Recently snapped a couple pics of my bikes.

Banshee Legend MKII w/ Atlas FR goodies, Evolve post, and Sniper grips.



Banshee Rune w/ the super light and backcountry burly SIXC bar and crankset, Atlas AM stem, Dues post, and Sniper grips.



Both these bikes destroy their respective genres! I’ve become accustomed to referring to the Rune as my “magic bike” since it performs so well in so many situations. One day we’ll be happily accumulating long miles of backcountry exploring together while the next day we’ll throw down some downhill shuttles and stunts. Here’s a quick video from the Island Cup #1 in Cumberland where I pedaled the access road a couple times and poached the race course before shooting photos in the afternoon.

The Legend is obviously a pure downhill machine, but it still manages to feel nimble and active on the technical moves and jumps. Here’s a quick edit that Aaron LaRocque and I put together as part of a series of videos he did for Banshee bikes. You can check the rest of them here.

Of course the family album wouldn’t be complete without a couple snaps of my one-week old baby boy. Stoked on the new job title of “Dad”.

I somehow managed to land my first backflip! I don’t think it gets much more random than this. ha. Pummmmped!!!

Bike Check: Katie Holden’s 2010 Specialized… – More Mountain Bike Videos

PS. The grips are not Respond grips…I was just nervous.
(http://raceface.com/components/grips/grips/sniper-lock-on/)

For centuries women have been adorning themselves with this fanciful accessory, so it seems of no small coincidence that you can’t say glove without love. And despite the fact that one might successfully argue bike gloves to be a necessary component of equipment, they also maintain their fanciful status.



Introducing the vast world of women’s biking gloves. The sufficient, the appropriate, the functional, the good and, of course, the fancy.



DIY (Do It Yourself) is so tough that it’s even reinforced at the sides with Kevlar, in case you decide to graze the odd tree on a tight trail. This glove is all-purpose with double stitched palms, strategically placed 2mm foam and reinforced thumb crotch to add just the right amount of comfort. Although I found the fingers to be a tad on the long side, overall this pair fit rather well and definitely lives up to its next-to-skin marketing. read full review

Race Face is known for creation of dependable and innovative products. The Flank Leg armor is no exception, which delivers comfort, protection and flexibility in one lightweight package. The use of good design, fabrics and protective materials make the Flank a good set of knee pads for anyone used to soft-shell protection. The biggest difference between the old and new soft-shell style pad is the addition of the d3o™ technology, which makes the Flank more protective than traditional soft-shell pads. According to Race Face, the d3o™ Intelligent Shock Absorption™ technology consists of a PU based cellular polymer – flexible in its relaxed state, but engaged on impact. What that means… is the pads are soft to the touch and moldable to the leg, but transform into a hard protective casing when aggressively impacted. This is exactly what you look for in the ideal pad, comfortable and light without sacrificing protection. Aside from the d3o™ knee protection, the Flank also includes shin protection labeled ‘Pedal Bite Protection’ by Race Face, which protects the upper 6 inch section of leg below the knee. The field test performed by our Freehub team found the knee and shin protection to be extremely effective in a number of different fall types, pedal slips, and stump or rock grazings. The Flank also uses breathable perforated Neoprene and abrasion resistant fabric to aid in comfort and durability.read full review

By ADRIENNE SCHOFHAUSER



Flattering mountain-biking shorts made for women are hard to come by. Typically, you’ve either got diaper butt or weird pointy side pockets. Race Face’s all-mountain DIY short is the opposite of all that. So simple and slimming (its black color helps), the short is not only high-performing and comfortable, but you can stop telling yourself that depressing line, “it doesn’t matter what you look like, we’re just here to have fun. . .”.



I’ve spent a month of rigorous riding in these shorts through rain and shine, on technical singletrack and muddy downhill trails. I’ve fallen hard in them and risen without any fabric tears. The Retract-Lite material (97% nylon) keeps the shorts lightweight and breathable. Add to that the 3% spandex and two-way stretch weave, and your movements are never restricted while hauling down the trail. read full review

It’s catalog time again…eek! Always a frenzy of photo shoots, securing models, copy writing, catalog design, and promotion, promotion, promotion. The catalog shoots are my favourite time. Field trip! Not only do I get to shadow Sterling Lorence, our industry’s most talented and thoughtful photographer, picking his brain and doing my best to scout a hidden location that inspires him, but I get to hang with our incredible roster of riders and models who patiently sit between setups that require bench time shivering in the changing Vancouver weather until their shot is up.



A big thank you to Beth Parsons who gave me the low down on the trail ‘Train Wreck’ when I explained my concept to her. To all of the riders who stuck it out and made the day a huge success – Thank you for being such pros and soooooo accommodating: Mike Kinrade, Beth Parsons, Frankie Vass, Jonathan Staples, Sherry Bayne, and Callum Jelley (who, sadly, we ran out of time to meet up with but I definitely would love to work with you on future shoots Callum, my apologies). Cheers to our catalog designers: John Chow and Judy Yeung who worked tirelessly to pull the 2011 look book together. And last, but certainly not least, to the amazing, unknown artists who painted those rusted out box cars that became the perfect backdrop to my favourite photo shoot to date.



Sterl – thank you for always making me look good!



Highlight reel:

I haven’t posted in a while as I’ve been busy………..riding!  The last weekend in June we went to Peachland to catch up with legendary duo Barb Haley and Johnny Smoke, Kranked alumni, North Shore old schoolers, and proprieters of www.bushpilotbiking.com .  Now Johnny and I go waaaaay back to the ’80′s as we went to high school together in Deep Cove, and our little girls are the same age so we always have a grand old time riding, catching up on Cove gossip, and drinking on his amazing balcony overlooking the lake.  He’s also part of the Rocky Mountain family now, rocking a sweet Rocky Mountain Flatline World Cup.  Barb was out there killing it on her hardtail, going bigger than most dare to do on a fully rigged beefy bike.  Uber photographer Ian Hylands and his wife Nicole, who also have a junior ripper, Kainoa came along for some fun too!  I think he was happy to actually get some riding time in, as this is shooting season.   Tippie tried to drift hard at the bottom of one run, and scraped off the top two layers of his forearm, which as much as I hate to admit it, is my fault, as I was hurrying him up to leave on our journey, and when he couldn’t find one armpad, I uttered the classic “you’ll be fine, don’t worry about it”.  Sorry Tippie!  The two days of riding incorporated thousands of vertical, beaches, lakes and even riding through a vineyard!  I’ll keep it short and sweet as Brett will be doing a more in depth dissection of our annual trip to Bush Pilot HQ!

Matt from the North Shore Bike Shop in North Vancouver, BC just sent me these photos of some awesome Banshee custom builds he’s been working on. These bikes look great & best of all, they’re fully decked out in the latest Race Face components…

Jeremy's Banshee Spitfire

Banshee Scythe

Banshee Legend

Matt's Banshee Rampant

Give Matt at North Shore Bike Shop a call for your next custom build.