An Afternoon with Ben Cory

Ben Cory and I spent some time on a trail ride last week. Long-time Vital fans should need no introduction to Ben Cory, but for all the newbies, I'll fill you in as we go along. By Damian Breach

Ben hails from Canberra, Australia, and is a one-time Junior DH World Champion. But there is more to Ben than that distant title...

Ben is killer fast, killer cool (he'll hate me for saying that word), and likes killer beer...

If you took Ben away from his full-time job and placed him back on the World Cup circuit he'd still be at the top, no worries.

But that's not important to him anymore, as long as he gets to ride, push himself, still win a few faces and spend time with riding buddies he's happy.

He was 4th in the first round of the Aussie National series a few weeks ago against the likes of Troy Brosnan, Sam Hill and Jared Graves.

I spent a few hours one recent afternoon with Ben at Tuggers Pines in Canberra.

We ride our trail bikes most and they are what get us out into the wilderness to experience time away from the rest of the world.

Whilst it's getting cold on the top part of the globe, it's getting very hot down here in the south and the heat is drying the life out of the trails.

Keeping up with Ben on the trail is no easy task. He rides all his bikes the same...fast.

Knowing the nooks and crannies of the local trails means tucking around trees and obstacles while on auto-pilot.

As the days get even hotter all the colours will fade, the soil will get firmer and looser and any memory of traction is gone -- it's what makes riding so different in Australia.

Here's to a great afternoon, Ben. Stay tuned for more great rides...