Dedicated Norco Riders Come out to Play

Despite rain, muck, more rain, and even a bout of torrential hail, 200 dedicated Norco riders arrived sunny and smiling to invade Sun Peaks Resort on July 2nd for Norco’s first 2005 customer appreciation day, VPS-Fest: Sun Peaks. It was an awesome sight to behold, and one that inspired the 32 Norco staff & team riders working that day, to be all the more dedicated to making sure the faithful had free passes, finely tuned bikes, and plenty of smiles when they rolled off the hill covered in muck.Norco staff LOVE to ride!


If you weren’t convinced that Norco riders LOVE to be on their bikes, you only needed to be at the booth when Mike Abrey from Grand Prairie, Alberta rolled up to say ‘HI’. Mike, who works at Ernie’s Sports, has attended EVERY western VPS-Fest Norco has ever hosted. If you don’t feel like doing the math, that means he’s traveled around 6,400 kms to come and ride for free at Sun Peaks, Mt. Washington, COP, and Whistler; now THAT’S dedication!


Another highlight from the weekend was watching the HUGE smile on our ‘Ride In Style’ contest winner, Matt Haskin’s face. He arrived early Saturday morning to pick up over $800 in new gear including a Mace Foil full-face helmet, Mace Ignition shorts, Mace Tectonic leg and arm armour, Mace Shackle gloves, an Axiom Neptune hydration pack full of goodies like a pump, multi-tool, tire irons, Norco hat, t-shirts, and of course a very slick looking Norco DH jersey.


Matt with Norco Factory Team Rider, Jay Hoots – yes, he was grinning like that ALL day!


After getting shwagged out, Matt was given a brand new Norco Team DH to use and abuse for the day as he explored the mountain with Factory Team riders like Jay Hoots, Dan Csokonay, and Kyle Guay. From the gigantic grin plastered on his face in every picture, I’d say he had a pretty amazing day.


All and all, between the FREE riding, the chance to win over $5000 in FREE gear, cheap accommodations, BC/DC (an AC/DC cover band), and the all around enthusiasm of both the Norco and Sun Peaks staff, it was an incredible weekend.

However, the biggest props must go to all our customers . . . the Norco riders, who braved the elements to ride, party, and show their VPS-Pride. Thanks to everyone who made this weekend such a HUGE success!

For the uninitiated, Norco created VPS-Fest two years ago to support our riding community through a customer appreciation day. In the past three years the event has grown and expanded into a much-anticipated event on many Norco riders’ calendars. If you own a Norco bike and want to get in on the action, you can pre-register for Blue Mountain (Aug 13th) or Mt. Washington (Aug 20th) at vpsfest.com.