Let me tell you more about myself.  My name is Sam Nayet and I’m one of the lucky few who were chosen to participate in the Osprey Hydraulics, Mountain bike team.

I’m 40 years old, father of a two, Caleb who is four and Sophie, two.

I‘ve always enjoyed riding but I’ve really embraced this passion over the last four years, as I was introduced to mountain bike racing. I race not only for the competitive aspect but also that it motivates me to stay in shape.  I bike to work every day.  Probably very ordinary to most of you, but biking year round through the Saskatchewan winters where temperatures plummet in -30 degrees Celsius… Not so ordinary. You might say I’m a little nuts but that’s okay — it beats buying a second vehicle!

This weekend my local mountain bike club, Off-road Syndicate (ORS), held its annual race, The Wascana Challenge, at the scenic and popular Wascana trails. This race is part of the Saskatchewan inter-provincial race series.

Saskatchewan is located pretty much in the middle of Canada, right in the middle of the Canadian Prairies. One might think what’s the challenge, when you’re riding on flat prairie landscape. Although the Prairies are flat, erosion by rivers, or maybe even glaciers melting, created a series of valleys which provide us with some interesting trails, perfect for endurance cross racing.  Wascana trails offer some steep climbs and technical descents in treed areas and also some nice flats to catch your breath in between.

Our summer here in Saskatchewan has been particular wet this year, as we usually enjoy a semi-arid climate. Heavy rain fall two days prior to the race, made the trails very slippery and made some areas even more challenging to ride. As most of the trails are hard pack, traction was minimal. Heat was also a concern for most of us who are not use to riding in hot and humid conditions. So needless to say the race was pretty demanding.

The first lap was a little frustrating as I caught up with some slower riders and had to wait until after the first climb to be able to pass. Once that was done I was pretty much on my own for the last two laps.

The last lap was, and always is the most demanding as fatigue and pain sets in. I had plenty of water for the entire race and never felt the effects of dehydration. (Hydraulic packs are nice. A hydraulic pack used to be a six pack, stuffed in my back-pack on my way home from work on a Friday!)

I manage to finish forth in my wave, with a time of 1 hour, 44 minutes — 2^nd in my category — pretty good considering the conditions. Well that’s it for me this time around, so keep riding and have fun!

Osprey Culture, adventure adventure, Canada, hydration, Hydraulics, mountain biking, outdoors, trail

I’ve been wanting to do one of the National Ultra Endurance (NUE) MTB100 marathon races for a few years, and although the Wilderness 101 didn’t fit great into my racing season with Untamed New England (a 3-day, non-stop adventure race) a few weeks away, I couldn’t pass up the opportunity to do this killer course. A course considered by many to be the toughest technically and physically on the NUE circuit.

The Wilderness 101 takes place outside State College (home of Penn State) in Rothrock State Park and surrounding state lands. The 160 km course is mountainous and extremely rocky. There would not be fast flowy single-track here like we are accustomed to in Ontario; instead it would be a maze of gnarly rocky single-track interconnected by old coal mine trails, fire roads and the occasional paved state park road.

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Osprey Culture, adventure adventure, biking, endurance, Events, hydration, mountain biking, outdoors, racing

Here at Osprey we spend a lot of time outside, and when we do, we make sure to live by the ethic: Leave No Trace. We’re so committed, we print the Leave No Trace Principles right in our packs…

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Osprey’s Rippin Chix Mountain Bike Camps were SOLD OUT for June! Was it the Raptor demos? Big smiles? The confidence built from learning to tackle fear-mongering logs, roots, bridges, switchbacks, uphills and downhills? The great sponsor prizes from Patagonia and Osprey? The world famous instructors such as Sara Ballantyne, Sydney Fuller, Tina Kempin, Brittany Fuller, Stacee Vanaernem and Missy Ochs? Whatever it was, June was a huge success!

The events were held during Crested Butte’s Fat Tire Bike Week, with racing, concerts, and exciting events such as the Chainless World Championships.

Ready to learn more and join the Rippin Chix? I will have Raptor demos and prizes at the next big camp: October 2-3rd, based in Paonia, Colorado at my new sustainable demonstration and educational farm. Free camping. swimming in the pond, ride out your tent flap, and dine on food from the gardens and orchards, prepared by world class chefs!

Wanna Go? Tell us why you should win a free spot by commenting on this blog. Osprey will choose a winner Friday, July 23!

Visit http://www.alisongannett.com for more information.

