Red Bulls Fight With Flight!!!!

I think the only thing to see here is "What a day!!".

We awoke at about 8am (not sure why), as we started to hype the contest before it even began. We fixed my piece of garbage bike (someone sponsor me please), then we took our turns showering and packed our multiple outfits for the day!

This blog is going to be slightly half-ass as it is almost 1am, I am tired, and have a 14 hour drive to conquer tomorrow...So we will re-hash what I say here in the next few days and make sure we mention all the names that I miss here.

First off, the am riders...Awesome. I think Prasheel and I both loved Danielle (mini-Matthias) the most. His strange array of trickery was awesome and fun to watch! We hope to see more from you asap! Next, Brysaiah...We have seen quite a bit of Bryan Huffman and Isaiah Jordan in the past year it seems, and its always a privilege. Bryan is always dominating rolling and spinning tricks, back and front wheel, and those 360 flips at the end of the day, I expect those next time we see you! Isaiah...There's no need for an explanation here, but I'll give one anyways. Your riding speaks for itself, and how much you push those around you, is awesome, whenever we're blessed with Brysaiah's presence we get very motivated...The last session of the day was so much fun!

Brant Hughes was teamed up with Isaiah (amazing team!), and he was killing the back wheel...Spinning deathtrucks...Yikes! Andrew and Chad clearly had some nice stuff making it into the final battle, including weird barflip switches and strange stubble ducks that I don't really understand still.

I was paired up with Lee "Huck" Edwards, and was stoked when I found out (unfortunately I suck and didn't land anything in the finals, plus we got stuck against Isaiah who decided to land everything in the battle against us...Frig...). Lee was rolling around the entire area, and his hang 5 turbine scuff-thingy-ma-jiggers were DIALED! See you in a few weeks hopefully!

Avram was paired with Prasheel, and he is definitely an up-and-comer. Prasheel unfortunately ruined it for him in their last battle, while Avram did some halfpacker whip around thingy that was pretty darn impressive.

Okay, I know I'm missing some beginners, but I've had some drinks, and this blog is taking far too long...So onto the pros!

Aaron Frost! I have never seen a man look so angry while doing tricks, and be so bloody hilarious off his bike. He's a great rider, but really, he's an even more hilarious dude, definitely be ready for that train in two weeks!
Andy Cooper is an awesome guy, down to earth, and kept lying to Prasheel and I telling us we're good at biking because he's just such a nice guy! His riding, is awesome, I can't even explain his style, its definitely not your standard pro rider, you have to see it to believe it. I noticed he runs a front brake, I didn't see him ever touch it though, not even fingers on the brake lever! Props to him and his riding!
Justin Miller...You all know him...Everyone is convinced he is a machine...Wait until you see his new stuff...I refuse to give away what we think he was trying...But wow...WOW. He was not in the final battle, but if he would've hit it, I would've demanded they give him first place anyways. His 360 flips everywhere are insanity. His last link of the contest (not his last trick) was one of the best links I've seen to date in the flatland world, and he did it in contest...Justin Miller, if you by chance read this, you are amazing, your riding is so damn good, even known as one of the best riders in the World, you are underrated.
Dane Beardsley, DIALED DIALED DIALED. Your impossible pivots on the back wheel are not logical, your front wheel business is silly! You are too smooth. We don't like you! And you are ridiculously dreamy...I've shown pictures of you to girls, and they agree.
Matt Wilhelm...You claimed you were going to be falling all weekend...You, sir, are a liar. The girls loved your spinning trickery this weekend! Understandable of course, Pralex also loved it! You're a machine.
Terry Adams. You are Terry Adams, it would be silly of me to describe your riding, the World knows your riding. Instead, you will soon have a blog about you on here, and how awesome you are. See you in Toronto, haha.

Now Pralex team was totally bunk in the contest (we're actually always bunk), but we still had a great time...For about ten seconds I was disappointed in my riding in the finals, then I instantly got over after slamming 3 Red Bulls and watching the pro insanity.

Results:
Am-Isaiah Jordan and Brant Hughes in first!
Pro: 1 - Terry Adams, 2 - Matt Wilhelm, 3 - Dane Beardsley

Okay, I need to go to bed...We will blog more later about the contest...And post some video and pictures of course. See Texas in two weeks! Can't wait! Big ups to Jake, Red Bull, and Scott O!

