OK, so it’s not sunny.  Actually, I’m glad, because the North Shore sucks when it’s dry.  Really.  The only stuff that is fun when it’s dry is the woodwork, and there’s hardly any of that around anymore.

This is a new crew for me, a random meeting that comes about via the legendary Lee and Sharon.  Seems like I got a good referral, as Sun+Fun looks like they want to run more trips in the future.

OK, that’s our crew, and also our driver for the day.  Thanks, Doug.

As is my usual modus operandi, we went straight to CBC.  Yeah, it’s not what it once was, but it’s still a great way to introduce people to the shore.  Plus, it was extra greasy and I didn’t want to chance having tired riders on it, so we went in fresh.

Bernd seems to have got the idea. 

Daniel is always happy to be on his bike, so I can’t count his opinion.  I was getting the idea rather quickly that he knows how to ride.  Very, very well.

No German group is complete without at least on Stefan.  Hi, Stefan.

And his cute partner, Suzi.  We need more Suzi’s.  I had thought that Steffi Marth was coming on this trip, but no dice.  Some kind of romantic complication, I believe.  We survived, but you know me….the more girls on bikes the better.

And now a classic Bush Pilot angle of the Millenium Log.

It’s like I never left…

Apart from most of the stunts going missing and not being replaced, the Shore is not unrecognizable.   Here’s some fun shots of a rock line on Dale’s.

If you’ve ever ridden Dale’s, you’ll know this line.  It’s the gnarly rock face/drop/cliff about half way down.   This is when I figured out that Daniel is probably some kind of pro rider in Europe.  He killed this line, and it wasn’t just smooth, it was QUIET.

Dale’s now leads in to a rebuilt Aftertaste, and it’s an interesting new flavour for Seymour.  I’m sorta down on the new bike park style trails going in everywhere, but the terrain in that part of the Shore is well suited.  A nice surprise.  I had enough fun I forgot to take pics.  No worries, we have much more riding on tap for ya.

Round 2, and we rinsed and repeated CBC.  The crew did much better this time.

Say ‘hi’ to Marcus.  

It was time for some photo posing, and here you can see Daniel discovering the humbling side of riding in North Van.

For all you aspiring shooters out there, here’s an illustrated example of why the built in white balance in your iPhone isn’t always the best setting to use.

Suzi here is sporting the smile of someone who just conquered her first major log ride.

Bernd is smiling too, I think.  Or gritting his teeth in fear…

Stefan art blur:

Not sure if the sticker is protesting the structure, bikes, or people being polluting jerks in general, but it made me laugh.  That’s Stefan again on Corkscrew.

The infamous wall ride on Salvation.    It still doesn’t work.

Ahhhhh…there’s still a few Johnny Smoke secrets left on Seymour.  A relatively little known lookout and loamy pocket.

Bernd here is choosing to go around a bit of gnarly drop on Empress.  It was super greasy, to the point where I got a two wheel lockup into it and almost ate it into the hole.  My wrists took a pounding anyway.

For the dessert lap we snuck into some lesser known lines.  This variation was a new one on me.

I was a bit bummed out to see the damage caused by some crap trail building.  The boys have gotten lazy and thrown in some fall line track into the Cove, and it’s gone from fresh loam to blown out crap 2 meters deep in only a few years.  Have you guys learned NOTHING in the past couple of decades?  Seriously, those are some lame trails there guys.

However, apart from that little glitch it was a great homecoming.  I feel like less of a stranger in my home town now.