MotoGymKhana debuts in Canada

On July 15, 2012 Honda Canada kicked off an exciting new motorcycle venue jumping on board what the Europeans and Japanese have already figured out – that MotoGymKhana is both a fun and competitive skill based event. Welcome MGK to Canada.

For the uninitiated MGK is described by Wikipedia as an event consisting of speed pattern racing where the rider follows a new course ‘layout’, reacting by driving the bike into turns, braking, and accelerating in a closed loop. The goal is simply to complete the course in the fastest time with the fewest errors.

Driving the bike hard into the next turn and looking well ahead to the next pylon.

Honda Canada recognised the skill needed to pilot a motorcycle through an MGK layout. Together with Honda’s spiffy new CBR 250R’s and 125R’s, head Instructor Yoshi Nakatani and partner Vicki Gray began teaching eager students how to successfully compete in today’s event by giving them the necessary skills and practice time before the competition.

Our instructors are passionate about motorcycling and between them have quite an impressive CV. Yoshi is recognised by JAGE (Japan Moto-Gymkhana Association) and has the distinct honour to introduce this sport to Canada and the USA while Vicki has ripped it up on the road racing scene having competed at the World Cup level. She is also the person behind one of the most complete international motorycle online magazines for the ladies ‘Motoress‘. Pretty cool, huh?

Keep your ears and eyes open as MGK is just debuting and I am certain more training and competitive events will follow. For more information regarding MGK please visit my previous blog titled MGK on a CBF1000: http://www.cecilegambin.com/wp/page/3/.

Learning to manoeuver the bike using short radius turns at slow speeds. Balance, skill and a good dose of confidence is key in staying upright – all made easy through the expert advice of former World Cup road racer Vicki Gray.
Head instructor Yoshi Nakatani following a student rider while working on short bursts of speed followed by tight turns.
Spills happen occasionally but at least they’re at slow speeds.
Waiting for Godot and taking a break from the weekends relentless 30C heat and humid weather.
Yoshi…hamming it up with the Honda Ladies.
After 3 weeks without rain Mother Nature decided it was time to let loose. The trainees walk the course with Yoshi and Vicki. Riders only get to see the layout once before the competition begins. The hard part is not the bike but remembering where to go.
Hard rain couldn’t keep spectators and competitors away from the main event.
The start gate. The electronic time keeping system had to be shut down due to thunder and lightening. No worries though as umbrella girls became flag droppers and Honda personel became timekeepers with their BlackBerry’s. Let the games begin.
Matt McBride entertaining the crowds and showing them how it’s done.

 

Allison Grummet showing the guys throwing down the hammer (on wet roads none the less) and ripping up the track!
This photo was taken from Honda Canada’s associate event in May. I like the colours and the strong leading lines in the picture. The flag is raised because the rider is receiving a time penalty for dabbing his foot while negiotiating ‘The Keyhole’ section of the course.

 

 

 

 

WEC Parry Sound

I am procrastinating. I was reviewing potential Georgian Bay photos in Lightroom for two upcoming art shows I have when I got side tracked by the WEC Parry Sound race pictures that took place a few years ago. David and I had primo spots along the shoreline. It helped that we were volunteers and were miracurously placed there to help the poor souls that fell in the drink. Luckily there weren’t too many and I was able to take a few pictures.

At the time I had my Nikon D70 with a wide angle lens. Knee deep in the water, unable to see the rocky bottom due to wavy conditions that day I was already taking a chance myself not falling into Georgian Bay. I have to chuckle at how long it has taken me to upgrade to a pro level camera that is more water resistant than the D70/80/90 all of which I have owned and all of which have been put through some pretty risky situations. That is, two were ok with water and the other certainly was not.

I marveled at the skill and expertise the riders had working their bike along the slippery and rocky shoreline. It was hard enough walking along it. The number one rider at the time, David Knight, mayed it look easy and schooled everybody in that section. It was also mind boggling at how small his bike looked underneath him and how much clearance between his crotch and the seat he had to work with. Made me jealous. Than again…there’s the saying ‘the taller you are the harder you fall’. Except David Knight does not fall (very much).

