First off let me start out by describing the the brutal Whistler mountain course. Coming from a trials background we don’t have 16 minute gut wrenching races, but in epic downhill they do. The Qualifier course Started at the top of Garbanzo Chair on Whistler and was as epic as you could imagine down to the finish line. The course was diverse and had everything from steep technical lines like In Deep to wide open speed and airs like Freight Train. What really made the going difficult was how slick the course was. With a mix of rain at night and decent weather in the day the course was in the transition from super wet to dry resulting in a slick mess. Everything had a layer of grease on it. To top it off I was going to be bounced around on a 5.5” travel bike… things could have turned out bad.

My goal was to not ride super fast but to be consistent and not crash. During qualification I stuck plan and had a clean run.  My biggest problem was other people; passing in a downhill race was new to me and I got caught behind 3 slower riders! Before the race I had pictures floating threw my head of being passed by people on full DH rigs, while struggling to keep up on my SlopeStyle bike. But that never happened and I finished 45th out of approximately 130 riders. It would have been nice the be a little higher in the standings but starting in 4-5th line out of 13-14 lines seemed like it would be okay for the next day.

I awoke on the race morning to rain, rain and more rain! The thought “OH MY GOD” what have a got myself into, crossed my mind! I was committed though, and after a few minutes of reasoning with myself I realized the worst case scenario was severe injury or death –acceptable- and then I suited up. That day was not a denim day but rather a real ridding gear day; jersey’s, riding pants and even a pre-race garbage bag were in order. The peak was cold and windy and the visibility was low to say the least, aka the perfect recipe for a crazy RedBull race.

After standing around for 30 minutes, being deep frozen it was finally time to race. The gun went off sending a fury of racers down the course. The 5th row, my row, lurched off the start line racing to catch the first rows of riders before the course narrowed. One thing to note is that alpine fire roads are generally comprised of stones 5-7 inches in diameter, which 5 inch slope style bikes do not handle all that well… I was being passed.

Thankfully the course designers threw in some uphill which allowed me to grab back a few places; but, once back on the downhill fire road it was basically a death bull ride with rain and fog ganging up with my fogged goggles to reduce visibility to virtually nothing. As soon as I broke free of the alpine I took my goggles off, this stop cost me a few places. But, once I could see again I started passing people on tight corners, slick roots and anywhere else I could make up for my lack of travel with skill.

Unfortunately skill was not always enough and my tires gave way on an inside corner pass and I went for a slider. I quickly shook myself out while trying not to be run over by one of the passing riders, and got back on the gas. By riding some of the more risky lines at bottle necks I was able to make up quite a few spots and was not passed again as I reeled other riders in one by one. My race ended with a balls out 3 rider sprint through the giant dual slalom course, cold and wet I crossed the line safe and sound. This race was so much fun it was ridiculous… and at times scary. Finishing the course in 26 and some odd minutes, about 5 minutes behind the leaders was respectable… for a ss bike. After the racer there was nothing left but the after party and to put a check mark in the box beside “repeat next season”.

Photo: Devon Budd

Where the ham sandwich did August go!!!??!

Wait, where did the summer go????

Well August on the road has been awesome, we finished the last of 10 Skills Parks for the season and now it’s full on trail building till the snow gets too deep to dig!

Riding has been ‘illa’ and I have been really enjoying sending everything in sight.  It seems that when I put the shovel down and take a day to rest, the inner ‘mastah blastah Rastah Jahster’ comes out and I even amaze myself.  YES!  I have been rocking a lot of all mountain lately which has really helped my technical riding.  This cross over in riding is so cool when rocking gear because you can really put both clothing and armour to the test for comfort and durability, which incidentally is my job. YES!!!! I love riding bikes!

Photo: Devon Budd Photo

Just before Crankworks Rob (head designer from Mace) and I sat down at a North Van coffee shop and went thru the 2010 armour prototypes.  We borrowed dull scissors and cut up my smelly sweat stained pads right there in the shop – ahhh sweet memories of Hoots gone by for sure.  I am really stoked on how much attention Mace is giving to the armour line and I think it will really show. The 2010 stuff is gnartastic and it is just going to keep getting better.

On the other side of things I have been living (almost 100%) on the road killing my clothes, so Mace has been sending me stuff to keep covered, sick!  I have to say this out loud for everyone to hear, I am stoked on Mace threads!  I went from being less than enthusiastic about wearing Mace clothing 4 years ago to being frickin amp’d on their product and having it as staple wear for my regular ensemble…  From swim shorts to chill casual, Mace is for sure hitting the scene even killing it with great looking solid practical ride shorts for both Lad’s and Lass’….

Interbike is here and I am stoked to see what industry is bringing to the table for gear for next year and it’s cool to see how Mace lines up, I think a lot of people will be stoked on the line up!

Photo: Devon Budd

Until we meet again… Back to my shovel, no grip, no shovel, no grip, dang what a dilemma…..

Hoots out.