Norco Comrades Unite – The 2003 VPS Fest
Judging from afar by the way they were dressed, you might have thought they were there to deliver packages, but these boys in brown had a different mission. The First Annual Norco VPS Fest in Whistler B.C. brought the company to the people, to pay gratitude to those riders who’ve supported
Norco over the years.Norco riders owned the lift last Sunday, thanks to the saliva generating invitation to ride the mountain for half price and the chance to win a dump truck load of plunder; prize packages ranged from fine bistro worthy Norco coffee mugs to Pinkbike tee-shirts and DropIn DVD’s, several new sets of skins, new lids, a Marzocchi Super T and the grand-daddy prize, a
2003 Norco VPS Drop, $7000 worth in all.
Of course it was really about getting in a day of riding the way Norco’s were meant to be ridden – and what place better to do that than
Whistler, B.C. under the world renowned bike park’s June sun; the inspirational birth place of Norco’s VPS model, the A-Line?
Any model of Norco was welcome on the hill despite the event moniker; all it took to get the sweet deal was to pay a quick visit to the Norco event tent to put your pen to some painless paperwork that asked not just what Norco you currently owned, but what you wanted to own in a Norco in upcoming years. With that being all it took to get on the lift all day for half price it wasn’t surprising to see that a Norco rig of some description and model year occupied every run on the mountain at any given time, and that pros and amateurs were drawn to the gig from as far away as Montreal, where the winner of the furthest distance traveled prize hailed.
At the bottom of the biker cross behind the seemingly never ending lift line in the Village, the new Norco Factory Team Support Truck was set-up, and Norco’s own team gear-heads chin wagged with their patrons and worked their hands at wrenching their rides – on the house - while in the background, the Red Bull Event lionized Brad Ewen anchored the day’s narrative with his trademark authority.
To capture the essence of the event and Whistler riding in general, Pinkbike’s Radek Burkat strapped on the helmet cam and gave close proximity rear rubber chase to the Norco crew including Pete Stace-Smith as they ripped it up on Whistler’s gravity induced routes, that in part captured a cerebrally stimulating voyage behind Jay Hoots as he goes off with style and grace down the curvaceous, big-air A-Line.
The event though, was truly aimed at and showcased by the everyday Norco rider and it was inspirational to watch the talent that now exists in the sport, certainly thanks due in part to the affordability of the expansive and capable Norco product line. As
New World Disorder rider Joe Schwartz aptly noted when we all cooled down with a brew, “Here in Whistler everyone’s a movie star”.
That evening when the drive stopped turning on the lift and the last of the adrenaline junkies finished up their runs, the crowd ascended to the Garibaldi Lift Co Bar and Grill’s patio above the Whistler Blackcomb Bike Shop in hopes of going home with more property than they came with. Pete and the Norco crew along with Brad on the mic divided up the booty and drew the lucky names, the last of which was a very happy Philip Ney who was sent riding off into the sunset on his shiny new VPS Drop.
We will be uploading various video footage from the VPSFest through the week. To get a taste here is a full headcam run of the famous A-Line trail.
Lead rider : Jay Hoots
Cam rider : Radek Burkat
Remember to right click and save to your hard drive.
There are literally 1000's of users downloading this right now so it is a little slow.
Download Video vpsfest-hoots.wmv from Server 1 (30 MBytes)
Download Video vpsfest-hoots.wmv from Server 2 (30 MBytes)
Norco over the years.Norco riders owned the lift last Sunday, thanks to the saliva generating invitation to ride the mountain for half price and the chance to win a dump truck load of plunder; prize packages ranged from fine bistro worthy Norco coffee mugs to Pinkbike tee-shirts and DropIn DVD’s, several new sets of skins, new lids, a Marzocchi Super T and the grand-daddy prize, a
2003 Norco VPS Drop, $7000 worth in all.
Of course it was really about getting in a day of riding the way Norco’s were meant to be ridden – and what place better to do that than
Whistler, B.C. under the world renowned bike park’s June sun; the inspirational birth place of Norco’s VPS model, the A-Line?
Any model of Norco was welcome on the hill despite the event moniker; all it took to get the sweet deal was to pay a quick visit to the Norco event tent to put your pen to some painless paperwork that asked not just what Norco you currently owned, but what you wanted to own in a Norco in upcoming years. With that being all it took to get on the lift all day for half price it wasn’t surprising to see that a Norco rig of some description and model year occupied every run on the mountain at any given time, and that pros and amateurs were drawn to the gig from as far away as Montreal, where the winner of the furthest distance traveled prize hailed.
"...it was inspirational to watch the talent that now exists in the sport, certainly thanks due in part to the affordability of the expansive and capable Norco product line"
At the bottom of the biker cross behind the seemingly never ending lift line in the Village, the new Norco Factory Team Support Truck was set-up, and Norco’s own team gear-heads chin wagged with their patrons and worked their hands at wrenching their rides – on the house - while in the background, the Red Bull Event lionized Brad Ewen anchored the day’s narrative with his trademark authority.
To capture the essence of the event and Whistler riding in general, Pinkbike’s Radek Burkat strapped on the helmet cam and gave close proximity rear rubber chase to the Norco crew including Pete Stace-Smith as they ripped it up on Whistler’s gravity induced routes, that in part captured a cerebrally stimulating voyage behind Jay Hoots as he goes off with style and grace down the curvaceous, big-air A-Line.
The event though, was truly aimed at and showcased by the everyday Norco rider and it was inspirational to watch the talent that now exists in the sport, certainly thanks due in part to the affordability of the expansive and capable Norco product line. As
New World Disorder rider Joe Schwartz aptly noted when we all cooled down with a brew, “Here in Whistler everyone’s a movie star”.
"...what place better to do that than Whistler under the world renowned bike park’s June sun; the inspirational birth place of Norco’s VPS model, the A-Line?"
That evening when the drive stopped turning on the lift and the last of the adrenaline junkies finished up their runs, the crowd ascended to the Garibaldi Lift Co Bar and Grill’s patio above the Whistler Blackcomb Bike Shop in hopes of going home with more property than they came with. Pete and the Norco crew along with Brad on the mic divided up the booty and drew the lucky names, the last of which was a very happy Philip Ney who was sent riding off into the sunset on his shiny new VPS Drop.
Closer inspection of those brown shirts revealed a clever alphabetical alteration of a publicly familiar acronym that produced an entirely different meaning, though perhaps not to those who ride Norco’s or won prizes that afternoon on the patio, it seems these boys in brown do deliver.
We will be uploading various video footage from the VPSFest through the week. To get a taste here is a full headcam run of the famous A-Line trail.
Lead rider : Jay Hoots
Cam rider : Radek Burkat
Remember to right click and save to your hard drive.
There are literally 1000's of users downloading this right now so it is a little slow.
Download Video vpsfest-hoots.wmv from Server 1 (30 MBytes)
Download Video vpsfest-hoots.wmv from Server 2 (30 MBytes)
To see more VPS Fest photos click
here.
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