Cawston

Salad Doggers – 9

Posted on by Smoke

Last day, and summer has once again given up the ghost.  We had a good run…

Yeah, we’re off to Kobau again today.   At least it’s only high overcast, so we can still benefit from a bit of a view.  Also, the wood was mostly dry ( a few retardedly slick sections, but overall not too bad), so we could hit up a few choice lines.

A few locals came with us today too, like Jason, Sheila, Andrew, and French Johnny.  Here’s Jason on one of the big log rides.  Ewan blew a few fuses on this one.  Not only was it big, but it was still wet enough to be very exciting.

The foresty part only lasts a little while, and then we’re out in the sage for the rest of the descent.

Conditions were, as usual on Cawston Ck., prime.  Only a little bit of dust, and very fast and very grippy.

Then Andrew got a little too excited.  Don’t worry, it’s only a flesh wound.  Actually, it was not a big deal.  We covered it up with some bandages, but it’s really only a scratch.  Nice and clean, cause it was his top cap.

Proof for the boys that we really are in a desert.

Little tiny riders.

More little tiny riders.  I like how the sage messes with digital cameras.  They seem to struggle with the detail, giving you this cool texture in the pics.

Yay Chevy!  Our shuttle driver in training.

Round two and … DOH!  OK, there goes the perfect season.  We’ve gone all year without going to the hospital (well, I did, but it was on a day off so I don’t count it), and then Steve wrecked it.

Bummer.  It’s not even that big, but it went deep.  He caught a random stick on a flat part of the trail at the very beginning, and it wedged one end into the ground and the other end into his shin.  The worst luck.

Oh well, we were close enough to the top that we were able to send him back with Barb and bundle him off to the hospital.  See?  There’s Steve…way down there.

We miss you Steve.

Not really.  TKO keeps you damn busy.  Not much time to think about other people.  You’re busy enough dodging gnarly boulders and such.

Jason on one of the steepest lines in the whole valley. Nice riding.  That part is tricky.

Dude…

Wanna see a gross close up of the wound?

Click here…

Well, that was another really fun trip.  Hope to see these kids again.

Mr & Mrs. Marmalade – 6

Posted on by Smoke

Those Swiss kids are so much fun, I think we’ll keep them around for another day.  Besides, it’s a Kobau day and the more the merrier on that one.

Hey Barb!  Whatcha’ doin’ over there?

The first time out in the high elevation sage meadows for everyone means lots of photo ops.

OK, enough of that.  Lets go do some shredding.  It’s trying to rain a little bit, but it’s still pretty dusty out there.

Part of the reason it takes so long to descend this trail is the over-abundance of Kodak moments like this.

Whoa! Speedy Suisse in effect!

That’ll learn ya…

This is a much more civilised approach…

Yvonne has it figured out too.

More Kodak moments. 

Nic on the hoodoo near the end.

Nice and cool out, and that rain made this line a lot more forgiving than it can be.

Which is good, as it made it a lot more fun for Yvonne.

Barb, of course, wouldn’t care either way.  She just rides stuff.

Momma bear.  I missed the cubs, but there were three little bears here.

For round 2, I took the Swiss down TKO.  It’s a shitty trail.

Of course I’m joking, but we didn’t take many pics of round 2.  Having too much fun ripping it.  Just a couple of shots of this little road gap.

Barb, Al, and Yvonne took another lap on Cawston Creek, which is always a good idea.

Cheers!  Dirtbags…

“Hey you kids, look at me!  I’m running!”

Our crew, and our loyal shuttle driver (thanks Dad!).

Shock Monkey Okanagan – Day 3

Posted on by Smoke

Welcome to Canada’s only desert. 

Sure is green…

Yeah, June-uary keeps on giving around here.  Although we have been snowed on in July on this ride, so torrential rain is not that big of a deal, right? 

Andrew and Brant came out with the saws today, so we did a bit of refurb on Cawston Creek Trail.  It really needed it.

Besides clearing some major deadfall, we also rebuilt this jump.

Note the size of that saw.  That’s no farm saw.  That’s over 100cc’s of Husky on there.

Kind of forced Jay to work for this one.

We also fixed the entrance to this log.

One plank, coming right up.

Unfortunately, we didn’t get to outwit the weather with our good deeds.

It just socked right in while we were building. 

Not that the riding was bad or anything.

Actually, it doesn’t really get any better than this.

It also meant that for round 2 on TKO, that we were looking for some serious wet.  It was only about +3 at the top, and windy.  I wasn’t sure, but I had a hunch that the conditions were going to be prime, and I wasn’t disappointed.  The best run down the top half of TKO for myself, and Brant, AND Andrew that we’ve ever had.

Even the 2nd half, which can be a nasty sketchfest, was pretty damn good.

The Aussies were definitely feeling the steep though.  It was a bit of a stretch for them at times.  Here’s Jay trying to stretch out over the back wheel.

..and Gen stretches her legs.

A big bummer to report in that some friends of ours lost their home in a mudslide in Oliver this week.  I’ll be heading down to help them muck out in July, so I’ll post up some pics when I get a chance.

On the happier side, Happy Anniversary to my parents!  Now quit spending my inheritance.