It’s the Parking Block that Will Get You…AKA “The Cody Borchers Story”
Cody Borchers checking in with a little ‘breakdown’ of his 2013/2014 season….
I recently joined forces with Riderz, a Ski-Doo/Can-Am/ KTM dealership located in Edson, AB. I came on to the dealership as an Athlete/Manager and it really truly couldn’t have been a better way for a Pro Snowmobiler to continue in this sport! I am living in Edson full time now and love it up here. Edson is a big recreational community with never-ending quading, dirt biking and snowmobile trails which are all ready to be torn up. The best part is – I can ride my sled to and from work – every grown kid’s dream!
My 2012-2013 season was going great. I’m on the new XM Ski-Doo chassis, which is an unbelievable easy sled to ride, which makes for endless options in the mountains. This year I had a Summit 872 bigbore 163 3″ track with a TKI belt drive and TSS side delivery pipe. This sled was unreal in all conditions and was an absolute weapon in the trees. My second sled is a Freeride 800 156 3″ track, also with a TKI belt drive and TSS side delivery pipe. This sled was my ‘get down and dirty’ jumping sled, with the upgraded Enzo suspension to soak up the big landings. There was to be one other sled in my line up, but there is a story behind this one…
I wanted to add in a 600RS (Race Sled) for the spring/summer riding that was coming up. In the spring, it’s important for me to have a sled that can take the harder landings and make big freestyle tricks look good. I was buying the sled secondhand and I had to meet the seller out of town – about a sixteen hour round trip.
Cody, killing it in the backcountry. Photo by Michael Reeve
When I finally made the journey and met the guy, all that was left was to make sure the sled looked like it did in the pictures. It all seemed to check out on point, but I just wanted to take it for a test ride to make sure the track turned – right??!!
I hopped on the sled and rode it past the trucks for about 30 feet; pulled a U-turn and started coming back parallel with the vehicles and the building we had parked beside. I could see there was a two-foot high snow bank coming up, but looking past it there didn’t seem to be anything to worry about.
I teed up and gassed it off the snow bank as any snowmobiler would, but the second my skis touched down, they dug into the snow with a “CRASH BOOM BANG” of hitting something super hard (you know that sound) and over the handlebars I went before I could even blink. I came sliding to a stop on my right side with the sled across from me – upside down and running. All I could think was “Are you f*#&ing kidding me……” I went to sit up and directly behind me was a parking block barely sticking out of the snow! I sat there for a second scanning my body to feel a bit of pain from my right knee. I had a rip in my jeans that I was wearing in my knee area so I look through the hole in my jeans and could see that my knee cap is broken. “Sweet,” I thought. “Now I feel like a complete idiot.”
The alternative title to this store was “Sled vs. Parking Block: How to End Your Season in One Easy Move.” Photo by Michael Reeve
Not to drag the story on, but we loaded me up in the truck, threw my new sled on the deck and off went went to the hospital where all the magic happened….
Two days later I went into surgery, which went awesome. I have had one of my fastest recoveries to date, likely because the kneecap is a non-weight bearing bone and I was able to be up and on it as soon as possible. I’m currently working on small mountain bike rides and swimming as part of the seven months ahead of me to get myself back into shape to be ready for another wicked winter to come!
Cody, full of trust that there’s no hidden dangers beneath. Photo by Michael Reeve
I’ve been asked how I stayed sane through a winter-cut short. Luckily, Snowcheck season was in full-swing at Riderz and I was bombarded with phone calls between cat-naps to pass the time. Though I went a little stir-crazy, it was awesome to cheer on all my teammates out there pushing themselves to bring you all some awesome video parts for this fall’s 509 and Slednecks movies.
I joined the 509 team this year and was able to get in a couple filming trips with them, but missed out on riding with Slednecks. I’ll make up for it next season! Stay posted for those new videos and what’s to come.
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You can follow Cody on Instagram at Borchairs or like the Riderz facebook page to get in touch.
Cody Borchers is a veteran riding with Slednecks and is sponsored by Riderz, Highmark by Snowpulse, 509, Slednecks, Eco-Flex, HMK, RSI, Enzo, Oakley, C&A Pro Skis, TKI, TSS and SCS.
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