Colin Tobin – Rider Profile

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Nickname: Little Shredder, Lil’ Shredzz, Chef

Hometown: Bellingham, WA

Age: 25

Birthplace: Olympia, WA

Favorite Trail: Shred City

Favorite place to ride? Big mountains

Favorite place to race? Arduum Challenge, in Mission BC (http://www.arduumchallenge.com/). If you have a clean run chainless you can have a pretty similar time as if you had a chain. Rocks, roots and very little dirt, that’s proper DH. You need to race it. I have really been liking longer DH races like the Garbanzo DH in Whistler and last year I did Psychosis in Golden, BC.  Two words: Dead Dog.

What sparked your interest in biking when you were young? I was riding so early I don’t even really remember. It was probably just my parents being cool knowing that I would like it; everyone likes bikes. I vividly remember the day when the training wheels came off and my mom would run behind me guiding my seat as I got up to speed.

When did you get into biking, and what form of biking was it? I have been riding bikes in one form or another as early as I could.  When I got more into riding I was in middle school, the movie Rad definitely got me stoked. I was interested in 20” bikes, and I started going to this sweet jump spot in Tumwater under some power lines and making friends. I can’t remember if the spot had a name but they had the tightest rhythm sections and racer style jumps, it was sweet man. Then my friend Bryce and I started building jumps at his farm developing several lines.

Have you had any serious injuries while under the influence of DH? Yeah this one time at Crankworx I woke up in……and………oh DH. Yeah, I’ve been pretty lucky in this regard. I have been riding DH for four years and have had my share of bumps and bruises. Most severe injuries have been shoulder-related. I separated my AC joint a few years ago and this spring I dislocated my shoulder.

How long did it take you to get back on the saddle? I started building lightly about a month after and was back on the bike in six weeks.

Who are your favorite Riders? The Plunder Crew, as well as friends new and old.

What events do you plan on attending or racing this season? As it’s late August, most of the racing is done for the season. Coming up in early September I am going to be doing the Red Bull Exodus mass start race. It starts from the top of Whistler Mountain descending to the village at the bottom, I’d be stoked if we get to shred some early season snow. Then I’m off to the final Fluidride cup race at Mt. Hood. I think we may have an underground chainless race as well.

What are the biggest Podiums thus far in your racing career? I won a semi-pro DH race at the second Fluidride cup last year in Port Angeles. It was kind of cool, coming out of nowhere. People were like “Who is this kid?” I couldn’t race expert out of the gate, so at the first race I had to do sport and placed 1st just ahead of my friend PB. I got upgraded and registered for expert at the next race. On race day, I go to check start times and I don’t see my name, I look at the semi-pro class and see my name and number. I thought what the hell, I may get my ass handed to me but I do get a seeding run, so why not?  I qualified 2nd, finished 1st. This year I trekked to Sol Vista in the summer to race Nationals and was able to bring home the Cat. 1 25-29 championship.

What is your philosophy on competing? Is it more metal or physical for you? Have fun and good things will follow. It’s mental I gues;, I haven’t done much in the way of physical training besides riding my DH bike and building trails.

Do any other sports influence your biking or style? I grew up Snowboarding and try to do that as much as possible when it’s deep. Wake skating is pretty good too, just slashing turns, popping ollies and just generally feeling loose. Turning is where it’s at, so anything you can carve really.

What other aspects of your life have been influenced by biking? I have really got into building and spend a lot of my time in the woods building the trails I like to ride. It’s what I do with my free time in the fall and spring, which is typically the shoulder season for snowboarding and biking. It’s probably a 60/40 split between building and riding respectively. Building trails is now so ingrained for me that I don’t see building and riding as different entities, they are one and the same now.

What is your biggest goal for this season? Next season? I would like to win the Cat 1 19-29 Fluidride cup overall but Tyler Gilsdorf is riding fast, so we’ll see.  Next season I will jump on up to pro, so this winter I intend to start training, increasing my fitness and muscle strength. I would also like to try and line up some sponsors and support, so I can throw my hat in the ring and give it a whirl with the big guns next year.

What do you do to occupy your time when you’re not on the bike, besides work? Build, cook, read, clean, eat, drink, sleep, party, laugh, dance, but not necessarily in that order.

Photos by Brad Walton, www.bradwaltonphoto.com