The second day of the Pre-OR adventure held just as much fun as the first. It was packed with mud, a bit of blood, and more lightning. We started the day out with a post-breakfast hot-tub soak to rehabilitate the aching legs, then headed out for more abuse with Scott Sports and Stanley® Products in the hills of Park City.

The Adventure:

Set in the hills above Park City, the Glenwild area trails wind up into the mountains through open fields, Aspen groves, and rocky switchbacks on an approx. 15 mile loop with about 25 minutes of downhill fun. We started out with a clear almost cloudless sky, and trails with almost no dust and just a few scattered puddles which hinted at the previous night’s scattered thunderstorms.  Climbing up into the hills was a comfortable affair without the grueling uphill battles we’ve come to love in Northern California. While passing through shaded draws and over rocky patches of trail, the clouds started to gather up and then sprinkle some warning drops on the group. This was Billy’s reaction to the ominous signs of trouble to come:

Within a few minutes we started to travel along the ridgeline trail, just in time for the clouds to open up and pummel us with hail and wind. the once solid trails turned to flowing streams, and then developed quickly into muddy paths. After ditching the bikes for a while and taking shelter from the lightning (yep, that’s twice in as many days), we started the long ride down the hills along the sticky run. As the mud built up on our tires, legs, and clothes, traction became more and more furtive until a controlled slide was all that could be done. Riding over a beaver dam, through streaming water, and finally out onto solid pavement, the group made it’s mucky way back to the cars for a bit of river rinsing and then back to Salt Lake City for the next event - Adidas unveiling their Boost Technology which is going to be a blast to get out on another trail for some serious running abuse.

The Ride:

Scott Genius 900 Premium

With one of the lightest full suspension carbon fiber frames out there, TwinLoc suspension controls, and 130mm-150mm of float the 27.5″ bikes stayed solid on the hills and floated down the muddy trail with ease. Featuring 3-11 gearing, there was always enough pull with plenty of ground contact. The TwinLoc system allowed for customization of the suspension travel on the go, allowing for full use with an easy to adjust 3 position thumb control for climb, traction control and descend mode. While we didn’t get a chance to try it out, the bike has a two-position Bottom Bracket (BB) chip that will adjust the BB height and head tube angle for a more forward angled ride and spunkier handling.  One of the bikes had a button-adjust saddle to push it down out of the way during downhills but still have seat support during normal pedaling. Overall, they quickly became the standard that every other bike will now have to meet for our future trail enjoyment.

Stay tuned for the final part of this series as we actually re-cap the event we actually came here to see - Outdoor Retailer’s Summer Market.