This week’s Ripper of the Week is BikerChick17, aka 18-year-old Melissa Marion from North Bay, Ontario. This girl kills it on a mountain bike, and if you check out her videos, I’m sure you’ll agree. Check out her profile HERE. Here’s a little bit more about Mel:
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Ok Mel, how the hell did you get so good at wheelies?
Haha,practice,practice,practice!!One day i felt like learning so i tried and got half a parking space.Tried again and got a full parking space. From there on i would wheelie where ever i went and now i can wheelie all over the place.Now im getting technical and trying one hander wheelies!

Direct Link --> http://www.rip.tv/video/view/4473

When did you start riding? Who got you into it?
I’ve been biking my entire life,hitting little curbs and trying jumps but it wasn’t until 4 years ago where i really started getting serious about biking.

As for who got me into it i can’t say anyone in particular but it was just my friends that started dirtjumping and i wanted to try and liked it,from there i would ride trails,street the skate park everywhere!

North Bay is pretty…well, north. What do you do during the winter when there’s snow everywhere?

Snowmobile!! When winter hits here i’m doing lots of skidooing, some ice fishing and when its too cold to go out i’m hanging out at the local bike shop!

What’s your favorite trick?
My favorite trick…besides the wheelie it would have to be no footers.There just plain fun!

Who’s your favorite pro?
Cam McCaul - He’s got amazing style
Darren Berrecloth - Versatile rider
Any Female DH rider - It’s awesome to see females really getting into the sport.

What are your plans for this season?
This season i plan on riding whenever i can.My biking season was cut short last year when i broke my collarbone riding so i have lots of making up to do! I want to work on my hops,get better in the trails, probly work on doing bigger drops and just improve as a rider all around.

How is it being a chick biker… are there others in North Bay or do you ride with guys mostly?
Well as for chick bikers here, there are none, I’m known around town as “the girl that catwalks” haha. I’m always biking with guys,but its fun cause i’m always improving, and the faces the guys make when i beat them at something …priceless!

How would you classify your riding? Downhill… freeride…?
I think my style is a little bit of everything.I do street,downhill,freeride pretty much everything with my Norco Six. But i’ll classify my riding as freeride because it basically means you do whatever you want where ever you want.

Any last words?
Just wanna say thanks for choosing me! For any girls reading this,get out there and ride!We need more female rippers out there!

Check out Mel’s profile HERE for more clips of her riding and more photos!

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Sombrio Cartel celebrates its 10 year anniversary with the launch of its 2008 apparel collection - plus a refreshed website and several new product offerings. Check out the new website at www.sombriocartel.com
Highlights include the limited edition Decade Collection that celebrates their 10 year milestone, the new Raw Collection, designed for the eco-conscious riders, and the new Epik Collection featuring designs specific for long rides deep into the hills.

The 2008 Sombrio Girl collection receives a makeover with new styles, refreshed designs, colors, and an all new website to match. This new site also features the Sombrio Girl team, online shopping, and dealer information. View the new Sombrio Girl site at www.sombriogirl.com
Sombrio also introduces a new standalone Happenings website where you can keep up to date with Sombrio news, photos, and team riders. The site features its own RSS feed so be sure to subscribe and receive all the latest info on Sombrio Cartel, Sombrio Girl, Team updates, news and events as they happen. Visit the new Sombrio Happenings site at www.sombriohappenings.com/blog

About Sombrio:

Sombrio sponsored riders include: Geoff Gulevich, Jordie Lunn, Greg Watts, Ryan Berrecloth, Kamil Tatarkovic, Andreas Hestler, Steve Romaniuk, Claire Buchar and Kathy Pruitt. Sombrio clothing, gear and accessories are available in stores worldwide or online at: www.sombriocartel.com & www.sombriogirl.com

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Yes, you read correctly. The Catholic Church, in an effort to increase their “hipness”, have decided to hold a contest for the upcoming visit to New York City by the Pope. The winner will get his design on a skateboard, which will be given to Pope Benedict XVI upon his arrival to the Big Apple. Is he too old to kickflip?

Fr. Peter Pomposello of St. Elizabeth’s in Washington Heights told New York magazine NY1: “The Holy Father talks about meeting people where they’re at within their culture - and skateboarding is the culture of the time for today’s teenagers. With iPods and text messaging - skateboards are their thing.”
Apparently if you own an iPod and use text messaging, by default you also skateboard. The logic here is quite clear.
Anyways, if your skateboard design is chosen for His Holiness, you will receive three tickets to a youth rally, where the board will be presented. Replicas will be sold online for Catholic charities.

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