Posts Tagged ‘boreale’
Yukon Days
Thursday, July 30th, 2009The days have been long (approx 20 hours of light) and full during our visit to Whitehorse, in the Yukon Territory of Canada.
Yurts rock! Boreal Mountain Biking’s Headquarters (Yurtville).
Josh, the cinematographer/editors from The Ride Guide setting up for a shot beside a caribou antler. We’re on a mountain above Carcross, about one hour south of Whitehorse. This ride was called Mountain Hero; it is historic because it follows the path of the old miners that built a wooden tram line over century ago. Check the image below.
Our host and guide Sylvain pushing up to the top of Grey Mountain for a trail called Money Shot and Easy Money. That’s the Yukon river in the distance.
Today we’re hitting the town getting some scenic and lifestyle shots, some yoga in the park shots, farmers market shots, bike shop shots, and then we’re going to hit the trails for some evening sun.
A Blustery Morning
Sunday, July 26th, 2009Slowly waking up on this blustery Sunday morning in Whitehorse. Filming yesterday was very successful. Typically, it takes about twenty minutes to ride the Goat Trail singletrack above the city, but with the camera, it took us about four hours. That included interviews and riding sections of trail multiple times; the end product should look great though.
Boreale Mt. Biking organized a BBQ at Yurtville with the locals, such a great chance to learn about the Yukon lifestyle and here some stories. The people here are known for putting their quality of life ahead of standard of living, a value that is often lost in the hustle bustle of the big cities.
Still feeling a little stiff from the stunt I did for a commercial a few days ago, I was glad to sneak in a little yurtoga session before the BBQ (Caryn will mock me for making up a goofy word like ‘yurtoga’, but I couldn’t resist). The BBQ finished up as it got dark, which was after midnight, and as I type this, Sylvain has brought me a latte to help ease the heaviness that is still hanging over my eyes (seem to be switching to coffee this week because it’s so good here). We are quite spoiled so far with good food, good company, and great riding.
Boreale Mountain Biking Day 1
Saturday, July 25th, 2009Yesterday marked the kick off of a week of riding in Whitehorse, the capital of the Yukon Territory in Canada. With the anticipation of sunny skies and 30 + degree weather, the excitement is high.
Day one went quickly, it was only half a day, but it was full. We were greeted at the airport by local owner of Boreale Mountain biking, Marsha Cameron (the other owner Sylvain Turcotte was on a ride) and met Josh from The Ride Guide TV show and raced off to drop our gear at Yurtville, the base camp of their riding operation (more about the glory of modern yurts later). I had to build my trials bike quickly and get to the local Canada Games centre to set up for a trials show.
Arranging random riding obstacles in a trialsy way is always fun and challenging. I spend about 2 hours doing so until the local rippers and bike enthusiasts starting showing up for an evening of mountain biking. Local ripper, Kate White, member of Contagious bike club, rallied the troops and got them pumped about a helmet campaign called Bike your Brains Out, and then handed it over to me. I did a thirty minute show and after, while they watched some segments from Crux, the obstacles were re-arranged for an open riding session/pizza party/helmet give-away. Helmets are perfect for signing, and since they gave away 60+ helmets, I was kept busy and didn’t get to do too much extra riding, but it was so great just getting to meet all the locals, the best part of my job.
For photos, check out Dustan’s offering on Norco’s Flickr site.
So much momentum in the mountain bike world in the Yukon. I’ll share more soon! I gotta get my Fluid LT built up so we can go film.
Happy Days,
Ryan