This weekend, March 13-14, Mace Gear will be at the Seattle Bicycle Expo. Showing off some of the new 2010 gear we are kickin off the season at the “largest consumer bicycle show in the United States.” Put on by the Cascade Bicycle Club and in a brand new venue, the bicycle expo promises to be a great time for everyone. Food, photos and tons of new and exciting gear, there is no lack of things to do and see in Seattle this weekend. If you are in the area then stop by and come and see the Mace booth located in the Norco booth #301, just across from Mace rider Ryan Leech who will be performing at the show.  Hope to see you there!

Nestled in the coastal mountain range of British Columbia sits the city of Port Coquitlam and if you found the industrial zone down by the river you would find the Mace headquarters. This is where we call home, but nobody knows where Port Coquitlam is, usually it is easier to tell people we are in Vancouver. Most people don’t know that, besides The Shore, the Vancouver area is littered with exceptional places to ride that few, but those in the know, will ever experience.

By most standards Burke Mountain offers exceptional freeride trails.  But you’ve probably never heard of it.  You see Burk Mountain is in Port Coquitlam, which is just east of Coquitlam which is just East of Burnaby, which is across a bridge from the world famous North Shore. And because of its geographical impediment the rest of the world has never heard of this gem.

Sure, if you get picky, Burke can’t rival the size and number of trails that the Shore boasts between its three hills. It’s not nearly as scary to ride either, unless you accidentally stray onto the shooting range that is half way down.  No, unlike the Shore you can make it to the bottom of most trails with all but a few tense, puckering moments.  But there is just something about the fun, loose, rooted trails of Burke that remind you of why you started riding in the first place.

It is more old school! Unless you have a key to the gate, you have to pedal or push your way up.  There aren’t a ton of structures, ladders and bridges; for some reason people tear them down when they are built. But the trails do have flow, variety and consistency and the trip up is a great chance to catch up with friends. And Burke has history; some riders you’ll run into up there have been frequenting these trails for the better part of two decades.

On the weekends the road is lined with cars as people meet with friends for their weekly ride. It’s a chill environment, with relaxed riders and fun terrain. No, it’s not the Shore, but it doesn’t try to be: it’s not pretentious or well known, it just is. Not many people know about it and that’s okay, because the trails aren’t crowded, they’re just good fun. You probably know of a place just like this in your area; a place that just the locals know that isn’t as flash or demanding as the well known spots but can be just as fun. These are the places that add variety to riding and finding a new one is always an adventure. If you ever run into someone from Port Coquitlam that wants to go ride Burke, take them up on their offer –Burke is one of the best places you have never heard about.

It’s Monday morning and my head is still a little bit foggy, I’m sipping a double espresso as the sun splashes in through my living room window. Last night I found myself in Irish pub in downtown Vancouver watching one of the most highly anticipated hockey games of the last four years – the Canada vs. USA Olympic hockey game.

In 2002 Canada declared a strong victory by winning the games in Salt Lake City and I still remember the cheers of elation that filled households, offices and streets from corner to corner of this fine Country. You see, hockey is kind of our thing. We have other things here too, you know; like Poutine (French fries with cheese and gravy), maple syrup, strong beer and in the cycling world a lot of great places to ride a bicycle – we also invented basketball but it’s not really our thing anymore, we did start it though.

Yesterday, as I made my way through thick crowds of ecstatic Olympic fans, and came into view of the Olympic Cauldron sitting next to the ocean with the mountains in the background I was once again reminded of one other thing: Vancouver is an awesome city, especially if you are a cyclist.

For those who love to get around on two wheels there are few better places to be.  Lined with bicycle paths and lanes and often boasting temperate, perhaps a little wet, weather most days it is quicker to get around the city by bike than in a car. And the city has been actively boosting its cycling commitment with new infrastructure. Having a great city to cycle in is one of our things.

Perhaps cycling in the city is not your thing. Maybe you’re looking for All-Mountain, Freeride, Downhill or Cross-Country trails. We have that too. We have more than the world famous North Shore Mountains. We have Burke, Eagle and the Woodlot just a stone’s throw away, and if you take a bit of a drive Squamish, Whistler and Pemberton are lined with trails winding their way through the mountains and valleys like thick veins – our city is surrounded by a vascular system of trails. Having great trails to ride is kind of our thing.

Yes, you should come here. You should ride here! Here in Vancouver BC nestled in the in the coastal mountain range we have a lot of things. This morning as I sat in a bit of a groggy daze I realized that here in Vancouver we have a lot of things. Hockey is our thing, yes, and last night we were put to shame when we lost a game that we really wanted to win. But we may still get a rematch against the USA hockey team to prove it. But this morning I was stoked we had more than one thing:  If you love to ride a bicycle this city is one great place to be.  It’s kind of our thing.

Winter Olympics in my Home town, no snow to speak of, and a blanket of people about to converge on Vancouver, Lower mainland all the way up to Whistler…

I am out!

I thought that with the amount I travel I do to so many cool places combined with how cool my job is that I could sail through life at full charge, ready to handle all the daily nuances without issue… Apparently this is not true and I found myself pretty burned out after an incredibly successful 2009 season went down… hmm what to do??

