The strangest things happen at Crankworx.
People are connected in unusual ways.
Last year my dad jumps on Fitz with three total strangers. He really doesn't pay attention to the whose who of the biking world like I do. He ends up riding the chair with none other than Brian Lopes.
Being clueless seems to put him into contact with the superstars of the biking world. The funny thing is......... he relates to them and actually makes friends with them without any concept of who they are. Perhaps his vibe is different because he actually relates to them about issues that really have nothing to do with biking.
Yesterday my dad and uncle were waiting in an obvious spot on the enduro course in order to re-supply me with pb+j sandwiches as well as give me unwanted advice. They had waited quite a while when another dude who had also been waiting, with full face helmet and goggles in hand, approached them. He seemed concerned that he was perhaps waiting in the wrong spot as his girlfriend had entered the enduro and he was to swap helmets.
My father assured him he was in the correct spot and that was that. Unknown to all of them, the race was behind schedule due to logistical issues. After some time passed my dad decided to walk over to the end of the fourth stage on Blackcomb Mountain and asked the chap if he would like to join both he and my uncle. The stranger thought that was a good idea and joined them for both the walk over to Blackcomb and then a conversation at the end of stage four. They spent around 30 to 40 minutes talking about whatever it is that adults talk about.
My father learned many things about the stranger.
He was from the Isle of Skye
The surfing isn't good there because its an inner island but the outer islands have epic surf.
He had been jumping earlier in the week over at Crabapple Hits and had injured his back and felt fortunate to not be hurt worse.
He was shooting a movie for the next month in Vancouver.
He mostly road "street".
In fact my dad learned so much about this guy that he is certain that at some point he will move to Vancouver. Without directly saying it the stranger had told him so with his description of the perfect place to live. My father feels fortunate to have gotten to know him the way he did.
What he did not learn is his name. Just like when he road the chair with Lopes he did not put two and two together until after the fact. After finishing the fourth stage of the Enduro I even asked my dad who he was and he just said "some guy into biking from the British Isles".
My dad had just spent the better part of an hour with Danny MacAskill. Danny might be one of the most talented bike riders on the planet. If you don't know who Danny is, here are a couple videos to help you understand what Danny is about.
Whistler's energy is something else.
Cheers
Monday, July 25, 2011
Sunday, July 24, 2011
Kokanee Crankworx 2011/Day 9 Canadian Open Enduro
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| The Canadian Open Enduro finish-GLC drops on a trailbike |
The transition to the fourth stage has a big steep climb using a logging road to access Blackcomb Mountain. Blackcomb has its own trail network. Because of its proximity to the Whistler Bike Park the trail network on Blackcomb sees very little traffic outside of local use. The fourth stage of the Enduro is a technical and rocky descent. One of the kids I was racing was running light XC type tires, and he got a flat on this stage.
The last transition involved riding two lifts up the Whistler Bike Park and a short ride down to the "Containers" where the last and fifth stage started. At this point I was comfortably in second place and well out of first so I just tried to keep my run smooth. That strategy worked and I ended up back on the podium in second. Not a bad day.
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| Second Place in the Canadian Open Enduro |
Saturday, July 23, 2011
Kokanee Crankworx 2011/Day 8 Whip Off Worlds
Today there was an unofficial Whip off on Crab Apple Hits. I thought Brendog was going to kill it and it was going to be a comp for second place, I was wrong. On the way over there I meet up with Mikey Silvestri, little Nicky, and the boys. Together we bombed over to Crab Apple Hits for the Whip Off.
The hits were packed with spectators and whippers as well as dozens of pro photographers. Because of this many riders were doing silly things way beyond their ability level. We took a few laps, and when we were hiking back up we heard someone crash. As soon as Mikey and I got up there we realized it was bad. The dude was out cold, for almost ten minutes. Then he started making weird sounds. There were rumors going around that he messed up his sternum, collar bone, shoulders and obviously his brain was fried. He got hauled off the mountain on a stretcher.
