Stuff and Things

A tad late but here’s what happened last weekend, Ranch Camp!!

Camper Meaghan sent this and then a huge gap. All in a day at Ranch Camp.

And this weekend. Alongside some keg stands and epic trail riding, Whistler Bike Park opened. Best opening conditions I can remember (did I say that last year???). No, seriously. So good. Felt great to get on the big bike and huck around.  Got to see some new pro tips live in action from Micayla Gatto, she has some new moves this year watch out!

A little bit of mud. Ands a lot of hero dirt. Yes!

Crankworx 10th Anniversary Event Guide

I can’t believe it has been 10 years! Click on the link to subscribe for free and read/download. Check out all the amazing featured athletes, builders and one of the featured articles, Berrecloth and Buchar’s Excellent Adventures – tells a bit about Darren and my experiences over 10 years of competing at Crankworx events. 

 

Unit Apparel Co.: The Art Of Progress

One of Kovarik Racing’s biggest supporters, Unit, has come a long way from their parent’s garage. Some shots from the house boat party in there, riding BMX’s and moto’s into the water, a crazy day! They sure know how to put on a photo shoot! House boat, ramps, couple wake boats and a Unit branded heli!

Not a huge fan of the hoochy girl side of Unit but mostly the girls are beautiful and thats just part of the ol’ marketing scheme, I guess. Anyways, cool story they have. And nice clothes too.

Welcome Vaea!!

We are excited to announce the addition of Vaea Verbeeck!  Raised in Quebec, she brings some French Canadian flair to the Canadian DH Girls.  Vaea is undisputedly one of the most progressive female riders in Canada; she is dominant at Quebec provincial downhill competition and has also demonstrated reputable results at international downhill races.

Watch for Vaea this year at Canada Cups, selected events such as Port Angeles Underworld Cup, the Western Open, Crankworx, and selected World Cups.

Welcome Vaea!

Miller Times Issue 3 featuring Sea Donkeys and the Underworld

Click this link here for the PDF version of the Miller Times or continue to read below for the slightly messier format of the Miller Times. MillerTime_May_2013

 

Joining me for the 2013 year are Ergogenics Nutrition. They’re a North American company specializing in New Zealand Whey and recently Whole Greens and a plant based Hemp line. I’ve been using their products for the past three years as my training became more demanding I needed to recovery and fuel myself properly and purely.  

“Ergogenics Nutrition has a core belief in being an ethically responsible corporation by putting our customers health first over profit! We believe it’s important to nourish the body with premium quality all natural & organic ingredients, instead of using Artificial ingredients that pollute the body and may have potentially harmful effects. We are a company that is trying to bring back “integrity” to the market and to our customers and their health. That’s why we use only the finest and healthiest ingredients for all ourformulations.”

 

Squamish is unreal when it comes to the support of the community. It’s pretty cool to have random people congratulate me on races or ask me how my training is going. It’s even better when someone takes a step further and offers to help you. Shaun Greenaway of Dirt Merchant/Tantalus Reality approached me last winter with the idea of helping me achieve my goals with a motivating incentive program. I’m grateful for this opportunity and look forward to the rest of the year!

Sea Otter is a pretty fun time and an excuse to go to California. I’m not especially strong at that style of course but each year I feel I get a little bit better. People seem to love to complain about the DH course, but let’s face it.  It is what it is so come prepared for it. If you like bikes and you like riding them, chances are you’ll be able to have some fun.  I raced my Nomad, the first year I’ve raced a ‘little’ bike and thought I was finally on track…Until everyone made fun of my wheel size! But I ain’t afraid, 26’’ is just like freeride- not dead.

Only two races in Port Angeles seems all too few. The first round of the US Grand Prix, or the 2nd round of the NW Cup or the #underworldcup2013 was a ton of fun. It was my first ride on my new v10 and in true PA style I was able to bang out lap after lap and it was easy to dial in. Bikes were ridden, guns were shot, heckles were called, burrito’s consumed and at the end of the day I walked away with 2nd place behind Jill. I’m happy to be riding well this early in the season and look forward to the Tremblant Canada Cup in a couple weeks. (That is the more French and generally less organized version of a NW Cup.)

Pinkbike has a short recap video of the US Grand Prix, from Jasper W. Around the 1:40 mark you can hear everyone cheer, “Adam, Adam, Adam!!” As I ride by.  We assume it’s because of our obvious similarities of awesomeness…And great hair.

 

 

Bike Magazine POD

Photo of the Day, Bike Magazine.  Pic by the fabulous Dan Barham!

Squamish shredding

Maxxis Tires

We are all verrry stoked to be riding the BEST tires out there!  Thank you Maxxis!!

Sea Otter Classic 2013

The sun was scorching, the crowds sweaty, and the hype on all the new kits and gear in the pits was nothing less than overwhelming.  I hadn’t been to Sea Otter since 2008, so my excitement to get there was barely containable.  I flew in to LAX where I was picked up by the PerformX Commencal van and driven up to Monterey.  I didn’t get a chance to live in LA this year, so it was exciting to drive up the coast and be flooded with great memories.

I decided to race the Dual Slalom as well as the downhill, and chose to ride my hardtail on the dual course, and a 6and6 on the Downhill track.  I felt strong from all the hard gym work I’d been doing throughout the winter, but wasn’t feeling too comfortable on my bikes, as I hadn’t had much on-bike time during the cold winter months. However, I raced hard and to the best of my ability to where I’m at at this point in the season.

