Hey, gang. I have the sad news to report that the Enthusiast Group, parent company of YourMTB.com, is closing its doors at the end of November. (Don't panic! We're expecting to keep the site going -- probably with new owners.)

Among my tasks is getting a couple boxes of (very cool) YourMTB.com t-shirts out of my office. ... Please help!

I've bumped the price down to a bargain-basement $6, plus shipping. (They originally sold for $20.)

There aren't that many left, so order now if you want your size.

ORDER HERE

(I'll keep you posted about the future of the site. Think good thoughts for us!)

Dear YourMTB.com members:

YourMTB.com has fallen on some hard times. No, we don't expect to close the site down. But we could use your help, creativity, and possibly referrals to get us through.

Here's the deal: YourMTB.com has become a thriving and active online community for MTB enthusiasts. Around 3,000 people have registered to be members of the site, and it gets around 75,000 pageviews a month in traffic. While those are respectable numbers, they do not (yet) make a sustainable business.
We know that lots of you really like the site and would hate to see it go dark, and lose your connections to the people who make up this great community.

So we're asking for your help.

1. We believe that the best way forward for YourMTB.com to continue and thrive is for it to be acquired by an appropriate media or brand company, which can bring in new members and build it up to the point of being a sustainable business.
Many of you probably have contacts in the mountain biking and outdoors industries. Can you recommend any companies that would consider YourMTB.com to be a good fit? Do you know the CEO and can introduce us?
Maybe one of you is a prospective buyer?!

2. Perhaps there's a way forward that we haven't thought of. The impetus for YourMTB.com has always been the power of all the people assembled online here. Do you have ideas for us to keep YourMTB.com going? What creative solutions should we be thinking about?

3. Tell your MTB friends about the site. Support our advertisers. A grassroots push from all of you could grow site traffic enough to turn the site into a viable business.

4. We've created a webpage with info about the sale of YourMTB.com. Feel free to forward it to individuals that you think might be interested:
http://www.enthusiastgroup.com/yourmtb_com_is_for_sale
Thanks for your ideas, and referrals if you've got 'em.

Steve Outing
Publisher and founder
Enthusiast Group LLC / YourMTB.com
steve@enthusiastgroup.com

303-543-7810

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Yeah, I admit to being lazy when it comes to keeping my bike in tune -- specifically my suspension. Went on a ride the other afternoon and the bike (my Blur LT) felt like crap. I guess it had been a while since I tweaked the suspension settings, and it'd gotten far enough out of whack that I really noticed it.

The next morning I spent some time with the bike and properly dialed in front and rear suspension, including adding a few pounds of air to the rear shock which had gotten too low.

What a difference!

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If you're interested in racing either the Cowbell Challenge (Charlotte, North Carolina - June 23) or in the July 7-8 race of the Iron Horse Downhill Series (Mount Snow, Vermont), here's your last chance to get a free race entry.

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Just a quick item... There's one last slot open to be a YourMTB correspondent and race for free in the Cowbell Challenge 12-hour mountain bike race in Charlotte, North Carolina, next weekend (June 23). So apply fast if you're interested.

This is part of our innovative program where we give racers (or spectators) free entry in exchange for some blogging about the event and taking some photos and/or video.

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Hey, all. As part of our Grassroots Correspondents program, we've got several MTB races that need YourMTB.com correspondents.

You agree to take photos and/or video and post some blog entries (NO experience required), and your entry fee to the race is paid. (And, your posts to YourMTB.com will be entered in contests for best photo, best video, and best blog to win some cool prizes.)

Some recent additions to the program:

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Hey, YourMTBers! We've got only 1 slot left to race (or watch) the first in the Iron Horse Downhill Series this weekend at Mount Snow (Vermont). Sign up to be a "YourMTB correspondent" and your entry fee will be covered.

We had a tight deadline on this one. We're sending 3 folks to cover the June 9-10 racing action.

So apply today if you'd like to do this:

Application form

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If anyone is planning to go to the Trips for Kids Bike Swap (San Rafael, California, July 7-8), how about blogging about it or posting some photos here on YourMTB.com?

Sounds like a fun event. We can send you a YourMTB.com t-shirt if you'll post after attending. Let me know.

Here's the press release that landed in my in-box this morning:

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

16th Annual Trips for Kids Bike Swap Comes to Infineon Cougar Mountain Classic

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Hey, here's something exciting and new on YourMTB.com. Our programming wizards have debuted a super cool website feature:

Geo-tagging! ... Hurray!!

"What the hell is that?" you say. The idea is simple enough, even if the programming and code wizardry necessary to accomplish this is not. You now can assign a location to anything that you post to YourMTB.com.

So, if you post a photo of you looking spiffy on a particular trail, you can use our handy new map feature to note where the trail is.

It's easy. When you go to post a photo, blog item or video, you'll see a map section on the upload form. Type in the nearest city to where you are; the map will recenter there; then navigate around to pinpoint the spot (of the trail, or whatever). Just click the map once to set the location point.

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Boulder Daily Camera mountain biking columnist (and photographer) Marty Caivano has a nice write-up of YourMTB.com in today's paper. Check it out...