The whip contest continued, and an obvious star came from no where. Bernardo Neves from Brazil smashed them all. He consistently went over the 90 degree mark on his whips, and was a real crowd favorite. There was some humorous stuff going down. One guy hit all the jumps with his naked butt hanging out. Toward the end of the powwow I started cranking some big ones, but still nothing like Bernardo.
The hits were packed with spectators and whippers as well as dozens of pro photographers. Because of this many riders were doing silly things way beyond their ability level. We took a few laps, and when we were hiking back up we heard someone crash. As soon as Mikey and I got up there we realized it was bad. The dude was out cold, for almost ten minutes. Then he started making weird sounds. There were rumors going around that he messed up his sternum, collar bone, shoulders and obviously his brain was fried. He got hauled off the mountain on a stretcher.
The whip contest continued, and an obvious star came from no where. Bernardo Neves from Brazil smashed them all. He consistently went over the 90 degree mark on his whips, and was a real crowd favorite. There was some humorous stuff going down. One guy hit all the jumps with his naked butt hanging out. Toward the end of the powwow I started cranking some big ones, but still nothing like Bernardo.
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| Super Brendog impressing the groms |
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| Bernardo doing his thang |
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| Bernardo Neves-Whip Off Worlds Winner |
Friday, July 22, 2011
Crankworx 2011 Day 7/The GS.....Finally a Podium
The Giant Slalom Race was today. I have been riding the course for fun all week, so I know it quite well. It is similar to riding A-Line except faster with a slightly more technical nature (step up and step downs). I was debating whether to use my hardtail or my DH bike, but was convinced that it would be faster and smoother on the big bike. In practice I timed three runs and they were all pretty consistent.
In this race you had to take two runs and it was the combined total of both runs. My first run went well and I ended up in third. I was a little nervous for my next run though. Never the less I came down in the next run and got third again so I was on the podium. It feels good to finally get that monkey off my back, because I finally got one.
This Sunday is the Kokanee Canadian Open Enduro It is going to be a very tough race and is set up with a format similar to European style enduro's. There are five timed sections linked together with four transition stages. The transitions are not timed but have time limits. If a rider doesn't make the limit they are cut from the race.
A couple of the transition stages have navigational challenges through complicated trail networks. Jack Iles, a local ripper, and prince of Crankworx, was very generous and helped me out. Together we pre-road the Enduro Track.
It should be quite an interesting race, the course is long and has one brutal climb, up Blackcomb Mountain followed by a long and techy downhill. We stumbled into a bear that ran across the trail in front of us then stopped. It wasn't like most bears here that don't pay any attention to humans and are busy eating grass and blueberries. This bear was interested in us. It even started walking toward us at one point. We ended up walking around it and it didn't bug us again.
Mitch Ropelato and Jill Kitner are the King and Queen of Crankworx 2011. Mitch is the only Pro man to win two races at Crankworx this year, and Jill killed it in all the races she entered.
In this race you had to take two runs and it was the combined total of both runs. My first run went well and I ended up in third. I was a little nervous for my next run though. Never the less I came down in the next run and got third again so I was on the podium. It feels good to finally get that monkey off my back, because I finally got one.
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| Finally....a podium |
This Sunday is the Kokanee Canadian Open Enduro It is going to be a very tough race and is set up with a format similar to European style enduro's. There are five timed sections linked together with four transition stages. The transitions are not timed but have time limits. If a rider doesn't make the limit they are cut from the race.
A couple of the transition stages have navigational challenges through complicated trail networks. Jack Iles, a local ripper, and prince of Crankworx, was very generous and helped me out. Together we pre-road the Enduro Track.
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| Jack Iles the Prince of Crankworx |
It should be quite an interesting race, the course is long and has one brutal climb, up Blackcomb Mountain followed by a long and techy downhill. We stumbled into a bear that ran across the trail in front of us then stopped. It wasn't like most bears here that don't pay any attention to humans and are busy eating grass and blueberries. This bear was interested in us. It even started walking toward us at one point. We ended up walking around it and it didn't bug us again.
