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THE BIKE MAGAZINE FROM NORCO
SKIP SWAIN

Photo: Harookz.com Location: Whistler, B.C.
WORKING HARD, PLAYING HARDER:
Norco’s designers draw on a deep well of
knowledge to create bikes that we simply
love to ride.
Over the past four decades, Norco has been
reinventing how cyclists look at bikes – and how
they ride them. There aren’t too many places in the world
where you can freeride on world-class trails, spend an
evening sessioning any one of a dozen skate parks, or
get dropped by a float plane into remote areas for an All
Mountain epic. Norco’s backyard is definitely both their
playground and testing facility.
You’d think that with all the possible riding opportunities
available, nothing would ever get done. Sure, they ride,
a lot...but the staff are equally passionate about making
quality bikes for real-world conditions and riders.
If you were to ask any of these Norco staff why they do
it, they’d probably just shrug and say it’s because they
love riding. But, it’s really more than that. It’s about
BEN BOYKO
commitment and heart. Whether it’s creating awardwinning
bikes, bringing innovations to the industry
like front-suspension geometry designs, or supporting
grassroots and trail building initiatives, the folks at Norco
have always maintained the same spirit – they work hard,
but they play even harder.
New school, freeride/slopestyle, 6” travel, lighter
design frame with hydraformed main tubes
Maxle 135 x 12 through hole rear axle
Lower center of gravity
Licensed FSR 4 Bar
linkage suspension
35 lbs
XPLÖR 14

xPlör
RIDING WITH PACHAMAMA
4
Exploring the Peruvian Andes By Bike.
A FEW MINUTES WITH BEN BOYKO
6
NSMB.com magazine interviews the
Crankworx Slopestyle Winner.
WIN A WHISTLER TRIP FOR 2
8
Stop by the Norco booth at Interbike
and you could Win an all-inclusive
Trip for 2 to Whistler.
NORWAY THROUGH A RIDER’S EYE:
10
Ride Guide Host, Darcy Turenne
reports from her latest adventure.
NATIONAL GEOGRAPHIC NAMES
‘ADVENTURERS OF THE YEAR’
12
First human-powered team to
circumnavigate the globe is honored by
the adventuring community.
WORKING HARD, PLAYING HARDER:
14
Norco’s designers draw on a deep well
of knowledge to create bikes that we
simply love to ride.
NORCO PERFORMANCE BIKES
Head Office 1465 Kebet Way, Port Coquitlam, BC V3C 6L3
Eastern Office: 321 Hanlan Road, Woodbridge, Ontario L4L 3R7
www.norco.com
XPLÖR 3

RIDING WITH PACHAMAMA
(MOTHER EARTH):
Exploring the Peruvian Andes By Bike.
The town of Huaraz, Peru in the Cordillera Blanca
is a mountain range noted for its impressive and
imposing beauty. Huaraz sits at an altitude of over
3000-m (10,000-ft) and has turned into a base camp for
adventurers. This is the place to start if you want to
venture into these mountains.
Around every corner you may find screaming donkeys
or dogs chasing your ankles. Every child along the way
would shout out, ‘Hola gringo!’ and smile; they seemed
pleased to see colorfully dressed strangers on futuristic
bicycles.
Our ride took us on an east-to-west traverse through the
highest mountains in the range. The cool, thin air made
the first few pedal strokes a little challenging, but the
discomfort quickly vanished as we began our endless
descent on beautiful singletrack that wove through
countless high alpine lakes.
I questioned our guide about how many times mountain
bike tires had ever touched those trails. Julio laughed and
replied, ‘I’ve only done this trip two times. In fact, Danielle
is the first woman to ever ride here.”
read more at: norco.com (article by Pat Mulrooney)
XPLÖR 4

A FEW MINUTES WITH BEN BOYKO
NSMB.com magazine interviews the
Crankworx Slopestyle Winner
nsmb – Vitals
Ben Boyko (BB ) – I’m 25, born in Vancouver, and currently
living in North Van. I’ve been riding for about 14 years.
nsmb – What was your first two wheeler like?
BB – It was a 24’’ single speed with a pedal brake. It had
all kinds of paint splashed on it. My parents picked it up
from a garage sale and I spent all my time on it. It came
everywhere we went.
nsmb – What got you into mountain bikes in particular?
BB – Mountain bikes are so versatile. For the most part, you
can ride any landscape, any terrain, and any jump at any
time, in the rain and sometimes in the snow. If I could only
ride one bike it would be a 6” travel bike, like my Norco Six.
nsmb – What was the best thing you learned on your bike
in the last year?
BB – I’ve learned that everything I do, no matter what it
is, is always somehow bike related (whether I’m actually
riding or not).
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nsmb – Why?
BB – ...It takes a lot more than just riding a bike to ride.
Building things to ride for example.
nsmb – Tell us about a rider you looked up to when you
were younger.
BB – Jay Miron, Dave Mirra, Matt Hoffman, and everyone
that was older than me and riding better than I was. I was
always a big fan of Miron when I was younger because
he rides it all. I remember when he
won the first X-Games Dirt Jump
Comp. It was a super big deal
because no one ever looked at
him as a dirt jumper, he was
the vert master you know.
nsmb – You have a Sunday
off – no riding. How
would you like to
fill it?
BB – Hiking
through
the woods
(looking for
places to
build new
stunts).
Read the
rest of the
interview at:
nsmb.com
(article
by Trisha
Petrella)

SKIP SWAIN,
VISIT THE NORCO BOOTH 4845 AT INTERBIKE 2007 AND Y
INCLUDING AIRFARE, HOTEL ACCOMMODATIONS, LIFT TICK
XPLÖR 8

