The Off-Season is here! A couple of months off after traveling around the world for 10 months is always a great thing. Catch up with friends, get back on the bikes and let your liver detox. On the North Shore it also means monsoon season arrives with daily deluges of 40-50mm of rain. Mud spikes go one and the 5.10s are kept perpetually soaking wet and muddy. Actually to be honest, this isn't much of a change from World Cup season, come to think of it.
As a full time mountain bike photographer, I've been lucky enough to travel the world and see some crazy sights I would never have been afforded the opportunity to experience if I didn't have this job. It just usually seems to happen under some of the most inhospitable weather conditions, most of the time. For the last few years I have been lucky enough to work with some great partners, which this year finally "officially" includes 5.10, even though they have been gracious enough to keep shoes on my feet for the last 3 or 4 years already. Along with Monster Energy, Troy Lee Designs, Specialized bicycles, Camelbak and Oakley, I'll be attacking the Euro mud in style again this year. Thanks to everyone who has believed in me and helped me to pay the bills.
So what have I been up to this Off-Season? Lots of random adventuring! Riding big bikes, riding little bikes, riding deep powder, riding helis, playing with chainsaws and throwing dirt up here in the Pacific North West. The holidays had be hit the legendary deep powder at Mt Baker, watch an amazing sunset over Vancouver from Cypress Mountain with 5.10 athlete Brett Tippie, and ride all 3 mountains of the North Shore as well as the sunshine coast on various flavors of mountain bikes. Life is good!
Work season is fast approaching. 4 weeks until X Games in Aspen and then off to South America for my annual 2 weeks of downhill with my Chilean buddies and the wildman, Cedric Gracia. Stay tuned for updates from down South coming soon!
In the meantime, be sure to check out some of last year's photos at http://www.transcendmagazine.com and for information on what I do, check out http://www.fraserbritton.com