Tour De France Blog

The San Juan Howler course is a relatively young course that is still largely under development, as evidenced by the fact that it has really only been used twice before.Since 2008, 20 year veteran Bob “Bomber” Bombardier has been helping to build up this course.He possesses intuitive perception and understanding for boosting up rider involvements till 11th day of the last month of 2010. (Anthony Ippolito,the world-racer is the main designer of the course.)

I really don’t love building trails, Bomber admits. It’s not easy, He enjoys the benefits that accompany it. “I fit right in with nature.” When working in the cool jungle and eventually, the animals don’t bother him. “And, because I’m also trying to stay as fit and youthful as I can, I find that trail work is terrific exercise.” Additionally, Bomber notes that he is able to customize the trail.

Bomber listens to, “flow. He’s had nearly twenty years of living and loving everything about mountain biking, so he really knows what true aficionados of the sport need and want. Travelling on mountain paths will be very interesting.Fairly safe. Be advised that this bike is a middle of the road choice for most riders.

Bomber’s Howler Course Insights

 It’s been rainier this year. “Water damage will be severe. Dealing with the damages and making sure there is a good loop for the course are the first two priorities. I expect to see many places eroded or water damaged. If a spot washes out from water, the first option is to re-route the trail another way. The second option is to repair the trail so it can accommodate both water runoff and the trail. This is much harder than it sounds. It is an art!”

Flow is another important aspect.The reason why people buy mountain bikes is to travel the trails. Many existing courses have dirt roads as connectors for trails or on hill climb portions of courses. My personal preference would be to make the Howler nothing but woods. Except the start and finish, the rest of the race will be on rough mountain paths. I’m always on the lookout to make sketchy spots flow better.

There can always be improvements done on a trail. What would really be decent – in fact it would be better for everybody concerned – is to either find some sections of the ride that have unridable uphill sections or, at the very least, very difficult to manage. Before any changes can be made, including switchbacks and some route changes can be made, we will have to contact the landowners and get their consent.

 Change is the only constant. “Mountain bike trails are always evolving and changing. Nature sometimes dictates where changes are needed due to wind and rain. Or by cattle and horses. Changes in land ownership also close or open land use rights.”

Living up to his standards, Bomber’s website NicaFun.com has a glorious shot of San Juan del Sur from the montaas (mountains). San Juan Howler Mountain Bike Race is grateful to having dedicated and experienced hands of a mountain bike course -builder as in “Bomber” Bombardier.

Author: Sunamita Lim, with over 20 years experience, an award winning author, race organizer, tireless volunteer together with whereintheworldareyou.com brings you a series of adrenaline on the unique challenges and insights into mountain biking for the shear joy of it and mountain bike racing in Central America. Check out more mountain bike action now. Copyright, all rights reserved.