#followcamfriday ticking off some of the freeride classics in Virgin, Utah with Braydon Bringhurst.

This is the final week of our Season of Giving campaign to benefit the Grow Cycling Foundation. We have raised over 30K so far. Huge thanks to my friends over at Yeti, Rockshox, Smith and Maxxis for donating product and experiences for me to give away to raise awareness and funding for GROW. All of the winners will be announced in next week's episode as we usher in the New Year, and bid farewell the the dumpster fire that is 2020. So far we have the custom painted Yeti frame, 3 sets of tires and a zoom call with Greg Minnaar from Maxxis, a fork of the winners choice and a zoom call with a suspension tech courtesy of my friends at Rockshox, and now Smith is offering up a full riding kit, choice of helmet, performance eyewear, and lifestyle sunnies to the lucky winner. What a time to be alive. Thank you for entering! Each entry gets Grow one step closer to their first initiative of building a pump track in Los Angeles, to offer cycling opportunities to marginalized communities that may not otherwise get the chance to fall in love with bicycles. Thank you for supporting this wonderful initiative! ​
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Freeride is alive and well in the hills in Virgin. This is one of the last places in the US where a proper DH rig is a better choice. We are making things work on the trail bikes, but make no mistake, this is DH rig country. It is really refreshing seeing people in jeans and 10 year old clapped-out downhill bikes absolutely sending it. A pleasant reminder that technology is great and all, but you can still have just as much fun on a bike with 26" wheels and no drivetrain. These are my kind of people, riding for the right reasons. 

The views looking into Zion National Park are something to behold. There is just something special about the afternoon light in the desert that keeps me coming back for more. 

As I type these words, I am sitting in my van in front of Whole Foods in Sedona, stealing wifi and watching the Christmas chaos from my bubble.  Throngs of masked up tourists going about their daily lives as if we weren't in the middle of a pandemic. Please remember to look out for one another this holiday season. Christmas is a privilege. Let's not kill all the old people just so that we can uphold religious tradition.  Look out for your fellow man. I lost a family member to Covid this week. 

#followcamfriday with Braydon Bringhurst. Uphill ninja beast mode engage. 

In all of my years of riding bikes, I have never seen anything quite like this. In addition to being the nicest guy on the trail, Braydon is an absolute ninja. Barrel Trail is incredibly hard by most people's standards on the way down. Most cannot clean all of the features. Braydon rides them in the opposite direction. Scared of that 6ft drop? Try riding up it. I was in awe. 

Further evidence that there is no "right way" to ride a bicycle. Everyone seems very concerned with placing labels on things. Enduro, XC, DH, whatever discipline comes to mind. Braydon transcends all of this. He does his thing, and does it well. I always jokingly use the word "upduro". Well, maybe if you have to label things, you can call it that. Braydon doesn't care what you call it, he just loves riding his bike. More than most, and in a very different way than most are capable of. Myself included. I was humbled. 

I have never witnessed such commitment or raw determination to clean an unrideable section in all of my life. "Uphill challenge"  is an understatement. This is an uphill grudge match, fist-fight of sorts. Braydon will win. 

This marks week 3 of my "Season of Giving" campaign to benefit The Grow Cycling foundation. Go HERE to enter. My friends over at RockShox have been kind enough to donate a fork of the winner's choice for the giveaway, along with a Zoom chat with a suspension tech to get things all dialed in. What a time to be alive. Big thanks to the wonderful people at RockShox. 

Since beginning this campaign a couple of weeks ago, we have raised almost 27K for GROW. Big thanks to all who have entered to win. So far we have a custom painted Yeti frame, some tires from Maxxis and a zoom call with Greg Minnaar, and now a fork of the winner's choice. Coming next week, we will announce additional prizing from Smith Optics. That is a pretty sweet stack of radness to raffle off to the lucky winners. The suspense is building. 

So remember this, next time you head out the door to go for a ride. Forget everything you think you know about riding bikes, and just go have fun. You might surprise yourself. Try something new. Don't let "norms" define your riding, You do you. After all, riding bikes is fun, and no one should tell you how to fun. Enjoy the ride. 

#followcamfriday week 2 of our Season of Giving to benefit The Grow Cycling Foundation. Go here to enter now -    GROW GIVEAWAY

Welcome to week 2 of our giveaway. After beginning the campaign last week and announcing the grand prize of a custom painted Yeti frame of your choice, we have already raised over $22,000 for Grow. THANK YOU for entering! We will make a difference together. This week's prizing is courtesy of Maxxis Tires. To the winner goes 3 sets of tires and a Zoom call with none other than the GOAT, Greg Minnaar. Yes, you read that right.