Mitch Ropelato and Jill Kitner are the King and Queen of Crankworx 2011. Mitch is the only Pro man to win two races at Crankworx this year, and Jill killed it in all the races she entered.
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| Mitch and Jill the King and Queen of Crankworx |
Thursday, July 21, 2011
Crankworx 2011 Day 6/ Ultimate Pump Track Challenge
Rain and mud
Having not lived in the Northwest this is possibly the muddiest day I have ever ridden.
Mom and sister leave
My mom and sis left today and I miss them.
Kevin Menard
One of the special things that happened today was riding with Kevin Menard. Kevin is one of the owners of Transition Bikes, one of my sponsors. I had spun several laps with Kevin and some other riders when Kevin began to wonder who I was and how I had obtained my sled. I still don't think he realizes I am only 14.
Pump Track Race
My dad and uncle walked with me up the dual slalom and giant slalom course to the pump track. As we approached I saw Cody hanging out with the other athletes. He seemed upbeat and after talking with him the reason was obvious. Both he and Mitch had qualified in the top four and had first round byes. They were riding well.
As we watched qualifying continue it was obvious who had mastery over the track. The disparity was that great. Mitch, the defending champion, made everyone else look like pretenders.
In one of the semi's Mitch was racing Slavik who fell on an inside corner. As Mitch went by he attempted to high five with Mitch, basically a gentleman's way of conceding.
Sierra Smith looks good in jeans, sorry no picture.
Had Cody not bobbled on the final straight against Brosnan he would have advanced to the semi's.
Utah did real well tonight.
Having not lived in the Northwest this is possibly the muddiest day I have ever ridden.
Mom and sister leave
My mom and sis left today and I miss them.
Kevin Menard
One of the special things that happened today was riding with Kevin Menard. Kevin is one of the owners of Transition Bikes, one of my sponsors. I had spun several laps with Kevin and some other riders when Kevin began to wonder who I was and how I had obtained my sled. I still don't think he realizes I am only 14.
Pump Track Race
My dad and uncle walked with me up the dual slalom and giant slalom course to the pump track. As we approached I saw Cody hanging out with the other athletes. He seemed upbeat and after talking with him the reason was obvious. Both he and Mitch had qualified in the top four and had first round byes. They were riding well.
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| Cody and Mitch during pump track practice |
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| Mitch gettin all style conscience during practice |
As we watched qualifying continue it was obvious who had mastery over the track. The disparity was that great. Mitch, the defending champion, made everyone else look like pretenders.
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| Mitch sound asleep seconds before destroying another victim |
In one of the semi's Mitch was racing Slavik who fell on an inside corner. As Mitch went by he attempted to high five with Mitch, basically a gentleman's way of conceding.
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| Thomas Slavik on the gas |
Sierra Smith looks good in jeans, sorry no picture.
Had Cody not bobbled on the final straight against Brosnan he would have advanced to the semi's.
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| Cody at the start of his race against Troy |
Utah did real well tonight.
Wednesday, July 20, 2011
Crankworx 2011 Day 5/Air DH Race Day
Wheels, wheels, wheels. Today my dad was going to pre-ride the enduro course to give me the beta and lo and behold someone had ripped off our trail bike wheelset out of our truck. No pre-ride today maybe tomorrow. To add to the wheel drama I failed to switch my wheelset to race wheels for the Air DH. Doh!!!!! And my mom's car had several wheels/tires without enough pressure in them and to top it all off someone ripped of her windshield wipers.
Back to the race.......the wheels cost me about 3 seconds and I failed to ride the faster line as I went into autopilot and hit some jumps that were not necessary to hit.....another second or two. Never the less, I was crushed by a local kid (13 seconds) and even if everything went off to perfection would have had a hard time making top three (podium). Ended up 8th out of 43 kids.
At this point in my racing career the local knowledge is hard to overcome. Eventually my breadth of experience will trump local knowledge but at this point its hard to take, as podiums are thin and far between. After talking with several pros I am going to change my training regime and should be very competitive next year.
