Braydon Bringhurst, a professional mountain biker from Boise, Idaho is known as the Uphill Ninja and for a good reason.
Earlier this year Braydon attempted to ride the iconic Whole Enchilada trail near Moab, Utah. Renowned as possibly one of the best mountain bike rides in the world. It's occasionally not even possible to do the entire ride, depending on weather and snow conditions.
While many riders have descended this bucket list ride, it's very rare, if ever attempted for anyone to attempt to ride up this classic trail. Braydon started from the Colorado River, up through Utah's classic slick rock and into the alpine pines of the La Sal Mountains.
The Whole Enchilada encompasses every sort of riding and scenery Moab has to offer in one enormous, spectacular, mind-blowing sensory explosion. From black humus to red slick rock, singletrack to paved bike path.
"It's incredibly technical and it covers well over 8,000 feet of climbing in 27 miles. Also it's mostly ridden as a downhill route whereas doing it my way means quite a bit of rugged, high-altitude climbing. This project has been inspired by my family and friends that are climbing their own figurative mountains. My hope is that this film shows my process of overcoming challenges and maybe, somehow, that can help someone else.
There’s a lot of crazy aspects to it and I tried to stay away from all the details of the riding and focus more on the mental component. I’ve been privileged to work with a mental strength coach, Dr. Craig Manning and having a strong positive mindset is something that we have tried to develop, I want to share that with other people.”
Braydon grew up in Boise, Idaho. He met his wife at Centennial High School and has three daughters who support him as a professional mountain biker. Nicole, his wife, directed and edited '8,600FT' which documented Braydon's what many would say is an unfathomable climb.
“The film will premiere at the Egyptian Theater, Boise. It's a special stop because it's my hometown. I love Boise, I would say this town raised me. We've sold out also, so I'm stoked about that and hopefully we raise some good funds for SWIMBA.
SWIMBA is the Southwest Idaho Mountain Bike Association, a volunteer organization dedicated to all thing's mountain biking. It's just an amazing organization and I think every mountain biker in Boise should be a part of it. I feel fortunate to be doing whatever I can to help SWIMBA"
If you didn't snag tickets to the premiere, the film is available free to watch on YouTube or right here by clicking on the box below.
Mental health is a recurring theme in 8600FT and to benefit mental health awareness, Braydon is not only sharing this message but raffling a custom Canyon Spectral 29, a replica of the bike ridden in the film. All raised funds will go to Crisis Text Line. A mental health non-profit that provides free, 24/7, high-quality text-based mental health support and crisis intervention by empowering a community of trained volunteers to support people in their moments of need.
