My Friends are Talented
Well Summer is winding down pretty quickly. Twitter (shudder) has just informed me that people are heliskiing on Blackcomb and faceshots are just around the corner. It is at this time that a few of my more talented friends are putting together videos so that they can get some much needed support for next year. Here are a couple:
Dylan Wolsky : Dylan is the best. He (and Dave Anderson and Jen) let me sleep at their house all the time and in the winter if it wasn’t for Dylan kicking me awake and making me the classic eggs, on toast with spinach, mayo and thai sauce I wouldn’t have had half the fun I did last winter. This video pretty much embodies why Dylan Wolsky kills it. He enjoys the big climbs, working hard and lycra. This video is all self filmed and edited. The shots are stellar and the pulling up of his socks (with no knee pads) makes me laugh every time. Above all I’m pretty sure he edited this on his pc which has a 10 second battery life so if anyone steps on the cable all his work is lost…
Next up is Paul Stevens: He also came out with a fall edit of an entirely different flavour. His video is great because it showcases how well he did this season which was not without a ton of hard work and dedication. Paul put some serious hours on the bike, the gym and the blogging to make his season a successful one and I can only see him going up from here. This video has some throwbacks to his airpprentice video such as 3’s on the big bike and makes me stoked for park laps.
Now….I can’t wait until we all put the ski’s and jackets on and pretend we have any of the talent displayed above in the winter.
That’s it for now!
Blogging….its hard buisness
I have failed to continue a steady stream of benign minutia that customarily adorns the blogosphere. For this I apologize.
These past months have been full of riding, writing and mind numbing document research. However, living in BC these hardships do not seem that hard as my nights are filled with outdoor adventures and the company of my many friends.
Here are some pictures of what I’ve been up to…
The Alpine has finally opened up
The beaches in Vancouver were also very sweet
I bought a car!
And even a bike or two!
I've been away from the Vouge for a couple months but here was the crowd for Sleigh Bells
VW's and Beeeeaarrrs
Canucks game 2
The World Needs More Tom Morgan
I am lucky enough to have a group of friends from highschool that I remain very close with. We are a pretty sweet group of dudes, unfortunately living in BC has meant I don’t get to spend nearly enough time with them. I have serious hopes that all of them will move to the west eventually both because I’m selfish and want them here but also because on occasions they have been here they really liked it.
Tom Morgan, he brought felching to the forefront of our vernacular, he has gone on more last minute trips that all end in hilarity than anyone i know, he has, without a doubt, the most captivating on screen presence since Clooney. Tom also is a motorcycling enthusiast who longs for a trip to south america with his buds. This is a message he recently sent to myself, Dave Brown and Steve Nesbitt.
Subject: motorcycles
snow is melting, animals are fucking and its getting warmer – lets get motorcycles!
i’ve taken the liberty of matching bikes i’ve found online to your exact personality types in an attempt to persuade you into a purchase and subsequent ‘gang’.
Carlos: rugged, reliable – punctual. don’t be fooled by this price! its barely broken in, and its blue! http://guelph.en.craigslist.ca/mcy/2251534820.html
this bike will help you navigate the rough terrain of your native south america!
Steve: if you were a ninja turtle, you’d be Raphael. if you were a motorcycle, you would be a 1974 Honda CB200. http://toronto.en.craigslist.ca/tor/mcy/2266756113.html
this ‘needs TLC’ bike affords you endless street sass and reliable transport while keeping tighly in line with your vaguely hipster sensibilities. it is 1200.
Dave: spare me your collegiate/financial grumblings. i have found you the answer to the question you didn’t actually ask: the 1986 honda goldwing http://toronto.en.craigslist.ca/yrk/mcy/2229839438.html
this bike, while a husky $5000 would allow you ample room to store your various books or lady-squires. bike is large enough to hold annual supply of felching apparati in pannier cases.
please buy motorbikes. getting the license is easy as shit, and MY insurance is 170/month – I have a million tickets – yours will be much less. its cheaper than a car, cooler than public transit, and generally badass. we’re young, we’re handsome, and we may die tomorrow – so please heed my words.
Tom, Dave, the terror squad and I in Whistler
Jeremy Clarkson’s trip to Brazil a “success”
Jeremy Clarkson has just ended his international tour against human powered vehicles with a “bang” on his last stop, Brazil. The TV personality of the popular BBC show Top Gear is a known opponent of cyclists, his furry over which has finally reached its boiling point. When asked why he chose a VW Golf over something more flashy, he was quoted as saying ” I would have gone with the BMW 3 series but its just so easy to be mistaken for a drug king pin in one of those in Brazil. So I opted for the peppy run-along that is the Golf.”
