Photos by Sterling Lorence

I grew up working in a bike shop, dreaming of one day owning a Rocky Mountain Blizzard. Ultimately that day never came, but I was fortunate enough to start riding for Rocky a few short years later and have owned many over the past 20 years. When asked if I could come up with my favourite Rocky over that time it was surprisingly easy for me, my Copper Penny RMX from 2005. 

For starters the RMX was a meaningful bike for me because it was the first model that I had some direct feedback on. It turned out to be a burly bike for the many years I rode it and never let me down. In 2005 Rocky gave me the opportunity to have one custom painted for an upcoming movie segment in the film ROAM. I asked the paint shop for a weathered copper, like an old penny. At that time Rocky was welding the frames in Vancouver and I thought it would be so cool to go with a transparent paint so you could see all of the hand welds and sanding marks on the tubes. The guys in the paint department recommended skipping a base coat to get that effect, so we went with just the copper colour right over the aluminium and then a clear coat. 

It's still my favourite frame to this day. Not only did the paint concept turn out perfectly but the trip to Morocco for ROAM will always be one of the most memorable of my life. So, thanks Rocky Mountain for the dope bike and the years of support and memories. Happy 40th!