RMS – 7 | Bush Pilot Biking

Hey, it’s the last day! And we survived! Well, almost. There’s still the little matter of this ride in the Kananaskis to settle.

So, see if you can tell which one is Canadian and which one is British?

Thanks to Reg Mullet for coming out and showing us the way.

The trail that runs over Jumping Pound Ridge and Cox Hill has been on my to do list for ten years. It was worth the wait. Quite an epic adventure, this one.

That was the top of Jumping Pound, at around 7300’. It’s an old horse trail that’s become more of a bike ride, and it’s an awesome climb to this point.

This high point is only the first summit however, and although we did the majority of the climbing to get here, the hard climbing is still ahead. Just trying to warn you guys…

But first, we get some awesome cruising and a fast little descent.

It’s a scenic little shred, too.

Cox Hill is not as long, but it’s a real brute of a climb. Here’s Richard in the pain cave, going for the last part of the ascent.

You can see the crux of this climb in the distance. I got within a few meters of cleaning this, but it was just a bit too steep and loose. Reg tells me he’s only cleaned this climb twice in all the years he’s been riding it, so I’m pretty happy to have gotten this close.

The amazing Carmel really broke through today. She rode well, but also rode smart and was less than ten minutes behind at the summit of Cox. Dance, Carmel. Do the Dance of Life!

Another tradition, the high elevation urination.

Reg, the only guy with DH tires, had multiple flats. Huh?

Lookout! Squirrel! Well…actually it’s a chipmunk. Still don’t trust ‘em.

As usual, almost no shots of the final descent. It’s very fast, and wide open. Having Reg along made it all the better, as he could telegraph all the major moves to us at speed. The signature of this trail was rough rocky outcrops that you could either navigate around, or (better), just lift up and air across. A great, great ride. This is still in the alpine, but you can see that Richard is having a great time, even with his separated shoulder.