Like the old saying goes, 'Those who can, do. And those who can't, take pictures.' Ok, so maybe that's not exactly how that saying goes but it's one that works for me. 

It's not secret around here that most of the staff of Jp is into biking of some sort. Christian is into mountain biking and downhill go fast stuff, John is into jumping things in the dirt and people pools, both empty and full (ok, maybe I made that part up), and I, well, I take pictures of bike trials.

What is this 'bike trials' you ask? 

"Bike trials is an individual sport that incorporates the use of a special bicycle which the rider must maneuver and balance on in order to complete specially designed artificial or natural "sections." The objective is to pass through the sections with as little physical contact with the ground as possible, hence obtaining minimum penalty points."

In the not so distant past I've hooked up with the Trials Alliance Team here in sunny Southern California. Trials Alliance is a group of  two Pro level and two Sport level riders comprised of three men and one woman. Competitions are typically held in conjunction with mountain bike races (downhill, xc, short course, ect) but to practice in between competitions the group rides at local places with large rocks or other man made obstacles, which can make for awesome photo-ops.

So next time your out at a mountain bike race and see some people hopping on rocks off in the distance swing over and check them out, it's really a sight to see! Think of it as the rock-crawling of biking, only more exciting to watch!

And check out Team Trials Alliance on Facebook (be sure to hit the 'like' button) to see even more awesome photos and videos, and I'll try and post some more up here in the future, maybe.

http://www.facebook.com/TrialsAlliance