Adriano stoked about a 6th place and looking to improve

View from the drive up

Cheering on the team

Bike storage

french

Last weekends tent setup

Dinner all week was amazing - thanks Tanya

All in all the past week has been super chill. The team has been getting around the area riding at Kicking Horse,  Mount Seven, Fernie, Calgary and a bunch have been sticking around riding Pano.  Myself, I pretty much stayed and chilled at the resort.  I cant believe how nice the trails are here – highly recommended.

bryson

Welcome riders

Going to a big race like this you got to be prepared.  Come race time you have to make sure you are ready for anything.  Not only do you have to worry about yourselves and your team mates, you have to worry about the French.  That’s right, I said it…the French.   For the past couple years we have been heading out to Quebec with minimal parts, supplies, tools and gear.  Because of weight restrictions, oversize baggage charges and the pain of moving big bags around you seem to always rely on the home team. I’m not sure they know that but I do.   I hope this year at Nationals I can return the favor.  In preparation for departure to the race I had to make sure I brought everything I could.  With Adriano’s truck I knew we would have the room.

Making it all fit

Packed tight

Prepping for departure the night before I made sure I had everything.  I packed up double what I take to regular B.C cups.  When planning the trip with Buckwheat I told him my vision and he did the same.  I remember the past Canada Cups in the years past and what I I begged and borrowed – cranks, axles, wheels, cables, pads and the ever loving oil.  How can I not have oil for my chain?  This year I’m prepared for anything and everything.

Stop number one

Stop number two, the reign of Buckwheat.

bryson

Loading Up

The ride to Cypress

I thought I knew all the riders on the shore, 4 out of the 7 riders that showed up I had never met before.

Unloading the trailer at the top of Cypress

Wednesdays are now race days on Cypress so we were a little hesitant to hit up Mystery DH thinking we might impede on their parade.  I was worried about dropping in but in the end everyone held their own down the trail.

Kyle scoping the landing

After riding Mystery DH down to 21st street we headed up for another.  Knowing that Cypress is the steep and techy mountain I wondered what trail to ride next.   Since everyone held their own I headed up to Slippery Canoe and the all the way to Tall Cans.   Tall Cans has a couple of log rides and drops that are pretty straight forward if your use to Seymour or Grouse.   It was cool to see half the riders step up and hit a couple drops.

Kyle ghost riding off the drop

After doing a couple of runs we all decided not to push our luck and head to the pub for a beer and a burger – and another beer:)

Beers at the pub

Thanks a lot to Katy, Kyle and Shore Nation for letting me come along, more to come for sure.

bryson

I was in the reading room flipping through the new special addition Decline Magazine – A friend brought it for me hot off the Interbike show Floor. As I flip through the killer images and outstanding stories one – story hit close to home.

I saw my bike – just my bike – being cleaned up and shined up by the Mudd Bunnies at The North Shore Bike Fest. The Bunnies did an outstanding job by the way .

I would take my hats off to Cycling BC while I am here but they just announced a logo contest which is against my religion so we will just leave that where it lays for now.

OK OK not really that cool – there is of course more -  But first my glass has risen once again for Decline as they continue to show the world a little bit more of my backyard – The North Shore – you know what I’m talking about.

This is what really caught my eye. North Shore Bike fest – Again – or is it still – afterall it’s a SPECIAL edition.

What was cool was that there was more pics of my Favorite Racing clan -and more specifically the man behind the Clan – Jeff Bryson

( Really Buckwheat is the Man behind the Clan but he didn’t make it in the magazine – he was probably fixing Clan bikes so the crew could try to keep up with Big Jeff – Next time Buckwheat.)

He is a close up using a super zoom lens – don’t try that at home Sterling or Dan -

Actually Dan Barham did take the pics and Dan Gronross set up the course so I should raise my glass(es) to them also – and after all that glass raising I thinks its time to go back into the reading room.

Cheers

Well the Clan is no exception.

Little Biker - Owen

Jeff Bryson is that guy, the spirit of the Clan – It was  many months ago now and he was talking about the Clan – although I believe it was nameless at the time . Jeff talked about a team that represented the fun of mountain biking -  no snobs -  a tent at the bottom of the race course where anyone was welcome. A team mechanic that would work on your bike simply because you needed a hand. The Clan has some great sponsors yet if you are sporting a fork from some other brand – the Clan first and foremost wants to be able to get you out on the course to ride – after all it’s about riding isn’t it. Of course expect to hear a bit about their sponsors and be sure to pass on that “spirit of the Bike” -  synonymous with the Clan.

The Act of the Clan  Spirit.

Last week the Clan was represented well on both sides of the country. Earlier in the day a Clan member at large, often going by the name Freeride Phil was racing in his category on Neds as part of the  North Shore Bike Fest and placed really well – riding a Demo  no doubt. Soon after Freeride Phil finished his run – 2 spots off the podium I should add.  Phil was off to the hospital to be with his son Owen – Owen was going in for surgery  to remove a sliver – and we are talking chop stick size sliver from his foot – and Owen doesn’t have a very big foot to house a chop stick.

Jeff must have been thinking about his little buddy Owen on his final run down Neds – Jeff ripped it up, made a quick appearance at the awards – to collect prizes and loot – and immediatly – PJ’s and all – went to see Owen. To cheer up our little biking friend Owen – Jeff handed over some of the cash – insisting I am sure that he spend it on bike stuff. Jeff also presented Owen the award “metal ” – A North Shore Bike Fest Second Place in the Pro category chunk of wood – careful Owen of the slivers. I mean  if  that doesn’t say good doodoo about Jeff and heaps about what he wants out of the Clan as far a attitude then you are just going to have to stop by and say hi at the next race – Check out the plaid wearing Clan for yourself – they are nice guys who ride bikes – simple.

