Choice Cuts–Brian Hanson

For the month of December and into January, we’d like to share some of the Salsa Crew and our sponsored riders favorite moments from 2015. By all accounts, it's been a great year!

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As a Salsa brand ambassador, I consider myself lucky that I get to ride a lot of wonderful and special trails, and sometimes whom I’m with makes those rides even better. This fall I got that magic combination, and the result was a moment in time that will be forever imprinted on my mind. I had a chance to ride the CAMBA trails after a Salsa demo in October at night with my friend and coworker, Tom Morgan, and my wife, Ashley. This ride meant a lot to me. For us, this ride was kind of a reward for putting in a lot of hard work this summer. The three of us all had our foot on the gas pedal, professionally, since the Fourth of July. It was also just great for the three of us to ride together again. It had been a while.

Night bikes ...

The ride itself didn’t qualify for adjectives like “epic” or “life-changing” or even “dope.” While the CAMBA trail system is without a doubt a destination place you should get to, what we were doing that night wasn’t uncommon. From coast to coast I bet there were thousands of mountain bikers out riding that night on their own trails doing the same thing we were doing. But for me, the moment that set this ride apart was a long, easy climb where the cool fall air nipped at our lungs and the rustling fallen leaves filled our ears. We were slicing through the woods together in silent rhythm, lights dancing around, revealing quick glimpses of a beautiful fall-colored forest three spots at a time. Writing about this ride is still putting a big smile on my face.