Darth Days – Muddbunnies Newest Column

Muddbunnies.com would like to introduce Darthyoga aka Nicole Hlus, our newest Muddbunnie columnist.

Darthyoga: AKA Nicole Hlus

Title: MuddBunnie, Ride Leader

How long have you been riding?

I have been riding bikes all my life. I pedaled around on Canadian Tire Specialties with my Dad most of the time growing up. When I moved back home destitute from travelling I rode around on a bike called Trail. I called it the Dirty Whore because I would do anything and man, did I ever have to pay for it!

These are my two looks:

And

How did you get into riding?

I was busy destroying my Dirty Whore when I met a guy who wanted to take me to Whistler. We were dating and I loved that he didn’t want to go to the movies and have dinner. I rented the full 8 & 8 Norco and all the safety gear and went for it. I felt like a sugar filled kid on Christmas morning! I made him ride all day and show me as many trails as possible. At the end of the day I walked back into the rental shop and yelled :” That was the BEST DAY OF MY LIFE!” The cheered and I was stoked to get back on a big bike soon.

What are your favourite trails?

I love steep technical trails, the ones where you have to think your way through them and end up. Trails like Upper Oilcan, Pink Starfish, Sexboy get me all riled up! I ride away pictureing the next time I get to them and how I’m going to conquer them.

Why is Fromme so special to you?

My husband Rob adopted Natural High after we first started riding and with the help of Ian Collins made it into a fun trail with awesome features. Rob and I were married just before the A Frame. It was the most perfect place I could have ever wanted. We always seem to be meeting there.

What Bikes do you own?

I ride a Devinci Frantik, a lovely Freeride bike that takes a lot of my abuse. I just bought it last year and have a huge crush on it. I also have a Devinci Santiago that I use a commuter. It’s a full on road bike with Carbon fiber bits, mountain bike handle bars and flat pedals! It looks strange but the setup is perfect for a Muddbunnie.

How/when did you join Muddbunnies?

Way back when the club was just a Yahoo club, somebody had posted a Whistler ride. I sent a message that I would be there too and told them they would know me by my bike and flame shoes.

Oddly enough one of the girls actually noticed the shoes and pulled me over to talk! That’s where I met Colleen, Ryan and Dee, after that we rode together quite a bit and I was hooked.

What do you do off the bike?

Suffer. I suffer because I’m not on a bike.