"The Harbinger of Destruction"
In all seriousness though, what an asshole (the real driver not Jeremy Clarkson). No one was killed in this incident just seriously hurt.
Timing is everything!
Whistler has been without snow for a while now, for this reason I haven’t headed up there (here) in the last three weeks. Oh, withdrawal, how happy it is to satisfy you.
The snow was falling all night, and continued all day. I spent the day riding with Dylan, Katrina and Arielle for a couple laps. We were able to get some great turns on a few runs, got one of the last chairs up Crystal before they shut down the lift due to high wins. Found a young Chinese boy who had lost his dad and got him safely to patrol. Headed to Whistler and found some knee deep powder..And the Snow. Keeps. Falling.
More stories and pictures to follow, if I find the time to do so.
Carlos
When can I try this?!?!?!?
Wingsuit Basejumping - The Need 4 Speed: The Art of Flight from Phoenix Fly on Vimeo.
Todd’s 2010
Todd has been like a big brother, or I guess more like a creepy Uncle. After a scary accident he used photography to help him deal with not being able to ride bikes. This is resulted in him being the most useful person to have around when you want to capture an awesome ride.
Here is 2010 through his eyes.
t.odd vision – 2010 from Todd Hellinga on Vimeo.
Lost Lake Lovin’
Well, it is that time again, Winter. Most of the gang has traded in their bikes for skis and I’m down in the city going to school. It’s times like these that I like to reflect on how awesome this past summer was, and dream about a place I really fell in love with, Lost Lake.
I rolled into Whistler after a the tail end of a five year stint in the armpit of Ontario, North Bay. Five years of long nights studying, working at a bar and the occasional drink or two had left my body in a state. After a couple of rides dealing with my wheezing, lackluster fitness my friends pulled me aside and told me I had to start riding more XC and get back into shape.
Dunbar Shop Dog Ozzy and I go for a swim
The best trails in Whistler are not in the bike park and a lot of people that live there don’t even bother riding in the psedo-concrete jungle that is A-line and the like. Not to overhype the Lost Lake trails as the best, because they are not, but a 5-minute pedal from my summer home was Lost Lake Park and although the trails are not the most extreme they are a lot of fun. You may know Lost Lake for its excellent swimming and, ahem, scenery in the summer but if you haven’t checked out the trails in this area you are missing out.
The trail network which often plays host to Loonie races, BC bike race and WORCA kids camps is classic, fun cross-country. Lost Lake can be broken into two sets of networks. The green trails (Molly Hogan, Tin Pants ect) which are gravel hard pack and are a blast to drift in the corners and skip out on some technical climbs. These trails are also great to take new riders on, or spin your legs out after a day in the park. The second set of trails are blue trails, known as the Zappa trails. They are where I found my long lost legs and lungs. Each trail is named after a Frank Zappa tune and the trails link into one another for an awesome ride. There are climbs so an xc bike is ideal however you will often see people rocking it with their downhill bikes.
Green - solid line Blue - dotted
While there are the occasional tech sections in the network it is easy to find your flow and often I’ve equated riding in Lost Lake as a form of active meditation. You can make a few hours ride of the trails or get in a ‘pinner’ lap before dinner. The trails have great drainage and riding them in the wet isn’t a problem.
My favorite route (the one in the video) enters behind the Austria House and spits you out around the RV park. From here I your options are to head back on the green trails to lost lake park or take a slightly longer and more technical Zappa trail route back to the same point. I often opted for a quick jaunt over to Nesters for a spicy tuna roll and spicy chicken teriyaki wrap…Whatever, I burned those calories.
The crushed gravel was perfect for filiming Paul the Passenger!
Here is a video to give you an Idea of what you can expect in Lost Lake.
Big thanks to Paul Stevens who spent his time injured helping me film this; sorry it took so long to do anything with it. Lost Lake has something for everyone. It’s a great place to bring you’re spouse, kids even parents. Hope to see you on the trails this spring!
Leaving Las Vegas…..
Day 1 – Get to airport, meet Adam with the bikes for Dave, Steve and the frame for Sam. Get them paid for and on the baggage machine. Get our story straight, should we say they are ours? Nah, better stick with the truth. Get to customs, the man looks like a mix between oscar the grouch and a mobster, and none to pleased with my story that the bikes belong to someone else. While Adam gets a wave on through because his first name isn’t ethnic, I was sent to the dreaded second room where my anus was trembling in fear. However, at this point I knew I had done nothing wrong and went through some questioning and was sent on my way to a relieved Adam Mantle and Las Vegas. I think it was because I was frazzled, or maybe because I was afraid of what was going to happen but I made the mistake of leaving my passport in the front pouch…school boy error. But, all was well, I got it back in an hour or so and Adam and I made our way to the MGM grand.
