Racing, Travel and Living the Dream, Amado Stachenfeld

Two Days in Truckee

2011-09-01T22:24:00.001-07:00

Two days well spent during the PRO GRT Finals at Northstar in Truckee, CA. Tons of shredding at Northstar, fishing, camping(rained on but worth it), skating, swimming, exploring. all in all having a good time and making the most of every minute.

Still Photos by Stegemiller unless otherwise noted

photo: Stachenfeld

East Coast Breakdown

2011-07-28T12:09:00.000-07:00

Finally getting these up, better late than never. Early season trip out east for the Highland and Plattekill PRO GRT's as well as the US Open. two weeks in the piss followed by good ol' east coast humid heat, what more could you expect. just sounds like good training for the "wet" cups!

FREEHUB magazine vol 2.1

2011-05-31T14:14:00.000-07:00

Came across the latest issue of Freehub Magazine vol 2.1 and while flippng through their large format glossy pages came across this 2 page spread from my race run at the 3rd North West Cup in Port Angeles, WA. The photo found its home in the middle of a "behind the lens" article with ki Kopkau, you can find more of his work here: www.kikopkau.com and be sure to pick up a copy of Freehub.

update...

2011-05-26T06:04:00.000-07:00

Sorry for the lack of fresh news here on the site but I've been computerless here on the east coast for the last 2 weeks or so. Updates from the Virginia City Grand Prix(4hr moto race), Highland pro grt, Plattekill pro grt and the US Open will be up in no time, Stay tuned.

Here's a video recap(from Theo at allout) and a cool slideshow from Matt Delorm to keep you entertained in the mean time.

Pro GRT #2: Highland Bike Park - More Mountain Bike Videos

Show Reel

2011-04-26T08:52:00.000-07:00

Show Reel or Demo Reel whatever you want to call it these are a collection of my favorite shots since June of last year.Thanks to everyone who made this possible as subjects and helping hands.

Shot on a canon 550d/t2i

song: When I'm Small by Phantogram

Job inquiries please inquire via:
d-m-productions.blogspot.com

Sea and be Seen Otter

2011-04-24T10:27:00.000-07:00

Photo: Spomer at Vital

See and be Seen, that's what the Sea Otter Classic is all about right? It's got to be biggest race of the season but is also known for having one of the worst Downhill tracks of the season. Hell it'd make a mean Super D track with the 3 uphill sections and all. Saving grace this year with out a doubt would be Sram and Matty Thompson with his crew from Momentum Trail Concepts coming in and updating the existing track. They weren't allowed to change where the trail actually went but by fixing and adding "features" like new lips on jumps, bigger berms and new rhythm/roller whoop sections it added way more flow and fun. Thanks to Brad's dad "the Rick" we punched out way more laps than ever and were able to get the sea otter whip count up.

Lined up behind Jeff Kendal-weed(aka tumbleweed) on race day, while he's in the gate the start beeps don't go off, the Team Big bear official pulls him out and tells me to get in and that I will get a verbal count down. 10 seconds, I'm waiting for a normal countdown to emulate the normal 6 beep count but it's been a while... she says go... huh? I sprint out of the gate and hear the normal beeps and slam on the binders, did I jump the start? am I going to get a 5 second penalty? am I going to get a re-run? eff it it's too late, your racing. sea otter dh run, squash some jumps and cough up a lung. I roll over the line and feel like I'm dying, my mom walks up after walking down the track and says "that track really does suck huh?" I kid you not. If that doesn't say something about the track I don't know what does. 2:28.4, who knows what it would have been, guess well fitter and faster next year.

No re-run or money back from Team Big Bear timing and just reminds me of those "norba hates you" tees.... off to the next, 4hr moto grand prix next weekend in Virginia City, NV and than off for the HIghland Pro Grt, stay tuned.

photo: Daniel Pena

Sea Slotter warm up

2011-04-17T19:54:00.000-07:00

2011 Sea Otter DH Shredding - More Mountain Bike Videos

Gordo over at Vitalmtb put together a sweet little slomo vid of the first day of practice on the updated sea otter DH track. Snuck in a shot after Grave's mega drift down the off camber steep and just before Needles mega wheel smasher whip. check it!

PRO GRT #1 via ALLOUT

2011-04-17T19:42:00.001-07:00

Pro GRT #1: Port Angeles - More Mountain Bike Videos

Theo at AllOut Productions put together this 11 plus minute gem of round 1 for the PRO GRT series. You may recognize some of the footage from the amadomtb PA short and stay tuned for more of these from Theo in the near future.

