Dirt Diaries

WTR: Hey Shane! Welcome home, that looked like a really epic trip mate..Tell us a bit about it, what was the plan, where did you go exactly, how did you get around?
Shane: Thanks mate! Yeah was definitely an epic trip, I’d say the best holiday I’ve ever had! Basically the plan was to land in Seattle jump in my buddies van and road trip down to Utah for rampage, stopping at a bunch of freeride sites along the way.



WTR: Sounds epic. We saw you rode some pretty famous gnar in Utah.. Places like Tippies Rock, Green river and some old rampage sites to name a few - What was the stand out for you?
Shane: Man that’s hard to say! Everything I rode was a stand out to me haha, probably the freeride chutes in green river or King Kong trail.



WTR: Pictures wouldn't do some of the trails justice, how much did you push yourself over there? any sketchy moments?
Shane: Definitely not, easily the wildest riding I’ve ever done! To be honest the some of the sketchiest moments were hiking up the mountains with the bike on your shoulders and having basically no traction on your feet due to how steep it all was. Pushed myself a lot mainly mentally just to drop into a chute or to hit a huge drop ect. Oh man the feeling of riding a crazy chute is basically a drug that you keep chasing haha.



WTR: How is the access to some of the Chutes, did you park at the bottom and hike most of it?
Shane: Basically just camping in a area and just looking from the bottom and picking a line you want to ride then you have to hike up. It’s not easy and once you committed to your line there’s no going back haha.



WTR: You and your Buddy Aric camped in the van right? how is it over there - can you just camp at the trail head or camp grounds? whats the setup like for anyone who wants to do something similar in Utah?
Shane: Yeah so all of North America is so set up for the van life. There is heaps of people doing similar trips - You basically can camp anywhere it’s so rad and cheap, highly recommended.

WTR: With Rampage the finale of your trip - were you pretty mind blown with the Event and the terrain they were riding?
Shane: Yes definitely! The riding and trail building is so insane! It’s just felt like a big party at the bottom of the mountain. Was so damn awesome to see how big there actually going in real life! Absolutely mind blowing! If you thought about going to one just do it, you won’t be disappointed.

We recently received a kids MTB seat from the team at Kids Ride Shotgun. This is how it went down…

My daughter and I open up the delivered package and the excitement in the room starts to build. My 3-year daughter has already caught on to what she is opening and is super excited to hit the trails.

Once we open up the packaging, you can immediately tell that this is a quality product with no expense spared, finished with perfect paint, super plush seat and quality tools for installation.

Installation

Fitting the seat was very easy and first setup took no longer than 30 minutes. I highly recommend reading through the detailed instructions to avoid any damage to your frame and setting the seat at the correct angles for your toddler. I was a bit worried about setting up the seat on my frame due to my bike OCD, but the heavy-duty rubber coverings on the seat frame keep your bike safe from any damage.
One thing I didn’t consider and recommend, would be adding a few PSI to your front fork to allow for the extra KGs upfront to reduce that OTB feeling.

Let’s hit the dirt

I lift my 3-year daughter up to take her seat, she is excited to hit the single trail. I take her along a green trail first up to see how she will handle the terrain and more importantly how I will cope with the extra weight upfront. The first downhill section we rolled had to be repeated multiple times as it was “so much fun”. After a few practice runs on the green loop, we hit a blue trail and the little one handles it like a pro and continually asks to go faster.

Surprisingly, apart from having to lockout my front and rear shock and having a small person between my legs, I can hardly tell the difference with the handling of the bike. Obviously there are weight imbalances but I found I quickly adjusted too.

The experience

This product is truly a game changer. Having the ability for your little one to sit upfront and fully experience mountain biking first hand, was such a great way for me to connect with my daughter. We had an awesome time on the trails, and I was able to explain to her a few techniques on the bike which hopefully she can transfer to her own bike. Most importantly, it’s a great way to get your kids out of the house and away from the TV.

Icon - Petrol Blue Tee

Pros

• Great experience for both parent and child.
• Quality product, easy to install and remove within 5 minutes.

Cons

• Say goodbye to your solo weekend rip.

You can grab yourself a Shotgun Kid's MTB Seat for $220.00AUD from a few select local retailers or online at kidsrideshotgun.com.

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