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Congrats to Norco grassroots rider, Tyler Gorz, on another great podium result in the Pro Men's category!

Who is Fionn Griffiths?

An extreme and professional downhill mountain bike racer. Contender for 2008 Downhill World Championships. An icon of professionalism, friendliness and integrity for the sport. A dedicated and driven athlete with impressive racing results. An athlete who will continually push her boundaries and strive for perfection in her races.

Read the FULL INTERVIEW at dhrider.com

Check

What they had to say: (translated from French)

The folks at Norco did their homework! This year, the Norco line-up is truly impressive, but one bike really stands out: the Shore One. We could say it's a sweet little fun beast. Street, dirt, freeride or even a few downhill runs at Bromont, it's the do-it-all bike you need!

It's sporting a 180mm-travel RockShox Totem fork and a Marzocchi Rocco rear shock that will erase pretty much all the bumps you will throw at them. The component package is also interesting, including an E-Thirteen chainguide and Avid Juicy 5 hydraulic disc brakes.

Honorable mentions: Shore Two and Three. Suggested retail price: $4549

Check out the Shore review on pg. 68/69. You can also pick up Crux on newstands now, or check out the online PDF version.

This past December, Norco and Ace Cycles had the privilege of helping Ryan's wish come true with a 2007 Norco Six SE and some Mace Clothing & Armour.

Thanks to the Children's Wish Foundation for all the good they do, and for giving Norco & Ace Cycles the chance to give a little something back to our community.

All The Best Ryan!!

A Custom Slopestyle Bike for the Crankworx Winner.

When you win the Crankworx Slopestyle your stock rockets through the roof. There's probably no better way to make your sponsor smile these days - so Norco has rewarded Ben with a Slopestyle bike designed exactly to his specifications; the Norco Five. At Crankworx Ben was on a Norco Six and because of the way the genre of slopestyle is developing he felt that a few changes could make the bike even better for most courses. The Five is the culmination of that effort. I had a chance to talk to Ben about the bike and how it came to be.

FULL ARTICLE

With my recent foray in to speaking, particularly with my Trials of Life school presentation, I am often referred to as a motivational speaker. The word motivate in this context has never really felt good to me; let me try to articulate the reasons why.

During the last week or two of December and first few weeks of January, we are hit with advertisements showing fit, sexy women working out, and dudes with eight packs and big smiles. The prime purpose of those images is to motivate you to get in shape as a new years resolution. Many people get off with great gusto, sign up to the gym for a year, and proceed to make an honest effort to get that body they have always dreamt of. The overindulgence that for some reason is now tied with Christmas certainly helps create the guilt necessary to fuel the fitness club membership. My wife who worked as a fitness instructor at one of these gyms can attest to this failsafe process.

Motivation originates most often from outside sources and then is translated in to some kind of personal action. With the right language or sophisticated marketing scheme, it seems we can be motivated to do almost anything, and sometime we don’t even know it (scary). That dream of having a killer bod more often than not ends quite quickly and that incredible motivation you felt is gone, leaving you to feel even more deflated. I don’t want to be a person who tries to fire people up with fake words of hope and success, especially if it leaves them feeling defeated six months later.

My goal when speaking is to spark a feeling from within the students, to inspire them. Ahhh, inspire, now that is a beautiful word! The word ‘inspire’ can be read as ‘in’ + ‘spirit’, so it is a life force that comes from within. It gives you a ‘cup is always full’ attitude, and when inspired the journey is fulfilling in every moment, it’s a process oriented journey, and if things go wrong, no worries, you try something else because you’re not attached to a glorious end result. This action based on inspiration can also be thought of as listening to your heart, and this is the key point I try to express in my speaking. Recent research in the field of neurocardiology has discovered that the hearts cells are 65% neural , same kind as found in the brain; the heart is essentially a thinking organ, constantly communicating with the brain. This is a complex topic, so I’ll stop there, but the point is that the heart is profoundly more than just a pump.

I’m going to go Yankee on you for a moment in order to make another point. The US Presidential preliminaries are in full force right now, and the November election will be of significant importance globally. It seems that the last US president to write his own speeches was Woodrow Wilson, that was back in 1913-21. For a President to have a chance at being inspirational, it seems to me that he (possibly she) must write his own rhetoric. Both Barek Obama and Hillary Clinton have books to their name, but the latter was written by a ‘ghost’. Sources say that Mr. Obama finds it tough to speak words written for him, that is because he speaks from the heart, he is genuine, and therefore one of the most inspiring potential leaders of our time.

