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their new tricks, the thoughts of my ankle began to fade.

Some Friday highlights included Percy Marshall dressing in a muscle suit, and sometimes riding without shoes… all while learning Vander-rolls. (More on this later) Tyler Gilliard has been putting in a lot of time on his bike, and it shows. Tyler was killin’ the freshly mopped floor with front wheel madness, and whoppers (not just for lunch) but all day long. Joe Cicman was dropping Jaffa whips in both directions, and Dub was showing off one of his new moves called the Fork Lift. (Feet-on-pedals and hands-on-grips forward death truck) Brandon Derbowka was also dropping jaws with his no-handed whiplashes on his 16-pound custom bike. He was demonstrating such great bike control, and originality.

Day 2 began early, with a soda-mopped floor, and the novice class. Jordan Vetser took home third place, while David Marion received a rad second place prize pack. Flatland Unlimited regular Bri-Jon Dodington took home the win, with his original tricks and his creative approach to flatland.

Next up was the Veteran class, and this was when we noticed something interesting happening with the floor. Turns out, one of the heating vents was blowing air directly onto the contest floor. This combined with soda from earlier, was a recipe for a very tacky surface. The Vet class seemed to dig it! Steven Dodson made the drive up from Michigan and took home 4th place. Steve recently removed his brakes and is working on some new material. He is a guy to keep your eye on this year. 3rd place went to Ontario’s own Craig Gaudet. Craig was looking dialed on his brand new ride for 2014. Tony Strickler is certainly no stranger to the podium, and he ended up with second place this time. Tony demonstrates so much variety in his runs. He somehow manages to integrate scuffing tricks, rolling tricks, decade tricks, and even threw in a Spiderman on the wall! Tony is always a crowd pleaser. And making his way to Toronto, all the way from Denver, Coloradical was Reklamation bike’s Robert Reilly. In spite of some unfortunate drama at the border with some of Robert’s traveling buddies, Robert shook off the vibe, and busted some rad one-handed smith decades, to take home the win.

Next there was a bit of a break to give the experts a chance to warm up. The crowd was starting to pick up too, thanks to Old School Dan working the mic. The floor was getting more tacky by the minute, and some riders were loving it.

There were 13 experts that rode in a total three heats. Some standout moments were Paula Trix riding in her first expert contest and pulling some smooth combos, she pulled down 12th place. Marty Clark coming back from major knee surgery just one year ago, and “decading” his way to 10th place. Shawn Lapsley nailing his second run and barely missing out on a top 5 placing. 4th place went to Kevin Gallien, and his run played like a mix music radio station – pulling off hits from the 80’s, 90’s, and today. Ron Monis (the 2-time expert class defending champion of this event) was looking so strong and dialed in practice. Ron didn’t pull everything he wanted, but his combos were so technical and smooth, he ended up with 3rd place on the podium. Joe Cicman was able to pull his Jaffa whip combo for the first time in a contest, and ended up taking 2nd place. Bryan Huffman wasn’t pleased with his first run, and came out on his second run absolutely determined. He killed it with a flawless run. He said afterwards, “I always ride better when mad.” I’m seeing a common thread between Bryan and the Incredible Hulk. It appears that when they both get angry, they do incredible things. (while wearing purple no less) Bryan won and was rewarded a brand new Deco TA frame!

Day 3 is such a fun day for amateur riders, as you can sit back and just focus on the pro class. Again, this contest format is so nice! Rumor has it, that Joe Cicman had way too much Poutine the night before. In fact there was concern that he would be unable to properly soda-mop the floor because of it. Joe toughed it out, and Pro practice was underway.

The crowd began filling in as many eyes were locked onto the sights and sounds of flatland. Pro class began with Brandon Derbowka pulling whoppers in both directions. He also came so close to pulling a no-handed whiplash! He ended up with 10th. Takuji Kasahara is a smooth rider with so many original switches. He’s an exciting dude to watch! He took 9th place home to Japan. Percy Marshall rode really well and seemed very comfortable with riding in front of what was almost a hometown crowd. Unfortunately, I think his run was overshadowed by what happened on his last trick. He set up for a “Vander-roll” (remember this from practice) and went for it at high rate of speed. However, his bike was ejected under him, and went flying into the crowd!

Percy took home 8th place and once again became an instant crowd favorite. Montreal’s Steve Bergeron is another Veteran of the Flatland Unlimited contest series. I was so pleased to see Steve riding in the pro class this year, and earning a very respectable 7th place. Expect bigger and better things form Steve in the future! Bo Wade threw down two of the best contest runs I have ever seen from him. He also seemed really comfortable on his bike. He knows how to get the crowd psyched! He took 6th place home to the California sunshine. Lakeland Florida’s Tyler Gilliard put in a ton of work before the contest and after arriving. He was busy with television interviews, floor mopping consulting, and of course riding. He earned a rad, well deserved 5th place. JF Boulianne made the last minute decision to compete in the contest after a recent move. He was tired, and sore, but still pulled off a silky smooth and dialed run. He got 4th.

Jason Plourde received 3rd place with brakeless stubbleduck’s and decade combos for days. He also got hooked up with Reklamation bikes at this contest. Congratulations Jason! Alex Jumelin has so many tricks, and so much style, it’s easy to forget about his incredible level of difficulty. He has to be at the top, or near the top, for the number of tricks actually done in a contest run. He is so fluid, and confident, he just makes riding look fun. He brought both his front wheel and rear wheel game to Toronto, and earned 2nd place. And the winner and defending champion of this contest was Dub. He pivoted, spun, switched feet, hands, and demonstrated an incredible amount of both finesse and aggression in his runs. This day, he could not be beaten.

Another unique part of the event this year, was the “decade” contest. This was a salute to the 10th anniversary of the Flatland Unlimited contest. Fred Penner sponsored this contest, with the winner taking home $250 flatland fuel gift certificate. This was a treat to watch. Bo Wade threw down some brakeless perverted decades. Alex Jumelin borrowed Marty Clark’s bike and came within inches of pulling several fire-hydrant squeaks into a double decade. It was so close! Marty Clark nearly pulled a full backwards decade. But in the end, Jason Plourde pulled off the decade contest win, with two brakeless decades inside of one combo.



Flatland unlimited has such a rich history, and I am always stoked to be part of it. Thank you CFO, and AMFLT for a great start to the season. I can’t wait for round 2 in Raleigh, NC! Special thanks to Deco, Reklamation bikes, and Flatland Fuel for helping to make this an annual, must attend event.

Report Courtesy of Todd Carter