A nice video about Norco’s involvement in the last VACC bike to work week.

Perhaps it is a little inspiration for that projectbluesky.ca challenge I keep talking about!

Ride ON!

Ryan

The 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.

We have a great program in Canada designed to get old cars off the road, and now it will help to add more bikes on them with the support of bike companies such as Norco; the initiative is called Retire Your Ride.

The President of Norco, John Williams shared recently:

“…This is a joint program with The Bicycle Trade Association of Canada, Government of Canada and The Clean Air Foundation.  Essentially anyone in Canada who scraps a pre-1995 vehicle is eligible for a $300 federal rebate that can be used towards the purchase of a new bike.  Norco has also agreed to supplement the discount on a range of bikes through participating dealers. This may get some media attention as the federal government is sponsoring this program with $92 million committed over four years.” Very cool! And if you live in the lower mainland, don’t forget to add the benefits of the Scrap It program for an extra $1200 toward a new bike, whew!!

The other item of note, locally here in Vancouver anyway, is the test trial of the conversion of a car lane on the Burrard Street Bridge to a dedicated bike lane. There is a little write-up about it on the VACC website. Of course there is some controversy; but my biased opinion sees way more positives than negatives. Lots of good news in the bike world these days!

There has been an endless stream of exciting projects, adventures, and challenges this year; and that’s just what I wanted-to mix it up a bit.

Norco has their 2010 product launch next week. For most riders, this would be a drool fest, having the chance to test ride and learn about all the latest bikes and specs, but it’s reserved for only their top dealers and invited media…and factory team riders! I’ll be doing a show, leading some mountain bike rides and an urban ride, and giving a chat about the Fluid LT (my bike of choice).

I have been brainstorming with another key sponsor of mine, Shimano, about a new project that will involve five of their top team riders and one of the most talented film crews…that’s all I can say though;-)

In a couple weeks I’ll be heading up to the Yukon to film with The Ride Guide TV show. We’ll be hosted by the leading mountain bike adventure company in Whitehorse called Boreale Mountain Biking; they’ll be spoiling us with the best trails and some fine accomadation in their famous yurts…I love yurts, maybe because it’s fun to say out loud, yurt. If you live in those parts, come out to my Trials of Life presentation on July 24^th.

A couple days ago, I teamed up with two Olympic medal holders David Calder (rowing) and Stephanie Dixon (swimming) to launch ProjectBlueSky.ca. Using the internets social networking power, we hope to inspire people to use alternative modes of transportation (walk, ride, transit) instead of their car. The goal is to save 1,000,000,000 kilometers of car driving by the time the 2010 Olympics finishes. Incidentally, One billion km’s is equivalent to the 190,000 tonnes of CO2 which is being emmited indirectly from the games. VANOC has offset their direct emissions which is fantastic news, but Project Blue Sky is all about preventing and reducing emissions. Please sign up at Project Blue Sky today, we need everybody’s participation!!

Twitter twitter twitter twitter, I guess I’m a twitterer twit. Check it out if you like….

The YogaThon is this Saturday at Thunderbird Stadium (UBC). Sign up here to help raise money for children affected by HIV and give them the opportunity to go to Summer Camp. . I actually had the opportunity to visit Camp Moomba, the summer camp these kids go to, to do a trials show and teach some yoga. I had a blast, the kids loved the bike riding of course, and that gave me some cred for the yoga sessions. The kids probably won’t start doing yoga, but perhaps later in life they’ll think back to this camp and consider giving it another try. If you can’t go or don’t live nearby, please consider donating some money to the cause. I’m on a fundraising team captained by Eoin Finn called the Bliss Army, you can donate on our behalf here!

Talking about Eoin, I was only able to teach yoga to these kids because of the teacher training course I’m halfway through. I wrote an article about my experience during the first 100 hours of this course, and reflected on what the ancient practice of yoga looks like in our modern world.

After about four months of volunteer work, the Port Moody Rotary Trials Park is now open with fresh lines and challenges. The highlight is an obstacle my dad and I designed which has now been tagged the Trials of Life platform, and because of it’s four quadrants of varying height, it will appeal to all levels of riders. Fun!

Welcome to Bike to Work Week 2009!

What a fantastic time of year to be out on the road, path, or trail, riding your bike. The weather (in BC anyway) is perfect for riding, the spring flowers are in full bloom with their fragrance’s blowing in the wind; delightful in every way…well, it’s actually pouring rain this morning

May 11-17th is Bike to Work Week, a celebration to thank all the dedicated bicycle commuters and a promotion to recruit and convince potential cyclists to give it a try.

For all those folks who don’t need to commute to work every day (students, self employed, parents, or pro athletes), we’re not leaving you out, this week is still for you because you still need to go places—to get groceries, mail a letter, pick up a movie rental, or visit a friend. So why not hop on the bike this week!

Are you training for a race or do you work out at a gym?  If so, then save some time by getting your training in while you ride to work or as you ride to get all your errands done! Or, if you ride to recreate, then do it while en route to your family’s house instead of driving there. It just makes sense in so many ways!!

Now, for all the existing commuters, I think it’s safe to say we’d love to see more bikes on the road; but often when we’re racing to and from work, we enter in to battle mode, righteous bike against evil car. It’s so important to create a positive reputation for cyclists, so please obey the rules of the road, don’t blast through red lights and pull sketchy moves that freak out vehicle drivers. These may be potential cyclists, or people with political power (actually that’s all of us), so we need to be responsible; a nod, wave, or smile can go a very long way (for both the driver and you for that matter).

