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Cant belive its already March first tommorow, before we know it race season will be here and the bike park will be open again. Words cant even describe how excited I am for some warm dusty conditions! This week was my last week of in the gym training with my coach Mark, he is about to undergo shoulder surgery and fly back to New Zeland for a month to heal up. During that time I am continueing my training 5 days a week via Skype. Since I have started my training I have noticed huge improvements, my cardio, overall strength, flexibility, mindset, and focus are all very different from when I started. During the winter I have been racing indoor 4x and the season just wrapped up, I was fortunate enough to finish second overall in the Junior men category.
The past weekend me and a few of the guys who I train with through Mark Bunyan went over to the coast not expecting to run into snow. Long story short, we did. Even though there was 4-6 inches of snow on the ground it was probably the best day riding I have had since the summer. Not to mention some of the fastest and flat out riding I have even done. By the end of the day we managed to get about 12 runs in.

I am now about 7 weeks into my training with my coach Mark bunyan and it’s going awsome! Due to the amazing weather we have been having lately I have had alot of time to go out and get on my bike. The past two weeks I have been on winter break for school so I headed up to squamish for a few days, during that time I crammed in as much riding and training as possible it started out with an all day dirt jump and pumptrack session, then an early morning gym session with my coach, XC ride, then to finish off a few laps down half nelson. Half nelson is probly on of my favorite trails, because you can ride it on a small bike and be jumping all over the place or jump on your big bike and just pin it.

After a few busy days in Squamish I headed back down to the city, where I went and did some Darkside laps and tested out my new Freelap system. For those who dont know a freelap system is made up of a watch and two wireless poles that start and stop the timer on the watch when you pass through them. I met up with my coach as well as Jeff and Alex Currie, after a good half hour of -3 degree wind sprints we were warmed up and ready to go do some on the bike training. So far the freelap has seemed to be alot of help for training and helping me realize where I can shave off time. Now that the holiday are over I have gone back into my weekely training schedule, and cant wait for the season to start up!

After being put on hold at the end of Augest with a broken collar bone, a few weeks ago I was able to finally start my winter training with my coach Mark Bunyan. My training started about a month ago, and consists of 3 days a week in the gym with my coach, weekly yoga, indoor 4X and riding on the weekend with my coach in squamish. The first week of training I was pretty hard but it keeps getting harder and harder every week. Mark pushes me to give it everything I have and more when we are in the gym and on the trail, he really helps me improve and acheive my goals. Indoor 4-Cross racing has helped me out tons this winter, it has allowed me to stay on the bike all winter and really help with my endurance and recovering from an injury.So far I have noticed a huge improvement when on and off the bike as well as my flexibility and endurance. I plan to continue with my training and work as hard as I can to be in the best condition possible for the 2011 race season.
Carson.

I know that it’s a bit late, but the past few weeks have been pretty busy with getting the bike all tuned up again after a long 2 weeks of abuse from the bike park. As well as unpacking and packing to head back up to whistler for some end of season training and riding time in the bike park before school starts again. Crankworx 2010 was an awesome time lots of friends lots of amazing riding and even better racing. But definitely taxing on the body, with countless laps in 30 degree plus heat you feel like your done riding even after just a few days. First up was the Garbanzo DH I had raced it in the previous year so I knew what I was in for, this is the toughest race I have yet to do as it in from the very top of the Garbanzo lift all the way down to the village. I came into this race hoping to do fairly well and top 20 was my goal for the event, on the Friday before the event I worked on the course with my coach Mark Bunyan from Mad March Racing. After that I was stoked on the race and couldn’t wait until race day, and was just hoping the weather would hold up for the event. Race day came and the course was running good but very slick due to rain from the previous night, I ended up having a decent race run which I myself was happy with. In the top section I nailed all my lines and pedaled every where I could, even ended up having to throw my goggles due to the rain and mud. Everything was going as planned until I entered Duffman, the wooden bridges on that trail were so slippery and I should have entered there slower I ended up losing my bike off the side of the bridges multiple times. With that behind me I was able to sprint my hardest to the finish and ended up with 20th out of 66 riders.

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Prarie City Wed Night Race Series – Rancho Cordova, Ca         
each week prarie city race series averages over 450-500 racers on a wednesday night.  its quite a site to see.  this is the 15th year its been running.  (continue reading…)

The winter of 2009/2010 has been a busy one. After hosting BIKE magazines 2010 Bible of Bike Tests for the month of October we had a bit of down time, paid of some bills and then set to with a new website.

The New site is live at www.bearbackbiking.com so go check it out and see what we offer in the way of Whistler Mountain Biking holidays.
Raceface remain on board for 2010 and share our vision in being the best in the industry at what we do. So, keep your eyes peeled for our Scott USA/Fox guiding fleet kitted out with the West Coasts best bars, stems and cranks!

So this was my official 1st race of the season (2010). for me it was a training race. i was just coming off of a 3 week build in my training program, so i only had 1 reason to do this race: to get sharp. and thats it. nothing else. dont care about results, i wanna make sure my transitions were lighting fast as they have been in the past and get my race sharpness together….. this mountain bike duathlon consists of 2 mile trail run, 12 mile, 2lap bike course, 2 mile run. (continue reading…)

Race Face introduced the ‘For Her’ women’s clothing and protection lines in 2009. The collection addresses the need for performance garments and protection that can stand up to punishing rides while maintaining a sleek and flattering fit on the active woman. Not just a sized-down version of a men’s garment or ‘unisex’ protection, this gear had to be specifically styled and perform for women. The response from the female riding community has been overwhelmingly positive. The 2010 rider roster is a true indication of this boasting a higher percentage of female athletes than ever before; women eager to provide feedback and get their hands dirty during the development and fit process. Add to this the highly skilled group of Dirt Series coaches who are keen to test and provide invaluable feedback on the protection side and you can expect we will push the limits of the “For Her’ line in future seasons.

photo by: Mason Mashon

Race Face has been directly involved in supporting women’s cycling via the sponsorship and collaboration with the Trek Dirt Series Mountain Bike Camps for many years. The North American based organization develops and hosts instructional camps in major Canadian and US riding destinations throughout the season. The focus of the Dirt Series is to develop technical mountain bike skills for women in a safe, progressive, and motivating environment; offering a much needed venue in which female riders can learn and progress.







The Dirt series sponsorship was a great success in 2009 as were the custom crank auctions held throughout the summer with all proceeds benefiting the Series’ Scholarship program. At last count the collaboration raised enough money to send six deserving riders to camp this season. We are please to renew our commitment to both the Dirt Series and female riders for the 2010 season.

well i just finally registered to the race face rider blog site.  i have had limited internet access all year, moved twice and just finally got internet access hooked up at my new place.  so i will be on the net from here out. 

i just posted threads on my blog site from all of this years events.  from race reports, to season recap, pictures, trips to sponsor mentionings.  check it out and subscribe to my blog:  www.marktracer.blogspot.com

 

all my ventana bikes have race face cranks.  i love em!!