Three Generations of "Hall" Mountain Bikers at the Buck Hill Race & Bike Patroling at 24 Hours of Afton

The start of the expert/pro class mountain bike race at Buck Hill, Minnesota. Jay Richards, Eric Oftedahl, Hollywood and Jeff Hall on the front line.

Team Manager Owen Hall is seen waiting for, racer dad, Jeff Hall to come cranking out of the woods.

O spied Jeff coming out of the woods.

Go Dad, go!!

O poses with yours truly "Grandpa" Hall. I raced in the first expert mountain bike race at Buck Hill back in the 1980s', some 20 years ago. That makes it 3 generations of Buck Hill racers, we have all won here, so it is always great come back.

I was talking to Jeff about when it was called Tour de Bump. They had a wooden ramp at the bottom of the hill that used to come out of the woods on the north side. Everyone was launched into the air as they hit that ramp, this was before suspension mountain bikes. We got major air, I remember the time Geno got so much air that he almost took out the banner that they had at the finish line. Heck, Channel 11 Sports was even there to shoot some sports footage of the race.

This week-end was the 24 Hour Mountain Bike Race at Afton Alps.

Weez and I signed up to bike patrol (provide first aid, we Ski Patrol at Afton Alps in the winter) at the Afton 24 Hour MTB Race, . The race was 24 hours long, we signed up for the 5:00PM - 12:00 midnight shift on Friday. It was good, only 3 injuries, minor scratches and bumps.

Afton Alps turned into a campground for all the racers, with campers and tents strewn all along the valley. After the sun went down there were campfires and grills started. There were headlamps bobbing in the darkness, it was a scene of stillness yet a constant movement of racers and people who were supporters. We also mounted the headlamps and got out to do some night riding. We rode up to the top of the resort where Red Bull had a lit-up tent, a nice fire going. We spent some time up there talking with a guy who had convinced Red Bull to be a part of the event. Everyone up there was having a great time cheering on the riders who would appear out of the darkness. The moon was out and it was a cool night, in the 60s'. It felt like an early fall night. Good Times!!

The Moon over Afton Alps at the Midnight Hour

Mt. Hood: July 08' #3

Another view of the Mt. Hood, in the clouds.

We had to go to the bandanna route with the intense sun on the snow. Our faces got sun burnt the first day on the snowboards.

The youngster boardin with the masters, Weez and I. Isaac in the white.

Carving down the mountain in July, yeah!!

The board room at Timberline Mountain Lodge. We stayed in one of the bunk rooms.

The last day in the mountains, Friday. Mountain biking and 4-wheeling on mountain jeep trails and hiking some great hiking trails. We accessed a mountain ridge east of Mt. Hood . We parked the truck on a cliff ledge and mountain biked to some switch-back hiking trails. Weez and I checked out the mountain flowers along the way. The last bike ride was climbing up a jeep trail that followed a cliff band. Then descended back down to the truck. Good times!!

There was still some snow in the deep forest, some we could ride through and some we had to hike-a-bike through.

That was it from Mt. Hood. This was our 3rd trip out here and it is always a thrill. It is the ultimate summer Adventure. With snowboarding, mountain biking, hiking and 4-wheeling on some great mountain terrain, every day was 18 hours of Good Times!!