PRO GRT #1 Port Angeles, WA

2011-04-14T19:27:00.000-07:00

AMADOMTB.COM PRO GRT #1 Port Angeles from amadomtb.com on Vimeo.

Always have an awesome time in Port Angeles, Washington. First race of the season and first stop of the PRO GRT/NW Cup(split event) with a serious turn out in both the Pro and Am fields. Tacky dirt andsketchy shuttles is what PA is all about! The crew there has a handful of rad tracks and for this race they combined a bunch of fun sections and even cut in an even sweeter new section of track. High speed of existing trail, set up, duck left into fresh loamy dirt and roots, punch a ripper right rut, smash through cool undulations into and option inside or ripper loamy oustside left and than through another couple slight turns/bumpy straights and back onto existing trail.

Track was awesome and tacky all weekend but given it is the PNW(pacific north west) we must have gotten one of those cool breezes from the Great White North(Canada is just a short ferry ride from PA) and of course it pissed down an hour or two before we set off for race runs on sunday. The track ended up being wetter than I had expected with a river running through sections, flet like I was riding a bit sloppy in sections(clipless would have been a good choice) but all in all it was an awesome weekend catching up with and going fast with all the race homies! Sea Slotter and the rest of this awesome season here we come!

Bike Check 2011 (studio shoot)

2011-04-09T18:46:00.000-07:00

That time of year again, new bike is built and yes, it is better than the last! Yeah that sounds cliche and everyone says it but the new 2011 Specialized Demo 8 with out a doubt suites me better than the last. Same proven geometry with some noticeable changes, 83mm/press fit BB, 150mm rear end, 9.5 x 3" shock and it looks damn good. Huge thanks to everyone who help get this guy built, Sam and Brad at Specialized, Evan at Sram, Ian at Chromag Bikes, Juan at Gamut USA and Firsty at Crankbros. Be sure to check out the short vid of the "studio" shoot and be sure to find me at a race and take her out for a good ol' parking lot test!

BENDing

2011-04-08T22:44:00.000-07:00

Bend crew, Ryan, T-Rav and Colin

As I mentioned I stopped in Bend on my way north to port Angeles, it was a nice way to break up the hefty drive and finally catch with the homies. A couple days, way too much coffee and myself, the one and only T-Rav factory tuned, longboard Ryan and Chef Colin trekked into an abandoned dam in the hills on a bit of an adventure. It was pretty damn sketchy, bat nest/poo, rugman..., candles...., tight "walkways", broken ladders and pitch black all and all it was a good time. Bend seems to always offer something new and exciting, can't wait to make it back. stay tuned for the PA Update.

Walkway?

Pro GRT via Bend Oregon

2011-04-04T00:11:00.000-07:00

It's that time of year again, time to hit the road and race some mountain bikes! First race of the year for me is going to be the first stop of the Pro GRT series in Port Angeles, Washington. Heading out a couple days early to hang out in Bend with T-Rav(yes of T-Rav factory tuned) and pretty damn excited about it. Stay tuned as there are some more interesting post on their way down the pipeline.

New Years at Frank Reins

2011-01-13T10:20:00.000-08:00

Probably the best new years ever. Frank Reins is a yearly tradition for Cody's family and Gerry's(cody's step dad) Billygoat friends where simply they ride moto and shit gets blown up! Cody, Mikey and myself rolled out with motos, sleeping bags and a gopro and with out a doubt had the time of our life.

A little montage from the weekend

Frank Reins 2010 from amado stachenfeld on Vimeo.

I got home saturday night and just to top off the weekend woke up at 5 the next morning and got in a pow day with Condrashoff at Kirkwood, non stop laps from 9 to 4. All in all one hell of a weekend.

Winter Legs

2010-12-24T11:47:00.000-08:00

Vote for me by "liking" Destination 1440 here and than "liking" this photo here

Yup its that time of year. The trails are soaked and it's been pissing out so what better to do than shred fresh Pow! Haven't been up too much in the last 2yrs since my winters were spent in Santa Cruz but now being back in the east bay it's easy enough to make that quick 2 1/2hr jaunt up to Tahoe.

Always good shredding with the homies, JC and I sniffed out the mid thigh pow, Ryan, Kaitlin and company soaked in sleet, park session with steven and company and a bluebird day with Cody and the Stegies. Good start to the season with La Nina promising a good rest of the season.

