Red Bull Rampage 2014: Canadian Bacon

RED BULL

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CANADIAN BACON

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RAMPAGE

“I had seen photos of the place and I had lost my mind, just completely lost my mind.” Rookies on the Norco team in 2001, Mike Kinrade and Darren Butler had their sights set on this new big mountain contest; Red Bull Rampage. With a simple phone call from a friend to one of the organizers, they were both granted entry. Since then, Mike has been in attendance at every Rampage, taking in the changes and challenges over the years as both he and the competition have matured and evolved.



Keeping the dream alive that first year on a shoestring budget, Mike and Darren showed up in Utah, camped illegally and started building before anyone else had arrived. They built what would eventually become the misnamed main line, ‘All American Beef.’ When other riders arrived and began riding it, the pair moved over to build themselves another line, later dubbed “Canadian Bacon.” This one, too, became popular and eventually Mike and Darren moved out further and built a third line. By this time, the lines were starting to spread out and gain some diversity. In the first years of the competition, the terrain and parameters were very raw and little actual building occurred. At most, the riders were buffing and clearing, or spending hours transplanting unfortunately located and protected Yucca plants.



While Mike has had some helping hands onsite over the years, he has never brought his own dig team with him, purely for financial reasons; the road to Rampage is not paved for all the athletes. Last year, Mike used existing lines at the site, reworking one of his old routes and simply adding some new inspiration. While most of the riders and the entire ‘internet’ had expressed a desire for a new Rampage site, Mike was more thoughtful on the subject. Rather than seeing a used up site that has little more to offer for creative potential, he pointed that with the amount of work that would need to go into the development of a new site, it could create an imbalance in athlete abilities or a drop in quality of performance for the overall event, as not all riders can afford to bring dig teams.


Seeing the progression to more built structures from the original untouched and rugged heart of Rampage, Mike recalls riders balking at the organizers adding wood features. Last year there were enough built stunts on course that some athletes challenge themselves to use lines that did not incorporate them. For a natural big mountain style rider like himself, it can be a catch-22; while the structures take away from the nature of the event, the tricks that they enable help to grow the sport and create a saleable spectacle. Mike questions what the sport would look like if it had been forced to stay true to its roots and progress within the same parameters set twelve years ago. Over the years the adjustments to the course have been mostly rider driven, and Mike has a great appreciation for the international contributions, noting that Rampage brings in the best riders from all over the world who all have unique terrain to ride at home. The end result is what we, the audience, get to see.


When it comes to risk versus reward for the Rampage athletes, Mike starts shaking his head before the question is finished. On paper the risk is not worth the reward. While there are obviously production costs at Rampage for helicopters, cameras, vehicles and staff, it may be time to find a way for more of the proceeds to start going to the riders, all of the riders. The athletes are on their own to make Rampage happen, supplying their own travel and build crew expenses, when sponsorship does not cover it. It is a huge financial commitment that rewards few, but Mike concedes that attendance at the contest is worth the credentials.


In 2010, Mike was pre-qualified when he broke his leg in practice and was unable to compete. In 2012 he crashed ‘in a big way’ off of the Oakley sender and, to everyone’s surprise, he walked away from it, but was unable to compete again that year. When asked why he continued to attend, considering the abuse his body has taken, he simply said, “Rampage has a special place in my heart. And Todd (Barber) keeps inviting me.”

Mike has an experienced voice, something of a mature fatherly vision, and an appreciation for his sport. He is at a point in his career where Rampage invitations are given a lot of consideration, and after his big crash last year, he was already using statements like “one more time.” This year he made the decision and will not be there. With both him and Vanderham, neither of whom have missed a Rampage to date, not in attendance, it feels like a changing of the guard in addition to a new site. Mike's professional focus has become more centred around his hometown of Nelson and he feels that with his lack of time to prepare for an event such as Red Bull Rampage, his participation would be disrespectful to the riders who have worked so hard to be there. "To hold a spot as a rider in the event is one of the most valuable privileges a mountain biker can have, I don't want to take that away from a younger rider who has been working his whole life for that opportunity."

His advice for the riders tackling the new location? "I would approach building this year it like I did every year, build the best you can with the resources, help and time you have available. It is a race against time to build and battle with your head to go beyond what you are capable of riding. In short," he says "keep it natural and gnarly."



As we wrapped up our interview at the end of Rampage last year, the Oakley sender was abandoned and the helicopter had left. Most of the crowds had been shuttled out to the road and all that was left was a canyon that had been branded. While mountain biking in general has the numbers that other sports have, freeride mountain biking does not. In order to gain the exposure and the sponsors that industries like snowboarding enjoy, corporate partnership is necessary and, as with all things, imperfect. “It is time for these events to start going back to the riders more,” says Mike, who believes that the riders deserve more for their hard work, and for risking their lives. "At the end of the day," Mike soulfully points out "at the core of it we do it for the love of riding, not for the exhibition." In closing this chapter he says "I will miss the event very much and the good times I have had there. The riders, organizers, and volunteers involved are amazing and have made me very proud. It is just one of those feelings that you get when you know it is 'time'."

Check out all of our images from the Red Bull Rampage 2014 here.

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Interviews Mike Kinrade