Cycling Blogs - Colt From Cyclingdirt

I've used a lot of porta potties this year. I've seen a lot of snowless ski hills, stolon a lot of WiFi, and eaten a lot of Chef Boyardee to cover mountain bike racing in North America. By the time I wake up on the floor of Logan International Airport tomorrow morning, I will have spent more nights on floors, couches, and in the back of cars then I have in my bed at "home." Sometimes, it starts to drag on you. Usually, the races are so exciting that nothing else matters. This weekend was the most exciting yet.

The 2009 USA Mountain Bike National Championships went off this weekend in Granby, Colorado, and some two thousand dirt lovers were there for the ride. I'm not going to recap every "who won what" and "by how much"- that's what the videos are there for. I will say, the racing lived up to the level of National Championship and those who won jerseys couldn't have been more deserving. But in the aftermath, it's not this weekend's races that have me pumped. It's this season!

We are so close to reaching a new level in this sport. Filming so many races and interviewing however many hundred people has given me a unique view at the state of mountain biking on this continent. No one person seems to see it, but every faction of mountain biking is coming together like never before, and we are so close to the new "heyday."

Endurance: thriving. Stage Racing: growing fast. Gravity: ...Did you see the crowd at Saturday's Mountain X under the lights? And Cross Country: despite what the Has Beens and Message Boarders have to say, XC racing is back! Todd Wells, Adam Craig, and Jeremy Horgan-Kobelski are mountain biking's new "Big Three." Sam Jurekovic, Colin Cares, and Sam Schultz are our very own Dwyane Wade, Chris Paul, and Lebron James. And 53 year old Ned Overend still crushing the competition at Nationals: can you say Michael Jordan.

Gould vs. Compton vs. Irmiger... does it get any better then that? Yes! Just add Catherine Pendrel and Emily Batty!

Regionally: everywhere I go, California to Maryland, is experiencing racing like never before. People love racing their mountain bike. (Juniors too, more importantly.)

In Canada and in the USA, the pieces are finally starting to come together. Courses are getting better, attendance is up across the board, and in a time when nobody has money for anything, people are still buying carbon wheels, tubular tires, and $45 entry fees.

With the help of a few more Nicholas Vipond's and Scott Tedro's, we could see mountain biking reach it's full potential here on this side of the pond. Finally, we're done trying to "get back to the 90's." Forget it. I don't care what racing was like back in "the good ol' days." It's the best it's ever been right now. 30 min on OLN? 4AM on ESPN 2? That's your Golden Age? Forget it! You can watch every race on Cyclingdirt before the racers get done with their cool down!

One of the final missing pieces to this puzzle is getting those on the regional level to start caring about what happens on the National and International stage. Will kids ever idolize pro mountain bikers if they're not making seven figure salaries? Will pro mountain bikers ever make seven figure salaries? I think the answer lies somewhere in the middle.

If there's one thing I want to do with this site, above all the race coverage in the world, it's to give Joe-The-Recreational-Mounatin-Biker a Hero to look up to in his or her own sport. Tiger and Kobe are great, go ahead and put their poster on your wall. I'll watch the Masters every year. But get with it! The same excitement, drama, and amazing performances are happening right here! Did you watch JHK cross the line? What else do you need?

XC is back, and almost bigger than ever. Are you on board?