05/17/2008

Dangerous Dan Interview Part II ( For Part I click here)

Dan, along with Tyler Klassen and EricBurgon, recently went to Germany to put on a Flow show. They were enlisted to fly there, create some of their signature stunts and then ride them at a festival. During the show Dan lost his balance and fell from a 16 foot high skinny - onto concrete. Dan was done for the day but he managed to escape serious injury. This was not simply luck. Dan prepares for these instances by going to the gym 4 times a week year round. He is built more like a Greco Roman wrestler than your average freerider and it is this preparation that allows him to withstand falls that would hospitalize the rest of us.

There is no doubt that Dan is a gifted athlete (although he denies it) - but it is his other attributes that have allowed him to stay at the top of the heap for so long. He is tenacious, incredibly energetic and never satisfied. Every time you look around he has something new and amazing on the go. It may be a new series of stunts on one of his trails or for the flow show, a new film project or a goal to improve his best time for a sequence of trails but there never seems to be a moment when Dan is resting on his laurels.

You would assume there would be a limit - some set of circumstances that would lead Dan to lay down his tools. Dan's oncologist would dispute that. While receiving Chemo treatments dan was building what we now know as the circus.

Cam McRae

 

Photo Sterling Lorence

Dan -There was. I went away to Sweden. And then there was that whole thing with the tumour and everything. Nsmb -Would you mind talking about that? Dan - No I don't mind. It's over right - touch wood. I was going to be teaching Internationally. It was a struggle being in Sweden for 4 months because all I missed was mountain biking. Vancouver's a great city and I like it and I have my family and friends here but I was looking for something else and the main thing I missed was mountain biking. That was when I made my webpage. I could see the shore growing on the internet and people were posting about my trails and how the North Shore was so "cool" because of trails like the Reaper so back then I didn't think about trail closures but I wanted credit.

Dan -Yeah I remember thinking I want a piece of the action. Especially with films and photographs in magazines. They were taking photos and coming up here and hearing about the gnarly North Shore.

Nsmb -And you were at the centre of it all but you were away?

Dan -Actually I initiated the craze. I remember because I read an article in bike magazine about the gnarly Kamloops riders and they had a picture of Brett Tippie, Richey Schley and Dave Swetland I think it was, or maybe Chris Thomas. And they had these biographies and these were the "gnarly Canadians" and the article was sort of "extreme freeride Kamloops" and I emailed bike magazine saying -I've got a copy of it at home I should show it to you.

I told them you should come out to the North Shore and told them about the Reaper Bridge basically and I said you gotta come up here and check this all out. They did come up and check it out but I wasn't here and all the pictures pretty much were Walk in The Clouds and the editorial was really talking about that trail because that's what he saw right? What were we talking about?

Nsmb -You were going to start talking about your tumour.

Dan -That's right. I came back for a Christmas break and I was all prepared to go back to Sweden and I was looking at teaching in Istanbul the next year. Then I had a pain in a place where a pain shouldn't be. It was a quick thing really. I went to the doctor and they said "you got something there." And if you're a guy and you've got something there you don't screw around. It's not a matter of humming and hawing about it you get it out of there. Because it's a rapid growing cancer.

The chemo doctor said if it had been 2 weeks later I would have been dead because it doesn't linger. So they got that out of there and then they do a test and take blood samples and the chemo doctor and he told me it had spread to the lymph nodes in my back and a little bit into my spine and a little bit in my lung which scared me because I smoked for years.

The guy who treated me was unreal. He sat me down and said this is the way it's going to go. You've got to do this and go through four cycles (of chemo) with one week on and two weeks off. It was a set procedure and with that kind of cancer they can fire you full of lots of chemicals because you are young and healthy. So I was faced with this situation where I am going to go through this -what can you do? Life becomes so simple. Everybody thinks it's a bad thing but I was lucky because I had support from my family and friends and everybody was super supportive. If you didn't have that maybe it would have been a different situation.

Nsmb - So would you say you dealt with it pretty well because of all those factors?

Dan -Yeah. I was able to cope quite well and I was in really good shape before it happened. When I was in Sweden I was jogging and lifting weights and riding the bike because I didn't have anything else to do there right? I had just started to meet people. So when I came home I had all this time on my hands and I had always wanted to build a trail...

