Team Dead Bros standing tall!

More podiums, more medal, more fun... Deer Valley Nationals are going off this weekend. Curt took forth in Expert 40+ DH and Rachel took third in Women's Open DS today! Rachel is set to race Pro dh tomorrow. The only way to get more results would to have more races!!!

Hey look I won

It was a crazy trip down to the south of Taiwan to the city of Kaoshuing to participate in the 2nd Giant DH cup race.

We loaded up the gear Friday afterwork and arrived about 4hours later to the hotel we booked. The race was early so there was no way we were going to wake up at 5am, drive down and then race.

Along for the ride was Steve from Niner, Ryan from Astrix [who has been repeatedly called a Banshee guy to his dismay, and i don't like to correct the person who says it which is like rubbing salt in his wound hahaha], and last is Emma from Ryans girlfriend.

We had scoped the location out earlier on the GPS where we figured the race was going to be and when we arrived everything was dialled and the organizers were ready to run the XC race, which gave us time to practice the DH course. So we setup and saddled up to check out what we had in store for this round. Last race was brutally flat and not technical at all so I wasn't expecting much.

Steve is such a competitor and I'll give him massive props for doing whatever it takes to race. He went out purchased the mandatory chest protection, borrowed a helmet, and threw on leg pads which were clearly made for a 12 year old. Hell he even went so far as to jam his torso and pads into a 1980's XC Incredible Hulk jerseys. Gawd he looked rediculous hahahaha - good thing for me i got the picture to prove it.

So we all went to scope out the course and got around the first corner to see a group of riders scoping out this off camber drop to sharp 90 degree off camber corner to a switchback. I figured what the hell and went for it but near the bottom of the first corner my front tire washed and i was down. No problem i'll just try it again.
After about 15 try's i figured it was basically impossible. The torrential rains had made the mud clay so freaking greasey that it was impossible to move even on the slightest slope - not even on your bike... I'm talking just standing there. I couldn't even walk up the hill and the mud stuck not only to your tires but to your shoes so much so that it was like walking on platforms.
Even the approach to the drop was off camber with a slight grade that was impossible to not have the front tire wash.
I did ride the rest of the course but it was pretty tough as it was all just like this which is too bad because there was a couple of large ravine gaps that i would have hit, had i been able to carry some serious speed but the goal was to just keep from going down.

Finally it was time to race; I knew the key was going to be keeping the tires clear which meant carrying enough speed into every section. I managed to nail the drop and the next section then made the switchback back to the left where I had watched 2 previous riders slide into a gulley at slow speed and disappear in the bushes, one on his back sliding like he was on some crazy waterslide. You know its slick when dudes are gaining momentum going down a hill on their backs. Luckily all those years on the Shore riding over slick roots, negotiating super steep tech lines and traversing slimey skinnies gives you mad skillz when things get greasy.

In the end I aced my class and posted the fastest time of all the riders.
The Incredible Hulk was 2 seconds behind but was still able to win his class, I even got a pic of him standing on the podium... oh wait I'm blocking the shot... oh well better luck next time Steve in capturing you glory moment hehehe.
Ryan came in second in my class but we won't mention the space between first and second although he did have video footage that confirmed that he was in the trees far longer then he had thought he was when he crossed the finish line and was perplexed by his time.

It was really wet but alot of fun. The hardest part tho was climbing back up the runs after practice cause it was so steep and slick. I definitely want to come back on a dry day and hit up those jumps though.

Back to the hotel to clean up and then scope out where to go for some grub.
Steve found out they DONT like it when you play their piano in the lobby.
We found a pretty good Thia restaurant that fit the bill and had some good eats. Then back to crash for the night so we could check out the rest of the city of Kaoshuing.

Morning came way too early and it looked like mother nature was going to give us a break as it was pissing down harder then the day before which i found hard to believe that was actually possible. Check out the shot of the street vendor at the bottom of the stairs and the rain rolling off them.

We decided to drive around through the university to see how far we could get but the road deadend at a miliatry facility.
While looking over the cliffs to the ocean below I spun around to see the tops of these weird looking buildings which I had to climb up the ledge on the other side of the road to check out.
Not really sure what they were but there was a pils box at the bottom of the shore which indicated it must be reminants of the Japanese occupation and these little shacks could have been some sort of camp circa 2nd world war.
The mountains behind them seemed endless as the clouds rolled slowly down the sides. Eventually I got caught in another downpour and had to take cover inside one of them. They were a 2 story affair with the stair case taking up the middle of the room.
Eventually the rain subsided and I could hear someone screaming angrily. I figured maybe I had trespassed or something but I had enough of a listen that it was too far away, and actually further up the mountain. After a few minutes listening I figured someone was climbing up the mountain and was yelling at their partner but the strange part was it sounded like french not chinese. Anyway... it was just kinda weird.