Goodnight for now!
Pralex out! We had so much this weekend here, thanks to everyone who showed up. North America was awesomely represented at this event! Good to see we're still alive and kicking!

Fight With Flight Pre-Jam

It's Saturday morning and Pralex team is ecstatic for the contest today while we nurse our wounds/hang-overs from the pre-jam and after party at Denny's (which isn't licensed?!). After arriving last night about an hour into the jam, it was already well under way with lots of riders from all over the States riding hard.

Lots of riders continued showing up as time went on, Aaron Frost was riding hard the entire time, along with Andy Cooper, 'Team Bryzaiah', Tony Schniedwind, Steve Mulder, Ron Monis, Matt Wilhelm, and plenty of others with a short show of Terry Adams hitting everything.

Lots of video cameras were out, along with lots of photos being taken. If you didn't bother making an attempt to come out be patient about video/photo! Hopefully we see even more new faces today at the contest, and we'll report back soon. If you haven't met us before, come up and say hello!

P.S. Some riders brought rather attractive girly friends to look at in between riding.

P.P.S. Look forward to seeing Team Bryzaiah in the finals!

Red Bull Fight with Flight

Tomorrow we begin our roadtrip to Indianapolis, IN, USA for the Red Bull 'Fight with Flight' contest being held by "IndyJake" and some of the other Indianapolis scene. Pro riders Matt Wilhelm, Terry Adams, Andy Cooper and Aaron Frost will be in attendance, along with some rumoured other pros making the journey to the American Midwest.

The Am team comp prize is your weight in Red Bull...Now, I don't know about anyone else, but this is the best news I've ever heard. Whenever an event is sponsored by Red Bull, I get really excited, not only does Red Bull always do a great job, but Red Bull girls handing me Red Bull throughout the day is pure awesome.

Anyways, I now leave you with a little Pralex Promo video, see you in Indianapolis!


Pralex Promo Vid from Pralex Gorier on Vimeo.

Bunkness up in the Pralex HQ!

So turns out I have a torn LCL...This being Alex of course...Not to sure how bad it is yet, going to get another doctors opinion on it later this week. Maybe look into physiotherapy if this pain continues...I'll still be riding in Indianapolis (can't let Prasheel break my win streak over him), although I probably won't push myself as much as I normally would. At least that's what I'm telling myself now, once I get on my bike I'm sure I'll be going as hard as ever, haha. Here's some random information if you feel like reading about torn LCL's.

I'm hoping for a quick and swift recovery, it's not going to well right now though, haha.

Alex.

"Half of the game too lazy
Still sleepin' on me but I'm bout to wake em
Yep! I'm bout to take em to New Orleans and bake em
Yeah it's hot down here take a walk with Satan yeah"

So, this year's Voodoo Jam has been announced, and will be taking place on August 1st, 2009, in New Orleans, Louisiana (Lilweezyana). For those of you that don't know what Voodoo Jam is, it is the largest and most successful flatland event in North America. Furthermore, this year's Voodoo is also the last stop for the Flatland World Circuit, meaning that it will probably be the biggest Voodoo in its history.

Last year, I had the pleasure of experiencing my first Voodoo Jam, and loved every moment of it. From the drive to Buffalo to catch our flight, Friday night's prejam, waking up early to watch the beginner comp, getting (mildly) intoxicated the moment I didn't qualify for finals and watching Al kill it, every second of the pro finals, to my foggy memory of Bourbon St celebrations that night, it was unbelievable.

My trip to New Orleans was actually my first time traveling outside of Ontario and Quebec for the purpose of a contest, and my first time flying with my bike, but more importantly, my first time road tripping with Alex. We started a week in advance, heading to the North Coast Flatland Battle in Cleveland, Ohio (congrats Alex!) the weekend before, then heading to the Poirier residence in Petrolia for a few days, before meeting up with Adam in Hamilton and heading to NO with him. For better or worse, that trip essentially created Pralex.

