I’m ba-a-a-a-ck!

Say hello to Shin, Noz, and Takeshi (left to right). You’ll also get to know Koji and Toga as we go.

This crew comes to you courtesy of longtime Cove mountain bike legend Paul Chetwynd, who runs Freeride Adventures Japan. I’ll be doing an interview with Paul later in the season so that those of you who weren’t around in the early days can find out a bit about your Canadian Mountain Bike heritage.

Hi Paul. Whatcha doin?

A typical scenic rest stop.

Ahhh, jet lag.

Finally, we’re riding. An easy one, the Rusty Muffler to start. It turns out these guys are not only pretty good, but totally psyched to improve.

OK, here’s a classic on the side of the trail.

Is the name a coincidence or what?

Happy boys.

Surfing the clay.

The end of the trail ends up in the lake. The lake is up a bit from last time. The crew was BLOWN AWAY by the experience. Then again, so am I.

So…..Round 2 on the day was the Peat Bog and Code Four. Lets see if the boys can jump.

That’s Noz, who is the editor of a major Japanese bike magazine. Strong BMX background. No worries on the Canuck singletrack.

Here’s Shin doing his first huck.

…and Koji. Total wildman, that Koji. He has a new see through bike. Crazy Japanese and their technology.

Then it rained a bit. Well, 65mm to be exact. And tons of lightning. Here we are hiding out from it.

So there you are. The first day of the trip. Penticton is such a special place.

Especially when Elvis is everywhere…