Stan's Presents: Intersections
At Stan's, we believe real support means more than just standing behind our products. It means supporting the people who use those products, and the trails and causes that matter to them. As part of this commitment, we'll be featuring riding communities and the people involved in supporting their local trail networks and the riders.
Through the short film Intersections by Brice Shirbach, as well as other film and video features, we'll be taking a closer look at riding communities and causes and the people who make them possible. Each time a customer registers a Stan's wheelset to receive warranty and crash replacement coverage, we donate $10 to that customer's choice of cycling-related cause, advocacy, or trail maintenance group through our Connection program.
Join Stan's NoTubes athlete Brice Shirbach as he explores the connection between three very different communities: Powell River & Qathet Regional District of British Columbia, Fruita, Colorado, and the southern coast of Oregon.
“From the outside looking in, mountain biking might seem to be a bit of an inherently odd proposition. The idea diving into and out of the woods aboard a bicycle, waxing poetic about dirt, slapping and raking trails into existence, and spending hours on the internet debating merits of various wheel sizes and spoke tensions is admittedly a bit silly when seen through the lens of someone who hasn't experienced those joys themself.
But for most of us who do, it's understood that mountain biking provides us with a number of connections. It allows us to better connect with the planet, with our communities, and certainly with ourselves as well. While there are any number of differences that may exist between disparate parts of the world, there's also a shared narrative thread for all of us who ride bikes in the woods that comes from our relationship with trails.”
- Brice Shirbach
Fruita, Colorado
Situated on Colorado's western slope, Fruita offers up year-round riding opportunities throughout its high desert landscape in the Grand Valley. The Grand Valley chapter of COPMOBA (Colorado Plateau Mountain Bike Trail Association) advocates for access to singletrack in two distinct parts of Fruita: 18 Road and Kokopelli, and the community at large have embraced cycling and mountain bike culture as an integral part of its own identity.
The Oregon Coast
The Pacific Ocean helps to refrigerate coastal Oregon communities throughout the summer, and also keeps temps moderately warm throughout the winter, which makes for a year-round playground for mountain bikers in the area. The Wild Rivers Coast Mountain Bike Association manages a slew of purpose-built networks as well as miles of raw, backcountry singletrack from Coos Bay, OR all the way to the California border. Some say they've built so many amazing trails so that people don't think about the world-class surfing available throughout the region, but either way Oregon's Coast is as dreamy a place as they come.
Powell River, BC
Powell River is the population center for BC's Sunshine Coast. Though technically connected to mainland Canada, Powell River is only accessible by plane or ferry, giving the community more of an island feel to it. The Qathet Cycling Association has worked hard over the years to develop one of the most robust mountain bike communities in all of Canada, and the inherent filter of challenging travel logistics will ensure that the steep and loam-covered trails that adorn Mount Mahony remain that way for years to come.