On a lighter note.......several of the pro Air DH racers made the decision to not race and just steez out the course. Brendon and Troy came down together (one waited for the other) and had some fun doing it. That is the thing about Whistler........no matter what happens.......you can always have a good time.
Tomorrow should be interesting...........
Back to the race.......the wheels cost me about 3 seconds and I failed to ride the faster line as I went into autopilot and hit some jumps that were not necessary to hit.....another second or two. Never the less, I was crushed by a local kid (13 seconds) and even if everything went off to perfection would have had a hard time making top three (podium). Ended up 8th out of 43 kids.
At this point in my racing career the local knowledge is hard to overcome. Eventually my breadth of experience will trump local knowledge but at this point its hard to take, as podiums are thin and far between. After talking with several pros I am going to change my training regime and should be very competitive next year.
On a lighter note.......several of the pro Air DH racers made the decision to not race and just steez out the course. Brendon and Troy came down together (one waited for the other) and had some fun doing it. That is the thing about Whistler........no matter what happens.......you can always have a good time.
Tomorrow should be interesting...........
Tuesday, July 19, 2011
Win Some You Lose Some
Today was a bear of day.
I had a very bad race today but you win some and lose some.............. I guess. Today was practice for the Red Bull Joyride comp and it was pretty cool watching them huck from the lift. I am looking forward to watching it go down. Here are a few shots.
I can't believe Crankworx is half over.
I had a very bad race today but you win some and lose some.............. I guess. Today was practice for the Red Bull Joyride comp and it was pretty cool watching them huck from the lift. I am looking forward to watching it go down. Here are a few shots.
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| Unknown Rider |
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| Super crazy flat spin whatcamacallwizzmo |
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| Continuation followed by backflip |
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| Looking down the gladiator pit |
Monday, July 18, 2011
Kokanee Crankworx 2011/Phun Day at the Hits
Today was a fun mellow day here in Whistler. Because of the amazingness that went down this post is going to be short on words and long on photos. A quick rundown of today went like this
...............practice on the Garbo DH with crash and broken finger. Lots of muddy phun in store for tomorrows race. Expect carnage.
...............After practice feeling pretty bad, so back to the condo to get treatment, eat, and sleep.
...............After recuperating it was off to Crab Apple Hits for a photo session. They say a picture is worth a thousand words so here are around 8,000 words worth of pictures.
...............practice on the Garbo DH with crash and broken finger. Lots of muddy phun in store for tomorrows race. Expect carnage.
...............After practice feeling pretty bad, so back to the condo to get treatment, eat, and sleep.
...............After recuperating it was off to Crab Apple Hits for a photo session. They say a picture is worth a thousand words so here are around 8,000 words worth of pictures.
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| Unknown Steez masters |
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| Brendog playing locomotive in a long train |
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| Brendog and Zink |
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| Neethling, Strait and Riffle later in the same train |
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| In all seriousness they broke the whipometer |
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| Kyle Strait had a sick whip but this re-entry was just too interesting to pass up |
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| With all the style flowing I had to "get sum". |
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| REALIOUSLY?????????? Stay tuned its getting interesting G |
Sunday, July 17, 2011
Kokanee Crankworx 2011/Canadian Open DH Race Day
Today was the day of the Canadian Open DH. The Canadian Open is the biggest DH race in all of Canada outside of a World Cup. Many of the top riders in the world attend this race. Steve Smith, a Canadian, won the race with some serious competition from riders coming from all corners of the globe.
The track was muddy and very slick with gnarly roots and smooth greasy rocks. It has been raining for weeks up here and the conditions favored the locals, although I am sure everyone had a bit of a wild ride on their race runs.
One of the craziest places on the course is Hecklers Rock. Around a thousand people mass on or near the rock and heckle racers and chairlift riders. Nobody is sacred as everyone gets the treatment.