Get Well Owen

A beautiful spring morning in Horseshoe Bay

this years rat race was definitely the recession rat race…no weekend in the ocean front house full of the boys ridding all weekend..it was get over early sunday morning on a solo tour. Will Dixon couldn’t make this year because he’s been escorted out of the country, Dave O’Neal has quit riding and taken up racing remote control cars and Bryson is still laying low after running through the timer last year during somebody’s race run.
The track looking as primed as ever

This years course was the same as last years and was dialed after getting some rain earlier in the week and then sunshine over the weekend. The course itself is just a ball of fun and really pushes you to lay of the brakes and just give it from top to bottom.

Didn’t have much time to get reacquainted with the course, so after doing the mandatory 2 pre-runs, I did a quick walk of the bottom half to see if I could figure anything out, one last pre-run to try the new lines out, lunch, nap, then up to the top for the race run.

The top part of the course is in a clear cut section of the forest and really gives you the opportunity to rip it. Unfortunately for me, I never got it dialed and I lost it on one of the corners and slid off the track. I tried to make it up but was a little tentative through the rest of this section, so that cost me time.

The bottom section was a different story and I felt pretty good through the section I walked and was able to hit all the lines I had planned. In the end, I was happy that I bested my time from last year.

Always leave race day with a smile, because it always means i just had a full day of riding…and these days those are hard to come by.

Rat Race is a great race and is very well organized. Race day was great, shuttle and race times were on and from what I could tell, all the riders were having a good time.

Sam Phill

Nick and I wanted to get our heads around Ned’s with the North Shore bike fest just around the corner. After trying multiple lines we realized that they are all just as rough so we stuck to the straight ones. The rain the night before made the trails sick.

On our last run we noticed someone taking some pictures at the Ned’s Gap. It wasn’t until we got to superstore where we met Conor Coen. Conor is an up and coming photographer that’s into bikes. He introduced himself and showed us the pictures he took. Look for him racing and taking pictures at the North Shore Bike fest.

bryson

Jason Chamberlain comes to the North Shore and Whistler to ride about once a year. When he comes here he sees what he has to engineer into his bikes to make them last. If he wasn’t coming out this way to ride and see what the new age of bikes need to handle we would all be riding bikes with bushings, pinner steel hard wear and the smallest stroke shocks with the heaviest weight springs. Jason is the Head Engineer at specialized in charge of all the high end bikes. He works closely with Brandon Sloan (product manager) and the designers to produce the bikes you see and ride today.

Jerry, Jamie, Jason and Jeff – The 4 J’s at the peak of whistler about to ride Kyber’s

Since he was away on vacation when Dirt Magazine came by and didn’t get any props, I wanted to give him some props on the Clan’s site. I know the amount of people that will see this isn’t compared to the amount that read dirt but it’s something.

I asked him a couple of random questions so we could get to know him better.

-Why does the hardware in a specialized look so close to a giant?
They must really like our design.
-Who/what determines shock length and are there benefits /negatives to either
Myself, Buck and Brandon arm wrestle with Fox.
-What is Kinex good for?
According to Google, either computer networks or cancer.
——–
Did you mean K’nex? They are worthless. So are Mega Blocks. Only Legos rule.
-Did you use to be a scout?
Yes, Eagle scout too. I continue to be a volunteer leader today.
-What is a gondola ride like with all the makers of seasons?
Mellow, and a little hungry.
-When you do testing with the electrode backpack what are you testing for?
We measure force and stress, which helps us understand the latest riding styles and how that affects the bike.
-Where is your favorite riding place?
Whistler and North Shore. Sorry, that is so cliché, but it is still true.
-Have you ridden the new Demo 8 geometry?
I’m not good enough to ride it.
-32 or 36 spokes?
32
-Grease a press fit or no grease on a press fit?
Grease or lock-tite. Never dry.
-Favorite flavor Jelly Belly jelly bean?
Grass & Dirt, together.
-Your best MacGyver incident?
The time I built a phone out of coconuts.
-What is your favorite thing to test in the test lab?
Demo’s because sometimes they break the machines instead of the other way around.
-Have you ever raced before?
Yes, but it was a slow race. I used to be the Colorado State Campion in Observed Trials.
-Coolest/weirdest thing you have ever witnessed?
The time at Whistler on Goats Gully when Jeff Bryson took an unmarked left hand turn and dropped off a wooden bridge onto a super gnarly rocky ditch that wasn’t even a trail and Berrecloth, who was right on his tail wouldn’t follow him.
Also, the time Jerry Willows and Jeff Bryson rolled the wicked steep rope climb drop on Khyber. I couldn’t believe my eyes, and my heart almost stopped.
-Do you think the Clan is going to rock it!
Depends on your definition of Rock It! But that is likely.

Thanks a lot for your time Jason

Jason testing the high strengh to weight ratio of an exoskeleton for some upcoming frame designs

bryson

Bridal Path is about a 20 minute ride from the Seymour side to the Twin Bridges side if you don’t stop. There are a bunch of tough sections but none like the Cardiac incline. The Cardiac incline has some of the toughest steps and roots that you could ever imagine. If you were to clean the incline your guard would drop at the easier sections of the trail and you would dab. That is when you would tap out by dabbing a foot or two.

If you can clean it from the golf course to the Baden Powell, come to JH and look Willie straight in the eye and tell him you cleaned it. Without hesitation he will walk over to the Gull Liquor store and buy you 24 beers. Willie is true to his word as long as you are.

Tap out, you lose.