The Earth, The Mind, The Legs! A journey across all three with Canadian MTB legend Cory Wallace
“I like to struggle. I like to see what the body can put up with and see where the limits are”
Cory Wallace has 3x World 24hour MTB championship and two Canadian national MTB championship titles to his name..
Photo Cred: Patrick Means
But no amount of physical training prepared him for one of the more obscure 2020 experiences. Becoming marooned at 3000m above sea level in a buddhist monastery Cory developed an insight and perspective to his cycling life that has left him an admittedly more balanced athlete.
Cory Wallace at what would become his 2020 base- The Chiwong Monastery at 3000m asl.
Renown for completing cycling adventures and races in some of the most remote parts of the world Cory Wallace has over his 3 decades in cycling accrued a bank of incredibly interesting stories. From planting trees as a teenager to cutting them down in frozen winderness for months on end in his early 20's to leading the life of a professional MTB racer. This former Ice Hockey player shares his amazing continuing journey with us from his Canadian base on the West Coast town of Victoria. Gain some insight and inspiration from this stunning story of passion, perspective, patience and hard work!
Bike packing through Washington state, USA.
Cory’s life has always involved a strong element of hard work. As a tree planter out of high school, Cory would walk for 10+ hours a day carrying bags of juvenile trees and plant forestry close to his home in Jasper, Alberta. However when it was clear this work was interrupting his cycling career a transition was afoot. He moved into tree felling which was winter time work where he would be involved in cutting trees to make way for oil drilling machinery in Northern Canada. This involved working in -20C and lower temps for weeks on end.
“The only tactic is to get out there, freeze your hands, like REALLY freeze them. Then you do this ‘screaming barfie’. Which is just like swing your arms beside you as fast as you can.. It pushes blood to your fingertips and expands like all the blood vessels. It was pretty painful. But after that you have good blood flow in your hands are fine for the day. It’s a tactic from the ice climbers.”
Racing a gravel stage race in Oregon, USA.
Cory’s results on the bike were rising to a point where working hard on the tree plantations and oil fields would become unnecessary. Cory has ridden for the Kona factory MTB team for over a decade now. With a specialty in endurance events much of his year would be spent travelling to stage races and marathon mtb events in all corners of the globe. Cory has raced, podium’d and won overall at races like; The Mongolia Bike Challenge, The Crocodile Trophy, The Canadian XCM championship, La Ruta de los conquistador and many more.
Racing the Crocodile Trophy in Australia. Photo: Regina Stanger
Of all the corners of the earth Cory travelled Nepal stood out as a place that really inspired him. The high altitude was beneficial for his training regime, an array of trails and roads made for a stunning base for training. Whilst preparing for a Spanish stage race in early 2020 he was unaware that his passion for Nepal would truly be tested. Due to the near immediate closure of borders and lack of transport options out of the country Cory became marooned in Nepal for much of 2020.
“Every part of the world world is so different, so it’s, it’s pretty cool that the bike gives me the chance to see so many different areas.”
During this time he was hosted by the Chiwong monastery where the local monks took him under their wing until he was able to leave for his home in Canada. During his months at 3000m Cory devoted time to learning the eastern approach to life and became particurarly intrigued by the notion of meditation. He also whilst there embarked on an epic Everesting challenge which raised over $6000CAD for the monastery and a number of other Nepalese charities as a token of thanks for the hospitality that had been extended to him.
“Seeing how calm the monks are, how happy they are it made me think, what are they doing that we aren’t doing? And a lot of it is the mindset! The meditation is part of that. It’s something that develops outside of your body. As athletes, we all put a ton of effort into developing our physical side. But this has motivated me to put more effort into the mental side.”
Preparing to depart the Chiwong monastery bound for Kathmandu.
“I don’t really chase any thoughts out, I just let them drift by and you don’t put any effort into trying to direct your mind. It’s just, whatever it is is there is there! I think of it as like an ocean sometimes. It starts as these giant waves of big thoughts but eventually it just calms down!”
Through an uncanny adventure Cory did eventually make it out of Nepal and returned home to Canada in late 2020. He is now able to continue his racing commitments with Kona factory team. Recently returned from the unbound gravel race in Kansas, USA and an epic bike packing trip from Oregon to his home in British Columbia, Canada Cory sat down with us for an insightful and inspirational chat about a spectatcular life on 2 wheels. Hit the link at the top of this page or look us up on itunes to listen in.
Racing the WEMBO world 24hour MTB championship. Photo: Candace Bourque
Victory at the 24hr world championship.
Proud Canadian and national champion (XCM) of Canada.