Return of the Jedi Council — Part I

Welcome to Canada, eh? What a bunch of loonies…..Tony, Ed, Panama, Pierre, Paul, Stu, Stouph, Mark, and Skip. Thanks for showing up at midnight. At least traffic is light.

Just like last year, we put all the bikes together that night. Bedtime? How does 3 am sound?

We decided to make an early start to the day. As usual, we came across an accident on the highway. This time, a happy ending. The 78 year old rider of this motorcycle walked away from the scene with minor scrapes, and Barb got a job offer from the Princeton Ambulance station.

Bladder break!

Maybe this canyon just scared the piss out of them.

We rolled into Penticton around noon, and took some lunch bbefore heading up to the Peat bog for some warm up laps. Here’s Skip getting reacquainted with a teeter.

Stu goes big on the Knuckleduster.

Skip again, same drop with a different perspective.

Barb got inspired to put the boys in their place.

Skip, mocking death.

Barb, on the Knucklduster road drop.

Stouph gaps a bridge in the sun.

Get that front wheel down, Ed.

Skip at sunset.

Last run of the day. Beleive it or not, this was the lamest trail of the trip.

Get ready, ’cause if that’s lame, then the rest of the tour should be legendary……

That Guy Again? How About Eagle?

Technically, Eagle isn’t the North Shore. In reality, it’s way more core than the Shore. Peter taggedalong so Stefan had someonw to converse with in his native tongue.

Ooli came with us today for the hike. It’s a solid 40 minutes up to the top of the first trail, 4 Lost Souls.

….and what an epic trail it is.

P-Dub drops in. This is just a taste of things to come.

Stefan hits one of the bigger ones. The whole trail consists of 5-8′ booters and some wall rides. So sweet.

Wall…..

…to wall…..

…good….

…times.

If you look carefully, you can see that it’s sunny and gorgeous downtown. Pete was of the opinion that the clouds were going to “swirl around us.” Yeah, I’ve got your miracle ticket right here, hippy.

It freakin’ pissed on us. Hail, rain, lightning, you name it.

Oh well, it’s not like Massage Therapy is an easy trail to begin with.

Still, it was mega fun. I’m going back next week I think.

Kobau Cruising

Or “How Tired I Felt After Hammering the Peat Bog All Day Yesterday.”

Funny how tired we all felt after spending a couple of days at…

Oh God. We have to do this again?

I noticed that the crew over at PureMTB.com were wondering what happened to all the carnage shots.

Well, here you go.

Actually, everybody pulled out a good one today. FunBobby pops some wood.

I did too, only bigger.

Round log, sketchy teeter totter, and FLEXING BICEPS.

Eric keeps it upright (I think it’s Eric).

Trask getting a little “Head” on the Head Drop.

Barb gets her share.

Eric reverting to form.

Back in the open again.

A bit of rain made a huge difference to the dust. The clay was unbelievably grippy. Gary couldn’t quite get over how hard you could corner in it.

Some trail hazards here are unlike anywhere else in Canada.

Another epic sunset at the pub at the end of the ride.

…And the traditional passed out in the smelly van shot.