North Shore Enduro

I have been super stoked for this ever since Rudy contacted me about it a few months ago. Then his crazy weather started and I seriously didn't think this was going to happen, at least not this weekend anyways. Duluth area had some serious record setting rain fall in the week before and some of the town had received some pretty extensive flood damage. On top of that, the rumor mill was flying, you know half the city was gone, no way in no way out, zombies and all that non-sense. However, I was staying optimistic. I try pretty hard to be the glass half full guy.

The week went on and it drew closer, Friday Rudy told me the ride was still on so I was going! I was super excited! Kelly was to have a girls weekend in my absence and in turn I would have a guys weekend with the Duluth boys!

Friday night I could hardly sleep. I knew I had to get up early. I was slightly nervous as the weather forecast had a chance of rain up north and I was so amp'd to ride. I had never ridden in the Duluth area and Rudy had been telling me about some new lines he had roughed in that sounded right up my alley, rough sketchy and technical!

When I finally fell asleep, 4:45am came way too dang quick. I was super tired but as soon as I realized it was Saturday morning and go time, I woke right up! Grabbed my gear tossed it in my car, loaded the bike, grabbed a bag of sun flower seeds and a bottle of water and hit the road. I could hardly contain myself. I wanted to call Rudy and see how the weather was up there but it was 5:20am any normal person would be sleeping on a Saturday morning.

After a couple stops for breakfast and to use the bathroom I arrived in Duluth, 2 hours and 45mins later. It was a great drive a few showers and a beautiful sun rise. I called Rudy around 8:10am and let him know that I was in Duluth, got his address and headed over to his place. Right after I pulled in, it started to sprinkle, then rain and then back to sprinkle. It continued to do this until about noon.

Rudy's buddy Dave showed up about 9:30am, there was a short discussion about still having the ride or not. It didn't take long to decide it was still on. Dave, Rudy, Griff and I loaded up our gear and headed to the trail head where we met a couple more people.

Rudy decided it would be better if we started to at a different trail head as not to encourage riders to ride the XC trails as we would only be riding Rudy's home brew DH lines that I would come to find out that consisted of mostly rock.

When we got to the slightly hidden trail head we unloaded, Rudy gave us a brief overview of the day and we immediately began to climb to our starting point. 10 minutes later we were perched on top of this big exposed rock knoll. He gives us a short explanation of what to expect and in true enduro fashion I dropped in with no previous runs on these trails. I was following Rudy at a decent pace, it was time to put my skills to the test. I got low and in the best attack position I could. Trying to be loose and scan the trail as far in front of me as  I could. It has always been difficult for me to follow people as I tend to watch them and not the trail.

The first trail was short but it had a couple sweet technical moves. There was a three tiered drop/step down and if you didn' pick the right line you were almost guarantied to go over the bars. Spencer learned this first hand as his fork bottomed out, his weight shifted forward as he dismounted superman style over the bars into a very graceful roll!

Well I guess the ride is on, haha. He stood up laughing and the next 3 or 4 guys chose to walk it. Only Rudy and I rode that section successfully. The next couple stages were more of the same short, technical, rocky sections through out Piedmont trail system. There were a few that stood out the most to me and they were these sweet rock rollers. I don't have too much experience on rock rollers as there is zero rock here in the metro to ride. It was awesome. I was really feeling it today. With every move my confidence grew. The next rock roller had two sick rock features after it. I don't know my trail vision just kicked in on this one. I saw what looked like a triangle rock before the big rock at the bottom and just launched over the big rock using the back side as a transition and right over the next big rock. It felt great! At this same location AJ, I thought, was our first casualty but some how the over the bars 10 foot drop didn't phase him! It definitely didn't look good at all!

After Piedmont we headed to some washed out ski and snowmobile trails and the pace quickened dramatically! I wish I had goggles on for this as the mud started to fly and the terrain was unpredictable. I was hot on Rudy's tail and we were at about volume 9, comfortable but pretty quick for a first run on something I'd never seen. Jumping and bunny hopping over ruts and rocks, some multiple feet deep, we quickly loss elevation and dropped out onto a road that was closed due to the flood. It was easy to see way. Have the road for about 80ft was missing and the crevasse was about 30ft deep with a shed from a house next to it at the bottom. Some of the devastation up there was pretty amazing. I have never seen devastation like that first hand.

