44 Days and Rolling Episode 6

The tree-covered mountains of New Hampshire began to fade and were replaced by the towering buildings of the Chicago skyline. After another long drive, we started off our Midwest journey by visiting our SRAM friends Morgan Meredith and Cully Radvillas for some quick bike maintenance. After a quick tour of the facility and some shop time, we headed off for a little build and pump track session at the Garden dirt jumps on Chicago's Northwest side. After navigation through some city traffic, we arrived at Clark Park and were met by Jeremy Kawka who is one of many Trail Coordinators and driving forces behind the CAMBR sanctioned trail system. After a few solid hours of throwing and shaping dirt, it was time to pull out the Norco 250’s and test what we had just built. As the day came to an end, it was easy to see that some passionate bikers with the right drive can make anything happen, even if your surrounded by concrete in every direction.

From the Chicago dirt, we pushed even further northwest to the up and coming bike scene of Milwaukee. Aside from the beautiful lakeshore riding, there is also a hidden gem that lies on the cities outskirts known as Ray’s MTB. Although Ray’s is typically a winter operation that closes in the summer, General Manager Eric Schutt lets us in to check out their one-of-a-kind learning facility. Eric and Joe Prisel gave us a tour of the awesome indoor Mecca and set aside a little time to ride the XC, Skills, Jumps and the Pumptrack.

After another exploration of a new riding environment, we hopped back in the truck and began to make our way further west to Montana and Washington! Check it out next week in episode 7!

Thanks to our awesome Sponsors! Freehub Magazine, Norco, SRAM, RockShox, TruVativ, Avid, GoPro, Fanatik Bike Co.