I went back to North America for the Sea Otter Classic and ended up sticking around until early October. I have not been in Canada that long since I moved to Taiwan in October 2003. I was all over the place over the course of the summer and spent a lot of time on my bike. I spent 5 weeks in Whistler riding with the Camp of Champions, I was in Fernie for a while riding the trails I grew up on, I was in Chilliwack for 2 weeks after Interbike riding with the Pinkbike guys and was even in San Diego for 3 weeks riding with Mike Montgomery.

It is good to be back in Taiwan, I spent the past week trying to get used to the heat and humidity, sleeping to get rid of my jet lag and riding and digging at our local dirt jumps.

James boosting …

James clicking it in …

I have only been back a week and I have already managed to blow up a rear shock on a borrowed Transition Double and bend the steer tube on my DJ bike.

Big thanks to Rob, Derek and Marcel for hooking me up with all the goodies before I left Vancouver.

For more pictures click here …

Rob Dunnet

There once was a day when the Kamloops Bike Ranch was home to massive mounds of finely crafted dirt and riders galore. Over the years those mounds have dealt with the violence of the sun and much more riding than care. Early last week Taylor Hollstedt realized something was missing these days. He Figured it would be a good idea to let local rampaging redneck and jump building extraordinaire, Brad Stuart, have his way with this precious zone. He missed riding dirt jumps and having a place to gather with friends so much that he filled up a bob cat full of diesel and let Brad loose for the remainder of that week. Excitement was in the air when the word got out. Those massive mounds of dirt were quickly taking shape again. Coming back to life, taller, wider and steeper than ever.

It is getting cold in the Loops and the riding season is quickly falling behind us. Taylor Hollstedt wanted to celebrate the return of the bike park in a big way. In only a few short days he managed to bring together over 30 riders to help pack, shape and ride the new jumps. Everyone from the big dogs to the little guys and the little guys’ parents were in attendance. Weiners were eaten, bikes were jumped and smiles were passed from face to face. When the already clouded over sky turned black
the temperature dropped dramatically and everyone packed it in for the year, taking comfort with the new dirt piles. Already anxious for spring. Thanks for the “Weiner Jam,” Taylor.

Today was a perfect day to ride, rained all the morning the jumps were awesome. Brad and I decided to make a little edit, here it is!

“Still building…

Most of my blog entries have been about building this far, I’m still riding lots though, last week I spent some time with Freeride Ent. (www.freeride-entertainment.com) shooting for Easton Components, and this week I was hard at work with some legends of the sport, Kurt Sorge and Garret Beuhler, along with Rick Schneider, our Excavator operator, and dirt jump surgeon, and built one of the sickest spots on earth. We all sat down and decided we needed a place here in Nelson that has some huge jumps so we could practice the ancient art of “Sending It” without leaving our home town. Nelson is know for it’s abundance of huge trails but the Massive Booter factor hasn’t kept up to speed.

Garret and his Dad came through and donated the land and we all pitched in, got together and gave’r hard for a few days to punch this marvel of mountain bike manufacturing. The craftsmanship is amazing! Rick is hands down the most skilled Excavator operator I have ever seen when it comes to Dirt jumps. Even though we had a small machine, I don’t think it slowed us down at all. the only pain in the ass was getting the 1960- something- school bus operational and running to drive it into place without it tipping over from the massive weight on the roof which is now a dirt dish. Yes it almost happened, Sorge has never seen my eyes so white as I has an instant to either jump out or hang on tight.

Here it is, such a sick zone, hope it all works the way we want it!

Here is a break down:

the big center line – is 30ft step down, to a 35ft double, to a 40ft double, DJ lip style
Left line – 25ft hipper to a 35ft table, 20ft step up to bus, then straight stepdown or hip step down option, last to a trick hipper
right line – 25′ hip double to 4 20ft huge lipped trick jumps.

Top 3 options…

Rick lining it up…

Hoping that the roof won’t collapse…

Planting and watering the Jump Garden…

I don’t think Rick blinked once the whole time.

This gives a good perspective of the size of the gaps.

The Camp of Champions is blowing up. Literally. The Camp of Champions is blowing up the 365 Sports Big Air Bag all summer in “The Compound”. You can now ride at COC from 10AM to 10PM. Like the idea of a foam pit, the 365 Sports Big Air Bag is designed to help riders learn new tricks by having an amazingly soft, safe, landing. The 365 Sports Big Air Bag is enormous so you can attempt any trick you can think of. Best of all you don’t use all your energy digging yourself and your bike out after landing like you do in a foam pit. The 365 Sports Big Air Bag is like a stunt bag you see on movie sets for jumping out of buildings, but designed for going big and learning tricks on a mountain bike and BMX bike. It sets the new standard for learning. 365 Sports, The Camp of Champions and “The Compound” have added a whole new dimension to summer camps and riding in Whistler. (continue reading…)

Went and shot at our local dirt jumps, video is a little old but did not get it finished until now! While your at it check out my new blog that I am doing with a few other guys!

Wink and Jarrett Promo from Dan Batchelor on Vimeo.

www.365daysayear.ca !!

These photos have been languishing on my hard drive since early January, so I thought I’d post them up. I rarely use a remote flash these days, and more rarely shoot dirt jumps, and even more rarely bring a ladder out, but here are a few shots that I liked.

Rider: Wink Grant

                                                                                           

It is getting way too dusty here in Kamloops. Dirt jumps are crumbling away for the summer and trying to ride any jumps on a small short travel bike is up there for scariest things I’ve encountered. However, all the trails around town are in killer shape and going really fast is one of the only ways I can find to beat the heat, so I’ve been riding my Kona Stinky Air a ton lately,  I even learned how to spin the big guy recently! Here are a couple jump photos that my buddy Jeff Conner shot the other day. All the chairlifts around the interior will be opening soon and I can’t wait!