Ultimate BC Road Trip 2

Posted on August 13, 2012August 19, 2012 by Smoke

Well, that last ride was something special, was it not? I doubt we’ll be able to equal that light for pics today, but I bet that we’ll have just as much fun riding.

Maybe we’ll just spend the whole day turning left, like Darren there or Kelli in the next one.

I think you already met Martin (above), and below is our new friend Harlan Price. He’s enjoying the use of all of his fingers here, because within 24 hours of this picture he’ll be nursing the loss of a couple of fingernails and some stiches in the nailbeds. Not a riding incident though. Silly bugger caught his digits in the bike rack!

Oh, and can’t forget our contest winner, Leanne. I gather from here expression that she’s having a good time of it.

There’s a couple of things that make the Okanagan special in BC mountain biking. One is going for dips in the lake after or between laps (naked toddlers are optional, but highly recommended).

T’other is visiting wineries for samples of the local grape alongside gourmet eats.

Thanks to Hillside for the great repast, and best of luck to the traveling circus on their next stops in Rossland, Nelson, Revy, Sicamous, and Whistler.

Girls Got Skills – 2

Posted on May 27, 2012June 3, 2012 by Smoke

Yay! Time to rebuild the ladies after yesterday’s humbling. We’ll start by making everyone fall down. Barb, show ‘em…

We did a shorter skills session in the park this morning so we could hit the trails a bit fresher. It was all about dynamic riding today.

Very dynamic riding.

This is what the 2 day format is all about. It seems that human beings respond very well when they are offered a chance to rest, recuperate, and absorb new information.

So after taking things right back to basics on the first day, we can build back up to new heights on the second day.

And we do mean heights.

Plus, just having the chance to session a trail with riders of similar abilities rather than playing catchup with guys that hit that stuff all the time makes success more likely.

Once you get into the flow of things, rollover moves like this become easy.

Right, Rowena?

OK, time for a candid group shot.

More advanced rollovers are still no problem for this crew.

Hanna even threw in some dance moves for us.

Tova has it dialled, so she put on a couple of demo’s for the group.

That made it easy for Denise, who is my new hero. She is proof positive about the old adage “you’re only as old as you feel.” I’m not gonna spill any secrets here, but suffice to say that our most mature client this weekend was also one of our strongest.

Beth is just a shredder. ‘Nuff said.

And Pauline is sort of just plain nuts, but it’s probably just the Irish accent. Here’s a shot of her nearly getting bucked off, but she never panicked and is well on her way to the next skill plateau in her riding.

A bit further down the trail we did hear a scream, but it seemed more like an “eeek!” than an “owww!” Sure enough…

I love rattlers. This one is a beauty. Not the largest I’ve seen around here, but from the looks of the tail around 10 years old.

Look out! She’s gonna git ya!

Casey, having a gas shredding with the gals.

Just like yesterday, it was the Williams Lake girls on the beach at the end. Nothing like cold bevvies on the beach to make you forget about the wounds.

..and that’s a wrap. Time to pack up the stunts. We’ll do this again next spring.

Kelly and Rolly

Posted on July 24, 2011August 12, 2011 by Smoke

Time sure flies, doesn’t it? Kelly and Jason show up every couple of years, and here they are again for another round in Naramata. Things are much improved since their last visit. Now with more Chevys!