Red Bull Rampage The Evolution run down

RED BULL RAMPAGE The Evolution October 2008
On Tuesday night we arrived in virgin Utah, after driving from Las vegas for a couple of hours. I was expecting really high temperatures as we were in the desert but we lucked out with fairly moderate weather. The landscape was amazing with huge sandstone cliffs towering above us on either side of us as we drove into Spring dale where we were staying. The next morn I headed up to the site of the red bull rampage and was very impressed with the gnarly course and new man made features added to the event. For the next two days I practiced the course and dug lines to ride. Line selection was tricky ,I wasn’t sure weather to go for a safe line and risk getting scored low for amplitude or go for a burly line and risk crashing. I started to feel comfortable on ridge 3 so I opted to take that in my qualifying run. We woke on the morning of qualifying to pouring rain and qualifying was postponed to Sunday . When I showed up Sunday morn we were told that we would only have one run of qualifying ,i was gutted about that because it puts a lot of pressure on you . I was happy with how I was riding in practice and excited about the comp. The pressure at the start gate was pretty intense I was nervous about crashing . I knew I had to throw some tricks on the features as a lot of people were riding my line. I rode the top of the ridge pretty good but when i did an x up on the big triple step down I got a bit blown by the wind and went down hard. My visor was smashed and I was shook up. I was super disappointed but I got back on and decided to i didn’t have much to lose so i floated a mammoth backflip over the last table the crowd went siiiick and I was so stoked to stomp it and help make up for my crash . I didn’t make the finals but it was cool to sit back and watch the insanity go down . Over all it was a great contest in an amazing part of the world and I hope i get a chance to ride it again.

Las Vegas

Las Vegas - INTERBIKE September 2008

Just winding down from Interbike and Las Vegas mayhem and preparing to head to Utah for Red Bull Rampage - www.redbullrampage.com

Interbike was cool, a giant bike industry expo which literally took the whole 3 days to get around. it was Cool to check out all the 2009 gears and catch up with everyone.

Saturday we headed to Anthem Skate Park for the Sin City Jam, it was very hot but we all sessioned the park and it was good times!

-Kelly McGarry

Red Bull Rampage

IM RIDING RED BULL RAMPAGE

A couple of months ago Caleb from Spoke Magazine in New Zealand asked if I would be up for riding the Red Bull rampage in Utah USA (October 2-5). Of course I was keen and he put in a proposal on my behalf. Only 28 riders get to ride the event this year and I just found out I am one of them! I am psyched as and forever thankful to Caleb for putting my name out there.
Check out http://www.redbullrampage.com/
http://www.spokemagazine.com/

Canada Roady

BC and Canadian Rockies destroy all road trip. September 2008

My gf and I packed up the van for another epic mission, I couldn’t decide which bikes to take so took them all. First stop, Sun Peaks bike park near Kamloops. Met up with fellow New Zealand ripper Matt Harris who showed us the sights. There happened to be a 4x race on that day so I figured I might as well give it a go. We had a fun day riding the course and bike park and I ended up 5th in the 4x which was a bit of a laugh.
Next was Silverstar where we rode for 2 days because it was so choice. They know how to make sick berms for sure. We met a wicked dude – Johnny Korthuis in the lineup who ended up on our chair ride up and told us to come ride with him the next weekend at a wee slopestyle comp he had been helping to build in Fort Macleod. On the way to catch up with Johnny I rode a wicked line in Kelowna which I recognised from movies, rode Nelson again with the locals and stopped by at FAVORIT CYCLES in Cranbrook who helped Sha with her new Transition Syren.











Fort Macleod was a wee hick town in the middle of Alberta desert so the bike park was in the middle of nowhere, but it was pretty cool for a small place. The locals all helped build and fund it and had lines for all abilities. The comp was super chill with the Mayor helping run the show. Everyone got 3 runs and then there was a Best Trick showdown which I ended up winning on a whim because not many others landed their tricks. Johnny Korthuis came a deserved first place and I came second.I ended up with my piccy on the front of the Lethrbridge Herald!


















