Sage Cattabriga-Alosa on Mountain Biking

Sage brings plenty of his ski style to the bike, and tables it out at I Street in Salt Lake City. Photo by The North Face.

TGR athlete and pro skier Sage
Cattabriga-Alosa
gives us a check in on his life, as well as a little
insight onto his other hobby, mountain biking. Sage recently got
married and had an 
interesting entrance into the ceremony . . .

How did you come up with that idea
for your wedding entrance?

When we were there checking the venue
out, I was like joking/semi-joking with Annie, my fiancé: "I'll come down, hit a
jump, jump up onto the stage, and come riding in." She was like noooo.
I was like no really. I'm going to. She said, "Alright, if you
build the jump and figure it out . . ." I built a little wedge to
bring to the venue, but I couldn't remember how tall the stage was.
The jump turned out to be half the size of the stage, so it was like
a mini step up. 

On the morning of, I had to borrow pedals and set it
up. No one was around. I figured I should probably try it before the ceremony to test the speed.
I tested it once, and it was easy. I slowed down, turned around, then went
to wheelie drop off the side of the stage. I slipped a pedal and
ended up cheese-gratering my shin. I was bleeding and had to do a
first aide sesh. The jump went fine when it mattered though! The skid during the actual video
was unintentional, but in the end, that's what made it for sure.

  The newlyweds after a successful step-up jump to the stage! Photo by Sage Cattabriga-Alosa.

So you and Annie are living in Portland currently. What are you doing to stay busy in Portland? I see you've been spending a lot of time in and around Hood from the videos on your TGR Community page.

Yeah, I've pretty much been doing a lot of biking. There are a handful of trails in striking distance. Hood River, which has some awesome singletrack, is within an hour away. There’s Sandy Ridge, which is essentially right across the street from Windells-it has a lot of recently built freeride trails, and is mainly a place to downhill. You have anywhere between a one to three mile pedal up a closed forest road, and you can then rip a bunch of trails. They're fun trails, nothing too crazy, but some good jumps.

Then, about 20 minutes from my house in north Portland, there is an amazing spot people don't ride much. There are two shuttle-able trails, and some fun cross-country stuff. I've been riding there a lot, especially with being super busy with the wedding. It’s a nice quick break. I can recreate 20 minutes from my door in a big city. It’s like living in Alta!

What're you doing in Portland currently?

I moved out there with my wife three years ago. I then spent one winter in Utah, and the next in Portland. I got the same amount of days in regardless of my location haha. It does not really matter where I'm at location-wise; I still travel and ski a ton, so Portland is the best of both worlds for us.

When you were in the Salt Lake area, did you ever get out and ride I Street trails at all?

Yeaaaah, that place is fun! It got me back into biking again. I had biked as a kid, but when I went to school in Utah I stopped; I was skiing a lot. Then I bought a $600 full-suspension bike and starting riding I Street. That place is good for sure.

Sage rolling a serious roller coaster of a log line at the Black Rock freeride trails in Oregon. Via Instagram.

You have been spending a lot of time biking in the summer, and skiing and filming in winter. Do you think that now you have been riding bikes more that you feel that you're getting more out of biking than you once did? How does that compare to what you get out of skiing?

Mountain biking provides the same feeling, the same hook, of what feels good about skiing, especially the flow element to it. What I like about biking is it's more like backcountry skiing. You put in a bunch of effort, slogging around, going slow, quietly pacing, and then you turn around and bang down the trail or line. Banging through the woods, hootin' and hollerin' with your friends–it's pretty similar.

Even the positioning! If you hold ski poles and rotate your wrists a little, you're holding handlebars on a bike. You're reading terrain, and letting it flow under you. Sometimes you're riding it right, and sometimes you're riding it wrong. Same exact thing goes for skiing. Biking is also good for my physical body to stay tuned up in the summer. Not only physically, but mentally as well. It’s a similar head game, and keeps your mind in shape. Also, because it's simply for recreation, it's not too serious.

While not known as a competitor in the ski world, the heavily-trending world of enduro racing, especially the Oregon Enduro Series, was enough to convince Sage to don a race number and try it out. Mike Albright photo via Pinkbike.

A common theme with you is creativity. You like to watch other people be creative too, especially in skiing. How do you see that same vision applied to riding bikes?

You are a little more limited because you are following paths, but even on the narrowest singletracks your line can vary greatly. It's more about how your line flows through both technical features and turns of the trail. Even a six inch-wide singletrack can be ridden multiple different ways.

It's neat because you can find that new fun line or see somebody on that line. There are so many options, and sharing the experience with friends only emphasizes this. Instead of watching someone make a pow turn and slash a wind lip, you see how they rail a dirt dusty berm and pop off a rock. It's on a smaller scale, but the same idea.

Sage is plenty comfortable in the air, even in the summer. Photo via Sage Cattabriga-Alosa.

Creativity comes in the form of flow, dictated by the line the wheels take. I am a rider that’s all over the place. I love trying to avoid bumps. I try and find this flow. There is always a path where the bumps get worse, yet right next to it there are lines on the edge that are smoother and nicer. Finding lines that are smoother, and not necessarily in the middle of the trail is often more fun than simply finding the fastest line.

Put it like this: if the trail was perfectly manicured, the line would be here. But, when there are bumps and it's all beat down, all of a sudden there is a new line that’s faster, more fun, and more creative. You are dealing with an additional factor-that the main ride line is beaten up, and the trail is evolving.

I mean that’s probably another thing on the creativity aspect. When you are riding anywhere really, you get the same exploratory feeling as when you’re skiing. You find different trails and more trails. Where I ride every week, there are so many routes to find and discover even though I ride there almost daily. The exploratory feeling of finding something new every time...it's fun. Looking around for new stuff is exciting, just like backcountry skiing. It also really relates to life.

  Black Rock Sending. Photo by Sage Cattabriga-Alosa.

Building off that, do you gain a lot from riding with other people? Just like skiing with other people?

For sure, for sure! It's fun to watch someone else ride something. Sometimes I'll ride a trail with someone that I've hit a million times before, and watch that person ride a line I didn't even realize existed. It may be faster, bigger, more fun – just different.

I love the idea of sharing your vision and watching other people's visions. In trail riding and stuff, similar to skiing, you deal with cold smoke. If you ride first you can see well, and you know your buddy’s on your tail. This makes you push yourself to ride well. If you're the one trailing, you're on your buddies tail to minimize dust, and you need to be ready for whatever comes. This is super fun, and it really mimics getting blinded with snow on a pow day with friends.

  Sharing line ideas . . . and stoke. Photo by Sage Cattabriga-Alosa.

When you're riding with someone else, and you're sharing what your doing, what’s the difference between showing off and sharing? Sharing stoke? How do you draw the line?

I don't know; just a way you approach it each time. Fun is to amaze yourself, and sharing that amazement. It’s all about progression. Learn new things, progress by finding new things to do. There’s a way to share it in a humble, genuine way.