6th Annual Chromag Show and Shine

Jul 4, 2011 at 19:57

The weekly gathering of bikers and their bikes on Thursday nights in Whistler has been a tradition for many years now. Anywhere from one hundred to over three hundred people will gather for some friendly racing, socializing, food and beers. Generally a mass start race that takes place on the stellar cross-country trails that litter the valley, the Twoonies showcase everything that makes mountain biking such a special lifestyle.

For twenty weeks the Twoonies happen with different people/companies sponsoring and organizing each race. It seems to be the same folks every year who host these events and a few of the races have developed quite a reputation, whether it is for the course, their after party, costumes or atmosphere.

One of the races that has developed a life of its own is the Chromag Show and Shine. Held in the southern extremity of Whistler, riders hit up some of the trails in the area. Usually it is designed by the great fellas at North Shore Billet with an emphasis on coming up with something that will be fun for all ability levels as well as being fast to allow a longer evening at the Chromag head quarters in Function Junction.


"Chromag owners seem to love their steel bikes, a lot. They tend to accessorize and pimp their rides out using various techniques. The Chromag Show and Shine was originally created to allow Chromagers to proudly show their bike in a gallery setting.

The competition has escalated over the years. Some Chromag owners have gone to great lengths and used tremendous effort in “shining” their Chromag Bike. What began four years ago as a simple bike wipe down after the ride has turned into sleepless nights of hand painting and custom anodizing. Anything goes! After last season’s outstanding winning effort, it will be interesting to see what is in store for this year's show and shine."-Chromag's Blog 2009

Unlike many of the Twoonies where the race is the feature of the night, the Show and Shine differs in that the race is merely the excuse for everyone to gather, drink beer and ogle all of the tricked out Chromag hardtails that are on display. Heck, many riders will actually opt out of the race just to make sure that their bike and its display is fully pimped out.


Going into its sixth year, the Show and Shine can definitely be considered a traditional race on WORCA's Twoonie schedule. Every year has seen an evolution of not just the company, but also the displays that riders come up with for their chromoly rigs. In years past the winners have had such varied themes as the surround sound speaker wall, a peep show, custom paint job with hand painted spoke nipples and a top end build kit that was displayed before it had ever been ridden.

Like a car show enthusiast, Chromag riders tend to be a strange lot. Meet a Chromag rider and you will usually be meeting someone who dances to a different drum. More often than not they have chosen a Chromag as their only bike. Something that has been designed, ridden and often handcrafted locally. A dependable steel frame that is simple and reliable. Unlike a lot of bikes on the market ,there is not usually a lot of flash on a Chromag, these are the blue collar, hard working bikes that see miles and miles of trail. But on the night of the Show and Shine they get all purdied up. The mud is actually washed off, frames are polished and accoutrements are added to give the bike and its presentation flare and pizzazz.


Most of the Twoonie race hosts hold their event on the same general date every year. Sometimes like the Summitsport crew it needs to be held before the park goes into extended play hours and others have tried to time it on the weather. Chromag's race has become the kick off (or occasionally the celebration) for the Canada Day weekend. And if you are a rider what better way to start a long weekend in what is arguably one of the world's biggest mountain bike meccas than with a party that celebrates bikes, riding and just living life. This year the Thursday fell on the 30th of June. One day before Canada Day and a stat holiday for many of the participants. Not only does this encourage folks to come out, but it also encourages them to party a little as many don't have to make their way into work on Friday.

June 21st is the official date for the start of summer. Here in Whistler it has been anything but. Temperatures have been down, snow still covers the mountains and rain is a common occurrence. The pattern did not deviate for the sixth annual Show and Shine. Rain throughout the day, but luckily for the riders it pretty much held off for the race. Whistlerites are a tough and determined lot and rain or shine they come out to participate every week. With three hundred plus riders on the start line at 6:30pm they were off.


Again Pete from NSB set the course which used a variety of trails in the Interpretive Forest area. This year was a little different as he threw in a couple more climbs and a couple of short tech sections that made the race a little longer and a little tougher, but overall it was still a course that all could enjoy.

Coming into the finish it was Neal Kindree in front. The Squamish local took a commanding win over local lung Matt Ryan. On the women's side it was Robin O'Neil who claimed first place. With the racing over everyone trickled across Hwy 99 to the Chromag headquarters for the main event of the evening.


It was a bike geek's dream as stand upon stand was filled with pimped out, shiny, steel hardtails. The crowd wandered around enjoying the beer from the Phillips Brewing Co. and food from Deep Powder Catering as they eyeballed all of the Chromags deciding who they would cast their vote for. There were Chromags of all shapes and sizes represented. Frames from the early days through to the most recent of Ian Ritz's designs, full on XC set ups, dirt jumpers and freeride oriented rigs. The common thread through all of the bikes on display is that they are ridden and loved by their owners. Unlike a car show where the vehicle only comes out to be polished up and trailered around, these bikes see regular trail use with many having tripped around the province and some the world. As an added bonus the Chromag crew had a VIP area that was only accessible to those who had entered a bike in the Show and Shine. With no cameras allowed the unspeakable acts that went on behind closed doors went on undocumented. The only thing heard was a comment from Chromag staff member and all around fat wheel shredder Julian Hine that, "we had a dope VIP room for Chromag owners that went really well and the people enjoyed it for sure."

Whatever happened in the VIP area stayed in the VIP area by the tight lipped Chromagers.


Nearing the end of the party/evening all of the votes were tallied up and the winners of the respective categories along with the overall winner was announced to those that lingered behind to make sure all of the kegs were tapped and dry. Taking top spot, first place was the man behind such classic races as The Samurai of Singletrack, The 4 Jacks/4 Queens and this summer's Betty vs. Veronica, none other than Tony Horn with the "Italian Stallion".


After a great night of riding bikes, looking at bikes, talking about bikes and drinking about bikes, everybody headed home with dreams of steel hardtails dancing through their heads and stoked for next week's Twoonie.

It is events like the WORCA Twoonie series and company's like Chromag that help gather everyone together for good times and help define our sport while stamping their footprint in the history of the fat tire culture. Cheers to everyone who made the night successful and here's looking at next year and the seventh Chromag Show and Shine.


6th Annual Show and Shine Winners:
1. The Italian Stallion-Tony Horn
2. Red Samurai-Zac Smith
3.Thelonius Monk-Seb Wild
4. My Precious-Caleb Jones
5. The Blue Pearl-Chris Addario