But sometimes vehicle drivers are irresponsible and ignorant, putting cyclists at risk. As a vehicle driver, I have been guilty of this myself—so I would still suggest that you maintain good form and trust that as long as they see you (or you make yourself noticed), that they’ll register their mistake and hopefully not do it again; but if instead you started waiving your finger, banging on their vehicle, and yelling profanities, it may trigger their road rage and possibly put them in the camp of belief that cyclists don’t belong on the road in the first place. Cycling advocacy groups don’t need any roadblocks in their already uphill battle for better cycling infrastructure! We need everyone on our side!!

Many cities have bicycle commuter stations set up along popular riding routes this week with free coffee, mechanical support, advocacy information, and general good cheer. In my own locale, Norco Bikes, Caps Westwood, and Secret Cycle will be on hand to help out at both the Port Moody and Coquitlam stations. The local VACC committee will also have fresh baked goods to share….I’m a sucker for baked goods! 

So please take advantage of Bike to Work Week (or month) and spread the good word; this officially dedicated week gives you an excuse to start a conversation with your friends, family, co-workers, and yet-to-be-involved city councils. Share your experiences and speak about the myriad benefits that come along with a cycling lifestyle. Amen to the bicycle. Ride safely. Have Fun!!

The Sea Otter Classic attracts some seriously enthusiastic cyclists. Whether they are racing or just soaking in all the action, the energy is positive—I”m doing my best to contribute to that vibe through my trials shows in the expo village.

Yesterday I had three shows. Had a fairly early start to the day to set up my demo area and get it looking good, had a couple breakfasts, one at the house, and one at the venue to get some extra calories for the day, and was performing by 10:30 under bluebird skies and perfect temperatures. 

Toward the end of the day, I was cleaning up my demo area; I was inside my trailer at one point and the doors blew closed, so I walked over to open them again, but before I got there I heard it being latched closed and it then went pitch black inside. I called out “hey I’m in hear, can you open it up!!”…..nothing….then called out “I bet that’s Ben Boyko out there, come up, funny joke, but open up!”…still nothing, nothing, nothing….I flipped my phone open to find the light switch, and got it on. Probably more than a minute passed and I decided someone had thought they’d be nice and close my trailer door to keep things safe. I was just calling one of the Norco guys on my cell to come let me out when, sure enough, Boyko let me out. When he plays a practical joke, he’s thorough!!

I thought I’d pedal my bike (my Fluid LT) back to the house we’re staying at so I could make a late afternoon cup of tea, do some yoga, and maybe read a book until the rest of the crew arrived. I got to the house, but the key was missing from the hiding spot; someone had taken it to the event by accident. No worries though, a little yoga in the backyard on the patio carpet, and a little reading on the deck chair to a setting sun was nothing to complain about…I did miss my tea though!

I’m quite tired today as I type this, not sleep tired but muscel tired. Another three shows today, and then perhaps a cross country ride with the Marzocchi guys will finish me off quite nicely. Good things it’s sunny out, because just like my wife, I’m solar powered.

Have a great weekend folks!

Ryan

We made it all the way to Santa Cruz on Monday, it was about a fairly easy 14 hour pull from Salem, OR. That made for a relaxing pace on Tuesday. Woke up, had coffee, jumped on our bikes and cruised the Cruz sea wall on our bikes, watching the surfers, and enjoying the sunrise. Grabbed breakfast at a wicked little Brazillian restaurant, and headed for Laguna Seca to drop the trailers off, got them washed, and organised some gear.

The Norco crew is staying at a house close to the venue, so we all got settled. A couple went to get groceries, another worked on the computer, and I took advantage of the late afternoon and set my yoga mat up in a sunbeam to grab a session. 

Today we’ll set up at a leisurely pace, and feel the excitement build for the Sea Otter Classic which starts on Thursday. You can find my schedule right here! Hope to see you there!

A few months ago, I went to Galiano Island, BC for a little relaxing trials riding retreat. Here is a little video summery of the trip. Alex did an awesome job editing this together!

Just sitting here in the hotel room in Dana Point California editing video and writing e-mails. Dustin Sept, the PR guy is busy beside me doing the same thing (check out his blog from the trip). We are both really tired after a week of riding, and a little sad that our last ride in the Californian sunshine was today. 

We actually did two rides today, first with Bike Magazine, and second with Bicycle Retailer and Industry News (video blog to follow soon). 

…Lots of Burritos and Tacos. Lots of Vitamin D. Lots of fun. Bikes Bikes Bikes. Good people and smiles. Ride all day, work on the computer all evening. Blogs, videos, forgot my flipflops, marketing. Norco Bikes. Repeat the process. Drive Drive Drive. We’re heading home…

Well, here is a video blog (a little shorter than the last couple days) from our rides with Ron and Waylan from Mountain Bike magazine, and from Richard Cunningham from Mountain Bike Action. Both such amazing rides with such great people.

Just got this video blog from our day with Decline magazine uploaded. Gives you a little peak at the people behind the pages. We’re just heading out the door to go on a ride with Bike magazine in the beautiful Californian sunshine!