After those sections we rode the road for a bit before catching on to some rail road grade trails as we made our way to Spirit mountain. I had never been there but they elevation that place has is quite a bit larger then anywhere in the metro, that is for sure! At Spirit we rode some really awesome, raw, natural multi-use trails! I really love the riding up there. It totally reminds me of the Black Hills, especially the Centennial Trail!

Legs  slightly burning we left Spirit Mountain and on to some underground DH trails and the hike a bike began. These trails were awesome! Super technical, very steep and tons of fun! The hikes were long and the descents we fast. Half way down the last descent I had to switch my foot position to the pedal in he middle of the foot and even then the legs were burning going down hill! That is how you know you've had a good day of riding!

The enduro was over but the ride wasn't. We were basically at the bottom of the big hill in Duluth and had to get back to the top and the only way to do that was to ride or walk. It took a while and my legs hated me by the time we got to the top. I am definitely in the shape I would like to be. I definitely need to get back on the horse, set a training schedule and stick to it!

The day was going great. We just go done with some stellar riding. Rudy had brats on the grill. I had a beer in one hand and hose in the other cleaning my bike. We sat around drinking and eating for a while and the people started to dwindle. Around 6 or so we moved inside it was just Andrew, Dave, Rudy and I swapping war stories! I couldn't think of a better way to spend a Saturday! Riding, making new friends, drinkin' beer and grilling in the sun, oh yeah the sun came out in the afternoon! It was great!

Then around 8pm everyone was leaving so I went to my car, grabbed my phone and had 13 missed calls and like 20 text messages. I was like WTF is going on. I only had to read a couple to know something was wrong. Kelly had Jerry in the ER vet as he was puking and acting weird. I called her, she explained that he had a piece of a corn cob stuck in his duodenum, the first section of the small intestine. The vet had him on fluids and watch for the next 6 hours. They were discussing possible surgery to remove it, if he wasn't able to pass it in that time. My heart sunk, mood totally changed and I knew I had to grab my shit and get home. I told Rudy what was happening and told him that I had to bounce. There went the fun guys weekend for me and the relaxing girls weekend for Kelly. I loaded my bike, not sure if I was in the right mind to drive but the adrenaline kicked in and I was off, back towards home. I didn't stop once on the way back. I got home Kelly and her friends were back from the ER Vet but Jerry was still there. Kelly was a wreck and I was trying to hold myself together and be the strong one but it's tough. He is like our child. All I could think of was how hard it was to watch Jerry last summer locked in his cage doped up on sedatives after his rock removal surgery.

Anyways, long story short. We had a sleepless night but finally got good news in the morning that the second x-ray showed no sign of blockage and Jerry was acting more energetic and not vomiting any more. We were able to pick him up around noon today. Unfortunately that incident cost us about $1100 bucks but at least we have our Jerry back and in one piece!

I hope your weekend was less eventful then mine!

Keep it real!

Shimano Steps up to the plat in 2013

Shimano has stepped up to the plate, at least IMO. I don't have the money to get all the sweet new bells and whistles usually but shimano is not only going to be offering the major bells and whistles in their slx line up- ice tech brakes and shadow plus on their rear derailleur as well as some other cool features for the trail minded ride: http://www.sicklines.com/2012/03/01/2013-shimano-slx-and-wh-mt66-wh-mt68-26-29er-wheels/

They have also introduced a whole new line up Zee! with pretty reasonable prices for the more gravity driven rider and they also come with all the major bells and whistles that saint comes with, 4 piston ceramic brakes, large flow hoses, ice tech, 10speed and shadow plus to name a few: http://www.sicklines.com/2012/04/18/2013-shimano-zee-new-gravity-m640-components/

ZEE MSRP Pricing:

• Shifter – $49.99
• Rear Derailleur – $109.99
• Pre-Bled Disc Brake – Front $249.99
• Pre-Bled Disc Brake – Rear – $249.99
• Crankset – $159.99
• Front Hub – $69.99
• Rear Freehub – $89.99

I know that both of these lines are on my radar for my fading bits! I know that I will have to be purchasing some new parts here in the next season or so and this makes me lean towards shimano over sram. I really like the Ice Tech and Shadow plus factors on their parts. I hate chain slap and brake fade! I have also seriously been thinking about going 1x 10 and with the prices of both the SLX and Zee line I think i could actually afford it, bit by bit.

Check it out!

Keep it real!

