David Marquez

I met Dave a few months ago riding with a crew at Glorieta Camps. The hype and energy he brought to the ride, especially when we were sessioning features, was contagious. I immediately knew, this guy LOVES to be out on his bike. Dave was the Team Manager for local DH racing team Downhill Syndicate during his time in NM. He rides for Deity, Royal Racing, 7idp, Atlas, TAG, Matrix and Next. Follow him online @dangerous_dave_marquez, he lives up to the name! Dave just moved to Colorado last month, and I wanted to give him a proper New Mexico send off with a Local’s Series feature. We will miss you in NM, but show the CO riders how we do it! Send it buddy!

“SMILE THE WHOLE DAMN TIME” –  Dave Marquez

Where are you from, where is home now, and how long have you been riding?

I was born in Albuquerque, live in Santa Fe and have been riding bikes since I was five as far as I can remember.

Age / Height / Weight

I am 41, 5’10” and 145 lbs.

How do you make a living?

I work for Whole Foods in the Specialty Department.

Why do you mountain bike?

I mountain bike for sooo many reasons! The freedom of riding is limitless! I love getting together with bros on the weekends and pushing ourselves and each other to climb that next “evil” hill or send that gap we’ve been “eyeballing” for weeks!  It’s also great to meet other riders randomly and spend the day riding around the mountains sharing stories and laughs.

Favorite Local Trail / Zone

We have a lot of great riding in this area but I have to say Glorieta Camps. There’s so many different challenges in Glorieta! Climbs, chunk, gaps, flow it’s all up to you…A LINE or B line.

Best non-NM trails you have ridden

I rode Evolution Bike Park in Crested Butte last summer and had a blast.  Great jump lines and it was a really scenic park. Very bike friendly town too. I’ll go back this summer for sure.

Dream Destination to ride tomorrow

I would ride in Sedona tomorrow if I had the option to ride anywhere. I’ve heard nothing but great responses from friends that have ridden there.

Best Strength / Worst Weakness of your riding skill set

My strong points in my riding skill set have to be descending quickly and line choice.  I tend to play well in the rock gardens too.  My weakness is climbing.  I have a hard time keeping up with a lot of the beasts I ride with.  This inspires me to keep pushing and it’s been proven to me that age is just a number in this game!

Do you have any racing experience? How has that effected your riding?

I have raced Downhill for the last two seasons in  Angel Fire.  I feel my riding is a constant work in progress.  Having that race experience has really helped me to know my limits and the limits of my D/H rig.  Can’t wait to race the Enduro rig this summer and test those limits!

Worst crash

Barely remember it.  I was pinning it through “World Cup” in Angel Fire, my left hand came off the grip while I was airborne, and as I grabbed for it I got a lil front brake lever and “night, night” for Davie! I had to slo-mo the go pro footage to figure out just what had happened.

Favorite bike you have ever owned

Not Fair! I love em’ both! I will say this… I love the bike I throw my leg over the most…till I throw my leg over the other one and love it the most. #unloyal

Dream bike

(Enduro) Hope HB 160  (D/H) Intense M-16 Carbon

Inspirations / Favorite Riders

My inspiration is my Uncle Paul.  Dude’s a beast on two wheels! 55 and still racing B.M.X. along with M.T.B. rides on the regular! I can still remember him ripping one handed wheelies down my Grandmas block when i was a kid!  Best Memories!  As far as pros I dig Aaron Gwinn and Tahn’ee Seagrave.

When you aren’t biking you are …

Thinking about biking! Ha! Na I love snowboarding too and basically being above 10,000 feet makes me happy.

Favorite Pre-ride food, Post-ride food

I have a P.B.&J an apple and a Yerba Mate’ for pre ride and usually A nice Delmanico Steak and Sauteed Spinach for post ride meal.

Best place to get a burrito? Red or Green?

Tia Sophia’s breakfast buritto with bacon and green chile.

Favorite Tunes at the moment? Do you listen while you ride?

I’ve been bumping a lot of Trap S*** lately! Migos & 2 Chains keep me entertained on long rides. I put a blue tooth speaker in my pack, don’t really dig headphones when there’s a group.

What makes New Mexico a great place to live and ride?

New Mexico is blessed with amazing terrain and climate that’s for sure.  To me, it’s the people I have met while riding my bike that have made this sport so enjoyable and dear to me.  I really dig the diversity in the groups I ride with.  I always feel I leave with some new found respect for these people I would not know if it wasn’t for my bike.

Words to Live By

Dave’s Farewell Winsor Bomb went off! Thanks for the good times!

Cheers brother, I’ll catch you ripping some Colorado dirt before too long!