Category: Mountain BIking

Race History

Brendan James

Mountain Bike Race History

A life on Two Wheels

Brendan James – Mountain Bike Racing Kid

I have been mountain bike racing since the age of 10. Over the years have participated in many disciplines including: olympic cross country, cross country marathon, gravel, cyclocross, enduro, and cross country Stage racing. I have raced in mountain bike events internationally in Mexcio, Guatemala, Ecuador, Peru and Chile.

Mountain Bike Racing in Guatemala

When I moved to Guatemala in 2015 it re-kindled my love for mountain bike racing. The courses were more like adventure races with numerous river crossings, poor markings, and held on hiking and livestock trails and open roads. Mountain bike racing in Gutatemala brought back the excitement for me. I quickly moved into the pro category and even went on to represent Guatemala on the national team in the Central American Olympic XC finals!

Since honing my racing skills in Guatemala I have had a chance to test myself against some of the best with at least one mountain bike race per calender year in the United States. As I age I have found my specialty in mountain bike marathon racing and 3+ hour endurance events.

Selected Achievements / Notable Races and Finishes

	Name	Type	Location	Placement
2015	Reto Del Quetzal	MTB Stage	Guatemala	5th Place Overall
	Cokedale 100mi	Gravel Race	Colorado, USA	3rd Place Overall
	Hampshire 100 NUE	XC Marathon	NH, USA	4th Place – 50mi
	Vuelta Cotopaxi	MTB Stage	Ecuador	2nd Place – Mixd Duos

2016	Reto Del Quetzal	5 day MTB Stage	Guatemala	2nd Place – Mixed Duos
	Pisgah Stage Race	5 day MTB Stage	Brevard, NC	1st Place – Mixed Duos
	Big Frog 65 NUE	MTB marathon	Chatenooga, TN	14/400
	TranSylvania Epic MTB Stage Race	5 day MTB Stage	Penslyvania, USA	1st Place – Mixed Duos
	Carrabassett Backcountry 50k	MTB Marathon	Maine	1st Place Overall
	Expedition Ancash	Bikepacking	Ancash, Peru
2017	#Marcapomacochacircut	Bikepacking	Peru
	King Kona 50km	XC Marathon	Chile	1st Place – Category
	Trans Andes	Bikepacking	Pategonia, Chile
	FFASCA Race	XC MTB	Chimaltenango, Gua	1st Place
	Punto-a-Punto 50km	XC Marathon	Antigua Gua	2nd Place
2018	Rey De Los Cerros 1ed. 50km	XC Marathon	Finca El Pilar	1st Place – Master
	Rey De Los Cerros 2ed. 50km	XC Marathon	Florencia Antigua, GUA	4th Place – Pro
	Asociacion de Enduro Guatemala	Enduro	Mixco	1st Place – Master
	Rompe Piernas MTB otro Nivel	XC Marathon	Tecpán, Guatemala	1st Place Master – 2nd Overall
	Rey de Los Cerros ed. 3 50km	XC Marathon	San José Pinula, Guatemala	2nd Place – Pro
	Crested Butte Fat Tire 40	XC Marathon	Crested Butte, CO	4th – Category
	Ausangate Traverse	Bikepacking	Cuzco, Peru
	Asociacion de Enduro Guatemala	Enduro	Rabinal, Guatemala	1st Place – Pro
2019	Rey De Los Cerros 1ed.	XC Marathon	Tecpán, Guatemala	1st Place – Master 2nd Overall
	La Rompe Piernas 50km	XC Marathon	Tecpán, Guatemala	2nd Place – Master

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03/25/2019

Ladies AllRide Clinic – VT

Ladies AllRide Women’s mountain bike skills clinic in northern VT

Published: by PICSPORADIC

East Burke, Vermont

This past September I was invited to be the photographer for the Ladies AllRide Series: a three day women’s mountain bike skills camp with a stop in northern Vermont. With a combination of event photography as well as an opportunity to get shots of women ripping on mountain bikes – I couldn’t pass it up! Plus it was in my backyard.

Morning Registration | Ladies AllRide Clinic East Burke, VT

The three day event took place on the the idyllic Darling Hill trail network of Kingdom Trails a pastured ridge overlooking the green mountains. Over 200 female attendees (the sold a month in advance) came to receive training by professional mountain bike coaches from across the country.

Coaches talk with participants | Ladies AllRide Clilnic East Burke, VT

It was early fall and the weather in Vermont and the weather had a little bit of everything in store for us. The days would start with deep valley fog and cold mountain mist – by afternoon there would be a 50/50 chance of hot sun, or pouring rain! The evenings seemed to always bring amazing sunsets the humidity clearing with pastel ridges and slivered clouds. In short I had a lot of conditions to work in!

Morning Yoga | Ladies AllRide Clinic East Burke, VT

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Morning skills clinic with amazing views of Vermont’s Green Mountains | Ladies AllRide Clinic East Burke, VT

Solterra Development Lakewood, Colorado

Participants running drills on the grass | Ladies AllRide Clinic East Burke, VT

Lindsey Richter

Lindsey has been racing and teaching mountain bike skills for over a decade. After noticing a distinct void in women’s participation in mountain biking she became determined to encourage more woman join the sport. Today the Ladies AllRide Clinic makes stops in 8 states across America teaching a variety of skills necessary to master the mountain bike.

