Game on! Mike Montgomery California Roll

I found this shot on the web and I cannot believe the ingenuity and progression displayed before me. All jokes aside this is is an epic display of what can be done when you put your mind to it.!

And lots of progression this Canada Long weekend weekend on the bike as well! I spent Canada day up in Whistler at the Camp of Champions and was in awe at what I saw. Montgomery pulled a 360 body varial he dubbed the California roll and now everyone who wasn’t there is debating if it was the first but rest assure it is the first on a 26.

 

 

Here was my angle of it all…

 

I wish that I caught it on film but Greg was hitting the jumps with his hands backwards on the bars… wrist out. When I asked him why he is riding like that he just said “I’m bored”! He went through most of his tricks like that and landed everyone

This film is by Eric Peterson of Faultline, he is getting all the camp footage and carnage as it happens.

 

 

I’ll caption this shot for everyone… “My name is Mike and I just did a California Roll, WTF have you done?”

Camp coach and Straitline factory rider Alan Hepburn

Alan again but this time he’s spicing it up on his Unicycle.

Camp coach and Straitline Factory rider Jack Folgelquist was right behind Alan throwing tricks.

 

 

Jack smiles a lot and if you watch him mid air he is perma grin.

Watts, Hepburn, Montgomery, Dyer, Cho Cho and Ryan Berrecloth somewhere out of frame.  Mr Groves had to leave for Goatstyle, in fact everyone is heading to Goatstyle next week to earn a spot at Crankworks.

The man behind it all Ken Achenbach. He owns a backcountry cat skiing firm and runs a SKI/BOARD/BIKE camp in the summer aka my new BFF.

Found this thread and Kens response to player haters after viewing the video below. Sums it up pretty good.

“It's pretty classic how every thinks you get "Sent" to COC. Kids actually beg all year to come to camp and when they get here they ride from sun up to sun down because it's their dream to come to camp. It's why we work so hard to make every day absolutely insane. Coming from a single parent family without two cents to rub together I know how hard everyone works for the money that camp costs, whether you are rich or poor. It's my dream to enable people to ride in an amazing place, ride amazing bikes and meet amazing people and make friends with them. Give them the opportunity that I never had. So I can understand the "F that 2 grand" I can also understand the "I want that and I will do whatever I have to do to come to camp." I collected bottles, shoveled snow, and mowed lawns to get the things I wanted. Things taste the best when you work for it and 99% of the kids that come to camp work for it. Be it getting good grades, doing chores or slaving as a dishpig. That's why camp is so fun. Everyone here wants to be here. I'd kill myself if I ran a camp where people get "Sent" We teach riders to Send It!
Bored kids go to the mall. Smart kids go biking.
Ken”

Faultline tv in Hawaii!

Happy New years, the labor dispute was handled with a iron fist and we are back in the warehouse today!

Eric Peterson of Faultline.tv made a mini video of his vacation in Hawaii, makes you all warm and fussy on a cold winter day, check it out!

Last Day of 2009 from Eric Peterson on Vimeo.

Whistler is closed… lets reminisce!

 

I was talking to Eric Peterson of Faultine today and checked out his website where I saw a refreshing video from this summer in Whistler of the Spaniard, Xavier Raventos or “CHO CHO” for short!

 

This kid is REDONKULOUSLY fast and he uses our Straitline levers and pedals for what they were designed for… Whistler runs!

 

 

The rest of these videos are from Eric as well, I had him send me all his summer links from Camp of Champions since he documented the entire summer up on the slopes who else can supply proper “Ode to Whistler” vids in a pinch!

Camp A

 

Camp B

Camp C

Camp D

 

Gereth Dyer - Air Dome

 

Casey Groves - Snakes the Boneyard weeks before Crankworxs

 

And possibly the most important video Faultine has and will ever make… The Straitline Bear Bell Public Service announcement!

Not shot in Whistler at all I just look for excuses to tie this video in, it was done on a very generous budget of $60 dollars in Guerillabear suits and Eric worked for Break Levers and world wide fame!

Straitline Bear Bell Technology from Eric Peterson on Vimeo.

 

For all of you who just hear about BC and our beautiful surroundings check out this guys photo blog I found on BC and a bit of Alaska- close enough!  And after visiting Europe where they have cut all the trees and eaten all the animals I can understand why people get so excited seeing a whale or a bear, BC is pretty sick place to live and ride but not the best, plenty of places in the Alps that will make your jaw drop!

http://www.my-photo-blog.com/2009/07 

 

Know a little plug for our little know Bike park www.freeridebc.blogspot.com we have been hiding it until it has fully completed so that people see it and go WTF? We just secured a fund raising grant from The Rotary club along with a few municipal awards for bridging community health with such a ambitious project!  So we will make a announcement in the Spring inviting all levels from Pro DJ riders to Olympic XC hopefulls to coem and ride it for free!

And…  We have deer!

Werd!

Camp of Champions…. Killed my dog

That title just sounds dramatic, I don’t even own a dog. But this lady does and call me immature but I find it funny.

