Osprey Packs is a key partner in my KEEN Rippin Chix Mountain Bike Camps, shown here in Fruita at the Fat Tire Festival. Great event. Great riding, great people, great beer…

I could go on all day! While I could spend all my time off (which is almost none) riding, surfing, skiing and playing, I now teach these women’s camps almost year-round, and many times at least 2-4 days per week. It is rewarding beyond belief, and who doesn’t love giving back to the sports that give so much to our lives? I believe I would have almost zero confidence if I had not discovered skiing, biking and surfing. I LOVE them all.

Speaking of skiing, here I am in California testing the new Osprey Kode Ski Packs for 2014. Great pack, great photographer… but really too much snow to ski anything that was sufficiently steep (and also safe). Most of the time it is “one turn wonders” on the same run all day long, which is quite boring until you see the results (hopefully!!!!!).

I know that often folks mention they want this “testing” job, and how can they apply to become a tester. Firstly, I quit my job, flew to Alaska with some new credit cards, competed in the World Championships of Freeskiing, then asked TGR and MSP almost daily if they needed another athlete for filming, slept in depressing hotels eating junk food and whiskey, called my mom and hoped for the best. Perseverance, right?

In another lifetime, I would wish to be witty and funny. After a depressing day of sitting around waiting for the weather to clear, I went back to the hotel for a cat nap. I flopped on the bed, not realizing that there was a queen mattress on top of a twin box-spring, which left me on the floor before I could realize what had happened. Big bonus, under the bed had not been cleaned and I collected a recent issue of Hustler. Luckily, nothing else more personal!!!

OK – back to this blog and something more PG rated. Gareth at Osprey recently asked me to photograph what was in my pack:

Osprey Raven 6 w/Reservoir (100L)
Patagonia Traverse Jacket
Crank Brothers mini-pump w/gauge, Crank Brothers multi-tool 17
Solar flashlight w/hand crank backup, Juice multi-tool
Osprey tire levers, First aid tape and electrical tape, zip ties, Clif Shot Blocks, Elemental Herbs sunscreen, all-good goop and all-good lips
lighter, Cash.

Missing: Map and guide book, compass.

So, those who know me from my youth, I’m the chubby-dorky-math-geek. I’m going to skip the photo, as I’m still sensitive. One of my biggest fears was biking down stairs, so this is a skill that I now teach as much as possible. This video below is from the Red Rocks Rendezvous with Osprey this spring:

Ok, I know many of you are out there with me wanting MORE SPRING WEATHER. If there is dust in the snow, I would rather be biking, surfing, rafting, gardening… blah blah blah. Speaking of growing food, I’ve got to go fix the backpack sprayer so we can treat the peach trees with very very very diluted neem oil (aphids and leaf curl). I’m not very good at the pest end of chemical-free growing, but I’m learning! The hay fields got their first cut yesterday, summer here we come!

Active Lifestyle, Adventure, Osprey Athletes, Osprey Life, Photos, Travel, Video Alaska, Alison, bike, KEEN, pack, spring

Six years ago, Shannon Galpin walked away from her career as an athletic trainer and used her own limited funds to launch Mountain2Mountain and “be the change” she wished to see in the world. Today, Shannon and the M2M team, are just returning from their latest trip to Afghanistan where they launched the Streets of Afghanistan project and rode bicycles through Kabul to raise awareness of cultural barriers and empower women and girls in conflict regions.

As big supporters of Shannon and the M2M work she does, we’re happy to stay in touch with her and get period updates throughout her travels. That said, we’re also excited to share what she has to show and tell from those very journeys, the latest of which center around the Streets of Afghanistan project. Here’s the latest from Shannon both in words and in pictures. Enjoy!

“Yesterday we had the finale show of the Streets of Afghanistan exhibition at the Sound Central music festival — its up for four days throughout the incredible  four-day alternative music festival.  Yesterday was the women’s only day to kick off the festival, where young Afghan school girls attended the festival for slam poetry, a fashion show, Afghan rap duo, Afghan singer songwriter, Ariana Delwari, and White City — fronted by my long time friend, advisor, and founder of Sound Central, Travis Beard.  We brought three members of the cycling team to watch the concert and to help with the M2M Bike School.