Nsmb -So this was after you had gone through your treatment?

Dan - No before I had even gone through my treatment. I knew I was going into treatment. And that is when the nsmba started up. I remember going to the first meeting. A Walk In The Clouds ended. I built A Walk In The Clouds so I could hook it up with Upper Oilcan because I loved Upper Oilcan so I knew there was a line between Upper Oilcan and Pile Of Rocks. So I thought I am here now indefinately - I don't know how long this is going to be and I'm not going back to Sweden so I may as well take advantage of this time off.

Nsmb - You weren't going to be able to teach.

Dan - Yeah, I'm not going to be able to work. And so I'm in good shape. I didn't want to lose my physique. I was in the best shape of my life and I wanted to maintain that. So I went up to scope the Circus. I found the logs and especially the last log which is called the Inter Venous.

Nsmb - The I.V. logs.

Dan - Yeah.

Nsmb -Did you call them the IV logs because of what was happening with your treatment at that point?

Dan -Originally the trail was going to be called - this is the way I looked at the whole situation - the Tumour. (laughs) Some people thought it was a bad joke but I didn't look at it that way.

Nsmb -It's kind of a positive spin on it actually.

Dan -Exactly. One of the main reasons why I was able to build the trail was because I had a tumour inside of me. I'd go up there every day. I remember one day I hiked up there - it was hilarious...

Nsmb -Was that after Digger had scoped the final rock to the road? He did that didn't he?

Dan -That's right. Digger scoped that rock so I knew there was a wicked ending to the trail. Which is always something to look for. You always look for a really awesome beginning and ending and hopefully you'll find good stuff in between. He found that rock I hiked up and saw the IV log and hiked up further and saw another log and said "wow." Even before I saw anything else I knew it was going to be some epics.

Nsmb -So that was your rehab in some ways.

Dan -Totally.

Nsmb -And you were able to build while you were getting chemo treatments?

Dan - Oh Yeah. I remember being up there. I would get up there at 9 and build until 1 pm.

Nsmb -Did you ride up or hike up?

Dan - I usually hiked up. I found if I rode up I would be too tired to ride down after building and plus going through chemo you don't want to wipe out or anything because you've got low platelets.

Nsmb -White blood cells -is that it?

Dan -I think so. I remember being up there and thinking "okay it's 12:30 and I've got to be downtown at the chemo office at 1:30."

Nsmb -Did you have chemo everyday?

Dan - I can't remember. It would be a week on so you would go every day and then the following week I would have to go once -just Tuesday. So it would be everyday one week and then just Tuesday the next.

Nsmb - What was it like for you? Did you just dread the weeks on or was it not too bad? Did you have a lot of side effects?

Dan -I had nausea and drowsiness and I would go to the gym as well. Your energy level just comes right down.

Nsmb - Did the Doctors know you were up there building?

Dan -There was a going joke in the chemo rooms because other people in the ward were telling the doctor that they wanted what I was getting. "What are you giving this guy over here?" (laughs a big Dan laugh)

Nsmb -So did it really help you having that focus?

Dan -Oh totally. Sometimes when I didn't have time to head up to the Circus I would scoot up to the Reaper so it got totally upgraded at the same time.

Nsmb - It was a good time for Mountain biking on the Shore.

Dan -I got a lot of stuff done.

Nsmb -How long were your chemo treatments?

Dan -I think it was 4 cycles so it was 8 weeks. And then I had a month off and then I had the operation. Nsmb -And they removed tumours? Dan -Yeah they opened me up. Nsmb -That's where you got your big scar. Dan -That's right and that put me out for another 2 months. Nsmb -And you couldn't build?

Photo - Todd Fiander

Dan - Actually I remember being down there 2 weeks after that. I think I still had staples in my gut. I could barely walk but it was painful and I was down there fixing the diving board which I built before I had the operation. After I got out one of the first things I heard about was that the trail Nazi had been at the diving board and ripped it all apart. That bastard - just the thought of him makes me .. GRRRRRRR. Anyways I remember being so pissed off and it took me about 4 hours but I rebuilt the whole thing.

Nsmb -And this was when you were really sick.

