearing nothing but a styrofoam hat. Just ask Mason Bond. What could go wrong? 

Stage 6 was my favorite of the weekend. It had a bit of everything, including some unmaintained bike- parkish sections at the top. Babyheads and blown out berms! My favorite. Day two's tracks provided some contrast to the pedal heavy courses of day one, making for a well rounded weekend. This video is the upper part of stage six.

It's always nice to be surrounded by good company. Representing Yeti Cycles  at the races as ambassadors, national team members, and employees, we are a unique group. At the end of the day, we all share the same passion for riding bikes and wouldn't trade this lifestyle for anything. Everyone pictured below is a straight-up pinner.

Racing is hard. When you consider what the photographers have to do to get pictures of these events, racing seems......easier? Chasing us around in the mountains carrying a 50 pound pack is no joke. I mean, I was carrying a multi-tool and some space food, man am I tired! 

Devon Balet is a boss and has an amazing photo essay for you to drool over up on Pinkbike. Check it here.

#oldmanwest is a living legend. If you don't know Mike, you don't race mountain bikes in Colorado. He has been crushing fools in every discipline known to cycling for a very long time. His 40th birthday is in a week, and he is still a threat in any race he enters. Always an honor to stand on the podium with this guy. He also knows how to handle himself on a zamboni.

Quick edit from Forrest and Justin. These guys worked their asses off all weekend to make this eye candy happen.

The BME crew built a sweet jump at the bottom of the mountain to finish the DH track with a proper huck. As it should be. These grooms were taking video of us sending the jump. When I saw homies' kit, I couldn't resist taking a picture of him. Does your shirt match your shoes? Didn't think so...  #dialed

After almost an hour of racing over two days, Kyle got me by 12 seconds, forcing me to settle for second. I hate to loose, but it is nice to see some up and coming "kids" bringing some fresh air to our sport. This is mandatory for growth of our discipline. The men standing to the right and left of Mr. Warner are almost twice his age.... Good mix on the box. Never count #oldmanwest out, he is a badass! Great racing gentlemen. 

Just for the record, I am going to call out Independence Pass as a top five all-time road. I am not referring to cycling here, which is world class of course, I am referring to driving my Subaru at the limit with all of my crap in it. Sporty, to say the least. Next stop, BME Durango....... 

Thank goodness race season is finally here. With all of my early season preparations finished, I was anxious to get my first race underway. Enough fake racing on my Garmin already. Sorry fitness freaks, Strava times don't really count. The mental game at a real race is a far cry from riding by oneself with an iPhone tracking your every move in your pocket. Now don't get me wrong, I love Strava as much as Frenchie Alex, but I was ready to race some humans. 

I have been to Hood River a few times now and have come to appreciate the laid-back vibe and great riding. It was dry this year, quite the contrast to last year's slip-n-slide gong show for me. 

After riding both of my bikes down the tracks, I was more on the fence than ever as to which rig to race on….

Sexy new girl with bigger curves, or the tried and true old steed…..

After doing some timed runs, which determined absolutely nothing, I decided to ride the big wheels. I have spent more time on my SB-95 Carbon lately, so it just felt more comfortable at the time. This would be the first race of my life on non-26" wheels. Would my result have been different on smaller wheels? Probably not. I love both of my Yeti's and choosing between them is like trying to say which beer is better, in the end all beer tastes pretty good. 

Racing for me has always been about the places it takes me and the friends made along the way. I mean, of course I race to win, but the community that comes out for these events really makes it special. So nice to see all of my "summer friends", so far removed from the eight months of winter I currently reside in. 

When things are dry, the clippers come out. Schnell shaving precious seconds off of his tires. Braking knobs are overrated. Racers are dorks, myself included. 

Helmet cam of stage 7 filmed in practice on my GoPro. This stage was warp-speed fast. It was not technical in a rocky way but traveling faster than 30mph on a one foot wide trail, between trees, presents its own set of challenges. Like not dying. I was fortunate to win this stage on day 2. Braapp.

Nice to see Chris Johnston, who took this sweet as photo. My fallen Nomad friend is healing nicely and will be back to kick our asses shortly, I am sure. It is killing him to not be able to race right now, I can see it in his eyes, but he comes out to support racing and has a great attitude. A stand-up dude and inspiring really. When I get hurt, I get grumpy and go into a shell. Chris just taught me something. Cheers mate!

Rivaling Chris's iPhone-gold photo is this shot from Mike Albright. Mike has some great race coverage to check out on Pinkbike. Thanks man! Check it here.

After eight stages, over two days, here is how things shook out. Less than a second separating me in fourth, from Carlson #thefrother in second, sounds about right after 35 minutes of racing. I wouldn't have it any other way.

I win stage 9 - Subie jenga

Until next time, Oregon. Hopefully you are more moist, upon my return.