Singletrack Stampedin’ – Day 2a

It’s hot, it’s sunny, the girls are hung over…let’s go to Farwell.

But first lets hang in the lake a bit.

Gotta make sure your eyes are protected out there too.  Thanks again to Ryders Eyewear for the shades, eh?

Due to the insanely good light and sick level of riding today, I’ve got crazy amounts of images.  So we’re splitting this post in two.  Sorta like the two tickets to the gun show that Lydia has here…

Mallory, getting a feel for the Farwell dirt in summertime.

Tha’ girls…

Another group shot.  I can’t wait to see the pics that Lindsay got.

Last year when we rode Fingers with Monica’s crew, it was the stickiest gumbo of all time.  Lots of crashes and frustration.  Today?

Total shredfest…

That’s Lidia above, and Mallory below. 

Our intrepid photographer is up next.

Lap #3, and Monica is getting her drift on.

Runner up for bum shot of the day…

It’s hard to tell with the full face, but I’m pretty sure Annie is sporting a big smile in there somewhere.

And we all KNOW that Ashley is, because Ashley is always smiling.  Nice shoelaces, too.

Liz "I Can’t Believe How Hot It Is Here" Francis…

Lidia, aka "Chesty"

The other Lydia  (yes, the names this weekend were challenging.  Looks like a lot of rad bikers have names that begin with ‘L’).

Leanne…

Ahhhh….Rose.  So much easier to remember.  She was definitely feeling that harsh crash from yesterday, but she managed a few laps with us in spite of the discomfort, and also the challenge of riding big mountain lines when you’ve got an issue with heights.  What a champ.

Annie, showing everyone why she’s been a shredder in this sport since…well since the 20th Century anyway.  Annie, damn glad to ride with you again.

Farwell, round one complete.  Next up…Godsmack!

Singletrack Stampedin’ – Day 1

Alright, let’s get this show on the road.  Thanks to Monica and Ryders Eyewear for stylin’ out the ladies…

Also gotta thank Sirel for helping load bikes, shuttling the van, and just generally being eye candy for the riders this weekend. 

If you crank up this song (http://www.youtube.com/watch?feature=player_detailpage&v=QwxYiVXYyVs#t=18s), this next pic is just so much better…

OK, on to the riding.  We are in town today.  Although my favourite breakfast joint is closed, there were a zillion pancake breakfasts for Stampede, so we hit up one of those and then we kind of…uh…poached the parade.  It wasn’t quite started yet, and we accidentally drove down the middle of the route.  Well, what are ya gonna do, stop a van full of chicks that ride like this?

So fun to see Annie again.  She’s obviously still shredding hard.  So is our new friend Leanne.

So if you take a line of girls and send them off this jump like so:

Then if the first one sorta crashes you end up with this:

Luckily, nobody got seriously mangled.  Although our English Rose did get a pretty gnarly raspberry…

That was our cue to take a break, and head on over to the westside for some Snakes and Ladders…and cows.

I missed a great action shot here.  Suffice to say, we could tell it’s still springtime from the actions of the bull.

Alright, on to more riding.  Aja was killin’ it as always.

Monica and all the other girls weren’t exactly slacking off either.

Had to do a bit of a photo sesh on the sky berms.  That zone is a ton of fun.   The best layout of government funds I’ve seen in a long time.

Get up there Leanne!

I love this next one of Aja.  Check the angle of the head.  THAT’S anticipating the turn.

Lindsey is here on assignment for NSMB.com, and I got the impression that she doesn’t ride as much as the rest of the group.  No problem, she’s game to shred all of it, and with a big camera in the pack that’s not exactly easy.

Annie might have a "wee bum," but those are some big hips she’s showing there…

The last part of the new Snakes n’ Ladders line is the steeps into the canyon.  Hard to shoot in here, but here’s a taste…

You’ll just have to go there and see for yourself, I guess.

Was that a good day ladies?

Good, because it ain’t over yet.  Time to go to Let Her Buck!

Yep, we’re partying at the Saloon tonight.  Them city girls dress up real purdy, don’t they?

I was the DD tonight, but trying to dance to the band in cowboy boots in a sea of crushed beer cans made it seem like I’d had a few.  Now I know why comboys walk that way.  Those boots are tippy…

…and those girls are all on stage.  Nice work.

That was a long day, and tomorrow looks hot.  Good thing we bugged out at a reasonable hour, because we gotta go to Farwell in the morning….

Singletrack Stampedin’ – Prologue

Giddyup….it’s only been just over a month and I’m going back to the Puddle…and it just happens to be Stampede.  Yikes.

Reminds me of the old 15th Anniversary Cove Bikes shirt.  Anyone still got one?  Send me a pic if you do.

Save a  horse, ride a bike.

This weekend is a return of Monica’s Singletrack Ladies crew.  I’m here a bit early, so I lined up with a few locals to check out the Crash ‘n Pass at the track. 

More fun than a hootenanny in a tornado. 

We never did see who won, but they had fun going in circles and smashing in to each other. 

Afterwards the kids took a little ride back down to town.

Not bad for 20".

Met up with the girls out at the lake, and we had a couple of beers under the northern lights. 

Not too late though.  We had an agenda for tomorrow…