Later we found this cool temple tucked into the mountains of Kaoshuing. A few people were up there but for the most part it was pretty empty.
Temples can be found all over Taiwan but they're not really a religious thing. There basically like giant good luck charms and are used to garner favor with some ethereal energy or force to give you luck or fortune or health or any other thing that one would ever be wanting for. Analogous to throwing pennies in a fountain and then making a wish.

Later it was lunch and then the long drive home and the unpacking of gear and such. All in all it was a good weekend even though the weather wasn't cooperating.

HF Kozzy Style 08

As I wrote in last report Im beck to give you more detail about my biggest project this year, Horsefeathers Kozzy Style.

Photo in a magazine from last year event, me on Chaparral.


Im working with my two friends on organization of this slopestyle event since X-mass. Now we are in finals. Check the invitation video and a few photos from trial building...

More info, photos and videos from last year are here: horsefeathers.cz/kozzystyle

Nik has a flash new ride.

Nick sent me an e-mail today with some photos of his new Wildcard all built up. And what a beauty she is.


Nick's words:

"so far it rides beautifully...kind of like a little BMX or four cross with a bunch of squish, which is exactly what I was looking for."




He still needs to grow into it a bit, but I'm sure he is going to rip! haha

Scythe Settings

Nick from Italy did up this cool guide to show all the Scythe riders which hole configurations will give you which setup.Scroll down to see the English version as the first one is in Italiano

Team Dead Bros Banshee

Hey ya'll! ....hold on let me try again... What's up world wide web, this is Devon from Team Dead Bros Banshee. You have probably seen some of my photos on this blog. Just wanted to drop a line to everyone to give a shout and introduce the team.


Linden Carlson- "Hey Culligan Man!"
Age: a day older then yesterday
Location: Glenwood Springs CO
Profession: Banshee ripper, pro plummer
Bikes: 4yr old Morphine, custom Scream, Scratch, gearx custom fixie, 1960's road
Race: DH


Curt Clemetson- "He has springs for legs"
Age: Unknown, lets just say he is the wisest
Location: Assspen CO
Profession: powder ripper, cat driver, trail builder, dh ripper
Bikes: NorCo, and ....patiently awaiting the arrival of his one of fifty Legends.
Race: DH


Rachel Bauer- "let's just leave it at that"
Age: Old enough to kick your a$$ on a bike
Location: Assspen CO
Profession: Pro skier, Pro DH racer (NO OFFICIAL SPONSORS!!!), greeter at wal-mart (the last part was a joke)
Bikes: Rockey Mountain Switch, and ....patiently awaiting the arrival of her one of fifty Legends.
Race: DH


Devon Balet- "someone else needs to come up with something to be said here"
Age: 24 i'm the pup in camp
Location: currently Glenwood Springs CO and be seen in a town near you
Profession: Pro photographer and pro bike mechanic
Bikes: Scirocco, Viento built to xtracycle, and one day i will have a Rune, Lemond road bike, tall bike, and raleigh fixie
Race: I'm the dude in the trees with the flashes going off.

So there you go all... a face to the names. Keep checkin' back cause Team Dead Bros will be making some noise and getting on the podium.

Schwara s spring 08

Hi from central Europe.
Its a quite long time when i post my last report on Banshee block.
So what I have been doing?



At april I took part in local Four Down race. It was mixture of fourcross and downhill. I was the fastest at the qualifications. I won all runs expect the finals and took second place. My wildcard was perfect coice for this trail. It was lot of fun, Im not a 4x rider and I had very bad starts so I had to pass one or two riders every run:).






4x video:



Than I visit a German bikepark Geiskopf.










I was working on our local FR trail, make alot of freeriding, backcountry riding on my scirocco and some dirtjumping.






I love to ride my wildcard more and more!






Im working on plans of new bikepark in a ski resort in Czech Republic(psst! its still secret:))






And at last but not least Im working organization and Im designer and builder of park for on biggest slopestyle event in Czech Republic - Horsefeathers Kozzy Style. It s 5-6th July 08 and its going to be big! And about this I will post something tomorrow.