Heaven part 2

Ok so where was I? On Thursday it was Kelly's birthday, happy birthday hunny, again! We were planning on going white water rafting, however since it was early season there wasn't enough people to go rafting so we had to postpone it till Friday. On Kelly's birthday we went to the Squamish Lil'wat Cultural Centre. It was raining and there wasn't much else to do since we had done enough shopping on Tuesday. It was pretty sweet but wasn't all that large. We watched a 20 minute video and then a 20 minute tour of the place we were done. We stopped out front and watched a guy carving a totem pole. That was pretty sweet and he asked what were were up to and if we were locals? Sweet, he thought we were locals. He was probably pretty confused as to why locals were at the museum, since 90% of the locals are either ski bums, bike bums or both and probably don't frequent the museums that often. Nothing else really stands out in my mind, except that we ate at Ingrid's Delicatessen for like the 2nd or 3rd time. It was this sweet little deli that wasn't too expensive and Kelly really liked their turkey sandwich. Oh and her parents sent us a delicious chocolate cake, 2 beer glasses and a 12 pack of beer from the local brewery, Whistler Brewing company. It was awesome I ended up drinking most of it since Kelly only liked the Grapefruit Ale and there were only 3 of those, haha. The beer was great and definitely a step up from the Cariboos I had been drinking but heck I had to give it a try if the STUND'd boys are drinking it and sponsored by it and they are shredders, maybe it could help me out. hahaha and it wasn't really that bad. I'd buy it here if I could and it was only $7 bucks a 6 pack when everything else was $10-20!

On Friday we finally got to go rafting. I was super amp'd to get out there and see what the Squamish River had to offer. We have rafted in Colorado a couple times and in Tennessee and Kelly had rafted the Kicking horse River in Banf Canada so I had pretty high expectations. We weren't disappointed. The water was freezing cold! Fresh from the glacier up there and it was moving pretty quick. The hits were pretty big but fairly spaced out. There were a few good runs and it totally left me wanting more. We lucked out and had some cool people in our boat. An older couple that was with us did a multi-week trip in the Grand Canyon and our guide Bob was from New Zealand and he was pretty dang funny! He reminded me a lot of Sam Hill from he interviews I've seen. After the trip they had this huge spread for us. Chips and salsa, fruit, vegies and these bomb ass burgers! It was a great way to end the day and the cherry on top was that we were at this farm in the Squamish valley and we had such an amazing view of the mountains and the glacier!


Here we go, this is what all you bike nuts have been waiting for and what I waited patiently and drooled over for 5 days! It was time to ride! We got here at 9:30am, 30mins before the lifts opened so we could fill out all the waivers and get fitted for our gear and bikes! I was so ready to get on that sled and shred the mountain.
Kelly also was going to ride. I was so proud of here! She was being really brave, because she hated going down hills on our bike ride, I was a little surprised that she wanted to give it a go but it was awesome!  We decided to go with the 4 hour bike rentals with a 3 hour guided. It wasn't too much more then renting all the equipment and lift ticket so it was a good deal at $174 bucks.
My guide was a dead ripper and it sounds like Kelly had a shredder too. They split us up by our skills. They gave us all a quick interview and told us to be honest and then had us ride around in a circle for a bit. Then they split us up. It was me and a girl from Scotland. She had been out there for a few days and done a couple clinics. She was pretty good but definitely still a beginner but better then the other 3 in the group.

We met some of the guides buddy out there. Two of them we local pros, Trish was from the UK and rode a sick Green Transition 450! I was so jealous! But my bike was pretty sick the Giant Glory 2, my guides bike was really bad ass, the Giant Glory World cup! We watched Trish and not sure either her coach or boyfriend ride Fade to Black it was sick. I really wanted to try it. It had probably a 7 or 8 foot tall  10 or 12 foot long road gap with a hard right right after it. It was the turn that freaked me out.
Really I only rode blue trails. I only got 6 runs in 4 hours. It takes about 10-15 minutes to get to the top and then 20-40 mins to get to the bottom. It depends on the trail you took, how fast you were riding and if you took breaks or not. I would have to say that if you were a dead ripper and pinned it, you could probably do it in 12-15mins but I couldn't do that.