I'd like to personally thank Scott O Brian, Bryan Ryback, as well as every other event organizer and supporter for all the jams and contests we've gone to this summer. If it wasn't for you guys, this blog might not exist. With that said, I'll leave you with a short clip of some footage of Alex and I at Voodoo last year. Enjoy, and hope to see you all in NO on August 1st!

Pralex goes to Voodoo Jam 2008 from Pralex Gorier on Vimeo.

Prasheel

Andrew Wylie's Debut!

Alex Poirier and Team Rider Andrew Wylie from Pralex Gorier on Vimeo.

Here's a little debut of Andrew's riding, along with a short clip of me. Just wait to see the new things Prasheel, Andrew, and myself have in store...

Pralex out!

Pralex Past, Pralex Future!

Pralex Roots... from Pralex Gorier on Vimeo.

This is to keep you occupied until Prasheel gets off his lazy ass and gets to his underground to film some new links. This is an older video I sort of re-hashed, if you've seen it, it's nothing new, if not, check it out! This is from the best flatland spot in North America. Riding there for one hour and we both felt incredible amounts of progression.

In other news, I (Alex), currently have a ridiculously bunk knee. Not to sure if it's serious or not (hoping I haven't torn my ACL), but I'll keep updated on that later in this week if I hit up the clinic here in Ottawa.

Last but not least, Indy is just over a week away, and Pralex is more then stoked! Prasheel, Andy and I will be there in full force, and we believe we'll once again be bringing our awesome photographer Dylan Leeder. With pro's Terry Adams, and Matt Wilhelm already signed up, it's bound to be an awesome weekend. See everyone there!

Pralex out!

Zero Degrees of Flat: Chicken Soup for the Flatlander's Soul

Hello from Whitby! from Pralex Gorier on Vimeo.

Zero Degrees of Flat: Chicken Soup for the Flatlander's Soul

First, a huge thank you needs to go out to all those that were responsible for and helped out with the event. Black Pony is a name that the Ontario flatland scene (or whatever's left of it) is starting to hear more of these days. Despite being a small shop in a small town (Oshawa), they are doing everything they can to gain the support of our scene, and doing a pretty good job may I add. After being the main sponsor for last year's Flatland Unlimited contest at the Toronto International Bike Show, they've gone ahead and organized their own flatland event for us (and will also be returning as FU's main sponsor this year!).

Now, I'm not sure if it's just me, but the concept for this jam-turned-contest is something I have wet dreams over in the winter. After dealing with unbelievably cold temperatures and too many feets of snow, being given a perfect oppurtunity to get together with old friends, ride indoors, possibly enjoy an adult style beverage or two, and party is more than perfect escape from the winter blues. For their first attempt at organizing event, everything went off really smoothly. Despite the location being a little cramped, and a little slippery (both of which were basically known at the onset), there was just such an amazing, fun, and encouraging vibe to the whole evening.

The event officially started off at 7pm, and riders headed to the 'dance' floor, taking turns one at a time brushing off the cob-webs formed over the winter months. A large variety of skill levels were present, but it didn't stop anyone from sneaking in their turn to throw down a trick or two in front of the large, and possibly quite intoxicated, crowd of on-lookers. With the help of the Red Bull girls (and bar staff), rider's maintained energy levels and enthusiasm all throughout practice, which only ended at 12am, in time for the midnight battle.

The battle got pretty heated, which made it a little difficult at times to sneak in your turn, but that only goes to show the enthusiasm on the floor, as everyone wanted their chance to show and prove by putting down their best tricks to wow the crowd (who,at the end, selected the winner by applause). Throughout the whole night, the crowd was able to witness lots of amazing riding by guys from all over Ontario, each possessing their own individual style.

Tall Paul progresses so much every time I get to see him. Lots of neat fire hydrant and halfpacker switches, and an incredibly difficult spinning cliffhanger varial/barflip. Lachlan Cameron was spinning up a storm on both front and back wheels, and even showed off his signature 'hat trick' to the drunken audience, who inevitably went nuts. Brother Dougald Cameron, despite not having any cranks, tried to go back in time with a large variety of time machine variations. Maza Kadri was there with even more insane rolling positions and switches. This guy is, in my opinion, the most unique and creative, yet still flowy, rider in North America. Big ups to him and his constant progression! Pralex team rider Andrew Wylie, although a little rusty, showed everyone how to pinky squeak, and turbine steamrollers and hang 5s, all in a tiny spot. Other riders that threw down all evening include Dmitry, Eugene Andrewsomething, Brandon Fenton, and Addison (Pralex graphic designer).

