Bike DealerCamp 2011 began with a bang, literally, as thunderstorms rolled through the Deer Valley area Tuesday night. Exhibitors received an e-mail around 1:00 a.m. notifying them that they should probably show up early Wednesday morning to clean up the carnage from the night before. Wind gusts and rain wreaked havoc on exhibitor tents and displays. There were even a few tents floating in the nearby lake (including an Osprey competitor). Fortunately, we have displayed at enough events during inclement weather that we took no chances and had everything covered and heavily anchored. Other than a few damp boxes, the Osprey booth was unscathed.

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Events, Uncategorized bike dealercamp, Osprey Bike, Osprey Packs

Thanks to Treehugger for drawing our attention to the new video from Oregon Manifest; it’s all about the collaborative design spirit going into building the utility bike of the future.

Via Treehugger:

A lot of fancy futuristic bicycle designs have garnered TreeHugger posts. We all want to know what the future will bring in terms of cooler features and entirely novel forms. You’ll notice, though, that most of those future-oriented bicycle ideas sport a bit of a Jetson’s feel while falling short on amenities city cyclists really need – kickstands, fenders, back racks. Oregon Manifest, a bike design challenged sponsored in part by Levi’s (recently out with bicycle jeans), is aiming to find the future of utility bikes. Competing for a $3,000 prize, craftspeople and student teams are looking to innovate, show off their bike builder chops, and fashion a bike that makes people able and willing to get out of their cars…

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A lineup of 34 illustrious bike builders and many student designers from Oregon as well as other U.S. states are working with some fairly specific smart criteria for a city bike. The bikes must have built-in anti-theft devices, fenders, lighting, some load-carrying capability, and some sort of kickstand mechanism so the bike can stand while parked.

Manifest’s panel of judges will be looking for entries that also push the envelope in terms of function, materials used, technologies employed, and the ability of the bike to adapt to different environments and lifestyles.

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Every Wednesday on Ditch Your Car we’ll be bringing you just another reason to spend more time on two wheels. Be it a photo, a statistic or an inspirational video, we want to keep reminding you about why riding is great!

Ditch Your Car bike builders, bike design, design, oregon, Portland

A race, in its most basic form, breeds heroes. These heroes usually take the form of the champions, the athletes that rise above to conquer his or her field, besting all contenders.

The demanding format of the BC Bike Race allows for new heroes to emerge. These are the folks that may not be the fastest of the day (heck, some of the heroes end up being some of the slowest riders out there). But these unsung heroes are the ones grinding and toiling out on the course, leaving behind their day jobs and lives back home to focus on one thing and one thing only: getting across that finish line each day of the race.

There are people like Dave, who spent the whole first night in Cumberland overcome with a vicious flu. The night was passed curled up in a dirty bathroom, alternating between bouts of vomiting and fitful sleep. He crawled to the start line in the morning, and fought through the day. The next day his flu subsided and he kept going strong on course.

Speaking of overcoming challenges, there was the couple from Austin that was looking forward to a week of racing without their kids in tow. Their nanny fell through at the last minute, and undeterred they changed their race entry to tag-team, brought their kids, alternated days of racing and had a great BC Bike Race family vacation. Not Disneyland, but the kids didn’t seem to mind.

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Adventure, Osprey Athletes adventure, bcbr, bike race, british columbia, Canada, coast, joe schwartz, mountain bike, mtb, singletrack, stage race, trail, vancouver

A sunny summer day in Stockholm, perfect for taking the family out for a ride. Even better when the child seat matches the color of your bike.

Have a lane that you love? Send us a photo! You can post it to our Facebook page, shoot us an email at blog[at]ospreypacks[dot]com or upload to our Flickr group and we might just feature it here on our weekly photo feature, Lane Love.

Image: Anna Brones

Lane Love Europe, Stockholm

The Yackle brothers sporting their hard earned National Championship medals

After 15 straight days and almost 4000 miles of  road tripping, the Osprey bike crew has circled back to base to replenish the giveaway supplies, service the van and unclog the overfull inboxes before departing to Deer Valley for DealerCamp.   Even with the 14 hour days of driving, greasy road food, and missed family commitments, it was hard to bring this road trip to an end.  The Downieville Classic was a top notch event that brought in some of the best riding talent in the country, yet retained a grass roots feeling.  The entire town seemed to embrace the event as it took over their narrow streets.  It was awesome rubbing elbows in Sun Valley with so many world class athletes and upcoming superstars.  Both events left us just enough time to get out and explore the local riding scene for ourselves.  As a matter of fact, I had to take a couple of days off  the bike because my legs could take no more by the end of the trip.  The riding was so spectacular in both Downieville and Sun Valley that I will be heading back on my own time to explore further for sure.

