Having fun in Whistler

Filmed entirely on Go Pro.
Just a quick video of me riding in the Whistler Bike Park, and having fun on my bike.

Crankworx done...

So my third race in Crankworx was the Air DH, down A-Line.  I love riding this trail but it's pretty hard to race at 100%.  I had a decent run but over braked a little and made a couple of small mistakes.  I ended up in 22nd which I was really happy with.
At the end of the week I went in an Industry Giant Dual race for GBB which is the bike shop I hang out in over here.  Our team consisted of Berend and Trevwah who are mechanics at the shop, and myself.  It was a relay type set up, first rider leaves the gate, once they cross the line at the bottom the next rider can go. There were 7 teams I think made up from local bike shops, bike importers and event sponsors.  We managed to put down the fastest collective time and our prize was a $500 bar tab, pretty sweet prize for a couple minutes work.
I was pretty happy with how Crankworx went this year, I came out of it injury free and definitely bettered my results from last season.  I'll be in Whistler for a bit longer now to do some more local races but should be back in Australia in September.

GARBANZO DH

Yesterday I raced the gruelling Garbanzo DH race, this is know as one of the longest and toughest DH races in the world.  I decided to tackle it a bit differently this year and only did 4 practice runs, in previous years I've spent at least a week on it practicing.  I decided to just keep it simple up top in the wet rocky and rooty sections and then as I got lower I would ramp it up and pedal hard.
I was nice and relaxed before the race, it wasn't freezing cold at the top of the mountain like usual so that was a bonus.  Due to the record winter there was still snow on the top section surrounding the track so the already technical track covered with roots and rock faces was soaking wet.  I managed to keep it up right in the upper technical sections, I wouldn't call it a clean run but I stayed on the bike.  Once I got around half way down I began to ramp it up a bit and push a little harder, my hands and lower back were starting to hurt but I kept pedalling where I could.  I went into the final drop to the finish line a bit too quick and landed past the landing which was a bit harsh.  I crossed the line in 14:41, 30 seconds quicker than my time last year.  I ended up in 16th place which I was really happy with.  After the race when I went to wheel my bike to the shop I noticed the rear end had a bit of play in it, I looked down and some bearings in the linkage had collapsed from the constant punishment the brutal track does to your bike.  Luckily the local Commencal lads helped me out and we put in a new linkage last night.  Really stoked that they helped me out so I can race again today.
The Air DH is on today, down the infamous A-Line trail, I love riding this trail so it will be fun to race.  The live webcast will be from 3:30-5:30 CANADIAN TIME which will be 8:30am-10:30am AUSTRALIAN TIME, my race run should be around 9:20am AUS time.

Canadian Open DH

Yesterday was day 3 of Crankworx and the 1st of three DH races i'm competing in.  The Canadian Open DH is definitely the most challenging course i've had to race and I was pretty nervous about it.  I love riding the track but trying to go at race pace gets pretty scary and the track is very unforgiving.  A good friend broke his hand in practice so after seeing that my goal was to just get down safe and save myself for the next two races.  The conditions in practice were horribly, some of the wettest and muddiest conditions i've ridden in, the course is super technical and steep also which mad it really tricky to stay in control.  

I was really nervous in the start gate but managed to get focused and have a really good top section, I held speed and kept it smooth.  Coming into the infamous Heckle Fest where there are at least 100 drunken fans screaming anything they can think of at you I decided to throw a big whip over the jump to keep them happy.  Shortly after Heckle rock I washed out in a rutted section, i'd been having trouble with it in practice also, I lost a few seconds but got back on and decided it was all or nothing now.  After my little off I had nothing to loose, I pushed it to the limit and rode faster than ever through the technical roots and rocky shoots, I was close to loosing it a couple of times and then slipped off line and stalled next to a tree which slowed me up a bit.  As i was coming into the finishing area I backed off a bit and tried to style it up for the crowd, I whipped it out a bit too big on a jump between some trees and clipped a tree mid air with my rear wheel which nearly sent me off the bike.  I held it together and cruised into the finish jump and through out another big whip for the crowd and rolled across the line.  My time was 3:19 which I was really happy with, a couple of seconds quicker would have pushed me up 10 or so positions.  Apart from a couple of mistakes I was still really happy with my time and finishing unharmed.

