Transition Bikes

	Proving Grounds 2022 September 14, 2022
	A handful of our employees jumped in the van and headed to Prinville, OR to support four of our athletes at this year's Proving Grounds x Natural Selection Tour. Attending the event was Jaxson Riddle, Johny Salido, Talus Turk and Dusty Wygle who battled wind, crazy features and the ups and downs of competition. With Hannah Bergemann sidelined for this year's event, she, along with Parley Ford, Myles Trainer and Kyle & Keri Young (TR Co Owners), helped support some of our fellow TR freeride family. Talus Turk and Dusty Wygle would have to qualify for the final event happening on Saturday. After a good fight on Friday battling early mornings and wind, Talus would move on to finals while Dusty didn't quite land everything he wanted to make the big show. Jaxson Riddle and Johny Salido had been pre qualified so they spent the day cheering on fellow teammates and practicing. While watching our crew navigate their lines, and the many spectators through the week, there was a general theme of excitement between them all. They were there to compete, but what really showed was their stoke for riding bikes. All of them rode the course in a way that complemented their strong suits. While Talus focused on hips to make his flat spins shine; Johny was excited about the shark fins and even landed on and rode the second one side saddle while one foot canning off the end. Dusty showed off some big moves including a front flip on the Red Bull booter along with hitting the massive judges drop, a 30ft drop with stats that boggle the minds of the most talented freeriders. And throughout it all Jaxson would build on his excitement for big jumps and technical skate park style features. Saturday was an early start as the organizers tried to create the safest atmosphere for riders to throw down without dealing with wind. Practice was looking good for our athletes as they were all nailing their runs and looking composed for the main event. Jaxson did everything he was hoping too, and was hyped just to be there, but the wind didn't play to his advantage. With Rampage on the horizons, he sat out his second run content with the weekend and enjoyed his time cruising around the pits signing posters and even a kids neck. "Every inch of soil that Jaxson touches evokes a one of a kind style," said Joel, Jaxson's closest childhood friend, and Rampage digger. Between wind in the main event and some nerves, Talus dealt with some mistakes in both runs that would end him up at the back of the pack. Even with his result his attitude and take aways from the event were huge! "I'm just so stoked on practice and riding here because I've learned so much on my bike. Just by riding this event, from riding new jumps and being in a competition; honestly it's been the best experience on my bike in a while," said Talus after a whirlwind of new experiences for the young freerider. Johny threw down an amazing run and was happy to make it down unscathed. He has some big things around the corner, including all the planning and organization for his freeride event, Freeride Fiesta, in Mexico this January. Proving Grounds is a chaotic event with massive features and plenty of natural variables including wind and loose soil. So to see our crew handle it with finesse and just general stoke was a one-of-a-kind show! As one woman put it while visiting the TR tent, "It was so impressive to see the level of talent, bravery, style; just the whole vibe here, so cool!"