Selecting this map type will serve you USGS topographical map data, with a scale determined by your map zoom level. Thanks to the USGS (US Geological Survey) for providing this great and free service. Unfortunately, only topo data of the US is available - we’re not aware of any similar open online databases like this for other areas in the world (if you know some, please let us know).

An example of how it looks like:

More about that below, but first a service announcement: I’ve created a new home for the more bike and riding oriented stuff I want to write about (and did so here in the past); it’s called Canyon Fever, go check it out.
This place (blog.mtbguru.com) will then be focused on MTBGuru.com support and announcements.

So here’s a quick recap on what’s new on the site, and I plan to elaborate on some of this in subsequent posts…

• Google Earth in the browser

Google recently released a browser plugin as well as an API that enables us to run Google Earth within the browser (only Firefox and IE on Windows are supported at this time).

• MTBGuru for Mobile

We’ve been getting quite excited about the possibilities the latest generation of mobile devices offer (iPhone, Blackberry, Nokia’s NSeries); this is a work in progress, more to follow!

• Integration of the Garmin’s Communicator browser plugin

This allows you to automatically download or upload data from your Garmin devices, rather than by transferring the .GPX files.

• Support for Garmin’s Training Center format

This format is required to upload course files to the Garmin Edge and Forerunner series, which become increasingly popular for biking and running activities; so we made a little exception on our .GPX/.KML centric policy.

When I find myself suffering through these endurance races, I often can’t help but think how much more fun they were during the planning stage, so I’d say enjoy them now! Though after they’re done they generally tend to turn into great memories…

This calendar focuses on the US, but I know there are plenty of amazing events organized all over the world. The Grand Raid Cristalp for instance is one I’d love to do some time…