A little history lesson by Lib, (LIB evolution - my OG T.Rice, Banana and new T.Rice w/C2) Thanks to JC and Destination for lending me the banayaaaaa

Apple Airplay and MBA

2010-11-29T16:52:00.000-08:00

Apple iOS 4.2 update is here as of last tuesday(11/23) and some of the photos from the awesome trip to HI were used in the tutorial video displayed on their site, launch, stores and all over the world wide web.

Here's the Apple Airplay iOS video from apple.com, footage starting at 1:03.

A couple friends tipped me off that I had a photo in the December issue of Mountain Bike Action and turned out to be a just about a half page! pretty exciting being such a highly circulated magazine and a magazine my eyes were glued to in between rides when I first got into cycling. It's cool to see all the work put in over the season materializing in print and web.

Apple Keynote and iLife/iMovie '11

2010-10-21T13:41:00.000-07:00

Keynot Presentation October 20th
As I mentioned earlier, more info on my Hawaii Trip and here it is. I 'm Lucky enough to have rad friends who lined up a sweet job riding for a film/photo shoot for Apple(yes the Apple) in Hawaii and flew out bright and early morning after World Champs in MSA. It was a RAD week long trip made of 6am call times, long shoots, hot sun, shredding, hiking, beaches, surfing, canceled flights and I loved every minute of it. Cortina, Jackson and myself made up the riding crew with Perish Media shooting along with Apple made for an awesome trip.

The Apple Special Event October 2010 was just presented on Wednesday the 20^th . A week of filming Riding and Lifestyle in Hawaii with Apple for their unveiling of iLife ’11, specifically the iMovie updates. 28 minutes into Steve Jobs’s Keynote presentation is when the first footage from the shoot is used and than in the iLife ’11 page in the iMovie section under movie trailers in the red Action trailer titled Killer Mountain. It was an awesome experience and as you will see in the footage (I am the Rider in an Orange top) I got a handful of shots.

Link to October Keynote video

Link to the Action Trailer

Link to iLife/iMovie page and introduction movie

Action theme screen shot

You tell me - More Mountain Bike Videos

Fun don't stop

2010-10-20T11:23:00.000-07:00

Tom and Amado XCin' from amado stachenfeld on Vimeo.

Off season's in full effect but that doesn't mean the fun stops one bit. Haven't migrated back down to the Santa Cruz area just yet and just hanging in the East Bay for the moment. It's where I grew up and can't lie I do enjoy it, been getting out on the moto, riding xc with the homies, with all the talk of being from California I even gave surfing a go a couple times with condrastains. Trying some new stuff with the camera/edit, little short from the other day xcing with tom. Stay tuned, its the off season!

Jim and Mcdirt cold Kickin it

Brad in the whoops on the big bike

Juan Gettin' it

Juan on the big bike and mini dad Brad

Bonus Reel

2010-09-28T10:06:00.000-07:00

Had a bunch of extra footage from both Windham and Saint Anne so put together these two edits. Check 'em out!

World Championships MSA from amado stachenfeld on Vimeo.

Windham World Cup Finals from amado stachenfeld on Vimeo.

NDUB

2010-09-26T23:33:00.000-07:00

Sickest xc ride ever! f. Britton works for it

After my Hawaii trip(believe me I will fill you in when I won't have to kill you) I flew back to Jan and Brill's place in B-Town(the real Seattle...) and kicked it in the ndub for a bit as Marshy made his way back with the van, trailer and all our sweet rides. Had an awesome time shredding the best xc I've ever ridden, playing a hefty dose of pickle-ball and just kickin' it with the ndub homies.

Sickest xc and sickest dirt!

out for a few DH laps on Samsquash's trail, thumbs up Marshdogg!

Marshy inhales twizzlers. tools and twizzlers is a common sight

Lar's sweet ol' ride "G.L.O.R.I.A, Gloria!", wait till you see his new ride, the Conti!

Hawaii, real info soon

2010-09-18T21:42:00.000-07:00

Stay tuned for actual info

Mont Saint Anne World Champs

2010-09-13T18:47:00.000-07:00

Following Windham WC Finals was World Champs in MSA. This was my first World Championship experience and it was pretty rad. Unluckily Lars (TR rider/Manager) was unable to join us in Qweebland but obviously we still had a blast with Brill, Marshdogg, Firsty and myself running TR for the week. Team video below

Transition Racing World Champs Mount Saint Anne 2010 from amado stachenfeld on Vimeo.

