Todd Hellinga Interview

I first crossed paths with Todd Hellinga back when he was the president of WORCA – the Whistler Off Road Cycling Association.  I’ve had the good fortune to ride with him several times over the past few years and earlier this spring I recruited him to be our man in Whistler – and serve up the weekly Whistler Report.  Todd rides and rides and rides which is how he keeps his finger on the pulse of his lively, throbbing mountain community.  I thought it would be cool to introduce you to Todd a little more intimately.  A candlelit Italian dinner would work but for now this interview will have to do. Read on and cozy up to Todd.

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Give us your vitals.
I am 33, born in Hartley Iowa, moved to Wainfleet in southern ontario when I was 7, moved to Whistler in the fall of 2002.  Contrary to popular belief, I do actually have a job. I work for Cascade Environmental Resource Group doing Geographical Information Systems (Mapping) work.

  This is where it starts getting all return of the Jedi old-growth-speeder style, Ride Don’t Slide.  Photo ~ Mike Jones

When, where and how did you start riding mountain bikes?
I grew up in the country, in flatland farming Ontario, so a lot of my early riding early in High School involved gravel roads and dirt bike trails along the canal at the back of the property.  My brother and I started building some pretty short and rudimentary singletrack in the woods early on. After I got my drivers license, and a fancy new Kona Lava Dome in 1994, I started making the trek to Short Hills Prov. Park and cut my teeth on real mountain biking on trails in that area and along the Niagara Escarpment.

  One of my top 5 jumps in the bikepark – first hip on Freight Train. Photo ~ Mike Jones

You seem to like just about every type of riding.  Is there a sub-species of bicycling you don’t enjoy?
All bikes are pretty rad, but I will say that I really don’t have any time for road riding.  I definitely use the road on my commuter or mtb to get around but you won’t ever see me pounding out road miles out to Pemby (Pemberton) and back!  That being said, I definitely appreciate it and don’t dislike it, I just prefer spending my bike time out in the forest and on the dirt!

How did you become involved in Worca? 
I’ve always been inclined to advocacy I think. I helped start a mountain bike club in High School and we did weekly rides, and then again in University I found myself organizing group rides with folks and traveling to the University Cup XC series.  I also took a pretty big interest in trail access issues and did a lot of research on the subject.  Having a professor in Geography that was really into trail issues definitely helped.  When I moved out here I was pretty amazed at the club culture and I slid right in.  At the first annual general meeting I attended about 6 or 7 years ago they were nominating people for the various positions and from the back of the room a friend nominated me for membership director, much to my astonishment.  I remember being pretty blown away that these locals I had only known for a couple of years thought I could do the job.  But they believed in me and in a story of pushing oneself out of your comfort zone and beyond. Here I am now having also having now sat as President of WORCA for 08/09 as well.

What was the experience of being president like?
It’s likely one of the things I’ve things I’m proudest to have been a part of so far in my life. It was an incredibly personally enriching and rewarding experience.  To be part of such a dynamic and amazing group of motivated individuals was a great pleasure.  We accomplished a lot of important things for the club, and really pushed it to new heights. 

  Good friends are the most important part of a great adventure, Windy Pass with a good portion of the CKs. Photo ~ Todd Hellinga

It seems like Worca has much to teach other trail organizations.  What makes it so strong?
I think the most important thing is that mountain biking has become fully ingrained in the culture of our community.   Last year we celebrated our 20th anniversary, and I think sometimes other clubs forget how long it’s taken us to get what we have.  The other thing that makes it strong is the commitment of the club, and local government to trails and mountain biking.  Living in a resort town they understand the value a strong trail system provides to both the community and also resort tourists.  Having the municipality staff and council stacked with avid mountain bikers and club members certainly doesn’t hurt either!  Skiing and snowboarding is what we do in the winter, and mountain biking is what we do in the summer. It’s natural that we look to enhance that at every opportunity.  The other important aspect is just the straight up social side. People like getting together to ride their bikes and have fun.  We have a huge calender of weekly events and one off races that take place, and it keeps people actively involved.

  Todd riding Cheap Thrills – outside the park and a mandatory climb. Photo ~ Cam McRae

What does a typical couple of days of riding look like in your world?
One word, hectic! for a bit of context, I’ve ridden about 43 of the past 47 days.  There’s so much to do and I have a hard time saying no!  Generally speaking though mid summer….Mondays are rest, Tuesdays give us either Pumptrack Tuesdays out in Emerald with the Chromag crew or maybe a PVTA toonie race up in Pemberton.  Wednesday are for Phat/PhaSt races in the bikepark.  Thursday night is WORCA Toonie ride night.  Friday rides are a thing of painful beauty again with the Chromag gang. Long hard rides on the valley’s toughest trails – so much fun!  Weekends are usually reserved for some kind of big epic ride or trip somewhere.  Maybe something fun up past Pemby like tenquille lake or even up to the Chilcotins for some alpine singletrack.  My usual gang to ride with is the CKs, a bunch of like-minded folks who just loving riding bikes.  They are my best friends, they ride everything (downhill, xc, pumptrack, huge epics), they push me, and we always have a good time with no BS!  Thanks CKs for bringing the awesome to my life. You know who you are!