Dave met us and brought us to the Skyloft, crazy ass shower (Dave and Steve got all handsy), Tepanyaki dinner – Club. Crazy club, looked promising until we surveyed the area and witnessed the grotesque cock fest that it was. Ostensibly this was for the Carmen electra go-go dance competition which was amazing, in that with the obvious strippers and professional dancers there was a peppering of people who one would never, in a million years, equate with go-go dancing. English boys had jet lag like whoa so we head home to an after hours club, then home. Sleep for 3 hours…..
Day 2 – Guns, Guns, Guns….We awoke in the afternoon to go find the English boys who had left to do some shopping which included ridiculous jackets, sunglasses and the like. A quick stop at in and out burger, which our mexican cab driver pronounced booger and gave Adam a good laugh, and we were off to the boonies to shoot some guns. I opted for the assault package, which included a grease gun, m16, silenced pistol and a 12 gauge semi-automatic shotgun.I am, bar none, the worst shot in the world.
Just spraying the left hand corner
Dave and Will opted for a desert eagle as well and I was able to take the one redeeming shot of the whole trip.
Will on the other hand, has played way too much COD
After spending what seemed like forever at the gun range and being asked questions like : “Whats it like there in Canada, I hear they’re trying to take away your rights?” or “Now you’ve got a big muslim problem in the U.K. right? Something like 55% of your population is them isn’t it?” We were out of the shop and on to a cat nap, shower and dinner.
Sam booked up olives, an American inspired restaurant, the food wasn’t my favorite but overlooking the Bellagio hotel fountain was awesome.Head to the Wynn to club XS, full of 40+’s trying to reclaim their youth. Left, headed for Lush, got a table overlooking the dance floor, many dollars were spent, many fake breasted women were gawked at and a good time was had by all.
Day 3 – Well we partied until the sun came up, Steve opted to keep partying and going on a roller coaster showing all of us that Ginger beats age any time. The remaining time in Vegas was spent watching tv, consuming powerade and Mcdonalds and generally laying around in agony.
I challenged Vegas and Vegas won…..
Will edit later, my apologies to those reading it before then.
-CZ
The Education System in Kelowna is Failing
So..I sold my Downhill bike (Giant Glory 01) to a young chap the other day who made his way down from Kelowna for the purchase. Now this young chap talked me down a fair penny from my asking price and had the audacity to send this email to me.
Prologue – The bike was sold with new pedals, an upgraded seat post and seat and the exact same tires pictured…..The stickers (dincus) removed due to the termination of a friends association with said company.
Now, I know I am in no place to criticize spelling but please read this message from the author known as maddoxin
“dood is the bike in some of the pics the same bike you sold me ?? a lot of changes a ” seat. seat post. peddls.stickers. tiers . exc wen were the picks tacken?”…….wen were the picks tacken
Holy.Shit.dude.
-CZ
Great Video
While Whistler has been missing snow for the last week and it doesn’t look like there is any good news in the foreseeable future this video helps remind me that there is more to Whistler in the winter besides the snow. It is simply a sweet place to be. Some of my favorite times in Whistler have been sharing coffee with Todd and Seb at Moguls or Working at the GLC. You know you love a place when you can think of a fun time you’ve had at each location they show.
Enjoy!
-CZ
Blog (ew)
Well, this is my first fourth attempt at starting a blog. It seems that I always start these things and then forget about them.
However, I’ve been seeing more and more blogs from my friends that I enjoy reading and I have a significant amount of useless and semi-interesting things to post about so I thought it was about that time.
On a recent trip back to Ontario a good friend of mine stopped me mid sentence and said, “Dude, have you become one of those B.C. elitists?”
God dammit, yes I have, I fucking love this place, everything about it. Living here (Vancouver/Whistler) has been nothing but good to me and I want all the people close to me to get a piece of this sweet life too. Yup, its expensive and ya it rains all the time, but I’ve been having such a good time riding my bike and skiing all winter neither of those have started to bother me.
Last weekend I had an amazing time riding with my good buddies Dylan and Dave in Whistler. Dave was good enough to snap a few shots of us during one of the luckiest days of the season. We were some how able to get all the opening chairs, runs on 7th untouched and then a good lap or two on peak chair.
I hope this blog will show you the wonders of this province, various sporting activities I’m fond of and maybe some music and internet wonders to boot.
-CZ
This Is British Columbia 