Despite showcasing extreme terribleness at biking and life, Alex Poirier (Pralex's better half) showed everyone present why it is we love him so much. A pair of pants that are beyond ridiculous, and some new Stereo Panda gear that made him look oh so good (SP, holla at your boy!), and lots of high speed spinning to brutal bails earned this rider another first place finish and a new St Martin X26 stem!

Thanks again to all those involved and those that showed up. If you were able to make it out and didn't, shame on you. Although the year just started, this is by far the best event so far, and will be hard to top (but you know us, we'll try hard to travel and find out). Keep your eyes open on here, Global Flat, and facebook for photos and video. Pralex photographer, Dylan Leeder, shot over 800 on our one night trip to Whitby, so stay tuned.

Here is Dylan Leeder's Flickr page full of other amazing shots, plus one of Alex, stay tuned there for more updates and amazing shots by him.

WHITBY! ZERO DEGREES OF FLAT!

This weekend is the arrival of 2009's first event, and what an event to open the New Year! Prasheel, Andy, and Alex are heading down, possibly with Mike Lubenski of Montreal, along with a professional photographer to capture the event. We'll be sure to update the next day with photos, and a write up of what went down, results, and any other stories that go along with. The contest is taking place at a bar, so I'm sure there will be some interesting stories.
Along with the contest, an after party will be occuring at the hotel we're staying at in which riders (and girls of course) are invited to come get even more drunk with us, until the early hours of the morning.
Get ready for some awesome updates with footage, photos, and write ups in the next few weeks with contest season kicking off nice and early!

PRALEX! PRALEX! PRALEX!

Prasheel and I have been throwing around the idea of starting up a website for awhile. Then ASC (Action Sports Coalition) approached us with an idea for helping us keep their site updated with a BMX freestyle section that we would run. The site has been in the works for awhile now, and until then, we'll run our adventures (and any kind of news we find pertinent) through here.

First and foremost, a little update with what we've been up to, and what's to come! With it being Winter and all, I'll be honest, I haven't touched my bicycle in ages! I think it's been over two months now, riding in the fall just tuckered me out I guess, and now Winter pretty much will not allow me to even think about going riding with the snow and cold we got going on up here in Ottawa. So pretty much all I've been doing is school and drinking my face off. Prasheel on the other hand has been hitting his underground on a semi-regular basis, progressing far to fast and I'm actually worried that he's going to beat me at every contest this year...Oh well, haha. Here's a video if you haven't seen it yet of what he's been working on:



We have a big couple months ahead of us, considering it's still Winter, but this weekend coming up on January 17th we have Zero Degrees of Flat in Whitby, ON hosted by Black Pony BMX inside of a bar! It will be an amazing time, as riders from Ontario gather to escape the cold, drink some beer, and ride hard!

Next on the list, is Fight with Flight, inside of an airplane hanger! This is taking place in Indianapolis, Indiana on January 31st with a jam on January 30th. The floor is said to have an amazing surface, and the event is heavily sponsored by Red Bull and The Byke Project, check out the flyer here: http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v486/flat187/flight.gif

Lastly, we have Flatland Unlimited 5 taking place in Toronto, Ontario on March 13th-15th. For more details check out www.cfobmx.ca as registration should be posted shortly. Some big names that should be there include: Shintaro Misawa, Matthias Dandois, Brandon Fenton, Cory Festor, and many more big names will be there as always!! This will definitely be a year you can't miss if you have in the past. Most likely we'll be crashing at www.grangehotel.com as usual, get ready to party!!! And ride a little bit I guess!

Also, I'd like to note that Prasheel, Addison and I are trekking to Austin, Texas from February 14th to the 21st, it is going to be a wild roadtrip, and we'll make sure to post pictures and updates as we make our way there, and back!

Well I think that's enough news for now, Prasheel and I will update this on a regular basis hopefully with riding videos, contest write-ups, roadtrip photos and anything else that we do that we deem ridiculous enough to put up here!

Peace for now,
Pralex out!