   Chromag Monk – I love all my bikes, but this one gets the most attention by far.  My Chromag Monk Commuter/Pumptrack/XC super machine..Photo ~ Todd Hellinga

Can you tell me what CKs stands for – or would you have to kill me?
Hahaha, yeah, but it could come across as arrogant, which it isn’t.  We were out riding one night last spring and it was a huge group. We were talking about who else we could invite to our weekly ride, and someone said, “I don’t know who else we could ask, all the cool kids are here…”  The rest is history as they say – it stuck like glue!  The whiners and non fun people were weeded out on that ride and we were left with the cool kids, who like to ride hard and have an awesome time doing it!  heh heh, kinda funny

  More good friends at the Full Boar Challenge. Photo ~ Todd Hellinga

Do you have some current trail favourites right now?
Its no secret that I’m a huge fan of A-Line right now. So much fast flowy awesomeness!  In the valley I’m still waiting for my favourite trail to melt out, and I’m not telling you where it is!  It’s the perfect blend of Whistler riding; soul crushing climb to get to, steep techy downhills punctuated with rooty traverses and short climbs to keep downhill bikes away, ending with what I call the loamsled track.  And for more epic style (outside of the amazing Chilcotins), I’d have to say Tenquille Trail is right up there, especially after last summer’s forest fires.  Its such an eye popping ride now going through the charred remains of the forest, wild and awe inspiring with amazing views of the Pemberton Valley and Mt. Currie.

Is there a trail or a section of trail that you don’t have dialled in right now and would like to?
We rode this trail called Moose Knuckle a few weeks ago, and it has a couple of really steep, narrow, exposed crux moves that had, errrrr have, me seriously gripped! 

What rubber do you like in the bike park? What pressure do  you run?
Maxxis minion f’s 2.5 3c, only way to roll!  As for pressure?  Um, enough to not flat and still provide grip on roots and rocks!  Usually its the push test, “Good enough” or “needs more”.

You just had a refresher on North Shore riding in WEA.  What do you think of the trails on Fromme?
I absolutely love coming down to ride on the Shore, cause it doesn’t happen enough!  I always forget how straight up gnarly the shore is, even the ‘intermediate’ stuff!  It’s always fun riding things you aren’t overly familiar with though, keeps ya honest and on your toes!  Also need to say a huge thank you to Digger for that Ladies Only buff out, WOW!  compared to when I rode it earlier this spring it was so awesome!  Was really cool to see him out there during WEA grinning from ear to ear!  Thanks for all your hard work over the years Digger!

  Spending my Chromag Monk’s one year birthday at the Alta Vista pumptrack, on my actual birthday. Photo ~ Mike Jones

How was the event for team Whistler?
It was a really good event for the CKs, we managed to roll in with a 3rd overall and 2nd in Citizen.  Those Traslin boys had the category locked up, we certainly weren’t dogging it and they beat us by 20 minutes or so!

Who and what is FlipFantasia? (Todd’s handle on our bulletin boards)
FlipFantasia is a reference to an old US3 song called Cantaloop that I really dug like 10 years ago, actually I still dig it!  It’s got a good groovey jazzy beat and it’s funky! Check it on youtube here.
 
Tell us about your stable of bikes.
I’ve got an old steel frame kona Kilauea with slicks that I use as a road commuter.  I’ve got an ’08 Giant Glory DH that is less creaky thanks to some fresh bearings this week from the Bike Co, the fork, seriously clapped out!  When I’m out pedaling in the valley I ride a Cove Hustler, yeah, the rear triangle is hot pink, and yes, it is awesome!  It isn’t the lightest around, not even close, but it serves me well for Whistler’s notoriously technical descents around the valley, and once in a while it’s really fun to take in the park and thrash around the jumpy trails.  While I love all of my bikes, the most favouritest right now would have to be my single speed Chromag Monk hardtail, in beautiful white.  She’s my do everything wonder bike.  I remembered I had what I thought was an excessively long syncros seat post in my kona, pulled out a 400+mm post and my pumptrack/dj bike became my multipurpose rig!  I run errands with it, commute to work, cruise to the beach, ride mellower xc, and of course it absolutely slays the pumptracks around town!  I even started dirt jumping a bit again this spring with it, it makes me very happy!

