Last week I brought you to fire up the riding stoke. The day I posted them, I found myself up in Los Alamos, New Mexico, on the (a tricky slick rock outing that I seldom ride because it takes an hour to reach versus the trails out my door)—and I was fired up. With visions of bike jumps and high-speed downhills playing through my head, I found myself opening it up more than normal: braking less, sliding through wide corners, unhitching the tires from the ground on the occasional berm and roller. Compared to Chris Akrigg or that downhiller in Valparíoso, I'm sure I still looked like a toddler just off his training wheels. But man did it feel good.
So in the interest of momentum, here's my top five favorite internet biking clips. Have a look and then head out for a spin. And if you have other great candidates, let's see them.
5. Red Bull Rampage 2010. There's more “agony of defeat” here than “thrill of victory,” but holy man is it inspiring when they land it right. Surf around YouTube for more footage from this event.
https://youtube.com/watch?v=hKXYKbdgEmM%C2%A0
4. Maybe Gee Atherton's knowledge of the course makes this a loaded race, but it's still impressive. And I love how similarly the bikes perform. Man have mountain bikes come a long way in recent years.
https://youtube.com/watch?v=KqBy1R7IMGE%C2%A0
3.Not mountain biking, but it has great energy and it has my favorite-ever Lance role.
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2. I don't know if I've ever seen a more compelling trail. The guys who shot this agreed: They went out and created a second killer clip at the same place. And there's more on the full video.
https://youtube.com/watch?v=XIQdydGhpdc%C2%A0
1. And one more Danny MacAskill. It gets my top vote for the fence ride alone, but almost every second of this six-minute clip inspires awe.
https://youtube.com/watch?v=Z19zFlPah-o%C2%A0
BONUS Courtesy of Scot Nicol at , this one is the ultimate paean to summer biking frenzy. Fun, fun, and more fun!
https://youtube.com/watch?v=B3GribQCg6c%C2%A0
–Aaron Gulley