Last Fall I travelled to Edmonton for the United Cycle bike show; while waiting for my flight in Vancouver, I met a fellow named Mike Spinner. If you’re not sure who he is, watch the video below, and you won’t forget. I didn’t, I was just looking for videos that showed resi-ramps, and thought I’d youtube him, and the vid below is his latest. Apparently he just pulled one at a contest last weekend too. 

I got to hang out with him a bit in Edmonton out of all places, because he was there for MirraCo. He is a world class, groundbreaking BMX’er, but what is more important is that he is a humble, down to earth, nice guy. He’s clean cut, doesn’t drink or party hard, and is just out to have fun, meet cool people, and push his sport. Simple ideals that are taking him all over the world. Keep spreading the good vibe Mike!

One of my favorite bloggers, Julian Walker, just posted a music video to youtube, and I wanted to share it. I didn’t know he was a musician, such a multi-talented fellow, and a song that has some substance and makes you think, all with a catchy groove. It’s about religion, war, and the possibility of a humanistic spiritual awakening. He wrote it between 911 and the invasion of Iraq.

You’re not going to hear songs like this on the radio…check it out!

When I’m only home for two days between trips, I have to take advantage of my favorite local eats, one of which is Rehanah’s Roti. If you live anywhere in the Greater Vancouver area, it’s totally worth a visit. Thanks to Robin and Stacey for telling Caryn and I about this joint, yum!

I got a copy of What is Enlightenment magazine in the mail this morning, which is soon to be called EnlighteNext. It’s a quarterly publication, and I’m always excited when it arrives, especially before my flight to Quebec on Wednesday.

Here’s a cool link mentioned in the magazines ’sites and blogs’ section; it’s from Nikon and it’s called Universcale. Surf around it, you can learn about the tiniest and the largest things we know about the universe, all presented in a pretty slick flash style site.

Another fantastic idea for those who like to read non-fiction style spiritual and self help books is PhilosophersNotes.com. I haven’t tried this out because I like to soak in entire books, but those in a rush, or those who want these cliff style notes in an mp3 format the commute, I think it’s a great plan to subscribe to.

One year ago at the Norco 2008 product launch, I remember seeing deep foundations being laid for the new Peak 2 Peak gondola that will span the 4.4km between Whistler and Blackcomb mountain. This year, the cable is in place, and it looks as crazy as ever, amusement park like, and it will be ready for opening in December of this year.

Two world records will be broken:

1. longest span between two towers (straight line) at 3.02 km.

2. 1427 feet high above the Fitzsimmons Creek

Still haven’t decided if I’ll be brave enough to ride it?

Watch some of the constructions videos here, some pretty impressive human engineering going on! As Norco guru Pete Stace-Smith would say, “They’ve got guys with glasses this thick (finger gesture) working on that”.

July 17

Just finished a half-day at the Whistler Bike Park, and good thing it’s just half a day because my forearms are pumped! Funny that I can ride trials all day, but make me hang on through brakes bumps and ruts and I can hardly hold on!

Jay Hoots helped me tune my suspension in for the bike park, and I think that combined with a second day of practice really helped a few things click, I was on the offense on the jump lips instead of on the defense. It’s really enjoyable letting my body learn and adapt and remember these movements and techniques; once again I can see how people get stoked on riding this mountain.

There is a future shop convention happening at the same hotel as the Norco launch; I’ve been watching them come and go and do their thing. Seems like they’re in meetings all day long, and it sure makes me glad I’m in the bike industry, we get to play on bikes for most of the day!

July 18^th

I went on a fantastic cross country ride this morning through all the Whistler Valley trails, about two hours worth of singletrack, without all the huge braking ruts. Then after lunch I went and had one run at the bike park, but couldn’t hold on to the bars, again my forearms are shot, I guess they’re sore from yesterday. Chasing riders like Jay Hoots and the two Austrian Norco stars (and such nice people) Flo Gottschlich and Angie Hohenwarter, proved just too much for me today, so I thought better of it before the mountain got the better of me, and instead chased back to the condo for a very short yoga session, and now I’m quickly typing this blog, and will then go up to the top of Whistler for an interview with my trials bike for CTV’s evening news.

If you’re living in Kamloops BC, I have a show there on Sunday at the River Festival, come say hi.

Happy Friday!

No sure if I’ll have time to find internet today; seems that Norco’s 2009 product launch is keeping me quite busy! Norco sure is spoiling everything with great food and amazing riding. Whistler is the perfect venue for this event.

The first couple days Norco hosted the top Norco dealer’s, the last couple days they are hosting international distributors and media. On Tuesday I went out with about 14 dealers and rode the short loop of Comfortably Numb. On Wednesday I went and shot a podcast about the Fluid on the same trail, then went up to the Roundhouse for lunch. We rode from the top all the way down, then back up to film with the Ride Guide. Then I went to get set up for a trials show that I did later that evening at the Longhorn.