Any bikes or parts you are lusting after right now?
There’s so much good stuff coming out of the industry right now, but stuff that jumps out is the proto specialized demo. Curtis Keene had one up here a few weeks back and it looks really refined. I’ve never been a huge fan of the demos, but this one has me rethinking that position!  I also had a chance to ride the carbon specialized enduro in the fall, and that bike straight up blew me away!  A nearly perfect do everything whistler bike in my opinion.  I can’t stop looking at new boxxers either, mostly since mine started begging to be replaced after a couple seasons of hard use!

What’s on your playlist right now?
I don’t really have a playlist going, but I’ve been listening to a lot of Matisyahu, Mos Dub, Rural Alberta Advantage, The Police, Band of Horses, Elite Force, Arctic Monkeys, Krafty Kuts, A-Skillz, Metallica, Decemberists, Radiohead, Pink Floyd, and always, ALWAYS, lots of Zeppelin!

  Look at things from a different perspective now and then. 

Required reading?
Shantaram stands out in my mind as one of the best books I’ve read in a long time, I have a few huge piles of random stuff I’ve picked up from the Re-Use-It Centre though.  Long winter nights are for reading time, summer not so much!

Morning beverage/meal?  Evening beverages?
– bagel, yogurt with granola and banana and strawberries, and a cup of tea.  A can of something cold at the pumptrack or a pint of frosty beverage at the GLC post bikepark goes down smooth too!

What is your favourite place to eat and have a drink in Whistler?
Hands down the GLC for apres action.  Great staff who ride, very laid back vibe.  Great atmosphere with everyone amped on their days riding, and they bring in lots of good dj’s and bands too.

You are becoming quite the handy lensman.  How did you catch that bug?
I’ve always had a bit of the photo bug in me, but the cost of processing film kind of stymied my progress.  a couple of, ummm, ‘interesting’ events led to me becoming more fully immersed into it.  On April 1 (no joke) of 2007 I was on one of my first rides of the year in Pemberton and my fork stanchions decided they’d had enough of their life and detached from the crown in one split second that changed my life.  Long story short, I ended up fracturing 3 vertebrae, my skull, and lost 100% of the hearing in my right ear.  Faced with the prospect of a fairly long recovery I had decided within days that it was time to get a digital slr camera and really get into it and told my best friend and parents about my plan.  Fast forward a couple of weeks and my amazing friends threw me a “Glad your not dead/paralyzed” party and with 30 people packed into my living room they presented me with a Nikon D80 camera.  I have the best friends ever!  This spring I decided it was time to up the ante after a couple of years honing my skills and bought myself a Canon 7d.  My friends believed in me enough to put me on the path, and I feel I owe it to them to push myself as far as I can with my photography.

  Sunset over Carpenter Lake

Do you bring your gear on most rides?  If so what do you carry?
It depends, I definitely bring it on rides where I think the opportunity to get a quality image exists.  I don’t really mind carrying the weight of a dslr, mostly because of the ability it gives me to get the image I want.  I tried using point and shoot digi cams and ended up nothing but frustrated with the results.  I’ll usually just take my body (Canon 7d) along with one lens suited to whatever I’m going to be shooting.

  Jeremy Schaab rips a fresh line down Oboe

What are you trying to capture about the ride?
More often than not my goal is to take the viewer to the place we’re riding, obvious I know.  Something very in the moment.  I’ve tended to be a very run and gun style shooter.  Take off down the trail a minute ahead of people, find something rad to shoot, get ready and fire away as my friends coming ripping through.  Jam the camera back in the pack and chase them down.  I like the feeling that kind of image evokes, the rider just out ripping a trail and having fun.  Sometimes in ‘staged’ shoots it can come across as rather clinical, all business, but when people are just out shredding and having fun it really comes through in the image.  I have a lot of friends who’ve had to leave Whistler for whatever reason, and I know that when I post my pics up on facebook, I’m taking them all to a place that they wish they could be.  To me it’s all about sharing the ride with those who couldn’t be there, but you wish could’ve been.

Do you have a dream shoot in mind? 
Deep Summer contest.

   Ever ride in places that make you feel small?  The Shulaps Traverse makes you feel very small.

Whose work do  you admire?
As obvious an answer as this probably is, Sterling has probably been an inspiration as long as I’ve been looking at mountain bike imagery.  Dan Barham has definitely worked his way in there too, and not just because I got to work with him last summer during the Deep Summer photo challenge!  I like working without flashes as much as humanly possible and really try to work the natural light and seeing how much Dan and Sterling do that has definitely influenced my own style.  I also really like Stephen Wilde’s work, it’s grainy and raw but really evokes a lot of emotion and feeling, I know it doesn’t work for everyone, but I’ve always appreciated it.  I also can’t get enough of Sven Martin and Gary Perkin right now, I don’t know that there’s anything I look forward to more throughout the summer than their coverage of the World Cups and other events.

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Now you know Todd.  Did you already know Todd?  Then you probably have something to add here…