Following a week long west coast premiere tour that has taken The Collective from Vancouver to San Diego and back, a North Vancouver all ages show has just been announced for this Tuesday May 13th. The show will be at Centennial Theatre, 2300 Lonsdale Ave in North Vancouver. Tickets will be $10 for adults and $6 for kids 12 and under. Tickets are available at Cove, Steed, John Henry, BSP, and Obsession bikes on the North Shore, and at the Centennial Theatre box office. All proceeds from the event will go to the Tara Llanes road to recovery fund. http://www.tarallanesroadtorecovery.com

Source: 23 Degree Sports

If there was even an ounce of doubt prior to the opening round of the Nissan UCI Mountain Bike World Cup that Sam Hill could follow his stellar season of 2007 in the same dominant style, well that evaporated today in sunny Maribor in front of thousands of enthusiastic fans.

VIDEO JUST ADDED-Monday May 12th, 2008

After having one of the most successful volunteer days we've ever seen at Canada Olympic Park in our bike park this past Saturday, we are asking for help once again!

The snow that has hit Calgary for the third time this spring has slowed our redevelopment progress once again. We considered pushing back our opening by another week but have decided that if we can get the help we need next week, we will be able to open at least a portion of our new bike park on May 17. We have decided to push the Springin' Open event to May 24. Gravity Logic and our trail crew have been working as hard as they can to get our park ready for the 17th and it looks like we could use a hand for the homestretch!

There is an awesome new DH course built for this event which is a blast to ride. If you haven't ridden it yet - get up there and try it out.

The organizers are looking for Course Marshalls, timekeepers, and other smaller jobs. All the training you need will be provided! (and maybe a snazzy t-shirt)

Only 3 days until the first Nissan Qashqai Challenge event in the Olympiapark, Munich – the site of the 1972 Olympic Games. People from all over the world will head to the Coubertinplatz, right in between the Olympic Stadium and the swimming hall in order to watch the world's best mountain bikers. The level of riding at the first two qualifying events has been incredible, but this weekend is sure to see the best yet as the top 28 freeriders in the world will be at this event. Munich is the first of two final events that will determine the overall Nissan Qashqai Challenge series winner, and with $ 250,000 Dollars up for grabs, definitely the biggest pay out of the season.

The Commencal Furious is Cedric Gracia's answer to a slopestyle, 4X and all around pinning machine. Its development has taken place over the past few years and is now in full production and ready for all of us in the general public to get our greasy paws on it. We here at Pinkbike.com wanted to see just what a bike that was put together by the “Entertainer” himself was able to dish out and take, so we dug deep into our bike testers and pulled out Colton King. Colton may be the youngest rider we have on the squad, but his experience list (or should I say injury list) reads like a long time veteran's would.

Read on to learn more about the Furious and Colton as they get introduced to each other.

Each year Sea Otter is a gathering place for media folks to catch glimpses of new products. Some companies let us know ahead of time while others simply surprise everyone. This year was no exception with goods coming out of various camps like SRAM, Fox Shox, Shimano SAINT, FSA, Yeti and Trek to name a few of the big ones.

Here's a look at the goods we were given the opportunity to really look over:

Building a Brand Spankin' New Bike Park in a Month at Canada Olympic Park: COP Hosts 1st Inaugural Volunteer Bike Park Trail Day

Canada Olympic Park (www.canadaolympicpark.ca), owned and operated by the Calgary Olympic Development Association in Calgary, is home to Southern Alberta's only gravity fed mountain bike park. Having served the bike communities of Southern Alberta and beyond as a venue for extensive mountain biking programs and regional, provincial and world level events, COP has been well known to mountain bikers as a bike park with a mish mash of stunts piled into a small geographical region ...until now.

Sea Otter isn't just about really cool products, that's just my favorite part each year it seems. There also happens to be a ton of riders there giving it their all at this season opener. Folks come from all over the world to compete and show off their newest sponsor kits and to be seen.

Here's a look at some of the racers (Steve Smith, Clair Buchar, Andrew Neethling, Ruardich Cunningham), riders (Andrew Cho, Dylan Korba), their bikes and of course more parts from everyone! Also check out the Dual Stunt and DH action!

The Arduum Challenge is back this year with a vengeance. Last year's race was an absolute mudfest, and an absolute blast. In a short amount of time we organized a race and pulled off a very exciting event. I don't know of anyone that didn't get worked over riding the course and still come out grinning from ear to ear. Check out last year's race coverage at Arduum Challenge 2007.

Ah the rain is holding off and the weather looks good-if you are Canadian. The wind at the Otter can be vicious at times and this year was no exception to the rule. At least mountain bikers are a rugged group as a rule and the show still went on.

Here's a look at some amazing bikes and parts from Santa Cruz, Commencal, Cannondale, Magura, Ibis and others that were on display this passed weekend:

Aye it's Heaven! That is the answer I got from Ross when I asked him what the track was called that we were riding just outside Santa Cruz.

I still don't know what the trails were called but here is how it went down....

We at Pinkbike.com have been eagerly awaiting the launch of the all new Trek Session 88 bike. Since hearing rumors about it for just over a year now and then seeing a few prototype shots floating around the net, we knew that this bike was going to be a big deal. On Thursday we had the pleasure of attending the launch of the all new Trek Session 88 DH and FR models.

Have a read to learn more about this exciting new bike!

Port Angeles is our final destination (aside from home) for this road trip, where Gully and Splinter want to partake in some Fluidride Cup race action. I'll be snapping more pics of the events and checking out all that is good in the PNW scene.

Check out the race action and dual video:

The trip is cruising along nicely with the locals being great guides and the weather holding out for good times in the riding department. Since I have been off the comp and a little beat up I decided to take a day off and get some work done, while Gully and Splinter hit up the trails of Post Canyon.

Here's a look at the fun they had. Lot's of videos inside!