After the weekend was over, someone asked me what I thought and I said “Sea Otter is like a pre-season slap in the face: shocking at first, then you wake up and realize what you have to do”.  And it was.  Placing 5th in the Dual Slalom and 10th in the downhill was definitely not where I wanted to be, but I gave it my all and am only more motivated than ever to get some serious track time and miles down on my bikes so I am dialed in for the World Cup season that starts in just over a month.

All in all it was an amazing experience, and I had some great times in the pits. I chilled with two of my biggest supporters: Max Commencal himself, as well as the infamous Greg Hammond from Shimano.  I also got to meet our new wheel sponsor, Novatec, and test out some rims on the fast and dry dh course.  I also had a great chat with Jeremy from Troy Lee Designs about women’s race clothing, and Troy Lee himself hooked me up with one of the new A1 helmets and fit it perfectly to my head.

Photos were taken, smiles and laughter filled the whole weekend, and I came home sunburnt, exhausted, smiling, and more determined than ever to win some races.

Intense For Life Video Contest

Pretty rad prize pack to be won to this years Western Open, check it out!

http://www.pinkbike.com/u/sexley/blog/Intense-for-Life–A-Video-Entry-Contest.html

 

Lucky to be alive…

Ketamine: A powerful animal tranquilizer that may cause hallucinations, distortion of reality, loss of feeling of limbs and muscles and mind/body separation. Haha. Yup. All of the above. I would have “gone with it” like the nurses were telling me to but it was a a disgusting high. Can’t be picky though. All other drugs were making me vomit. And vomit = excruciating pain.

Last Sunday, after a little bit of beach and a ride, while driving north of Brisbane, Chris and I were hit by a large SUV/4WD vehicle that was speeding and out of control. It was going sideways and into our lane over a crest in the road and hit us head/ side on. It happened so fast. One minute we were driving to a beautiful lookout in one of my favourite zones in Queensland, The Glass House Mountains, next minute all went black. 

Our car without the front door that ended up on my lap.

Chris suffered a fractured rib and got banged around quite a bit. He got a huge scare and is a bit sore. Me, not so lucky. 

Since I bore the brunt of the impact on my side of the car, I have at least 6 broken ribs-some displaced, blood in my lung, 2 stable fractures in my pelvis-one close to the joint so no weight bearing allowed, stable lacerations of both liver and spleen, concussion, black eye and several lacerations, punctures, stitches, scrapes and bruises all over my body. In fact, part of my right arm looks like it’s been through a meat grinder, no exaggeration. Still pulling glass out of my hair.

In a nutshell:

I was unconscious for about 30 seconds to a minute, Chis thought I was gone and was holding me and trying to wake me. Poor guy, I can’t imagine….but I woke up! Reality hits. Huge state of shock. I knew Chris was alright. Huge relief. Wasn’t sure if I was alright. So scared. But I was determined to live. Seemed like ages for the paramedics to arrive but in reality, they came fast, within 15 minutes. They stabilized me, pulled me out of what used to be our car, most pain ever. Back of the ambulance, cut off my clothes, sticking of needles began. At the hospital, drugs and tripping out began. Rolling me over to vomit began. So much pain. To intensive care after hours and hours of being stabilized. Rest. Stoned. Waiting for theatre to scrub and close up all my wounds. 4 tubes going into my arms, one into my bladder. All feeding me or draining me. Next day, finally go to theatre, get put to sleep, cleaned up, stitched up, just a passenger. Back to ICU. Being babysat every minute. Try to eat. Can’t. Force myself. Vomit. Reassure family and friends. I’m alive, I have Chris and I will get through! Just sooo grateful. Overwhelming love. In and out of sleep. Visit from Chris’s sisters and mum <3 <3<3 Moved to Ward, woken up for tests every hour. Visits from Physios, need to get me up and around, good for my lungs. Get me standing, walking with crutches, doing breathing excercises. Yes, can move around a bit!  Nurses are so amazing. Through the worst of it….

trying to move around a bit every day

mere flesh wounds…

CRAZY!!!!???? Yes, but we are alive. We have our limbs and our brains and each other. We will heal and be back on the bikes at some point. Very grateful, to say the least. 

I was due to fly out back home to Whistler the day after this accident so, as expected, plans have changed and work/coaching/riding have been interrupted. Laying low and healing mentally and physically is in the cards for the next little while. Loud noises scare me, experiencing some vertigo. I’m out of hospital now and chilling at Chris’s parents place. Grateful for family. Off the gnarly drugs and on to regular pain killers, thank god. Ew! I hate drugs! But necessary sometimes…Gaining my appetite back, lost a lot of weight. I can’t fly for at least a couple weeks because of my ribs/lungs so we plan on being back in Whistler for mid May. Hopefully Chris will be back to full riding form by then. For me, not so sure how long this is going to take, have to rethink the whole season, taking it day by day

Thank you for all the well wishes and support from all our friends, fans, family, strangers. Thank you to all the First Responders, random passer-by lady for holding my hand and keeping me calm, Paramedics in the ambulance, hospital staff, EVERYONE. Thank you,  universe, for this opportunity to learn, love, grow, get strong

goal is to get back to this as soon as possible and stronger than ever.