A bird's eye view of the National Championship race venue.

As promised, here is a list of Osprey sponsored athletes that made it on to the podium at the National Championships:

Nye Yackle – 2nd place, 10 & under boys Cross Country

Jake Yackle – 3rd place, 11 & 12 boys Cross Country

Stephen Ettinger – 1st place, Under 23 men Cross Country

Jack Hinkens – 2nd place, Under 23 men Cross Country

Kerry Werner – 5th place, Under 23 men Cross Country

Erica Zaveta – 5th place, Under 23 women Cross Country

Krista Park – 5th place, Pro Women Super D

The journey will continue with DealerCamp in Deer Valley, UT 7/26 – 7/28.  DealerCamp is an industry event where bike and accessory companies show off and demo their current and upcoming products to top bike retailers.  Osprey will have a full demo fleet available at DealerCamp as well as daily giveaways including the biggest raffle prize Osprey bike has ever given out (valued at approximately $2500)!  Let the road trip and mountain biking continue!!

Events, Osprey Athletes, Osprey Life, Uncategorized Cross Country National Championships, DealerCamp, Downieville Classic, Osprey Bike

The Tour de France wraps up this weekend, and we couldn’t help but feature a few vintage photos that capture the essence of this classic race.

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Ditch Your Car France, photos, road cycling, road racing, Tour de France

Interesting perspective on a bike lane in cycle friendly Vancouver, BC. Always good to see creative markings of bike designated routes.

Have a lane that you love? Send us a photo! You can post it to our Facebook page, shoot us an email at blog[at]ospreypacks[dot]com or upload to our Flickr group and we might just feature it here on our weekly photo feature, Lane Love.

Image: waferboard

Lane Love Canada, vancouver

Osprey sponsored athletes Jake and Nye Yackle from Cortez, Colorado put on a clinic in tenacity and determination at the USA Cycling National Championships on Friday.  Jake was the first of the brothers to test his fitness against some of the best 11-12 year old racers in the country.  As the winner of last year’s 10 and under category, Jake got a call-up to the front row for the start but still got tangled up on the first corner and lost much of his advantage.  Slowly but surely, Jake picked off riders and really put the pressure on through the rock garden sections.  Late in the race, as most riders were fading and just looking to survive, Jake seemed comfortable and charged hard, sprinting for the finish.  When the dust settled, Jake was proudly standing on the podium with a 3^rd place medal around his neck.

Jake Yackle making a move on the steep climb

Immediately following the 11-12 year olds was the 10 and under race where Nye Yackle was looking for his chance at some hardware.  Less than 30 seconds after the whistle, Nye was standing on the track trying to get his chain back on.  The rules do not allow riders to receive any outside assistance, so Nye was on his own to get things sorted out and rolling.  With the entire field well ahead of him, Nye finally got back on the bike and launched himself up the brutally steep climb, making up time like his life depended on it.  As he came around for lap two, Nye was back in the hunt but suffered some minor mechanicals, again losing valuable positions.  By the last lap, Nye decided it was all or nothing and launched an attack that would make any rider proud.  Moving from 11^th to 2^nd in less than 1 lap, Nye also ended up on the podium for the silver National Championship medal.

Nye Yackle fighting through mechanical issues but sticking with it

Racing continues through the weekend with Pro categories, short track XC racing and a Super D race that features a 4+ mile course.  Come check it out or stay tuned for a post event report with results for all the Osprey athletes.

Events, Osprey Athletes Jake Yackle, Nye Yackle, Osprey, USA Cycling National Championships

“Why don’t they have autoshop for bicycles?”

Good question.

That’s how Project Bike Trip, a non-profit based in Santa Cruz, started. A program to get youth working with bicycles, this is not your typical classroom setting, instead it’s all about grease, gears and grime. Hope this idea spreads across the country.

Every Wednesday on Ditch Your Car we’ll be bringing you just another reason to spend more time on two wheels. Be it a photo, a statistic or an inspirational video, we want to keep reminding you about why riding is great!

Advocacy, Ditch Your Car bike maintenance, Project Bike Trip, youth

A classic summer cycling shot from Ancaster, Ontario.

Have a lane that you love? Send us a photo! You can post it to our Facebook page, shoot us an email at blog[at]ospreypacks[dot]com or upload to our Flickr group and we might just feature it here on our weekly photo feature, Lane Love.

Image: Nicki Varkevisser

Lane Love Canada, Ontario, summer