Muddbunnies 4X Training – My Story

Ryan and the infamous Aussie trainer!

I’m not a team player, was never good at team sports growing up and took more to endurance sports like mini tris, 10ks, 1/2 marathons, and even did my first adventure race last spring. I’ve always been more interested in challenging myself rather than directly competing against others; and if I’m completely honest about this it’s not because I’m a masochist and love to torture myself but because I felt physically weak and uncoordinated compared to others, a bit of a baby bird really. So I’ve done my best veer away from team sports and competition.

And then came biking… Mtn biking was the first and only sport I’ve ever felt was effortless. I took to it immediately and though I’m no speed demon and don’t take the narliest line, jumping and balancing are my greatest strengths. Mtn biking is also the only sport where I’ve felt like I wanted to push myself to improve in my weaker areas like steeps and speed. Bigger, faster, smoother are my mantra words I say to myself when I’m trying to psych myself up for a line that feels completely above my abilities.

Though the bike park is closed, riding and racing continues. This fall/winter I find myself faced with another year of racing/riding 4X. I’ve done this in the past and have been pretty lackadaisical about it all, with my main goal being to show up and race. I’ve never seen myself as a threat for the other girls racing. This year is different, I want action! I’ve been very active since spring, hiking, biking and kayaking and feel like my ultimate fitness goals are within reach. Now with the help of fitness trainer Jacyln Delacroix http://www.freedomhealth.ca/personal%20trainers.htm#Jax, I’m ready to up my game even further with weight training. I want to FINALLY feel strong and muscle my bike through to at least one 4X win, that’s my ultimate goal.

In the next few months we will be posting pics, videos, tips, instruction and as much info as possible to help out anyone else who wants improve or maintain their hard-earned summer biking skills. You don’t need to be a racer to benefit from our program, heck you don’t even need to be a biker but of course the fitness program has been designed with mtn bikers in mind.

If there you have any questions or comments we will have a comment section as well as email contact for both Jacyln and myself. And even better than sitting at your desk following our progress, why not get yourself into the gym and train with us or if you’d prefer one-on-one, contact her and get your own personal fitness regime created.

Ride hard, get dirty!

http://www.freedomhealth.ca
www.muddbunnies.com

Are YOU Muddbunnies Friendly?

The greatest Muddbunnies event in the history of Muddbunnies events is coming…

Find out more July 1st, 2009

WEBSITE UNDER CONSTRUCTION: PLEASE STAY TUNED

Source: Ryan Petersen

Our apologies for the lack of news posts on the site. We are currently revamping, reworking with website (thanks to our web goddess Tina Yiu). Our new site is scheduled for launch before June 1st. Please stay tuned and thanks for your patience!

Ciao, Bellas

SOURCE: BICYCLING.COM

I’m always excited to hear about young girls getting into the sport of mountain biking. Women like locals Amber Zirnhelt and Kelli Sherbinin, have been a huge influence in getting our female youth motivated and excited about biking. Now there’s a pair of sisters from Vermont, (both professional riders) who are just as keen on getting our young female rippers stocked on the sport!———————————————————————————————
Pro-cyclist sisters Lea and Sabra Davison are helping the next generation of female mountain bikers tear up the trail.
By Lauren Ober

Lea and Sabra each earned top 10 finishes at national championship races this summer.
©Daria Bishop

For a group of girls in northwest Vermont called the Little Bellas, summer Sunday afternoons mean one thing: a fierce, knockdown game of dab. These girls could play endless rounds of the game–in which riders try to force each other to lose balance from their bikes and set a foot on the ground–provided that Little Bellas founders Lea and Sabra Davison join them. Trek/VW Factory Team rider Lea, 24, and pro Xterra triathlete Sabra, 22, started the mentoring program for girls ages eight to 12 this past summer; the group now has 20 kids and 10 mentors. Bicycling recently caught up with the Davisons to chat about the club’s first season.

Click here for full article

Canadian Premieres of Kranked 7 – The Cackle Factor

CAUTION: Watch for volunteering Muddbunnies!

KRANKED 7 – THE CACKLE FACTOR

April 28th @ 7:00 in North Van at Centennial Theatre

Radical Films detonates into mountain bike mayhem with ”The Cackle Factor-Kranked 7”.

Inspired by old hipster slang for the insane asylum (the cackle factory), the film trips with stunning footage cut to a post-industrial explosion of funk, rock, reggae, hip-hop and punk.

As the world spirals into madness, seemingly at war with itself, the best mountain bikers are judged against it. Join us as we freak out and explore WHO IS INSANE? US OR THEM?

Featuring epic riding sets from: Jamie Goldman, Nathan Rennie, Steve Romaniuk, Mike Kinrade, Eric Porter, Kyle Ebbett, Timo Pritzel, James Doerfling, René Wildhaber, Mike Hopkins, Ben Boyko, Kirt Voreis, Garett Buehler, Ryan Berrecloth, Josh Bryceland, Ben Walker, Dylan Dunkerton and Curtis Robinson

Filmed in HD in Alaska, British Columbia, California, Vermont, Switzerland and France.

Soundtrack features: the Hilltop Hoods, the Kinks, Zebrahead, Tsunami Bomb, Ziggy Marley, the Guess Who, Anti-Flag, Five Alarm Funk, Placebo, Lagwagon, the Misfits, Supercabin, Pennywise.

Next NSMBA Trailday: Sunday, April 20th

Ever been to a trail day? Well if you haven’t you should! Each trailday presents riders the opportunity to give back to the riding/hiking community! In addition to repairing and rebuilding pre-existing trails, you’re given a chance to meet other riders within the community, meet sponsoring bike shops and biking companies that generously donate their time and money to rebuild and maintain the local trails.
Aside from all of the new friends you’ll make, you’ll be stuffed full of yummy goodness with a free lunch (we’re not talkin’ PB&J either folks). And the cherry on top: the possibility of some swag tossed your way from sponsoring shops/business’. How can you turn that down? So put the bike down for a day, grab your rain gear and shovel and get muddy at the next trail day! CAUTION: Watch out for bunnies!