All in all a full day. Streets exhibition set up and finale show at Sound Central Festival, M2M bike school and rock concert, finished with filming at Darul Aman Palace. Whitney, the co-director of Afghan cycles is leaving today, and then our crew is just a duo until we leave.  Whitney has been amazing, and creates a sense of community, friendship, and openness wherever we go, she interacts with the Afghans we meet with grace, humor, and authenticity that I have rarely seen.  Her infectious laugh combined with everyone’s exhaustion at the end of the long days makes for a slap-happy crew.

Exhaustion is starting to take hold, but perhaps that will just make the plane ride home go quicker as we sleep our way home.”

Active Lifestyle, Adventure, Advocacy, Bikes Around the World, International, Non-profits, Osprey Athletes, Osprey Life, Pedaling Change, Photos advenure, Afghanistan, bike, cycle, home, mountain 2 mountain, shannon galpin, Streets of Afghanistan, travel, women

We are so utterly grateful for the incredible shots our Osprey fans share with us on a daily basis on Facebook because we love seeing where your packs get to go! Here’s one of many, many awesome shots shared with us most recently (above).

Keep ‘em coming, Osprey friends!

Thanks to Brian Buckle for sharing!

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We love it when Osprey owners share shots of their outdoor adventures with us, especially when they’re as amazing as this!

The above shot — which makes her mountain biking buddy look like he’s cycling on top of the world – was posted by Andrea Codda.

Happy adventuring and happy cycling!

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“I still remeber the simple pleasure of riding my bike to little league baseball in my uniform.” Andy Traslin graduated to carrying his skis.

Osprey Athletes the Traslin Brothers (Mike & Andy) have been skiing their entire lives. Growing up in the mountains, their snow endeavors were only natural. As such, this photo by Mike Traslin of Andy riding with skis on his back is exemplary of their lives. We hope it inspires you to get out and go!

Thanks to Mike Traslin for sharing this shot with us on Facebook!

Active Lifestyle, Lane Love, Osprey Athletes, Osprey Life, Photos Andy Traslin, bike, Mike Traslin, mountain, Osprey Athlete, ski, snow

We love when we get the opportunity to see our packs in action — especially when our very own customers send shots of themselves or their friends getting everything out of a pack we had ever intended for it. The photo above, posted to our Facebook Page by Melissa Liebling, is an incredible shot of the Osprey Verve 9 doing it’s duty out on the trail.

Thanks to Melissa for sharing!

Active Lifestyle, Osprey Life, Pedaling Change, Photos bike, mountain bike, Osprey, pack, trail, Verve 9

Snow on the LaSal mountains make a beautiful backdrop for the slickrock of the Moab Brands trails.

Spring has sprung in Moab, UT and Poison Spider Bicycles celebrated this past weekend with their annual Moab Thaw event. Osprey supported the event with a fleet of demo packs that were available for riders checking out the latest and greatest bikes from Yeti, Niner, Pivot and Ellsworth. Thaw HQ was at the Moab Brands trailhead where food and drink were provided so riders could focus on getting as many demo rides in as their winter legs would allow. Conditions were perfect with blue skies, calm winds and temps in the 60s.

The Poison Spider event really is a great way to thaw out from a cold, snowy winter and get excited about the approaching cycling season. This one is worth putting on your calendar and scheduling a trip from wherever you might be. Watch the Poison Spider web site next winter for 2014 registration details. In the meantime, check out some of the shots from this year’s event below.

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It’s officially Valentine’s Day, otherwise known as the day of love. It’s only natural, then, that we pronounce our general love for cycling right here and now. Thanks to World Bicycle Relief for posting this original image!

Lane Love, Photos bike, bike love, Love, Valentine's Day

Why did the geese cross the road? Because they were following the bike, naturally.

We couldn’t help but share this adorable photo and equally aww-inducing story, which we found via Grist. It goes something like this: A large flock of misplaced geese were struggling to cross the road, “getting closer and closer to being hit by cars,” according to the person who took the photo above. At this point, a man on his bike came to the rescue, and led the gaggle of geese safely across the road. The geese, lured by a bag of bread that allegedly hung from the handlebars of the man’s bike, followed their mother bike to where they wanted to be, without a single casualty.

Yet another tale of the pure goodness of bikes.

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We found this love-ly shot via ARTCRANK’s Facebook Page, and felt compelled to share it for two reasons. 1. It’s beautifully, subtly and undeniably bike-themed. And 2., Its message is what this holiday season is all about: Love.

From all of us at Osprey; Cheers  to a brand-new year that’s filled with as much love as possible.

Osprey Life, Pedaling Change, Photos bike, Love, New Year