Out Of Nowhere: The Ben Boyko Interview

As Slopestyle contests go, Crankworx 2007 won’t go down as one of the best in memory.

Marred by crashes and injuries, most riders never got their groove on the course. Many said it lacked flow and riders would traverse – often detouring for trannies and stunts – in a desperate attempt to find a line they liked. After the first round of the finals there was very little suspense – Ben Boyko made sure of that.

One of the biggest critics of the course, Boyko went out and put together a solid run anyway. It appeared his lead would be insurmountable as rider after rider fell or under-performed in round two, and indeed his victory was sealed before he arrived at the drop in for his second run. I figured Ben would just style it out and treat his descent as a victory lap but apparently that’s not his style.

Run two was just as burly and had fewer flaws in the eyes of the judges putting more distance between himself and the rest of the competitors. The crowd went ape when he again spun three off the huge final drop to end the contest and further cement his victory. Finally a Canadian had won the Crankworx Slopestyle.

In the off season Ben was kind enough to answer some of my questions about life as a pro rider. Check out what he had to say below as well as epic photos and sequences by Harookz.

Read the FULL INTERVIEW on NSMB.com

Spring Cleaning

So, spring is FINALLY getting here, at least in our area anyway. We can still find snow as soon as we head too far uphill, but at least it has been melting fast and with the weather improving, riders are dragging their bikes out and hitting the trails.

I don't know about you but I sure enjoy mountain biking. I consider myself very lucky to be located in an area where there are cool trails 2 minute from my door, and big-bad world class "shore type" trails within 10. I've been riding most of these trails now for more than 15 years. New ones sprout up here and there when some keen trail builder puts in the hundreds and hundreds of relatively thankless hours and makes this priceless contribution so that all us riders who hear about it go ride it.

But then the cycle begins... understandably the trail builder who probably just spent half his last season would rather go RIDE than shovel, but his new trail starts to get beat down with all the new traffic, and most of us just start complaining about how buff and pristine it used to be. You know -- how the first few times there wasn't any wheel sucking holes after the steep rolls, no mucky blown out sections, or washed/eroded away corners.

Spring is the worst time for that. We remember how great the trails once were while at the same time roll down trails freshly opened after a winter that may have been quite tough on them. Finding blown down or fallen trees across the trails is common this time of year. Sometimes the trail is almost hidden from washouts, broken off branches, sticks or other debris. If you are going to get a branch stuck in your derailleur or tear your hanger off, mark my words, it will probably be in this next month. Oh... so this has already happened to you once or twice eh??? Ahhhhaaaaa.

Maybe, JUST maybe this is karma telling you that you need to do your part. To give a little love back to your favorite trails.

Can I suggest (without sounding like I'm preaching here) that on your next ride, and every ride this year to take a few minutes to give back. Rather than just bombing a trail from top to bottom, swing a leg off your ride and take a minute here or there to clear that fallen branch or log, to dig a trench to help drain that low spot that is collecting water. Heck... even find some good sized stones and do a little rock work to fill in the holes on the trail that want to make your front wheel disappear.

Maybe I go a little too far, but I have been carrying a small saw (Sandvik folding saw available at Revi or Home Depot for less than $20) on my rides. With one of these, it takes just a sec to clear the branches or downfall once and for all. You would be amazed at how quickly you can go through a pretty good sized downed tree, even big ones up to 6 or 8" in diameter.

So, as you hop on your bike think about doing your part. If each one of us did even a little work to our favorite trails every ride, these trails would last and last. . . they may even begin to improve with age like a fine wine.

Better yet, get out for a local trail day. These are awesome! A great way to meet other riders and build up HUGE Karma points.

Happy trails,

Mislav = Next European Teen Sensation?!

Ok, so maybe we won't have to hire Norco-sponsored bodyguards, but Mislav is definitely making his mark.

Check out his latest triumph – a four page story AND mega-pull out poster! (mega-mega!)

Good News on the Sunshine Coast: Hoots & Sprockids Team Up!

If you live on the Sunshine Coast you should be celebrating. Recently, our very own Jay Hoots teamed up with Sprockids to rebuild the Sprockids park outside Gibsons, BC. To make this all happen, Hoots harnessed the energy of the enthusiastic class from the Cap College Mountain Bike Operations Progam. Here's the result (straight from the man himself)...

It has been a few years now since I first helped build in the Sprockids park and I have been back every year to refurbish. I am stoked on the vision from the MBO students in the new park and I look forward to working with the Sprockids program at every opportunity.

The 2008 Sprockids Park build was awesome! It was great to be such an active part of the park refurbishment in my capacity as an instructor for Capilano College. It was also great to fire up the chainsaw and shape some sick jumps!!!

I have been involved with the yearly redevelopment of the park over the last 4 years in different roles and even though the park had fantastic riding opportunity, 2008 was the time for overhaul.

I am stoked on IMBA Mark’s vision and the efforts and creativity from the MBO students in the new park and as always I look forward to working with the Sprockids program at every opportunity.

After a really good start in the first semester of the trail building course it seems that the guys have a good grasp of basic sustainable trail building but I know everyone is just itching for advanced building techniques in semester 2 and their final project, the rebirth of the Sprockids Park.

Design submissions were presented by the students and myself who approached projects in group format. Each design was evaluated on progression, safety, creativity and of course ‘the plan’ by the lead instructor Mark Schmidt Canadian Director of IMBA Canada.

Once everything was set, the class set out to the park and in under 4 hours the entire existing Skills Park was leveled! All reusable timbers and materials were stored and all junk was piled waiting for removal.

As with most Skills Parks a limited budget was available so the class got straight to work with a local contractor setting base grades and sorting out all the major excavation needed for their projects. Each group got machine time and had to use it as effectively as possible in order for everyone to benefit.

Over the period of 5 weeks the students worked on the park with scheduled supervision from both Mark and myself. It was great to see the enthusiasm, the stress and the pride that these guys all went through… Through the build Mark and I helped with actual construction as well as advice and the new Sprockids Bike Park began taking shape...

One of the courses in the Mountain Bike Operations Course (events management) empowered and challenged the students to learn and prepare for running a volunteer day. With that course under their belts the students organized 3 full volunteer trail days, 2 serviced and maintained local trails in Roberts Creek and the third was a volunteer day held at the Sprockids Bike Park.

In true Sunshine Coast fashion over 80 people showed up for the student organized Volunteer day in the Bike Park and a ton of work got done putting all features within striking range of finished for their final evaluation scheduled 2 weeks later.

The event day ran smooth and lots of industry support stoked the locals! Naturally there was some riding, just to make sure that th bike park was on the right track.

With the blessing from Doug Detwiller and the meticulous eye of IMBA Mark everyone passed their projects and the new age Sprockids park is now ready for riding!

Year 2 of the Mountain Bike Operations Program held by Capilano College has produced a group of incredibly prepared individuals whom I would consider hiring on the spot.

The intensity of the students matched with their desire to learn and of course their passion for riding makes them extremely employable and I believe all but one person is now working in the bike industry. Bravo! Our sport takes yet another huge valuable step towards legitimization!

- Hoots!

For more info on how Hoots is transforming BC into skills park heaven check out: hoots.ca