My race run was going well, but I caught up to the girl in front of me and she did not yield until she went over the bars. This caused me to have to slow substantially and lose focus and as a result I crashed. Even though my race was over I pinned the rest of the course.
Once I got to the bottom my dad asked me all about what my race run was like so I told him. He said I should protest for a re-run because the girl got in my way. I got my re-run and ended up 5th. Not that great of a result, but I have plenty of races to go in the future here at Crankworx.
When the pros were going down I met up with Luca Cometti. He is a very fast 15 year old from Southern California......... who can pedal like mad. We rode some A-Line/Crab Apple Hits/A-Line laps, he is very fun to ride with. I thought he was going to die a couple of times but he managed to pull off some super sick airs. Ended up riding from 2 p.m. until the lifts closed at 8 p.m. mostly sessioning the crab apple hits and A-line. Another sweet day in the books.
The track was muddy and very slick with gnarly roots and smooth greasy rocks. It has been raining for weeks up here and the conditions favored the locals, although I am sure everyone had a bit of a wild ride on their race runs.
One of the craziest places on the course is Hecklers Rock. Around a thousand people mass on or near the rock and heckle racers and chairlift riders. Nobody is sacred as everyone gets the treatment.
My race run was going well, but I caught up to the girl in front of me and she did not yield until she went over the bars. This caused me to have to slow substantially and lose focus and as a result I crashed. Even though my race was over I pinned the rest of the course.
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| On the hot seat but not for long..... |
When the pros were going down I met up with Luca Cometti. He is a very fast 15 year old from Southern California......... who can pedal like mad. We rode some A-Line/Crab Apple Hits/A-Line laps, he is very fun to ride with. I thought he was going to die a couple of times but he managed to pull off some super sick airs. Ended up riding from 2 p.m. until the lifts closed at 8 p.m. mostly sessioning the crab apple hits and A-line. Another sweet day in the books.
Saturday, July 16, 2011
Crankworx 2011 Day One/Dual Slalom Race Day
Today started with a Canadian Open DH practice run. I stopped lots of times to look at the course, and I accomplished my goal, which was to begin the process of learning the course. There are many lines in most parts of the course, but few turns. Its pretty much straight down the hill with tons of roots. With all the rain we have had, it has gotten pretty rowdy, rough and fun.
After the DH course scope out it was time for Dual Slalom qualifying. It was wet and greasy and I ended up qualifying in 6th place out of 12 kids, which isn't so hot. It was, however, good enough to get me into the brackets.
Next it was back to the Canadian Open DH course for more practice. This time I used a spike tire (Maxxis Wet Scream) on my front wheel and the course felt more manageable. After a couple more DH runs it was back to the Dual Slalom for the finals.
In my first heat I raced a local boy and got beat by a pretty big margin down the first run. Dual Slalom is more about being consistently fast than being a one hit wonder. On the next run we switched courses and the racer with the smaller composite time wins and advances. During this run he slipped a pedal and pretty much almost died. I advanced on which meant I was in the top 4. I got beat both times in my next heat, which meant I was in the small final racing for third place. My two final runs were pretty fast but not fast enough to take third so I ended up in 4th. Both the van Steenbergen bro's looked way fast and they both won along with Jill Kitner. Tom and Bas van Steenbergen as well as Jill Kitner race for the same bike company as myself....Transition. It is always nice to see some Transition's up there on the podium. Dual slalom is not my cup of tea so I know I can do better in the future races.
Soooooooo........the mens Pro Dual Slalom was sick with Mitch Rip aloto, the local Utah boy taking the win. Way to represent Mitch.
After the DH course scope out it was time for Dual Slalom qualifying. It was wet and greasy and I ended up qualifying in 6th place out of 12 kids, which isn't so hot. It was, however, good enough to get me into the brackets.
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| Getting over the techie spine at the start of the Dual Slalom |
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| Johannes Fischbach and Guido Tschugg during practice |
Next it was back to the Canadian Open DH course for more practice. This time I used a spike tire (Maxxis Wet Scream) on my front wheel and the course felt more manageable. After a couple more DH runs it was back to the Dual Slalom for the finals.