‘Surf trip to Costa Rica! Yeeeha!

Almost 3 weeks of traveling around Costa checking it out, holing up in cool places surfing on sand break, busting beach time Frisbee in hand and checking out the local medical system after my Sting Ray encounter… Wow! Sweet mother earth thru sand and surf! Man I could feel the layers of stress peeling off, almost as fast as my sun burn, YIKES!

‘Sunset blessings!’

Of course no trip is as fun as when you can recreationally ride mountain bike and that’s just what went down! While in Las Vegas for the Bike Show I met young gun Philippe who ‘sent it’ lap after lap in Boulder Canyon. It turned out ‘big P’ was from Costa Rica and when I let him know I was considering the possibility of visiting his country he offered to meet up and show his favourite trails. Enter stress relief trip.
A 4×4 road to the middle of ‘no where’ 10,000 feet up ended up ‘somewhere’ in a town called Providencia where the village welcomed us with open arms! Providencia embraces bouldering and Mountain bike and they have a 10km downhill trail including several other trail options, most of which are very advanced steep ass trail, GNAR!!!! Two days of riding and I still wanted more!

‘Tica (local) riders Cristhian and Philippe tearing it up’

As luck would have it there was a bouldering competition so I got to check that out as well, man how cool… There are no major hotels or restaurants, however, comfortable sleeping arrangements and GREAT food from the local bar (both breakfasts and dinners) were easily arranged. We met Great people in Providencia and it was very accommodating to mountain bikers, they were stoked to have us ride their trails!

“Grrrrr gnarly trail alert! Wish I could scream ‘WICKED’ in Spanish!

I was offered the lead instructor job position for the trail building component of the Mountain Bike Operations Course at Capilano University. After a lot of consideration I have accepted the position and am now hitting the books trying to get my teach on so I can kick butt on information delivery for the students!

‘MTB Op’s Municipal moments…Council chambers anyone?’

April will be the advanced trail building section of the course so I will be on the Sunshine Coast working and SHREDDING all month!!!! Sweet!!! Stoked to hit dirt with the Coastal Crew while there, the coast is just so cool..

I continue to put mileage and wear on my Proto type ‘all mountain’ bike and my Mace gear which both are equally loving it!

– ‘This Top secret ripper is da bomb!!!

New updated rear stays on the bike have got it nailed and the last round of feedback on the gear has got me stoked that Norco and Mace development departments are listening! SIC! I love my job!

– ‘I love my job!’

Hoots

If you have looked around the internet on the subject of bicycles and helmets you would notice that there is a bit of a debate going on over the merit of helmets, and whether or not they should be mandatory. Well, Mace has always believed in the safety of helmets and the importance of protecting ones cranium form impacts and injury. Which is why when the opportunity to team up with a not-for-profit organization whose goal is to get helmets on the heads of those who otherwise might not wear them, we were in.

The Prohab Helmet Society was started by Dustin J. Bromley and Renee N. Le Page. They started the Society shortly after they witnessed what was at stake when you throw your leg over a bicycle and pedal off without a helmet on your head. A close friend and fellow avid cyclists was the victim of a cycling accident. The friend wasn’t wearing a helmet when the accident happened and as a result suffered a brain injury. This was as they say a wakeup call, and Dustin and Renee went to work, and a couple of months later they came to Mace to see if we would help; so we got on board.

They just got 35 Mace C4 Mace Lite helmets and will be looking at getting more soon. It is an exciting time and we are glad that we could help because we have always believed that wearing a helmet is a good idea and now that many more heads will be protected when they go for a ride.

Last weekend Ben was at a fundraiser in Montreal. He sent us a quick story on the event along with some rad pictures taken by Rich Redmond.  Make sure to check out the links as well. Here is the lowdown:

A few traveling Riders from B.C.  held a Benefit Jam this weekend in Montreal at UAB Skatepark. The Jam was to Raise money for Stu Timms, a rider  from Australia, that had a bad accident on December 11th, 2009. Stu was at the beach and went to dive into the water and encountered a very common danger when he dove head first into a sandbar. Sadly he has suffered a spinal crush fracture at C5 level and has been paralysed from the shoulders down. The Jam was to raise money for Stu and his family. The Jam was super fun and raised a bit of money for the downed rider. There was a best trick over the box jump contest, a best tech trick contest, and a bunny hop contest. Some Crazy Riding went down. One of the best events I’ve been to in a long time. Stay Strong Stu! Here are some photos by Rich Redmond. And More Photos at www.benkaufmann.blogspot.com.

Check out a video of Stu on Transworld.net. Here is a place to see updates about Stu.

The last post we put up from Ben involved a nicely dented helmet. No helmets were harmed in this post; but a nice hole was put in the ceiling of a townhouse by a flair attempt. Here is Ben’s post on the event (the pictures are courtesy of Ben):

The Local Riders of Ottawa have been fundraising money all year long to improve one of our local parks in the Orleans area of Ottawa. None of the skate parks in Ottawa has a box jump so we have been trying to raise money to build one this spring. So far we are almost there, and with only a few events held. We had a race fundraiser jam, an Orleans skatepark jam and on the weekend we had a 39c apartment mini-ramp jam.

