Jeep 48STRAIGHT: Trail Notes
Get up to the minute updates on everything that's happening on the scene at Jeep 48STRAIGHT. Whether you're into mountain biking, music, fashion or conservation and green initiatives, we've got you covered.
Mountain Biking
Minnaar & Buhl Capture Titles in Park City | September 08
To call the 2008 mountain bike seasons of newly anointed World Cup Champion Greg Minnaar and reigning World Champion and U.S. National Champion Melissa Buhl successful would be a tremendous understatement. Today the pair added yet another exclamation point to their racing dominance by capturing titles at the second leg of the Jeep 48STRAIGHT Mountain Bike Series held at The Canyons in Park City, Utah. Despite facing one of the deepest fields in Jeep mountain bike history and intermittent rain showers that impacted the surface of the racecourse, South Africa’s Minnaar and Chandler, Ariz.’s, Buhl swept the competition without losing a heat, a feat all but unheard of since the event’s inception. Minnaar, with two World Cup Championships and a World Championship under his belt by age 26, began the day with a win over Open Qualifier Cameron McCaul of Santa Cruz, Calif. Waiting in the second round was Great Britain’s Steve Peat, himself a three-time World Cup Champion, thus demonstrating the level of competition battling for the title. Minnaar swept past his good friend and rival to reach the semi-finals against Winter Park, Colo.’s Petr Hanak, where he won in straight races to reach the finals. In the championship heat, Minnaar faced off against World Champion and three-time World Cup titlist Eric Carter of Temecula, Calif., who had earned wins against Open Qualifiers Christopher Herndon of Etowah, N.C. and Amiel Cavalier of Auburn, Calif., as well as U.S. National Champion Cody Warren, who had captured the title at the first race of the season in New Jersey. In the finals, Minnaar outran the veteran Carter in both runs to earn the title. Hanak topped Warren in the consolation heat to earn the final podium spot.
Music, Fashion & Entertainment
Rogue Wave at The Canyons | September 08
Despite a rainy venue, the indie rock band Rogue Wave still blasted away at the Canyon’s Saturday evening after the dual slalom wrapped up. This popular group from Oakland, CA blended wistful vocals over blankets of sonic textures. Songs by the band have been featured in movies like Just Friends and in T.V. episodes such as Heroes, Friday Night Lights, Scrubs, Chuck, The O.C. and Nip/ Tuck. 48STRAIGHT caught up with lead singer Zach Rogue, who headed up the band after losing his job in the dot-com bust, to talk about life as a rockstar, singing for the movies, and the upcoming election.
Green Scene & Sustainability
First Ever 48STRAIGHT Eco-Festival a Huge Success | September 08
Despite a full on downpour at various times throughout the day, local Park City and Salt Lake City non-profits and green entrepreneurs weathered the storm to create the first ever 48STRAIGHT Eco-Festival. Aimed to raise local awareness about environmental issues, these innovative eco-booths showed that today’s environmental do-gooders aren’t necessarily chaining themselves to trees to make a point. In fact, they are riding dirtbikes, building houses and downing chocolate, all in the name of “green awareness”. Check out some highlights from the Eco-Festival below.