After a few weeks of being back in Guelph, returning to the full swing of school, I’m finally motivated to write about Vic…bro.

Photo by Tom Richards – Norco

That Canadian National Team Camp at Bear Mountain was fantastic. First off, the Westin is a 5 star so the beds are unbelievably comfortable. Secondly, the food was really good. Thirdly, special thanks to Mike Weir for letting us use his locker room to get physio treatment.

Photo by Tom Richards – Norco

The trails surrounding Bear Mountain are superb; some rad flow, sketch gnar, and abundant amounts of huck-2-flat features. This year I decided to shake it up a bit with regards to XC training weapons. I decided to bring my Norco Optic to Victoria (bro) to do all of my endurance rides on. I still had my Revolver FS with me for any workouts that required intensity and focus. Getting back to ‘Seeing the Trail Differently’ – the Optic was incredible for long, steady, fun trail rides, with the exciting twist of a dropper post and some extra travel, adventures were unlimited.

My Norco Optic

The race at Bear Mountain was superb for the time of year. I thought racing in arm warmers was only a CX thing but it’s pretty cool on the MTB too. Considering that there was snow in the morning and we were lucky enough to only race in some mud I think it was a good day. The race was what you would expect for finishing a couple weeks of good training with the best in the country – I was tired. Aha. The highlight of the race? Quinton rolled me on the last lap. Putting in distance and time before the finish. It was an iconic day.

(The “bro”isms in this post have been added due to an inside joke. West coast best coast)