Trips for Kids Downbeat Slideshow and Silent Auction

Don’t miss the 2008 Trips for Kids Downbeat Slideshow and Silent Auction at The WISE Hall on Thursday, May 8, 2008.

Proudly presented by Trips For Kids Vancouver! Doors open at 8:00PM. Shows start at 9:00 PM.

This fantastic fundraiser will feature live music from DJ MP (a Montreal transplant who’s making waves in Vancouver on her Shadow Jugglers radio show http://www.citr.ca)! There will also be a silent auction with a unique and tempting mix of items to bid on. Resistance is futile so bring your credit cards and cheque books! There will be feature presentations by local film-maker Jamie Houssain (www.thecollectivefilm.com) and professional photographers Ian Hylands (www.photo-x.com)and Dave Smith.

This is a legal age 19+ event, valid government issued photo identification will be required.

TFK Vancouver is a non-profit organization that takes inner-city and at-risk youth on mountain bike day trips. All proceeds go to TFK Vancouver’s spring and summer rides program. For more information on TFK Vancouver, please visit http://www.tfkvancouver.org.

Go211.com to Host Online Auction for Tara Llanes

Go211.com announced today that it is partnering with BMX and mountain bike pro rider Tara Llanes in hosting an online auction to help raise funds for the Tara Llanes Road to Recovery Fund. The auction begins April 25th at 5pm EST with the bidding ending on May 9th at 5pm EST.

Llanes was seriously injured on September 1st, 2007 while racing at the Jeep KOM Finals. Presently she is paralyzed from the waist down, and has been working intensely at physical therapy to walk, then ride again. Llanes raced on the professional mountain bike circuit for 14 years and won four national championships.

The online auction will feature some of the most sought after items in the sport today, including:

Eric Carter’s 2006 National Championship 4x bike
Steve Peat’s signed replica Troy Lee Designs helmet
Tracy Moseley’s UCI leaders jersey
Adam Craig’s signed XC jersey
And more items from Shaun Palmer, Leigh Donovan, Alison Dunlap
“We’re very pleased to be partnering with Tara for this very worthy cause.” said Sean M. Aruda, CEO of Go211.com. “The positive attitude and determination she demonstrated while competing bodes well for her during her recovery, and we look forward to hosting this auction.”

“This auction is simply ‘one of a kind’ and to be quite honest I’d like to bid on everything in it,” Llanes said. “I’m a fan of every one of these riders so these items are a big deal to me. Everyone at Go211.com is behind this auction and I know it will turn out great!”

Muddbunnies Monday: Video of the Week

Welcome to another Muddbunnies Monday: Video of the Week. I spent my last two days off riding my hardtail as much as possible. I hit up bike parks on the North Shore, Coquitlam and managed to squeeze some urban riding in on Saturday. I witnessed some kick ass female riders this weekends throwin down no-footers, xups and pulling off some serious, fat air! So in keeping with flow of it all this weeks (multiple) entry comes from Chile. Enter a country in South America occupying a long and narrow coastal strip wedged between the Andes mountains and the Pacific Ocean where we meet Camila Harambour, an 18 year old backflipping, drum banging, bmx rider who’s 3 videos have made Muddbunnies VOTW!

Nickname: Goddy
Location: Buenos Aires (Argentina) Chile
Type of Riding: street, dirt, ramp
Birthday: Sep 14, 1989 – 18yrs old
Trick list: gridns, 180 (both sides), 360, barspin, x-ups, lookdowns/backs, no hand, backflip. Always trying to improve them and do some more 🙂
Webpage: http://www.myspace.com/goddy_bmx_mx

How To: Descending Tricky Switchbacks

Okay Bunnies the season is upon us! Can you believe the weather on the coast this past weekend? In lieu of the recent weather patterns and to get prepared for the next two weekends of warm temperatures, here’s some great riding tips from mountainbike.com:

The Expert: Speed is second nature to 27-year-old Kona rider Ryan Trebon: The 6-foot-5 Oregonian has worn a stars-and-stripes National Champion’s jersey two years in a row (in ’06, it was for XC and cyclocross; in ’07, short track). What may not be obvious is the amount of thought that goes into that speed, especially on tight, technical downhill switchbacks. “They’re probably the most challenging thing for me to ride, simply because of my size,” Trebon says. “My center of gravity is so high and the bike is so long that it makes negotiating them more difficult.” The good news is that Trebon has spent plenty of time figuring out the best way to twist through those problem corners–and he’s willing to share his hard-won knowledge. Here’s his advice for tackling tight, tricky downhill turns.

Prepare to turn As you approach the turn, stand, level the cranks and move your weight behind the seat. If you need to brake, now’s the time–during the turn, hard braking means less control overall. As for speed: “There’s a fine line between going too slow and going too fast,” says Trebon. “Many people, if they’re apprehensive, make the mistake of going too slow. It’s better to have a little speed.” aim wide Shoot for the outside line as you get closer to the turn, and ride that edge as you make the turn; as you exit, head back toward the center of the trail. “If you use the whole trail as you head into the turn,” Trebon explains, “you basically make the turn longer and straighten it out a little more.” He compares it to a semi truck making a 90-degree turn–cut it too soon, and the semi bangs into the curb and all sorts of bad things happen. But ride the outside edge of the turn to its midpoint, and you get through with no problems.

CLICK HERE FOR FULL ARTICLE