This blog does have a point to make….

Some of you may have seen our annual retarded April Fools prank, last year we enforced a new controversial Bear Bell Law. Some people got mad at us, their bikes clearly made enough noise on the trail to scare a bear, others asked themselves why a Gorilla is drinking Starbucks in the promotional video!

The kid we called up to do our promo video was Eric Peterson of Fault line Media , he showed up and we shot this retarded prank mostly all in one take, done in 40 minutes. Check it out if you missed it!

Straitline Bear Bell Technology from Eric Peterson on Vimeo.

 

Now Eric is all famous and working for Camp Of Champions  in Whistler as their Camp Videographer, capturing all the mayhem on and off the hill.  He pretty much landed the funnest job in Whistler, food, drinks, party, ride, sleep, repeat.  He also just did a cool write up on Pinkbike that I guess sounds like a paid promotion since is was on payroll but every year I go up it seriously is amazing. Red bull is there pumping the beats, massive barbecues, half pipes, foam pits all you have to do is look at their Ski/Snowboard side of camp to understand where the bike division will be going.

 

They even have their own private Glacier on top of Blackcomb for god’s sake!

Casey Groves, Alan Hepburn our little freestyle rippers are annual coaches at the camp so Straitline is tied in pretty heavy with the camp and I guess now I sound like a paid for advertisement, lol.  The camp is sick, just check it out on pinkbike and watch this video.

PINKBIKE CAMP WRITE UP HERE:

Also they have a sense of humour and a huge part of why we sponsor their camp, just click this to see their Magical Masterbating Marmot Mascot one notch up over the classical wolf howling at the moon!

 

Next season at Camp you can expect to ride 24 of the worlds top FREERIDE/ DH rigs on the market all dressed up in fresh Straitline gear, leave your bike beat on theirs!

Humor is a must for attending camp, stay at home if the opening video was not at least a bit funny!

Casey Groves testing the slopestyle course!

I just got back from Whistler and hanging out with Camp of Champions where Casey Groves is a coach along with our Aussy phenom Alan Hepburn!

 

The camp is sick, there is no point hyping it up with words but when you get there they have a 40 ft half pipe inside a tent with Redbull providing the beats on the outside it is over the top. 

 

Eric Peterson of Faultline Media is now the Camps videographer, you may know of him from our last April fools prank, the epic classic “Bear Bells” video.

 

Eric sent us this snippet of Casey Previewing the upper course of the 09 krankworks course.

 

It is BIGGGG this year!

Controversial Bear law long over due.

Straitline Components and Ryan Berrecloth to Release Bear Systems TM

"Straitline Components of British Columbia Canada have teamed up North Shore Local Ryan Berrecloth to launch new safety measures for the infamous North Shore and Whistler regions of BC.

Controversy has been stirring over new safety measures for all mountain bikers as mandatory bear laws come into effect as early as this month, banning all lift and trail access to those not compliant. " - The Vancouver Sun, April 1st 09

The question has always been how can we stay safe while riding and building in Bear Country?



The answer came to me when I took a frantic call from Ryan Berrecloth last fall when he was charged by a Bear while building a new line for a upcoming shoot.


“Greg, you're not going to believe this but I was just out building that line I showed you over the creek bed, literally hammering the last board on the lip when the whole thing started to shake.



I looked back and a fricking Bear was in full charge running down my line! I didn’t even have time to move I just let out a yell and held on to the edge the best I could as the bear flew by me and sent it over the creek!

I was freaking out, NOBODY poaches my lines!”


So we brought Ryan over to our factory and asked him to recreate what he yelled at the bear to make it run away. Showed him a chainsaw that wouldn't start and recorded his high pitch scream on a High DEF BlueRay Disk and went to work.


We simply Utilized Aerospace Space Aged Aircraft Solid Billet Aluminum (ASAASBA) to devise a cutting edge bear system that mimics your bikes every movement providing constant screaming as you rip down any BC Trails.

Since last fall we have struck deals with all of BC’s biking resorts and with the help of the BC Government secured the rights to sell the Bear Bell Systems, pretty much took the whole market over night and the money is insane!


We Collaborated with Faultline.tv to make a series of public awarness videos!


Straitline Bear Bell Technology from Eric Peterson on Vimeo.


I personally vow to enforce and educate riders on the use of our Bear Bell System! I will be at every Trail head and every lift line this summer checking everyone's Bikes and rejecting those who do not comply!

BEAR FACTS:

Bears are big and brown except baby bears which are much smaller!



Bears are a very Proud People though they are not people per say but an animal!



Bears derive their name from a football team in Chicago but live in British Columbia Canada!



It is estimated that bears kill over 2 million salmon a year! However, Salmon attacks on bears are much more rare!



Bears also have been known to attack and kill man, but the fact is they have killed less men than World War 1 and World War 2 combined!



With the loss of their habitats bears have developed bad habits!



When interviewed about the bear bells 9 out of 10 bears said
mmmwwwahhhwgrrsnort! But if I spoke Bear I would take that as "I think this is the worst April 1st Prank yet!"