20 Things Mountain Biking Teaches You About Life

a little boldness goes a long way in Utah

Good writers have often used sport as a metaphor for life: the lessons of the playing field or arena applied to daily living. If Norman Mailer (boxing), William Kennedy (baseball) and John Irving (wrestling) had spent time on a mountain bike, they would have learned that:

20. Boldness pays.
19. Desperation breeds mistakes.
18. The hardest parts are also the loneliest.
17. There's fresh horse flop in the trail ahead.
16. Balance is first among the virtues; momentum is second.
15. Success requires confidence, but cockiness invites failure.
14. Sometimes, the best way past an obstacle is straight through it.
13. Some people get lucky at parts; nobody gets lucky at everything.
12. It's all about the being and the going, not the having and the arriving.
11. At each intersection, there's the easy way and the hard, rewarding way.
10. It's tempting to focus on the immediate problem to the exclusion of the big picture.
9. The thing that nails you is the one you don't see coming.
8. It's worth stopping for a breather to see where you are.
7. Thousands of tiny decisions shape the trip.
6. The fun starts when you push the limits.
5. You can get hurt, heal and go again.
4. Ups are followed by downs.
3. Practice makes you better.
2. No quitting allowed.
1. Love hurts (but don't let that stop you from falling in love.)

What has mountain biking taught you about life?

GoPro Cameras and Sacred Rides

Parva Trail, Chile

We're pretty excited to have a new partnership with GoPro cameras, makers of the best point-of-view cameras in the world.

Our guides in BC, Utah, Mexico, Guatemala, Chile, Peru, and Croatia/Slovenia now have GoPro Hero HD cameras to capture all the action from around the world. Look for some great riding videos to be coming your way over the coming months and years.

Videos will be posted at our Facebook Page and on our website. Looking for a little inspiration? Check out some vids and get motivated to go riding!

Epic Descents

I was recently asked by the crew at Biciklo to provide a writeup of our 3 most epic descents in Peru. With so many to choose from, it was hard to choose just 3, but here are my 3 favourites in the land of the Incas:

Olleros Descent
The thrilling Olleros Descent in Peru is one of the longest mountain bike downhills in the world, if not the longest. The day starts with a 3-hour drive from Lima into the Andes Mountains, ascending 11,000 feet on a remote, one-lane dirt road carved into the side of a mountain.

Upon reaching the town of Olleros, the fun begins with a short, technical descent on narrow singletrack. The trail soon opens up onto a wide, smooth ridge that gives the rider the opportunity to let go of the brakes and hit maximum speed as the mountains whizz by. The ride ends at a dry riverbed valley with 35 kilometres of unforgettable cruising as the sun sets, ending at the Pacific Ocean over 60 kilometres later.

In total the trail drops over 11,000 feet from Olleros to the ocean, a truly epic descent!


Marcahuasi Descent
This descent certainly qualifies as one of the more unique days of mountain biking in the world. We start the day off with an ascent in the van to the town of San Pedro de Casta, about 7,000 feet up into the Andes from Lima. In San Pedro we switch our van for other, more traditional steeds: local horses. We hand off our bikes to a group of local teenagers who will push our bikes up the last 1,000 vertical feet while we take the horses on a thrilling, technical ascent to the Marcahuasi Stone Forest. The Stone Forest is an ancient geological formation where the rock has morphed over time into human-like formations, a place revered by locals for its spiritual powers.

From the stone forest it’s a thrilling 8,000-foot descent along technical singletrack with spectacular views of the Andes in all directions. Unlike the Olleros Trail, this trail is tight with lots of switchbacks and technical sections to keep you on your toes. When it’s over, you’ll be grinning from ear to ear, exhausted but buzzing with the energy of the Incas!

Lares Descent
This is one of the highest altitude descents in Peru, starting at 14,500 feet above sea level. You’ll notice the thin air when you first get out of the van, but you’ll soon acclimatize as you descend. The trail is fast and fun, with lots of little jumps and trail features that will get you airborne should you choose.

Near the bottom the trail descends into a narrow river valley and you’ll ride alongside the river on technical singletrack for several kilometres before finally exiting into a traditional Peruvian village, gulping down all the extra oxygen and wiping the drool off your chin.

Hope you like this write-up - feel free to drop us a line at ride@sacredrides.com if you have any questions about our Peru Rides. We're now taking bookings for spring 2011 - you'll have to book at least 4 months in advance to reserve your spot on one of our amazing Peru Rides!

Last-minute discounts on summer and fall trips

Hello Riders!

If you've ever dreamed of stepping out of the routine of your local trails and adding a mega-dose of adventure into your life, I'm writing today to tell you just how you can do that, and save a few $ in the process.

Over the next 3 months, we've got some truly amazing Rides coming up.

We've got 10,000-foot downhills and Inca villages in Peru.
We've got the Rainbow Rim of the Grand Canyon & world-famous Moab in Utah.
We've got waterfalls, the Alps & the bright blue Adriatic Sea in Croatia and Slovenia.
We've got beautiful backcountry resorts surrounded by handcarved singletrack in British Columbia.

There are a few spots left on some of our remaining summer and fall trips, and to make it a little bit easier for you to join us, we're offering 15% off on the following trips:

August 13 Ultimate BC (British Columbia)
August 20 Rocky Mountain Singletrack (British Columbia)
August 27 Rocky Mountain Singletrack (British Columbia)
Sep. 4 Alps and Adriatic (Croatia/Slovenia)
Sep. 18 Alps and Adriatic (Croatia/Slovenia)
Sep. 18 Inca Trail (Peru)
Sep. 19 Southwest Slickrock (Utah)
Oct. 16 Inca Adventure Freeride (Peru)
Oct. 17 Southwest Slickrock (Utah)

To take advantage of this offer, click on the trip you want, then click on 'Book Now' and enter lastminute in the promotional code field. Or call us at 1-888-423-7849 toll-free in North America or+1.647.999.7955 elsewhere.

Most of these trips are close to sold out, with just 1 or 2 spots remaining in some cases, so you'll need to act quick before someone beats you to it.

So what are you waiting for? Your sacred ride is calling...