Dan -I was just out of hospital. It hurt to build - I built it up beefier than it was before. That was the last time he wrecked that stunt. But then the chainsaws got it.

Nsmb -So how does this fit into Digger's filming. I remember in NSX 1 you still have long hair.

Dan -He started that before I had even gone away anywhere.

Nsmb - So that was filmed over a long period of time.

Dan - And then NSX 2 has some pictures where I am bald. I started riding right after chemo and then I had to wait a little bit and then went right back to riding.

Nsmb - Were you feeling pretty good?

Dan - I was actually.

Nsmb -So did you have any treatments after the operation?

Dan - No it was all done.

Nsmb - That's awesome. And what did the Doctors say about your recovery? Were they surprised or was it expected?

Dan - I was a poster child. The doctor really liked working with me. Although he did worry about what I was doing on the bike but he was pretty confident. There were a couple of other guys being treated at the same time. One volleyball player who was a national team player - he was huge 6'6" - and he was having problems with throwing up all the time. And he wasn't as fit as I was and if you are fit it seems to cycle through your system more quickly or something.

Nsmb -So your prognosis all along was good? Because they caught it early?

Dan - I remember them throwing numbers around like 60% or 70% but that was when something wasn't looking good but basically it was in the 90th percentile. A 90% chance that I was going to come away clean and live a normal life.

Nsmb - And a lot of that was to do with the fact that you were healthy and fit and had a good attitude?

Dan -And to do with the type of cancer as well. If you catch it quickly it is a good cancer?

Nsmb -And what type of cancer was it? If you don't mind saying?

Dan - It was testicular.

Nsmb - Same as Lance Armstrong.

Dan -Yeah -I keep on meaning to email him. I wonder if Lance would know who I am?

Nsmb - Lance had it worse as well -it went into his brain. Alright -back to riding. One of the things I notice that pushes the sport and has it progress is the videos. Partially because of the Kodak courage factor but also because of filmers like Digger looking for bigger lines and more impressive stunts. The whole one upmanship thing.

Dan -That all started with Digger running around the woods which I guess he still does. Way back when before Digger even did his videos he got this video camera and he would be just like kids today. He'd film and we'd go back to the bike shop and watch it at On Top. We'd watch it and giggle and talk about doing a video but Digger actually went out and did it. We used to watch everything we did afterwards but now I never see anything I am in until it comes out.

Nsmb -Because Digger is busy putting it together?

Dan -And he has so much of it - I could go over to his house and watch the raw footage. I don't film to see myself. I almost enjoy it because you are doing the big moves over and over again and you get to practice them. It's kind of fun. It actually reminds me of playing in a rock band which I have done for 15 years.

Nsmb -Really? What do you play?

Dan - Guitar. I competed in Guitar wars. Have you lived in Vancouver for a long time? Do you remember the Metro?

Nsmb - Yep. Right on Georgia by Bayshore bikes. What was your band called?

Dan -The Binge. We were good. We weren't a hacker band by any means. So I was into performing in front of people so it was a natural progression with the video thing.

Nsmb - So Digger was shooting film but not really doing much with it. It seems to me the common thread through the videos more than anything is seeing where the edge is being pushed. For NSX 1 it was like "this is what Dan is doing now and this is what the edge of the envelope can be measured by." Was that conscious?

Dan - No. We were just filming what we were doing. It's interesting if you compare them. I haven't watched NSX 1 for a long time.

Nsmb - I have actually. You can tell that Tune and Digger were having a lot of fun when they were doing it.

Dan - In the last one jumping off the Pink Starfish Rock - I remember I had a weird revelation about that because I remember Digger told me about it and I went and looked at it. I don't think I had my bike with me that day and it was Dark and I remember thinking "biking has come a long way." I was thinking to myself if during NSX 1 I had been riding along and I had seen somebody up there with their bike I would not have believed it.

Nsmb - And to what do you attribute that rapid progression? Is it technology or riders getting better?

Dan - I attribute it to everyone pushing each other's limits. And the more people you have in the sport Ð it's growing so rapidly that it is only inevitable that people will be jumping off 20 foot rock faces. And I'm lucky because I have been in it for so long that I have been at the edge up until now. At some point I am going to have to back down. With all the young guys coming into the sport nowadays it makes me wonder.