Our Canadian boys did us proud that day and I believe the Canadian hero was  Cory Gruffunder (sp?). David and I worked both days over the weekend proudly volunteering our services. We even got a cool Nexco jacket out of it. It was fun, met a lot of people. I wished I could have tried riding the shoreline (the endless rocks and slippery sections reminded me of a few of my downhill races I had in Quebec – most notably ‘The Flintstones’ in Bromont). I am pretty sure I could have mayed it half way before I would have fallen in.

Thanks to Parry Sound for having hosted the event. It was so well organised and the people of Parry Sound were amazingly cooperative lending their services with grace and enthusiasm. While a few of us take our Canadian Shield and fresh water for granted many realise it’s beauty and importance (we truly live in a beautiful country). I can only imagine how the Europeans felt upon seeing our rugged beauty. I believe a few went for a boat tour on the Seguin. I think they left with smiles on their faces.

My only beef that weekend was the lack of money spent in Parry Sound by our very own spectators. Perhaps it is a bit harsh and unfair of me to suggest this but if a town/city is willing to host an event they are outdoubtly also hoping that records crowds will filter through and provide business for their commerces i.e. restaurants, hotels, bars etc. Our job as spectators is to spend a bit and help out the town’s economy. Not much needs to be spent…just as long as everybody can chip in.

Well, I really should get back to painting a few pictures. My first show in this spring and I only have 2 out of the 6 ready.

4 of my pictures featured in ‘Inside MotoX & Offroad Magazine’

The November/December issue of Canada’s ‘Inside MotoX & Offroad Magazine’ is a special one for me as four of my pictures from this years ‘Corduroy Enduro’ have been printed. Including a double truck!

To say the least I am super stoked. This was my first time out in the field using my new camera – the almighty Nikon D3S. Actually, it was my first time period as I had just bought it that Thursday and was shooting The Cord on Sunday. I didn’t even have lots of play time with it as I was busy with family obligations prior to the event. Luckily, I have been shooting Nikon for the past 8 years so I am familiar with their terminology and menus. Compared to my D90 the buttons on the D3S were in different locations but I adapted quickly (I really didn’t have a choice if I wanted to pull off some keepers).

On an off-shoot – it felt different being a spectator at The Cord. I have competed in the women’s category twice in previous years and I know it is a very difficult and demanding two days for both the bike and for the rider. This time around, I could enjoy the beauty of The Cord. Jealous in areas that I would have loved to ride and understanding of the riders frustration when fatigue set in.

Thank you to Jeff Morgan at Inside MotoX & Offroad for publishing my images.

 

The Cord!

Pictures for ‘The Cord’ are available for purchase and can be seen via my Flickr page. Click here to see and order them.

I cannot begin to tell you how excited I was before The Cord, during The Cord and after The Cord. I’m still giddy and super stoked at my pictures I took this past Sunday at the 58th Corduroy Enduro held in the Haliburtons.

Stoked because I just picked up my new camera – a Nikon D3S , rented two outstanding lenses from Headshots in Toronto and because I’ve ridden the Cord in the past and I know it’s a super hard event. Since my favourite lens is still in the shop (waiting for a part from Japan) I decided to rent a Nikon 70-200mm and a Nikon 14-24mm as my wide angle is no longer compatible with the full frame D3S. I also had my trusty D90 with me as a backup body and that’s about what it became…a backup body. To say the least…I cannot believe the D3S…and even though it broke the bank … I’m in love!! Combined with two top lenses the quality of the pictures are unreal!!! Yea…I know Nikon is supposed to come out with another announcement sometime in October but I got tired of waiting and this is prime enduro season!

My day started bright and early Sunday morning leaving my in-laws in Peterborough at 6AM. I got to Gooderham around 7:20, ate a BLT and saw some old friends and riders I haven’t seen in a while. It feels so good to catch up with everybody and LOVE at how tight and accepting the off-road community is. Friends for ever is an understatement!!

With the spectator sheet in hand I made my way over to the first special test and was treated with amazing light! Right place at the right time with a kickass camera and lens to boot. The light pouring onto the field, and trees in the distance was magical. Oh yes…I was salivating and I needed a rider as I saw a few really cool shots. That’s when I was introduced to the ‘Blues’ brothers, whom I haven’t seen in about 8 years! The last time I saw them was at The Algonquin 2 Day where I was the head honcho for the children’s ride and led a bunch of them through the Madawaska area on my Gas Gas TXT 200 while they ripped up the single track on PW50’s. Jack quickly suited up and we booted over to the hill while I explained what I wanted. I fired off about 15 pictures before the sun rose higher and lost the epic light. But before the light changed I knew I had nailed some killer pics! I was so excited!!

