It turns out bikes can fly, you just need to add a little jam. Riders from all over BC, Alberta, Washington State and points beyond descended on Silver Star Mountain this weekend (some more gracefully than others) for the first ever ‘Two Wheel Festival’. Festivities included the Camp of Champions Air Bag, Ryan Leech Trails Demo, Norco show and shine of their 2012 fleet, a Downhill Race down Dag’s DH, and the first ever Silver Style Jump Jam.
Saturday was the main thrust of the weekend and the weather God’s shone brightly on the lush green slopes of Silver Star. The Camp of Champions Air Bag got the event train rolling at 10am under blue skies and temperatures in the 20 degree range…perfect for being on a bike. The 30’ X 30’ stunt man style air bag cushions the landings for riders trying out new tricks that they might not be able to land on dirt. Spectators were treated to some great tunes from the Oakley trailer and a steady barrage of backflips, front flips, double tail whips, double backflips, 360’s, 720’s, and on and on.
Riders that were more into charging the steeps as fast as they could headed up to the top of Dag’s DH for a crack at a timed downhill run. The format allowed the 40 registered racers to all get two timed runs and have their fastest one be the one to either put them on or off the podium and their chance at the cash. 1st place in Men’s 16 & under went to Cole Swanson with a time of 3:28:17, 1st in Men’s 17 & over went to Regan Hogelie with a 3:18:20, and 1st in Women’s 17 & over went to Ann Rajkovic 4:13:58
Twice during the day Ryan Leech’s unimaginable balance and bike control skills amazed onlookers of all ages. With his infectious grin and calm voice drifting over the P.A. Ryan performed Cirque du Soleil caliber stunts one right after the other. “Ryan’s show is almost hard to believe and is an inspiration to everyone watching†said Silver Star Summer Business Manager, Ian Galbraith.
The main event of the day drew a crowd of more than 350 onlookers taking in the action at the newly constructed dirt jump line just off of Paradise Trail. 50 competitors aged from 11 – 28 years old launched themselves off of the 4 dirt jumps and drew huge cheers from the crowd. This was a rider judged jam format and 10 of each Men’s 16 & under and 17 & over were taken through to finals. There were no women in this event…leaving some to wonder if they really are smarter. Men 16 & under 1st place Matt Dennis who also walked away with best trick by landing a huge 720, 2nd place Corbin Selfe, and 3rd place Brandon Andres. Men’s 17 & over 1st place Sam Dueck, 2nd place Brett Reader, 3rd place Casey Groves. Honorable mention from the riders went to 13 year old Max Langille who landed his first backflip on dirt.
Not all the activity was at the events as the ticket office set a single day record for tickets sold. “With lots of riders travelling to participate or watch friends there were a lot of new first impressions had in the Bike Park over the weekend†said Galbraith “We owe a lot of thanks to our extremely dedicated trail crew who not only manage to keep our trails in incredible shape every day, but keep pushing the envelope here at the resort like they did by building the Jump Jam course.â€
Sunday saw more great action at the Camp of Champions air bag, more great moves from Ryan Leech, and more riding in the incredible Silver Star Bike Park. With the success of this year’s event it’s pretty safe to say the first ever ‘Two Wheel Festival’ at Silver Star will be celebrating its second annual next summer.
Video here: http://vimeo.com/27750104