Ill Jill and TBear

Bryn and his Cussy worlds frame

Ill Jill's cussy worlds frame

Windham, NY World Cup Finals

2010-09-01T16:39:00.000-07:00

Timmer, myself and Eliot pumped on Windham! via Sven Martin/vitalmtb.com

After Whistler I headed back state side to Seattle and met up with Bryn, Jill and Lars (Team TR(transition racing)) and got some sweet shredding in, a couple sick XC rides and a good ol' pumptrack session. Marshy(Bryn's mechanic for Europe) flew over, we loaded Jill's sprinter and trailer and the two of us headed east Marshy as team mech and myself shooting web videos for the team. All and all it was a sick week and make sure to check out the team video I put together below.

Lars and myself catching the birds eye view of the 4x via Sven Martin/vitalmtb.com

Transition Racing Windham World Cup Finals from amado stachenfeld on Vimeo.

Crankworx Whistler. BC

2010-08-19T08:28:00.000-07:00

Bike and bag finally showed up 4days after we got back from europe, built my bike, hit the sack and headed north first thing the next morning. Whistler is always awesome, so much sweet riding, lifts running until 8pm and crankworx just means everyone is in town and more people to ride with. Showed up late so didn't race the always wet Garbonzo dh or the slalom, just raced the Canadian Open(sick rough, sweet new jumps and an awesome crowd on "heckle rock") and hit the lake hard at the end of the week with the homies. Not exactly the standard race report, check out some photo goodies by the likes of Sven Martin, Colin Meager, the Crankworx site and random tags on the book, enjoy

Tyler/BBLabs/Sram annual Wiffle Golf Party

Naglestock, stump, backwards hammer, tricky

Canadian Open DH

Lake sesh on one of hot Crankworx days

World Cup #5 Val Di Sol

2010-08-04T18:19:00.000-07:00

Luke showing the speed and pitch of the track

So of course as it was a World Cup, the skies opened up at the end of our first day of practice turning the dust ball track into a really steep and rough slip n slide. We packed it in early and headed up for a track walk as the rain turned to a drizzle to check out what we were in for come qualifying. The top of the track was looking pretty sketch ball given the pitch, root and rock count but surprisingly as we made it down into heavier tree cover we actually found spots of dust remaining keeping our hopes high for practice/qualis come morning. The next morning the track did have a couple dry sections while it also had some quite squirmy sections over the roots and rocks. The long straights and pitch made slowing down pretty hair ball.

Given the only World Cup I'd done this year was Champery and was still riding under the usa cycling trade team I went off 4th or 5th to last. That doesn't sound so bad except there were 250 men and 50 women prior to me getting on the track. To say the least it was beat! On the track and into the first and steepest whooped out section and whammy, massive save right off the bat, lets go a head and avoid going over the bars in the 1st section. The run was going alright just feeling a bit rough, got down and time wasn't good enough and came to the conclusion I had just ridden a bit timid, catching in the holes instead of carrying speed over them. I'd have to say the last 2 races Champery and here were two of the gnarliest tracks, Champery being the most consistently steep and Val Di Sole being one of the roughest. Didn't qualify so had time to spare on race day and got to actually(non tri-pod self shoot) shoot with my t2i and put together a short of finals, check it below.

Val Di Sole, World Cup #5 from amado stachenfeld on Vimeo.

Travel Back was pretty wild, we left the race event via train to Trento, train from Trento to Verona, Taxi to the airport, slept at the airport, flight to munich, flight to DC, flight to Denver, bag and bike didn't show up, brad flies in, track his truck down in the parking lot, sleep in a walmart parking lot, drive the 16hrs back to Brad's in 13hrs and than the 2hrs back home. Still no bike or bag 2 days later. Crankworx in Whistler as soon as they show up...

Looking like the bottom art of the track

Photos you REE!!!

2010-07-30T12:45:00.000-07:00

Photo: Forrest Arakawa slaying the Enduro in the Oakland loam

I guarantee you've see his photos in every magazine and site online, Santa Cruz, Fox shox/clothing and countless others, he is the man, the myth, the RE, Forrest Arakawa! I was able to catch up with him and the gang(marshal, marshal, marshal) while I was home before heading to Colorado for nattys. We got in some serious shredding, billy goating and I was even able to poach one of his photo shoots out in Oaktown and got some sick shots! Check out the bad boy above!