Tomorrow is the Garbanzo DH, the most brutal DH race out there, 15 minutes of pain but the satisfaction of finishing makes it all worth while.  Then on Wednesday I'm competing in the Air DH down A-Line, i'm hoping to be up there with the big guys after my Phat Wednesday race win a couple of weeks back.

CRANKWORX

Crankworx has snuck up on me a bit and it's only 4 days until I race the Canadian Open DH on Sunday, the first of the 3 DH events I entered.  I'm looking forward to racing and seeing if I can better my times from last year, i'm keen to do well in the Air DH race down A-Line after my win in the Phat Wednesday race last week.  I'm trying to get my bike spruced up at the moment, just gave my Fox 40's some love with new seals, I also got onto some new Schwalbe tires that will be here in time for my first race which is perfect.
I was contacted by Go Pro a few weeks back about helping them during Crankworx for a feature they're doing for Pinkbike.com, it isn't finalised yet but i'll hopefully be getting a lot of good footage for them which will be really fun.
The only downer at the moment is that I tweaked my back yesterday so I'm staying off the bike for a few days so it's as good as it can be for racing.  I've been to the physio today and it helped a lot but it's still a bit sore.  I'll be riding again on Friday and hopefully it will be all good and won't hold me back.


All races will be streamed online,

Live Webcast for the races:

AUS TIME:  Monday July 18th from 8am - 10am

                   Wednesday July 20th, 8:30am-11am

                   Thursday July 21st from 8:30am-10:30am

I hope I worked out the time difference right...

Phat Wednesday

Yesterday was the weekly Whistler Phat Wednesday Race.  The course was announced Tuesday evening and it was Dirt Merchant to Lower A-Line, nothing tech just jumps and berms all the way.  This course got me keen to race because I have fun riding these trails but trying to go fast down these trails isn't easy.  In my race run I scrubbed everything I could and peddled really hard in the top section and by half way I was pretty tired, it's easy to hold speed down lower A-Line so I just kept pushing it and tried to stay low over every jump and get as many pedals in as I could.  I crossed the line and felt like I couldn't have gone much faster, I was hoping for a top 10 finish.  I didn't bother sneaking a look at the time and just rolled down to the bike shop to grab a drink. My lungs were burning, it was the first time I've pushed hard in a race run for a while so my body wasn't use to it.  I made my way to GLC for the presentations and got my free beer for entering the race and caught up with all my buddies who'd raced, I had to work at 7am the next day so I didn't plan on partying.  Presentation time came around and as Seb announced 3rd I was quietly wishing my name would be called, nope, 2nd place nope. Then as first place was getting announced Seb mentioned something about a nickname, Muffin, I can't even really remember my name being called all my buddies just jumped on me and I made my way up to the podium.  It felt good to be on that top step and I never imagined I would even get a podium in a Wednesday race because of all the amazing riders here in Whistler.  It didn't really sink in for a while what had happened.  I put the winnings on the bar and gave beers away to all the boys and a jug to Billinghurst who flatted and still came 5th.  I still can't believe i won.  Thanks to my sous chef too for covering the morning shift. 

Back In Whistler

I arrived back in Whistler at about 2:30 this morning after having an 8 day holiday with my brother and sister down in Mexico for my birthday.  It was loads of fun hanging out with my family after not seeing them for close to a year.  I spent the week relaxing on the beach, snorkelling and checking out some ancient ruins and just taking it easy.  It was a good chance for my body to have a break from riding, doing so many DH laps in the bike park can take a toll on your body and I had a couple of niggling injuries which were annoying me, but I feel fresh now and ready to start pushing it again.  I'll be racing in a local Whistler race this evening as part of the Phat Wednesday series, tonight is classed as a Phast Wednesday and is on a good selection of fast wide open trails.  
Crankworx has also crept up and is less than 3 weeks away so I'll be focussing on getting up to speed for the 3 DH races i'll be competing in.

