A few of us had fun posin’ for the camera last Saturday when a photographer I met recently came out to shoot us doing some muni. Some of the shots he took are on his website at : http://www.danstreckphotography.com Click on “view galleries” on the left side of the page.
I thought this would be a good time to introduce some of the newer riders in our area.
Phil is the guy in the white jersey in the photos. He has been riding only about 6 months, but learned very fast and is riding the rough stuff with me regularly and keeps me working at it. His desire to learn has helped me to analyze my riding and to push myself in the process. He posts here occasionally but mostly lurks, sucking up knowledge to use against us.
Trapper is the guy in the yellow jersey, and his two very cool kids are Aaron and Sarah. They have all just learned over the last several months and are doing fantastic. Sarah started a couple of months after the guys, but is going to give them a run for their money if they don’t watch out. Trapper’s switch from mountain biking to muni was as a result of a neck injury that couldn’t tolerate the bike position. That is my story also, and I am glad to see that so far it is working out well for him like it did me.
Unfortunately Dave Stockton was not able to be there for this shoot, but he needs no introduction. We will get him on the next one.
Thanks Nathan. Yes, I meant to say in my post that it was very difficult for him to work in the shadowy light, but he didn’t complain. Unfortunately the small low-res shots on his website look dark and lack detail. I have seen some of them at a higher res and they are much more impressive. He spent a lot of time laying on the ground, trying different things, really working with the bad light as much as he could. I like those low angle backlit flash shots also.
Great, Scott. Or, should I say Great Scott! Looks like a lot of fun. Thanks for the introductions - I hope to ride with them when I visit next month. Is this trail on the agenda for that weekend?
No, it’s a small park called O.P. Schnabel and it is about 5 minutes from my shop. Lots of fun technical stuff, and miles of trails along the Leon Creek bottom.
Enchanted rock is a great place, but no riding is allowed there. Nice rock climbing though. Have you been there? …Eek, I just remembered I owe you an email response…
Yes Eyal we will ride there one of the days of your visit. The other day we will head for the hills a half-hour or so away. We are all looking forward to it!
Yeah - we went to a wedding in Fredricksburg(?), TX and climbed at E. Rock for a day. I climbed a cool chimney route which got wider as it ascended, to the point of full extension hands on one side, feet on the other at the top. Wild!
If some of y’all Texans are interested, a few of us Okies and MUCsters have been talking about a Spring weekend muni ride at Mt. Ida in Arkansas. Paperboy has been there and scouted it out. There’s good trails and campsites.
We met in Blanchard Springs, AR last fall and had a great time. Does anyone in Arkansas ride?
Great Shots, Scott. It’s amazing how it all looks when a pro takes the time to set up a shot. When we go out it’s almost always one of us just pulling out a little peanut camera and while gasping and sweating all over the lens, just clicking off a few shots–tricky with gloves/writst guards on. We’re lucky to even get the subject in the frame. And we rarely shoot the best and hardest bits because everyone is alway concentrating on the riding.
Wish others would post more Muni shots to keep the stoke high. Muni trip/photo reports are the shizat!
