Silvia Coaching Edit

On a chairlift ride part way through filming with Silvia on Wednesday we were discussing our goals of what we were trying to communicate through the edit and how we were going to express them. As well as discussing what I wanted to show with my riding, what kind of shots we were looking for and where this collaboration would come to fruition, we also talked about what riding is to me, the impact that the resort has had on me as a rider and how much of a role coaching plays for me in my relationship with bike riding. We concluded that coaching is such a major part of riding life for me that it would be cool to include some of my riding protégés in the edit to add some color, differentiate it from all the other edits out there and give the younger Café riders some exposure. As Karl and I had Saturday off I suggested that we bring 10 yr. old Café shredder Jackson Philips along to shoot on the weekend. Over the next two days it turned out that 14 yr. old Café slayer Tristan Klasaut was also available and stoked to shoot, so we added him to the roster. On Saturday morning upon arriving at Sun Peaks we found my longest standing riding protégé, 14 yr. old Liam Stevens, up from Rossland with his dad. After some short discussion Liam was added to the stacked Limitless Racing / Café line-up. It was really fun and refreshing to get to film with the three of them that day as they all ride savagely, have a ton of energy and truly love riding for what it is. As well, I have been coaching both the Café boys for the last 3 years and Liam for the last 5 years so it is really cool to see them progressing as riders and growing as individuals. The boys were equally stoked for the opportunity and I heard more than once that filming with Silvia was fulfilling dreams, so I was pretty happy to have them there. Unfortunately Matty was still down for the count from his crash on Wednesday, so Karl had to fly solo, manning two cameras and one extra heavy pack for the whole day. We rode in a train, for the first run hitting Gummy Bear to Sweet One and then later shredding a Steam Shovel / Route 66 / Steam Shovel to the Jump Park. It was definitely a creative challenge to capture four riders down a piece of trail but Karl was up for the challenge and the shots I caught a glimpse of were rather epic. For singletrack sections we rode with myself at the helm followed by Liam, Tristan and Jacky. Jacky stayed pretty much right on our tail despite being on 24” wheels and eating clouds of dust, and Karl made good effect of it. I felt bad but then I did hike both our bikes up most of the steep sections - such is the life of the youngest rider. The boys were all pinned and looking good, their speed keeping up with their excitement levels and their front tires just off the rear tire ahead of them. When we left the singletrack to find some air we switched up the order. It was super fun to be part of the pack and just play all over the hill. Over the wooden creek gap four-pack on Sweet One Jacky led and we sessioned for a good while before moving on. The jump looked gigantic with a ten-year old sailing across it so it made for good effect (I apologize for the poor iPhone picture quality).

We sessioned a number of other sections on the hill while constantly looking for new angles on things and then headed down to the Jump Park. We split up into two groups, with Trist and Liam sending the dirt jump to step down with style and myself training Jacky over the first jump in the Pro Line. As it was the end of the day and we were getting tired, after a couple runs through we called it and ran a massive train down the Bikercross to the bottom of the hill. With big smiles on our faces high-fives were exchanged and then we said our goodbyes, packed up and parted ways. Many thanks to Karl Heldt of Silvia Productions (http://www.facebook.com/pages/Silvia/149128011826656) for another epic day of filming. Not a bad day, considering the night previous I hosted my going away party at my house and had 2 hours sleep…

I am now off in Lyon, France for at least the rest of the year and if I get to post it won't be of the Kamloops dirt I love and miss. I wish all the best to my friends and Cafe teammates over the fall and can't wait to go for a rip when I return! All the best!

J