Nomadic Adventure
A phone call from Chris on Friday had me excited. Chris had two sea plane tickets he had won from last year that had to be used the following day. The flight was for two from Downtown Vancouver to Sechelt on the Sunshine Coast. He proposed the idea of taking our bikes with us on the plane flying into Sechelt and riding trail along the sunshine coast back to the Ferry at Langdale. Well this sounded great! Chris described it as the Nomads Team Camp! “All the factory enduro teams have team camps, this can be ours” he said laughing. I dont know what they do on these camps but all i know is we were going to have a solid epic on the bikes come tomorrow!
I had an early start on my hands Saturday morning. Heading down from Whistler I had the option of parking at Horseshoe Bay close to the Ferry and riding 20k downtown Van too the Sea Plane Terminal. This sounded like a good plan, so when i get off the Ferry at the end of the day i could hobble back to my car and have a short trip back home. Leaving from Whistler I was up at 4am dominating a bowl of Weetabix! Every epic starts with Weetabix! I loaded up the black knight aka my VW golf and all round sea to sky highway froth mobile and was city bound.
The early morning ride from Horseshoe bay to downtown along Marine Drive was amazing. Looking down towards the Lions Gate Bridge the city was waking up and the sun was rising to a clear blue sky.
Chris was going to ride across the city from Kitsilano and meet us at the Sea Plane Terminal.
We loaded the Bronsons on to the Plane. We were lucky, if we had any other passengers booked for the flight our bikes would be staying behind. I wasn’t sure if those 650b wheels would fit into the plane. The pilot said they would fit but they are designing new planes to better accommodate this new wheel size and the large trolls that keep calling up about Enduro sea plane adventures.
The float plane ride was breath taking up and over the Lions Gate Bridge and out towards the Sunshine Coast. We landed at the Pub at Sechelt, perfect!
We stopped in at “Off The Edge Adventure Sports” Old mate Gary at the shop kindly loaded us up with a Map and told us to follow the red dots! He sent us out on a few trails from the BC bike race that would eventually see us head through Roberts Creek then out towards Langdale.
After missing a few key turns we climbed a bunch of fire roads too what felt like the moon! We then had to free bash a couple of clear cut areas to get back on track and onto the single track. Its not an adventure if you don’t get lost.
The sea plane pilot flew us over a couple of amazing waterfalls on the way in. We were lucky enough to pass them back on the trails!
Fire roads on the way up and single track all the way back down! We clocked just over 2000m of climbing during our ride!
Chris bar humping and jumping his way down a few jump trails in Roberts Creek!
Heading out of Roberts Creek on the trail hwy 103 we hit up a nice fall line decent called Viper and then headed out towards Langley. We ran into these future little shredders riding some new trail just above the skills park!
After descending down to Langdale we seen all the traffic arriving off the Ferry. Sweet! a quick sprint down to the Ferry and we can make it on and back to Horseshoe Bay, perfect timing!
After arriving off the Ferry we headed back towards my car. I was parked across from a nice little skate park. After 80km of trail riding on the Bronsons it would be rude if we didn’t drop in for a quick session to finish the day off!
The day was done! Tired and reminiscing about the good times i packed the car and enjoyed the sun going down heading back up the sea to sky while eating anything and everything on the way! I left Chris with a nice little 30km warm down ride back to Kitsilano i was happy i knocked that leg of the ride out earlier in the morning!
Breakdown of our little adventure!
- Bike from Horseshoe Bay to Downtown
- Float Plane from Downtown to Sechelt
- 80k trail ride from Sechelt to Langdale
-Ferry from Langdale back to Horseshoe Bay
You can check some more stats here – http://app.strava.com/activities/52391143
Now get out and ride summer is here!
Wolsky
Santa Cruz Bronson 650B
Santa Cruz Bronson – Large Matte Black, Tennis Yellow Frames
ENVE Carbon 650B wheels and bars, Maxxis Highroller II Tires
Fox float kashima shock ctd adjust, Fox 34 float 27.5 fork ctdk 150, Fox doss dropper post
Shimano XTR brakes, cranks, chain, shifters, derrailuer and pedals
Ergon GA1 evo grips, Ergon sm3 pro seats
MRP G3 guide
2013 Race Schedule
The Nomads 2013 Race Schedule is action packed! We have a busy schedule stacked with North American Enduro events from the Oregon Enduro series, Big Mountain Enduro series and the North American Enduro Tour. We will also be attending select Enduro World Series events including Colorado, Whistler, France and Italy!