2008-01-27 6 hours of El Lagarto FL

2008-01-27 Antelope Peak Challenge AZ

2008-01-27 Temple to Temple BZ

2008-02-02 The Dirty Dozen TX

2008-02-04 Arrowhead 135 MN

2008-02-15 Mas o Menos 100K (USACycling National Endurance Series) TX

2008-02-15 The Most Horrible Thing Ever NC

2008-02-16 12 hours of Santos FL

2008-02-16 Susitna 100 AK

2008-02-16 24 Hours in the Old Pueblo AZ

2008-02-16 Transmexicana VC

2008-02-24 Iditarod Trail Invitational AK

2008-03-02 Hospice 100 FL

2008-03-02 Hospice 100K FL

2008-03-08 Squiggy 6 hour Off Road Challenge FL

2008-03-15 San Ysidro Dirty Century NM

2008-03-15 Spoke Pony Showdown MO

2008-03-16 Dirty Spokes 6 hour Race GA

2008-03-29 The Rim Ride UT

2008-04-05 Baker’s Dozen 13hr race SC

2008-04-05 Boggs Mountain 8 hour CA

2008-04-12 Julian Death March CA

2008-04-18 The Arizona Trail 300 AZ

2008-04-19 6 Hour Showdown at Springs Fort Mill, SC

2008-04-19 Cohutta 100 (2008 NUE Race Series) TN

2008-04-19 Leesburg Bakers Dozen VA

2008-04-26 24 Hours of Adrenalin - Hurkey Creek #1 CA

2008-04-26 24 Hours of Vail Lake CA

2008-04-26 Trans-Iowa IA

2008-05-02 18 Hours of Fruita CO

2008-05-03 Dirt Sweat and Gears (USACycling National Endurance Series) TN

2008-05-03 Dirty Spoke Productions 12/6 Hr Race GA

2008-05-03 12 hours of Lodi Farm VA

2008-05-03 24 Hours of Adrenalin- Laguna Seca CA

2008-05-03 The Coolest 24 hr Race CA

2008-05-17 12 hours of Tsali NC

2008-05-17 Addison Oaks 12 and 6 Hours MI

2008-05-17 Lifestyles of the Rich & Famous 24 Hour ON

2008-05-18 24 Hours of Conyers - GG GA

2008-05-24 12 Hours of Gears WI

2008-05-24 12 hours of Weaverville CA

2008-05-24 Coconino Dirty Century AZ

2008-05-24 24 & 12 Hours of Boyne MI

2008-05-24 24 Hrs Round the Clock WA

2008-05-24 BURN 24 hour NC

2008-05-30 24 hours of EROCK CO

2008-05-30 Grand Loop Race CO

2008-05-31 Dirty Kanza 200 Miler KS

2008-05-31 Mohican 100 (2008 NUE Race Series) OH

2008-05-31 24 Hours of Pats Peak NH

2008-06-07 12 and 6 Hours of Steamboat CO

2008-06-07 Disc Burner 12 Hour TN

2008-06-07 24 Hours of Big Bear WV

2008-06-13 Tour Divide AB

2008-06-14 12 Hours of Temecula - Race #2 CA

2008-06-14 Cochiti 100 NM

2008-06-14 The Hardcore 24 NY

2008-06-14 Lumberjack 100 (2008 NUE Race Series) MI

2008-06-20 Great Divide Race MT

2008-06-21 12 Hours of the E100 UT

2008-06-21 8 Hours of Canonsburg MI

2008-06-21 Cowbell Challenge 12 Hour (USACycling National Endurance Series) NC

2008-06-21 24 Hrs of Summer Solstice ON

2008-06-28 Levis/Trow Mound 100 mile WI

2008-06-28 BC Bike Race BC

2008-06-29 Cascade Cream Puff 100 OR

2008-07-04 USAC-US MTB Marathon Natl Champ (USACycling Nat. Endurance Series)

2008-07-05 Santa Fe Big Friggin Loop NM

2008-07-12 12 Hours at Blue Mound WI

2008-07-19 12 and 6 Hours of Ithaca MI

2008-07-19 Breckenridge 100 (2008 NUE Race Series) CO

2008-07-19 Metro 12 Challenge WI

2008-07-19 Silver Rush 50 CO

2008-07-20 Dark Hollow 100K PA

2008-07-26 Laramie Enduro WY

2008-07-26 Galena Grinder Ketchum (USACycling National Endurance Series)

2008-07-26 The Endurance 100 team relay/solo 50 mile UT

2008-07-26 Wilderness 101 (2008 NUE Race Series) PA

2008-07-26 24 Hours of Adrenalin - Canmore (2008 World Solo Championship) AB

2008-07-26 24 Hours of Killington VT

2008-07-27 6 Hours of Power NY

2008-07-27 Galena Grinder Marathon ID

2008-07-28 Colorado Trail Race CO

2008-08-02 24 Hours of 9 Mile (US Nat’l Champ) (USACycling National Endur. Series) WI

2008-08-09 Leadville 100 CO

2008-08-09 12 & 24 hours of Humboldt CA

2008-08-09 24 Hours of Great Glenn NH

2008-08-10 Trans Rockies AB

2008-08-15 Montezumas Revenge CO

2008-08-16 12 and 6 Hours of Pando MI

2008-08-16 Blufflands Epic Enduro WI

2008-08-16 Fools Gold 100 (2008 NUE Race Series) GA

2008-08-16 Rapture in Misery MO

2008-08-16 24 Hours in the Sage CO

2008-08-17 Hampshire 100K NH

2008-08-23 The E100 100 mile solo UT

2008-08-23 24 Hrs of Hot August Nights ON

2008-08-30 12 and 6 Hours of Drummond Island MI

2008-08-30 Stump Farm 12 WI

2008-08-31 8 Hours of Labor FL

2008-08-31 Shenandoah 100 (2008 NUE Race Series) VA

2008-09-06 Clikapudi 6 to Midnight CA

2008-09-06 Double Boundary Trail NM

2008-09-06 Tahoe-Sierra 100 (2008 NUE Race Series) CA

2008-09-13 Hanson Hills 12 and 24 hour MI

2008-09-14 12 Hours of Snowmass CO

2008-09-14 The Endurance 100 Ultra UT

2008-09-19 24 Hours of Adrenalin- Hurkey Creek #2 CA

2008-09-19 Crank the Shield Stage Race ON

2008-09-20 12 hours of Dauset GA

2008-09-20 24 Hours of Landahl MO

2008-09-20 Payson Stampede (USACycling National Endurance Series) AZ

2008-09-27 Thunderdown in the Underdown WI

2008-10-04 12 Hours at John Muir WI

2008-10-06 24 Hours of Adrenalin - Conyers GA

2008-10-06 Whiskeytown 8 Hr and 24 Hr CA

2008-10-11 Dirty Spoke 12/6 Hr Race GA

2008-10-11 24 Hours of Moab UT

2008-10-18 Zuni Mountain NM

2008-10-18 24 Hours of Dirt TX

2008-10-18 Shannon Ridge Showdown (USACycling National Endurance Series) CA

2008-11-01 12 Hours of Temecula - Race #3 CA

2008-11-01 24 Hours of Clear Springs MS

2008-11-12 La Ruta de los Conquistadores CR

And check out this MTBGuru-calendar (pdf) - that’ll let you plan your rides. Granted, it’s a bit SF Bay Area-centric, but hey, that’s where we do most of our riding, and we shot these pics.

