More Banana Bread

Nicole and Al are back, and a little over 4 months after having a little girl are ready to shred.  Oh, and they’re engaged, too, so ‘Congratulations!’

Also, Elton John is playing a show in Prince George this summer, so in honour of that here’s a pic of a fabulous bridge.  Yay rainbows!

As Nic has been off the bike for a while, I took Al and her down High Pony to start.  It’s fun and straightforward, a great place to get your stoke back.

Nic seems to be one of those women who become better riders after becoming a mom.  This isn’t a terribly difficult move, but it does look really weird as you ride up to it.  She nailed it no problem on sight.

After a great first run, we stepped it up slightly for a second lap on Drops A Lot, where we promptly ran into 3 bears.  Momma took off, but I got shots of the two little ones.

As proof that Nic is riding exceptionally well, I didn’t get any shots of the drops or gaps on the trail, as we non-stopped the whole line until this wood gap.

Which was no big deal, she just wasn’t set up the first run in. so she went back and nailed it.

Cliched flower huck shot.

…and a couple more angles on the same jump.

We also had a fast round #3 on the Beer Run, and totally shredded it high speed.   That’s almost 10K’ on the day.

And for a change we had nice sunny weather, but not too hot.

Just right for a nice family visit on the beach with our friends.

Pretty sweet day, and a nice total for trails.  We’ll be doing a couple more days with Nic and Al and a bunch more old friends in a few days.  It’s Al’s 40th birthday, so we gotta take care of him in style.

MTBco Toonie Ride #2

It’s a new tradition we’re starting up around here.  Toonie Rides.  Pink socks  are optional.

Mike has got the ball rolling with this event, although he did forget the table.  You can tell he thrives on organizing this stuff.  If you’ve got some time every other Weds., maybe think about lending him a hand.  Drop me a line if you’re interested.

OK, so here’s the start line.  16 riders showed up for week 2, up from only 8 at the inaugural ride.

And we’re racing!

You can tell that it’s a pretty serious thing.  Evan tried to wheelie up the whole climb.

The lone woman of the event on the climb.

Sovereign Cycles cooked us up some tasty burgers for the post ride.

Tonight’s fastest man was Aart van Kooy from Peachland.

Also thanks to Tree for supplying first prize.

Nose wheelie on the finish for extra style points.

And a rainbow for the overall leader.

Here’s the results for the first two events:

Toonie #1

1 Evan Guthrie 0:42:27
2 Aart Van Kooy 0:49:39
3 Manuel Zuppiger 0:49:49
4 Anthony Evans 0:57:26
5 Mike Wyman 0:58:49
6 Rich Stevenson 1:02:14
7 John Paterson 1:10:28
8 Glenn Laplante 1:15:56

Toonie #2

1 Aart Van Kooy 0:42:32
2 Ron Ellis 0:45:34
3 Manuel Zuppiger 0:46:47
4 Joe Wessel 0:48:38
5 Pip Akins 0:49:41
6 Daniel Westwood 0:52:20
7 Evan Guthrie 0:52:53
8 Mike Cambridge 0:53:15
9 Mike Wyman 0:53:28
10 Anthony Evans 0:56:15
11 Scott Holter 0:58:30
12 Johnny Smoke 0:59:00
13 Christophe Zuppiger 1:04:45
14 Kari Kallen **1st Woman 1:09:40
15 Dave Walsh 1:17:27
16 Andy VaandDeal 1:21:08

The next Toonie Ride is Wednesday, July 7th at Smith Creek.  More details at http://www.mtbco.ca/toonie-rides

Kate and Hamish – Day 2

Yesterday was a bit more about Kate, so today we’re gonna throw down on some freeride for Hamish.

He seems to be excited by the Powers Creek zone.

Kate is a pretty decent amateur photographer (she’s even managed to sell a few shots), so she’s pretty happy to tag along and take shots. 


Kate Jackson Photo

Which is nice for me, as I don’t get too many pics of myself.  There’s a nice one of my bum, and here’s a great one of Hamish railing the wallride on Powers.


Kate Jackson Photo

And another sick one of Shenanigans.  He hit this up a couple of times.  With another couple of days, I think I would have taken him over to Postill for a session on the big stuff.  He really likes this kind of thing.

Another shot for scale…”We’re not worthy!”

Of course, no Powers Creek sesh is complete without a few runs on Crazy Train.

We also did a fast run on Builders Only.


Kate Jackson Photo

Hey!  I know that dude…


Kate Jackson Photo

Loads of bangers on this run, but I think Kate may be getting bored soon.


Kate Jackson Photo

Hamish got his Builders Only ticket stamped by carrying this load of lumber up to a new stunt for Diddler. 

Another good bum shot from Kate.  Do I look fat in those pants?


Kate Jackson Photo


Kate Jackson Photo

OK, enough of this freeride stuff, lets get Kate out for some trail riding.


Kate Jackson Photo

Say “Hi” to a few locals (California Bighorn Sheep, and they are wild if you’re wondering).

McDougall Rim on a sunny afternoon.  So romantic…

.

Lets throw rocks.

Unfortunately, McDougall has been pretty much wrecked at this point by quads.  it’s still fun, but it’s disappointing to see it change from singletrack to dirt road in a couple of seasons.  Pretty selfish of the 2 or 3 quadders who have decided to destroy it for everyone else, but that’s how quadders are I guess.  Here’s one of the few sections that hasn’t been totally hacked on yet, but by the time you read this it should be full on double-tracked out.