Rae Morrison
Rae Morrison has had her share of personal setbacks but the mellow Kiwi lass has a lot of fight in her. After a huge crash that saw her break her hip and pelvis in 2013, Rae threw everything into recovery and living the life she'd always wanted: Traveling the world and riding bikes. In 2015 she raced as a privateer, then, in 2016 she was picked up by Lapierre Gravity Republic where she scored a host of top ten results until another injury put her on the sidelines for the last two races of the year. Rae is fully recovered now and will be rolling out to the 2017 EWS with a new sponsor—Liv Cycling. We get to know Rae a little better and find out what she's all about.
Who is Rae Morrison?A mountain bike chick from New Zealand traveling and racing bikes around the world.
Where are you from and where do you live now?I am from New Zealand. I'm currently living in Wellington but I chase the summer across Europe and America, so I spend 6 months in New Zealand and 6 months traveling abroad.
Who do you ride for?I ride for Liv Cycling onboard the Giant Factory Off-Road team.
What’s been your favourite race/contest venue?I really enjoyed racing Ainsa for the Spain EWS in 2015. The whole weekend was very memorable. Starting with an urban prologue in the town and through a pub in dress up, a 1km long sausage cooked using a crane, enthusiastic spectators lining the track in the middle of nowhere, and then the trails themselves were so unique and fun—it felt like you were riding on the moon. I would love to go back there.
What are your favourite trails?I love technical trails, Whistler, Canada and Nelson, New Zealand are my favourite places I have ridden.
What are your strengths?I feel I am a good all-round rider. My fitness is good and I love the steep slow techy stuff.
What are your weaknesses?Riding in the wet. I follow the summer so I can get a bit delicate in the rain and freezing cold haha.
Where are you happiest? Lost in the forest, exploring new tracks and places.
What’s been your worst crash over the years?I’ve had two. 2013 I dislocated by hip and fractured my pelvis crashing on a jump, then last year I shattered my heel after my pedal broke landing a jump.
What’s been your luckiest escape?I think where I broke my heel I got off very lucky. It was from a high speed and from a height, landing onto rocky, solid ground. I landed with my foot fully flexed which put all the impact with my heel rather than my ankle. If that impact went through my ankle my recovery would have been a lot longer.
Which bike from over the years, conjures up the best memories?My Kona Bear. It was my first mountain bike and a heavy roust thing that would do anything. All that 4 inches of travel made it over a decent road gap and some pretty gnarly downhill tracks. By memory, I cracked the frame three times but it wasn’t a worry, a friend just welded it back together and I was away again. I have many fond memories on that bike from when I was first starting out.
What bikes are you riding right now?My Enduro race bike: Liv Hail Advanced 0
XC bike: Liv Pique Advanced 0
Road bike: Liv Envie Advanced Pro 0
Who’s your favourite rider?I was a big fan of Sam Hill as he was dominating the sport when I first got into mountain biking. I love his style on a bike and the different lines he takes from the rest of the field
Who or what inspires you?I just find people inspiring, any story where someone perseveres against the odds.
What do you enjoy doing away from bikes?I spend time in the gym, swimming, eating, hanging out at bike shops and I love chilling out watching movies and t.v episodes.
What are you listening to right now?I have quite a wide range and tastes depending on my mood. My go to is usually soft rock/acoustic music.
What’s your favourite bike movie?Roam. It was first mtb movie I ever bought.
What's your favorite non-bike movie/tv show?I have recently started watching Prison Break and am really enjoying it. I am a big fan of t.v. series, and movies so I generally like most shows.
What’s your favourite non-bike website? I don’t surf the net much. When I do it is usually to look up the weather or race results.
What’s your favourite motto or saying? One of my favourite quotes is from Winnie the Pooh "You are braver than you believe, stronger than you seem, smarter than you think, and loved more than you ever know. " Everyone needs a little confidence boost and encouragement sometimes!
What grinds your gears? People who blame others and the world for their problems.
| You are braver than you believe, stronger than you seem, smarter than you think, and loved more than you ever know. - Winnie the Pooh |
What makes you happy? Bikes, friends, and coffee.
If you weren’t a pro mountain biker, what would you be doing? I was a physiotherapist beforehand so I would go back to that.
If you were in charge of the sport, what changes would you make? It would be great to have live coverage or ‘on the go’ highlights (of the EWS rounds) so people could watch as the race unfolds, something like RedBull TV Live, although the remoteness of the tracks and the race distance would be extremely hard logistically.
When you hang up your racing/riding shoes, how do you want to be remembered? Being a fast, smooth rider but also a ‘down to earth’ nice person.
What does the future hold for Rae Morrison?Plenty more traveling, riding and racing with some laughs along the way.
Images provided by
www.leehowell.com.
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