Fest Shredden – 1

Posted on August 5, 2014August 11, 2014 by Smoke

Time to take a break from all that heli riding. I think I’ll shred some singletrack with ze Germans.

That’s right, Daniel Schaefer is back for more. Once again Wolfgang is with him, and also newcomers Fabien…

…and Mario.

If you hadn’t figured it out, we’re in the old hood on Seymour. The old trails are still as rough and gnarly as ever. At least there’s a bit of the old North Shore Hard Core left.

Of course, big rock faces don’t change much.

The Millenium Log hasn’t changed a lot, either.

There’s lots of new trails, but honestly I’m not all that excited by them. They’re kind of generic pump track kind of rides. It seems like you can find these trails in every town. To me, the Shore is about the wood and the gnar. At least Wolfie is keepin’ it real…

Sun + Fun + Germans – 3

Posted on August 5, 2013August 12, 2013 by Smoke

Well, the North Shore is sorta beat right now, and Lee and Sharon have been raving about the Fraser Valley….so it’s off to Sumas.

Hi Lee!

They really wanted to show off a new trail in Abbostford called Squid Line. But first we had to deal with some flat tires.

Oh, and get warmed up too. This is an older trail called Knob Gobbler, of which I rode part of years ago with Mitch "The Bitch" Diem.

A charming little trail, and made more so by the fact that some local ladies showed up to shred.

Marcus really appreciates Canadian biker girls.

Here’s Lee sending a little drop. Not that he’d know, as he has no depth perception. Too bad I didn’t get a shot of his massive nose wheelie run out. Talk about your lucky recovery.

Daniel has no such handicap, and just sends stuff.

Well, Squid Line is OK. It’s like a really long pump track. It’s fun, but it’s sort of repetitive and doesn’t have a lot of character. Maybe in a few more years…

Round two and we went to find some of the older trails like Time Killer.

This was a much more interesting trail. It reminded me of Disneyland back before it got logged, or Eagle back in the day. Very loamy, with some very nice technical lines.

We ended up on this steep trail called "Devils Throat," where Susi gets bum shot of the day.

Daniel gets nothing for wheelieing through the mouth of the devil.

The biggest surprise of the day? Great sushi in Abbotsford. Who knew?

For the last pic of the day, make up your own caption. All I ask is that whatever you’re thinking right now, you need to imagine it with a german accent when you look at this.

Zuuuupa!

Sun + Fun + Germans – 2

Posted on August 4, 2013August 11, 2013 by Smoke

Looks like it’ll be sunnier today…but not until later.

Like it matters. We’re on the Sunshine Coast today; it’s sunny in your soul at all times over there. Oh, and we even saw a porpoise on the way across.

Although it seems like it’s always tough to get the new meat to ride this one…

Had a couple of additions to the crew today, with Will and Nico along. They seem to be sort of talented.

I was teasing Nico about being related to Lee, as they both have the last name Lau. Not much in common after that, though.

We spent a bit of time by the dirt jumps up the B&K. Looks like the Coastal Crew has been busy lately.

After a few laps, it was clear that the new guys weren’t just any random riders. I know I’m not the fastest guy out there, but I’m not that slow either. And when I’m feeling good on trails I know, I’m usually pretty even with anyone. When these boys started doggin’ my rear wheel, I figured the fix was in. The 22 lb enduro bike from Cube was a bit of a clue. This kid is a bit of an up and comer in the enduro world cup.