We also stopped at Vail, but as poor college students we couldn't afford to buy any lift tickets nor did we stay the night.But I will add a 94 Vail World Championship page and 94 DH course helmet cam video soon.
In 1994
I drove out west with two of my best friends from elementary school, Tim and
Greg. Tim was a student at BYU and offered Greg and I a free place to stay for a
month, which we could not refuse! On the way out west we froze our asses off camping off the road at Idaho Springs, Colorado. The next night we stayed in Georgtown. (left to right, me, Greg, Tim)
That's how life works for me. When I have the time to experience life- I have no money. And when I have the money- I have no time!
Anyway,
we drove
straight to Utah, where we camped in a small town called Moab. In 1994 Moab was
starting to gain national recognition for it's mountain biking on huge sandstone
formations. Slick Rock and Porcupine Rim was all I needed to see/ride to fall in
love with this desert town.
From a racing perspective, I wanted to try this Downhill Mania race at a ski resort called Deer Valley out side of Park City, Utah. This race was advertised as the first of it's kind because it featured 4 riders racing down the entire downhill course at one time, eventually eliminating the last 3 in a heat. The finals were filmed by helicopter and exhibited on TV. The TV coverage really didn't take off and it was the last Downhill Mania that I can remember, but it served as a precursor to current 4X freeride events. There was also a dual slalom, which I got knocked out of after the first round. You young guys learn from my mistake- get a coach, study bike geometry, and oversteer slalom turns to set-up for the next corner.
In my Down Hill seeding run I was 28th, which put me in the qualifiers,but I was eliminated in the first round. Excuses are many- I basically sucked at group starts, but that's racing. It was still a great event. Myles Rockwell(1st), Joey Lawwill (2nd), Toby Henderson(3rd), Josh Ivy (4th, who quit DH to become DJ Josh Ivy in Colorado) and Jake Watson put on a fantastic show. Myles ended up winning and I must admit that it was a very cool site watching the helicopter crest the last plateau of the course as Myles ripped down to the finish.
In 2004 I would return to BYU and Deer Valley. No, I did not turn Morman, but my Morman sister wanted a wild west trip out to her new college, BYU......and I wanted an excuse to see Moab and Deer Valley again. It was a blast from the past and my memories of Deer Valley were so vivid- felt like I was a young twenty something that raced Deer Valley last year,instead of a thirty something reliving some of the best memories of his life.
I was lucky enough to have a Pennsylvania friend out there who offered to rip-up Deer Valley with me. Chris Vandine grew up in Jim Thorpe, PA. He was racing for GO-RIDE.com and had already qualified for th U.S. national team to race Worlds in 2004. Deer Valley was now his home stomping ground, but he promised to go slow enough for me to hang on and film.
If you would like to see some Deer Valley footage, the top part of Nail Driver was part of the Downhill Mania Course, check out the following. Be aware that these clips are long helmet cam footage, which are great to watch while riding a trainer indoors. Enjoy and let me know what you think. If you want to race at Deer Valley, Utah, just go to the Norba National hosted there or visit www.go-ride.com for their downhill series at Deer Valley
Sunset Trail (helmet cam battery died after 4 minutes)
Check out the 1994 Downhill Mania Magazine. Pretty cool advertisements and racer descriptions.
DOWNHILL MANIA TV ADVERTISEMENT