A few of the locals live in a townhouse style apartment in Ottawa and built a really tight mini-ramp. The event was a ton of fun and we had all kinds of contests like, most combo contest (I think 21 combo tricks was the winner after my 17 was shattered!) 1, foot down contests, best trick contest, oh and flat bottom wrestling as well!!

There was also a flair attempt by a rider which put a giant hole in the ceiling! Too much fun! I was much too big for this ramp but still a ton of fun! Hopefully a New box jump in Ottawa this spring!

Cheers, Ben Kaufmann.

Mace rider, Ryan Leech was recently featured in an Interview at NSMB.com. Not only is he exceptionally good on a bicycle he is also amazing at Yoga.  Here is a quick excerpt from his recent interview:

“Ryan Leech began dropping hints in videos and blogs.  Knowing his personality it was no surprise to learn he was into yoga. The moves he performs take large helpings of concentration, balance, strength and flexibility.  If yoga helps him get there I was keen to know more.” Go a head go to NSMB.com to read more.

A short while ago -and by a short while ago I mean last weekend- Ben Kaufmann, a Norco team rider was riding a park in Montreal when a mishap sent his head for a quick meeting with the coping on a new feature. His Mace helmet proved its worth and he walked away unscathed. But check out the damage, without a helmet I doubt he would have walked away.  Well, he tells the story better than I can check out the email he sent below. Oh, and all the pictures are courtesy of Ben.

” Hey guys!
Hope you had a Great weekend! Mine was pretty good -I guess. I went for a big day of riding up in Montreal on Saturday. We rented out the Taz Saturday night which was a blast! Before we went to Le Taz we rode UAB (Ugly Ass Bikes) which was so so. I felt so naked on my bike because it had been a couple weeks. I wasn’t feeling comfortable on my bike at all. After a couple hours I was feeling a bit better but still not great. I went for a Fufanu on this new sub wall just getting warmed up for hopefully an over ice pick to back over:

My brakes slipped and I did a half back flip to head smash right on this coping!! Rang the head super hard off the coping but got right up after and realized that somehow I wasn’t concussed. I was stoked! I felt that Helmet take every bit of the blow. Unfortunately, but fortunately, my helmet has a giant dent in it now. I don’t think it’s a safe thing to keep riding it. Let me know what you guys think.
Otherwise the night was really good. We went to Le Taz after and I had a blast. I felt normal on my bike and learned a few new moves like wall ride to no hander’s and re learned how to grind up big rails again. lol. I hope to go back to UAB to get some photos and video done in the next few weeks. Here is the damage to my helmet and a giant banner that you guys put up at Le Taz. Looks really good!

p.s. That helmet is amazing!!

Cheers Guys.

Ben Kaufmann

Earlier today, as I combed through the recent media titles that littered various cycling sites, I watched as the metaphorical bandwagon passed by and I thought I should hop on. Why can’t I create a list of things to do in the New Year, everyone is doing it and I want in? So I did! And here it is a list of ten things you should do this year if you are a cyclist. Okay, there is only five in this list; I’ll post the next five by the end of the week.

(Please note: If you don’t ride a bike then there is only one thing for you to try this year: RIDE A BIKE. Then try everything else on the list)

1.    Try dirt jumping: it is an awesome way to learn bike control and learn to be comfortable in the air, not to mention a lot of fun.

2.    Commute on your bicycle to work, school or wherever at least once a week. That’s right, park your car and ride or even take transit part way and ride. You’ll feel better and see things you miss when you are cruising by in your car.

3.    Try a singlespeed. It doesn’t have to be a fixie –you should try one of those too- but try a single speed and feel the freedom of not having a derailleur to worry about.

4.    Learn how to bunny-hop, it could save your life. Here is a story I heard the other day over a coffee.

A week or two before the holidays Roy, our product developer, was riding along a busy road on his way home. It was nighttime and in true BC form it was pouring rain and a strong headwind was blasting the droplets right in his face as he rode. Roy was hammering along on the shoulder, which is a poor excuse for a bike lane even though the city did paint a reflective cycling icon on it, when a semi trailer came roaring along from behind. As the trucks headlights lit up the side of the road in front of Roy he realized there was a large chunk of tire, discarded from another Truck, lying sideways and obstructing his path. It covered the whole shoulder and he was boxed in by the passing Semi Truck on the left which left him with very little time to make a split decision. He reacted, almost instinctively by bunny-hopping the shrapnel, riding away unscathed though a little shaken. As he was telling the story he recounted how stoked he was to know how to bunny hop.

The common Bunny-Hop is a simple skill but can be hugely useful in any type of riding making it worth taking the time to learn how to do it well.

5.     Go to a Downhill park. Like Disneyland for cyclists, spending a day at a lift access park is a blast and will leave you and your friends grinning from ear to ear.

Just to keep people interested I only put up five of the ten in this post and I’ll get the next five up by the end of the week.