Now it’s not always easy listening to your heart or recognizing true inspiration. Many ideas and opportunities are laced with money, power, and fame; and those promising these results are often just trying to fulfill their own needs, fill their own empty cups that have invisible leaks. I have been romanced by many opportunities that had shiny potential only to be disappointed; and I’ve had many seemingly fantastic ideas dwindle. But sometimes things fall in to place and work out fabulously, so what’s the difference?

With experience, you can begin to filter out the true from the false, and the best filter is your heart. Learning to listen to this endless source of wisdom takes time. I have to make a conscious effort to devote time to reflect, with no stress, and to quiet the mind. Going for a solo ride is often a good time for that, just set the intention before you start riding, or put the query you have ‘out there’; then forget about it and try to have a quiet mind (very challenging!) instead of the normal non stop internal dialogue. When I do this, more often than not, the answer will come out of the blue in a moment of, yup. . . .inspiration.

Ryan

I have witnessed a few good cases of "pro's exploding onto the scene" in my riding career so far, but nothing beats Ben Boyko.

After making the switch from BMX to Mountain bike, Ben was supported by a small North Shore based bike company labeled Cove Bikes. Shortly after gaining the first ever rider's segment for the Pist'N'Broke guys, and gaining segment of the year for that same segment in CKD, Ben was signed by Norco Bikes. In 2007 Ben was the crowned Crankworx 2007 Champion, and later signed a strong 3 year bond with Norco Bikes. This guy has been around the block, and knows his ups and downs.

Read the FULL INTERVIEW on pinkbike.com

March 8th & 9th in Sooke, BC (Vancouver Island), Darcy Turenne is offering a Ladies-Only Riding Clinic.

The weekend is aimed and beginner to intermediate riders who would like to improve their basic handling skills, balance and positioning, braking, cornering, descending, and learn about bike maintenance.

To Find out more, call: 250.642.8000!

It's February. Normally at this time each year I am skiing or sitting in a cold, damp university classroom - but not this February. This February (thus far) has been full of sun, skateparks, bikes, and beaches. Why you ask? Because I'm in California!!! I decided to escape the dreary Vancouver Island winter this year and come down to the land of lap dogs, bleach blondes, and vanity (yep, I'm in LA) to see if I could spend more time on my bike than I could at home (which is bound to happen because it's too cold to ride at home).

So far it's been working out great. I drove down with my friend Toni and we took a few days to see the sights and some friends along the way in Portland, San Francisco, and Morro Bay. Although I've done that drive a few times, I always forget how long it really takes. I'm dreading the trip home for that reason alone!

Anyways, I'm here now and I've been insanely busy since I first rolled in.

I first went to visit my sponsors who are based out of Cali - Oakley and Etnies - and then began my mission. Ride till I drop!

The first weekend I was here my friend and I went to Woodward West. I've never been there before but I think ‘mind-blowing’ would be the right word to describe it! It was snowing like crazy up there, but thankfully we could ride indoors. I switched between my 26” and 20” bikes and had a lot of fun on the ramps and in the foam pit. I learned a ton and acquired a few bruises to prove it!

In LA, I have some friends with sweet hookups to skateparks in the area that are supposed to be skate-only, but somehow we are allowed to ride there! Because of that, I've been riding my BMX twice a day. So fun! My mountain bike friends all have "real" jobs so I'm going to have to wait until the weekend to ride trails...I can't wait! I miss dirt.

Well, I have to get my day sorted. Let's see. . .where to ride? What Mexican food stand to eat at afterwards? So many decisions!

Sending sunshine from California! -Darcy

By and large, we are able to ride most of the year here in Vancouver. Yes, you will probably get wet, but you can still pedal pretty much year round. I’m feeling really bad now for all you riders that read this newsletter month after month and listen to me jabber on about riding when you may live in a place where you CAN’T ride all year round. Over the past week and a half I just realized how often I used to totally take that for granted.

