The Art of Ski Biking
It all started roughly 10 years ago. K2 came out with prototypes for what they called the SnowCycle. Somehow, one of these bikes made its way to my hometown resort of Elk Mountain in Pennsylvania. I took a demo run on it and instantly was hooked. I ended up riding it around all the terrain there for about 2 months... until all the snow melted, the season ended and my tenure with the SnowCycle concluded. That was the last time I rode her. I was sad.
Until now! My friend Adam, who works for K2 in Seattle, has a ski bike that was not being used. He was allowed to bring it up to the mountain for demos and again, I was hooked. Separate to Adam's bike, I somehow was lucky enough to acquire one during January of this year (conveniently around my birthday...hmmm). I started riding it at Steven's Pass in Washington almost every available weekend. The thing is a blast! I am happy!
The next step is sharing this awesome device with everyone, either via pictures and video here... or better, via riding on the mountain. Right now, there are two ski bikes in the area that I have access to and I am always up for riding... and/or teaching somebody how to ride. The learning curve is pretty quick for anyone interested in just getting down the mountain on easy terrain. However, it is not-so-surprisingly difficult to master steep and/or narrow terrain. Moguls are near impossible to navigate without a painful crash (at least right now).
When it's done right, the bike is super fluid and very smooth. It just LOVES to go downhill. The bike is also incredibly fast. One of my new favorite things to do is pass the racer-type skier... it always gets a look of disgust from them (which is a major victory for me!). The bike is not always as fast as them... but about 75% of the time I can over take one of them, regardless of terrain! Besides running the groomers, I have also been trying to master my control of the bike while heading down really steep terrain (like double blacks). After that... bumps!
For now, I only have one video of my ski biking adventures. It was my first attempt at moguls. I failed. But will return to them on the bike soon. Thanks to Sara Krastek for filming and posting this!
Enjoy!
NOTE: there is no sounds at my request of sara, I was not too happy about running the bumps while this new to the bike, so I was not the most pleasant person to deal with that day... trust me when I tell you it is better the sound is omitted!
Until now! My friend Adam, who works for K2 in Seattle, has a ski bike that was not being used. He was allowed to bring it up to the mountain for demos and again, I was hooked. Separate to Adam's bike, I somehow was lucky enough to acquire one during January of this year (conveniently around my birthday...hmmm). I started riding it at Steven's Pass in Washington almost every available weekend. The thing is a blast! I am happy!
The next step is sharing this awesome device with everyone, either via pictures and video here... or better, via riding on the mountain. Right now, there are two ski bikes in the area that I have access to and I am always up for riding... and/or teaching somebody how to ride. The learning curve is pretty quick for anyone interested in just getting down the mountain on easy terrain. However, it is not-so-surprisingly difficult to master steep and/or narrow terrain. Moguls are near impossible to navigate without a painful crash (at least right now).
When it's done right, the bike is super fluid and very smooth. It just LOVES to go downhill. The bike is also incredibly fast. One of my new favorite things to do is pass the racer-type skier... it always gets a look of disgust from them (which is a major victory for me!). The bike is not always as fast as them... but about 75% of the time I can over take one of them, regardless of terrain! Besides running the groomers, I have also been trying to master my control of the bike while heading down really steep terrain (like double blacks). After that... bumps!
For now, I only have one video of my ski biking adventures. It was my first attempt at moguls. I failed. But will return to them on the bike soon. Thanks to Sara Krastek for filming and posting this!
Enjoy!
NOTE: there is no sounds at my request of sara, I was not too happy about running the bumps while this new to the bike, so I was not the most pleasant person to deal with that day... trust me when I tell you it is better the sound is omitted!
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