Weekday Diversions #12: From Freeride to XC, Dark Dirt and Voter Suppression.

It’s Wednesday, you’ve (almost) made it! The work week is halfway done, and the prospect of big weekend rides is beckoning. Until then, here’s a roundup of the best bike (and non-bike) content that’s caught our eye this week.

Deven McCoy - Staff Writer

It’s hard not to pay attention to the talented community of riders from New Zealand, and I was really chuffed to see Home Brew land on my feed. As most of us here in the northern hemisphere are coughing dust, it’s a drink of cold water to see lines cut and corners sculpted out of dark dirt. The entire video comes together with some really hesh editing and relaxing visuals.

I’m never sure how closely others follow XC, but this year, I have really shifted my attention to soaking up the excitement coming out of this corner of our sport. Nino Schurter is a standout name regardless of how much attention you give to cross-country, and this series documents his truly impressive history in the sport.

Ariel Kazunas - Staff Writer

Do you ever log in to the Insta-webs expecting to be flattened by world news and vitriolic comment sections, only to be gifted a video of a kid who attached mini rubber chickens to his rear wheel for an impromptu whip-off? Big thanks to @kalm_matt for having the kind of unhinged creativity we need more of in the world and for coach @ sweetlines for the capture and had this to say about it: “We did a train right after he went, and as soon as we landed the first jump, there were rubber chicken bodies scattered all over between the two jumps. I’ve never laughed so hard while hitting a jump!”

Of course, world news still exists even with rubber chickens flying everywhere, and as the November US election draws closer, athlete and advocate Vanessa Chavarriaga , like me, is thinking a lot about enfranchisement and systems of democracy (or not) that exist in our country. She wrote a piece for @melaninbasecamp about voter suppression in marginalized communities this past weekend that is worth a read, and till the very end, where there’s a heartfelt call to action that I can’t amplify loud enough.

View the original article to see embedded media.

Dylan Russell - Social Media Manager

Brett Rheeder gives us another visually pleasing edit with his effortless style. The opening shot will have you locked in, capturing the perfect carve, tires cutting through the dirt. The zone he chose to film in looks insane, just endless lines as far as the eye can see. Camera crew killed it with the drone and cable cams, this edit was definitely on repeat a few times. I love to see Brett releasing videos himself, showing his true creativity and vision.

The ANYTIME trailer finally released, giving us our first look at the new film from Anthill. The film looks absolutely wild, traveling all around the world riding some mind-bending terrain. Red Bull and Anthill checked all the boxes with this one, the lineup of riders is really impressive. I personally cannot wait to see this premiere at Crankworx.

Cy Whitling - Editor

It’s fun to watch Casey Brown ride bikes. News flash: she’s really good at it. This build is great, the edit is great, Caleb Ely nails the visuals and vibe, and all-in, it’s just a fun, classic shreddit. More of this please!

“Slopeduro” is maybe the funniest, and most fun to hypothesize about sub-segment of bikes. Most of us lack the skills to really get anything out of a specialized build like this one, but it’s still fun to imagine bar-spinning side hits on a trail bike. Aggy’s build is cool, his Druid looks like a whole bunch of fun, and it’s rad to see such a legend out shredding and getting after it.