The Vancouver area has been hit with some great snowfall over the past 10 days. At my house, I still have more than 25cms, and what normally gets rained on the next day and disappears has increased almost daily. Again this morning I had another 4 or 5 cm of wet, mucky snow. The local ski hills are loving life right now. A recent snow report showed that Grouse Mountain (basically just above the famous trails on Fromme) has a 460 cm base. That is over 14 feet of snow! Even lower down, the trails will need plenty of warm spring weather and rain before we’ll be able to ride again.

Now you folks from the rest of Canada are probably laughing when you hear me whining and complaining about 5, 10 or even, 20cms of snow, and so you should, BUT hear me out. This is the first time in years that I have been unable to ride for more than a day or two. My pup, who is my faithful ride partner, is bouncing off the walls wondering why she isn’t getting her morning rip in the woods. Wahhh, I know I’m being a cry baby, but I am starting to truly miss riding.

So, what are the choices? No sense in sitting on the couch, so it’s time to cross train and dream and plan for rides in warmer places. Meanwhile, check out the story from Norco Factory Team Rider, Mislav Mironvic on his trip to Israel in the fall with Ride Guide, and another cool interview with DH-4X superstar Fionn Griffiths on her goals and upcoming season.

Anyway, I guess the one comment that I’ll leave you with as I sign off here is if you are shut down for riding, I now feel your pain. I’m sorry for always mentioning how wet and mucky the trails are because as bad as they are, most the time I’m still riding. Hopefully your favorite roads or trails will free up soon and you can get back to what we both like to do, pedal our bikes. AND, if you are reading this newsletter in climates where it is sunny and warm right now consider yourself very lucky and don’t take it for granted like I have all these years.

Dry roads, sunny warm skies are coming soon, till then keep your chin up.

One of the joys of living in the Vancouver area is that the snow is conveniently located up in the mountains. That hasn’t been the case for the last week or so, it dumped about a foot and half at my house, and that seriously put a cramp in my pre-season trials riding! I don’t really consider building a huge snow fort training.

Now I know I am totally spoiled living in Vancouver where most of the winter I can ride outside no problem, and I know a good chunk of the people who read this may be in the middle of a severe winter lock down, I feel you, I really do! I guess I'm just psyched to get riding!

It’s a nice time of year for me to ride, my show count is low, so the time and energy I do spend on my bike is mostly fun practice. I am busy booking shows right now, and pretty soon it’ll be full on demo time, and my energy level for extra practice will go down.

Talking about Vancouver weather, and talking about demos, I have some shows coming up in Vancouver for the Outdoor Adventure Sports show. Anyone living in the area that is interested in going can print out the 2 for 1 coupon I have attached below, love to see you there!

One of the most common questions I get about Crux is whether the soundtrack is available. Well it is now through iTunes, just search for ‘Crux Soundtrack’. Corduroy Kid worked some magic on this soundtrack! Here is the announcement directly from the musician himself:

"Corduroy Kid Crux Soundtrack

Okay so I've been lending music ahemm licensing music to these outdoor filmmaker thrill seeker types for the last 4 or 5 years right. Well last May, my friends, filmmaker Alex Levigne, and allstar world trials/yoga zen like rider Ryan Leech asked me if I wanted to compose a soundtrack for their film. This film would follow 3 riders from Victoria BC thru to Nova Scotia, and on to Austria on Ryan Leeches summer tour 2007. I had a couple of ideas kicking in my brain bucket regarding tempos after having worked on a couple of Ryan’s previous films. I gave these guys two pitches 'Sonic Pleasure' and 'Mood Ruff' this in return gave them the inspiration to ride to the new music on their ipods and start filming...kind of a reverse process for soundtracks...but very cool. After the first two songs, these guys mainly wanted Corduroy kid flow with lyrical gravy...which was really really hard for me.... after all, how do you write lyrics about riding a bike etc...without writing lyrics ab out riding a bike. In the end I think some cool lyrical relationships were formed and it's a damn good record on its own...so with that said go check it out on iTunes, it's only $6.00!!

On that 'note', I’ll sign off for now!
Ryan

In the GEAR section of the March issue of ROAD I featured the sweet wooden ride made by LikeABike. It's great for your munchkin as a transition to the traditional two wheeler. For those seeking the same idea but with a smaller price tag, check out the Norco Run Bike. It's the same concept but costs just $100.

Check out the article on: roadmagazine.net