Richie follows Willow Koerber and then brother Ben, Koerber on “BK’s Wild Ride”

Thanks to the V.I.O Sport guys for making the cameras so easy to use.

My first trip to Europe every year usually starts with a long flight, some jet lag, a reunion with my bikes that live in Europe, several glasses of fine wine with my boss Peter from Rotwild and off to Italy for some riding and great food. This year wasn’t much different. I met up with my best buddy James and my bikes (Rotwild; R.E.D Two, E1, and a new R.E.D. Three, so sick to have the quiver) and off we went, in some lame strange van/car.

First stop adidas. It amazes me that some one can get lost even with a navigation system, but I am that person. Ha!

It was well worth it to catch up with the people that keep me clothed from head to toe in the sickest clothing around.

Axel Birkhartd and his right hand man Marc Grandmontages were kind enough to take time out of their busy schedule to meet with me and catch up on the happening of the mountain bike world.

After that, one of the coolest and most fun times of the year for me, shopping at Adidas.

My more feminine side, drives me to become crazy in this situation, with so many choices of the most awesome stuff to choose from. That is the way to start a road trip with some new threads.

Ten hours of driving, one sleep and a boat ride and we arrive in Elba, Italy to meet Wade Simpons, Turbo Lenzen and Moniolo(Marco Toniolo) as we call them. After a quick swim in the Mediterranean Sea, we are on the bikes.

Approaching the island of Elba, Italy.

Anywhere you ride on this island you can enjoy views of the sea and some history along the way. We stopped to take some shots at one of Napoleon’s hideouts. Cool!

After a week of Pizza, fish and some sweet riding, we loaded up the car and headed for Riva del Garda bike festival.

This is one of coolest places I have been in Europe. Beautiful lake with huge mountains shooting straight up out of the water and trails everywhere from past times of war.

The rain stopped as we arrived in the village and the sun came out just in time for the festivities to begin. This weekend is always a very busy time because everyone is trying to get some of my time, for one thing or another, but it is filled with riding with great people, photo shoots, partying and a lot of fantastic Italian food.

Some high lights from the weekend for me were the Shimano Saint rides with all of my riding buddies from home http://www.paul-lange.de/news/news/events_veranstaltungen/rivadelgarda2009/de,

Watching my teammate Marius Hoppinsack win the Saalbach/Hinterglem DJ event and the funny photo shoots with Freeride magazine.

I love Italy and this festival is the best of the year, so if you missed it, make sure you mark it on your calendar for next year.

Although this is a fall shot, not a spring shot, I did ride this trail with Willow today and it was awesome. Fast and flowy with some jumps and just enough mud to make it exciting.

I have had a pretty cool winter with a bunch of riding a bit of skiing, but most of all a ton of fun with some super cool people and that is what it is all about. Get Outside and have some fun.

“Winter time and the livin ain’t so easy.”  This year.

I love skiing powder more then almost anything, but this winter it just hasn’t shown up in my world.
So the next thing to do is go to Squamish or Vancouver for some bundled up riding with Wade or whoever else is dying for a ride. This year too much snow there too.

My buddies and I have been so jonesing for some outside activity that we have all gone out and bought some skate ski gear (a cooler version of cross country skiing that is not much cooler) and been trying to get our thrills that way. Dam scary on the down hills and super hard on the ups.

So I was forced to pack up my NEW bike (Rotwild R.E.D. Three and fly down to Laguna Beach to hang out with Willow, Hans Rey and Brian Lopes for some better weather and the chance to get some thrills and hopefully no spill.

Willow and I are staying a stones through from the beach and a couple blocks from the trails, which is really nice because riding from the house is the best thing ever. Just like home.

John Levy, Brian Lopes , Tony the Tiger and me. Willow is still climbing the almost 4000 vertical ft that we shuttled up. Ha.
I have only been here for a week and have already done a bunch of he classic rides. They have had some rain here so the trails are in awesome shape.
We have done 3 rides around Laguna here, the San Juan Tail and today the Joplin trail(almost 5000 ft, or 1500 meters of descending). It was awesome.

I love my R.E.D. Three, it is the perfect all mountain bike for me.

Stay tuned as I haven’t given up on winter yet and I am expecting a new pair of Rossignal S7 powder skis and will get some face shots soon. I check the snow report everyday from here in Laguna. The white room is the best place on earth.