The road trip then bought us to some scenic parts of Canada including Kootenay National Park and Banff. We headed to Calgary to go see Rancid and otherwise would have avoided the city for sure. Met up with Johnny Korthuis once again and rode Millenium Skate Park with its monster full-pipe and rode around the streets of Calgary while the girls went shopping. Right now we are heading to Kamloops to hook up with Matt Harris again for the weekend, on the way here we cruised through Banff and Jasper National Parks and checked out the Rocky Mountains and far too many scenic sites, lakes, glaciers, wildlife, waterfalls and canyons. Time to get back on the bike..


Kelly McGarry

Whistler Crankworx

WHISTLER CRANKWORX SLOPESTYLE – August 2008

I was pretty stoked riding a smaller bike in Colorado and Turner Bikes helped me out with a sick new frame – the 5-spot, Atomlab hooked up some parts as well as Gravity. The new rig is amazing and perfect for slopestyle.
I was so stoked to get a spot and ride with the big guns. I took even more time off work and rode all day every day, hitting up the park riding A-line over and over, smashing the boneyard and after dark I would head to the foam pit.

I was having a blast and had my line dialled in practice. I guess I cracked under pressure and ended up crashing both my Final runs. It was a super hot day and I had a massive crash 360-ing the road gap which I had stomped in the Air Affair. This was my last practise run before the Finals as I noticed my forks had lost their rebound damping and had to get them fixed asap before my run. The next issue was my tyre popping off the rim, I was frantically pumping my tire with a stupid little hand pump when I was needed on the start ramp and in all the haste I hadn’t pumped it up as much as I should. This sent me all squirrily landing a 360 off the first double and the rest of my run was sketchy.

My second run was not much better, Justin Wyper had a bad crash just before me and broke his leg – I was waiting on the start ramp for about 20 minutes whilst the first aiders scraped my buddy off the ground. It was no surprise that I rolled in too fast for a flip and bent my handlebars and couldn’t finish my run. I came 19th overall and was disappointed to say the least. The rest of the comp was wicked and any of you that followed it know what went down. Thanks to all my mates for the support!

Kelly McGarry

Claymore Challenge and Crankworx Colorado

CLAYMORE CHALLENGE AND CRANKWORX COLORADO – July 2008

After changing my plans several times, I decided to make my bid to keep the airlines in business by flying to the East Coast of USA for the Highland Park Claymore Challenge and Gravity photo shoot and then to Colorado Crankworx. This was a tough call because I had been invited to ride the elusive Adidas Slopestyle event in Saalbach Austria which happened to be the same weekend as Colorado Crankworx.

Highland Park was amazing and is worth a visit for any freerider. The course they built for the Challenge was pretty gnarly, a week of rain beforehand made the conditions pretty soft but the contest went ahead anyway. I rode pretty conservatively with Crankworx Colorado on the back of my mind and not wanting to be injured for my shot at getting a place for Crankworx Whistler. It was a good time, we got some good shots with Harookz for Gravity.
Next stop, Winterpark Colorado. Showed up and hung out with my mates and legendary course builders Tommy and Foz and Kona guru John Cowan. The course they had sculpted was the best course I had ever seen and I was amping to ride it.

I was riding my Turner and 45 minutes before my qualifying run I blew my rear shock and was devastated I couldn’t find a replacement anywhere. I ended up with no choice but to borrow my friend Foz’s bike which he kindly let me ride for the qualifiers – cheers bra. I had to quickly adapt to this smaller travel bike and managed to put together a solid run including 360-ing the final drop. Advancing into the finals with the pre-qualified riders and added pressure of TV camera’s and a huge crowd I knew I had to step it up.

The event was broadcast live on the net and it was cool to have friends around the globe watching. We had two runs in a Semi-Final, my second run was sick and got me into the Final. I didn’t complete my Final run after I over-rotated a 360 flattie but I knew I was sitting pretty as my score from the Semi’s carried over and I placed 7th overall. This also meant I got one of the 3 wild card positions I was after to ride Whistler Crankworx. As Justin Wyper put it, also getting a wild card, I was “jacked up” and got “rowdy” at the after party that night.

Then it was back to Whistler to prepare for the big one.

