Well, this should be entertaining.   Kurt Sorge and bunch of other high end freeride sorta guys have gotten a bit fed up with the contest circuit and are trying to bring sexy back to the world of skill based mountain biking.  I totally agree.  Everytime somebody comes up with a great new angle on any sport (think sea kayaking or freeride biking), a marketing guy gets a hold of it and turns the whole endeavour into a contest or a race.  The edge of the envelope is gnarly enough without the added pressure of results.  The Fest Series is about getting together and going BIG first, and maybe somebody goes a bit bigger and gets some recognition, but the main thing is that it’s riders first.  Sort of like how in my opinion Rampage should be judged by the participants.  It’s the first year for these guys, and I hope it works out.

Everyone rolled in during the late afternoon, including yours truly, so we loaded up the van after dinner and went and had a big bonfire up at the jumps.

…and maybe a couple of beers too.

We were actually trying to dry the jumps out a bit.  After a record dry spell, the balance has returned and things are looking a bit damp.   There’s a lot of jump to dry out, too.

Just a bit of advice. If you have a bunch of pro bike athletes over at your place, ya might want to limit their late night access to your kitchen…