Shaun Palmer, Nicolas Vouilloz, and John Tomac, were all idols of mine in the late 90’s when I first starting riding mountain bikes. Today, I still have much respect for them and what they’ve done for the sport. As far as I know, Tomac and Vouilloz are no longer racing mountain bikes, and neither was Shaun Palmer until recently. Videos and more after the jump…

After 10 years of being away from the sport, the Palm, Palmer, or Napalm as some call him, is back on the bike and plans on competing in a number of downhill events throughout the year. I’m stoked to see Palmer back riding and competing with all the young guns. I’d love to see him go head to head with Steve Peat this year, but it’s certainly going to take a lot of training on Palmer’s end for him to get back in the game. The bar has risen pretty high since the late 90’s, and there are quite a few talented riders dominating the top spots of professional downhill racing nowadays. Bike technology has changed, the courses have changed, and like most sports, it is more competitive. However, with a little time I believe Palmer stands a chance of taking a podium or two.

Not only is Palmer training for the downhill circuit, but also for the 2010 Olympic games, which start just next week. Having missed the 2006 winter games because of an injury during practice, Palmer is back for another shot. He will be competing in the snowboardcross event on the US team, and if his past performances say anything about his will to win, I’d say he’s got a pretty good shot at gold.

And just around the corner is the 2010 Sea Otter Classic, where in 1998 he placed 1st in the Dual Slalom event. Will we see Palm there as well? I hope so.

Shaun Palmer Returns to Downhill Mountain Bike… – More Mountain Bike Videos

A friend of mine shared this podcast with me and I liked it so much that I wanted to share it here as well. Seeing as I am a skateboarder, it is wonderful to see others given the opportunity to skate. Some say skateboarding is a crime, but I see it as a creative outlet which often provides troubled youth a positive activity that is both fun and athletic. To NOT skateboard is a crime! If you’ve never done it, I highly recommend you give it a try.

This podcast has been taken from the Daylight Magazine website and features the portfolio of Jake Simkin who documented the Afghan non-profit Skateistan. More info can be found here: http://www.daylightmagazine.org/

Podcast link here: http://www.daylightmagazine.org/podcast/january2010

A short story and selection of my photographs have been published in the current issue of Content Magazine (front and back inside covers). Check ‘em out!

—–> http://content-magazine.com/

P.S. In the near future the shop will have a limited run of prints from some of my digital and film images.

this is from a recent photo session in hayward, ca. stay tuned for more images…