Bring it on

So the last couple weeks have been comprised of getting this season rolling! The next short while will see my bike and all my gear finally completely together and I am stoked. My bike is so amazing to ride it is mind blowing. It is so light and agile and the new suspension is so dialed I really have a hard time understanding how a bike can feel so perfect. Every time I look at it I smile and the second I am rolling I feel at home. My coaching business is rolling with my race program in full swing and my ladies program in the works. I take possession of my new home this weekend, which I am really excited for but will involve a lot of work. I have been training like mad in the gym, on the trail and seeing physio a couple times a week. My body seems to be coming together one session at a time but I took a couple hard hits over the last couple days so hopefully there will not be too many steps backwards there. Unfortunately I think I have destroyed my beloved Troy Lee moto helmet so there is another mangled wreck to put on display. Poor thing, sure did it’s job tho.

Island / Vancouver trip

The first couple races have passed and it is amazing to be back on the scene. It is a little strange that something so perfect only happens a couple months a year, but it makes you appreciate it that much more each time it roles around. I haven’t been that satisfied with my results so far, but the season is a giant puzzle and each race gives me more pieces I need to build the picture of success I am seeking. I just returned from an epic trip to Nanaimo for the second BC Cup DH with a quick stop on the way back in North Van. I went down with two kids I am coaching and Jen McMillan of the Bryson Racing Clan. The combination of good company and excellent events packed into a whirlwind tour made for an excellent adventure. After some new race organization pains in training on Friday, the race turned out to be a super fun event. Unfortunately I had a dispute with a slimy root in a corner before a crucial flat to uphill corner near the end of the track, so my save to dead stop cost me a fair bit of time and I finished mid pack. All the kids I am coaching were happy with their races so that left me quite pleased. Since the race was held on Saturday we decided to stay the night in Van and shred some Seymour laps on Sunday. We met up with Wade Simmons for a couple laps and all I can say is Mr. Simmons has not missed a beat. He is pinned but at the same time finds every little gap to snipe and feature to jib. I swear he is the one of the most fun riders to shred with and such an inspiration. Big smiles and high fives all round. The weather was pretty much worst case and I had a pretty nasty slam but nothing could hold us down.

Heffley soil samples

I recuperated Monday and then went out again today with my race group up on my home trails in Heffley. The trails were a nice balance between grip and drift so as we pushed it there were some pretty interesting moments followed by hooting and hollering. After some trail shredding we decided to go hit some of my neighbour’s perfectly sculpted doubles. The line we were hitting had absolutely perfect flow and it was really fun to start hitting some big jumps on the new bike. It felt perfect. As the sesh progressed I started to get back to my sideways style ways and unfortunately mid-air a couple rounds later my bar decided to venture into my shorts. It must have like what it found because it decided to stay there despite my best efforts to get them out and the bike straight. The resulting slam was not very fun. There was pretty much a crater where my head impacted the ground. Thank god for my poor Troy Lee moto helmet, which now sits gouged, broken and covered in blood along with my new gloves and shoes. Blast! I was mostly pissed for hurting my helmet and new gear. Really, all I can be is thankful that I had such a perfect piece of equipment to protect me when things went wrong. From full height and speed on a sizeable gap I pretty much went straight to my head at the bottom of the tranny and I am in pretty good shape, aside from a sprained finger, a stiff neck and a bunch of stitches. If I was wearing a lessor rated helmet I might not be in such good spirits right now. I must say to all reading, please consider getting a moto helmet. You will be happy you did, and if you need reasons why, just ask me. Reason number one: As long as I can see out of my swollen eye I will be back on the trail riding with my mom tomorrow instead of taking a couple months off to rest my head injury. All the best!

J

Unicorns CAN fly!

So I had to wait until I got this picture to write about the Unicorn. The race was pretty awesome, the course was so good and fun. I always say I don’t like racing in general, but to me when there is a unicorn attached to your bike, it’s not a race, it’s a journey....into a magical universe!(lalalalala...) My journey down the race course was going so well, my Unicorn was on FIRE....I mean FLYING, until I hit the new section that was created just this year. I’d only been down the new section once for the pre-run, and even then I wasn’t really paying attention because my Unicorn’s head kept falling down. Well, I ended up coming around a corner and somehow managed to go UNDER the tape (how? I don’t know) and onto another trail. “Ahh shit....this isn’t the race course!” So I had to run back up the trail back to the course, get back on the horse and just giv’er! I must’ve been going a good pace, since I still won, but I really think I could’ve been under 6 minutes had I not taken the wrong turn. That’ll be my goal for next year. To read more about the race check out Tyler’s write-up: http://www.pinkbike.com/news/Unicorn-5001-results-2010.html

Back in the Loop

Although I never left Kamloops, I have certainly been out of the loop for a while. Breaking my Scaphoid bone in Merritt last fall proved to be one of the most difficult situations I’ve ever dealt with. Being misdiagnosed on my initial trip to the doctor lead to riding on a broken hand for a month and making the injury a lot worse. Long story short, it is May now and I’ve jut begun to ride my bike again.

Being off the bike for that long really gets to my head, but in the end things have worked out pretty well. The trails were already well on there way to being dry halfway through January so in an effort to maintain my sanity i started into the unthinkable… Cross Country riding. It was really boring at first but I started noticing an increase in my fitness fairly quickly and from then on I was getting excited for the burn. Eventually I got the cast off and then it was rehab time.

After a few months of XC riding my wrist and hand started to feel pretty strong. Between being on the XC bike and doing a ton of physio everyday I was coming back fast. I finally got the go ahead from my physio therapist a few weeks ago and things are feeling great. I back on my bike with a higher level of fitness and a higher level of excitement than I’ve ever had in the past.

As of recently I have been snapping some photos with one of our local team kids, Matty Miles. He is starting to get serious about photography and he has a lot of interesting ideas, so I love going out shooting with him. He has posted our recent rad shots below... expect to see a lot more soon!

Golden Hours

black and white

Went out for a nice evening shoot as the light was going down today but still had some luck.
stoked to see Dylan back shredding the bikes again!