The 2022 Boise Mountain Bike Festival place at Eagle Bike Park in Eagle, Idaho, on June 10th and The Basin Gravity Park at Bogus Basin on Saturday June 11th. With a total of 600 people coming out to support the festival it was exciting to sense the good vibes in the air.
The mission of the Boise Mtn Bike Festival is simple with three objectives:
1. Celebrate the mountain bike community in all its diversity. Whether that means gravel riding and bikepacking all the way to freeriding. There is a place for every rider.
2. Educate. Kevin Lillywhite, a local coach, put on multiple clinics getting newcomers familiar with the fundamentals of mountain bike riding. Demonstrations by Kyle Warner and April Zastrow were also a major hit as they were teaching people how to manual and jump on the kickers in front of their tent. A bit of MTB was on display as Andrew Taylor, long-time and now-local professional freerider, brought his knowledge and good vibes to the Boise Mountain Bike Fest. He built and oversaw the whip off and big air jump just like he did with AT Showdown events a decade ago. The best whip contest was rider-judged and Matt Love, a 12 year old who had to sprint all the up the lip just to clear the jump, took the win, winning a Norco dirt jumper frame and X-fusion fork. Congrats Matt!
3. Advocate for the amazing cycling related non-profits in the Treasure Valley. With a powerful message on community by Erica Davis, founder of Crank Queens, and an action packed message about the future of SWIMBA by John Palumbo (former Director), the vibes were all-time for the future of mountain biking in the region.
$30,000 Raised!
With the help of many shops and brands including, George's Cycles, Smith, Score Sports, DMADA, Kona, Canyon, Fly Racing, Trek Boise, Mcu Sports, Eagle Bike Shop, Vital MTB, PNW, Maxxis, SRAM, ZIPP, Deity, and many more, the Boise Mountain Bike Festivtal raised $30,000 to be distributed to SWIMBA (Southwestern Idaho MTB Association), Crank Queens, Idaho Women's Bike Packers, and The Boise Bicycle Project. Thank you to all those who participated and donated.
"The Boise MTB Festival sets the benchmark for what an enjoyable mountain bike event should be: An amazing variety of terrain—from flow trails to rowdy gravity lines at Bogus Basin to skills zones and jib sessions at Eagle Bike Park—that appeal to all skill levels, Boise’s great vibes and awesome community encourages you to come back year after year." - Scott Hart, MTB OG and Brand Manager for Canyon Bicycles.
"There is definitely a community here. Stoked to see everyone come together to build it. And to build trails! SWIMBA is awesome, and so many people are on board supporting it. And the city seems to be going in the right direction, and the new bike park, and Eagle, and what Cheddar is doing up at Bogus. It's a lot! But it wouldn't happen without dedicated hard working people." - Ian Hylands, Legendary MTB Photographer and full-time media at Deity Components.
We are incredibly grateful to our sponsors and partners for allowing and supporting this event. Thank you to Vital MTB, SRAM PNW Components, Maxxis Tires, and Deity Components. The management (Brad, Jamie, Paul, & Austin) and trail crew at The Basin Gravity Park deserves a special shout out for their hard work getting trails and resort ready for riding season! The Boise Bike Fest would not be possible without all the brands and people putting in the time and effort to make this weekend special. Thank you and we'll hope to see you at the festival June 2023.
Photographs by Ryan Bethel, Luke Tokunaga, Natasha Smith, and Nick McDevitt