Nsmb -But at the same time they are starting off on full suspension bikes.

Dan - Starting on a VPS with Monster T's.

Nsmb -I have never seen any footage of you on a really big travel bike.

Dan - If you are doing a big drop you need the transition so theoretically you should be able to do it on a hardtail. If you are landing properly. And I like to ride up as well as down and in my old age (laughs) I'm almost 30 now - I am trying to focus on being physically fit. So I want to have a bike that I can ride around everywhere. Mind you my bike without all the long travel stuff is still around 40 lbs. I ride with heavy everything because it has to be able to take the pounding. Now if you're like that Bender guy - have you heard about him (I hadn't at that point) - Joshua Bender has pulled off a 40 footer or 50 footer. Whatever it's huge. Dave Westerlund has it on film (for New World Disorder). Well he's on a 13 inch travel bike. Nsmb -So for that you want a big travel bike.

Photo - Todd Fiander

Dan -With 6 and 6 I've had no problems with what I've done so far. Although on that British properties drop I went through the whole travel. I think that is one of the reasons I crashed those times because I cracked my frame and I talked to Tony Ellsworth and he said that that happens because you go through all your travel and your bike wants to bend but it can't bend and it kind of kinks. And my suspension since then has been blown. I have to get one of those vanillas - they are the best.

I think everybody coming into the sport -especially the young kids -if you've got balance and balls you can progress quickly. There is this 14 year old kid Fraser - you know the rock at the bottom of ladies? (now called the scapulator) He did that on a hardtail. That's where it's going and technology is allowing it to happen.

Nsmb - I'd like to change pace here a little. What do you think your strengths are as a trail builder?

Dan -I think my experience helps and I am good with my hands -not a gifted carpenter but -I just finished building my own bed. I know how things go together. It's also being able to scope lines. I have a good work ethic. When I put my mind to something I tend to get it done. More so than the average person and a lot of people say they are going to build a trail. They have this great fun idea about building the trail and they spend 20 hours doing it and they realize that it's work and it takes a long time. I know what it takes and how long it takes.

Nsmb - So scoping lines?

Dan - Well - you've got to be able to see the line. It's one thing to say "I'd like to build a ladder bridge off that rock and down to that rock over there" and it's another to be able to do it. You may have a good idea but you need to be able to execute it. There are a billion good ideas but it's a matter of applying them.

Nsmb - You're a math and physics teacher -does that help?

Dan - I think it does for sure. I don't do any calculations but I know, for example to use triangles in my construction. It isn't rocket science. All you need to do is go and look at something that is done properly and correctly. That's how I do it. I looked at train bridges.

Nsmb - Being observant. What about your strengths as a rider?

Dan - One thing is experience. When I played hockey and I was one of the better players and in Lacrosse I was the top scorer in the league for a couple of years. I'm generally fairly athletic. I am not a gifted athlete - I work hard for what I have. I think I've gotten to where I have today, why I can ride at the level I do is because I am in shape. I go to the gym all the time.

Nsmb - Every day?

Dan -Not everyday but 4 times a week. I have routines and programs that I have designed myself.

Nsmb -Tailor made to mountain biking?

Dan - Not really. It's tailor made to what I need. I am out right not because of my shoulder and I'll be out for a couple of weeks but most people would be out for the whole summer. I hit so hard. It's preparation. I am constantly preparing myself because as you get older you want to make sure you take care of yourself. I can't just get up and shake it off like I used to.

Nsmb -That's a smart approach.

Dan -And another thing that separates me from a lot of people is having the mental focus and the will. People comment on my will to ride. That is a big thing because when you are on a skinny little plank 10 feet in the air - it is a bit about balance - but if you have reasonable balance most people can ride their bike on a 5 inch plank 2 feet off the ground. I have seen it. When I ride with groups a lot of times it seems that people have better balance than me on the low stuff. They are more smooth and straight. As soon as you take it higher in the air it becomes your will to stay on. I think that's an area where I have excelled.

Nsmb -You are really good at focussing? Believing you can do it.

Dan - Going with the flow. That's what I always say "feel the flow Luke."

Watch out for the final installment in a couple of weeks. You will not have to wait this long next time.

cam@nsmb.com