INTERBIKE
OU COULD WIN A TRIP FOR 2 TO WHISTLER
2007
ETSANDARIDEDAYWITHRYAN LEACH.
XPLÖR 9

NORWAY THROUGH A RIDER’S EYE:
Ride Guide Host, Darcy Turenne reports
from her latest adventure.
Flying into Norway, I was expecting a complete culture
shock. We had no idea what to expect, and all I
thought was that it would be completely different from
anywhere I had ever been. So when we touched down in
Bergen we were all a bit shocked; Norway looks like home.
Not just a little bit, a LOT. If there weren’t so many blonde
people and Norwegian signs, I could have sworn that we
had landed in British Columbia!
On our way to the Hafjell Bike Park, we had a chance to
check out Ekstremesportveko, an international extreme
sports festival. We saw crazies competing in events like
base-jumping, longboard skateboarding, and white-water
kayaking. One thing we learned right away is that when
Norwegians do something, they do it right! The festival
was no exception. These people made us mountain bikers
look tame!
Although, after watching the local kids practicing on the
slopstyle course, it was clear that they share the same
reckless lack of self-preservation. Most had never done
jumps half the size, yet were sending it on hard-tails with
only a back break!
Hafjell is the best riding location in Norway, if not Europe.
It was a Norwegian version of Whistler and the most fun I
had on my bike the whole trip!
read more at: norco.com/rideguide.ca (article by Darcy Turenne)
XPLÖR 10

NATIONAL GEOGRAPHIC NAMES
‘A DVENTURERS OF THE YEAR’
First human-powered team to circumnavigate the
globe is honored by the adventuring community.
National Geographic Adventure has chosen the most
outstanding accomplishments of the year in the world of
exploration, conservation, journalism and humanitarian work. The
magazine has named Canadians Colin Angus and Julie Wafaei
as the ‘Adventurers of the Year’ for their extraordinary twoyear,
human-powered circumnavigation of the world. The pair
undertook this adventure to encourage people to use no-emission
forms of transportation, such as cycling and walking.
In June 2004, the Norco-sponsored team departed from Canada
on what was undoubtedly the world’s most gruelling race: To be
the first to travel around the planet (land and ocean) entirely by
human power. Three nations, Britain, the USA and Canada were
attempting to claim the title.
The goal of circumnavigation is hardly new, but no explorer—not
yesterday’s Magellan, not today’s Steve Fossett—had ever done it
by human power alone, without the aid of diesel or wind or sun.
To Angus, a man who spent five years sailing the South Pacific
and made a source-to-sea descent of both the Yenisey River (which
flows from Mongolia to the Arctic Ocean) and the Amazon, this
was a glaring gap in the annals of adventure.
To read all about Colin and Julie’s remarkable journey around the globe, you can
check out Colin’s new book, ‘Beyond The Horizon’ at www.angusadventures.com.
XPLÖR 12

WORKING HARD, PLAYING HARDER:
Norco’s designers draw on a deep well of
knowledge to create bikes that we simply
love to ride.
Over the past four decades, Norco has been
reinventing how cyclists look at bikes – and how
they ride them. There aren’t too many places in the world
where you can freeride on world-class trails, spend an
evening sessioning any one of a dozen skate parks, or
get dropped by a float plane into remote areas for an All
Mountain epic. Norco’s backyard is definitely both their
playground and testing facility.
You’d think that with all the possible riding opportunities
available, nothing would ever get done. Sure, they ride,
a lot...but the staff are equally passionate about making
quality bikes for real-world conditions and riders.
If you were to ask any of these Norco staff why they do
it, they’d probably just shrug and say it’s because they
love riding. But, it’s really more than that. It’s about
commitment and heart. Whether it’s creating awardwinning
bikes, bringing innovations to the industry
like front-suspension geometry designs, or supporting
grassroots and trail building initiatives, the folks at Norco
have always maintained the same spirit – they work hard,
but they play even harder.
XPLÖR 14

xPlör
RIDING WITH PACHAMAMA
4
Exploring the Peruvian Andes By Bike.
A FEW MINUTES WITH BEN BOYKO
6
NSMB.com magazine interviews the
Crankworx Slopestyle Winner.
WIN A WHISTLER TRIP FOR 2
8
Stop by the Norco booth at Interbike
and you could Win an all-inclusive
Trip for 2 to Whistler.
NORWAY THROUGH A RIDER’S EYE:
10
Ride Guide Host, Darcy Turenne
reports from her latest adventure.
NATIONAL GEOGRAPHIC NAMES
‘ADVENTURERS OF THE YEAR’
12
First human-powered team to
circumnavigate the globe is honored by
the adventuring community.
WORKING HARD, PLAYING HARDER:
14
Norco’s designers draw on a deep well
of knowledge to create bikes that we
simply love to ride.
NORCO PERFORMANCE BIKES
Head Office 1465 Kebet Way, Port Coquitlam, BC V3C 6L3
Eastern Office: 321 Hanlan Road, Woodbridge, Ontario L4L 3R7
www.norco.com
XPLÖR 3

RACE PROVEN • CARBON OR M6 FRAMES • SHIMANO DURA ACE
ROADRACE
R: Svien Tuft P: Casey B. Gibson L: U.S. Open Cycling Championships
ROADRACE PROVEN • CARBON OR M6 FRAMES • SHIMANO DURA ACE
RACE PROVEN • CARBON OR M6 FRAMES • SHIMANO DURA ACE