I get to ride my bike

At the end of the day, I get to ride my bike- a lot. I guess that's the beautiful thing about endurance racing. If you love to ride a bike, by default, you're going to do a lot of it. And a 24 hour race, well, you get to ride all day long.

So, that is now and I didn't feel much different about it at the beginning. How did racing on dirt start for me? My first mountain bike was a Diamondback Apex, circa 1989 and I remember how fast it was. The power transfer to the wheels doesn't get any better than a fully rigid steel bike. Ya, by today's standards it's pretty heavy and the shifting was imprecise and the brakes didn't really work that well. But man was it fun. And finally, no more riding the road bike over rocky and rooty trails just to get out in the woods. After a couple years learning to ride the Diamondback, it was time to start racing it cross country and after the first race, which I luckily came 2nd as a beginner rider. I was hooked.

I continued to race for a few more years and enjoyed it as much as the first time. Life in my mid 20's then got in the way and I transitioned slowly to endurance running. It was a more convenient way to spend time on the same trails I used to ride my bike on. But it wasn't the same. I missed going fast on two wheels. Fast forward a few more years and here I am- Riding my bike-a lot.

The last few years have been an upward advance in the endurance racing world for me. Starting off with some top 5 finishes in a variety of 6, 8 and 12 hr races, last year I decided it was time for 24 hrs of racing my bike. I finished a couple, including the 2009 WSC in Canmore, Alberta where I finished 5th in my age group and 9th Canadian rider. After that race I realized more than ever, 24 hour racing is what I'm meant to do. As a result, and with a little help from my sponsors including Exposure Lights, I have three on the schedule for this year including the Canadian 24 Hour Championships in Canmore and of course, the 2010 WSC in Canberra, Australia. I'm really looking forward to heading down there with my wife (and pit boss) Lisa for a few weeks of travel, seeing Australia, and most importantly, getting to race my bike for another 24 hours. The really great thing is, I get to do it alongside a bunch of fellow passionate racers. I feel pretty honoured to be in their company. So far, Team Canada is looking to be a talented and experienced bunch. I hope I can hold up my end....

Scott Legere

The Squamish Dude

I hail from the singletrack paradise of Squamish, BC and will be racing in the Elite category.

I have been racing since '91.My background is in traditional xc racing but I have fallen in love with stage racing and I have competed in the TransRockies twice, TransAlps twice and LaRuta once.In under a week I will be doing my first BC Bike Race to help prepare for the World's in October.Highlights include two top 10 overall finishes at TR ( 4th in '05 and 7th in '07) as well as a career best in the Test of Metal this past weekend -placing 8th overall in the best field ever for the event that was won by our top Canadian rider Geoff Kabush.

The concept of a national team for the 24hr World's is a unique and exciting one. I had the opportunity to work with VANOC as a manager of the Welcome Center at the Athletes Village in Whistler for the 2010 Olympic and Paralympic Games.This dream job gave me a chance to see first hand how special it is to represent your nation at the highest level. I will bring those experiences along with me for the ride in Australia and enjoy it to the max.

Till then I am fortunate enough to have the best training ground in the world to prepare for the event here in Squamish, BC.Thanks to Exposure Lights for their huge support of Team Canada as well.

I am stoked to represent my country for the first time and experience a new adventure on two wheels.After the race my wife Erin and I will be hanging around in Australia for 6 months to chill out, visit friends and hit some races.

Dude out.

Kelly Servinski

cut-off jeans

Leighton’s introduction to mountain biking started when he moved to Canmore in the early 90’s. He had no idea what bib shorts were and refused to wear a helmet. He slowly conformed over the next few years. Leighton’s first race still involved cut-off jeans in the citizen cateory of the Killer Bees Race in Canmore in 1997. Needless to say, racing was very casual for the next few years because of work commitments and family.

In 2000 he stopped biking completely and only in 2005 was he enticed to come back to the sport when a friend asked him to ride in the Trans Rockies. Stage racing proved to be very satisfying and he went on to race the Trans Rockies and BC Bike Race the next few years.

After racing his second stage race, Leighton decided to try the 24 Hours of Adrenalin 2006 ,which was only one week after Trans Rockies. With little rest and less preparation, he managed to win his first 24 Hours of Adrenalin. He was able to repeat this win the following year as well. The World Solo Championships in Laguna Seca, CA, was an extremely hard race and it didn’t go as well as he had hoped, placing 10^th overall. The following year, in Canmore, AB, at the Wold Solo Championships again, he was able to better his result and get 7^th and in 2009 placed 4^th and was the top Canadian.

Leighton is looking forward to racing in Australia and representing Canada with a great group of fellow Canadian riders.

Leighton Poidevin

So why Team Canada?

I've had the opportunity to serve Canada as a member of the Canadian
military and I've also represented Canada internationally in a variety
of competitions. I've always gained more if I can represent something larger
than myself. Team Canada - 24 Solo is much larger than me so I gladly jumped on-board.

The concept of Team Canada grew simply - to better represent a 24hr Solo
racing contingent at the World Solo Championship in Canberra this October.
With nothing more than a concept in place the ideas started to move back and
forth amongst the team members, one of the ideas eventually led to this
website. The goal of the site is to provide the team athletes, support crew
and fans a location where everyone can stay up to date on what's going on as
we approach Australia and of course what's happening at the race site and
during the actual race.

Already we have a fantastic sponsor onboard, Exposure Lights out of the UK
has been generous enough to provide the team with their MaXx-D and Diablo
lighting systems. If you haven't held the product in your hands you can't
fully appreciate how well these things are engineered. Shiny, black,
precise, I can imagine these in a Star Wars movie. If Darth Vader raced 24hr
Solo's he would almost certainly have a MaXx-D on his handlebars and a
Diablo mounted on his Vader helmet.

I'm looking forward to see who posts up next, whoever it is I bet they can't
use the word 'magnanimous' in their post-up. Dare ya'.

Till next time... Shaun

The New Team Kit