I have had the pleasure of knowing Shawn Neer for almost 15 years now, and have watched him grow into the amazing rider and person that he is today. Shawn and I have both worked with Yeti for the last 8ish years. Shawn has a bright future ahead, ranking 15th overall in the Enduro World Series in 2019 and helping win the Trophy Of Nations for our country alongside teammates Richie Rude and Cody Kelley. Legends. All of them. Hopefully things get back to normal next year and Shawn can resume kicking ass on the global stage. 

Shawn Neer is co-owner of Traction Coffee Roasters, right down the street from Hall Ranch in Lyons, Colorado. He puts as much passion into the art of coffee as he does his riding. Traction actually did a custom Grow Cycling Roast a couple of weeks ago. Pick up some beans here- GROW ROAST. The cycling community sure is an amazingly tight family and this is another great way to support Grow and the small business that is Traction Coffee. 

Before we filmed this episode, Shawn got me absolutely wasted on caffeine and even let me pull a couple of shots with his home setup. Maybe this is the secret to riding really fast. After watching Shawn do things that I never even imagined on the trail, I just might start drinking more coffee. It couldn't hurt. 

Crown Climbing. It's a thing. Has your local tech-climb gotten too easy? Give this a shot. I watched Shawn clean the most technical turn on the uphill on his crowns..... What was your excuse again? Mkay. I can ride my bike with no handlebars, no handlebars. 

If there is ever a race at Hall Ranch, you would be a fool to bet against Shawn. I have never witnessed such dialed and creative riding in all of my years. That is saying something. I have seen a thing or two. 

Keep checking back over the next two weeks as we have some additional prizing to release from RockShox and Smith Optics. This industry-wide push to help Grow accomplish their goal of increasing diversity in our sport is highly refreshing. What a time to be alive. Thank you for entering and supporting this wonderful organization. 
​CHEERS

#followcamfriday with Eliot Jackson. Enter to win HERE. All of the proceeds will be donated to the Grow Cycling Foundation. 

A couple of months ago, I had the pleasure of riding with the legend that is Eliot Jackson on some of his home trails in Simi Valley California. In spite of the fact that Eliot actually forgot his shoes and was bouncing down the hill in his tennis shoes, standing on his clip pedals, Eliot was still able to humble me with his skill and natural talent on a bike. 

When I heard about the foundation earlier this year, I felt compelled to try and do something to help raise awareness. Cycling has given me so much in my life and my only hope is to be able to present these same opportunities to people in marginalized communities that may otherwise never have the chance. Everyone deserves the chance be the next Eliot Jackson. GROW is a step in the right direction.

The first initiative of GROW is to build a 30,000ft Velosolutions pumptrack in Los Angeles, California. The goal is to host pumptrack Worlds in 2022 and build community and access through this asset. Giving kids a safe and inclusive environment to ride and learn what makes cycling so special is absolutely important and truly has the power to change lives. Thus, creating a path for people of all genders and races and backgrounds to get access to the sport. The end goal is to build a sustainable program that can be replicated throughout the country. More people on bikes!

Seat-bounce goals. Eliot is an absolute legend and wonderful human being. He was kind enough to show me a track that he grew up digging and riding on, a track that would eventually mold him into being one of the best American World Cup racers in history. Witnessing his sense of pride in this place and the history that shaped  him into the man he is today was humbling. This really proves that all you need is a dream and a bike and you can make anything happen in this world. Providing a place to start the process is essential.  

Over the next 4 weeks, I will be hosting a campaign to raise funds for Grow Cycling. My partners who have supported me over the years have been generous in donating product and experiences for me to add into the giveaway. Each week I will announce more prizing. I have some amazing things to tell you about in the coming weeks as we reveal prizes courtesy of Yeti Cycles, Maxxis, Rockshox and Smith Optics. All of the winners will be announced on Jan1st. 

For the grand prize, Yeti has been kind enough to donate any full-suspension frame they currently make to the lucky winner. This will come with a Super Deluxe Ultimate rear shock, courtesy of my friends over at Rockshox. As if this wasn't sweet enough, the frame will be getting a custom GROW inspired paint job from Tony Baumann (@maderadbytony) The winner will have a chance to work with the designer and place a quote or something of importance on the final design. What a time to be alive!

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Keep checking back to see what the next prize is each week. The end goal is get as many eyes on this campaign as possible and get as much funding donated to GROW as possible so I would encourage you to share this with your friends. Thank you!