Something New
Santa Cruz Bicycles giving a little snippet into something new they have been brewing! What could it be?
New 2013 Race Jersey Design
We have been working on new jersey designs, and we are in the final stages. Here is one on a Blue Race Face Indy jersey!
The Nomads 2013 Affiliates
We are proud to announce our 2013 affiliates. We thank our affiliates for trusting us as ambassadors of their brands, just as we trust their products for our riding and racing endeavours. More details to come in the following weeks! Bring on the 2013 race season!!!
Prime Time Pemberton!
It was another sunny day here In Whistler as winter is sliding out for another season. It was a good reason to drop some ks into the legs and head to all mountain heaven Pemberton on the Nomad! Stoked to rock some fresh kit today with the Race Face Chute Jacket, Smith Pivlock V2 Max sunnies and the Giro Xar helmet, gloves and Code shoes. 2013 season is shaping up to be a cracker!!!
Adventure on Vancouver Island!
A few weeks back Chris was lucky enough to join up with this avid and humble crew for a night ride in Victoria. It was their 1283rd consecutive thursday night night ride which have been going on since 1987. the eldest rider is 65 years young! They have a weekly rankings (who wins the sprints home!) and a club house set up to enjoy a cold bevvy after sampling some of the best trails in the area. Cheers guys, hope to make it back soon!
The Nomads Fall Shred
It has been great to get out and give our Santa Cruz Nomads a good thrashing this Fall. Winter is slowly pulling down the blinds on the riding scene here in Whistler for another season. With work being back into full swing I havent had the oppurtunity to get out and ride too much with Chris until last Monday.
Chris blasted up the Sea to sky highway in our trusty Thunderpig and we hit some of the trails surrounding Whistler. We decided to pull out my old school video camera and shoot a few shots on our ride. The following video is no HD multimedia extravaganza but you get the idea!
Wolsky
2013 Santa Cruz Nomad at Home in the Rocky Chundery Trails of Graeagle California!
On our travels we had an oppurtunity to shred with Santa Cruz riders Josh Kissner and Matt Thompson. Watch them slay loose rocky terrain in Graeagle California on the 2013 Nomad!
Racing may have ended for the year but the fun is just getting started here in Whistler!
With racing coming to an end for the season and Winter fast approaching its a great time to get out and explore the mountains!
Santa Cruz Bicycles 2013 Catalog is now available!!!
The new Santa Cruz Bicycles 2013 catalog is now available as an app on iTunes for the iPad, iPhones and iPod touch. The Nomads even managed to make an appearance check it!
http://itunes.apple.com/us/app/santa-cruz-catalogs/id556979299?mt=8
The Nomads Podium at North American Enduro Tour
The Nomads covered the 2nd (Chris Johnston) and 4th (Dylan Wolsky) podium spots of the North American Enduro Tour awards.
Thanks to our affiliates we are strong, well-clothed and haven’t suffered a single mechanical all season. Our preparation, apparel and equipment have been outstanding. You have allowed us to focus on our racing and we are proud of the result. Thank you once again for trusting us as ambassadors of your brands.
Sisters, Oregon Enduro Race Report on Vital MTB
Check it out here – http://www.vitalmtb.com/photos/member/2012-Oregon-Enduro-4-Sisters,4241/2012-Sisters-Oregon-Enduro-Adam-Craig-Slays-the-Rock-Garden-and-Wins,41551/corytepper-com,831
Johnston fast and furious on the loose dusty course! photo – Cory Tepper
Wolsky roosting his way to the finish line on stage 3! Photo Cory Tepper
The Nomads feature in the pro bike check on Vital MTB for the Sisters Enduro
Check it out on vital here – http://www.vitalmtb.com/photos/member/Pro-Enduro-Bikes-From-Oregon-Enduro-Sisters,4240/Sisters-Enduro-Bikes-Adam-Craig,41536/corytepper-com,831
Wolsky and his Santa Cruz Blur TRc, Shimano XTR, MRP S4 chainguide, fox suspension
Johnston with his Santa Cruz Blur TRc and #2 Plate! Shimano XTR, MRP S4 chainguide, fox suspension, ergon grips.
Garbanzo DH Crankworx Day 3
Garbanzo Dh is a technical 15minute DH from the top of Whistler Bike Park. The trails are steep technical and gnarly as you decend your way down to the Whistler Valley. Downhill bikes are usually the weapon of choice, this year Chris and myslef thought it would be a good challenge to hit it on our trail bikes the Santacruz Nomads and test our ability against the Worlds best Dh racers. Racing the previous two days in the criterium and the enduro it was all about survival and keeping it clean and fast on course.