Pic at Goatstyle - http://www.pinkbike.com/photo/2105003/

Crankworx Colorado coverage:

http://www.pinkbike.com/news/crankworx-colorado-3-208.html - write up and pic

http://www.superhumanmag.com/content/view/739/92/ - video
http://www.sicklines.com/2008/08/03/event-2008-crankworx-colorado-slopestyle-finals/ - write up and pic

http://www.vorb.org.nz/ftopict-83426.html - pic

http://www.vorb.org.nz/photos-view-32917-152-normal-0.html -link to vid

Thanks for readin, Kelly

AIR AFFAIR

BONEYARD AIR AFFAIR – WHISTLER B.C. June 14-15 2008

Finally the bike park opened and I was able to shred my new Turner Highline on Whistler's many kick ass trails. The next event I rode was the Air Affair, it was the first time this event was run by the Bike Park crew and the top prize for getting first place was a ticket to ride in Whistler Crankworx Slopestyle so the heat was on! I stomped some smooth runs and was stoked to get into the final along with 7 others. The final run placed me in second, behind Casey Groves. I was of course a bit bummed but Casey was shredding and I had a lot of fun.



Results:
BONEYEAD AIR AFFAIR FINALS
1 Casey Groves
2 Kelly McGarry
3 Graham Agassiz

Write up: http://bikemag.com/features/onlineexclusive/whistler_air_affair_2008_results/


Cheers, Kelly McGarry

GOAT STYLE BIKE JAM

GOAT STYLE BIKE JAM – CRESTON B.C. May 2008

The van loaded with bikes and all our crap Sha and I headed on the road. We saw parts of Washington and went via the Sasquatch music festival back to B.C. where we stumbled upon Rossland – there were some cool dirt jumps that the locals let me ride and a sick launch into mulch pit to get gnarly on.

The next stop was Nelson where we did a shuttle run with a local company and were hosted by Charles from Gericks who made sure we didn’t get lost. We rode Highballer, Placenta, Wake’n’Bake and Skiiers right and immediately knew that Nelson is almost as cool as our hometown Nelson in New Zealand. The next day we rode Shitaker – an amazing off the map new trail made by the locals featuring burly drops, hips and my favourite – riding down a burnt tree.

Then it was off to Creston. We pulled up in the carpark next to the recreation centre where the event was being held and I was very much looking foward to riding the sick course that they built especially for the event. We camped out by a river just out of town and rolled in the next day to get some practice in. The comp itself was split into two days – the first was the qualifier. There were lots of local riders and also shredders like Geoff Gulevich, Phil Sundbaum, Casey Groves, Dustin Greenall and my man Gareth Dyer.

There were four different categories depending on age and level of riding so it was cool to give some new up and comers as well as younger dudes a chance to ride a wicked course. The qualifiers drew a big crowd who were wowed by the talent. Fifteen of us made it to the finals and I was stoked to be able to ride on. Unfortunately for us all, the weather was not in our favour and the day of the comp was rained off. We split the prize money and headed back to Whistler in one hit – a long 12 hour drive.

--Kelly McGarry

HOLLA FOR YA DOLLA JAM

ATOMLAB HOLLA FOR YA DOLLA JAM CALIFORNIA APRIL 2008
I moved from Queenstown NZ to Whistler, Canada in April ’08 to land in the freezing cold with snow still lying on the ground. I wasn’t impressed with the snow so I jetted off to Cali-for-ni-yay for the Atomlab Holla for Ya Dollar Jam in San Diego. Mike Flaherty from Atomlab picked me up from the airport and looked after me the whole weekend.

First day was spent at Clairmont Skate Park riding with the likes of Jo Perizo and JD Swuangen. Riding my mountain bike on a skate park was a fairly new thing for me but once I got the hang of it it was good times. The event itself was super fun and chill and Mike basically gave the riders cash if you did a good trick or line.

The second day was at Legacy Dirt Jumps, the dirt jumps were in a super cool location – carved into the side of a canyon and the heat was ridiculous. We got down to business and everyone was killing it, there were about twenty riders including one girl representing! I was stoked to 360 the first big left-hand hip and kick out some big no foot cans.

The third day was at the famous Home Avenue ditch – a drainage ditch where we rode street. The street heads were killing it on their turf and it was wicked to watch and shred with them. All in all it was a rad weekend but sadly I had to jump on a plane and go back to the knee deep snow.

Kelly McGarry.