STDD Remedy Trip: Days 5 & 6

On the 4th of July, we were once again up at the buttcrack of dawn to make yet another Stoker Ride appearance. This time around, Chopper, Shimano MTB Product Manager Matt Robertson, and a whole bunch of guys from Scott Bikes were going to join us. More Red Bull, Gu, and we were loaded up to head out to the Greenhorn Trailhead. Ironically enough, the guy from Ninkasi Brewing driving the van pulling the trailer full of bikes needed some local knowledge to get to the trailhead, so Zac jumped in the front seat.

When we got to the parking lot, Chopper was there waiting with the boys from Scott. They were all aboard the brand new 2013 650b and 29'er Scott Geniuses that were NOT yet ready for public consumption. The media boys were all flying in the next day for a press camp, and we were told to NOT put images up on the internet.

Chopper was digging his ride on the 29'er, enough so that he said this one was changing the way he felt about them.

So we had the age old talk about "Yeah, we said we weren't gonna build a 29'er... this company said this, that company said that..."

I had to mention that my next Wazzupwidis column in Dirt Rag is about the late comers to the 29'er game.

Anyways...

Matt Robertson went all double face palm when I told him Biopace needs to be an option on the 2013 XTR cranks.

After we finished the Stoker Ride, we ended up back at the van for more Ninkasi Brewing beer and some random salt and vinegar chips. The Scott boys all wanted to play swapsies and try a different bike on the same terrain, so we elected to go back out for a bonus Stoker Ride once all the swapping was sorted out and beers finished. Once more we headed out into the hills looking for additional stokeage.

One more hour of sweet riding and a few fix-a-flat sessions and we were back at the Scott vehicles where they had more...

wait for it...

beer.

Scott rep Nate Sibly is now an official member of the Shirtless Club for Men.

The rest of the night is kind of a blur of Live Free or Die Hard, beer, and fireworks over the town of Sun Valley.

Thursday we were not going on the Stoker Ride. The schedule called for a "ride with the natives." Gabe from Smith Optics was going to guide whoever showed up in the Smith parking lot at 9:00, then 9:30, then 10:00... the texts kept coming. Apparently last night's rodeo in Hailey got outta hand.

We met up with Abby and Ariel from the Santa Cruz demo crew and Gabe, slowly prepped our gear, and headed out for a "lunch loop."

The trail names are fading in my memory... Fox, Adam's, Harpers. Some were hit at mach speeds while others at mach two. Above the tree line gristle and bomber brown dirt flew by. The ride was over soooo quickly. So little to say, but some of my favorite trails I had sampled thus far.

But we needed to get back, eat, and get cleaned up for the VIP reception that night.

The itinerary said "5:00 VIP Reception Elkhorn Springs golf course - ride with Chopper."

I sent a text to Chopper close to 5:00 inquiring into our transportation to said event.

Yes, we just went up to the Sun Valley Resort Lodge, and despite our dirtbag'esque appearance, a van just took us wherever we wanted to go. When we arrived at the clubhouse, some sort of proceedings were taking place. Up on stage were JHK, Irmiger, Craig, Decker, Gould, Rusch, Schultz, Emmett, Wells, McConneloug... I can't remember all of them, but we did not belong there for sure. Once the announcements were over, Zac and I headed towards the free beer.

I complained to Chopper that I did not have a name tag, since everyone else in the room was wearing one. He gave me his, making me "Chopper, Master of Awesome." We went looking for name tag supplies for Zac. Spying that we were up to no good, Georgia Gould asked us what we were doing.

"Looking for a name tag so we could get Zac all official."

"Here, I'm leaving. Have mine."

At least he was wearing a woman's shirt already.

The VIP Reception was going so well, I tweeted in my shorts.

Sue Haywood responded with a challenge that could not go unanswered. Zac and I pulled out the stops and popped off our tops.

Apparently we were photo-bombed by a female interloper that was attending the VIP (Very Impressive Pair) reception. I decided we needed a do-over and a celebrity guest Shirtless Club for Men member.

Adam Craig, the first racer to ever do a World Cup on a single speed, was given an additional seventeen cool points that night.

Eventually it got dark, true VIP's left the building, the beer got turned off, and things looked bleak. That's when I spotted all the bottles of champagne that the true VIP's left behind.

Eventually, the club employee just asked Chopper to "Lock up when you're done, OK?"

I love Sun Valley.