Coach Lindsey delivers the morning talk – Ladies AllRide Clinic East Burke, VT

Participants and coaches came from across the country for the event | Ladies AllRide Clinic East Burke, VT

Women ride in the beautiful meadows of the Darling Hill trail network | Ladies AllRide Clinic East Burke, VT

Ladies relax after a long day riding bikes | Ladies AllRide Clinic East Burke, VT

Daily Activities

The Ladies Allride Cinic included a full three days of activities. The mornings would begin with a speech / presentation cofee and morning yoga. afterwards the ladies would break into their assigned groups to work on skills. For this event I would drift between the groups to catch action shots of the ladies in action.

Lunch would involved breakout sessions with coaches teaching specific skills like physical therapy, and bike maintenance. Each day would finish with beers at the Darlilng Hill Trailside Village Sport Shop

Skills

Some examples of the skills the riders worked on: Perfecting body positioning and balance in changing terrain, technical climbing and descending, cornering, switchbacks, berms, pump tracks, wheel lifts, bunny hops, wheelies, manuals, lunges, drops, jumps, up and over logs, large step-ups, pumping and flowing, racing.

Coach Lindsey helps riders develop confidence on new terrain | Ladies AllRide Clinic East Burke, VT

Coach Lindsey explains how to roll a drop | Ladies AllRide Clinic East Burke, VT

Skills

Some examples of the skills the riders worked on: Perfecting body positioning and balance in changing terrain, technical climbing and descending, cornering, switchbacks, berms, pump tracks, wheel lifts, bunny hops, wheelies, manuals, lunges, drops, jumps, up and over logs, large step-ups, pumping and flowing, and skills to use in the next race.

In the afternoon advanced groups practice skills on the downhill trials at Burke Mountain. | Ladies AllRide Clinic East Burke, VT

Being the sole photographer for the Ladies AllRide Clinic required a combination of different skills from me: long days, flexibility, nightly social media editing sessions and tons of mountain biking! As the only photographer it I needed to be in all places at once – capturing this multi-faceted event. Weather on foot, or by bike it wasn’t easy chasing these fast women around all day!

To see the progress of the participants from day to day was extremely inspiring for me. After 3 days everyone from novices to pros came away with new skills and learned confidence. I am excited about the future of woman’s mountain biking and extremely appreciative to have been a part of the girls mountain bike movement!

-Brendan

The full crew of participants and coaches| Ladies AllRide Clinic East Burke, VT

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04/26/2017
MTB Guatemala – La Infinita Tzanjuyub VIDEO

MTB Guatemala – La Infinita Tzanjuyub
Lake Atitlán, Guatemala

This weekend I got to join my favorite crew: the Papa Bikers to explore a new route by mountain bike near Lake Atitlán. We dropped 7,000ft from near 11,000ft later conquering a climb dubbed “la Infinita” ( ∞ ). The enormous landscape of Guatemala leaves so much room for exploration!

After nearly a year away from the lake
coming back here feels like I have returned to a second home.

The long days , endless climbing and enormous terrain bring new vistas that make everything worthwhile

The Papa bikers have embraced the spirit of adventure with each ride pushing themselves further becoming more acquainted with the country they call home.

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Equipment / Stats:

Lumix G85

GoPro Hero 4

LG G4

48 hrs

24p 4k

Adobe Premiere

After Effects

DJI Mavic Pro

Sony ECM-CS3 mic

Original Recording Date: April 2, 2017 | Published: by PICSPORADIC

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04/05/2017
ACG Guatemala

ACG Guatemala 3ra Fecha Downhill Race in Guatemala, City

Published: by PICSPORADIC

MTB Guatemala

On sunday, on my first week back in Guatemala I got to attend the Asociacion De Ciclomontañismo De Guatemala 3a fecha de Downhill race in Guatemala City. I have never had a chance to capture photos of these awesome events as a spectator. I’m usually too busy participating!

The mountain bike culture is so strong in Guatemala and the downhill riders here are crazy. #bigair

This was also the first test of the my new camera (Lumix G85) in action mode.

#mountainbike #downhillmtb #Guatemala #mtbguatemala

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04/01/2017
Colorado Freeride Fest

Colorado Freeride Fest

Winter Park, Colorado

Published: by PICSPORADIC

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03/30/2017
VLOG Expedition Ancash Day 09

Expedition Ancash Day 09
Mountain Biking in Caraz, Peru

Join adventure athletes Elizabeth Sampey And Brendan James on their search to find mountain biking trails in Caraz at the foothills of the 6700m Cordillera Blanca, Peru. This video is part of our 40 day bikepacking tour of the Ancash district.

A large thank you to our sponsors!
Scott Bicycles
Defiant Pack
Gore Bike Wear
Industry Nine Componentry
Julbo Eyewear

Equipment / Stats:

Lumix G7

GoPro Hero 4

LG G4

48 hrs

24p 4k

Adobe Premiere

After Effects

Sony ECM-CS3 mic

Original Recording Date: April 2, 2017 | Published: by PICSPORADIC

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01/22/2017
NEK nightride

NEK nightride
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08/24/2016
Kingdom Trails Breaking News Video

Published: by PICSPORADIC

Kingdom Trails Breaking News Video
East Burke, Vermont

When was first contacted by Lilias Ide over at the Kingdom Trail Association for their next summer video series she told me she wanted to do a spoof news report – little did we both know just how far the concept would go.

The final edit features custom graphics and sound – edited from 5 days off shooting where I followed the kingdom trail crew and along as well as filming the scripted newsroom segments.

(YOUTUBE) BREAKING NEWS: KTA Singletrack Update

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Equipment / Stats:
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Lumix DMC-G7

GoPro Hero 4

60 hours

2.7k

Adobe Premiere

After Effects

Ziyhun R2 Gimbal

Tascam Audio Recorder

Gallery

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08/08/2016