Last night the crew (Adam, Sam, Terry, Lindsay, Alex, Jeff) & I hit up Mt. Seymour. we ran two laps, it was killer!!
Lap ¹took us down CBC to Pingu to Team Pangor. I was super happy as I hit the two drops at the split between Ping and Salvation that I'd never done before. Photos will be taken next time!
Lap 2 was CBC to Pingu to Boogie Man. It was appropriate to ride Boogie when we did, as it was getting dark!! Good riding down that trail, but still lots to conquer for me as it's gnar!!
All in all 2 wicked laps with a great bunch of folks. no serious injuries, and only a flat tire by Alex, and a broken chain by Jeff slowed us down.
Today was an IMBA trail day up on Mt. Seymour, dedicated to CBC trail. It started at 8:30a, but there was NO way in heck that Iz & I were going to get up that early after such a long a(and fun) day on the Big W.
So we joined up at about 11a, and got right in to it. I think us coming late was good, as we had fresh energy! Found some rocks here, dug some dirt for others there. Felt nice doing something on the trail that we ride so much. I think that the other 100+ people agreed!
It was fun, saw some familiar faces, and even got some free schwag as there was a pretty good dosage of sponsors out supporting the efforts.
The day ended at about 4p. Iz & I dawned our gear, and ripped down the trail we'd just finished working on, with goals of hitting up Ping and Team Pangor. Well, Iz got to complete the plan, but I got a flat at the end of CBC so I hitched a ride down with a fellow rider in his truck, and met her there. Iz tells me she had a great ride, no falls, and only walked a couple of sections!
Alex, Iz, Lindsay, Phil & I headed up to Whistler today. The weather finally has cooled down, but it was still a gorgeous sunny day.
We rode from about noon to 6:30p, and it was amazing.
No one got hurt, we hit up some super tech trails, and conquered some fears.
For me, I finally let go of the brakes on the lower part of A-Line and hit the transitions on the last 3 big jumps. In fact, the last jump I landed half way down! It felt so great, finally am getting comfortable on the new bike.
For Iz, she hit some super gnarly sections on Joy Ride that even Phil & I found pretty sketchy, and made it look easy! It is so fun watching her progression; she's rocking!! She also hit the creek gap at the end of Dirt Merchant which is awesome!!
After the day on the hill, we hit up the local Irish pub for some beers and grub, and to catch the end of the hockey game. Poor Pittsburgh, hope they can rally the troops for the next two games!!
We got home at about 10p, and hit the sack for a well deserved sleep.
Gina, Alex, Lindsay, Iz & I all rode today up on the Big W. Yet another gorgeous day, with highs around 26, and not a cloud in the sky.
It wasn't too crazy busy which is good, but we did see a lot of friendly faces. Landon from Williams Lake is now living there, and we ran into him at the end of the day.
Aimee of MudBunnies fame (the club Iz has joined to get out with more girl riders) was there with her crew. Her fiance is pals with Brett Tippie, The Grandfather of Freeriding, so we got to do a lap with him. That was fun.
Only two small mechanicals today; Gina a flat tire, and me too. Mine was worse, as the puncture ruined the tire too.
All in all, I'm glad I was out here, rather than back in Ontario where I understand it snowed and hailed! What a way to welcome June in!?
Tonight Sam, Terry, Phil, Alex, Lindsay & I hit up Cypress for some fun. We had all intentions of ripping two runs, but bicycle carnage slowed us down.
We headed up to the head of Mystery Downhill to get us going, with intentions of continuing on Fire Hose. We accomplished the first part of the trip, but not with Terry ripping his rear derailleur (or mech as Sam calls it) off, and Sam himself destroying his rear shifter. Before the run even started, I found that my left pedal was broken too, so it was a challenging run for me.
We all still had a blast, but with the added wait time of Terry needing to pull his chain off, by the time we popped out on the road to head up to Fire Hose it was evident that the sun would not permit a second run.
Ah well, we still climbed the road back up and hit Fire Hose for some last fun before heading down to the parking lot to meet Terry and his broken bike.
We all then went to the local "Earl's" for some food and beers.
Today was our (Terry, Iz, Gina & I) first day up on Whistler, and it rocked!
Danged near every lower trail was open, the weather was spectacular, and no one got hurt. What else could you ask for? Oh, how about seeing a momma bear and her 3 cubs WAY up close... might even say too close. Check out the photos below.
It's awesome to see Isabelle getting so much faster and more confident. This should be a good season I think!
I'd say the title says it all, but for some more details, photos and some videos too, read on!!
We (Terry, Iz, Phil, Nic & I) headed off to Kelowna Thursday night for a long weekend of fun at Scott & Katherine's. We arrived close to midnight, and went straight to bed.
Friday we got up late in the morning, and just got settled, unpacking, working on our bikes etc. Scott and Katherine both got home around 4p, so we then got out on our bikes!
The ladies hit the pavement, while the boys hooked up with Johnny Smoke for a quick lap over on Westbank (aka West Kelowna) down a trail called 2.5.
The trail was awesome, lots of fun stunts on it, and super fun flow riding to it. There was a big road gap on the trail called 'Shenanigans' that Phil hit up. He didn't land it quite right though, and clipped a tree with his left pedal causing his pedal to break, along with his toe!
I came down with a wicked cold Friday that I just couldn't shake, so it was an early night for me, which was fine as Saturday was to be a good day of riding once again!
We hooked up with Johnny and his group (of nearly 30 riders!) at around 10a and headed over to Smith Creek for a pedal UP! Something we were not prepared for really, but it was worth it. The decent had so much flow, little hits, and berms, it was worth the over hour climb.
Our second lap was shuttled, again to one of the trails in West Kelowna, this time we hit up Builders Only, a trail Terry, Iz & I rode last year. It's really fun, lost of stunts (hence the name) and an fun drops too.
Phil rides one of the skinnies on Builders
Sunday we headed up to West Kelowna on our own as Johnny's group was heading to Oliver for a big trip, but it would have eaten up our whole day. Oliver is about an hour from Kelowna!
Our first run down was on 3.5 which has the 'Big Money' stunt on it. Both Phil & I hit it, as it was pretty cool. A big long steep to a gap to another gap. The first part wasn't hard at all, but the second gap had something wrong with the take off as both Phil & I bailed on it!
Phil hits the Big Money stunt
I hit the Big Money stunt
3.5 runs in to 2.5 so we railed that trail back to the finish.
I ride some skinny on 2.5
Second run was a tame ride, as we took up Nicole on Iz's bike, and Katherine came up too on her new bike. We hit 2.5 as it was the 'easiest' of the trails, and it still took us almost 2 hours to get down! Ah well, everyone was smiles, so that's what matters. The best part of it all was that Phil hit the 'Shenanigans' drop again, and made it look like it was nothing!
Phil makes the Shenangians gap look easy
We went up for a third run so that Iz could have some fun too. It was a ripper, just under 40 minutes down Builders by Iz, Terry, Scott & I.
Both 2.5 and 'Builders' drop in to the Mouse Trap stunt. Phil nailed it the first time down, but Terry & I didn't conquer it until Sunday. We're OK with that!!
Terry conquers the Mouse Trap
Monday was a travel day. We got up around 10a and all headed for breakfast. Then it was on the road time. I was hacking up a lung all the way home, dang chest cold!
