Married with Acres
The Strait’s Winter Wonderland
By Drew Rohde
As the next wave of snow and cold hits the Pacific Northwest we were reminded of our southern migration about this time last winter. A year ago we made the trip to San Diego to visit a few brands and see our good friends, Kyle and Rachel Strait. We’d turned down half a dozen invites from Kyle over the years, and if you’ve ever seen Kyle in person, you know it’s probably best to stay on his good side. So we packed our bags to finally make good on the promise of coming to visit.
Maxima USA was our last stop before heading east into the canyons of Alpine, California, bound for Strait Acres. As the freeway faded in our rearview mirror we followed the yellow line deep into an oak-lined canyon with large slabs of sandstone and dense chaparral. As we followed a meandering country road uphill we saw a long, steep driveway to our left. The numbers matched Kyle’s text so we kept up our speed and carved left.
As we trucked up the long driveway, singletrack trails crossed the road and lips, landings and berms replaced the shrubs and trees. They had just gotten back from a ride with Rachel’s father on a nearby loop and were enjoying some post ride beverages on the porch while their two dogs ran around happy their masters had returned. The script couldn’t have been written better, as if it were a scene from a movie about every mountain biker’s dream life.
Over the next couple days we got a taste of the Pine Life with the Straits and had an absolute blast. The trails are fun, the jumps are big and the food is good. We shot this fun impromptu interview with Kyle and Rachel and think it represents their relationship pretty well. We tried to keep our laughter to a minimum, but we’re just not that professional so, we apologize for any interruptions.
Thanks for the hospitality guys, see you again soon!
If you follow Kyle or Rachel, you’ll know Bama isn’t quite this small anymore. But he’s still just as sweet.
When you gotta water, weed and patrol the ranch, do it in style. #sorryforpartying
Kyle’s got a couple shipping containers on the property, this one houses most of his bikes and maintenance supplies.
Because who doesn’t love a good Honda Trail 70?