Riding the bike park is always a steep learning curve for me. Last year I had one run down the bike park in Whistler, and about half a day at Silverstar, the year before about the same; so after a couple runs yesterday, the first of the season for me, I’m hoping to build on my confidence, and hopefully start to get the feel for jumping. When I do manage to hit the jumps just right, it sure does feel good, I can see why so many people get addicted to the scene up here. I think it would be easy for me to get carried away, but I’ll be keeping it safe, I’ve got loads of shows to do still this Summer! Perhaps I’ll get more specific with the new bikes later, but I’ve gotta go get my gear on right now for the next ride. Ciao!

Ahhh, just finished a practice on my backyard deck with a nice long savassana in the shade from the maple trees. Like anything good, I wanted to share it with you. Eoin Finn, one of the finest yoga instructor around, has some great resources on his website, you can download a variety of sessions for free on his downloads page.

I’m just taking my time this morning getting ready for a week in Whistler; Norco has their 2009 product launch and will be hosting the top Norco dealers, distributors, and media for riding and dining.

This will be the first time riding in a bike park since VPS Fest last year at SilverStar mountain; I think it’ll be a pleasurable shock to my body and forearms. It’s actually always surprising to me that I can ride trials all day with no forearm pump, but a few minutes of blasting downhill in a bike park, and I can hardly hold on. I guess it’s a matter of what you’re used to.

I’ll figure I’ll post a few times this week with rumors of what will be in store for Norco’s ‘09 line-up. The weather looks great, so I think we’ll all be a bit spoiled this week. If you’re up in Whistler on Wednesday, I’ll be setting up for a trials show on Wednesday evening at about 7pm, come on by and say hi!

Happy Monday everyone, and all my best….

Hearing the words bikes and Obama together in a positive way is great news. Congrats to F.K. Day from SRAM for having the foresight to propose this fundraiser to the Barack Obama campaign over six months ago.

“CHICAGO, IL (BRAIN)—Barack Obama, in a private 20-minute meeting with members of the Bikes Belong board of directors, told them if he were elected president he would increase funding for cycling and pedestrian projects. And the presumptive Democratic presidential nominee also said he would support Safe Routes to Schools programs.” For full article from Bikes Belong Website click HERE.

“During a conversational 15-minute speech, Obama poked fun at himself telling the crowd that when he was photographed last weekend riding a bike with his children, he looked like Urkel. For those unfamiliar with Steve Urkel, he was the nerdy, bespectacled semi-hero on the long running sitcom “Family Matters.” The show was centered on an African-American middle class family living in Chicago.”  For full articles, click HERE and HERE.

A good friend of mine, Francisco Gatchalian, was recently invited to test the new 2009 Shimano Saint components up in Whistler, BC. Being that he is a physiotherapist, running two clinics called Trailside Physio, many of his patients may be as a result of components failure, so having his two cents of feedback is valuable and honest. Here is his run-down….

“July 7, 2008 (Whistler, BC) - In June 2008 media representatives from around the world gathered to attend Shimano’s Saint 2009 press launch in Whistler, BC. Our task was to test ride the all new 2009 Saint components. With little fanfare and no sales pitch, the Shimano staff kitted out my ride and turned me loose on the Whistler Bike Park. 

I tend to be hard on components, so I was anxious to see how the new Saint set-up would fare. Every Saint component is a little bit lighter, the new gold graphics are eye-catching and each piece has been redesigned with adjustability and compatibility in mind. But would it all survive the abuse of the Whistler Bike Park on some of Canada’s toughest terrain? ” Click here for the rest of the article.

As a fan of WIE (What is Enlightenment Magazine) and of WorldChanging, the following article that I first read in the hard copy of WIE that comes to my door, and re-read this morning on the ‘puter, follows many of the conclusions that much of my varied reading topics has lead me to come to. ‘A Brighter Shade of Green’ by Ross Robertson is worthy of a full read, and hope it is just a spark for you to do further personal research on what it all means. 

I like their term ‘bright green’, it sits quite well with me; it represents the new school environmentalists, as hinted at by Bruce Sterling in this quote from the article:

“It’s a question of tactics. Civil society does not respond at all well to moralistic scolding. There are small minority groups here and there who are perfectly aware that it is immoral to harm the lives of coming generations by massive consumption now: deep Greens, Amish, people practicing voluntary simplicity, Gandhian ashrams and so forth. These public-spirited voluntarists are not the problem. But they’re not the solution either, because most human beings won’t volunteer to live like they do. . . . However, contemporary civil society can be led anywhere that looks attractive, glamorous and seductive. The task at hand is therefore basically an act of social engineering. Society must become Green, and it must be a variety of Green that society will eagerly consume. What is required is not a natural Green, or a spiritual Green, or a primitivist Green, or a blood-and-soil romantic Green. These flavors of Green have been tried and have proven to have insufficient appeal. . . . The world needs a new, unnatural, seductive, mediated, glamorous Green. A Viridian Green, if you will.”

So gone are the days of the dark green neighborhood recycling nazi, lets welcome a brighter future, one not based on fear and guilt, but one built by first looking deep within, and then bravely creating an optimistic worldview, and pursuing a sacred activism that utilizes the brilliance of a science steeped in integrity,