Dear Friends of Spirit Mountain and Estancia Natura,

March at Spirit Mountain could best be described as a beautiful, chaotic symphony of coffee harvests, trail-building heroics, and high-flying mountain bike madness. As is his sacred tradition, our dear friend, fellow MTB maniac, and Dominican Enduro Series (DES) race director, Waldo de la Mota, packed up his worldly possessions, kissed civilization goodbye, and moved his life — lock, stock, and trail tools — to Camp Spirit Discovery for six weeks of full-send dedication.

When Waldo is on the mountain, it’s “all in.” Together, we spent weeks fine-tuning existing trails and dreaming up even more ways to separate the brave from the merely foolish. After last year’s race, I scouted a radical new downhill line. Honestly, by January, I thought it was just a fever dream — a line so ambitious that even I doubted we could pull it off before the race. Especially with our team already running full tilt into the height of coffee harvest season.

Coffee First, Bikes Second (But Barely)
While Spirit Mountain is known as the Dominican Republic’s premier high mountain eco-tourism destination — with hiking trails, waterfalls, world-class mountain biking, camping, and birdwatching — make no mistake: winter harvest season is serious business. With staff deep in the field picking our award-winning coffees, carving out time to build a downhill trail that would terrify a Red Bull Rampage vet seemed, frankly, insane.

But when it came down to the wire, with only three weeks to go, it was “all hands on deck.” Waldo wisely re-routed my original alignment to skip the rock garden (for now), and he added an even more outrageous road gap — bigger and badder than our infamous “Spiritual Drop” on Puerco Loco. Together, our farm crew and Waldo’s fearless squad pulled off a miracle.

And let me tell you — Los Guerreros, the new downhill beast, is next-level in every way. Perfectly fitting the DES 2025 theme: “Next Level.”

Family Business (on Two Wheels)
This year was extra special for me, because Krista — my far better half — and our oldest daughter, Keren Aspen, joined the madness.

Keren, who raced collegiately for Western Colorado University, decided to push her limits and entered the Women’s Open e-Bike category. True downhill and enduro racing are a little outside her comfort zone, but after only one day of pre-riding the trails, she lined up at the start — and crushed it! Third place, no major wrecks, and one very proud dad at the finish line.

A little history: Keren’s love affair with suffering began at 14 when she signed up (with minimal training and maximum enthusiasm) for the “Tour of Suffering” — a three-day cross-country MTB stage race in the mountains of the Dominican Republic. She didn’t finish every brutal mile, but she rode further and dug deeper than anyone expected. Since then, she’s been hooked, and I believe she still holds the record for the youngest to ever compete.

Keren and I built some of the original mountain bike trails at Spirit Mountain back in 2013. She’s swung a pickaxe on every trail we have today — Puerco Loco, Spirit Flow (our first), Chivo Picante, Dos Mundos, and now the legendary Los Guerreros. It’s a family legacy, written in dirt and sweat and the occasional crash.

Truth be told, if you ever come visit Estancia Natura or Spirit Mountain and see a pack of maniacs flying through the coffee fields at warp speed, that’s probably the Wallace family. (Except Krista — she enjoys the trails a bit more, let’s say… gracefully.)

Unsung Heroes: Waldo de la Mota
None of this would happen without Waldo. He is, without question, the heart and soul of the Dominican mountain biking community. He literally moves into the farm each year, lives out of a tent, raises the funds to host the race, wrangles sponsors, communicates with racers, maintains trails — and somehow still finds the energy to dream bigger every season.

Waldo, if you’re reading this: we see you. We appreciate you. Spirit Mountain is a richer, wilder, more beautiful place because of your sacrifice and passion. We can’t wait for the day you get your long-overdue reward. Until then, we ride.

Come Ride with Us
To all our friends — new and old — know that you’re invited to ride the trails at Spirit Mountain year-round. There’s a small usage fee, which covers just a fraction of what it costs to maintain the trails. We do this because we believe in community, in family, and in creating a space where hardcore racers, casual riders, hikers, and dreamers can all find their adventure.

Hope to see you soon, wheels spinning and smiles wide.

Questions? Call, text, email, or WhatsApp me anytime — I’m always happy to chat bikes, beans, or crazy ideas.