Looking at these photos, and looking back at the year, it seems this was the year of Henry Coe to me (Jan, Feb, Mar, Aug, Dec pics); indeed, I never get tired of it, it’s an amazing and inspiring place, with plenty of rough, unpolished and epic riding potential.

Other personal highlights were dream rides in Chamonix and Sedona, the local delights of Demo Forest, Annadel, Tamarancho, Santa Teresa and the great riding in Auburn and Tahoe. And I won’t forget my first attempt at the E100 in Park City any time soon either. I hear the Park City singletrack calling my name again already. A final mention goes to Arastradero, as I could and can ride to it from work, and enjoyed many a training ride and jump session there, some together with interns dragged along from work.

Cheers to all our riding buddies throughout the year for sharing the fun and may 2008 bring more goodness to everyone.

MTBGuru’s Santa brought some Virtual Earth / Live Maps support as mentioned in the previous post. To view your trip there, you can follow the link that we’ve put underneath the trip map.

We’ve actually brought a number of links together in that spot (’map links’), so you have all the trip essentials in one space without need for searching or scrolling: links to the GPX and KML files (for download, or to open in Google Earth), the link to Virtual Earth and the one to Google Maps:

Virtual Earth features some nice 3D models (for instance, the Golden Gate bridge, see the example and comparison with GE below) and the fact that it runs in the browser (IE and Firefox) is compelling, though I still prefer the user experience and overall feel of Google Earth (and the vast amount of content available in the latter).

Thanks to the fact that Live Maps/Virtual Earth have recently started to support the KML format, we’ve implemented a way to view your MTBGuru trips in them: look for the links to Virtual Earth right underneath the trip map and in the ‘Share your trip’ section.

Golden Gate bridge and Marin Headlands in Virtual Earth

Golden Gate bridge and Marin Headlands in Google Earth

As an example, this is how an Amasa Back ride in Moab looks like in ‘Terrain’ mode:

The situation here is now such that mountain biking is used by some public agencies as a quick and effective way to raise funds or overcome budget shortcomings, by means of writing out ridiculous fines for such gross offenses as riding a trail half an hour after sunset or exceeding 15mph at the bottom of some fireroad descent (usually not on singletrack, where speeding actually could present a real hazard to other trail users).

These funds are subsequently used to acquire more land or build and maintain trails *closed* to mountain bikers, as for instance is the case here with the La Honda Creek Preserve.

This is where trail advocacy comes in - a concept which I couldn’t grasp and appreciate while living in my bike-crazy home country - and the great people that spend their precious spare time and efforts to ‘further our riding causes’, attending endless meetings in an environment often very hostile to them. But also small efforts and contributions can make a difference - I’d urge everyone to sign this petition, or attend the public hearing tonight in La Honda (even though it’s held at 4pm on a Tuesday) - more info in this thread on MTBR - bring a bike helmet!

To get you warmed up, check out this recent example that should get your blood to boil: FC from MTBR was on a short after-work ride, riding from his house to the park, only to be intercepted (at 7pm) and presented a +$300 ticket by a ranger who was driving a truck around in the park, burning fuel and spoiling the air with exhaust gases and spitting out CO2 for the sole purpose of catching offenders whose ‘crime’ it is riding a bike on a trail after dark. Two words come to mind: ‘absurd’ and ‘Kafka’…

It may feel like late summer here, but elsewhere other seasons have definitely set in: check for instance this this geocaching trip in Hungary on MTBGuru and its gorgeous winter-wonderland like quality:

Places in Europe near the Mediterranean on the other hand seem to enjoy eternal spring - so it appears looking at the pics of this MTB event in Portugal:

Fact is it is late fall on the northern hemisphere - see how that looks like in the Canyonlands in Utah, on these nice pics another user shot during a hiking trip:

It’s always great to discover new territory, and seeing these trips, photos and reports from all over the world appear on the site is a real treat. Thanks (yes, it’s almost Thanksgiving here in the US ;)), and keep ‘m coming.

And of course: a happy Thanksgiving everyone!

The full moon lit things up quite nicely but we had to make good use of our combination halogen (helmet) and HID/LED (bar) lights to make it through the night and the often eerie and dark descents in the remote wilderness (for Bay Area standards at least) that Coe is even during daylight.

We didn’t run into too much wildlife, except for some deer, and lots of toads on the trail. We got pretty beat by this ride and the often brutal climbs, and dawn came as a great relief. It re-energized us and inspired us to do a last tough climb (Serpentine) such that we could zip down the fantastic Middle Steer ridge descent. Stats: about 37 miles with +8000 feet ascent.

A month after the big fire Coe is recovering and still an awesome place to ride. Perhaps we should make this Moonlight Madness ride a tradition, every last full moon before Halloween…

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