It took all of 4 runs before I was feeling comfortable and my 5th run was the best. We shredded Crank It Up for the second time and I was really starting to send some of the jumps and really whip it out.
On the day I rode about every blue and green trail that was open in some form or fashion.  We started on B Line and then moved to Ho Chi Min, Karate Monkey, Ninja Cougar, Long Horn, Crank It Up, and even more then I can remember. I really wanted to do A Line and Fade to Black but I just wasn't feeling comfortable on my bike. If I had more time to ride say another day or two I would have definitely been bombing some of the sick runs. The infamous Dirt Merchant opened the day after we rode. I've heard nothing but good things and you know it must be bomb when they put the opening in the local paper, haha.

Only if I could live some place were mtb was that big of a deal! and my guide lives the life. He lives next to Richie Schley and rides and knows tons of local pros like Brandon Semenuk and the Athertons!
I had such a blast. I could have been out there and rode every day but there is just so much to do there that a week just isn't long enough. After the biking we did he Peak to Peak Gondola. That was sick, great views and there is still 5-6 feet of snow up there! The odd thing is that its only 7000ft high, you can get higher in SD but they don't have snow year round. Mother Nature is a strange bitch but I love her!

On top of the bike park they have a sick public dirt jump park, pump track, skate park and skills area about 5 blocks from the village center. I took lots of pictures and notes because I really like the lay out of the jump park and might use it in some of my future projects. It has to be good, I heard that Brandon Semenuk had his hand in the design.

On Sunday we just hung out, packed our bags and wandered around the town as we got ready to end out trip. It was a great week and I would highly recommend heading to Whistler and I will be back. We have talked about celebrating our 5 year anniversary out there. I'm all for it!

I hope you enjoyed the pictures!

Keep it real!

Whistler baby!

Oh yeah, this might be the sweetest single location I have ever visited. Kelly basically had to convince me to come back. If I had the money or a job lined up, I would move there in a heart beat and never look back! The town is super cool, it's in the middle of the mountains, tons of like minded people, all the things I like to do and probably some of the best mountain biking in the world!

I only  was able to ride one day but I made the best of that and the best of all the other days and activities we partook in!

We first had a long travel day to get there. We left at 4:30 am to the airport as our flight left at 630am. We got on our flight to Seattle and then had to catch a bus to Vancouver and then a second bus to Whistler. It was about 8hrs of traveling. We finally got to Whistler Village about 5:30pm. We didn't do much that night besides eat at the restaurant in the hotel. It was called Ric's and it was super spendy but someone gave us a gift card for our wedding and it was totally worth the money. The food was super delicious!

Not a lot to do during the week at night. Most shops close up at about 6pm and the restaurants by 8.

On Tuesday we did a lot of walking around and shopping. I was like a kid in a candy store. I don't know how many bike shops were there exactly but there were quite a few and they all had bad ass bikes and sweet gear! I wish I had more money to spend, haha.

Wednesday we went Ziplining and that was super sick! There were only 5 zips but they were super huge and super high compared to any other zip lines I've ever done before.

We got our first look at some of the DH riders and the bone yard, where they will be hosting Crankworx in August.

Ok that's all the time I have today, enjoy and there is more to come!

Keep it real! 

Wedding

Ok this might be a few parts in length since I've been slacking hard core. I had a nice break, a great wedding, a fun reception and an amazing honey moon in Whistler!

So I was off from Thursday 5/31 through 6/12 and returned to work on 6/13. That break was much needed and super refreshing. The stress of work and all the events leading up to the wedding had me about at wits end. haha!

Thursday and Friday were pretty hectic to boot. We had to get all the final touches done before the wedding and then get Kelly's parents house ready for the grooms dinner. Friday my buddies from Aberdeen came into town and we went to get their tuxes fit and then just hung out till it was time for he rehearsal at the church and then off to Kelly's parents house to have a little pizza and some cold beers. It's always good when I can get together with my buddies from back home.

The wedding day, I was actually pretty dang calm until Kelly started walking down the isle. Then my heart started beating like a 100 mph. She looked gorgeous, absolutely amazing. The ceremony went super quick.

Everyone warned us it would but I didn't really take them serious. It was a great ceremony too. The Deccan was funny and we had some fun with it. We had a sweet jump high five at the end.

We had a sweet limo to ride around, have cock tails and take some sweet pictures. The reception was awesome and I had so much fun. Our DJ was a blast and played killer music all night long!

On Sunday we did a brunch and opened presents with our family and friends at Kelly's parent's house. We got tons of sweet presents and some money, which we put to good use on our honey moon in Whistler. More to come on that.

For now,

Keep it real!