Swansea Riding

As May saw its share of sunshine and cool nights, I think it’s one of the best months to get out and ride. So, that’s what I did. I had never been riding out to Swansea before, so decided to make a day trip out there and check things out. I never know what to expect, but I think Swansea had a little bit of everything to suit every different rider, and every different level of rider.

I rode everything from road gaps, to shorter portions of single track, as well as long and steep portions. Everything was in pretty good shape. Really, I think there were hundreds of trails; you just have to know where to find them. I was surprised by how many hidden trails there were. We met up with a bunch of fellow riders and friends we know, and spent the day riding and having a great time. If you have the opportunity to get out there and experience the trails out there; I’d say “do it”.
Cody Ratte
Calgary Cycle DH Race Team

2009 Bromont Canada Cup #2- Video footage

Check it out on Pink Bike...

http://http://www.pinkbike.com/video/86782/

Race the Ranch - Team bound for Kamloops & other random information.

Hey everyone!

Is thing on?...Check 1, Check 2...ok were good!

Well 2008 here in Calgary has been a bizarre one in the weather department. It's May 13th and we still aren't riding anything locally. Sad...but it is certainly helping to build the excitement for the up and coming race season. "the stoke is high with this one".

This weekend is the first round of races the CC Team will be attending. The Kamloops Bike Ranch will play host to the event. It should be a fun and exciting one, both to try the new course that has been built, but also to test out our new 2008 V10's. (I'll post pictures soon)

If you see the trailer or any our team guys, stop by and say Hi !!!

Let er' slide!

N.Q.

SEA OTTER 2008

After a very long drive of 25 hours, we finally arrived in Monterey, California for the 2008 Sea Otter Classic. The weather was warm and sunny at about +20. There was no wind, unlike the following days! After checking in at our hotel, we headed for Laguna Seca where the race was being held. We were early, so we walked around and took a look at all the tents being set up by all the different bike shops, and stores. I have really never seen anything that big, and all of them had something to do with biking or fitness in some way. We made our way to the registration tent, and tried to get that out of the way, and on our way out, we met 3 guys from Pinkbike - Tyler, Radek and Jordan.

Meeting them was a lot of fun - and Tyler gave us one very useful tip: make sure to put sunscreen on your neck, so not to get burned by all the walking on the pavement. I guess in previous years he's had a pretty bad burn! Well, back to the hotel, and back to bed, as I had to get up for Dual Slalom qualifying the next day. When we arrived for DS, we soon realized that they had registered me in the wrong category, but there was nothing we could do about it, they wouldn't change it. Well, I was still happy, cause I still got to race. I ended up qualifying 1st, and would go on to finals that Sunday. Saturday morning arrived for the DH practice, and on my second run I nose cased the log drop, and went over the handlebars, and found I wasn't able to get up very quickly - a little shaken up, and a little bruised. I had a fairly large cut on my upper chest, and was having a hard time breathing. I took a break, but wanted to return for my race later that afternoon.

That afternoon was cold and windy. We waited around for the Sport category to get started, and the wind was still blowing. I made my way to the gates, and got a pretty good start, and felt pretty good about my run, however over the log drop I went with a different line, which probably cost me some time, but overall I was happy with my results. Back to the hotel for some more first aid and food. I managed a placing of 28th in the DH Sport category. It was Sunday, the final day of the event. I had finals today in Dual Slalom. I was still pretty sore, and still had some trouble breathing, but I still wanted to race. Practice began at 12:00 and the race got started at 1:00. It was so much fun, but exhausting at the same time. The finals didn't finish until 4:30, and I was tired, but managed 3rd place. From there we went back to the hotel and started packing up as we had an early morning for the 25 hour drive back to Calgary! All in all, I had a great time and met some fantastic people and made new friends along the way. I'd like to say thank you to my parents, who cleared their schedules to take my brother and me to California, and to my grand-parents for flying out of Calgary, and meeting us there. I would also like to say "thank-you" to Mr. Stevens for running back to his car to get my jersey! THANK YOU CALGARY CYCLE - WE HAD A BLAST!!

CODY RATTE
CALGARY CYCLE DH RACE TEAM

Morely Indoor BMX racing!

So it ain't mountain biking, but for Calgary in the middle Dec when it's -20C outside, riding is riding. Fortunately we are lucky enough to be riding one of the most technical tracks I've ridden in a REALLY Long time! So I'm pretty stoked, in the same week I can ride waist deep pow one day and then go ride for 5 hrs at the track. It's going to be a GREAT Winter.

I'll post some photos next week when I bring my camera to the track.

Qn'r

Calgary Cycle DH Team Whistler Review

After the Nationals at Mount Washington, the whole team was on their way to Whistler BC, for the Kokanee Crankworx Festival. The first race on the list was the 4X Race which happened to be in the pouring rain, but despite the grim weather the course held up very well and was a blast to rip down. There were a couple muddy spots, but for the most part it was fast, tacky, and tons of fun.


Glen Bradley -

After the 4X the next race was the Garbanzo DH. The rain was continuing to come down hard and beat the course relentlessly, making for an extremely slippery and muddy race. Many riders dropped out of the race because of the dangerous conditions and all of those who were racing were scared for their safety to say the least. In the end the race turned out to be a great success, and one by one the muddy and soaked racers came down the hill and across the finish line.


Robert McPhalen -

Geoff Briggs -




For the Jim Beam Air DH a few days later the weather was finally staring to look up. The hill had begun to dry out and the sun was peaking out of the clouds making the riding in on the hill even more of an amazing experience. By the time of the race the course had been groomed and was very tacky and smooth. Times were fast and the race laps were nothing less than perfect.


Jesse McCrae -

Robert McPhalen -

Geoff Briggs -

Nick Quinn -

To break up the races a little there was the "Slope Style" event. The course wasn't in as good condition or put together as well as other years and resulted in a lot more injuries and crashes, but all in all it was still a lot of fun to throw down on.


Glen Bradley -

The last race and competition at Whistler this year was the Canadian Open DH Race. The course was very similar to other years but with some new extremely techy and rooty steeps in the trees. The weather was great for the race and was one of the best courses many of us had riden. It had a variety of terrain including, fast open sections, gnarly rock and root sections and some good old flat pedalling portions to.


Geoff Briggs -

Robert McPhalen -




Jesse McCrae -

Glen Bradley -




Whistler this year was once again great to our team! We all came home with a few battle wounds and smiles all around. We'll be back next season for some more amazing riding at Whistler!


Glen Bradley,

"Let'er Buck"

Dirt Jumping On The Prairies

Today a bunch of my friends and I headed out to my buddie Sam's farm where we have been building jumps for the past little while. After a little buffing and packing of everything we started to hit it up and I must say out of all of the jumps I have ever riden these were some of the funnest. They incorporated steep lips and landings that required you to boost high and pump to get enough speed for the next hit like bmx jumps, but at the same time they had enough room to rock it on the mountain bike.

We all had a blast just riding the jumps let alone trying tricks on them. They were the type of jumps you could ride all day long not throwing one trick and still be having the time of your life. As the session progressed we did start doing some tricks, but mainly small ones that we all felt comfortable with as the jumps were already difficult enough to ride.



After riding these jumps in excess of six hours we were all tired and decided to call it quits. Can't wait to go back to Sam's farm to ride and build come new stuff in the near future!

Glen Bradley,

Let'er Buck