Fest Shredden – 2

Aw yeah!  Coast Gravity Park!

So good to see Stubz, Norby, and Curtis again.  I’m stoked on this scene. Yeah, the park is small and it’s early days, but the riding and vibe here are world class.

I think the Germans are getting it, too.

Here’s a couple of random dudes sending it in the park.

It was crazy in there today.  There were maybe 35 riders, and 30 of them were from Europe.  Awesome skills on display everywhere.

Sort of like these hits thrown down by Daniel.

Another excellent day riding new trails.  Only made better by having a couple of beers on the beach at Roberts Creek, watching some bendy girls on paddle boards.

Gotta love summer…

Fest Shredden – 1

Time to take a break from all that heli riding. I think I’ll shred some singletrack with ze Germans.

That’s right, Daniel Schaefer is back for more.  Once again Wolfgang is with him, and also newcomers Fabien…

…and Mario.

If you hadn’t figured it out, we’re in the old hood on Seymour.  The old trails are still as rough and gnarly as ever.  At least there’s a bit of the old North Shore Hard Core left.

Of course, big rock faces don’t change much.

The Millenium Log hasn’t changed a lot, either.

There’s lots of new trails, but honestly I’m not all that excited by them. They’re kind of generic pump track kind of rides.  It seems like you can find these trails in every town.  To me, the Shore is about the wood and the gnar.  At least Wolfie is keepin’ it real…

Make It Reign – 5

Heli time again?  Sure…why not?  4 heli drops in a week sounds about right to me.

Here, enjoy the spectacle of landing a bunch of bikers in the alpine of BC.

Seb Wild, one of the hardest working dudes in the bike business, gettin’ the job done with Brice.

Nate and Adam doing trailwork?  Nah…they’re just trundling some rocks, as is tradition.

Made ya look!

Beer in the alpine, as also is tradition.

Not beer.  Alpine water through a straw.

Yeaaaaaahhhhhhhbooyyyyyeeeeeee!

Yeah, it’s time we saw some riding shots.  Lots of lifestyle today.

A few more postcard pics for ya, including a rare one of Sterl.

…and another rare one of Brice.

Almost to the lake.

Is that a chick over there?

Another rare shot of Sterl.

Yo Brice…that’s not how it goes.  It’s an easy trail over all, but little mistakes can cost you.  While I was helping Brice out of this pickle, other shenanigans were afoot.

Although most of us made it out in one piece…

…Clayton had a bit more of an issue with the consequences.  Such a bummer, as it was apparently a fairly innocuous bail.  I guess he had a previous injury that complicated things, but he still did manage to somehow fracture both elbows.  Here’s hoping he has a quick and straightforward recovery.

Well, that was still a full on epic week.  Thanks to Giant Bicycles for having the vision to do something this rowdy for their product launch.  I gotta say, I’m more than a little impressed.  Not only with the itinerary this week, but also with the bikes.  The Reign is quite a rig, and I think I’m even more stoked on hearing how they were developed.   Meeting the designers was very cool.  They are really on the right track over at Giant.

Thanks to Colby, AJ, and Tabetha for the call.  Kevin for all the knowledge. To Adam, Nate, and Silas for setting the tone. To Sterl for some good reminiscing out there.  To all the journos and new friends I made this week.  And to Seb for saving my bacon when I was so tired from not sleeping.  Couldn’t have done it without ya, buddy.

OK, gotta roll.  Germans are coming and we’re going to the Coast Gravity Park!