| Daniel is a local mountain bike rider who cut his teeth in Capitol Forest. He is a very well rounded mountain bike rider who has since ridden and raced all over Washington, Utah and British Columbia. He has built a career and lifestyle around mountain biking. Daniel Myers, mountain biking first. And a few words from him….. Name: Daniel Myers Age: 28 Current city of residence: Seattle How long have you been mountain biking and where did you start? 6 years. Capitol Forest is where it all began. I kept hearing it was a great place to ride and finally made it there. Immediately bitten by the Mt Bike Bug on the Middle Waddell Loop Trail and I’ve been riding ever since. What was your first mountain bike? Specialized Rock hopper, steel. If you had to, how would categorize yourself as cyclist? An all-around rider. I basically like to ride any kind of bike. A Commuter, a Wanna-be Dirt Jumper, a Downhiller and an Aggressive XC rider. What is it about mountain biking that you value the most? Versatility. You are a podium finisher in sport class state downhill and XC races? What do you like about racing in general, and specifically, these two disciplines? Hah! I never thought about it like that. Competitiveness and being humbled. There is always someone faster and stronger than you and it’s good to see that and learn from it. In XC, there are some amazing racers out there. Super disciplined individuals who work hard to be the best. I respect that and like to learn from it so I can apply it to my own riding style. I just started racing DH this past summer and it has opened a whole new chapter of riding for me. Racing the WIM Series this past summer I have watched some amazing DH racers. Fast and skilled. I look at it as a new opportunity to improve my own riding skills. Combine the strength and endurance of XC and the skills and Balls of DH together and you can have a really good time riding. How many bikes do you own? Four, the magic number. One for commuting, one for dirt jumping/cruzing one for XC and one for DH. How many of them have knobby tires? Two. One sentence description of Capitol Forest Postcard mountain biking. Describe the specs of your favorite bike for riding in Capitol Forest and why? Something that pedals up like a goat and descends down like a banshee. 5”in the front and 5” in the rear. (a Foes FXR with a Marzocchi Z1 fork, 8" disk rotor front, 6" disk rotor rear, 2.3" tire front, 2.1" tire rear) About how many days per year do ride here? A lot. Maybe 50+. The real question is how much money I spend in gas to ride there. What is your favorite trail in Capitol Forest and why? Hard question. I’m going to have to vote the ride we did the other day, the original Peak to Creek Trail (a local XC race hosted by The Peak Sports, in Olympia). Green Line A from just below the towers to Fall Creek then up and out to Margaret McKenney Campground on Mima porter #8. Beautiful trail that can’t be touched by the motorcycles. A nice warm up climb to the top and 15-16 miles of brilliant trail. The trail has downhill switchbacks, roots, rocks, drops, clear cut and climbs throughout. Post-card mt biking. How would you compare Capitol to some other popular places you’ve ridden? More trail options and accessible year round. I love to ride at Whistler but it’s seasonal, Moab was great but rough, and Greenwater is brilliantly beautiful but again seasonal. Capitol Forest is at an elevation that offers year round riding and all the trails are open to mountain bikes year round. I’ve looked at the map and really don’t think there is another place like it in this state. Unique. Something to not be taken for granite. Thanks for recognizing it. What would you tell or recommend to someone coming to ride here who had never ridden here before? Take a map, tools, a pump and a spare tube. Be aware of daylight hours and go with someone or tell someone where you’re at. Favorite time of the year to ride here and why Fall. This is the time when the trails are recovering from the heavy recreational use of the summer. Motorcycles and horses are banned from the trails from Oct 30 through Apr 30. The horse trails recover and are beautiful. Tacky singletrack is everywhere and often decorated with colored needles and leaves. Gorgeous. Not to mention the temperature is perfect. The infamous Capitol Forest red clay, friend or foe? Friend! Solo or group ride? Solo Trail ride or downhill? Trail ride Shuttle or climb? Climb Chicken or steak? Chicken Hard tail or full suspension? Full suspension 15 or 35 mile trail ride? 35! Berm or air? Berm into air Spandex or baggies? Baggies Tool or Phish? TOOL! Fast technical or fast smooth? Fast technical Ride or race? RIDE! Cliff Bar or Snickers? Cliff Any family, friends, teams or sponsors you would like to recognize, say hello to or thank? Mom, Dad, Bro, JIM GRAHAM, Jim Albright, SPEEDMETAL RACING, thanks Johnny for being a great team manager, Damon Flemming, Jody Ott, Collin, etc. THANKS |
| Daniel looking like there is no place he would rather be. Mima Porter #8, Sick Puke 2004. |