Events, Osprey Athletes, contest adventure, Alison Gannett, freeskiing, mountain biking, Osprey, outdoors, Raptor, Save our snow, summer

For the past two years my wife and I have called Iowa City, Iowa our temporary home. We moved here for my wife to pursue

Riding Sugar, Iowa

a pediatric residency. A priceless decision for a major career accomplishment.  This two year commitment brought us to a place that I would have never imagined I would live. For a boy that grew up around rivers full of rapids and trout, mountains with ample single-track and long winter runs; Iowa was really the last place I would have visualized myself calling home. My knowledge of Iowa was little more than a bit of knowledge about that big cross state bike ride, RAGBRAI.

However, being in Iowa I have been pleasantly surprised to find one of the best technical single-track trail systems where no one would expect a strong mountain biking community. Iowa City is home to one of the better single-track systems in the midwest, the Sugar Bottom Trails. The two years spent here have treated me well with ample opportunities for some great single-track and providing a new drive in my MTB passion. Matter a fact Iowa City was ranked as one of the best towns in 2007 by Outdoor Magazine. Sugar Bottom Trails were a major contributor to that ranking.

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Osprey Adventure Envoys adventure, mountain biking, MTB, Osprey, Osprey brand team, Osprey Packs, outdoors, travel

It was a typical day on the North Shore mountains of British Columbia — wet and slick trail conditions. Fromme Mountain is the birthplace of free-ride mountain biking and host of Wade’s Excellent Adventure, put on by the Godfather of free-riding: Wade Simmons.

The idea is to ride four laps on Fromme Mountain in the coastal mountains above the city of Vancouver. Four tough laps of some of the most technical mountain biking in the world. But growing up in this area, I wasn’t too concerned as we started riding with rigid forks on the front and no suspension on the rear.

The first lap on Upper Oil Can was impossibly slick, then down Oil Can and traverse over Baden Powell. Back up for another lap all the way to the bottom. We got the long climbs out of the way first and continued on to the fast section of pipeline.The last lap was on the classic Ladies Only.

By the end, my nerves were shot, but my brother and I rode steady and rolled in for the victory in a time of 3:23:23 for 32 km and 4,700 feet of climbing.

Our Talon packs were ideal for the race: wicked day on the mountain bikes testing the limits in gnarly conditions.

Photos by: Stephen McCabe , Jurgen Watts

Story by Andy Traslin

Events, Osprey Athletes, Osprey Culture, Outdoor Activities, Product adventure, Canada, mountain biking, mountains, racing

Here at Osprey, we’re revving up for an awesome spring and summer! Because we’re so excited to be a part of so many great events, we decided to kick off each month with a post highlighting a few of our favorites. Check it out!

Osprey's Sam Mix on the trail

Appalachian Trail Days in Damascus, Virginia — May 13 to 16

Each year hikers, former hikers and aspiring hikers of the Appalachian Trail converge to celebrate at Trail Days. Osprey will be on hand once again to welcome hikers and provide free gear repairs and free pack fittings.

New River Rendezvous in the New River Gorge, West Virginia — May 14 to 16

The Rendezvous is the annual fundraising gig for the New River Alliance of Climbers. It’s a fun and friendly 3-day celebration of climbers, climbing and the New River Gorge. Gather with friends, relax, compete, play, laugh and climb in the laid back atmosphere of Southern West Virginia. Osprey will be there to provide free pack demos and some sweet gear giveaways. And as always, watch out for that Timmy O’Neill!

12 Hours of Mesa Verde Mountain Bike Race in Cortez, Colorado — May 8

A grassroots 12-hour mountain bike relay race on a stellar network of single-track known as Phil’s World. The race course twists and turns through juniper trees, intermittent technical spots and fast descents — all in the shadow of Mesa Verde. All proceeds benefit Montezuma County Partners.

Mountain Film in Telluride, Colorado — May 28 to May 31

Currently in its 32nd year, the Mountainfilm Festival is a four-day, six-senses experience of art, adventure, culture and the environment. It attracts filmmakers, photographers, conservationists, mountaineers and explorers from around the world. The theme for this year’s festival is “Extinction.”

The spirit celebrated at the festival may be of a vital eco-system or a fragile one. It may be of an endangered culture or of one courageous soul. It may be of a grassroots sustainability movement or of the struggle of a species on the brink of extinction. In whichever case, it is always a spirit that is unique, important and eminently laudable.

For a taste of what will be playing at the festival, watch the trailer for 180º South featuring Timmy O’Neill and Patagonia’s Yvon Chouinard.

Events adventure, Climbing, Events, film, hiking, mountain biking, outdoors