This ALL Mountain performer is a dream ride. Yes, five inches of heaven on all terrain. The brilliant Canadians at Norco have created a bike that not only descends like you are a Downhill Champion, but you can also climb like Gunn Rita-Dahl.

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Late last week, Norco's unique Dirt/Street decal designs caught the eye of one particular designer, Design*Sponge. Design*Sponge has been featured on the cover of the New York Times', Lucky Magazine, Newsweek, The Washington Post, The Washington Post Express, Glamour Magazine, Yahoo Wire's Daily Site of the Day, and many more.

The blogger wrote, "I'm not normally a big bike person (the thought of swerving in and out of cars on 7th avenue terrifies me) but when designer Devin Leggett sent along his new designs for Norco i had to post them. i love the colorful details and little pinecone illustrations. such a fun way to jazz up performance bikes . . ."

For more, check out: Design*Sponge

Suburban RUSH, voted the 2nd year in a row by Georgia Straight readers as one of the best adventure races in Vancouver, is proud to welcome Norco as an official silver sponsor for the 3rd annual event on Saturday April 28, 2007 in the Port Moody area.

This 30 km off-road adventure challenges amateur athletes and is comprised of running, trekking, and mountain biking that will test the fitness level and mental fortitude of solo competitors or teams of two.

Adventure races are an international sport phenomenon and weekend warriors are signing up in droves to challenge themselves. Suburban RUSH is the first of the season in British Columbia, Canada, inviting racers to test their fitness level before they head out to other races typically taking place in locations outside the Greater Vancouver area.

After a sell out inaugural year, organizers opened entries up from 125 racers to 200. For 2007, organizers are once again anticipating over 300 competitors, spectators and volunteers will participate with entries already hitting the 50 mark before December 31st.
Check out CAPS Westwood Cycle in Port Coquitlam and Cyclepath on Broadway in Vancouver, official Suburban RUSH bike shops for tips on the best kind of bike to use for adventure racing.

For more information and to register for the race check out: suburbanrush.com

Congratulations to Kathleen Henning from Courtney, BC, winner of the 2007 Norco VFR 4, worth over $650. Kathleen entered to win the bike when she attended Colin and Julie's remarkable 'Expedition Planet' Cross-Canada Tour.

The two hour show included a speaking presentation by Colin and Julie, followed by a viewing of the 55 minute documentary. After 20 shows, stretching from Victoria, British Columbia to Halifax, Nova Scotia. The tour was a resounding success with 6,500 people in attendance.

The tour has also been successful in helping raise over $10,000 for charities dedicated to healthy living, including the Trans Canada Trail and community outdoor clubs.

For more check out: angusadventures.com

Erker Inquisition
Interview with Andrew Randell: A Canadian Cycling Superstar? Or Just Another Tattooed Freak. You Decide

Jacob: Okay Randell, you are my first interview ever so don't screw it up. Make sure you are interesting and thought provoking. These are serious questions. And make sure you mention my name at least three times during the interview. It's some sort of legal thing.

Andrew: First off Jacob (1), why me...?

Jacob: Oh, I don't know. How about alphabetical by first name for an answer. So, how old are you now? Before you answer, I'm going to go ahead and say, that's pretty old.

Andrew: You do know that 30 is the new 20, right? I'm 32. And, I look just the same as I did when I was 19, I swear.

Jacob: Do you plan on relying on your looks to get by after cycling? Does this influence your decision to dive into the final corner of a race

Andrew: Well Jacob (2), that's a very interesting and serious question. This past winter I actually came up with a new life-plan. We'll see how it evolves, but it has to do with my new coaching service (reach me at arcoaching@gmail.com "tap into 10years of professional experience ©") and creating options for the future. Maybe I'll be an urban planner (what I'm currently studying at Ryerson University) maybe not. Who knows? As for diving into the last corner that's just part of the game.

Jacob: I'll expect a cheque for that plug. Now let's delve into your famous calf tattoo. Many people may have seen that you sport an Autobot symbol from the comic book, Transformers, as well as from the kickin' 80's TV show of the same name. What some may not know is that an old Campagnolo symbol lurks beneath the Autobot. What made you decide to cover up the Campy symbol and why did you go with the friendly Autobots instead of the evil forces of the Decepticons?

Andrew: I got the Campy symbol tattooed when I was still fresh to cycling and didn't expect my future to be in the sport (at that time I was on the high school - university - job - marriage - kids - productive member of society track). It hadn't been tattooed very well and over time had blurred. In the end it was a mixture of pride, I didn't want to look like too much of a geek, and the Campy starting to look bad, that made me decide to get it covered. The friendly Autobots was just a nicer looking tatt than the Decepticons. Anyway, the Decepticons symbol doesn't suit my personality.

Jacob: Yeah, they never smile except when Megatron has a scheme cooking. You are a former Canadian National Road Race Champion from 2002. My buddy George Neuman did that race as well and flatted. He couldn't get a spare wheel and ended up borrowing a disk wheel from some guy on the side of the road. When George caught back up to the field, did you see him and think all hope was lost.

Andrew: Yeah, when George rolled up on that wheel there was a bit of a "wow" that went through the field. I don't think anyone was overly worried though since I seem to remember a lot of laughter.

Jacob: I razz you about 3 or 4 times a year about how I vouched for you after you won Nationals and you signed on with my team, Schroeder Iron. Then you promptly retired and went back to school. What happened to make you return to full time poverty...I mean racing in 2006? Does it have anything to do with wanting to ride with me, your best teammate ever

Andrew: Jacob (3), I've already apologised over and over and yet you insist on bringing this issue with Schroeder up. In 2002 I over did things racing, spending the whole season on the road. I didn't know it at the time but I was completely burned out, only realising it when I arrived in California to start the 2003 season. It seemed like time to start planning for the future, plus I had a newfound interest in urban issues, which drove me to start the courses at Ryerson. A couple of years at school racing part-time was fun, but two events in 2005 made me decide to race full-on again. The first was getting chased down at a local crit in the dying laps of the race - I thought to myself that there was no way the old, full-time Randell would have been caught in a local race and that I needed to get back to my fitness of 2002. The second was meeting Kevin Cunningham at Beauce a few weeks later. His enthusiasm is contagious and inspired me (yes, cheesy to the max but true). The funny part was that I dropped out of Beauce on the second stage that year and spent the week hanging out in the hotel talking with Kevin. At the start of last year he was still bugging me about being on the team without him having seen me do a good race.

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