The guys at Freeride Entertainment have put this video together of all my best segments in there movies.

Hey Fellow freeriders and rippers of all sorts.

I am checking in for the last time in 2008. What an eventful year. Seven trips to Europe, 5 trips to North Carolina, one to Costa Rica, one to Mexico, a million different trails and one engagement to one very beautiful girl and the year in almost over. Wow!

I hope everyone has had a good of a year as I have. With my Rotwild in hand, adidas covering my body, Conti’s new sticky rubber and AXO protecting me from the nasty ground, I feel like a super hero. Until I crash.

Great news for 2009 s that I will continue with most of my current Sponsors; Rotwild, adidas, AXO, Continental, Marzocchi, adidas eyewear, Pedro’s, Shimano, Whistler, fizik and crankbrothers. I will ad to the group DT Swiss, and Ergon.

I am excited to see you all in 2009 and ride tons. Come take a camp with me and my friends to take you riding to another level, try a Rotwild bike(you will never go back) and check out www.richieschley.com, for details and Schley Chronicles.

Lately, I have had a variety of events happening which you can read about below under the photos.

After a crazy summer of travel that took me to Europe 7 times, I found my self in heaven riding the sweet trails and high alpine terrain of my home, Whistler.

It all started with Brian Lopes coming to Whistler for a week to do some trail riding around the Whistler Valley that would be documented by team mate and photographer Manfred Stromberg from Germany.

A quick trip to Vegas for the Interbike trade show, would interrupt the riding bliss I was experiencing at home, but hey, who can say no to a wicked party with a bunch of their friends from around the globe!

Upon my return to Whistler, the weather was spectacular and the trails were perfect.

We headed straight for the alpine, which always has a bit of a short window because of snow.

Manfred and I found a bunch of new steep lines and even more pristine single track.

The next segment of my visit home would be all about love and union. Willow, my future wife and I, would be the center of attention at an engagement party, hosted by my best buddy James Collingridge. It was a total blast and was great to see all of our friends together in one room again.

The shift back to bike riding also had a love/union overtone. Twenty-one of the boys, headed to a very special secret spot in the BC mountains, to celebrate Wade Simmons bachelor party.

The 8.5 hour epic ride, was deemed as the best single track EVER! Stated by some very seasoned veterans.  The final decent of the ride was a solid hour of descending on the most pristine single track with the perfect pitch. It really was mind blowing.

The antics of the night were something to witness also, with Brett Tippie’s spectacular  living room acrobatics and Andreas Hestlers, strange, but funny displays of something or other.

I might have even gotten a bit rowdy, as did Simmons himself.

All and all it was a wicked time and only $1200 in damages.

Meanwhile back in Whistler the snow was starting to pile up, but my buddy the Dwayne (Red Dog) and I had one more fish to fry. There was one last alpine mission that needed to be hit before it was too late.

A four hour journey that would involve a shuttle, some climbing, and 2 hours of trudging through the snow, ended with yet another unbelievable decent. It couldn’t have seen more then 30 riders before us. The secrets that I am housing with all of these new rides, is killing me wanting to share them with others, but who gives away all of their secret stashes? Not I!

A short visit with my parents and on the road again.

I am riding in the fall colors in North Carolina with the Krazy Koerber Klan right now and headed to Mexico for some fun in the sun and time away from my bikes. Sad, but needed.

Stay tuned for more adventures, parties and good time.

Peace,
Richie

Freeride legend Richie Schley has been featured in more videos than most film producers have made. Having gained so much experience as protagonist over the years, it’s no surprise that Richie became avid for being in control of a project. „I was really tired of wasting time on shoots and having to convince cameramen and producers that a shot was worthy, so I thought it would be great to ultimately have the final say,“ Richie states. „I also feel that I have a pretty good sense for what it takes to get the job done. That’s why I decided to produce my own video for a change.“

Schleyer hired Darcy Whitenburg (lead camera) and Colin Jones (edit, camera), the producers of Roam and The Collective, to film him over a period of three months at his favorite riding locations in Whistler, Squamish and Pemberton. After a total of eleven days of filming and eight days of editing, the Richie Schley Chronicles were completed. “It was a very refreshing experience,” Richie remembers. “Darcy and CJ worked well with me and let me know when I was wrong about a call I made. This is a video I can really identify with because it show my favourite type of riding.“

Richie Schley’s new video has been launched on Freecaster.tv this weekend.