Fresh Gear

Thanks to Ken from TEKIN SUSPENSION and Greg from SOLA SPORTS/FOX SHOX AUS I have some fresh new gear for the Canadian summer.  I've got the Fox Shox Gold Kashima coated stanchions that have reduced friction to improve the performance of the already amazing 40RC2 forks.  I'll also be running some fresh Alpinestars race kits.  I wore these kits all last summer while I was here and they held up really well.  They are definitely the most comfortable riding gear I've worn.
Huge thanks to Ken and Greg for there overwhelming support while I'm racing O/S, without their support I wouldn't be here living the dream. Cheers guys.

CRUD TO MUD

Raced today, a lot different to the usual set up but pretty cool.  I raced in the Solo Snowboard class which involved snowboarding the top section and then once the snow ran out, jumping onto my bike and riding the rest.  The snow board section was really different for me, my snowboard skills are pretty basic and trying to go fast and link up the gates was something I haven't done before.  I also chose to ride the bike section in my snowboard boots to save time in the transition zone, it worked out pretty well and I was still able to ride reassembly well.  All in all I was stoked to finish 4th, about 10 seconds from 3rd place.  I wasn't racing to win, it just seemed like a race I may not ever get to try again so I did it.  I had 2 Go Pro's filming so I will check out the footage tonight and see how it looks for a video.

First Race for the Year

Tomorrow I'm competing in my first race for the season, it's a little different to any other race I've done but I'm pretty excited.  It's called the Crud to Mud and takes place on Whistler Mountain, there are two parts to the race, a ski/snowboard leg then a mountain biking leg.  I entered in the Solo Snowboard class so I will be snowboarding half way down the mountain until the snow runs out and then jumping on my downhill bike to finish off the race.  I'm not taking it too seriously because my snowboard skills aren't too great but it should be a really fun experience.  

JUST THE TIP

I was fortunate enough to get to do some Go Pro filming on opening day with one of the coolest cats out shredding in the park, Brett Tippie and his buddy from Go Pro Jaymo.  Here's Tippies edit, Just The Tip.


http://www.pinkbike.com/video/198501

WE'RE BACK!!!

Bike Park is OPEN, had a blast riding on Friday for opening day.  Punched out a lot of runs with Trevwah who is shredding on his new Banshee Legend now.  Also got in a few laps with the living legend Brett Tippie and Jaymo from Go Pro and got some pretty funky footage, can't wait to see the edit.  
I had such a good time riding in the park again, the trails were amazing, the Trail Crew did an awesome job digging the trails out, still loads of snow on the sides which looks pretty sick.  By the end of the day I was covered in mud and had sunburnt arms, definitely a first for me.  Lot's of riding to come now, i'm going to try get 50 laps in the first week, just to compensate for the lack of riding I did this winter.  

Solid Week

The last 7 days have been really fun,  Saturday after work I went on a road ride around the lakes in Whistler to see how much snow was around, there is still a lot but in the last week it has melted quite a bit which is good.  Then on Sunday I had to work so I was going to have a break from the gym and riding, I got to work at 2 and by 2:30 I was convinced by my head chef to go with him to Pemby to check if any trails were thawed, did 3 short laps on a really fun trail.  Monday and Tuesday I went to Pemberton again with the crew and punched out a couple of loops, really nice climb and awesome technical descents.  Wednesday I went to the gym in the morning for a weights session then went snowboarding for a couple of hours then went to work.  Thursday I did a legs session at the gym and then went to Pemby again with Ev to do a couple of quick arvo laps.  The XC trails in Canada are similar to DH trails, so we were basically doing DH runs on 5 inch bikes and being able to ride back to the top, super fun.  Friday I had a long shift at work then went to the gym to spin my legs out because they were a bit sore from the day before. 

My Commencal Meta 5 has been awesome on the trails, it climbs well and handles the gnarly descents like a DH bike too, really stoked at how good this bike is.