In my first heat I raced a local boy and got beat by a pretty big margin down the first run. Dual Slalom is more about being consistently fast than being a one hit wonder. On the next run we switched courses and the racer with the smaller composite time wins and advances. During this run he slipped a pedal and pretty much almost died. I advanced on which meant I was in the top 4. I got beat both times in my next heat, which meant I was in the small final racing for third place. My two final runs were pretty fast but not fast enough to take third so I ended up in 4th. Both the van Steenbergen bro's looked way fast and they both won along with Jill Kitner. Tom and Bas van Steenbergen as well as Jill Kitner race for the same bike company as myself....Transition. It is always nice to see some Transition's up there on the podium. Dual slalom is not my cup of tea so I know I can do better in the future races.
Soooooooo........the mens Pro Dual Slalom was sick with Mitch Rip aloto, the local Utah boy taking the win. Way to represent Mitch.
Friday, July 15, 2011
First Full Day in Whistler/Crankworx Dual Slalom Practice
Today was a really fun day here in Whistler. A couple of warmup runs, then dual slalom practice, followed by an unbelievable after dinner freeride sesh with a bunch of great riders.
The day started with two runs down Dirt Merchant and lower A line. I am going to do 6 races while here so after the warm up runs I met up with my dad and we went to athlete registration to get our race packet. On the way to lunch we ran into Cody Kelly and Mitch Ropelato unloading their van.
After lunch I got my 4x bike and headed up to practice. I started out working on the top part and slowly worked my way down the course. I'm still having trouble in one section, but I should be able to get it down in practice tomorrow. The van Steenbergen brothers are looking very fast.
Next I went back to our condo to eat then headed back out to have some DH runs. At the bottom of the lift Troy Brosnan got a huge group of like 35 people to go ride Crab Apple Hits. Crab Apple Hits is a strait trail with 5 or 6 perfect 40 to 50 foot doubles that kick you 15 to 20 feet up in the air.
It was crazy once we got to the start of Crab Apple Hits. Nobody would go but then everybody went at once. People were bumping bars but by the time we got to the first jump we all got into a very tight single file line. It was the most fun I have had on my bike in a very long time.
I ended the day riding with Cody Kelly, Mitch Ripalotto and Elliot Jackson a Yeti Team rider .... I cased a 20 foot step down to a big roller, crashed, and broke 2 spokes on a set of practice wheels. Day over and in the record books fun fun fun.
The day started with two runs down Dirt Merchant and lower A line. I am going to do 6 races while here so after the warm up runs I met up with my dad and we went to athlete registration to get our race packet. On the way to lunch we ran into Cody Kelly and Mitch Ropelato unloading their van.
After lunch I got my 4x bike and headed up to practice. I started out working on the top part and slowly worked my way down the course. I'm still having trouble in one section, but I should be able to get it down in practice tomorrow. The van Steenbergen brothers are looking very fast.
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| Bas van Steenbergen looking fast and smooth |
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| Me working out the bugs |
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| Kyle Strait squashing a double |
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| Andrew Neethling and Danny Hart/Giant Factory Team Riders |
Next I went back to our condo to eat then headed back out to have some DH runs. At the bottom of the lift Troy Brosnan got a huge group of like 35 people to go ride Crab Apple Hits. Crab Apple Hits is a strait trail with 5 or 6 perfect 40 to 50 foot doubles that kick you 15 to 20 feet up in the air.
It was crazy once we got to the start of Crab Apple Hits. Nobody would go but then everybody went at once. People were bumping bars but by the time we got to the first jump we all got into a very tight single file line. It was the most fun I have had on my bike in a very long time.
I ended the day riding with Cody Kelly, Mitch Ripalotto and Elliot Jackson a Yeti Team rider .... I cased a 20 foot step down to a big roller, crashed, and broke 2 spokes on a set of practice wheels. Day over and in the record books fun fun fun.
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