By now the top racers were starting to filter into the special test area and I spent the next 45 minutes shooting from one the various spots I had already staked out half an hour before. I loved the terrain here…I could have stayed here the entire day and not be bored. As it is I’ve got some cool ideas still in my head but need another weekend with pristine blue skies, some time off from ‘mommyhood’ and a few top notch riders. So if there are any riders out there (and babysitters) who are up for the challenge let me know. I would LOVE to take these pics!!

So back to the race…upon entering the special test the riders tackled about a 1.5 km of single track with lots of wet, slippery roots. I know because I ran the entire way with my backpack full of gear, 2 full sized tripods and 2 cameras fully loaded around my neck and the other around my waist which made the 1.5 km feel more like 5km. I was hoping the singletrack crossed the Burnt River but it didn’t and I ended up taking that trail for nothing. I took a few pictures here and there not really excited about the area. The light was patchy and I was running out of time as I also wanted to catch the riders in the next special test. It wasn’t until I got home that I came across this photo and screamed with joy! Best viewed at high resolution this picture is so tack sharp you could prick your finger on it! Combined with the fall colours, and the sun backlighting the pine trees and an aggressive rider this is easily one of my favourite pictures from my shoot!

By mid-morning the race here wrapped up as the last rider came through and I left for the next special test at ‘The Tunnel of Love’. That name still makes me giggle!

I set up shop on a quiet and cozy creek crossing and set up a flash. Lots of ambient light here and there but tricky shooting as the sun kept shifting so I had to continuously re-adjust my camera settings. I also met another photographer – Keith Hamilton – a very friendly fellow who held no reservations and keenly helped me with my new camera. I litterally bought it on Thursday and didn’t have a lot of time to play with it before hand! So to Keith a BIG thank you goes out to you!! I really appreciate your help! So while Keith was giving me pointers I took pictures and missed some pictures as I was also trying to figure things out. But, I did manage to get one of Chris Zanelli from ‘The Dirty Onions’ – a super cool group I just met 2 weeks ago while riding in Simcoe with my friends Gary, Mike and Melanie. And Chris I must say…your outfit is so camo. I think you’ve wearing every colour from the forest – bright greens to yellows to subdued blues. Very … uh… let’s just say colourful. Teeheehee.

All in all an epic weekend. The only thing I would have liked to change was to have been able to go up on Saturday to make it a 2 day photoshoot and get some different terrain which I know they hit Saturday. I really don’t like getting to an event the day of, let alone 2 hours before the start. I prefer to scout my locations ahead of time. However, having said that I’m really stoked at the pictures I got. I’m really happy with them and with my camera. I especially loved the 70-200mm lens and would love that for Christmas. Are you reading this David?? I’m sure you could predict this so probably decided to skip this last paragraph.

So ahhh…all you readers and racers, if you are interested in purchasing one of my pictures just know that your expense is helping me to get to the next event and to upgrade my camera equipment to make you look good. Email me with your plate number and a quick description of your bike (as not all plate numbers are visible). A single high quality digital upload of a picture is only $15.00. Thanks for not ‘lifting’ my pictures!!

I hope you’ll read my article on Traction magazine – where I’ll be putting up the rest of The Cord pictures. Till than keeping you in suspense…thanks for reading and don’t forget to log onto this blog or my Facebook Page (Cecile Gambin Photography) from time to time to see what’s new! And if there are ANY riders who want to do a photoshoot at the first MX test not far from Kinmount let me know – I’ve got some super cool ideas!!

Thanks to Blair Sharpless, Machine Racing, TekVest, Lachapelle Racing Products, Foran’s Roofing & Sheetmetal, Ross Rocher Sales, Cliffshore, Yamaha, KTM, Husqvarna and all the volunteers who made this years Cord a memorable event. It takes a LOT of passionate people to keep putting on a top notch event like this and without them there’d be no fun!