Chris Johnston seconds into the Garbanzo Dh race pinned and loose as a goose on his little bike. Fraser Britton Photography
We were stoked to be just outside the top 20 and 1minute of the leader in a stacked pro field of 80 racers consisting of many dh world cup racers and local shredders. Full results are here – http://www.crankworx.com/whistler/downloads/Garbanzo%20DH%20results.pdf
Great Video from Pinkbike covering the Garbanzo DH. Look out for Wolsky on the Nomad.
Canadian Open Enduro Day 2 Crankworx
Day two of Crankworx was the Canadian Open Enduro! The enduro was set over four stages, two of these stages in the bike park and two in the Whistler valley. The first stage was crank it up a long flowy and pedally double wide course with mellow table tops and massive berms which would be a great warm up to start the enduro.
Wolsky keeping it low and fast down “crank it up” seen him in 6th place on the first stage Max Houtzager photography
Stage two was lost lake, super fast and flowy single track weaving in and out of trees with a short climb in the middle of the course. The majority of people missed their start times coming into this stage which clearly shows in the results due to very short transistion times between stages.
Johntson pinned on stage 3 in rabbit tracks on the golden boner stage seen him hit 5th place on this technical tight stage. Max Houtzager photography
Stage 3 was “Golden Boner” a tight technical decent on Blackcomb Mountain with times just over 7 minutes.
Dylan weaving through the open alpine on the top of the world trail on stage 4. Photo Blake Jorgenson
Stage 4 would see riders hit a 20minute course starting at the peak of Whistler. The new trail ‘top of the world” would be the first trail the riders hit on course which would then flow down in to the lower Whistler bike park. Chris Johnston in his element cut loose and stormed to a third place finish on this stage only seconds behind Specialized rider Curtis Keene.
The final top 10 results after the four stages. Chris 6th and Dylan 9th overall.
Check Dirt TV for another great video from the Crankworx Enduro below it features Chris on stage 4 in the alpine.
Fat Tire Crit Crankworx Day 1
Crankworx Whistler kicked off with the Fat Tire Crit. The event was held in the Whistler Olympic Plaza stacked with spectators as riders sprinted for 25minutes around an 800m urban loop with high speed chicanes and gravel corners.
Dylan stretching out the legs getting ready for 25 minutes of fury around the plaza
The event in its second year running attracted some very talented and big name riders. Chris decided to sit out and keep his legs fresh for the enduro the following day. With the likes of American Carl Decker, XC specialist and two-time All Mountain World Champion, and five-time time Australian National Mountain Bike Champion Sid Taberlay the pace was going to be far from slow.
This photo went viral online this week. Felix Burke perfectly captured my face roosting through the gravel corner 15min into the race!
Fifteen minutes into the race I started to drop of the main lead pack of riders and started to tone down the pace and save my legs for the enduro the following day. I obviously switched off a little to much and ended up with a face full of gravel that resulted in a hospital visit and 10 stitches to my upper lip. Carl Decker was a force to be reckoned with on the day and stormed home for the win!
Little Shredders in the Whistler Valley
It was great to catch up with the WORCA kids this week out on the trails in Whistler! I have had the oppurtunity to coach these kids the last few years and all these kids are all little rippers! Im always stoked to here them cheering at the top of their lungs during Crankworx!
DW
Thunder Pig Breaks Land Speed Records in Bonneville!
After an amazing week in Graeagle, Ca we hit the road on our next adventure to Winter Park Colorado 3 states and 1100 miles away.
Bonneville Salt Flats
Bonneville is Utah’s famed measured mile site of world land speed record runs. We wanted to follow in the footsteps of the legendary kiwi Burt Munro the worlds fastest Indian!
Long roads and open scenery
In following Burts footsteps with no Indian motorcycle in site it would be up to the Thunder Pig to rise to the occasion.
Kiwi Burt Munro with his Indian. Chris Johnston foot to the floor and pinned back in the seat in the “Thunder Pig”…..Both breaking records!
We didn’t go as far as cutting the knobs off our tires, but we must have been dam close to breaking all previous records set.
Just another day in the life of the Thunder Pig
2013 Blur XC & TallboyC Video for Santa Cruz Bikes
Chris Johnston & Dylan Wolsky of the The Nomads ride Mills Peak, Sardine Lakes and Tamarack on the 2013 Blur XC and TallboyC near Downieville, California.