Still Snowy

I went for a ride around some of the Lakes in Whistler yesterday evening with my buddy Ryno and his awesome dog Summer.  Although the snow is melting in the village and I'm beginning to see grass again there is still loads of snow around, 2 or 3 feet deep in most places.  So it looks like the XC trails in Whis will still need some time to thaw.  I took the oppertunity to check out Alta lake that is still frozen over and got this cool pic.

First day of Spring in Canada

So today we got word that it was raining in Vancouver so the call was made to ride in Squamish. Tristan and I loaded up the truck and headed to Squamish to meet Berend and Evan and go for an XC trail ride, it would be the first ride for me in 98 days!  The closer we got to Squamish the less snow we saw on the road side but it began to drizzle more and more.  Rain wasn't going to stop us today though.  We heard from some other guys that the higher trails were still a bit snowed in so we headed to the Alice Lake trail network which had barely any snow at all.  I was super excited to get riding again and after a quick stop in at Canadian tyre to buy a sweet $20 skid lid I was ready to rock.  
The climb we rode was really good and I was feeling quite fit, i'm glad i've been putting the effort in at the gym and I feel on track for the race season.  The decent was so sick too, fast, tight, rocky, rooty, wet, a lot of fun.  I had the Go Pro with me so we got some footage and I put together this quick edit.  Enjoy...
More riding tomorrow, yeeeeeooooooooooow


http://vimeo.com/21334228

IT'S GO TIME!

Today has been a pretty good day.  Intense weight session at the gym this morning with Import then a shift in the kitchen and after work I picked up my XC bike.  CPI in Geelong hooked me up with a Meta 55, it arrived today care of "THE JAZZA WILSON" who flew back to Canada today after a trip back to Aus, cheers Jazza, I owe you.  So as soon as I got the bike home I ripped open the box, built up the bike and now i'm sitting on the couch admiring it.  The plan is to go for a trail ride tomorrow with some of the Whis Summer Crew down the valley in Squamish or maybe on the North Shore in Vancouver depending on home much snow is still around.  Really pumped to ride again and start doing a lot of XC training.  Big ups to Bill at CPI for helping me out with the bike and Jazza for lugging it half way around the world for me, Cheers.

Road ride through North Carolina...

I didn't start work until 2 today so I had a morning gym sesh with Berend after one of our amazing 'step it up breakfasts'.  I tweaked my back a couple of days ago and ended up seeing a physio to get it sorted out, nothing too serious though but I'm still going to rest it for a few days so I decided to just spin the legs on the stationary bike.  We got out the Spin DVD's and went for a ride through North Carolina, pedelled for just over an hour which was a really good work out.  Every time the cadence went up and the gearing got harder and I felt like slacking I kept thinking of the Garbanzo DH race in this years Crankworx and how harsh it was going to be, the thought of the 14+ minutes race track kept me motivated to push harder even though my legs were dead.  
I'm anxious about riding again, it's been nearly a 4 month break off the bike for me, pedalling on a stationary bike inside a gym while it's snowing outside is the only riding i've done.  I feel hungrier than ever to ride though and i'm constantly day dreaming about riding in the bike park again.  In a few days something good is arriving so i'm really looking forward to that, I just need the snow in the valley to melt away.  5 months ago when I saw it raining I was wishing it was snowing, now when I look outside and snow flakes are falling I want it to turn to rain so this place thaws out.

Unexpected photo finds...

I love getting a link sent to me by a friend who has stumbled across a sweet photo that i've never seen or can't even remember what day it happened.
This photo really sums up riding in Whistler Bike Park, two mates shredding trails and having fun.  Love this place
Thanks Ash for finding this one.
Photo by: ewanbachall.co.uk

http://sun-dog.deviantart.com/art/Crank-It-Up-182138730

First Post

I've been thinking about starting a blog for a while now.  It seems like the best way to keep everyone up to date with my 2011 riding season while i'm here in Whistler, Canada.  It may take me a while to work out how to use this blog thing but hopefully I can show you all how i'm going with my riding, racing and other good times here in BC.